Tag Archives: book review

#BookReview ‘Last Child’ by Terry Tyler @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

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#BookReview ‘The Threshold’ by Anita Kovacevic #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.

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

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#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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#BookReview OUTLINE by Rachel Cusk via @SandraDanby http://wp.me/p5gEM4-1Fb

#BookReview ‘Confusion’ by Elizabeth Jane Howard #historical #WW2

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Confusion, the third in the five-book series by Elizabeth Jane Howard which is ‘The Cazalet Chronicles,’ covers March 1942 to July 1945, again we see the family’s experiences through the teenage eyes of Polly, Louise and Clary. Much has changed now as the war progresses, particularly affecting the role of women, the breakdown of class barriers, the empowerment of working women and educated poor. Elizabeth Jane HowardThese books are quite a social history of a period which more often is the reserve of thrillers and spy novels. Elizabeth Jane Howard has a subtle hand when it comes to observing relationship, such as Polly’s observation after her mother’s death: “It was possible to believe that she was gone; it was their not ever coming back that was so difficult.” Confusion is in part a study of the grief of Polly and her father Hugh; and that of Clary and Neville, whose father Rupert has disappeared in action in France. Clary continues to believe her father is still alive, though the rest of the family quietly accepts his death. Then word from France brings a sliver of hope. Clary grieves for the father she remembers as a child, writing a daily diary for him, and not as the soldier he died as.
The other theme in Confusion is love, or the lack of it. Louise’s story is not about death but about young love, expectations and marriage and the realization that her husband Michael is more strongly wedded to his mother Zee than to her. There are war-time affairs, some lust, some love, and with all of them comes the confusion of uncertain times, stress and the pressure of living life ‘now’.
War seems ordinary in the everyday sense, but the Cazalets are living through extra-ordinary times. The familiar characters continue from the first two books, their story arcs going through radical change now as the war progresses and everyone’s life is changed forever.

Read my reviews of the other books in ‘The Cazalet Chronicles’:-
THE LIGHT YEARS #1CAZALET
MARKING TIME #2CAZALET
CASTING OFF  #4CAZALET
ALL CHANGE #5CAZALET

If you like this, try:-
‘At Mrs Lippincote’s’ by Elizabeth Taylor
‘Freya’ by Anthony Quinn
‘The Aftermath’ by Rhidian Brook

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#BookReview ‘Butterfly Barn’ by Karen Power #romance #Ireland

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Reading this book was like sitting down with a crowd of girlfriends for a long-delayed get-together. In Butterfly Barn by Karen Power, Ireland leaps off the page, present in the speech of the characters, the scenery and the ‘feel’ of the book. Karen PowerThis is an easy book to read in that the pages turned quickly, but it deals with difficult topics: infant mortality, grief, betrayal, guilt. Like many Irish authors, Karen Power writes with a connection to the Catholic faith and – though I am not in the least bit religious – this did not interfere with my enjoyment of the tale. It is a women’s novel, about women, their strength, their suffering, their mutual support and above all the way they deal with what life throws at them.
On a transatlantic flight, Grace gets talking to the lady in the next seat. A friendship is forged which sees them re-united in Bayrush, Ireland, where Grace’s best friend Jessie is expecting twins. Grace is engaged to Dirk and all looks happy, until Jack – a teenage crush – returns home from Dubai.
This is the first of a series of this wide cast of characters, at times a little too wide for me. I admit to losing track of some of the more distant relations of Grace, Jessie and Kate, but I look forward to the next instalment.

