bookersatz

The Rook

2012-01-21T11:07:00.004Z

I just finished 'The Rook' and I began to worry about writing a review that would do the rating I plan to give this book some justice. I started making notes about my impressions before I was even a quarter through the book. It made such an impression on me that I went to find the author's website so that I could follow him on Twitter. I started feeding my thoughts into Goodreads as I got through different parts of the book, which is something I never do. I typically post Twitter updates but this seemed easier so that it would note the percentage I was at on my Kindle Fire when I made my note. I stopped reading yesterday and became concerned that I would not get to see more of this intriguing story after I finished the book. I jumped on the Internet and went to Daniel O’Malley’s website and saw that he has plans to do more stories in the Chequy world.

As I finished posting an update early yesterday on Goodreads I caught a glimpse of the overall ratings of the book and thought - impossible. We all read something and get vastly different impressions of what we read. Some things work for us and some things don’t. The beginning of this book did move so fast and have such a convoluted beginning that I had to re-read some parts. When I caught on to how things worked I knew I was one of the people for whom this book worked very much.

'The Rook' was one of those books that I knew I wanted to read and was watching for at least a month before its release date. I was drawn to it just from reading the synopsis and kept hoping for it to be released early. I bought and downloaded it first thing the morning it was released and made the mistake of taking a peek at it before starting work. It was a mistake because I was so totally enthralled that I wanted to send an email that I was leaving for the day and go find a good cup of coffee and a quiet, comfortable place to read for hours. I did tear myself from the book until that night and was really happy that I did not have to teach at the university that night.

This book has something for just about everyone. If you want a mystery, it is there. If you love action, the fight scenes with cool supernatural powers are there. If you like a bit of horror or gore, there is a bit of that too. It is not for romance readers, though there are a couple of irons in the fire that might prove interesting. One of the great things about this book that I wanted to mention separately was the author’s humor. I finally used the highlight feature of my Kindle Fire because there were several parts in this book that literally made me laugh out loud. A great example was when Myfanwy and her assistant Ingrid left a very important meeting and Myfanwy was still feeling things out from the memory loss. She asked Ingrid her impressions from the meeting and the scene went something like this. “Yes, I want to hear your thoughts on what we just saw”, Myfanwy said enthusiastically. “Did you think I brought you along for kicks? That was a classic date, with snacks and a show, and now I expect you to deliver the goods”. There are so many more humorous situations throughout the book.

Let’s take a look at the characters. Our heroine, Myfanwy, is pretty much the kind to whom most of us can relate. She is thrown into her world in the most terrorizing circumstances, with no memory and surrounded by dead bodies. We follow the person that Myfanwy becomes in her new life as she learns about her important position in a secret organization. She doesn’t just jump in and suddenly know how her powers work and kick butt in the name of justice. She has serious growing pains as she is thrown into situation after situation where she has to learn not only who she is becoming, but she also has to learn who Myfanwy was before things unfolded. Ingrid is a bit of a wild card because she is the person closest to Myfanwy as her executive assistant. There is an intricate system in place in the Chequy that utilizes some of the nomenclature of the game of chess. One of the characters that came in towards the end that I really liked was L’il Pawn Alan (No this is not his name or title. He is Pawn Alan but his stature and personality earned him this nickname in Myfanwy’s head) who, like Myfanwy, turns out to be more than meets the eye.

I can say that this book was a wonderful experience and I definitely look forward to more work from Daniel O’Malley!

Reviewed by Lady Techie

Death Bed

2011-12-26T12:45:00.003Z

Leigh Russell's new book, 'Death Bed', is now available for download on Kindle and I'm very pleased to have Leigh as my Boxing Day guest over on Fiction Is Stranger Than Fact! Leigh has written about beating writer's block for all those writers out there who need to get back into it after the Christmas lull!

You can find my reviews of Leigh's previous books on Bookersatz. They are Cut Short, Road Closed and Dead End.

I haven't read Death Bed yet, but I can't wait and if it's anything like the others we're all in for a huge treat!

The Thread

2011-12-15T12:22:00.003Z

By Victoria Hislop

Dripping with delicious description, this novel takes us on a long journey in space and time. We follow Katerina as she is forced to flee from her home in Asia Minor and finds herself in Greece. Her path soon crosses that of the young Dimitri and so the seeds of a story that will run across generations are sown.

I loved the way that ‘The Thread’ worked on so many levels. As well as being a vivid picture of a tumultuous period of history in a beautifully described and very real geographical setting, it is also a tale of a young girl growing up and falling in love. In fact I was so caught up in the story of Katerina that I was genuinely taken by surprise by some of the historical events that in retrospect I knew were coming.

One of the links between Katerina and Dimitri is formed through the clothing trade. Dimitri’s father is a rich and powerful merchant who deals in the most beautiful and expensive cloths to be had in Thessaloniki. Katerina is a skilled seamstress and finds herself working for one of the top garment making workshops.

The descriptions of the sumptuous cloths, Katerina’s talent for embroidery and the beautiful clothes she is engaged to work on make the story very visual and fill it with delightful images. But there is of course a darker side with the book covering, as it does, the years of the war and the persecution of the Jewish population

I found the plot gripping and Victoria Hislop very cleverly makes it hard for the reader to see how there can ever be resolution to some of the strands. She also throws in an unexpected link between Katerina and Dimitri at the end which goes back to an event at the beginning which I’d almost forgotten about.

This is a beautiful read and the picture of Greece it presents is particularly poignant and interesting in the light of current circumstances there. That aspect of it will really make you think!

Reviewed by Helen M Hunt

Kiss Of Frost

2011-12-04T19:15:00.004Z

By Jennifer Estep

Mythos Academy Series - Book 2

I received this book as an e-ARC a few months ago and read it immediately. I cannot wait to buy my paperback version for the cover to put in my library. I began re-reading it this week to refresh my memory of the details since I have read quite a few books since then, but, strangely enough for the first time I have vivid recall of the events and people. I am totally enamored of this series. It is exciting, fun, and well-written.

Of course it is the continuation of Jennifer Estep's Mythos Academy series in the mountains of North Carolina, just a bit away from where all the action takes place in the Elemental Assassin series. Gwen is still hard at work training and working on some relationship issues and has a good candidate for a possible love interest. There was actually a couple of curve balls thrown in there because the end of Touch of Frost had me thinking of a possible candidate and shockingly I was so very wrong. Another great thing about this series is the unexpected friendship between Gwen and one of the "mean girls", Daphne. I am actually enjoying their verbal sparring and watching Daphne grow as a person. There are more surprises on the mean girls’ front this time around too!

I won't give a synopsis because the book blurb does that well enough. But, I can say that reading these books always leaves me wanting more right away. I am truly excited to see at least two more books already in the works. This author is definitely one that I am glad gets to write full-time. I think I need to back track and read the Karma series too. Back to Kiss of Frost, that does not disappoint on the good fight scenes and intrigue either. This installment also has a big mystery in it along with Gwen learning more about her friends, family and the staff at the school and of course Vic the coolest sword ever is my favorite. I'm a huge academy school urban fantasy fan so this setting also adds to one of the reasons I love this book.

The majority of the scenes take place in another environment while the students are on a school trip, but the vivid descriptions of the mountain scenery helps paint a great picture in my mind. I am not a fan of sports in the snow because I hate the snow, but, I do enjoy watching those who like to ski and snowboard flying down the hills. I know this is ironic since I live in the Midwest. Snow and watching others ski and snowboard is quite breathtaking.

Now, on to the wait for Dark Frost, though I did donate to breast cancer research by purchasing Entangled which contains Halloween Frost!

Reviewed by Lady Techie

http://ladytechiesbookmusings.blogspot.com/

Build A Man

2011-11-23T21:58:00.006Z

By Talli Roland - Buy here - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Build-A-Man-ebook/dp/B00642BCX2/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1322085805&sr=1-3

I settled down to read Talli Roland’s latest novel with a real sense of anticipation, having really enjoyed her last book ‘Watching Willow Watts’.

As I got to know the main character, Serenity Holland, I found myself chuckling at her situation. Stuck as the receptionist at a cosmetic surgery clinic, Serenity has to put up with a procession of self-absorbed clients with bodily parts that she doesn’t even want to look at, let alone touch!

Home life isn’t much better. Serenity’s boyfriend Peter, is pleasant enough but she’s just fallen into a relationship with him and as time goes on she isn’t sure that’s enough.

Everything changes when she meets new client Jeremy, who’s got a whole host of reasons to turn up at the clinic. When Jeremy gives Serenity an idea which she thinks might help her in her bid to break into tabloid journalism, her desires and his are about to collide in the most spectacular fashion.

I won’t give too much of the plot away, but suffice to say this plot leads Serenity into a very dark place and I went from wanting to giggle, to wanting to cry.

Talli’s writing is fresh, lively and different. Her words carry you along and her characters make you care what happens to them.

I can’t finish this review without a special mention for my favourite character – Smitty the cat. Serenity isn’t very keen on Smitty, with his regimen of organic food and feline prozac, particularly when she realises that Peter cares more about the cat than he does about her. But I have to confess to a soft spot!

If you want a book that will make you laugh and make you cry, then this one comes highly recommended.

Reviewed by Helen M Hunt

Women Aloud

2011-10-25T20:58:00.004+01:00

By various authors – for short story week

A charity anthology audiobook for National Short Story Week 2011 NOW AVAILABLE ON CD!

'Women Aloud' is an audio anthology of short stories written by eleven of the UK's best loved women's fiction writers.

There's something for everyone in this unique audiobook - love, laughter, thrills and chills. It will make a great gift for a friend, mum, sister, grandmother, aunt, girlfriend, wife, partner or...yourself!

Listen to stories by Trisha Ashley, Judy Astley, Elizabeth Chadwick, Rowan Coleman, Katie Fforde, Milly Johnson, Catherine King, Sophie King, Carole Matthews, Sue Moorcroft and Allie Spencer.

I’m really excited to be able to review a short story collection for Bookersatz. This one is particularly unusual since it is an audiobook, and I think it’s the first time I’ve listened to a selection of short stories rather than reading them.

There is a great balance of stories in this anthology, plenty of emotion, but plenty of humour as well. ‘A Woman Of Good Taste’ by Milly Johnson and ‘At Your Convenience’ by Sophie King were both highly amusing – the humour delivered perfectly by the chosen narrators.

The collection is also full of compassion, and I found many of the stories very moving. Sue Moorcroft’s ‘Crossing To The Other Line’ is thoughtful and touching, and Rowan Coleman’s ‘In Real Life’ is full of yearning and indecision.

From the life-affirming ‘Fox Sleeping’ by Judy Astley to the romance of ‘The One’ by Katie Fforde there is something for everyone in this collection. And if you like your stories a bit spooky and sinister, then ‘The Garden’ by Catherine King fits that bill very nicely.

Everything about this double CD, from the selection of the stories to the performances of the narrators, is fantastic. I’m now sold on the idea of audiobooks – listen while you drive, while you potter in the kitchen or just sit with your feet up! The short story form works really well in this format and I recommend this collection as a delightful listening experience.

Reviewed by Helen M Hunt

You can find out more about National Short Story Week here, and you can read an interview with Rowan Coleman about the project on my main blog Fiction Is Stranger Than Fact.

Proceeds from the CD go to the Helena Kennedy Foundation

Home For Christmas

2011-10-16T19:34:00.004+01:00

By Cally Taylor

Beth Prince has always loved fairytales and now, aged twenty-four, she feels like she's finally on the verge of her own happily ever after. She lives by the seaside, works in the Picturebox - a charming but rundown independent cinema - and has a boyfriend who's so debonair and charming she can't believe her luck!

But Beth has a problem – in fact she has a couple of problems. None of her boyfriends has ever said they love her and it doesn't look like Aiden's going to say it either. So she takes things into her own hands, only to discover that Aiden has something very different in mind.

Things aren’t going that well at work either. Beth loves the Picturebox and has some fabulous ideas for increasing trade. But her elderly boss has never taken her up on any of them and now she wants to sell out to a chain.

Beth is a really empathetic character who specialises in getting herself into embarrassing situations, and things don’t get off to a great start when she shows herself up in front of Matt Jones, the regional director of the multiplex cinema group. The reader will really feel for her as it turns out that there’s more than one reason why she might want to impress him.

As well as a disintegrating love life and a fight to save the Picturebox, Beth also has a pushy mother and a mishap-prone best friend to contend with. The plot is well thought out and takes Beth into some situations that it’s very hard to see how she’ll get out of.

This is a delightful romantic excursion with a bit of ambition and heartbreak thrown in. There are some laugh-out-loud moments, some cringe quietly moments and some try not to sniffle moments as well. In fact, a perfect mix for a romantic comedy.

Highly recommended as a Christmas present for your own loved one, or for yourself! I absolutely loved it, and once I’d started it I couldn’t put it down.

Reviewed by Helen M Hunt

'Home For Christmas' is published by Orion on 10 November but it can be pre-ordered now.

You can find out more about Cally Taylor on her website here.

The Hanging Shed

2011-10-08T18:37:00.003+01:00

by Gordon Ferris

What is it that makes us pick up a book? A good review we’ve seen perhaps? A beautiful cover that promises so much? A blurb that pulls us straight in? Perhaps it’s a combination of those things.

I read a lot but that doesn’t mean I’m not picky. I saw great reviews for The Hanging Shed but it didn’t appeal to me. The setting, post WWII Glasgow, didn’t grab me and I thought the story of a man summoned to his home town to get his friend off a murder charge would be somewhat clichéd and predictable. I continued to see rave reviews, however, and when I saw that the Kindle release was topping the rankings, outselling Steig Larson, I finally had to see what all the fuss was about. I’m so glad I bought this book.

The Hanging Shed opens with Douglas Brodie, ex-policeman, ex-soldier and now a reporter, reluctantly travelling home to Glasgow to visit his old childhood friend, a man who has been disfigured during the war and who waits to be sentenced to death for the murder and rape of his girlfriend’s son.

This book is anything but predictable. The compelling narrative, with its brooding undercurrents, keeps you turning the pages. The sense of place is so strong that it’s almost possible to smell the Glasgow pubs and the fish suppers.

There were several times when I thought I’d guessed what had happened or was about to happen, but then I’d turn the page and discover I was way off the mark. The story kept me intrigued right up to the very last page. It had me thinking about the characters for a long time after that.

As I said, I’m picky about the books I read. I’m so glad I didn’t miss this gem from Gordon Ferris.

Reviewed by Shirley Wells

You can find out more about Shirley on her blog here and her website here, and you can read my review of her book fabulous current book 'Dead Silent' here.

You can buy 'Dead Silent' here.

Spider's Revenge

2011-10-01T10:19:00.006+01:00

by Jennifer Estep

I cannot rave enough about this series. I don't have a favorite anything, not favorite colors, numbers, authors, or even musicians. But, I can definitely step out and say that the 'Elemental Assassin' series is one of the best I have read and a favorite of mine. I thoroughly enjoy every book from cover-to-cover, even when something I may not particularly want to happen occurs. By the way, the covers are very well done.

'Spider's Revenge' seems like the culmination of the story, and it definitely is a crescendo that is very poetic and seriously climactic. I feel like I'm overdosing with the metaphors here, but, you get my drift. This is the story where the two most dangerous of the elementals come to blows and this installment in the Gin Blanco story does not disappoint. The action is excellent. Jennifer Estep knows how to write a fight scene. I love the phenomenal display of elemental powers that are displayed in all of the books. Of course, with the strongest known fire elemental going head-to-head with the strongest unknown stone/ice elemental in Ashland, NC, there are bound to be serious cataclysmic effects.

Owen, Finn, Bria, Sophia, and Jo-Jo are marvelous support characters. Owen is a stunning man. He makes a reader so happy that Donovan Caine is out of the picture. Everyone plays their part and though I wished there was time for an extra butt whooping in this book, 'Spider’s Revenge' does a very nice job of answering some questions and making the reader want more. I really cannot wait to read 'By A Thread' early next year.

Reviewed by Lady Techie

http://ladytechiesbookmusings.blogspot.com/

The Opposite Of Amber

2011-09-24T11:59:00.004+01:00

By Gillian Philip

“It’s a good idea, if you don’t want to leave traces, to put a girl in water. It’s the opposite of amber.”

‘The Opposite Of Amber’ is a moving story of sisterly love. Ruby and Jinn are about as different as it’s possible for sisters to be; Jinn being confident and vivacious and Ruby quiet and unable to articulate her feelings.

I loved the way in which a sense of peril and menace builds up right from the start; not just about the dead girls who are turning up in bodies of water locally, but also about Jinn’s relationship with no-good Nathan Baird. Ruby knows straight away that isn’t going to end well.

The story is told through the voice of Ruby, which for very good reasons is a voice that hesitates to speak up. In the past Ruby has said things that have led to serious trouble, so now she’s a bit more careful. This works really well as a narrative technique as it tells us more about Ruby than mere chatter would.

There are many twists and turns in the plot which leads eventually to a resolution which is wholly unexpected. It also takes us on a journey for Ruby which has a very satisfying conclusion.

Although ‘The Opposite Of Amber’ is aimed at young adults, it is sophisticated enough to appeal to an adult audience and I found it a perfect crossover read. It is also beautifully written, full of elegant description and perfectly realised imagery.

Very highly recommended indeed.

Reviewed by Helen M Hunt

You can find an interview with Gillian Phillip on my writing blog Fiction Is Stranger Than Fact today.

Watching Willow Watts

2011-09-14T10:50:00.004+01:00

By Talli Roland

This novel has everything you’d expect from a great romantic comedy. Strong characters, a romping plot and plenty of will they/won’t they suspense. But it’s also about something much deeper.

As we follow Willow Watts on her journey to turn her life and her family’s fortunes around with a stratospheric career as a Marilyn Monroe lookalike, we’re posed with some very real and deep questions about the nature of identity.

Who are we? Who do we want to be and how much of that depends on what we look like externally rather than what we actually are?

Willow is supported by strong characters from her best friend Paula, to her Dad who gets a chance at transformation himself, and even Krusty the family pet gets a look in. Look out also for Betts who delivers one of the most heart-warming storylines.

I really enjoyed this book with its great characters, interesting premise and satisfying plot, but more than that, it made me think.

This book is highly recommended as a fun romantic comedy read, but with a difference!

Reviewed by Helen M Hunt

If you’d like to buy a copy of 'Watching Willow Watts' (Kindle Editions) , follow these links:

Amazon UK

Amazon.com

Also see more of Talli's books here and read her blog here.

Dead Silent

2011-08-27T11:08:00.004+01:00

by Shirley Wells

'Dead Silent' is a gripping mystery that plays with your expectations, keeps you guessing and delivers an unforeseen and satisfying ending.

One of the great draws of the book is the private investigator Dylan Scott himself. This is his second outing for Shirley Wells and I hope there are due to be many more.

Dylan is flawed and has had problems in his past, but the reader can't help liking him as we gain glimpses into his personal life as well as following his progress in investigating the crime.

The problem for Dylan in this novel is to solve a cold case: from a trail that seemingly went cold a long time ago, Dylan sets out to find a missing young woman.

I really enjoyed following his progress as he meets all the disparate characters in Samantha Hunt's life and tries to work out who's telling the truth and who's lying. And more importantly, who's holding on to the biggest secret.

