Category Archives: book reviews

#BookReview ‘The Black Tower’ by PD James #crime

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The Black Tower is a sinister mystery by PD James, partly location, and partly the feeling that Dalgliesh is not operating at the full capacity of his deductive powers. He has been ill and goes to Dorset to convalesce, to visit an elderly friend. His love and energy for detecting are muted, there are hints he may not continue. PD JamesOn arrival in Dorset he finds his friend, Father Baddeley has died. Dalgliesh is inevitably drawn into the daily life at Toynton Hall, the care home at which the Father was chaplain. All is not as it seems. Baddeley’s was not the first death. But Dalgliesh looks at clues and is unusually reticent, unmotivated, tired.
This is an intricate story set in a strange community with overtones of religious fervour, financial difficulties, disabilities not clearly explained, relationships tangled, past stories and resentments lurking beneath the surface.
I am re-reading PD James in order and with this, the fifth in the series, she seems to be getting into the rhythm which those familiar with the last of the Dalgliesh books will recognise. Dalgliesh is oddly denuded in this book, giving us an insight into his character we have not have seen before, we see beneath the professional face: he has been ill, is tired, less patient, and the mask of his profession sometimes slips. Fascinating, a hint of the detective into which he will evolve in the later books.

Read my reviews of the other Adam Dalgliesh mysteries:-
COVER HER FACE #1ADAMDALGLIESH
A MIND TO MURDER #2ADAMDALGLIESH
UNNATURAL CAUSES #3ADAMDALGLIESH
SHROUD FOR A NIGHTINGALE #4ADAMDALGLIESH
DEATH OF AN EXPERT WITNESS #6ADAMDALGLIESH
A TASTE FOR DEATH #7ADAMDALGLIESH
DEVICES AND DESIRES #8ADAMDALGLIESH
ORIGINAL SIN #9ADAMDALGLIESH … read the first paragraph HERE
A CERTAIN JUSTICE #10ADAMDALGLIESH
DEATH IN HOLY ORDERS #11ADAMDALGLIESH
THE MURDER ROOM #12ADAMDALGLIESH … read the first paragraph HERE
THE LIGHTHOUSE #13ADAMDALGLIESH
THE PRIVATE PATIENT #14ADAMDALGLIESH

Here are my reviews of the two Cordelia Gray mysteries:-
AN UNSUITABLE JOB FOR A WOMAN #CGRAY1
THE SKULL BENEATH THE SKIN #CGRAY2

And two other books by PD James:-
INNOCENT BLOOD
TIME TO BE IN EARNEST

If you like crime fiction, try these:-
‘Eeny Meeny’ by MJ Arlidge #1HELENGRACE
‘Wilderness’ by Campbell Hart #1ARBOGAST
‘Dead Simple’ by Peter James #1ROYGRACE

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#BookReview ‘The Invasion of the Tearling’ by Erika Johansen #fantasy #Tearling

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The action starts on page one of The Invasion of the Tearling by Erika Johansen, continuing straight on from the end of the first book in the trilogy. So read The Queen of the Tearling before you open this book. Erika JohansenAt the end of The Queen of the Tearling, the neighbouring countries Tearling and Mort were on the verge of war. But author Johansen throws in a curve ball, Queen Kelsea is having visions, of a woman called Lily in what looks very like 21st century New York, with a twist. So, is this where we learn the Tearling’s Pre-Crossing history, things hinted at in book one? Yes, and no.
I was left with unanswered questions – is Kelsea related to Lily? Who is Jonathan Tearling? Was there more than one ship to cross the ocean, and cross from where to where? This has left me ready, now, to read book three. I will have to wait.
Kelsea is not just having visions of Lily, but of moments in history such as the sinking of a Crossing vessel and the drowning of its passengers. And she seems able to hurt the evil and heal the sick. Is it magic, or the power of her sapphires? And where did they come from? Is it the sapphires doing the magic, or is she channelling her own magic through the jewels?
Kelsea is no longer a teenager girl, she is the Queen and must handle power while learning to be a woman and a leader. How should she wield her power, and who can she trust?
Meanwhile, the Mort army advances.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT THIS BOOK

Click the title to read my reviews of the other Tearling books by Erika Johansen:-
BENEATH THE KEEP [#PREQUEL TEARLING]
THE QUEEN OF THE TEARLING [#1 TEARLING]
THE FATE OF THE TEARLING [#3 TEARLING]

