Friday 31 March 2017

Before The Rains – Dinah Jeffries







1930, Rajputana, India. Since her husband’s death, 28-year-old photojournalist Eliza’s only companion has been her camera. When the British Government send her to an Indian princely state to photograph the royal family, she’s determined to make a name for herself.

But when Eliza arrives at the palace she meets Jay, the Prince’s handsome, brooding brother. While Eliza awakens Jay to the poverty of his people, he awakens her to the injustices of British rule. Soon Jay and Eliza find they have more in common than they think. But their families – and society – think otherwise. Eventually they will have to make a choice between doing what’s expected, or following their hearts. . .
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I’ve really enjoyed Dinah Jefferies’ previous novels.  Before The Rains is her fourth one and they just seem to get better and better.  I just like her style of writing.

I loved this story of Eliza, a young widow trying to make a name for herself as a photojournalist, in 1930s India, and who has just been given a commission to spend a year living in the palace of Prince Anish, photographing the royal family and life in the princely state of Juraipore for a new archive.

Not everyone in the castle welcomes her presence. She was sent there by the British government, and some think she may be spying for the British, but she does seem to get along with the younger son, Jayant.

Right from the start you get a real sense of the contrasts: the heat and dust and poverty Eliza sees surrounding the castle, and the scents, colour and opulence of the interior.  This is something I find the author does very well – her wonderful descriptions seem almost effortless but you get a great sense of time and place.  It’s easy to imagine you are there as the story unfolds although you couldn’t possibly have been there (in my case I’m too young – I wasn’t born until the 1950s!)  Dinah is an excellent storyteller.  I suppose you could say it is historical romantic fiction (historical in the sense of recent history) but it has depth.  It is a time of growing political unrest, the Indian population is governed by the British.  Eliza is an interesting character who doesn’t really fit the mould of a young English woman in India.    The plot moves at a good pace and the various threads of the story are woven expertly.

It’s a story of love, friendship, secrets, deceit, sacrifice, betrayal. There are a couple of twists although they weren’t entirely unexpected. Overall, a very satisfying read.

Author’s website:  here

Before The Rains was published by Penguin on 23 February 2017.

[My thanks to NetGalley and Penguin for an ARC]



Thursday 9 March 2017

Everything but the Truth – Gillian McAllister




It all started with the email. It came through to her boyfriend’s iPad in the middle of the night. Rachel didn’t even mean to look. She loves Jack, and she’s pregnant with their child. She trusts him. But now she’s seen it, she can’t undo that moment, or the chain of events it has set in motion. Why has Jack been lying about his past? Just what exactly is he hiding? And doesn’t Rachel have a right to know the truth at any cost?

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I loved Everything but the Truth . It gently sucked me in and then ….. wow! Secrets, lies, suspicion, obsession, truth(?)

Rachel is expecting Jack’s baby. She’s three months pregnant. She hasn’t known him long but she loves him. He’s a travel writer for a magazine. They don’t live together (yet). Jack lives with his cat in a house his parents had bought for him. Although they have been together seven months Rachel has still never met any of his friends.

It’s a lovely start to the story. Rachel is the narrator and tells us about Jack. You can tell she loves him. He sounds like a nice guy, a gentle soul with a few endearing traits.

And then she saw that email on Jack’s iPad in the middle of the night – just the notification, just enough to nudge her curiosity. Saw him dismiss the notification and when she casually mentioned that she thought he might have received an email he said ‘No, no,’ and changed the subject.

Then when she finally gets to meet his friends in Oban. she’s confused that they call him JD when his name is Jack Ross. She asks Jack why and he gives an explanation but she also notices a change in his demeanour and sees him making a “shut up” gesture to his friends that she obviously is not meant to see. The more she thinks about it, the more she realises that she knows very little about the father of her unborn child.

That is just the beginning of her suspicions, triggered by awkward silences, looks, words. We are fed little snippets of information that build up tension and suspicion. Rachel asking questions; watching Jack’s face for any changes. Getting plausible answers. There is definitely a sense of paranoia, starting small but increasing. Is it Rachel’s imagination? Or is she right to seek explanations. It’s possible that Rachel already has trust issues. After all apparently she and her long term boyfriend had broken up because of her unfounded accusations that he was cheating, just a month before she met Jack.

Finding out the ‘truth’ starts to become a bit of an obsession. Her family and friends warn her not to obsess but you just know she will. Using social media, she searches for him and any information available but there is very little. While visiting at his parents in Oban a letter arrives addressed to a J Douglas; she does the unthinkable and opens it then seals it up again. When later she ‘innocently’ asks him about it he tells her uses two names for his writing. Of course it then starts again, taking her phone into the bathroom or kitchen and searching for anything on J Douglas.

When she doesn’t find anything, she becomes even more suspicious. What lengths will Rachel go to to satisfy herself that she knows everything? Invasion of someone’s privacy is a very serious matter. Is it ever justified?
I think I’ve said enough. I don’t want to spoil the story for anyone. It’s quite a complex multi-layered tale that is well written and easy to read. The characters are strong but no one is spotless and squeaky clean (in my opinion). As I read on, doubts crept in. Are things really as Rachel tells us? As her paranoia increases we get snippets about her past including the death of her mother and the circumstances leading up to her career change.

Initially I did consider what Jack may be hiding but I soon realised I was way off. I simply accepted the twists and turns and just enjoyed the story. A very satisfying page turner and a great debut.

[My thanks to NetGalley and Penguin UK – Michael Joseph for providing a review copy]