This is my kind of book. Fast paced, full of mystery and suspense and with a genuinely interesting premise and a solution which brings more than a frisson of shock.

I loved reading 'Dead Silent' and highly recommend it to others. I'm now looking forward very much to the next Dylan Scott mystery.

Reviewed by Helen M Hunt

You can find an interview with Shirley Wells on my main blog Fiction Is Stranger Than Fact.

DEAD SILENT, is available from Carina Press, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and all good e-book retailers.

Facing Codependence

2011-08-21T10:25:00.005+01:00

By Pia Mellody

Has anyone yet written a self-help book about how to wean yourself off self-help books? If they have, I need to buy that book, because I’m kind of addicted to books with titles like, ‘Heal Your Inner Clown’ and ‘Constellation Therapy for the Shining Star Within’. I’m building up quite a collection of popular psychology books. I’m even toying with the idea of writing one myself. All right, so I don’t have any free time or formal psychology qualifications, but in my defence I would point out that I do a) write psychological thrillers, b) know lots of weird, screwed-up people, and c) have a title ready and waiting. My self-help book will be called, ‘How to Prioritize One’s Mental Health Without Looking Like An Idiot In Public’. Hm. Maybe the title needs a little work. It’s not exactly snappy. Still, it’ll do until I come up with something better.

I had the idea for my popular psychology book recently while I was reading a brilliant example of the genre: ‘Facing Codependence’ by Pia Mellody. (Irrelevantly, I really hope she has at least one child called Unchained. No, of course she doesn’t – this woman is in the business of promoting mental health, and her surname isn’t Beckham.) I didn’t know what codependence was until I read Mellody’s book, which was as full of fascinating connections, patterns and revelations as any great thriller. And now I know: codependence, indirectly, is the reason why almost every murderer in every crime novel I have ever read kills his or her victim or victims. Which makes ‘Facing Codependence’ a must-read for crime writers everywhere – and I’m sure I don’t need to point out that there’s a convenient opportunity for deception here. Your real reason for reading it can be a desperate desire to get to grips with your own curdling insanity, but if anyone asks, you can pass yourself off as a sane professional doing research – perfect!

‘Facing Codependence’ is, quite simply, the best popular psychology book I have ever read. There are five core symptoms of this (according to Mellody) potentially lethal disease: 1) difficulty experiencing appropriate levels of self-esteem, 2) difficulty setting functional boundaries, 3) difficulty owning and expressing your own reality, 4) difficulty taking care of your own wants and needs, and 5) difficulty experiencing and expressing your reality moderately.

So - lots of difficulty, basically. Lashings of difficulty. But lots of answers and solutions too. Pia Mellody knows how to sort out not only my problems but my fictional characters’ problems for several thrillers to come, which is pretty impressive. I won’t attempt to condense her wisdom or paraphrase it, because you really need to read the whole book – four times, ideally – but I will just mention the one problem I had with the ‘How to Recover from Codependence’ section of her book. It’s the same problem I have with most popular psychology books, when their authors start to describe what action we must take to free ourselves of whatever our psychological problem happens to be. The problem is this: not everyone reading the book is American. My title - ‘How to Prioritize One’s Mental Health Without Looking Like An Idiot In Public’ – will be aimed very much at the UK market. The embarrassed market, in other words.

Let’s take an example from Mellody’s book: boundary violation. This is something we all experience to a certain extent, I would guess. People trample all over our external and internal boundaries – they pat our pregnant bellies without permission; they tell us how we ought to feel, what to think in order to make ourselves acceptable to them. If we let them do this, that means we have damaged boundaries and are unable adequately to protect ourselves; we have at least one of the five core symptoms of codependence. Mellody gives an example of two women who meet by chance. One tries to kiss the other hello, and the other, not wanting to be kissed, takes a step back and extends her hand instead by way of greeting. Now, imagine you’re that woman, not wanting to be kissed by this acquaintance for whatever reason (obviously, you don’t work in publishing or any other arts or media profession that involves kissing everyone you meet on at least fourteen cheeks, even if you loathe them). You’ve taken a step back, but she ignores your attempt to set a clear external boundary; she invades your space and her lips are coming your way, fully intending to kiss you. According to Pia Mellody, what you should do at this point is demonstrate that you are willing to defend your boundary by saying, ‘Stop. I don’t want to be touched.’ In theory, of course, this is quite right. I have often wanted to say that very thing, but I haven’t, because I’m English. On every occasion that I have ever not wanted to be touched by someone determined to touch me, I more wanted not to sound like a freak who takes herself too seriously, and not to cause any trouble or offend anybody. Hence the title of my own self-help book, the one I will almost definitely never write. I suppose I could try to be less embarrassed about boundary-setting, but even if, by some miracle, I could persuade myself to say things like, ‘No, I’m sorry, you can’t try a bit of my meal – I want all of it’, or ‘No, I won’t give you a cover quote for your new book, because I hated it’, that wouldn’t be the end of the embarrassment, not by a long way. Next on Mellody’s recovery list, after asserting one’s boundaries, is finding a ‘codependence sponsor’. Er…a what? They don’t have those in the One Stop on Hills Road, or even in the big John Lewis in town.

None of this is intended as a criticism of the book. I have learned a huge amount from reading it, and feel mentally healthier for having imagined my American alter-ego totally sorted, with firm but flexible boundaries and a top-notch codependence sponsor, not to mention a thoroughly disentangled want-need balance. I know the difference between healthy feelings experienced moderately and an overwhelming, out-of-control carried shame core, which I didn’t a few weeks ago, and I know that if the traditional English martyrdom-and-resentment path ever loses its passive-aggressive appeal, there are alternatives. Pia Mellody has done the world a huge service by writing such a wise and informative book.

Reviewed by Sophie Hannah

Sophie's latest book 'Lasting Damage' is out in paperback now! You can read my review of it here, and you can find a review of one of her previous books, 'Hurting Distance' here.

You can find out more about Sophie and her work on her website.

Lasting Damage

2011-08-19T10:05:00.003+01:00

By Sophie Hannah

While I was reading this book I was desperate to get to the end to find out what happened, but at the same time I didn’t want it to finish because I was enjoying it so much.

I loved the quirkiness of the story, which starts with the main character Connie looking at a property website in the middle of the night. What she sees on the website sets her on a very dangerous course of discovery.

Connie is a great study of a person falling to pieces. She’s surrounded by people who might be friends or enemies; she doesn’t know which, and nor does the reader.

One of the most impressive things about this novel is the way that absolutely every line of text counts. Every single thing that each of the characters says and does is consistent and reveals something about that person; even if the reader doesn’t discover what that is until much later.

Psychology is very important in this novel and the psychological motivations of both Connie and her husband are examined by the police investigators Sam, Simon and Charlie as they try to get to the bottom of what is going on. There is also a lot of emphasis on playing games with people’s minds and what the consequences of this can be. I found this aspect of the novel absolutely fascinating.

The plot is complex and multi-faceted and the way all the strands are brought together at the end is skilful. ‘Lasting Damage’ is a gripping, satisfying and very clever read. When I got to the end I was seriously tempted to go back to the beginning and start again.

A brilliant book in every way. I loved it.

Reviewed by Helen M Hunt

‘Lasting Damage’ is available in paperback now.

Please pop back to Bookersatz on Sunday when Sophie Hannah will be my guest reviewer, and please see my main blog Fiction Is Stranger Than Fact for an interview with American crime writer Lisa Jackson.

Lessons In Laughing Out Loud

2011-08-13T09:06:00.002+01:00

By Rowan Coleman

I found this book a very moving and emotional read. In Willow Briars, Rowan Coleman has created a very sympathetic main character. In ‘Lessons In Laughing Out Loud’ we meet Willow and her twin sister Holly, and slowly find out what it is that has caused the sisters to be so different and to have lives that have taken them down very different paths.

Willow is a great character, but I also loved Chloe the teenager from Willow’s past who turns up on her doorstep needing help and India, the starlet with a problem who also has to rely on Willow to bail her out. The unlikely friendship that develops between Chloe and India is one of the most touching things in the book.

As we follow Willow’s story we find out a lot about her past loves and her present emotional dilemmas, including an ex-husband and a best friend who she’d like to be a bit more, and we also eventually find out the secret from her past that has been holding her back from getting what she wants and preventing her from laughing out loud.

It makes for a very satisfying plot. Throw in a borderline psychotic boss, a fur coat and some magic shoes and you have a very beguiling mix indeed.

Finally, I have to say that the ending wasn’t the one I was rooting for, but it was the right one!

Reviewed by Helen M Hunt

Flesh And Grass

2011-08-10T09:17:00.003+01:00

By Libby Cone

This is a beautiful little gem of a book; an intriguing nugget of a story, skilfully polished into a wonderful jewel. As I read I felt as though I’d been transported into a totally different world – partly because the historical setting was so unusual and partly because of the narrative technique.

Because the narrator, Cornelis, is blind the narrative relies heavily on the descriptive power of the sense of smell. As we get to know Cornelius better throughout the course of the book we get to know what certain scents mean to him and how they can trigger emotions in him more intensely than in other people.

The story is set during the time that the Dutch were setting up colonies in the New World and follows the unrest between Holland and England on the Delaware coast. This is a period of history that I don’t know much about, and haven’t read much about – so for me that added a lot to the interest of the story.

Like Libby Cone’s previous book ‘War On The Margins’ there is a firm base of historical fact to the fiction. She says in the epilogue, “I humbly present this work, ‘Flesh And Grass’, as a work of fiction loosely based on the story of the Plockhoy settlement.”

As such, I found it an informative, different and enjoyable read.

Reviewed by Helen M Hunt

You can find out more about ‘Flesh And Grass’ here. And you can read my review of ‘War On The Margins’ here.

Light Years

2011-08-06T10:35:00.004+01:00

by James Salter

What makes you return to a particular book again and again? If I had to choose one novel for my desert island, ‘Light Years’ by James Salter would be it. It’s a luminous portrait of a marriage, (and as we know, nobody really knows what goes on inside other people’s marriages). Here Salter shows us how something seemingly perfect falls apart and unravels over the years.

I first read it hungrily, in one sitting. The prose – or perhaps prose-poetry is a better description is some of the finest I’ve ever read. When the novel was reissued recently as a Penguin Modern Classic, the introductory essay by Richard Ford began: “It is an article of faith among readers of fiction that James Salter writes American sentences better than anybody writing today.” I couldn’t agree more.

Salter himself said: “a page should seem effortless … as if the page wrote itself”. And this is how the book feels – full of light, lean and natural. Each time I go back to it, some new jewel of a phrase or sentence sparkles out. Take this section:
"Their life is mysterious, it is like a forest; from far off it seems a unity, it can be comprehended, described, but closer it begins to separate, to break into light and shadow, the density blinds one. Within there is no form, only prodigious detail that reaches everywhere: exotic sounds, spills of sunlight, foliage, fallen trees, small beasts that flee at the sound of a twig-snap, insects, silence, flowers.

And all of this, dependent, closely woven, all of it is deceiving. There are really two kinds of life. There is, as Viri says, the one people believe you are living, and there is the other. It is this other which causes the trouble, this other we long to see."

Salter’s writing is so good, that as a writer it either makes you want to put the lid on your pen – or it makes you want to raise your game. I love his work – he can be tough (this is the man who wrote: "Women fall in love when they get to know you. Men are the opposite. When they finally know you they're ready to leave"), and he can be tender. Just as whether an artist can ‘do’ hands, I’ve always thought whether a writer can write about sex is a good test of their skill. And no one can do it like James Salter.

Reviewed by Kate Lord Brown

Kate Lord Brown’s debut, ‘The Beauty Chorus’ is available here.

You can read more about Kate on her website here, and you can read my review of the fabulous 'The Beauty Chorus' here.

Touch Of Frost

2011-08-03T20:35:00.004+01:00

by Jennifer Estep

Anyone who knows me knows that I am an avid Jennifer Estep fan. I am not familiar with her first series: but I am totally enamored of the Elemental Assassin series. When she first announced in her newsletter that she sold a YA series and gave some hints on what it would be about I was extremely excited to get my hands on the first book, 'Touch of Frost'.

Ever since I was a teenager I have been very interested in mythology, especially Greek and Chinese mythology. I tried reading a mythology book that strictly talked about the different gods and goddesses, but, it was a bit boring for a younger teenager. I have been tearing through the Internet, Amazon, BN and Goodreads looking for Urban Fantasy and YA Urban Fantasy that covered Greek mythology. It was like a coup to have one of the most talented authors around write a series that covered this topic. I received an ARC of 'Touch of Frost', read it immediately, and loved it! I just re-read it so that I could post a review close to the release date. I plan to purchase it to keep it in my library so I can read it again just before the release of 'Kiss of Frost'.

I finished the 2nd reading of 'Touch of Frost' last night which only confirmed how much I love this new series. Gwen Frost is this quirky teenager who has a gift of receiving images about the history of an item or a person if she has contact with either on her bare skin. This works in her favor sometimes and when she least expects it the gift turns her world upside down. Gwen finds herself in an academy styled school to learn how to control her gift. This school is full of students that have their own special gifts and histories. One of the great things is that in the first book we get a great glimpse into the Greek mythology world and how this school is related.

Gwen becomes embroiled in a huge mystery that has her learning more about her own history, her family's history, and the real purpose of the new school she is attending. It takes a while, but Gwen starts making a new life that includes her new school and some of the people that she has managed to let into her life. Her relationship with her grandmother grows as secrets are revealed. There are Amazons, Valkyries, Spartans and a host of other descendants of serious kick butt heroes from throughout history and mythology.

One of the fun things was a nice tie-in to the Elemental Assassins world and of course the great food that is depicted has crossed over and morphed into things that Gwen and her grandmother love to eat. Another great thing in this book was Gwen’s new friendship with Daphne. She turned out to be more than we could ever have guessed judging by the first run-in that she and Gwen have at the beginning of the book. Daphne turns out to be a bright light in this series. The jury is still out on Logan, but, he has potential. A sneak peak at the first chapter of the next book in the series (which I usually stay far away from when they are posted because they just drive me nuts with the wait for the entire book) looks like the possibility Gwen might have some choices at Mythos Academy.

I look forward to the next in the series!

Reviewed by Lady Techie

Available in paperback at the end of August, and in Kindle edition now.

A Month In The Country

2011-07-23T08:36:00.004+01:00

by J L Carr

Somehow or other I managed to reach the age of 47 without ever reading J.L. Carr’s brilliant novella, ‘A Month in the Country’, or seeing the film-of -the-book. Half of that deficiency, at least, has now been rectified.

Being an expansive sort of writer myself (for which, read rambling and verbose), I am always amazed by what other authors can manage to convey in a small space – and Carr crams a whole world of feeling and ideas into just 85 short pages. I read the book in a few hours and re-surfaced from the experience disorientated, to find nothing around me looking quite the same as it had.

The essential story is simple enough. It is 1920 and Tom Birkin, a twenty-something signaller who survived the trenches physically but still bears the psychological scars, arrives in the Yorkshire village of Oxgodby, where he has been commissioned to uncover a medieval wall painting in the church. Birkin beds down for the summer on an army camp-bed in the church tower while, in a field adjoining the churchyard, a fellow war veteran and archaeologist by the name of Moon is also camping out, having been hired to locate the grave of a villager’s fourteenth century crusader forebear, who was excommunicated and buried on unconsecrated ground; she wants him found and brought back within the pale.

The book is hard to encapsulate because it is so many things at the same time. In part, it is a medieval mystery, as we seek the reason for the excommunication of Moon’s old crusader and what his connection might be with Birkin’s re-emerging mural in the church. It is also a love story, tracing the quiet course of Birkin’s undeclared passion for the vicar’s wife. And it is a lyrical, nostalgic portrait of the life of an English village one glorious summer, before the combustion engine drove out plodding hooves, before autumn’s chilly bite and the disappointments of the years, ‘when life is brimming with promise and the future stretches confidently ahead like that road to the hills’.

It is also a book about healing. The wall painting which Birkin brings painstakingly to life is a Judgment – a ‘Doom’. And if the tortured representations of the damned on their descent to hell are an echo of the horrors of Flanders, the English countryside surely represents the Elysian fields, full of the promise of redemption. We watch as Birkin is gradually unlocked from his shell-shocked inner prison, by the sun on his skin, and through tentative steps towards friendship, not only with the lovely Mrs Revd Keach, but with the archaeologist Moon and a small cast of other village characters, all depicted with affection and wit in Carr’s delicate brushwork, as fine as the medieval masterpiece on the chancel arch.

And now for the film. I gather it features a young Colin Firth. (((Do not disturb)))

Reviewed by Rosy Thornton

Rosy Thornton is the author of 'The Tapestry Of Love', 'Crossed Wires', 'More Than Love Letters' and 'Hearts And Minds'.

You can find out more about her at her website here and you can buy her books here.

I'm a big fan of Rosy's books and you can find my reviews of 'The Tapestry Of Love' here and 'Crossed Wires' here.

Crow Lake

2011-07-16T09:13:00.004+01:00

by Mary Lawson

What is it about Canada that produces such sensitive, far-reaching fiction? Perhaps it’s the landscape, at once vast and enclosed within its highlands and valleys, studded as it is with fertile lakes and rivers. There’s something of isolation in this writing, something which produces these huge stories of ordinary people contained within small places. Already a great fan of female Canadian writers such as Alice Munro, Joan Barfoot and Margaret Atwood, I was immediately interested when my agent suggested I’d enjoy reading 'Crow Lake' by Mary Lawson.

In 'Crow Lake', Kate Morrison is the first person narrator and youngest child of a young family growing up against the beautiful but harsh landscape of rural Northern Ontario. From the outset we are drawn in, as the first chapter closes dramatically, with a significant, heart-wrenching tragedy, which will ultimately propel the Morrison children into unknown and troubling new directions.

Kate’s two older brothers are entirely believable characters, attempting to step up and become the men of the household, betrayed only by their adolescent flaws and naive views of the world. The daily sacrifices are many, and the sister’s retrospective view of their shared history shows us the pain of family members who have, with no obvious awareness of it, outgrown each other with the passing of time. From Kate’s vantage point Lawson unveils the real story with subtlety and closely controlled emotional insight, to reveal a complex, unpredictable and deeply affecting story of a family falling apart at the seams.

From the beautiful descriptions of harsh, magnificent rural Ontario to the evocative storytelling across the generations, Mary Lawson’s 'Crow Lake' is a story which lingers – compelling, lyrical and wise. I can’t believe it took me this long to discover Mary Lawson, but now that I have I’ll be looking out for her future work. And so, without further ado, I’m off to order her second novel 'The Other Side of the Bridge' – yet another book to add to my ever-increasing Summer reading pile!

Reviewed by Isabel Ashdown

Isabel Ashdown is the author of ‘Glasshopper’ and ‘Hurry Up And Wait'. Bookersatz reviews can be found here and here.

She is published by Myriad Editions.

You can see Isabel’s website (complete with Eighties Hall Of Fame/Shame) here.

An Interview With Tana French

2011-07-11T11:59:00.002+01:00

There is an interview with the author of 'Faithful Place' Tana French on my main blog, Fiction Is Stranger Than Fact, today.