If you like this, try:-
‘The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes’ by Anna McPartlin
‘The House at the Edge of the World’ by Julia Rochester
‘Somewhere Inside of Happy’ by Anna McPartlin

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#BookReview ‘Snow White Must Die’ by Nele Neuhaus #crime

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A tight-knit community where everyone looks out for each other, bound together by past tragedy. Into this walks Tobias, released from prison after serving his sentence for murdering two teenage girls. In the village where he grew up, where the two girls died. Snow White Must Die by Nele Neuhaus starts with this potent mixture of past and present, lies and threats. The truth never went away but there will be more deaths before the full story is known. Nele NeuhausThis is the first German thriller I have read, and Nele Neuhaus is a new author for me. This was no more difficult to adjust to than reading a Swedish thriller, yes the names are different but the story pulled me along and I cared about what happened to Tobias, Amelie and Thies. Nothing is what it seems.
Detectives Pia Kirchoff and Oliver von Bodenstein bring their own personal hang-ups to the investigation, as is always the case with modern detectives. For me, it was the line-up of characters in the village which was fascinating. Lie is layered on lie: the doctor, the actress, the businessman, the politician, and twenty-somethings who were all teenagers when the murders happened.
The village closes ranks so Kirchoff and van Bodenstein must figure out a way to break down the barriers.

If you like this, try:-
‘Eeny Meeny’ by MJ Arlidge #1HELENGRACE
‘Cover Her Face’ by PD James #1ADAMDALGLIESH
‘The Killing of Polly Carter’ by Robert Thorogood #2DEATHINPARADISE

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#BookReview ‘Something to Hide’ by Deborah Moggach #contemporary

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The beginning of Something to Hide by Deborah Moggach introduces three characters who seem ordinary people, living everyday lives, facing challenges which we or our family/friends/neighbours are facing every day. What is there about them that could possibly be of interest to me? But Moggach draws me into their stories until I read late into the night. Deborah Moggach

The Prologue is set in Africa, the plot revolves around Africa though not always in an obvious way. Don’t read the ‘Dear Reader’ letter from Moggach at the front of the book, save it until you’ve finished reading. That way, you will turn the page, drawn into the story of each woman – Lorrie in the USA, Jing and her husband in China, Petra in London – wondering how they can possibly be connected. Their situations are universal and Moggach demonstrates how globally connected we are these days, globally similar despite our assumptions and generalizations about things we know nothing about. But at the end of the day, it is a book about those universal things: love and lies.

This is a thoughtful book, with dramatic settings. I can certainly see it as a film.

Read my review of these other novels by Deborah Moggach:-
THE BLACK DRESS
THE CARER
TULIP FEVER

Read the #FirstPara of THESE FOOLISH THINGS, now published as The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

If you like this, try:-
‘All My Puny Sorrows’ by Miriam Toews
‘Angel’ by Elizabeth Taylor
‘The Lie’ by CL Taylor

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#BookReview ‘All My Puny Sorrows’ by Miriam Toews #contemporary

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This is a novel about depression, suicide, death, broken families, love and music. Yes, it is sad, but it is also laugh-out-loud in places. Canadian writer Miriam Toews drew heavily on her own experiences in the writing of All My Puny Sorrows and that depth of empathy shines from every page. Do not ignore this book because you think it will be depressing: it is uplifting, and you will feel sad to finish it. Miriam Toews The story centres on sisters Yolandi and Elfrieda von Riesen. Elf, the elder, is a concert pianist. Yoli writes the Rodeo Rhonda teen novels. Elf’s story – and that of the family of women surrounding the two sisters, their mother, their aunt, Yoli’s daughter, their friends – is told by Yoli. “When we were kids she would occasionally let me be her page-turner for the fast pieces that she hadn’t memorized. Page turning is a particular art. I had to be just ahead of her in the music and move like a snake when I turned the page so there was no crinkling and no sticking and no thwapping. Her words.”
We do not hear Elf’s inner voice except in excerpts from letters and poems. What we do have is Yoli’s contemplation of Elf’s request to be taken to Switzerland to end her own life. No judgements are made although Yoli runs through every gamut of emotion from sorrow to guilt to anger to exasperation to despair. She loves her sister and does not want to lose her, but if her sister is so unhappy then how can she not help her? Is Elf’s wish not hugely selfish, does she not care for the feelings of those she will leave behind? Anyone who has been close to someone with a long-term illness will recognise many of the healthcare situations and Yoli’s many meltdowns with medical authority.
It is a sad, poignant book which made me laugh out loud.