If you like this, try:-
‘The Last of Us’ by Rob Ewing
‘La Belle Sauvage’ by Philip Pullman #1TheBookofDust
‘Divergent’ by Veronica Roth #1Divergent

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview  THE INVASION OF THE TEARLING by Erika Johansen via @SandraDanby http://wp.me/p5gEM4-1Ht

#BookReview ‘A Little Life’ by Hanya Yanagihara #contemporaryfiction

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This book by Hanya Yanagihara made me cry and I feel inadequate to describe it. It opens with two friends – Jude and Willem – moving into a tiny apartment in New York. They are at the beginning of their careers and A Little Life is their story and that of their two friends Malcolm and JB. A lawyer, an actor, an artist and an architect. Hanya YanagiharaThe spine of the book is Jude’s life, his horrific childhood makes him the man he is though his friends know nothing of his early years. Yanagihara stretches out the telling of Jude’s secrets for the whole of the book – and it is a long book – to the point where my imagination went into overdrive. Gradually, we learn what he is hiding. I felt sympathy for Jude, but also irritation, impatience and admiration. This is an epic book full of love, pain, honesty, concealment and brutality.
Sometimes the brutality will shock you, it did me, although the worst of it is not expressed on the page – like the most effective of dramatic murders, it happens off stage and is left to the reader’s imagination. There is art and theatre and New York life, but mostly the novel is about the four men, their highs and lows, wins and losses, laughter and squabbles, in at times small daily detail; backed up by a sterling cast of supporters [Harold the law professor; Andy, the doctor; Lucien, the lawyer; Richard, the neighbour and artist]. Not many women, though I did not feel the absence.
The story moves forward chronologically, with darts into the past as Jude remembers. It is about abuse, cruelty and pain, so harsh that you wonder how a person could survive. The answer, is love.

If you like this, try:-
‘The Goldfinch’ by Donna Tartt
‘If I Knew You Were going to be This Beautiful’ by Judy Chicurel
‘A Thousand Moons’ by Sebastian Barry

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A poem to read in the bath… ‘Oxfam’

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I read this glimpse at the detritus of life and I am standing in my local Oxfam shop. Another great offering from Carol Ann Duffy.

[photo: carolannduffy.co.uk]

[photo: carolannduffy.co.uk]

Because of copyright restrictions I am unable to reproduce the poem in full, but please search it out in an anthology or at your local library.

‘Oxfam’
A silvery, pale-blue satin tie, freshwater in sunlight, 50p.
Charlotte Rhead, hand-painted oval bowl, circa 1930, perfect
for apples , pears, oranges a child’s hand takes without
a second thought, £80. Rows of boots marking time, £4.
Shoes like history lessons, £1.99. That jug, 30p, to fill with milk.”

A reminder that in today’s world of excess, one person’s cast-offs can be another person’s treasure.

For Carol Ann Duffy’s website, click here.
Click here for Sheer Poetry, an online poetry resource, by the poets themselves, for all poetry lovers from general readers to schoolchildren.
Why did Duffy write a poem about a charity shop, click here to read a story from The Mirror explaining why.

Carol Ann Duffy

 

‘The Bees’ by Carol Ann Duffy [UK: Picador] 

Read these other excerpts and find a new poet to love:-
‘On Turning Ten’ by Billy Collins
‘Elegy of a Common Soldier’ by Dennis B Wilson
‘Alone’ by Dea Parkin

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Favourite Lines from Favourite Books: Swallows and Amazons

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page - swallows and amazons 27-7-15“I should have been sorry to lose the old box, because it’s been with me all over the world. And I should have lost the book I’ve been writing all summer in spite of the efforts of Nancy and Peggy to make any writing impossible. Never any of you start writing books. It isn’t worth it. This summer has been harder work for me than all the thirty years of knocking up and down that went before it. And if those scoundrels had got away with the box I could never have done it again.”