You can read my review of 'Faithful Place' here.

Private Life

2011-07-09T08:13:00.004+01:00

by Jane Smiley

I have been a huge fan of Jane Smiley since "A Thousand Acres," her novel based on King Lear published in 1991. That novel stayed in my mind as one of my favourites for a long time, although I didn't read much of her other work, until I stumbled upon "Moo", in the late 90's. Then I lost track of her until she came out with the marvelously useful, honest, funny and erudite "Thirteen Ways of Looking at the Novel", which grew out of her sudden inability to write novels after years and years of work. In that book she uses her block to read 100 of the best novels ever written, review them and try to discover why, for her, some of them work and some don't. Jane Smiley is a stubborn and creative problem-solver after my own heart, so when I read that she had published a new novel, I bought it and placed it on the very top of my tbr pile.

"Private Life" is wonderful. As a story, it is quiet, truthful, straight-forward, moving. As a piece of fiction, it is inspirational. A small, ordinary life is set against the epic sweeps of early 20th Century history. But in Smiley's hands, the small becomes crucial and the epic secondary. On the cover, under the title, the publishers (I assume) have written "Marriage can sometimes be the loneliest place". Yes, "Private Life" is about a woman lost in a passionless marriage to a self-absorbed, misguided though well-meaning man. But it is about much more than just that. It is about choosing to adapt -- or not -- when the world goes crazy. It is about the role of friendship. It is about choosing to know yourself or not. Choosing to be true to yourself, or not. Choosing and the consequences of those choices.

From the viewpoint of technique, it is a masterclass. How to have your character speak a dialogue about one thing while thinking something completely different at the same time....how to find the appropriate narrative voice.....using third person narrative and still getting into all the characters' heads....how to portray the passage of time without leaving your reader to wonder where it all went. Plus, there's more than a smattering of cosmology and the evolution of scientific thought.

"Private Life" is an extraordinarily generous book. Smiley is an extraordinarily generous writer. If you don't know her work, it's high time you did. Buy this book.

Reviewed by Sue Guiney

Sue is the author of 'A Clash Of Innocents', 'Tangled Roots', 'Her Life Collected' and 'Dreams of May'.

She is published by Ward Wood, and you can find out more about her here and on her website.

You can read Sue's blog here.

My review of 'A Clash Of Innocents', which is one of the best books I've read in recent years, is here. And you can read a review of 'Tangled Roots' here.

Grave Dance

2011-07-06T09:48:00.005+01:00

by Kalayna Price

(Part of the Alex Craft series)

'Grave Dance' was a good read. When I first started it I did not remember anything from 'Grave Witch' (its predecessor). I re-read my review which did not have enough details in it to remind me of anything, so I decided to get it out of my library and re-read it.

I read the first few chapters again and the characters and story started coming back to me. I read the last fifteen pages again and remembered. I really liked 'Grave Witch' and was now looking forward again to seeing what happened to Alex, Falin, Caleb, Holly, Rianna, and even Death. I was not too fond of Alex's father and sister by the end of 'Grave Witch', but, I had high hopes for her father.

In this latest portion of the story, Alex is called out to use her grave witch gifts to help the police when body parts are found in a remote area of "Nekros". I am not sure where the name of this city comes from but, it reminds me of New Orleans when it is described throughout the book. Alex is brought into the investigation and the story goes sideways. I was not in love with part of the way the end unfolded. But, it was not enough to keep me from the story or to stop me from enjoying 'Grave Dance'.

'Grave Dance' was intricately woven with detail and what appears to be several story lines. I cannot imagine the map or flowchart Kalayna Price had to use to keep up with things. This story started out as a mystery that appeared to be tied to the Fae and then it appeared to be tied to the witches, then the collectors. To borrow from Winston Churchill, "it was a mystery wrapped in a riddle inside an enigma." For a while I thought I would get confused by the way the mystery was unfolding especially when Fae politics came calling. I love Fae politics. I detest the machinations of some of the Fae, but, it makes for great entertainment.

One of the things that I found myself liking about Alex is that she was strong but, she had a couple of major weaknesses, some of which revolved around the use of her powers. The other revolved around her relationships with her friends and men. The unfolding of one of the relationships was a zinger and I loved it. Alex showed some serious backbone and I loved how she stayed true to herself, especially as she learned more about her own past and met people that were more a part of her life then she realized.

In addition to Fae machinations we get to see more about Death and his cohorts. We also get a better glimpse at how his and Alex's relationship evolved. Another great thing about 'Grave Dance' is Roy the ghost. I'm happy to see he is part of the story. He is great! Not only is he funny, but, he makes an excellent sidekick. Although his story is told in 'Grave Witch', we get reminders of what happened in that story, which makes it a bit easier for people who read 'Grave Dance' without knowing it has a predecessor. You can read it without it but, you miss out on a great story if you do not start out with 'Grave Witch'. I look forward to the next installment in the Alex Craft series.

Reviewed by Lady Techie

The Blackhouse

2011-07-02T10:14:00.005+01:00

by Peter May

A MURDER: A brutal killing has taken place on Scotland's most remote island. Detective Fin MacLeod is sent from Edinburgh to investigate. For Lewis-born MacLeod, the case represents a journey both home and into his past. A SECRET: Something lurks beneath the close-knit, God-fearing façade of the Lewis community. Something primal. As Fin investigates, old secrets are unearthed, and soon he, the hunter, becomes the hunted.

This novel is richly textured with mono and polychrome narratives in an innovative style that places it in a genre all of its own. The writing is exceptional, almost hypnotic in places and will run you the full gamut of your emotions. Be prepared for 'The Blackhouse' to play on your mind long after you put it down each day.

There is an inspiring video about the author's journey with this book here.

Reviewed by D J Kirkby

D J Kirkby is a registered midwife, mother, wife, and writer.

She is the author of 'Without Alice'.

You can find D J's website here. Follow her on Twitter here, and view a video preview of 'Without Alice' here.

Jane Eyre

2011-06-25T09:05:00.004+01:00

By Charlotte Bronte

I first read ‘Jane Eyre’ as a fourteen year old looking for a rollicking gothic adventure story. I can remember the excitement of turning the pages, desperate to find out the ghastly secret of Thornfield Hall. Each evening, for a week or so, I took myself into our chilly front room, drew the curtains, stuck the gas fire on and lay on the sofa, immersed in the narrative. What hideousness lurked in the attic, threatening Jane and the very fabric of the house itself? Oh my God, a secret wife? Really? Wow. When the revelation came it did not disappoint. But alas, Jane herself did. I couldn’t believe she would be so Victorian in her reaction. I wanted her to stick around, not run away; boot Bertha off the premises and then live in glorious sin, stuff convention. I just didn’t get the heroine at all.

The next time I read the novel I was a loved-up eighteen, and all I cared about this time through was the romance element. The way Jane and Edward’s affair was played out at top pitch made it, I decided, so real . This was proper love: pain and frustration and telepathy and characters starving in hedgerows and buildings burning down. Still I couldn’t fathom why Jane allowed cold piety to get in the way of a passion that surely transcended everything else. Love made its own laws. A life of bliss was hers for the taking, and yet she turned away and chose instead the stony path of righteousness. Fool.

It wasn’t till I got to university I began to see 'Jane Eyre' as a feminist text. Suddenly the penny dropped: Jane wasn’t simply being perverse and playing the martyr. Edward asking her to live as his mistress was actually deeply insulting. Just because Jane was lowly and poor didn’t mean she should jump at a chance to play the kept woman. Would he have dared make the same offer to the rich and well-connected Blanche Ingram? Of course not. He treats Jane as he does because he knows he can get away with it. Flashing his cash only makes the proposition shabbier. So on this read, when Jane says “I care for myself,” I was cheering. It’s a turning point. She steps out alone and practically penniless into the world, but soon manages to find herself friends, family, accommodation and a decent career, and later on even has the confidence to turn down the attentions of a second emotional blackmailer in the form of St John Rivers.

Then there’s the spiritual journey Jane makes. Right from the beginning of the story, Jane is surrounded by hypocrites and bullies. She has to work hard to sift true belief out of the confused moral messages crossing and re-crossing around her. All through her childhood she struggles to deal both with personal bad fortune and her own anger management issues. So by the time I was an adult, the central thread of the novel for me had really become an exploration of the ways we can balance our need for humility against the need to stand up for ourselves: how to convert natural human resentment at the trials of life into something more positive, fruitful and stoical. Christianity is the frame in which the narrative is set. The novel ends not with “Reader, I married him”, but with St John Rivers’ cheerful acceptance of his approaching death, and the anticipation of heaven.

At other times, 'Jane Eyre' has been for me a story about power struggles within relationships; about ways we cope with loneliness and poor body-image; about the unfairness of the class system. My latest read reminded me it’s a novel which includes disability issues. Because my own husband was seriously injured in a road accident last year, I really felt Rochester’s vulnerability in those final few pages, and sympathised with the difficult line Jane was left to tread as his parner.

And I know I’ll come back again to the story and read it through a different filter, at which point I’ve no doubt it will have another new message for me. In the meantime, Bear up! and Respect yourself! will do me just fine.

Reviewed by Kate Long

Kate Long is the bestselling author of 'The Bad Mother's Handbook', 'Swallowing Grandma', 'Queen Mum', 'The Daughter Game' and 'Mothers And Daughters'. Her new novel 'All About My Mothers' is due to be released by Simon and Schuster in Spring 2012. You can find out more about Kate on her website and you can read my interview with Kate about her writing in this month's Writers' Forum magazine.

Hurry Up And Wait

2011-06-22T14:27:00.003+01:00

By Isabel Ashdown

In ‘Hurry Up And Wait’ Isabel Ashdown has produced a perfectly pitched trip back to the mid-eighties.

The story of Sarah Ribbons, and her coming of age in 1985 and 1986, is illustrated beautifully with the sights, sounds and feelings of the time. For those of us who shared the experience of growing up in these times the atmosphere is absolutely spot-on.

Isabel Ashdown has captured every heartbeat of the uncertainty and excitement of growing up. Duplicitous friendships, awakening sexuality and the trials of school and exams are all depicted as Sarah’s story unfolds.

Sarah is a deeply empathetic character from the start. No reader could fail to be moved by the situations she finds herself in as she exposes her heart to the possibilities of love and the dangers of betrayal for the first time.

The characters around her are also real and boldly drawn. I particularly liked Sarah’s father; charming but utterly self-absorbed.

The storyline starts at a school reunion taking place twenty years later. Through this section the secrets of the past are finally revealed and Sarah’s story finds its resolution. Anyone who has ever attended a reunion with ambivalent feelings in their heart will identify strongly with this section.

I really enjoyed Isabel Ashdown’s first novel, ‘Glasshopper’ but, if anything, would have to say ‘Hurry Up And Wait' is even better. I loved everything about it.

Reviewed by Helen M Hunt

‘Hurry Up And Wait’ is published by Myriad Editions and I am grateful to them for the review copy.

You can read my review of ‘Glasshopper’ here, and you can see Isabel’s website (complete with Eighties Hall Of Fame/Shame) here.

The Sign Of Four

2011-06-18T09:22:00.004+01:00

By Arthur Conan Doyle

This, the second of the Sherlock Holmes adventures (and the second of the four full-length novels), has always been one of my favourite books and remains my favourite Holmes story. Holmes's first appearance in A Study in Scarlet had not been a commercial success and Conan Doyle had no immediate plans for any more Holmes cases.

This all changed when he was invited to dinner at London's Langham Hotel in 1889 by Joseph Marshall Stoddart - the editor of Lippincott's Monthly Magazine. The U.S. magazine was looking to launch itself in Britain and was seeking British based writers to contribute to its pages. At the Langham dinner Conan Doyle was brought into contact, for the first time, with Oscar Wilde and both men accepted commissions to write London based stories featuring murders.

Wilde went away and penned The Picture of Dorian Gray, his only novel, and Conan Doyle wrote The Sign of Four.

The book gives you everything. Two heroes, a lady in distress, romance, a missing treasure, a one-legged villain, a clumsy policeman, a murder and a back-story set in colonial India. It is for all these reasons that this story is the most filmed Holmes adventure after The Hound of the Baskervilles.

It is also notable for its work in fleshing out the character of Holmes. It gives him a little more humanity and explicitly introduces his drug use which was only suspected by Watson in the first story.

Conan Doyle also writes a commendable female character in the form of Mary Morstan - Holmes's client and the object of Watson's affections. From the first she is presented as a strong woman who knows her own mind rather than the hysterical stereotype so often portrayed by male writers of the period. This reflected Conan Doyle's real opinion of women in general. He was ahead of his time in his attitude towards them and later fought for reform of divorce laws although he did, bizarrely, disapprove of the idea of women's suffrage.

This aside, the book is well worth the read. It is fun, never drags and shows Sherlock Holmes at his flawed best.

Reviewed by Alistair Duncan

Alistair Duncan is an expert on Sherlock Holmes and Conan Doyle. You can read his blog here.

He has written a number of books on the subject and you can find out more, and order a copy here.

Thanks very much to Alistair for sharing his thoughts on such a classic book with us.

The Ghost Of Lily Painter

2011-06-15T14:50:00.003+01:00

By Caitlin Davies

'The Ghost Of Lily Painter' is a richly plotted story that covers many generations and has action set over more than a century. It follows the tale of Annie Sweet, who moves into a new house and becomes intrigued by the story of a previous inhabitant – Lily Painter – and determined to find out more about her.

The narrative moves between the voices of Annie Sweet, Lily Painter and Inspector William George who lived in the house at the same time as Lily. Later in the book, a fourth voice joins them and delivers some beautifully set-up surprises. The four voices all tell their stories in a different way, and a way that is distinctively theirs.

Caitlin Davies uses threads of historical fact to enhance the story. She explores the activities of baby farmers in Edwardian London to great effect, and blends fact and fiction into a satisfactory whole.

Both the present day story of Annie and the historical story of Lily are emotional and touched with pain. When we first meet Annie she’s dealing with marital breakdown, the fallout of this for her daughter, and a dog that seems set on destroying everything in her path. Lily’s story ultimately takes her into even more painful situations.

Everything about this novel is just right. The characters are believable and sympathetic, the descriptive writing is beautiful and the evocation of the different historical periods is spot on.

I think this is a book I’m going to be reflecting on long after finishing it.

Reviewed by Helen M Hunt

‘The Ghost Of Lily Painter’ is published by Hutchinson/Random House and I am grateful to them for the review copy.

Phoenix Rising

2011-06-08T09:59:00.005+01:00

by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris

I really loved this book! When I first heard about this book about two months before it was released I watched the release date hoping it would release earlier than the date scheduled. But, alas, I had to wait until the scheduled release date and it was well worth the wait. It opened with a bang, pretty much literally! It was full of excitement and exciting characters. Wellington Books and Eliza Braun are an exciting team and it was not only fun to watch them relate but a good time watching their exploits.

'Phoenix Rising' is a great addition to the Steampunk genre. It was good to see the chemistry between the characters with their diverse backgrounds. I hope to learn more about where they all come from and how they came to be the way they are now. Wellington Books is the best kept secret the Ministry does not even know it has to offer! Sophia is seriously a great nemesis for Eliza, especially given the information that Wellington provides during the apex of the story. These are just a few examples of how the players were well developed. For example, describing the expressions and mannerisms of Wellington when he had Eliza pushed into his world - priceless!

I'm happy to see that we will have more coming from the dynamic duo and mysteries left in play with Dr. Sound, Campbell and Sussex. Oh, and do not let me forget the awesome cover!

Reviewed by Lady Techie

The Beauty Chorus

2011-05-31T08:46:00.003+01:00

By Kate Lord Brown

‘The Beauty Chorus’ is a moving, and ultimately uplifting, story of three young women who did their bit during the Second World War by ferrying fighter planes up and down the country.

Evie, Stella and Megan are three very different young women who are thrown together on their first day working for the ATA. We follow them through the story finding out how they get on with their flying duties, but also sharing the ups and downs of their emotional lives.

Interweaved with the fictional story are flashes of history involving real historical figures including the legendary aviator Amy Johnson and none other than Winston Churchill. I felt that this aspect worked really well and gave the book an added dimension.

The story is rich with period detail, and clearly well researched although it doesn’t feel at any point as though the research is intruding on the story. Although I’ve read quite a bit about WW2 both in fiction and non-fiction, I wasn’t aware of the work of the ATA, so for me this was a further element of the story that held my interest.

I found the story gripping and I finished it in a couple of sessions as I didn’t want to put it down until I’d found out what was going to happen next. The mix of romance, adventure and intrigue was perfectly blended into a satisfying whole.

‘The Beauty Chorus’ is the sort of novel where the characters are so likeable and real that you can imagine the story going on after the book has finished.

For a very enjoyable romance with the added interest of a fascinating historical backdrop, I highly recommend this novel.

Reviewed by Helen M Hunt

Kate Lord Brown talks about ‘The Beauty Chorus’ now over on my writing blog ‘Fiction Is Stranger Than Fact’.

The Lovers Of Pound Hill

2011-05-25T09:06:00.004+01:00

By Mavis Cheek

‘The Lovers Of Pound Hill’ is a very clever, very entertaining story with several sub-plots and an amazing array of characters.

It centres around how the village of Lufferton Boney is shaken up and turned on its head by the visit of young archaeologist Molly Bonner who has returned to follow up on work begun by her grandfather many years before.

The story bursts with quirky characters, hidden motives and mysteries. It is fast moving, intriguing and with many plot lines and issues that aren’t resolved right until the very end.

The story is a colourful patch work formed of episodes told through the eyes of a number of different characters. Many of the characters are loveable, some less so, but all are very human: apart from Montmorency who’s a cat.

I loved this book. It is full of fun and humour but has an underlying message that is ultimately emotional and very moving. It follows the themes of love and how it endures, and how the past can impact on the future. It also encompasses religion, superstition, history and even poetry in a fabulously rich narrative.

If you want a book that will grip you, hook you into a complex mystery and ultimately leave you smiling, I strongly recommend this one.

Reviewed by Helen M Hunt

'The Lovers Of Pound Hill' was published by Hutchinson on 5 May, and I would like to thank them for sending me a review copy.

Bite Club

2011-05-19T12:03:00.006+01:00

By Rachel Caine

Tor.com did a poll on Facebook recently asking what authors do you always look forward to and read? Well, Rachel Caine is one of mine. 'The Morganville Vampires' series is one of my guilty pleasures. It is one of the exceptions to my, "I don't read romance" rule. The romance is always front and center and though I love Michael and Eve, they take a bit of a backseat to Claire and Shane. Claire is the heroine of this series because despite her lack of physical power she is strong. She uses the weapons she has to stand up for people and vampires even when she cannot explain why to herself or others. It’s just who she is and that one part of her always makes even the vampires pause.

'Bite Club' was so good that when I was about 60 pages from the end I became very concerned that this was the end of the series. I had to go to Rachel Caine's website to see if there was a hint of how many books there were in the series. There were some serious roadblocks that popped up that worried me. This one was a take on fight club. The gang gets seriously in over their heads and, of course, has to worry about staying one step ahead of Amelie and Oliver. There are some shocks, return of some old enemies along with the unearthing of some new ones. I have to admit that Myrnin is one of my favorites and he did not disappoint.