If you like this, try:-
‘The Bear’ by Claire Cameron
‘Etta and Otto and Russell and James’ by Emma Hooper
‘A View of the Harbour’ by Elizabeth Taylor

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#BookReview ‘Shroud for a Nightingale’ by PD James #crime

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Shroud for a Nightingale is the fourth Adam Dalgliesh book, published in 1971, and the first I read. It was the beginning of a love affair with PD James and following her death in 2014, I decided to re-read them all. PD JamesThe Nightingale in question is not Florence but Nightingale House, a nursing school at John Carpendar Hospital, Heatheringfield. At a student demonstration of patient feeding by intra-gastric tube, the nurse who substitutes as the patient dies a ghastly death. It is assumed to be an accident. When a second student nurse is found dead in her bed, her whisky nightcap the assumed culprit, Adam Dalgliesh is called in from Scotland Yard.
Like all James detective books, this is a complex mixture of observation of human behaviour, intricate plotting, detailed description, and totally believable characters. This is how Alderman Kealey is introduced, he, “looked as perky as a terrier. He was a ginger-haired, foxy little man, bandy as a jockey and wearing a plaid suit, the awfulness of its pattern emphasized by the excellence of its cut. It gave him an anthropomorphic appearance, like an animal in a children’s comic; and Dalgliesh almost expected to find himself shaking a paw.”
The brooding Victorian pile which is Nightingale House, set amongst woods which are rumoured to be haunted, is an atmospheric setting for a murder story involving young emotional women. So when there are more attacks and a fire, it somehow seems inevitable given the setting.
Did I work out the identity of the murderer? I had an early suspicion which I then forgot as I became involved in the various possibilities which Dalgliesh explores. PD James’s books are not formula whodunits, this story incorporates medical procedure, World War Two, ballroom dancing, blackmail. The story twists and turns as we see events unfold through different points of view though whether the truth is being withheld we do not know until the end.

Read my reviews of the other Adam Dalgliesh mysteries:-
COVER HER FACE #1ADAMDALGLIESH
A MIND TO MURDER #2ADAMDALGLIESH
UNNATURAL CAUSES #3ADAMDALGLIESH
THE BLACK TOWER #5ADAMDALGLIESH
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 another PD James novel:-
INNOCENT BLOOD

If you like this, try:-
‘Curtain Call’ by Anthony Quinn
‘Business as Usual’ by EL Lindley #1GEORGIECONNELLY
‘Nightfall’ by Stephen Leather #1JACKNIGHTINGALE

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#BookReview ‘We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves’ by Karen Joy Fowler #contemporary

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If you can, read We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler without reading any reviews or comments beforehand. There is a mammoth twist, which is best avoided. I am one of the lucky few who didn’t read a spoiler before I started reading, I knew only that it was about sibling love. But even so, I did spot the surprise way before it happened, and consequently then read on waiting for the ‘twist’ promised on the cover. Which left me a little deflated. I don’t know why, I expected the twist to be near the end. Karen Joy FowlerThis is a very clever story, packed with philosophy, contemporary references such as Star Wars to Korean vocabulary. Rose is a student, looking back at her childhood and the disappearances, at different times, of her sister Fern and her brother Lowell. The story darts around the timeline and Rose tells different versions of her life story as she comes to terms with her life so far. Mostly this method of storytelling worked for me, but on a few occasions I admit to losing patience with Rose who I found an irritating unreliable narrator. I kept reading because the story is unusual, but my incredulity was stretched at times.
The best bit? The very last paragraph makes it worthwhile reading on, but I can’t say it’s a book I enjoyed.

If you like this, try:-
‘Frog Music’ by Emma Donoghue
‘Vinegar Girl’ by Anne Tyler
‘A Little Life’ by Hanya Yanagihara

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#BookReview WE ARE ALL COMPLETELY BESIDE OURSELVES by Karen Joy Fowler http://wp.me/p5gEM4-1tq via @SandraDanby