Captain Flint, on the return of his manuscript Mixed Moss [excerpt from Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome]

To see why my old copy of Swallows and Amazons [below] is important to me, click here. Swallows and Amazons - book cover 13-3-14

Swallows and Amazons

 

‘Swallows and Amazons’ by Arthur Ransome [UK: Vintage Children’s Classics] Buy now

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#BookReview ‘Casting Off’ by Elizabeth Jane Howard #historical #WW2

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Casting Off by Elizabeth Jane Howard starts in July 1945 as Hugh Cazalet must decide what to do as Miss Pearson, his secretary for 23 years, resigns. But the end of the European war is in sight. When this book ends, war is over and there are more engagements, marriages and divorces, births and deaths in the Cazalet family. This is the fourth book in a five-book series. Elizabeth Jane HowardThe title refers not just to ending relationships, but to letting go of war-time life. This is more complicated than anticipated. Longing for something for so long, does not make it easy to live through when it happens. Change is challenging. Post-war life is not all it is expected to be, in some ways it is harder.  Though the privations of rationing continue, often harsher than during the war itself, possibilities for new life unfold like a flower in bloom. But there are no easy answers.
The three cousins are grown-up. Polly, Louise and Clary now face life as young adults, their idealism tainted by the sadness and disappointments of war. But there are surprises in store for Clary, while the Cazalet brothers must make a business decision which affects the financial future of the whole family. Can they still afford the Sussex home, the anchor for the family throughout the war, and home to The Duchy and The Brig? And where will this extended war-time family now live, separated from one another?
Expecting happiness after the end of the war, ordinary life disappoints as the trials and disappointments continue. Louise’s friend Stella explains: “… when anyone becomes more than a certain amount unhappy they get cut off. They don’t feel any comfort or concern or affection that comes from other people – all of that simply disappears inside some bottomless pit and when people realize that, they stop trying to be affectionate or comforting. Would you like some grey coffee, or some pink-brown tea?”
Howard’s characters are so clearly drawn that they became real people for me, while I read these books. They feel like real friends. That is a huge achievement for any novelist.

Read my reviews of the other books in ‘The Cazalet Chronicles’:-
THE LIGHT YEARS #1CAZALET
MARKING TIME #CAZALET
CONFUSION  #3CAZALET
ALL CHANGE #5CAZALET 

If you like this, try:-
‘Life After Life’ by Kate Atkinson
‘The Heat of the Day’ by Elizabeth Bowen
‘While Paris Slept’ by Ruth Druart

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
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#BookReview ‘Last Child’ by @TerryTyler4 #family #romance

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Tudor lovers will love Last Child, sequel to the popular Kings and Queens saga by   about construction magnate Harry Lanchester [ie. Henry VIII] and his six wives. Now, Harry is dead. The King is dead, long live the king. In this case, his only son. Terry TylerThis book follows the tale of the three orphans and, like their Tudor namesakes – Isabella/Mary, Jaz/Edward and Erin/Elizabeth – they make a history of the 21st century kind. Adultery, boardroom betrayal, sibling arguments, sexual chemistry, this book is full of it. Business here takes the place of royalty, creating quite apt parallels as the themes transfer across the centuries: truth, compromise, pragmatism and bravery.
It helps to have read Kings and Queens before you start this, but not essential. The first narrator is Hannah, who was nanny in the first book to the three young Lanchester children, and is now back on the scene to pick up the pieces. Jaz, Harry’s heir, is 13, his father’s friends surround him as he prepares to take the helm of the family construction when he is 16. But Jaz, like his father, is a rebel and things do not go to plan. If you know your Tudor history, you can guess what happens next. And this is where Terry Tyler is so clever, she sticks to the broad historical brushstrokes but is inventive in the modern-day scenarios she creates for Harry’s three children.
I loved this pair of books, particularly the very last section ‘Ten Minutes Before.’ So Tudor!

Here’s my review of KINGS AND QUEENS, first of the two Lanchester books by Terry Tyler.

If you like this, try:-
‘The Little House’ by Philippa Gregory
‘Elizabeth is Missing’ by Emma Healey
‘The Betrayal’ by Laura Elliot

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview LAST CHILD by @TerryTyler4 via @SandraDanby http://wp.me/p5gEM4-1Hd