One note is that the book is written so that you cannot just jump into it and understand who people are or what is going on. You definitely know that you have missed something if you have not read its predecessors. This far into the series it does get pretty difficult to try and write each book so that it can stand on its own. But, the fortunate thing is that it is a great incentive to reading the entire series. 'The Morganville Vampire' series is just one of those series where at some point you have to start all over and start from book one, 'Glass Houses'.

Unfortunately, I loaned mine out and will have to buy it again, but, it’s worth it.

Reviewed by Lady Techie

Dead End

2011-05-10T14:36:00.003+01:00

by Leigh Russell

Regular followers of Bookersatz will know that I really enjoyed Leigh Russell’s previous books, ‘Cut Short’ and ‘Road Closed’, so I was thrilled to be sent a review copy of this one as well.

For this story we stay with DI Geraldine Steel who appeared in the first two books and we find out more about her personal life as well as following her on a new case that has her tracking down a very sinister murderer indeed.

Like Leigh Russell’s other books, ‘Dead End’ gives us characters we can care about. In particular, the family of the first murder victim, Abigail Kirby, are sensitively portrayed and the fate of her daughter Lucy forms a sub-plot as gripping as the main plot.

As ever, the plot is cleverly thought out, gripping and convincing. Geraldine’s colleague DS Ian Peterson come into his own in this story and we also have another authentic cameo of the complicated DCI Kathryn Gordon.

This novel strays into some very grim territory. A sadistic murderer with dark motivations and a plot that leads a number of characters into serious peril will keep you on the edge of your seat.

I couldn’t put this book down. I had to keep reading to know how the case would be solved, but also how Geraldine would fare because like other readers of this series, I now care about her as an ongoing character.

You can read my review of ‘Cut Short’ here, and my review of ‘Road Closed’ here. I, for one, can’t wait for the next Geraldine Steel story to come out. Watch this space.

Reviewed by Helen M Hunt

Tangled Threads

2011-04-28T10:35:00.005+01:00

by Jennifer Estep
(#4 in the Elemental Assassin Series)

I was lucky enough to receive an electronic ARC of Tangled Threads earlier but will be buying the physical copy for that great cover. You can never go wrong with the Elemental Assassin series and Tangled Threads is no exception to that rule. I have been totally enamored of this series since Spider's Bite. Despite the heartache, hardships, and even, stolen good moments that occur in Gin's life she finds a way to persevere.

One thing that never changes, and is very prevalent in Tangled Threads is the descriptions of the environment. Despite Ashland, NC being a real city, Gin's Ashland is a world unto its own with its dividing line where stepping across one street means you are at serious risk from not only mere thugs, but, vampires, evil dwarves or some other badness you might run into that might not be fully human. Something that always strikes me about this series, and Jennifer Estep’s writing in general, are the vivid descriptions. For example, "green, glossy Kudzu vines curled around a trellis that partially obscured the porch. So did a thick cluster of rose bushes, although their branches were bare for the winter, except for the long, curved, black thorns that glittered like polished jet". This depiction immediately made me think of my great-grandmother's back porch that ran the length of the back of the house.

Another great thing about the books is the main character, Gin. Despite Gin's myriad edges there are parts of her that you can’t help but like and those parts even make you want to be like her, even if for just a few minutes. Maybe you would not go right out the door and whip out a silverstone knife and make someone pay for what they've done to make your day harder, or you might not bring a building down on someone's head, but, you sure can imagine it on a really bad day and it might bring a sly smile to your face.

The supernaturals in the Elemental Assassin books have been given an original perspective in the urban fantasy genre and the description of their powers and how they interact with other powers gives the books more depth. Jennifer Estep has taken the four elements and breathed a different life into them with her stories. Tangled Threads takes up the mantle and gives Urban Fantasy fans something in which to immerse themselves. The characters we have grown to love like Gin, Finnegan, Jo-Jo, Sophia, Xavier and Roslyn are there. But, now we have more of the new additions like Bria and Owen. We get to learn more about Gin's past and the build-up towards the inevitable crescendo between Gin and Mab is hanging in the air and making it hard to wait for the showdown.

Mab may not know who she is dealing with yet, but, she has brought in the big guns to take out The Spider. Elektra LaFleur's background is as dangerous and scary as Gin's. But, does she have what it takes to bring down Gin Blanco, retired assassin, The Spider? It is well worth the time to find out. This is an amazing addition to the Elemental Assassin series and I sure hope that Pocket and Jennifer Estep are interested in seeing where they can take Gin and the gang after the big showdown. I know that even with the impending showdown forthcoming Jennifer Estep has the skills to keep Gin's story moving forward.

Reviewed by LadyTechie

Wink Murder

2011-04-22T12:38:00.004+01:00

By Ali Knight

Wink Murder is a well-plotted and fast moving murder mystery, and I found that it kept me guessing all the way through and the revelation of ‘whodunnit’ was a genuine surprise.

But, it is also more than that. At the centre of the story is the examination of a marriage in deep crisis. The story looks at the issue of trust. Who can you trust? How do you know you can trust them? And ultimately, what is the nature of trust?

The story is written in first person, present tense which can be hard to pull off. But for this story it works well, especially in the later chapters where it lends a sense of immediacy to the plot.

Whilst the story is very plot-centred, I also found the characters very real and well realised. We spend the entire novel inside the head of the main character, Kate, and see the other characters through her eyes. Her relationships with other characters, and the extent to which she feels she can trust them is central to the story. The issues of trust between husband and wife are well-explored but Kate’s feelings about her husband’s ex wife and her husband’s brother also impact heavily on the outcome of the story.

The fact that ‘Wink Murder’ is set in the world of television adds an extra dimension as it raises questions about the power of the media and the nature of reality TV.

I recommend this book to all who like crime and mystery writing which is intelligent and well-rounded.

The book is published by Hodder and I’m grateful to them for providing a review copy.

Reviewed by Helen M Hunt

Marrying Out Of Money

2011-04-06T20:05:00.004+01:00

By Nicky Schmidt

"Marrying out of Money" is the story of a coffee shop heiress who is determined not to marry an aristocratic cad in an arranged marriage. In order to extricate herself, she decides to make herself as undesirable as possible, but things go awry when she finds herself falling for a man who repulses her.

This novel is brimming with great characters. I loved the main character of Lou, but the supporting cast were great too.

I particularly liked Fin who is Lou’s likeable but secretly vulnerable best friend and there are some amusingly ghastly characters including Lou’s mother, Victoria, and Lou’s boyfriend Hedge (or Bush as Victoria insists on referring to him).

The story follows Lou as she tries to resists her mother’s attempts to marry her off to an aristocrat in the interests of social acceptability, and the equally persistent attempts of his mother who is just as keen to make the match for financial reasons. The plot is full of twists and turns, and whilst it is a romance on the surface, there are also plenty of intriguing sub plots which throw disaster in Lou’s path on a regular basis.

I love the humour of this book. The comic moments come thick and fast and help to give pace to the plot as it covers the machinations of the dysfunctional characters. But there are some deeper, more emotional moments as well, particularly in the plot line involving the magnificent Fin.

Overall I would recommend this as a highly enjoyable and entertaining read. It caught me up in its unlikely but agreeable world and had me turning the pages to the end.

Reviewed by Helen Hunt

‘Marrying Out Of Money’ is published by Prospera Publishing, who kindly provided a review copy, and the paperback is out now.

Cuckoo

2011-03-30T17:19:00.002+01:00

by Julia Crouch

There, in energetic, yet ordered script, were six words: Get her out of your house.

As I read this book I was fascinated to learn who had passed this message to Rose, a young housewife living in her perfect, renovated countryside home with her new baby, Flossie her slightly older daughter, Anna and handsome artist husband, Gareth.

Everything is perfect in Rose’s life until her best friend, Polly, an ex-rock star, living in Greece with her husband and two small sons, telephones Rose to tell her that her husband has been killed. Heartbroken to learn of her childhood friend’s unexpected loss Rose immediately invites her and her sons to come and stay in the annexe at her home. Despite Gareth’s dislike of Polly and his misgivings about having the messy, selfish woman in their home, he gives in to Rose and allows Polly to stay.

Soon, Rose’s ordered life begins to disintegrate. Strange things start happening. Flossie becomes ill and accidents occur and slowly Rose begins to distrust the friend who has long shared secrets that she’s never even trusted to Gareth. Rose soon realizes that the warnings she’s been given were well-meant and knows she has to find the strength to stand up to the one person who has the power to ruin everything for her, but even she didn’t bank on Polly’s cunning determination.

This book was darker than I expected. The slow destruction of everything Rose holds dear was shocking. I thought the heroine seemed to spend a lot of time sleeping or waking up from being asleep, but I did enjoy it and the shocking twists and turns towards the end were wonderful.

Reviewed by Debs Carr

The Blasphemer

2011-03-08T21:12:00.003Z

by Nigel Farndale

The Blasphemer begins with Daniel Kennedy, a zoologist who, to celebrate his 10 year anniversary with his partner, Nancy, is taking her to the Galapagos Islands for a surprise holiday where he intends to propose, and his Great Grandfather Andrew, a volunteer in WW1, who is preparing to go over the top at Passchendaele.

Daniel’s father is someone with whom he’s never been able to enjoy a close relationship. He passes Daniel a batch of his grandfather’s letters asking Daniel to give them to Nancy to translate for him.

On the way to the islands Daniel and Nancy’s plane crashes into the sea and without thinking, Daniel, pushes past her to get out of the plane and save himself. He does return to rescue her and other survivors of the crash before swimming for hours in an effort to get help, however the knowledge that he has instinctively put himself first has a lasting effect on him, and although he isn’t sure if Nancy is aware of what he’s done, he can feel her distancing herself from him. Whilst swimming for help Daniel begins to lose the will to live and is just about to unclip his life jacket when he sees a vision.

Daniel doesn’t believe in God. He is a scientist and has no time for people who believe in apparitions, so when he feels the need to find out more about other people’s apparent experiences, he confides in someone who he believes he can trust.

As the two stories emerge, it seems that Daniel isn’t the only one to have seen a vision. Daniel’s father has always believed that Andrew was killed on the first day of Passchendaele, but we discover that Andrew survived. What happened to him? Why did he make the choices he made and does Daniel take after him in the way he suspects? Both men have to make moral choices that will affect the rest of their lives and those around them and both of them will have to live with the consequences of their actions.

The two stories are obviously interlinked, as one is the great-grandfather of the other. We discover more about Daniel’s father as he tries to piece together his own past and unearth the truth about what really happened back in 1918 and see the repercussions of Daniel’s instinctive actions in the plane and how they’ll affect everyone and everything around him.

I can’t believe I’m actually writing this, but I do believe I enjoyed this book even more than Birdsong and that’s not something I thought possible. It’s a brilliantly written book with many cleverly thought out layers and the author is obviously knowledgeable about the First World War. I’m sure I’ll be reading this again at some point.

Reviewed by Debs Carr

The Doctor, The Plutocrat and The Mendacious Minister

2011-02-21T10:52:00.005Z

by Glyn Pope

DOCTOR LATYMER arrives on a council estate in Leicester, England, full of hope after dreadful experiences of the war. He happily settles into life on the estate trying to forget the nightmare images in his memory. The young doctor quickly becomes the local miracle worker when he cures the attention seeking hypochondriac Reginald, and takes the time to befriend a sad little boy who has lost his Mother. However, when food poisoning strikes the estate residents, Doctor Latymer sets out to right injustices that he doesn't fully understand. He tangles with Sir Brian Britley, the Plutocrat, and Sir Henry Norrington, the Mendacious Minister for the British Government. In the process, he unravels the delicate balance between rich and poor, and the struggling economy still reliant on rationing and the black market. Doctor Latymer's story is written in authentic British English, adding to the richness that brings the local characters to life as the reader is whisked back to 1948 post-war Britain. (Book blurb)

Being an English woman who grew up post war during the late 1950's, and reached my teens in the 1970's, I could relate to much of what was written in this delightful book, although it is set in the 1940's post war period.

I lived on the edge of a new housing estate that linked with a UK government council estate. There was an adult class divide during this time period, and Pope captures it so well in his storyline.

The doctor has a humble side that comes across so well, I fell for his character straight away. I enjoyed following how he came across class barriers, and was overwhelmed by those he met in higher circles. The more his character developed, and the events that changed his life, made his convictions for right and wrong stronger. I was hooked, and had to find out more about his new career and those he met along the way. The characters all fall into place and each one comes alive in one's mind. I could see the women with their cardigans and pinafores draped over a large bosom, gossiping on the doorstep. Men with cigarettes hanging from the corner of their mouths, children with socks rumpled around their ankles, yet the author describes none of these things. He shares the characteristics and surroundings so well that everything falls into place and allows your imagination to do the rest.

This is not a book that will only interest the British reader, it is a great fiction story with an historic background. If you enjoy a light hearted book with meaning and tenderness, corruption and victory, this is one I recommend for your shelf.

Reviewed by Glynis Smy

Published by Cactus Rain Publishing and available here.

A Clash Of Innocents

2011-02-07T09:05:00.002Z

by Sue Guiney

I can’t praise this book highly enough. I absolutely loved it.

My knowledge of Cambodia was limited when I started to read ‘A Clash Of Innocents’; I was aware of some of its dark history in the time of the Khmer Rouge and the Killing Fields but only in a very sketchy way. Reading ‘A Clash Of Innocents’ really brought the country alive for me. It is set in 2007 and so is very much an evocation of present-day Cambodia, but there is enough sensitively placed historical detail to show how the past is still impacting on the present.

Delicately placed within this richly detailed setting is the story of an American woman, Deborah, who has made her life in Cambodia in an attempt to escape demons from another place and another time. She is joined at the orphanage she runs by a younger American woman Amanda who, if anything, is running from even darker demons.

When I finished reading this book I was left feeling that I was really going to miss the characters. They are all so beautifully drawn and real that I genuinely felt like I was saying goodbye to friends. From Amanda and Deborah, with their complex relationship and connections, to the very individual young Cambodian residents of the orphanage to the dazzling Australian Kyle, all are achingly real and deeply engaging.

This novel has everything – history, romance, tragedy, mystery. The plot has multiple layers and strands and feels perfectly balanced. At the close of the story Sue Guiney resists the temptation to tie all the ends up too tightly. There are questions left unanswered, but overall a very satisfying ending.

Please add this book to your wish list. It is wonderful.

Thanks to Sue Guiney for providing a review copy of the book.

It is published by Ward Wood and you can buy a copy here.

Reviewed by Helen M Hunt

The Birth Machine

2011-01-17T10:53:00.004Z

By Elizabeth Baines

This novel immediately takes the reader into a world of vivid detail and thought-provoking imagery. The writing is full of well-observed, deliciously minute detail. In the opening chapters I particularly like the description of the Professor, ‘The candyfloss tuft on his head, his gob-stopper eyeballs, lips like a twist of half-blown bubble gum’. And, in a beautifully evocative phrase, ‘The fat around the meat became pocked with rows of deep holes, each hole somehow shocking and filled with pink light’.

The novel traces the story of Zelda, about to give birth in an environment which is trying to restrict and regiment her. Elizabeth Baines uses a very clever juxtaposition of ideas to illustrate and enrich the story; life and death, fecundity and sterility, natural and synthetic. The themes of fascination with birds, the natural world and food also run through the story.

She plays with time and the succession of events, and uses this to maximise the impact of the contrasting ideas. At one point, where present story and back story meet, she contrasts the concepts of increasing the dosage of drugs in childbirth with strengthening the spell with magic and herbs in a childhood memory to great effect.

The story of Zelda’s experience of giving birth has fragments of a half-forgotten fairy tale woven in and a mystery lost in the past runs through it increasing the tension of the narrative.

There’s plenty here to keep you reading - suspense, mystery and the sheer beauty and skill of the writing.

There’s also a very interesting author’s note at the end which explains about the publication history of the book. I’m not going to say too much about that though because I think anyone reading this novel should just come to it as it is and then read the author’s note and reflect on its implications afterwards.

I highly recommend this novel both for the intelligent handling of the themes and the pleasure of the reading experience.

Reviewed by Helen M Hunt

This book was kindly provided to Bookersatz for review by the author. Book published by Salt and available here.

Love In The Time Of Dragons

2011-01-06T15:53:00.003Z

By Katie MacAlister

This book was a pleasure to read, but it’s quite hard to describe. It’s a tale with fantastical and historical themes, but also with one foot in a world that seems very real and characters that feel very contemporary.

A lot of its success is dependent on the strength and likability of the two main characters.

Tully Sullivan finds herself sucked out of her normal and everyday life into a world where everyone else is trying to convince her that, not only is she really called Ysolde de Bouchier, but also that she is in fact a dragon. Needless to say, this is not something she readily accepts.

She comes face to face with her dragon mate – Baltic, and a large part of the novel is devoted to exploring their relationship in a way that keeps you wondering about its exact nature to the end. Baltic is a great character complex and dangerous, but also immensely attractive.

Tully also has to unpick the events of the past to find out why the other dragons want to sentence her to death, and what Baltic has done to annoy everyone.

The novel has a mix of fantasy, drama, adventure and humour that works really well.

I understand that this book follows on from some others written by Katie MacAlister which feature some of the same characters, so if you are keen on this genre I would recommend checking those out as well.

Reviewed by Helen M Hunt

This book was kindly provided to Bookersatz for review by the publisher.

The Forgotten Garden

2010-11-13T12:34:00.003Z

by Kate Morton

Kate Morton is a young Australian writer who lives in the Brisbane hinterland. She has been a fan of fairy stories since her childhood and has used this love of fantasy in this big, fat, delicious novel. The book, a work of historical fiction, is peppered with a wonderful set of characters and places where the reader feels part of the unravelling mystery.

The story is full of tragedy, secrets and discovery. There are three story lines happening, ranging from the present to early 20th century Victorian times, and all are tied together to create a suspenseful story of a family over several generations. The transitions between these periods create great tension, for example, the heat and frangipanis of the Brisbane setting is such a strong, marked, contrast to chilly Victorian England.

Morton uses wonderful descriptions, especially of the places she grew up in. As one who has experienced many a sub-tropical summer in Brisbane, her imagery captures the heat:

‘It was one of those desperate Antipodean spells where the days seem strung together with no gaps between. Fans do little else but move the hot air around, cicadas threaten to deafen, to breathe is to exert, and there is nothing for it but to lie on one's back and wait for January and February to pass...’ (Exactly, but now we have air conditioning!)

While some of the twists in the tale aren’t too difficult to predict, half the fun is finding out if you’re right and the other half is seeing which unanticipated twists Morton will throw in.

At the centre of the tale is Nell. Nell is secure in her identity and knows what she wants in life. Everything changes though, when on her 21st birthday her father reveals he is not her real father, her family is not her real family and she was, in fact, found on the Maryborough Wharf at the age of four. Her true origin and heritage are unknown. This news devastates Nell, as it would most readers, cracking the foundation of her life.

