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]

The Silk Merchant's Daughter

1952, French Indochina. Since her mother's death, eighteen-year-old half-French, half-Vietnamese Nicole has been living in the shadow of her beautiful older sister, Sylvie. When Sylvie is handed control of the family silk business, Nicole is given an abandoned silk shop in the Vietnamese quarter of Hanoi. But the area is teeming with militant rebels who want to end French rule, by any means possible. For the first time, Nicole is awakened to the corruption of colonial rule - and her own family's involvement shocks her to the core... Tran, a notorious Vietnamese insurgent, seems to offer the perfect escape from her troubles, while Mark, a charming American trader, is the man she's always dreamed of. But who can she trust in this world where no one is what they seem? The Silk Merchant's Daughter is a captivating tale of dark secrets, sisterly rivalry and love against the odds, enchantingly set in colonial era Vietnam.

The Silk Merchant's Daughter is Dinah Jefferies third novel and once again she has written another good story, this time set in 1950s French Indochina (now Vietnam), a time and place of which I knew very little.  It's an interesting and entertaining story.

I like Dinah's writing style. You get a real sense of time and place and there is a good balance between description and dialogue.  Her first novel, The Separation, was set in 1950s Malaya and her second, The Tea Planter's Wife was set in 1920s Ceylon.

Again, this latest novel is full secrets, betrayal, loss, rivalry and romance all set against a background of conflict and danger. The Vietminh rebels want to be free of French rule and there is much unrest.

Nicole is half French, half Vietnamese and has grown up in the French quarter of Hanoi in the house of her French father. Her older sister Sylvie looks more European like their father while Nicole looks more like her late Vietnamese mother.  Nicole feels as if she lives in the shadow of her  older sister and indeed sometimes feels she is treated like a second class citizen.  You get the sense that she doesn't really fit in anywhere.

Her father passes control of the family silk business to Sylvie and Nicole is given an abandoned silk shop in the Vietnamese quarter of Hanoi.  Although disappointed she wants the shop to be a success in the hope that her father will be proud of her.

She moves into the apartment above the shop and starts dressing in a more 'vietnamese' style to fit in with the neighbourhood.

It's at this time her eyes are opened to the corruption of colonial rule and the racism suffered by the locals at the hands of some colonials and she witnesses some terrible incidents and feels betrayed by even her own family.

The love interest comes from two men who are complete opposites - Mark, an American trader and Tran, a notorious Vietnamese rebel who could offer her an escape from her troubles in Hanoi.

I'm going to say here that while I really enjoyed this book, it took me a little longer to 'connect' with the main characters.  Nicole seemed to be very needy and sometimes I just wanted to give her a shake.  She did have to cope with a lot of difficult situations and decisions.   I felt she was often unlucky to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and sometimes made the wrong choice.

Nicole did a lot of growing up between the first page of the book and the last!

For me the setting of the book in Vietnam at that time was something different.  I hadn't read any other book set there and some of the events in the story did make me think of how awful it must have been to live in such a time of change and turmoil.

I'm really glad I stuck with The Silk Merchant's Daughter and look forward to Dinah Jefferies next book.

My January-February To-Read List

If you've read any of my earlier posts you might know I'm a fan of BookHippo and Bookbub which are great sites for finding ebooks that are free or on special offer from Amazon.

I've gone a bit crazy the last couple of days and actually bought some books (as opposed to free books) so it looks like I'm going to be busy the next couple of weeks.

At the moment I'm reading a book sent via NetGalley for review:  The Lubetkin Legacy by Marina Lewycka.  I've started it and so far I'm enjoying it but I will probably put it aside for a week or so as it won't be published until May.  I've read at least two of her earlier books, A History of Tractors in Ukrainian and Two Caravans, and although it was some time ago, I remember liking them, especially the first one.

Anyway I've bought the following books and I would love to know what others thought of them.

The Separation
This is by Dinah Jefferies.  It was her first book and I have heard good things about it.  I'm quite keen to get started on it.  I read a review copy of her second book, The Tea Planter's wife, last year and loved it.  I have also read her forthcoming book, The Silk Merchant's Daughter, for review.  It's due for publication 25 February and I have to wait until then to post my review.  She seems to have become one of my favourite authors!

All The Light We Cannot See
The author is Anthony Doerr.  I haven't read anything by him before.  I'm pretty sure a friend read this book and recommended it to me but I can't for the life of me remember who.  Doh! I've just realised it's a prizewinning book, including the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.  I've got high hopes for this one.

The Other Son
I've only read one of Nick Alexander's previous books, The Half-Life of Hannah.  I seem to remember quite liking it.  The Other Son was one of Amazon's offers so I thought I would take a chance and download it.

So that will be some of my reading over the next couple of months.

Actually when I look at what's in my Kindle library there are probably at least 50 books I've downloaded at one time or another but haven't read.  Most of them didn't cost anything - the paid for ones I have read!  

I think one of my resolutions this year will be to try once again to organise my time better to fit in all the reading I want to do, all the paintings I want to paint and (maybe) de-clutter the house.

Happy New Year!

What I read in my holidays

I started writing this post on Christmas eve while on a long car journey to spend the holiday with our family. Since I wasn't driving I took the opportunity to read some of the freebies I've downloaded from Amazon. They've been available for some time.  I'm hoping at least some will be good (there are usually a few little gems). 


Almost 3 hours into our journey I finished a book that I had started the day before we set off.

Adrenaline by John Benedict  is a medical thriller and was very readable if slightly over the top.

It was a good read to make a long journey seem quicker!  It's set in the Anaesthesia Department  of Mercy Hospital.  There were incidents in the operating room and unexpected deaths in fairly straightforward cases.  Was it just bad luck or was there something else going on? If these were deliberate acts, who is involved and why?

Dr Doug Landry finds himself the focus of the blame and he tries to get to the bottom of these incidents and clear his name.  However his investigation and discoveries put his own life at risk

There's some clever deducing to get to the answer. The climax is way over the top but is actually quite exciting to read.  I enjoyed it.

It might not be the best choice for you however if you are of a nervous disposition and about to go into hospital for surgery!

When I bought the Kindle version of this book on 1st December it was free (although I believe that has now changed).

The author's website is at www.johnbenedictmd.com



I'm now back home and in the middle of reading another book which was published last September. It's a crime/psychological thriller In Search of Jessica by Declan Conner.  So far it's been very good and I'll post something once I've finished it.

I enjoyed reading The Tea Planter's Wife by Dinah Jefferies last year and I've recently read a review copy of her next book The Silk Merchant's Daughter (due out on 25 February and also good).  I noticed the Kindle version of her first book The Separation was being offered at a reduced price today on Amazon so I've bought that and I think that will be my next read.


Happy New Year!!