#BookReview ‘The Threshold’ by @Anitas_haven #suspense #mystery

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The Threshold by Anita Kovacevic is a refreshing tale, a modern-day parable, more novella than novel. In the Foreword, Kovacevic explains her inspiration for the story: one word read in one of her favourite stories, one word which was seemingly unimportant, but which inspired this story. Threshold.Anita KovacevicFrom page one, the tone is unusual. It’s almost as if you are being told a bedtime story. An elderly lady takes her dog for a walk, past the grand decaying house on the block. In a gust of wind, a piece of paper drifts to her feet. It is a letter from the man who once owned the house, but who has not been seen for years: Josephus Clarence Thibedeaux III. The letter is his will, bequeathing the house to the first person who enters the house and comes out again. Alive.
It is at this intriguing point that the story diverts, to the life story of Joseph Thibbit. Stick with it though, and you come to the climax, the television programme ‘Urban Legend’, run by media mogul Ken Scott. Into the media whirl steps nice guy Mike Simmons. Will he go into the house, and will he come out alive? Is there secret treasure inside, a monster, something magical? We see the action through the eyes of TV producer Sally Jenkins.
This is an entertaining tale about the downfall of greed, and a reality show which gets its comeuppance.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT THIS BOOK

If you like this, try:-
‘The House on Cold Hill’ by Peter James
‘The Quick’ by Lauren Owen
‘Frog Music’ by Emma Donoghue

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview THE THRESHOLD by @Anitas_haven via @SandraDanby http://wp.me/p5gEM4-1Gh

#BookReview ‘Outline’ by Rachel Cusk #contemporary

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Outline by Rachel Cusk is a strange book, without a narrative spine. So, not a novel as such, more a collection of incidents which happen to an unnamed woman writer visiting Athens to teach creative writing. We learn more about the people she interacts with, than about her. People rarely ask her questions and her internal monologue is sparse. There is no cause and effect, no tension, nothing to make me curious. Rachel CuskThis book was shortlisted for two prices, the Folio Prize, and the 2015 Bailey’s Women’s Prize for Fiction. The writing is beautiful, by which I mean the expression, the ideas explored and use of language, but it left me untouched, without strong feelings of like or dislike. Central to this feeling, I think, is that we do not know the narrator’s name.
There is a quote from one of the narrator’s writing students, speaking in a class discussion, which sums it up for me: “…a story might merely be a series of events we believe ourselves to be involved in, but on which we have absolutely not influence at all.”

If you like this, try:-
‘Yuki Chan in Bronte Country’ by Mick Jackson
‘Foxlowe’ by Eleanor Wasserberg
‘All the Birds, Singing’ by Evie Wyld

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My Top 5… World War Two novels

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This was an impossible list to write. My childhood was filled with World War Two novels and films, plus lots of cowboy and westerns too, thanks to my father. So this list combines childhood favourites with literature discovered in later years.

‘Sophie’s Choice’ by William Styron World War TwoWho can forget the book, or that scene in the 1982 film. Sophie’s Choice: the phrase now commonly known to mean ‘an impossible choice’. Buy now

‘Where Eagles Dare’ by Alistair MacLean World War TwoThe 1968 film: Clint Eastwood, Richard Burton, need I say more? I gobbled Alistair MacLean’s books as a child; cheap paperbacks bought by my father and read by us all. Old-fashioned now, but still great page-turners. Buy now

‘Schindler’s Ark’ by Thomas Keneally World War TwoI bought this one in July 1983 after it won the 1982 Booker Prize. In 1993 it was made into the film Schindler’s List starring Liam Neeson as Oskar Schindler, Ben Kingsley as Itzhak Stern and a young Ralph Fiennes as the terrifying Amon Goeth. Buy now

‘Fortunes of War 1-3’ [The Balkan Trilogy] by Olivia Manning World War TwoGuy and Harriet Pringle [aka a very young Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thomspon, then married in real life, in the 1987 BBC television production]. I read the trilogy with hunger, back-to-back. They are still on my bookshelf, in fact all of these top five books are still on my bookshelf as are the others listed below. Buy now

‘Empire of the Sun’ by JG Ballard World War TwoAnother book turned into a great film. Features the Batman actor as a child, Christian Bale. This was the edition I bought, and my introduction to Ballard. After this, I bought many more of his books. Buy now

I have many more favourites:-
Fatherland and Enigma by Robert Harris
The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje
The End of the Affair by Graham Greene
The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
The Eagle has Landed by Jack Higgins
Captain Corelli’s Mandolin by Louis de Bernières
Restless by William Boyd
Suite Française by Irène Némirovsky
A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute

Others on my to-read pile?
Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum
Every Man Dies Alone by Hans Fallada
Night by Elie Wiesel

Do you agree with my other ‘Top 5’ choices?:-
My Top 5… music to write to
My top 5… novels about paintings
My Top 5… the Booker winners I re-read, and why

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