After Nell's death, it is her granddaughter Cassandra who must uncover the mystery of the little girl lost. This mystery takes her to Cornwall, to a cottage she has inherited from Nell. Here she discovers far more than she expects. In particular, she uncovers the long guarded secrets of the Mountrachet family, and of their ward, Eliza Makepeace. Eliza is the most fascinating character in the novel. From a young age she makes up stories to scare and fascinate those around her. Later, she puts these dark fairytales to paper, and these appear in the novel itself in the Victorian segment, making for a magical setting, mystery, and a fight between good and evil.

The characters are vivid, wounded and flawed in interesting ways that feel more Gothic than depressing. The story could be described as a combination of Daphne du Maurier and The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett puts in an appearance in the story.) The places are often as vivid as the characters, whether it’s the garden and cottage in Victorian England, Nell’s home in Australia in the now very trendy Brisbane suburb of Paddington, or a flat in London.

This is the second book of Morton's. If you can, chase down her other novel, international bestseller The Shifting Fog, every bit as breathtaking as The Forgotten Garden. I may review it next.

Reviewed by L’Aussie at L’Aussie Writing

Winner!

2010-11-06T12:27:00.002Z

I'm very pleased to announce that the winner of 'The Silver Locket' is Fee. Further details can be found on Debs' blog.

Thanks very much to Debs and to Margaret James for allowing Bookersatz to be involved in this.

The Silver Locket

2010-11-01T09:04:00.004Z

by Margaret James

'The Silver Locket' is set around the time of the Great War. Rose Courtenay is a well brought up young lady, who’s been raised to keep her mother and suitable acquaintances company until she marries the man her parents have chosen for her, whether she is in love with him or not.

She meets Alex Durham, a man of questionable parentage, who lives nearby with his uncle in a dilapidated house, and when Alex drunkenly asks Rose to dance, she rebuffs him despite feeling a disturbing spark for him and continues to talk with her proposed fiancé. Her parents encourage her to accept Michael’s marriage proposal, but although he’s handsome and charming, she suspects it’s not her that Michael is really in love with. Then, when Rose discovers that Alex is to be married, she reacts in a way her upbringing and family cannot understand and find hard to accept.

Rose volunteers as a nurse in London and although she’s not very good, she perseveres and joins the VADs with a friend. Alex, is in the infantry and spending the war fighting in the mud-strewn trenches. He’s injured and ends up being sent to the hospital where Rose is nursing. Despite her initial misgivings, she ends up caring for him, as his scars begin to heal and he slowly gets better. The two become close, and although she knows he’s a married man, Rose can’t help wanting to make the most of what little snatched time she is able to enjoy with Alex.

However, these are troubled times, and when her friend’s sister asks for her help, Rose makes a choice that will embroil her in an incident that will change her relationship with her family, and ultimately the course of her life. With so much stacked against them, how can they ever have a hope of a future together? Especially when an old adversary is so intent on stopping Alex from being with the woman he loves.

I loved this book and although I’ve researched this era fairly well, I still learnt so much and couldn’t help being drawn into Alex and Rose’s struggle to be together for however short a time. She is a gutsy heroine, who despite everything she’s been brought up to believe, finds she has more strength than she could ever have imagined, and Alex, handsome, deep and battling his own demons, has to face many obstacles in his path.

I can’t recommend this book enough. Whether you usually read historical novels, or not, this is a romance that will keep you reading page after page.

Reviewed by Debs Carr

War On The Margins

2010-10-26T21:56:00.004+01:00

By Libby Cone

This is a very unusual book. Based on Libby Cone’s MA thesis, it is a fictionalised account of some of the real events that took place on Jersey during the Second World War.

The story is interspersed with original documents from the time, which add depth to the narrative and increase the chilling sense of reality that runs through it. Most people will be aware of the treatment of the Jewish population of Jersey during the Nazi occupation, but this account brings it vividly to life.

The counterpoint to the part of the narrative that deals with occupation and war, is the telling of some very different love stories. A shy young woman desperately trying to hide her partly Jewish heritage and an escaped prisoner; two women working for the resistance; an elderly Jewish woman and her infirm husband. All of their stories show how love can triumph even in the squalor and terror of war and the brutality of the Nazi regime.

The real life story of the artists and resistance workers Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore is cleverly woven into the story and adds a new dimension. Their story is fascinating.

I do recommend this book to anyone who is interested in this period and wants to read a very human account of it. I was gripped by the story throughout.

Reviewed by Helen M Hunt

The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society

2010-10-18T12:56:00.004+01:00

by Mary Ann Shaeffer & Annie Barrows

I had this book in my 'To Be Read' pile for months, probably even a year, and wasn’t sure if I was that interested in reading it despite the good reviews. However, my aunt asked me what I thought of it and couldn’t believe it when I told her I hadn’t read further than the first line or two. Knowing she’d be asking me again, I thought I’d take another look and now I’m a convert.

The book is set in 1946. Juliet Ashton, an author, is bored with the book she’s supposed to be writing and needs to find inspiration. Dawsley Adams, a farmer from Guernsey, nervously writes to Juliet telling her he has a book that once belonged to her and asking for her help in locating the address of a London bookshop. They begin writing to each other and Dawsley tells Juliet all about being a member of the 'Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society' and how the mysterious club came into being during the years that Guernsey was occupied by the Germans.

More members of the Society, as well as other locals with a grudge towards them, write to Juliet, filling her in on the background of their society and the tragic events that they endured during the war years. Juliet gets to know these extraordinary characters through their letters and discovers that the inhabitants of this small island, so close to France, are far more intriguing than she could have ever imagined.

I loved this book. As you read the letters, you feel as if you’re watching a particularly good wartime film. It’s beautifully written and the only negative about this book is the fact that the author, Mary Ann Shaeffer died just before it was published and so it’s one of a kind. I’ll be keeping my copy as I know it’s a book I’ll be returning to time and again.

Reviewed by Debs Carr

The Tapestry Of Love

2010-10-14T09:10:00.002+01:00

Please pop over to my other blog to find out how you can get a free booklet of recipes featured in 'The Tapestry Of Love.'

Started Early, Took My Dog

2010-10-08T20:21:00.004+01:00

By Kate Atkinson

I love Kate Atkinson and I love Jackson Brodie, so I knew I was going to enjoy this book – the fourth in the Brodie series – before I started.

Although there’s no reason why this book shouldn’t be read as a stand-alone novel, I would always recommend with a series like this that they ideally be read in order. In any case it would be a shame to miss out on the other three books (Case Histories, One Good Turn and When Will There Be Good News), as they are all fabulous.

One of the joys of reading this series is the development of Jackson Brodie as a character through time, and also the examination of the shifting sands of his relationships with the significant people in his life.

As ever Kate Atkinson’s writing is rich with imagery and allusion. And this time an overlay of historical detail adds another dimension. The shocking real life events of Yorkshire in the seventies provide a backdrop and counterpoint to the present day events of the novel.

Difficult themes are tackled in the course of Jackson’s latest adventure. Death, murder, illness, infertility, treachery and betrayal are all woven in to the story. But Kate Atkinson manages to do this in such a way that the beauty of human life and the joy of just existing shine through the pain. Despite the depressing subject matter, it is not a depressing book.

Reading Kate Atkinson is always like disappearing into a different and slightly disconcerting world where reality is thrown into sharp relief. This exchange sums it up for me.

‘‘You can see why Dracula landed here, can’t you?’ the driver of the Avensis said.

‘Dracula isn’t real,’ Jackson pointed out. ‘He’s a fictional character.’

The driver shrugged and said, ‘Fact, fiction, what’s the difference?’’

Each character is drawn exquisitely and even the minor ones take on a vivid presence. From guesthouse landlady of a certain age, Mrs Reid, to Canadian security guard, Leslie, they all have a life of their own.

Without giving anything away, I really hope the ending indicates that a further Jackson Brodie book is on its way. I hope I don’t have too long to wait. But, meanwhile, I might just read this one again.

Reviewed by Helen M Hunt

Winner!

2010-10-07T09:16:00.001+01:00

The lucky winner of a copy of Trade Winds by Christina Courtenay is Lane. Thanks to everyone for joining in and congratulations to Lane. Please contact Debs via her blog so that you can receive your prize.

Thanks for all the lovely comments everyone.

Trade Winds

2010-09-29T20:33:00.004+01:00

by Christina Courtenay

'Trade Winds' is Christina’s first novel and as expected when you read a book published by Choc Lit, the hero, Killian Kinross, is irresistible.

'Trade Winds' starts in 1732 in Gothenburg where Jess van Sandt feels sure she’s being duped by her calculating stepfather, who for some reason seems determined to foil any attempts by suitors to marry her.

Killian Kinross, a strong, worldly Scotsman with family problems of his own, travels to Gothenburg with a letter of introduction from his grandfather, Lord Rosyth, to Jess’s stepfather who immediately gives him a job. Determined to find a way to make his fortune and prove to his grandfather that he was wrong to doubt him, let alone disinherit him, Killian jumps at the chance to travel to the Far East on an expedition with the Swedish East India Company.

Before going he is asked by Jess’s stepfather to accompany her deep into the countryside where she is being sent as a punishment. Desperate to be free from her controlling stepfather, Jess proposes to Killian, suggesting that a marriage of convenience between them can benefit them both financially as well as allowing her to be rid of her nemesis once and for all.

They marry in secret and Jess, scared of her feelings for Killian, rebuffs him. Hurt and frustrated, Killian goes to his ship and can’t wait to set sail to China. Unbeknown to him, Jess isn’t his only problem. Killian also discovers that he has to contend with his cousin, Farquhar, who, wracked with jealousy, is determined to stop at nothing to ensure Killian isn’t around long enough to become Lord Rosyth’s heir.

Everything about this book is enjoyable, from the gloriously haunting cover to the beautifully written story inside. The descriptions of places, people and lifestyles so cleverly interwoven throughout 'Trade Winds' made me feel like part of Killian and Jess’s world as I read their intriguing story. I wanted them to be together, but couldn’t see how it was ever going to work despite their mutual, though secret attraction to each other. Their own personal difficulties with each other and the outside dangers they have to overcome make this a book to savour.

Reviewed by Debs Carr

The Boy With The Topknot: a memoir of love, secrets and lies in Wolverhampton

2010-09-23T18:12:00.004+01:00

by Sathnam Sanghera

Sathnam Sanghera grew up in Wolverhampton in the 1980s, a child of Sikh immigrants from the Punjab. The youngest of four, with two older sisters and one older brother, he had a happy, quirky childhood. But then, at the age of 24, he discovered the family secret - and it changed everything.

This book is the story of Sathnam's re-evaluation of his family relationships in the light of a secret which had been kept from him all his life. It is also the story of the two cultures into which he was born - the Sikh Punjabi culture that his elders tried to maintain, in the face of the secular Western culture which surrounded them - and the effect on Sathnam of belonging to them both. When the story opens, Sathnam is trying very hard to keep the two cultures separate, yet he desperately needs to create a bridge between the Punjabi and Western parts of his life.

Sathnam tells this difficult story with great compassion, considerable self-awareness, and delightful self-deprecating humour. Although this is a story of struggle, conflict, unhappiness and bewilderment, it is not in any sense a 'misery memoir'. It provides a fascinating insight into a tightly bounded way of life which I have glimpsed but never understood. After reading it, I felt I understood my Sikh friends better, but I also felt I understood myself better. I think this is because Sathnam pulls off that difficult writer's trick of using one individual's experience to illuminate the lives of others. Highly recommended.

Reviewed by Queenie

Faithful Place

2010-09-14T08:37:00.003+01:00

By Tana French

I loved this book. Great characters, gripping plot and a real ‘lose yourself in it’ world. The basic premise is that an undercover cop returns to his childhood home to find that events that happened many years ago weren’t quite what they seemed.

The fast-paced plot takes you with the main character, Frank Mackey, as he revisits the past and tries to uncover a mystery which will change the entire way that he looks at his life.

There is a large cast of characters in Faithful Place, and we get to see them as they were then and as they are now. This is skilfully done, and in the characters in the storyline set in the past the reader can see the seeds of what they will become.

Even the smaller characters seem very real. I particularly liked Detective Stephen Moran. One of the few characters who only features in the present, he is instrumental in unpicking the past.

Faithful Place, set in the Liberties area of Dublin, also feels real. The atmosphere and geography of the street, especially the doomed Number 16, are crucial to the story and very vividly written.

The relationship between Frank Mackey and his young daughter is also central to the plot as it unfolds, and the exquisite drawing of this relationship is a big part of the success of the story.

This novel has everything – characters you’ll really care about, a plot that’ll keep you guessing until the end and a cracking pace.

And finally, something you don’t really expect in a crime novel – an ending so poignantly beautiful that it will make you cry.

Reviewed by Helen M Hunt

Too Many Magpies

2010-09-05T19:06:00.004+01:00

By Elizabeth Baines

I loved the depth of emotion in this novel. The core of ‘Too Many Magpies’ is a tale of family, motherhood and adultery; but there are deeper layers to it than that. It also talks of depression, illness and fear and different ways that people find of coping and facing the world.

One of the themes running through the story is the balance between natural and unnatural things and how we as humans respond to both, and use science to help us understand and explain them.

Another recurring theme is magpies and what they signify. Their presence in the novel is used to good effect to build up tension and give an unsettling feeling to the narrative.

I really enjoyed the writing style in this book. Elizabeth Baines uses beautiful language and exquisite and well-chosen imagery. Every line in the novel is well balanced and well placed and adds to the elegance of the whole.

In particular, the way she talks about food adds a vivid extra dimension to the book. On the very first page she talks of ‘the Smarties on the cake’ that ‘went frilly at the edges’ due to osmosis. This sets the scene for the clever weaving of themes to come.

This description of tomatoes is also very effective as a metaphor for a state of mind and the state of a relationship. ‘The fruits were small, turning red while still the size of marbles, pinched by the dying season, and the exhausting of their soil.’

‘Too Many Magpies is an incredibly thoughtful novel and as such will appeal as much to the mind of the reader as to the heart. I definitely recommend it as a book to lose yourself in.

Too Many Magpies is published by Salt Books and you can find their website here.

Reviewed by Helen M Hunt

The Bone Mill

2010-08-30T12:55:00.004+01:00

By Nicholas Corder

According to the blurb, ‘The Bone Mill’ is a novel for teenagers with a robust constitution. I would have to agree that it’s not for the faint-hearted, but as an adult reader I found it compelling.

Set in the potteries in the 1820s, ‘The Bone Mill’ follows the story of young Joseph Ryder who struggles to stay one step ahead of the workhouse. His world is reduced to a struggle to stay warm and fight off hunger. The novel joins him just as he is trying to make a way for himself in the world. Little does he know how complicated life is about to get.

Nicholas Corder paints Joseph’s world convincingly. Life in the Bone Mill is harsh, revolting and sometimes terrifying; and this account of it is unflinching and very real. The freezing weather during which the tale is set adds another layer of bleakness and the cold becomes another enemy for Joseph to overcome.

This novel draws you into Joseph’s world from the start. Will he ever get enough money together to buy a warm coat? Will his landlady Gerda be able to use her skills as a medium to contact his dead mother? And who is the man with the healing hands and why is he so important to Joseph?

I found this a gripping read which carried me through the story at a brisk pace towards the ending which brings a gut wrenching surprise with it.

Although aimed at young adults, I recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the historical setting, and to anyone who appreciates a well-plotted and fast moving story. This was an excellent read.

Reviewed by Helen M Hunt

The Tapestry Of Love

2010-08-23T21:39:00.003+01:00

By Rosy Thornton

I really enjoyed Rosy Thornton’s previous novel, ‘Crossed Wires’, so I was delighted when she offered to send me a copy of ‘The Tapestry Of Love’. If anything, this novel is even better.

Everything about ‘The Tapestry Of Love’ hits exactly the right note. From the beautiful evocation of the French setting to the skilfully drawn characters, it all works together to make a whole that kept me turning the pages until well after midnight.

All the characters are real, rounded and sympathetic. The main story is Catherine’s as she moves from England to a new home in the Ćevennes mountains, but the people she meets there and the people she leaves behind are all equally well-drawn.

Patrick Castagnol, Catherine’s neighbour, is the perfect male lead character. From the moment he steps onto the page, the reader can picture him and can totally empathise with Catherine’s changing feelings towards him.

As well as Patrick, I also really liked Catherine’s daughter Lexie and her French neighbours the Bouschet’s. Rosy Thornton has convincingly portrayed the initially awkward, but increasingly warm, encounters between Catherine and the new community she finds herself living among in France whilst also mapping the changing sands of her relationships with those she has left at home.

Another layer is added to the story by the exploration of Catherine’s relationship with the needlework and tapestry from which she is endeavouring to make her living. This is central to everything else that happens and enriches the narrative, as does the sensual description of food and meals which pervades the book.

I recommend this book highly. I loved it.

You can read my review of 'Crossed Wires' here.

Reviewed by Helen M Hunt

Without Alice

2010-08-11T22:37:00.003+01:00

By D J Kirkby

‘Without Alice’ is a story filled with real emotion. As you follow the main characters you get to experience with them love, hate and everything in between.

Stephen has a secret. A very big one, and as you read ‘Without Alice’ you will become aware of the nature of his secret and its deep repercussions. As the plot unfolds, you discover how his life with his wife Jennie and son Marcel is only part of his story. Slowly the reader discovers how his life means nothing without Alice.

This novel explores some important and timeless themes. It covers childbirth, motherhood, family, fatherhood and friendship. It highlights how all of these can come under strain from the pressure of lies and secrets.

The story of ‘Without Alice’ is fast-moving and gripping. I found myself wanting to read ‘just one more chapter’ before I could put it down.

The reader is finally rewarded with an ending which brings all the strands of the complex plot together in a satisfying conclusion.

‘Without Alice’ is published by new publisher Punked Books and you can buy a copy here.

Reviewed by Helen M Hunt

Dance Your Way To Psychic Sex

2010-08-05T09:17:00.003+01:00

By Alice Turing

This novel is deliciously different. It is ambitious in its storytelling and poignantly beautiful in its writing.

As I read it, I found the story incredible and intensely believable at the same time. The narrative requires the reader to take huge leaps into a world where very strange things happen, but because the main character, Henrietta, is so real the reader believes so strongly in her that everything that happens makes sense just because it’s happening to her.

In ‘Dance Your Way To Psychic Sex’ Alice Turing has created an intricate and satisfying story. On one level the novel is about the New Age sensation of Psychic Dancing and as such raises questions about truth, reality and illusion. But on another level it is about raw human emotion and the ways in which people can harm and heal each other. Both these strands make for compelling reading.

The story is carried by a strong cast of characters. All are complex and flawed, but equally, all are appealing. From the crooked-toothed Denzel to the persistent Tawny, the characters are engaging and three-dimensionally tangible.

The setting of the novel in Hebden Bridge is inspired. Light touches of description like, ‘The houses clamber above one another like turtles leaving a pond’ set the scene beautifully and if Psychic Dancing is going to happen anywhere, then Hebden Bridge is the place.

The writing sparkles with vivid imagery and clever choice of words. This description of Henrietta eating a biscuit shows the marvellous use of language. ‘She imagines clouds of sugar swirling inside her mouth, little eddies and sweet spots circulating and surrounding her teeth.’ The novel is full of similar wonderful nuggets of description.

If you want to read a novel that will entertain you and make you think, this one is for you. There is refreshing originality in the writing and the subject matter is gloriously unusual.

Reviewed by Helen M Hunt

This book is being launched in a very different way. If you are interested in reading it – and I do recommend it – go and check out the website here.

Henry VIII: Wolfman

2010-07-25T17:45:00.003+01:00

By A E Moorat

When I began to read A E Moorat’s last book ‘Queen Victoria: Demon Hunter’ (reviewed here) I didn’t know what to expect, and it took me a while to ‘get’ it. But this time I knew I was in for a romp through history that would present events in a totally unexpected manner and with a (un)healthy sprinkling of blood.

Henry VIII: Wolfman is a ‘macabre, terrifying and hilarious journey through Tudor England as you’ve never seen it before … Henry VIII is transformed into a rampaging wolfman.’

One of my favourite characters in this book is Mistress Hoblet, the wife of the Witchfinder General. Their exchanges are some of the funniest in the book. ‘If you ever call me dear again, I’ll shove so many needles in your arse you’ll look like a pincushion,’ she tells him.

Readers of this book will experience Moorat’s ‘alternative reading’ of history already perfected in the Queen Victoria story. Along the way you’ll read about how Sir Thomas More got himself into a very sticky situation, and find out the real reason why Katharine of Aragon failed to produce a male heir.

Anne Boleyn makes an appearance too, beguiling the king just as he succumbs to the even stronger urge to transform into his wolf nature. Jane Seymour crops up somewhere very unexpected and makes perfect sense of how she became Anne’s successor.

The final chapter, prior to the epilogue and the afterword, contains a brilliant surprise and the last line of the afterword is delicious.

Reviewed by Helen M Hunt

Hurting Distance

2010-07-19T12:56:00.004+01:00

by Sophie Hannah

Hurting Distance is a twisty psychological thriller that makes Lynda La Plante's stories seem like they're filled with fluffy kittens and bunnies. Predictable it is not; I didn't see what was coming at all.

The main characters are very well portrayed and often contrary ― in terms of their believable attributes, rather than plot errors, of which I found none. Some of the minor characters are a little weaker, though this doesn't much mar the overall story.

The plot is wonderfully dark and convoluted, just how I like a thriller to be. I had no idea what to expect and was very pleasantly surprised. There were quite a few good twists and shocks along the way. Hannah has a new fan and I now intend to read 'Little Face', an earlier novel. Her style was unusual (to me) at first, using second-person narrative in some chapters, but I very quickly acclimatised to it.

Some of the themes are disturbing, as they cover rape and its mental aftermath, so this book is probably not suitable for the faint hearted.

Hurting Distance is available from Hodder, ISBN 978-0-340-84034-4.

Reviewed by Captain Black

Sex & Bowls & Rock & Roll

2010-07-08T11:49:00.004+01:00

by Alex Marsh

Let me say, upfront, that I’ve been reading and enjoying Jonny B’s Private Secret Diary since 2004, so I’m not exactly a neutral reviewer of Sex & Bowls & Rock & Roll by Alex Marsh (who blogs as JonnyB). I’ve read many ‘books of the blog’ over the years, and this departs from the norm. It’s not just a set of posts slapped together between paper covers, it’s a well-written and very entertaining comic memoir.

Some of the characters and situations will be recognisable to fans of the Private Secret Diary. However, the characters are more rounded and interesting than they appear on the blog. Also, the situations are set within an innovative non-chronological structure that Alex Marsh uses to increase pace and comedic impact. Talking of comedy, the book is very witty indeed and made me laugh out loud several times.

Alex Marsh has made self-deprecation into an art form. His book is steeped in Englishness: real ale, bowling greens, hideous social embarrassment. You will enjoy this book if you like amusing books about Englishness (e.g. Kate Fox’s ‘Watching The English’ or Dara O Briain’s ‘Tickling The English’), or funny fiction about men of a certain age e.g. by Nick Hornby or Dave Hill, or television programmes like ‘Three Men In A Boat’, or virtually any kind of memoir or comedy.

I hope there will be a second volume. Bowls, Banjo and Baby? Bring it on!

Reviewed by Queenie

My Name Is Memory

2010-07-02T21:38:00.003+01:00

By Ann Brashares

‘You are my first memory every time, the single thread in all of my lives. It’s you who makes me a person.’

‘My Name Is Memory’ has a very intriguing premise. It is a love story between two individuals which lasts across history and several lifetimes as each of them is reincarnated over and over again.

This gives rise to a novel structure which goes backwards and forwards in history gaining momentum and tension as it goes. From about halfway through the novel onwards, it really was impossible to put down.

The two main characters – Daniel and Lucy – are very likeable, and the extra layers of back story as we find out about their previous lives make them unusually rich and satisfying.

I enjoyed the writing in this novel very much. Some sections were very touching, for example when Daniel says, ‘There are short periods of joy you have to stretch through a lot of empty years, me more than most. You have to make them last as well as you can.’

Because the story moves through different time periods and travels around the world, it is complex and Ann Brashares displays great skill drawing it all together.

The events of the last few chapters are gripping and the nature of the ending means that the story lives on in the reader’s mind.

For an unusual and gripping story, I recommend this highly.

Reviewed by Helen M Hunt

Road Closed

2010-06-19T09:06:00.003+01:00

By Leigh Russell

Having read, and loved, Leigh Russell’s first novel ‘Cut Short’, I was very much looking forward to reading ‘Road Closed’. I wasn’t disappointed.

I found the plot structure very different from that of ‘Cut Short’, but just as satisfying. As expected, the characters were very real and well textured. There are some really great baddies in this one, as well as some heart-breaking cameos of victims.

Sophie Cliff is a particularly interesting character. She appears at the beginning of the novel in explosive circumstances, and events take her on an unexpected and disturbing journey. This isn't just a detective story. It's a story that will make you think about the psychological consequences of life events.

One of the things I found most skilful in the writing was the complexity of the resolution. This novel keeps you guessing until the end and packs some powerful surprises.

Readers of ‘Cut Short’ will be familiar with DI Geraldine Steel who made her debut solving a series of murders in that book. In ‘Road Closed’ we get a deeper insight into Geraldine’s character and find out about some events from her past which are beginning to catch up with her.

I’m thrilled that there is a third novel in the series on the way and look forward to reading it and reviewing it for Bookersatz.

Reviewed by Helen M Hunt

You can see my review of ‘Cut Short’ here. Leigh Russell blogs here.

The Beacon

2010-06-14T14:27:00.004+01:00

by Susan Hill

This is short – 150 pages – and if it hadn’t been by a novelist I trust completely, I’d have been much less willing to pay the cover price of £6.99. But you can’t, in my opinion, get much better than Susan Hill.

The deceptively simple story seems initially to be the recent history of a family on a North Country farm. We see it mostly through the eyes of Mary, the eldest daughter who ended up staying at home, eventually looking after her aged mother, even though at one stage she seemed the most likely to leave for good when she went to university in London.

The book starts with her mother dying, and everything is then seen in retrospect, skilfully interspersed with the present, gradually giving away more and more of what has changed over the years, in such a way that we pick up significant details almost without realising it.

One of the things that stands out is that Mary and her brother and sister don’t want to inform their other brother, Frank, of their mother’s death, because of what he has done to them all. It turns out that Frank has written a bestselling book about his childhood, which has lost the family all their friends and their reputation.

There are so many layers to this, even though the style is deceptively simple. How you feel about some of the issues could to a large extent depend on your own life experiences, and even changing attitudes over the years. The only part I felt unsure about was the ending, but that’s down to personal taste and is deliberate on the author’s part.

Even though it seems a simple enough tale, there’s too much depth, too many undercurrents, to be gleaned from one reading, so I’ll be reading it again. Given that, it’s probably just as well the novel is relatively short, after all.

Reviewed by Rebecca Holmes

Book news - The Orange Prize

2010-06-09T20:04:00.005+01:00

The winner of the 15th Orange Prize for fiction is The Lacuna by American author Barbara Kingsolver, which defeated, amongst others, the Booker Prize winner, Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall.

Irene Sabatini won the Orange Award for New Writers 2010 for The Boy Next Door.

Some New Ambush

2010-06-06T09:15:00.004+01:00

by Carys Davies

'Some New Ambush' is an extraordinary collection of short stories from award-winning writer Carys Davies.

Ranging in length from two to twelve pages, her stories take us on a tour of the emotions: humour, disappointment, joy, love, resentment, revenge and utter, heart-wrenching sadness.

Featured on the shortlist for several prestigious prizes, this is Davies’ debut collection and it reveals her as an imaginative and playful talent. Sometimes the stories build slowly to their climax and sometimes they turn on a dime, but each is a beautiful depiction of a world – be it real or really fantastic – and the lives, dreams and frailties of the people living within it.

My favourites include a story of marriage and friendship in modern day Chicago, a portrait of a woman’s love for her dog and a beautiful vignette about whalers in the early twentieth century. Each is written in delicious yet sparing prose that encourages the reader to savour the story slowly, like a sweet treat or a savoury canapé. I found myself sitting on station platforms to finish a piece before catching my next train and some of the stories lived with me for days, demanding that I pause before reading on.

It’s been a while since I read any short stories but this collection has really reignited my love for the form and I recommend it highly.

Reviewed by Claire Marriott who blogs as Bucks Writer

'Some New Ambush' is published by Salt. You can find their website here.

Like Bees To Honey

2010-05-30T14:37:00.003+01:00

By Caroline Smailes

Those who have read previous novels by Caroline Smailes will know how beautifully she writes, and how well she creates worlds which resonate and chime with all the complexity of reality.

‘Like Bees To Honey’ is no exception, and although it tackles some very difficult subjects and takes the reader to challenging and dark places, this novel has an added ingredient. It has a delicious sense of humour.

Despite the fact that the story has an aching sadness, it also has moments of joy and an ability to make the reader smile in recognition.

The Maltese setting of ‘Like Bees To Honey’ is inspired. Island lore along with its sights, sounds and tastes, form an important part of the novel. Malta is not just a setting - it is a character in its own right.

Language as ever in Caroline Smailes’ work, is important. Words, sounds and repetition are used to increase impact and the Maltese language has a place of honour in the text.

I visited Malta many years ago, but reading this novel I felt like I was back there. The descriptions of locations in Malta, such as the roads of Valletta and the church in Mosta are vivid and textured. When Nina travelled to Sliema with her mother, I could almost feel the swaying of the yellow Maltese bus.

For most of the novel we are in the company of Nina as she deals with feelings of loss, guilt and rejection. But we also meet the stroppy house ghost Tilly, the blessed angel Flavia and an enthusiastically beer-swilling Jesus. More than anything else, it is this cast of characters that gives the novel its unique edge.

This novel is like nothing else I have ever read. The writing is exquisite, the subject matter is daring and original, and the structure is perfectly balanced. Now that I have finished reading it, I long to read it again.

Oh, and it has Simon Cowell in it.

Reviewed by Helen M Hunt

South Of Broad

2010-05-22T19:53:00.006+01:00

by Pat Conroy

‘South of Broad’ continues Pat Conroy’s penchant for big sweeping novels exploring topical themes in gorgeous settings. One of my favourite novels of all time is his wonderful ‘Beach Music’ so I eagerly anticipated a good read in his latest tome, set in Charleston, South Carolina.

Told in five parts, Conroy tosses the reader around between different times and events. It begins in June 1969, when the protagonist, ungainly high school junior Leopold Bloom King is asked by his mother, the school principal, to befriend some incoming students. That day Leo meets the friends he will grow with into adulthood.

There are the brother and sister orphans, Starla and Niles Whitehead; charismatic twins Sheba and Trevor Poe, Leo’s new neighbours; aristocratic ‘old Carolinians’ brother and sister Chad and Fraser Rutledge; Chad's equally patrician girlfriend, Molly Huger; and Ike Jefferson, one of the first African Americans to be integrated into the public school.

They triumph over class and race lines, which become irrelevant except for good-natured bantering. As adults, some of them marry each other. The stunningly-beautiful Sheba will become a sexy Hollywood movie star with a foul mouth, while Trevor, a gifted musician, will head to San Francisco where he will become the toast of the gay community.

The group experiences many events which are often tear-jerking. They win and lose big football games coached for the first-time by a negro, they venture en masse to San Francisco to find and rescue AIDS’s-ravaged Trevor, they are stalked by Sheba and Trevor's psychotic killer of a father, and Leo frets over his estranged, damaged wife. And then hurricane Hugo hits Charleston.

Right from the beginning of the story, there is a discordant note which continues to play throughout the novel, the baffling suicide of Leo's gifted elder brother. Leo was only 8 when he found his brother, ‘his arteries severed, dead in the bathtub…’ This horrific incident led to ‘a collective nervous breakdown’ in the remaining family members. The truth of the suicide finally revealed is equally horrific.

I turned the pages with relish. It’s one of those books you don’t want to finish, but can’t stop reading. It is lush, lyrical and beautiful. The beginning of the novel is a hymn of praise to ‘the delicate porcelain beauty of Charleston.’ Anyone who cherishes Conroy's work will love this novel.

Reviewed by Denise Covey who blogs at L’Aussie

Blood At The Bookies

2010-05-15T11:12:00.004+01:00

By Simon Brett

This novel is part of Simon Brett’s series of Fethering mysteries, of which there are several. I picked this one because I liked the title.

I’ve always enjoyed crime fiction and Brett was recommended to me by a friend as a good example of the amateur sleuth sub-genre. I really enjoyed it and will definitely be reading more in the series.

Brett’s two protagonists Carole and Jude are well-drawn and likeable and the setting of Fethering with its back-up cast of characters is convincing. This particular tale follows an intriguing murder involving a Polish man, and the plot takes in racial tension, adultery and addiction to gambling on the way.

These added elements give a multi-layered richness to the plot which is supported by realistic characters with real problems. The plot is well-constructed without being too complex and keeps you guessing about the identity and motive of the murderer right to the end.

Another thing I liked about this book was the depiction of the relationship between the two main characters. Very different women, Carole and Jude are reliant on each other in a way that neither of them would probably be prepared to admit.

This is an all-round good read and a real page-turner. Another nice touch is that there is an extract from ‘The Poisoning In The Pub’ the next in the series, at the end. Guess I’ll be reading that next then. Followed by the rest in the series.

Although I am looking forward to reading more in the series, and I’m keen to see how Brett develops the relationship between Carole and Jude across time, I did feel that ‘Blood At The Bookies’ worked perfectly well as a stand-alone novel and I would imagine that is true of others in the series.

Reviewed by Helen M Hunt

Simon Brett’s Fethering series is published by Pan MacMillan.

Regeneration

2010-05-09T15:50:00.003+01:00

by Pat Barker

This book is the first in a trilogy, the other two being 'The Eye in The Door' and 'The Ghost Road' (winner of the 1995 Booker Prize for Fiction). 'Regeneration' looks at how patients during the First World War were treated at the Craiglockhart War Hospital in Scotland by army psychiatrist William Rivers. Some are suffering from shell shock. Others, like Siegfried Sassoon, have problems understanding why the war is being prolonged and believe that those that have the power to stop it should do so. He writes, 'A Soldier’s Declaration' and battles with his superiors and the experiences he has witnessed on the battlefield.

William Rivers has the job of helping these troubled men find their way back to health once more, then has to decide if they are fit to be sent back to fight. As he gets to know the men and what they’ve suffered, it becomes harder for him to do so.

The relationship between Sassoon and Wilfred Owen, two poets who have been sent for treatment to Craiglockhart, is treated insightfully and the look at the horrors of what men experienced, and the ways their minds coped, is both saddening and fascinating. Pat Barker intertwines fact and fiction so well that the reader is drawn into the book completely. You can’t help feeling shocked at the way these young men are expected to both keep enduring their nightmares and then be sent back to the very place where they nearly lost their minds.

Through the book we also learn how advanced Rivers’ treatment of his patients was, and how, even though other doctors of that period managed to make great progress when treating their patients, what they did to them was almost akin to torture. Did the act justify the results he managed to achieve?

Regeneration was both disturbing and fascinating. This was the first book by Pat Barker that I’d read, however the atmosphere and feeling of that period of time is reflected so well in her writing that I’ve now ordered 'The Eye in The Door' and 'The Ghost Road'.

Reviewed by Debs Carr

Wasted

2010-04-30T21:12:00.004+01:00

By Nicola Morgan

You can’t just read this book. You have to experience it. And you will. As you follow Jack and Jess on their journey you’ll feel the rain on your face, taste the salt on the rim of the margarita glass and hear the pure tones of Jess’s voice as she sings.

On one level 'Wasted' is a love story. It’s a tale of how Jess and Jack meet and fall in love, and how external events conspire to make things difficult for them.

On another level it is an exploration of some really sophisticated philosophical and scientific concepts.

‘Jess is spinning a coin. Not actually playing Jack’s game yet, because if you’re going to play you have to be very sure. Heads or tails, win or lose, life or death: playing the game changes things and you can’t escape its rules.’

This opening paragraph leads us into a story with twists and turns and a sustained feeling of not knowing what is going to happen. ‘Because nothing is until it is and until then everything is possible.’

The use of language in this novel is remarkable. It has great clarity and moving beauty at the same time. I love this description of Jess: ‘Her hair is a waterfall of black ice. Her eyes shine.’

I’m not going to say too much about the ending because, as I said before, you really have to experience this book for yourself. Suffice to say, the way Nicola Morgan handles it is a master stroke.

Normally, when I’m reading a book for review I make notes as I go along. With 'Wasted' I didn’t because I was too engrossed. That says it all really.

Reviewed by Helen M Hunt

You can find Nicola’s great publishing-related blog here, and the new Wasted blog here.

Abattoir Jack

2010-04-24T14:04:00.005+01:00

by Christopher Neilan

Abattoir Jack is the first novel to be published by Punked Books, a new Indie publisher of trade fiction and non-fiction. I really think this Indie may be one to watch after reading this novel.

I found myself completely absorbed in this tale of twenty-two year old Jack who is stuck in a dead end job, struggling to earn enough to pay for the motel room he lives in. When he is told something he shouldn't have heard, his life begins to change, but the reader is left unaware whether this is for better or worse until the very last page. I was left thinking "superb, more please".

If you liked 'Hound Dog' by Richard Blandford then Abattoir Jack is a must read.

If you want to treat yourself to a copy then you can buy one by following this link.

Reviewed by DJ Kirkby

Death Of A Ladies' Man

2010-04-09T20:39:00.003+01:00

By Alan Bissett

Death Of A Ladies’ Man is a different and very intriguing read. It throws you straight into a world where events alternate between crashing pace and crushing inaction.

It has some wonderful moments of insight, I particularly liked the comparison drawn between Eric Clapton’s 'Layla' and George Harrison’s 'Something' (both written about the same woman).

‘That’s the difference between love and pain,’ said Charlie, ‘right there’.

Language is bent to convey the drug-taking experience and Bissett plays with language, including how it is laid out on the page. Text strays across the page, words come adrift from sentences and letters fall out of words. This adds a different dimension to the narrative and enriches the reading experience.

The storyline has a claustrophobic feel to it which is cleverly constructed. It looks at the claustrophobia of both the protagonist's working life and also his domestic life living at home, reluctantly, with his ill mother. The novel explores ways of breaking out – for Charlie his escape is in sex and drugs.

The depiction of Glasgow in the novel also works very well – added in little light touches. ‘Beyond, Glasgow howled’, and ‘Glasgow. Streetlight burnished the huge dark blue.’

Bissett also plays with time taking us back to Charlie’s marriage, and even his childhood to throw light on his current behaviour.

Another thread uses Charlie’s status as an English teacher to explore issues about the perception of literature. This is highlighted in his relationship with his pupil Monise. ‘He fed her material – was Joseph Conrad racist? Did Ted ‘kill’ Sylvia? Was Satan the true hero of Paradise Lost?’

The strength of this novel is in its celebration of language and the use of language.

This novel is undoubtedly a challenging read, and it has quite a lot of sexual content which might not be to everyone’s taste. It is extremely unusual though and despite a certain grimness in some of the subject matter, there is a beauty in the writing.

This book is published by Hachette Scotland and the paperback is due out in May.

Reviewed by Helen M Hunt

Eye Contact

2010-04-04T11:37:00.003+01:00

by Cammie McGovern

I was keen to read Eye Contact, which has drawn comparisons with 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time' but, despite both books taking the reader inside the world of autism, this is a very different story.

It opens as single mother, Cara, becomes increasingly frantic after her son’s school informs her that autistic nine-year-old, Adam, has disappeared with another student - a ten-year-old girl named Amelia. Her son is found unhurt, but Amelia has been murdered. Adam is the only witness but, traumatized, he withdraws into the unresponsive world of his early childhood and stops speaking. The community is thrown into crisis, with parents fearing for their children’s safety and teachers at the school trying to help the students cope with the tragedy.

As the investigation into the murder unfolds, Detective Matt Lincoln is sceptical about Adam’s ability to aid the investigation, but Cara refuses to give up on her son. She begins her own quest to unlock the secrets inside Adam, helped by teenager, Morgan, who has his own reasons for wanting to solve Amelia’s murder. As the mystery deepens, secrets from Cara’s own past come back to haunt her and her history of failed friendships - particularly with Suzette, her high-school friend, and her clandestine affair with Kevin, Adam’s father - threaten to destroy what little security she and Adam have.

Eye Contact is a thrilling and intricate story. Although it offers some grim realities about parenting a child with autism (the author has an autistic son), it’s first and foremost a crime story, deftly blending a sense of mystery and psychological suspense before delivering a powerful and satisfying dénouement.

Reviewed by Karen Clarke

Out Of The Sun

2010-03-29T10:50:00.002+01:00

by Robert Goddard

'Out Of The Sun' features the character Harry Barnett who also appeared in Goddard's earlier novel 'Into The Blue'. Harry is older, but by no means wiser in this novel.

The read has all of the usual Robert Goddard trademarks. A pounding plot, a huge cast of increasingly eccentric characters and an international stage. It also has mind boggling detail on the subjects of mathematics, financial forecasting and higher dimensions. It will make your brain hurt.

If you like high-powered stories with plenty of plot and an unusual setting and premise, then this is for you. Ideally you should read 'Into The Blue'first to appreciate the character development of Harry Barnett, but this book does also stand alone. Fans can also now read Harry's third outing - 'Never Go Back'.

The back cover lists a review from The Times saying that this is, ‘Undoubtedly Goddard’s most entertaining book to date’. I’m not sure about this. Yes, it’s gripping, yes it’s a great absorbing read, but at its heart is the story of a father and his tragic relationship with his son. To call it entertainment feels a bit too slight.

If you stick with it through the twists and turns, the emotions and explanations – the end will move you to tears.

Reviewed by Helen M Hunt

Book news - Orange Prize longlist

2010-03-17T19:09:00.003Z

The longlist for The Orange Prize for Fiction has been announced today and can be found here.

Have you read any of these books?

My So-Called Afterlife

2010-03-14T16:49:00.004Z

by Tamsyn Murray

Lucy Shaw has been haunting the gents’ loos in Carnaby Street since being stabbed to death the previous New Year’s Eve. It isn’t fun being stuck in a small underground building that stinks of wee, especially as your only visitors tend to be those of a slightly suspicious or less than hygienic variety and you’re invisible to them all. That is until Jeremy goes to the gents’ and is scared witless when he discovers that not only is there a teenage girl inside, but that she is a ghost.

Despite his dreadful taste in clothes and hopeless sense of humour, Jeremy is Lucy’s only connection with the outside world and she goes along with him when he finds a way to help her escape the confines of the loos for short, then longer periods of time. Jeremy persuades Lucy to go with him to the Church of the Dearly Departed. Here she meets other ghosts. Hep, a poltergeist with an increasing rage against her parents and everyone else, becomes a good friend. A beauty queen takes an instant dislike to Lucy; and Ryan is so handsome and kind, that she is positive he must be her soul mate.

Jeremy is determined to trace Lucy’s murderer and despite not feeling ready to confront her memories of what happened the dreadful night of her murder, she realizes that this madman is more than likely going to do the same thing to another unsuspecting victim. Unable to refuse, Lucy goes along with Jeremy to help him in anyway she can.

This is a Young Adult novel, but having read it in one sitting, I’m sure that whether younger or older, any adult couldn’t help but enjoy this book. The interaction between Lucy and Jeremy is excellent and amusing, and as well as the funny parts of the book and her growing romance with Ryan, there’s the underlying sadness that these characters are ghosts with pain and anguish in their pasts and a need to resolve their own issues before being able to move on.

I thought this book was cleverly written, and as well as entertaining me, it also made me cry, twice. Now I can understand why, when my daughter opened My So-Called Afterlife to have a quick peek inside, she then took it to her room, refusing to give it back until she’d finished it.

I loved it and can’t recommend it enough.

Reviewed by Debs Carr

No Reservations

2010-03-07T10:39:00.003Z

By Fiona O’Brien

This novel is the sort you can curl up with for a few hours and just forget the world.

Fiona O’Brien takes us straight into the world of waitress Carla Berlusconi and her boss, the lovely Dominic Coleman-Cappabianca. The developing relationship between these two underpins the plot, but along the way we are introduced to a whole raft of other characters.

My favourites included PJ the grieving widower who has been floating untethered since the death of his beloved wife, and his eccentric housekeeper Sheila. Charlotte, wronged wife of property developer Ossie, and her feisty mother Jennifer are also great sympathetic characters.

While loving them, you’ll also love to hate the spoilt Candy, the slightly ridiculous Shalom and her mother, and Tanya, Dominic’s scheming girlfriend.

Warmth bounces from every page of this book. I found it absorbing and intriguing and extremely well-plotted. In particular I was impressed with how all the various plot strands came together in the end.

As I moved towards the last chapter, I didn’t want the book to end. When it did I felt like I was leaving behind a group of close friends.

I’ll certainly be hoping to read more from Fiona O’Brien in the future.

Reviewed by Helen M Hunt

The Norwood Author

2010-02-27T10:12:00.004Z

by Alistair Duncan

When I was ten years old, I wanted to be Sherlock Holmes, so I was delighted to be asked to review this book about his creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Whilst scholarly in scope and attention to detail, The Norwood Author is also an accessible read and you don’t have to be an expert on Holmes or Conan Doyle to enjoy it.

Alistair Duncan gives some fascinating insights into the period during which Conan Doyle lived in the Norwood area of London. He recreates the local intrigues of the time (1891-1894) including squabbles at the local Literary and Scientific Society and the triumphs of the local cricket team both of which Conan Doyle was deeply involved with.

This book also gives tantalising glimpses into aspects of life at the time. An anecdote about a dead child, for example, illustrates the huge differences between now and then in policing technique and procedures.

What is particularly interesting are the explanations of how Conan Doyle’s time in Norwood surfaced in his writing and in the names he gave to his characters and how his love of golf, which was nurtured during this period, also began to creep into his plots. We also find out about his links to other writers including Jerome K Jerome and JM Barrie.

Alongside his discussion of the great detective Holmes, Alistair Duncan also demonstrates his own detective work in investigating and answering some questions about Conan Doyle that have previously been unanswered.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and read it one sitting. I recommend it to you as a good source of information on Conan Doyle, but also as an interesting snapshot of life in a London suburb in the late nineteenth century.

This and other books by Alistair Duncan are available here and you can read Alistair’s blog here.

Reviewed by Helen M Hunt

The Dawning

2010-02-21T14:30:00.003Z

by Megan Taylor

The Dawning by Megan Taylor is an indulgent and very focussed read. The story unravels over the space of about twelve hours from New Year’s Eve onwards.

One family's secrets overflow from the first page and they sweep the reader along. Unfolding with perfect symmetry, the plot is as unsettling as the approach of a summer thunderstorm and as irresistible as the warm summer rain that follows.

I stayed up late reading this and would then wake during the night thinking about it. It's a great novel and one which I will read again.

You can treat yourself to a copy here or here and you can visit Megan at her blog.

Reviewed by DJ Kirkby

Of Bees And Mist

2010-02-13T11:51:00.005Z

by Erick Setiawan

This novel is an absolutely beautiful read. It weaves threads of magic through a cloth of reality so cleverly that it is hard to see the join. As you read you will find yourself accepting the impossible as entirely likely.

We start the story in the company of young Meridia, daughter of the mysterious Ravenna and Gabriel. We follow her as she meets Daniel and, with him, hopes to escape her house of mists only to find that things get even worse when she is confronted by the angry bees at her in-laws’ house.

There is an absolute joy in the use of language running throughout the story, and Setiawan’s descriptive powers are second to none. From the hustle and spectacle of Independence Plaza to the roses and marigolds of Orchard Road the writing is intensely visual.

Scenes are set with meticulous attention to detail. Ravenna’s kitchen full of pointless activity and the hissing of skillets contrasts with Gabriel’s forbidding study with its hopeless pursuit of knowledge.

Mysteries run through the story and carry the reader forward. What is Eva really up to? What is the source of Patina’s suffering? Will Daniel prove himself as a husband? And, running through the entire story is the intermittent presence of the ethereal Hannah.

‘Of Bees And Mist’ will truly allow you to lose yourself in another world. It is a world where strange and unexpected things happen. It is full of emotion, danger and confusion. The conclusion comes as a satisfying surprise after a twisting plot which will keep you guessing until the end.

Reviewed by Helen M Hunt

Starting Over

2010-02-06T21:02:00.002Z

by Sue Moorcroft

From the very first page when Tess Riddell is unceremoniously dumped via email by her self-serving fiancé, Olly, to the next when we see her crashing her Freelander during a particularly heavy downpour straight into the breakdown truck of the local garage owner, the handsome, but surly, Miles Rattenbury, better known as Ratty, this book keeps you reading. The constant twists and turns make you want to read just that bit more to find out what happens next.

Tess soon manages to insult Ratty, which makes her feel she probably has not made the best start to her new life in the village that she was hoping to make home. Running away is what Tess does well, and this new neighbourhood she has chosen to start again in has its fair share of characters. She rents a cosy cottage with wonky windows, next door to Lucasta, an ancient lady with more of a past than you would first imagine. Apart from wanting to be accepted, Tess longs for peace and tranquillity to create the illustrations she has been contracted to do for her agent in London.

She slowly makes friends, and as Ratty is one of the group, they begin to spend a lot of time together. With her innate distrust of men and his playboy, commitment-phobic lifestyle, do they stand any chance of getting together, let alone making any sort of relationship other than friendship work? When they do finally appear to be working out their differences, his ex-girlfriend comes along to make Tess wonder if she ever would mean anything to him at all.

This is a thoroughly entertaining book, full of twists and turns, great characters, and enticing romantic moments to keep you wanting to read on and find out if Tess and Ratty do finally overcome their differences and manage to get together.

Definitely worth reading.

Reviewed by Debs Carr

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War

2010-01-25T13:38:00.004Z

by Max Brooks

Take out the letter Z and put in II and you would get a perfect telling of an actual war. The zombie war hasn’t actually happened but Max Brooks does a great job of making it seem as if it has.

The war is told to us in a collection of individual stories from different people who survived it. People from all across the globe, even those in the international space station, get to tell their story of survival.

WWZ is a follow up book to The Zombie Survival Guide, also by Brooks. Brooks actually mentions the survival guide in WWZ as a book that people used to help them.

The best part about WWZ is that Brooks uses a fictional tale of zombies to make wonderful social comments about the world today. Brooks uses real life world issues to tell his story; such as a Palestinian boy living in Kuwait refusing to believe that there are zombies, thinking that it is a trick by Israel.

The story raises the question of whether there is a victory or not. The epidemic still rages in many different parts of the world, but humanity is surviving and fighting back.

Reviewed by Mollie

Remembrance Day

2010-01-17T10:39:00.003Z

by Leah Fleming

This is a beautifully crafted book with a poignancy that will stay with me for a long time to come.

It begins with a narrowly avoided tragedy during a hot summer’s day in 1913, the result of which irrevocably ties two families together forever, setting in motion catastrophic twists in the futures of everyone involved.

Blacksmith’s daughter, Selma Bartley becomes involved with upper class Guy Cantrell. However their budding romance is discovered by his mother, Lady Hester, who will not let anything divert her from stopping this unsuitable young woman distracting her son from the future he has been trained to follow.

Guy’s twin brother, Angus, bearing the consequences of his high spirits, takes his chance to live life to the full and secretly replaces his recuperating brother on the battlefields in France resulting in a tragedy that will resonate through both families for decades.

The forbidden love between Selma and Guy is heartbreaking and the selfish, misguided actions of others force them apart and on to paths neither had ever anticipated following. Both strong-minded they separately deal with the blows life has given them; making choices that will take them away from everything they know.

This book is so beautifully written that once I’d started reading I found it hard to put it down, ending up losing hours in the story, which kept me riveted and wanting to know how, if at all possible, Selma and Guy could possibly resolve their differences.

The ending was satisfying. Having read so many books, I can usually guess what the outcome between characters will be, with this book however I didn’t know, which made it all the more enjoyable.

This is one of the best books I read last year and I look forward to reading Leah Fleming’s other novels.

Reviewed by Debs Carr

The Gates

2010-01-09T20:59:00.004Z

By John Connolly

It seems like only weeks ago that "The Lovers", Connolly's most recent addition to the Charlie Parker series, was keeping me awake. And now Connolly is back with another hero who finds himself in conflict with something not entirely of this world.

Instead of a world-weary private eye with a couple of hit-man accomplices, Connolly gives us this time a small boy (Samuel Johnson) prone to engaging his teachers in philosophical debates about angels and pinheads, accompanied by (among others) a small dog, the captain of the school cricket team, and an exiled demon with a penchant for wine gums and fast cars.

Connolly has made previous excursions from the Charlie Parker universe, most notably "The Book of Lost Things", a melancholy, but captivating, fantasy featuring a boy hero but no more a children's book for all that than is, say, Stephen King and Peter Straub's "The Talisman".

And "The Gates", too, is not entirely a children's novel; more a novel for adults who wish that children's books had been like this when they were children. Footnotes abound (Adams and Pratchett have a lot to answer for) and serve to supply a home for all those jokes and observations that writers slap down in their notebooks in the hope that one day they will find a bottom-of-the-page use for them. Lavatory humour is almost entirely absent; one or two examples waft delicately across the pages to satisfy the younger audience - for this will, despite my saying it is not exactly a children's book, find a younger audience; those who would never knowingly open a Harry Potter and are, perhaps, growing out of Roald Dahl.

The plot is satisfyingly paced and involves a scientific malfunction opening a gateway between Hell and here (here being a small market town somewhere in England), and a resulting attempted invasion from the underworld. Some very unpleasant demons (a number almost straight from the brush of Heironymus Bosch) wreak havoc on police stations, pubs, and village ponds, while resourceful humans (mostly of the younger variety) find a number of inventive ways of postponing the seemingly inevitable.

The way is left open for sequels, and if Connolly can produce them without slowing down the narrating of Charlie Parker's life, then that is all to the good. Although never, perhaps, inspiring midnight queues outside branches of Waterstones, I can see Samuel Johnson and his dog Boswell inspiring a loyal following, a long-running series, cinema appearances and inflating prices for first editions. I shall just go and encase mine in bubble-wrap in preparation for that day - or maybe not. Books are, after all, for reading, and I am sure that this one will bear another once-over in future.

Reviewed by Mike Deller

Queen Victoria: Demon Hunter

2009-12-30T14:22:00.004Z

By A E Moorat

This novel has one of the best opening lines I’ve read for a long time.

‘Much later, as he watched his manservant, Perkins, eating the dog, Quimby gloomily reflected on the unusual events of the evening.’

This pretty much sets the scene for what is to come: a tale of zombies, succubi and demons. What lifts it out of the ordinary is the identity of the chief Demon Hunter – Queen Victoria herself.

A E Moorat has taken historical facts and characters and woven around them a jaw-dropping supernatural fiction. You’ll recognise many of the players - from Victoria and Albert, to John Brown and Lord Melbourne – what you won’t recognise are the things they are getting up to.

It’s only fair to warn you that this book is very gory. It’s definitely not one for the faint-hearted or weak-stomached. But if you can cope with the rats, the entrails and the unpleasant eating habits of some of the characters, you’ll be rewarded by an interesting and, in places, very comic read.

One of the most engaging parts of the storyline covers the developing relationship between Victoria and the young Albert. As I read it, I couldn’t help thinking – ‘yes, that’s exactly how it could have been …’.

Moorat also explains the true origins of the queen’s catchphrase, ‘We are not amused’. Again, it could have happened that way – but you need to bear in mind the ‘note on historical accuracy’ which appears at the end of the book in respect of all these revelations.

For anyone who is interested in the period and wants to read a refreshing take on it, or for anyone who likes bucket-loads of blood and guts built around a strong and intriguing plot, this is the book for you!

Reviewed by Helen M Hunt

First Drop

2009-12-14T20:02:00.004Z

by Zoe Sharp

First Drop is the first book in the thriller series featuring the heroine Charlie Fox, an ex-army sharp-shooter turned private bodyguard. The story follows her first assignment as a close protection specialist for the teenage son of a wealthy American businessman. Needless to say, things start to go wrong very quickly...

After meeting the author at the Writers' Holiday at Caerleon, and listening to her give a very interesting talk about her life as a novelist, I was a little disappointed with this book.

Don't get me wrong, it's certainly a good thriller and has plenty of action and pace. The style was interesting too, a kind of sardonic "gum-shoe" dry humour. I liked this at first but it did get a little bit tired towards the end. The clipped, minimalist rendition of speech and thoughts began to grate and make me work harder to read it.

I had no difficulty with the plot, which rarely strayed from the linear. This was probably a result of the book being written in the first-person voice of Charlie, which gives the story a good flow but denies it any real complexity. I did not see all the plot twists coming but those that I did spot were telegraphed well in advance. In the end it did not matter too much because most of the other characters were vaguely "bad guys" anyway, even the ones who were not the ultimate criminals.

First Drop is available from St. Martin's Paperbacks, ISBN 978-0-312-93704-1.

Reviewed by Captain Black

Under The Dome

2009-12-05T13:20:00.003Z

By Stephen King

There are people who say that Stephen King is past his best. There are people who say that he has become less sympathetic, more misanthropic since his accident at the turn of the last decade. There are people who say that he can’t write endings. And then he goes and writes “Under The Dome”.

At 877 pages, this is a big book with a capital B, I & G, bigger even than “The Stand” (a lot of people’s favorite King book). But even at that length it doesn’t feel underpowered, slow, or tricked out with padding and accessories. Uh-uh, this book is a souped-up, stripped-down custom car, pedal-to-the-metal, no time for sight-seeing, barely a stop to refill the tanks.

Its size begs comparison with “The Stand”, but the similarities don’t stop there. King has said elsewhere that the failing of “The Stand” was that it had too much space, that the survivors of the Captain Trips flu had the whole of the country’s resources with which to rebuild society. So, in “Under The Dome” he re-addresses the themes of the earlier book, but in a highly compressed environment. Instead of the whole country, the setting is a town of a few thousand people cut off from the rest of the world by a mysterious invisible, unbreakable wall. Instead of the months it takes for events to come to a head, the whole passage of this book is less than a week. Instead of unlimited resources, the inhabitants have the contents of the local supermarket, and a rapidly staling air supply.

Spot the other similarities: an outsider/drifter hero, a man with a burden of guilt on his conscience; a religious maniac; an upright, courageous heroine; a sympathetic police chief; a plucky kid genius; a song that is on everyone’s lips; a society that is devolving into Civil War, because of one man’s lust for power.

But “Under The Dome” is more, much more than a rehash. It is also a parable about isolationism, pollution, about politicians claiming the mandate of God, about seeing terrorists in every shadow, and using the threat of terrorism to promote fear, force through fascist policies and take an ever tighter grip on the people.

And more than this, it is a gripping read, and King, whatever failings he may be accused of, is never less than a master of readable prose. As a plot mechanic, he weaves his multiple strands to keep the reader turning the page (and, in this reader’s case, actually shouting out warnings to the characters of what lies around the corner). The characters themselves are warmer than King has created of late - “Duma Key” being a notable example of a less-than-sympathetic lead - and King’s habit of killing his cast offhand and callously that was demonstrated in that book is reined in tightly here. That is not to say that anyone is safe, far from it; but in “Under the Dome”, when King has someone die it serves a purpose both to the narrative and to the reader’s sense of the inevitable (and sometime unjust) nature of death.

King is often dismissed as a “horror” writer. In truth, with books like this he is much closer to the British “disaster” SF novelists of the Fifties (John Christopher and Wyndham, for example), and perhaps “Under The Dome” will go some way to making him appreciated as something more than a horror comic writer with delusions of grandeur.

He still can’t write endings, though. But sometimes it is the journey that counts, not the destination.

Reviewed by Mike Deller

Constance

2009-11-27T17:51:00.005Z

by Rosie Thomas

Rosie Thomas writes prolifically, and I’ve not read one of her stories that didn’t delight me.

Constance is Connie Thorne, a woman in her forties constantly haunted by her origins. She was a foundling, abandoned by her mother at birth, but her efforts to trace her mother are fruitless. She clings to a little earring placed in her swaddling clothes, her most precious possession worn close to her heart.

Constance is beautifully written, a tale of love, betrayal and forgiveness, with Thomas moving the reader seamlessly between the years, the characters and the settings.

Deeply unhappy in her adoptive family, Connie finds a job and leaves home the day after her sixteenth birthday. Always competitive with her deaf sister, Connie falls in love with Bill, her sister Jeanette’s boyfriend. The feeling is mutual, and Bill often comments: ‘I’ve married the wrong sister.’

Their illicit love continues through the years, with Connie and Bill undertaking a lengthy affair until they are discovered. The family is driven apart and Connie, rejected, moves from London to a peaceful hideaway in Bali, conducting her musical career from this idyllic paradise. Thomas’ description of Connie’s house in Bali with its ‘feathery leaves against broad blades against sharp spikes, a lush billow of textured greenery’ had me swooning. Yet into this paradise technology intervenes when Jeanette sends an email telling Connie she is dying. They must face the past, put the bitterness of betrayal behind them.

Constance is beautifully written with a cast of characters who the reader can identify with. Connie, the heroine, is definitely flawed, yet extremely likeable. I admire her easy acceptance of others, such as Roxana, her nephew Noah’s feisty young girlfriend from Uzbekistan. Also, even when committing the ultimate betrayal she seems to be considering others on some level.

Thomas tackles several themes in this novel, displaying her understanding of the human condition. As well as infidelity, the search for identity, love and forgiveness, she also explores the difficult subject of impending death. Instead of being dark and depressing, it is dealt a deft hand, with the cremation scene in Bali and Jeanette’s reaction to it a brilliant, uplifting touch.

With very different locations – London, Surrey, Suffolk, Bali and Uzbekistan, Constance is quite a revelation with Thomas obviously having done her research. Balinese customs are intricately explained and Connie’s dealings with the native Balinese sensitively portrayed, as are those in Uzbekistan. Connie and Roxana’s visit to the Hammam in Uzbekistan where they partake in a bathing ritual similar to those in ancient Rome, is an amazing insight into the culture of women in this politically troubled country caught between ‘Marx and Mohammed.’

Able to be enjoyed on several levels, Constance is a thoroughly entertaining read, but at times you will be moved to tears.

Reviewed by Denise Covey who blogs at L’Aussie

Nine Dragons

2009-11-12T18:29:00.004Z

By Michael Connelly

“Harry Bosch is back” - four words that will get a queue of fans forming outside the bookshops. But is there enough in “Nine Dragons” to draw in the new reader?

The answer is “yes”. Anyone reading this as a standalone novel, and their first introduction to the cast of Michael Connelly’s world, will find more than enough excitement and mystery to carry them through.

What starts out as almost a routine murder investigation (albeit one that throws echoes back from Harry’s earlier days) becomes complicated and deadly as the Triads get involved, Harry’s daughter’s life is placed in jeopardy, and Harry is forced to operate outside the strict boundaries of the law. Mysteries baffle, heads roll, blood flows, the plot twists back on itself like a dragon in a Chinese New Year celebration, and the end of the novel finds Bosch looking at a life that has changed considerably.

Connelly has been writing about Bosch for almost twenty years, and the character ages at the same rate as the author; the Harry of “Nine Dragons” has grown older, but perhaps little wiser, since his debut in 1992’s “The Black Echo”. In this latest novel, we see Harry as a less sympathetic character than before. His obsession with “the mission” puts him at odds with his co-workers from the outset, and the threat to his daughter magnifies his sense of purpose (and consequent disregard for the feelings of others) to the point where the reader can see him for what he is; not a knight in shining armour, but a flawed, complex human being.

The Harry-verse is populated by recurring characters and, indeed, characters who have their own separate literary existence in which Bosch may occasionally make a guest appearance. In one Connelly novel the hero even proves to be on nodding acquaintanceship with Elvis Cole, a private detective created by a completely different author. So, for the seasoned Bosch reader, there is the added delight of seeing old friends come and go. The delight for the new reader will, of course, be when they delve into the back catalogue and catch up on the back stories, as they undoubtedly will after reading “Nine Dragons”.

Reviewed by Mike Deller

Heaven Can Wait

2009-10-30T21:59:00.004Z

By Cally Taylor

If you like romantic comedies, you’re going to love this. But even if you’ve never read a romantic comedy before, and you think they’re not really your thing, you should still read this one.

Heaven Can Wait is the story of Lucy, who dies just as she is about to marry her fiance Dan. It is a story of loss, longing and the overwhelming power of love. The story starts just before Lucy dies, and although the blurb lets you know that’s going to happen, it’s still a dramatic moment.

Lucy’s status as a ‘dead girl’ gives the story its supernatural slant, and skilful use of flashback fills in the details of Lucy’s life before death to poignant effect.

The story is told with a light touch and buckets of humour. Beware – once you have started it, you will not be able to put it down. Expect late nights until you’ve finished it.

I loved the romantic tale of Lucy’s quest to be reunited with Dan, but I also adored the story of her growing affection for her fellow residents in the ‘house of wannabe ghosts’, Claire and Brian. Despite getting off to a bad start, especially with Claire, Lucy’s journey towards understanding her two housemates gives the story an extra dimension and lifts it out of the ordinary.

There are some great cameo roles as well. Lucy’s geeky colleagues and Sally the eccentric sandwich girl particularly stand out.

Lucy manages to get herself into some hilarious situations and also some heartbreaking ones. This book really will have you laughing one minute and crying the next.

As you get towards the end of the book it becomes even more impossible to put down. You’ll be desperate to know what eventually happens to Lucy.

This novel is a real treat to savour.

Reviewed by Helen M Hunt

Double Cross

2009-10-13T21:10:00.004+01:00

by James Patterson

Double Cross is a recent book in a long-running series of thrillers featuring the forensic profiler Alex Cross. Two of the earlier books, Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider have been made into films, featuring Morgan Freeman in the lead role.

This latest one sees Cross pitted against his old enemy Kyle Craig, as well as another new and ruthless criminal called the Audience Killer.

The pace seems relentless at times. I say seems relentless because Patterson writes in very short chapters, one of his trademarks. As a result of this, I found the book too easy to pick up and put down, despite the fast-moving story. I'm not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing, but it did lose some of its grip on me.

I'm sure newcomers to the series will enjoy this book; it's a powerful thriller with many twists and turns. My problem is that I'm getting used to them and I felt that Patterson is now churning them out according to a formula, albeit a winning one in terms of book sales. The criminals were suitably extreme and shocking, well drawn characters but I felt that Alex Cross and the other good guys were somewhat bored with the whole thing.

Double Cross is available from Headline, ISBN 978-0-7553-4941-8.

Reviewed by Captain Black

Book news: The Man Booker winner is...

2009-10-07T06:00:00.005+01:00

As widely predicted, Hilary Mantel was last night awarded the 2009 Man Booker Prize for Fiction for her novel Wolf Hall. The novel takes the reader behind the scenes of a tunultuous period of history, the reign of King Henry VIII.

Glasshopper

2009-10-04T11:34:00.004+01:00

by Isabel Ashdown

In Glasshopper, Isabel Ashdown has created a beautifully poignant, multi-layered family story.

The novel presents a vivid portrayal of dysfunction as it is handed down through generations, and of the little accidents of life that make us what we are. Questions are raised about what causes dysfunction in a family or an individual and what aggravates it.

Throughout the unfolding story, echoes of tragedy are counterpointed with moments of ecstasy where it seems that everything must inevitably turn out all right.

The story is told from two points of view, that of Jake and that of Mary. We start with Jake in his teenage years and then move backwards and forwards between his narrative and that of Mary, starting when she is a young girl.

For me, one of the most beautiful things in the novel is the depiction of the relationship between Mary and her sister Rachel. But this relationship holds the seeds of the tragedy that unfolds later in the narrative. One of the strengths of the story is the way that its shocking revelations are cleverly and subtly placed within the action.

At heart, this is Jake's story and the story of his complex family. But there are also some achingly good cameos. Some of the best are: Mr Horrocks and his dog Griffin (we get some great glimpses into his world); Sandy – 'nice enough, but a bit rough'; and the ultimate fly in the ointment, Gypsy.

Isabel Ashdown's writing is full of beautiful language and evocative symbolism. We understand the story better through the imagery of birds flying free, moths getting trapped and Icarus being burnt. There is glorious detail in the writing - like the description of the gob-stopper falling out of Jake's mouth and onto the pavement – which renders it truly memorable.

I was very impressed by the masterful handling of the chronology and the weaving of the two different points of view in the story as it rushes towards its climax.

Reviewed by Helen M Hunt

Molly's Millions

2009-09-25T10:00:00.003+01:00

by Victoria Connelly

Molly’s Millions is Victoria Connelly’s fourth book, and even though one of her books has already been made into a film, this is her first book to be published in the UK.

The bright pink cover is the first thing that attracts with this book. The second is the beginning of the first chapter where you’ll be drawn into a fun, fast-paced romantic comedy that leaves you with a smile on your face and a feeling that although Molly makes choices that we might not automatically make, they were definitely the right ones.

When hard up Molly Bailey wins £4.2 million in the lottery, rather than go on a mad spending spree, she packs up her terrier pup, Fizz into her ancient yellow Beetle and sets off on a road trip. With few plans, an unsuspecting miserly family who she knows would be horrified by her actions and would want to stop her giving away her money at all costs, and a determined journalist chasing her, she has to use her wits if she is to stay one step ahead of them.

Intent on being the one to discover the next big story, Tom Mackenzie has a companion of his own when his ten-year-old daughter is left with him by her mother. He becomes absorbed by Molly’s motives behind her generosity and, helped by tip-offs and grateful benefactors, manages to stick to her trail.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this wonderful book and can imagine it would make an excellent film too.

Reviewed by Debs Carr

The Sleeping Doll

2009-09-15T20:23:00.004+01:00

by Jeffery Deaver

The Sleeping Doll is a crime thriller, the first one featuring Special Agent Kathryn Dance, whose speciality is interviewing suspects and using kinesics to read their body language. Anyone who's seen the TV series Lie To Me with Tim Roth will know the sort of thing I'm talking about.
I found this to be a fascinating new approach to crime fiction - new to me, anyway. The plot, as I've now come to expect with this author, was very tight and had plenty of unexpected twists and turns. You do expect there to be some twists, but you'll never second guess what they are.
Despite the engaging plot and story development, I found the overall pace to be a bit slow. This was particularly noticeable near the beginning, once the excitement of the initial events wore off (I won't spoil it by saying what happens). Later on it picks up and then accelerates even further towards the end. This more than made up for the earlier dip.
Although the book is subtitled "Introducing Kathryn Dance", Deaver fans will have met her once before in The Cold Moon, one of the Lincoln Rhyme novels. Rhyme makes a brief cameo in The Sleeping Doll as well.
That said, The Sleeping Doll feels like a spin-off and slightly inferior to the Rhyme series. Perhaps, given time, the Dance series will gain the same status. A disappointment for me, and it's a relatively small one, was that the supporting cast seem rather two-dimensional compared with the well-developed main characters. The principal criminal, Daniel Pell, was particularly well drawn. A very nasty piece of work but scarily believable!

Reviewed by Captain Black

Book news - Man Booker Prize

2009-09-08T12:09:00.002+01:00

The shortlist for the Man Booker prize 2009 has just been announced:

The Children's Book - A.S. Byatt
Summertime - J. M. Coetzee
The Quickening Maze - Adam Foulds
Wolf Hall - Hilary Mantel
The Glass Room - Simon Mawer
The Little Stranger - Sarah Waters

More details can be found here.

Cut Short

2009-09-06T11:35:00.004+01:00

By Leigh Russell

This is my kind of book; intelligently written, gripping crime fiction.

The crime, and its detection, are at the heart of the story, but rather than just being plot-driven, the novel is also notable for its large cast of well-drawn characters.

The intricacy of the plot relies on a delicate placing of events and characters. Nothing is wasted and nothing feels out of place.

There is an extra something – almost undefinable – that lifts Cut Short above the run of the mill. In particular, it has a clever and unexpected extra plot strand which leads to a genuine surprise at the end when it is eventually revealed. This lifts it above the ordinary and makes the story both poignant and haunting, providing a truly memorable read.

This novel also has great atmosphere and sense of place. The reader really gets to know the place where it is set and that knowledge adds depth to the plot. It really matters to the protagonists where certain events happen – and so it matters to the reader as well.

The characters do not exist just to further the plot, but are vividly painted and memorable. The young girls who become victims are not just victims – they are real people with reasons to be grieved. DI Geraldine Steel is a gripping main character who increases the reader’s empathy and interest in the plot. I also really enjoyed the skilfully created character of DCI Kathryn Gordon and the realistic interaction between Geraldine and other members of the investigating team.

I’m sure that, like me, you will enjoy Cut Short and look forward to Leigh Russell’s forthcoming books Road Closed and Dead End.

Reviewed by Helen M Hunt

The Warrior's Princess

2009-08-30T14:33:00.004+01:00

by Barbara Erskine

Anyone who has read any of Barbara Erskine’s previous books will already be familiar with the skilful way she interweaves the present, the far past and the supernatural, and this novel is no exception.

When Jess, a young English teacher, wakes one morning to realise she has been drugged and raped at her London flat, a combination of fear and shame impel her to take refuge in her sister’s cottage on the Welsh Borders. Her sister, coping with problems of her own, is staying with friends in Rome, so that Jess is in the house alone, albeit with the reassuring – if unsettling - presence of a burly opera singer at the neighbouring farm.

It turns out that the house is haunted by the spirit of a young girl, Eigon, daughter of Caractacus, a British tribal king injured in battle by the Romans. Before the family were captured and taken to Rome, Eigon suffered her own horribly traumatic experience, and her spirit latches onto Jess in their shared pain.

Jess’s attacker comes to the cottage to seek her out. To escape him, and also to follow Eigon’s story, she joins her sister and their friends in Rome, but there is no easy way out. More malevolent spirits from the days of the Romans have been awoken by the turbulent emotions surrounding her, and her attacker is still on her trail. The web is quickly spun, from which Jess’s growing obsession with Eigon’s fate prevents her extricating herself, despite the ever more desperate efforts of her friends, including a Tarot reader, Carmella.

This isn’t a ‘literary’ novel, and doesn’t pretend to be. But it isn’t trashy, either, and makes a good, solid holiday read. Barbara Erskine is arguably the mistress of this type of story, and readers of her previous book ‘Daughters of Fire’ will recognise a couple of characters from that slipping into this.

As the plot became more and more involved and, frankly, dark in places, with extra twists towards the end, I found myself getting annoyed whenever my reading was interrupted. By my reckoning, that’s a recommendation.

Reviewed by Rebecca Holmes

Tender

2009-08-16T17:33:00.003+01:00

by Mark Illis

Bookersatz readers will have heard of the Just One Book campaign devised by independent publishers Salt to save them from financial meltdown. Salt publish mostly poetry and short stories. I read both, but have quite a bit of each on my To Be Read pile and find I get through novels more quickly. So for my Just One Book, I chose one of the few novels published by Salt.

I was surprised to find that Tender is a short book. I haven’t actually counted the words – even I am not obsessive enough for that – but I would guess the total is around 50,000. And yet it’s a family saga, covering 30 years in the life of the Dax family: Ali and Bill, and their children Sean and Rosa. I wouldn’t have believed it possible to fit a saga into such a short book without leaving the reader feeling short-changed, until I read Tender.

The structure is unusual. Each chapter is from a different viewpoint, almost like a self-contained short story – but not quite. The characterisation is excellent, and I very much enjoyed the strength of Illis’s observational powers. The plotting is gentle, with no enormous drama or cliff-hanger endings. The book tells the story of an ordinary family, yet Illis draws out their uniqueness in such a way that the narrative is compelling. I read the book in a single sitting because the development of the characters, and the relationships between them, drew me along. Illis moves smoothly between dialogue, description and internal monologue, and between close-up, mid-range view and full zoom. He is a very skilful writer and I found Tender a pleasure to read.

The production of the book is also pleasing. The cover seems a little flimsy, but the paper used for the printed pages is a good weight, the text is large and well laid out, and I didn’t spot a single typo which is unusual for this ex-professional proof-reader (see ‘obsessive’, above).

So, if you want to support Salt Publishing, but don’t fancy poetry or short stories, I would strongly recommend buying Tender.

Reviewed by Queenie