The Lies We Told – Camilla Way

Psychological Thriller
5*s

Having somewhat overdosed on psychological thrillers during the last few years I vowed to cut down during 2018 and it’s one of the few bookish resolutions that I’ve kept, but… and there is always a but; I started to miss the rollercoaster ride that this sub-genre produces so well and I so I treated myself to a copy of a book by an author who’d previously wowed me with her book Watching Edie.

If anything The Lies We Told was even better!

The opening scene is that of a young mother who finds the corpse of the family budgie – the killer is her young daughter Hannah. But that is all in the past and the dangerous daughter is left behind while we move to Clara’s story in the present.

Clara lives a ‘normal’ life. She’s happy, a working woman with a lovely boyfriend who she’s planning to move in with when he suddenly disappears. Clara does all the normal things: checks with his friends, drives down to see his family and looks in pockets & drawers to try to find clues, but there are none. What Clara does find, of course she does, that Luke wasn’t quite the man she thought he was.
Some things are excusable though, Luke’s sister Emily had disappeared without a trace some twenty years ago. From the little Clara knows this caused untold anguish certainly to Luke’s parents, Oliver and Rose Lawson, and to a lesser extent to Luke and his brother Tom who were all left to wonder what had happened to Emily.

This is a classic psychological thriller. We have a mixture of characters, all nicely distinct and most with a little bit of good, and a little bit of bad inside them – half the fun of this genre is to work out as you are reading how the stresses of the story, and this one has enough tension to make you feel like you are walking on a high wire, are influencing your view of their actions. After all if your boyfriend went missing and then you found out that he wasn’t quite the Mr Perfect you thought he was would you cut your losses there and then, or would you feel that you had to help in any way possible to help his family find out what has happened – even if that means keeping the biggest secret of all, that Emily has returned?

The story rattles along, the psychopathic child inserting herself into the story line at regular intervals even though there is no obvious place for her – has she completely transformed? Surely not, this is a psychological thriller after all and that means that scary bad personality traits only go in one direction, yes to even more dark and scary places!

Camilla Way is the absolute best at pulling all the seemingly disparate strands together and although I confess I had worked out some elements given some well-placed clues, I was still a mile from the whole truth. The ending was perfect, not quite the resolution the reader might expect but satisfying enough to allow this one to close the book with a smile.

First Published UK: 3 May 2018
Publisher: HarperCollins
No of Pages: 385
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Amazon UK
Amazon US

 

The Golden Child – Wendy James

Psychological Thriller
4*s

I was already a fan of Australian, Wendy James’s writing before this book, her ability to take such a wide variety of subjects from historical fiction at the turn of the twentieth century in Out of the Silence to a married woman’s downfall when past mistakes come to haunt her in The Mistake, amazed me. In The Golden Child there is no looking back, this is life in the twenty-first century a world where social media has transformed the life of those growing up with it.

Beth Mahonny is an Australian national living in the US because of her husband’s job, she hasn’t been back to live permanently since her daughters were born and unable to work under US rules, she blogs. She was quite a revolutionary when she started but by the time the book opens the world of blogging is now far more cut-throat than the light-hearted posts Liz writes on her ex-pat lifestyle but she has her followers who either gee her up or put her down.

One of my favourite parts of this book were the different commenters comments – their personalities shining through and could be taken as a random selection from any social media posts across the world and genres. It is so nice when the authors add the little touches into their books!

Beth is mother to Lucy and Charlotte, loving wife and now in charge of the project to move the family from the US back to Australia, and back to the bosom of the Mahonny family. Still Beth throws herself into the task with gusto and the reader an observe the gap between the reality of the move and the peek behind the curtain that she gives her followers. The girls get into a prestigious school and it is there that Beth meets Andi Pennington mother to a baby and older daughter, Sophie a brilliant musician who is in Charlotte’s class. But Charlotte at just twelve is positioning herself to be one of the shiny popular girls, and Sophie has no friends in school. Any relationship born out of the friendship of their mothers doesn’t change that and Charlotte isn’t moved to transfer any of the commonality they find out of school into the classroom. And then disturbing content is posted on social media and Sophie takes an overdose.

This is the type of story that will make any parent of adolescents run cold, a book that shows that in the bid to find their place in life can ruin a life forever. The shiny popular girls needing to hold their position in life, their victims trying to ignore the spitefulness all creates a powder keg that goes home with them at night in these days of the internet.

There are a lot of interesting debates around all sorts of aspects of mothering. These questions and their lack of solid answers I suspect will be eternal although it is interesting to view the different many ways even here that relative strangers can have their say which I guess just underlines the need for parents to somehow learn and teach their children how to cope with the pressure of social media.

This was a fascinating read and one where I felt empathy for most of the characters but the problem always with such ‘issue’ books is that I feel that in the need to create a story that perhaps the characters are somewhat side-lined and become a little stereotypical; it is no surprise that Sophie is fat for instance, but that aside I think this raises a lot of questions and would certainly make for a lively book club read.

First Published UK: 16 October 2018
Publisher: HarperCollins
No of Pages: 352
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Amazon UK
Amazon US

Child’s Play – Reginald Hill #20BooksofSummer

Crime Fiction
5*s

No holiday is complete without one of Reginald Hill’s marvellous books in the Dalziel and Pascoe series and fortunately despite reading many of these books previously, each has been a delight to revisit, well, except the first in the series A Clubbable Woman which was horrendously dated having been written in 1970 and in my opinion not up to those later in the series. Child’s Play was published in 1986 and manages to be both an appealing police procedural with a hefty nod to the whys as well as the who in the course of the investigation.

Mrs Gwendoline Huby has died and when her will is read by the local solicitor (I do miss these formal will readings in more modern fiction) it turns out that those who were expecting the proceeds are to be sorely disappointed. First in line to the funds is her son, Alexander Huby, presumed dead in Italy courtesy of WWII. Gwendoline Huby never believed this was the case and has steadfastly expected her son to return home during the intervening forty-year period going as far as to advertise in newspapers and pay private investigators to find him. She’s not unrealistic though so if Alexander hasn’t returned by the year 2015 on his ninetieth birthday (shocking to think that was some 30 years hence!) then the proceeds of the will are to be divided between three charities; one-third for animal rights, one-third for a services benevolent fund and the remaining third for a fascist woman’s movement.

Now as coincidence would have it on the day of the funeral a man turns. He’s about the right age has a light, but relatively accurate back story, and an Italian suit and he cries out ‘Mama’. Is he Alexander Huby returned to Yorkshire just too late, or could this be an imposter? Meanwhile, given that charity begins at home, the three charities aren’t too keen on waiting so long for the promised inheritance either and determine to act to get the rest of the family on side and the money paid out, to them!

The book is deemed a tragi-comedy in three acts by the author himself, and I really can’t disagree. What I do love about the entire series is although there is the very important matter of murder at the heart of each novel, and sometimes the characters have an urge to take themselves far too seriously there is always a thread of humour to stop proceedings from becoming too grim.

Another feature is that often one or other of Dalziel or Pascoe take the leading role, but in this delightful story we really learn more about Wield, the ugly policeman who is often given the supporting role, on the fringes of the action. In this book, very fitting for the times he is contacted by a former lover. The issue being is that Wield is gay, something the self-professed sensitive guy Pascoe has never realised and there is pressure from above when it appears the local paper is proposing an expose of homosexual policemen. Dalziel, not quite being the uncouth brute he presents himself as really gets to show us the other side, because he always knew. This, given the year of publication was possibly a timely if challenging read for crime fiction lovers; it is often only retrospectively that you realise how much attitudes have changed.

You’ll notice I haven’t said too much about the plot, there is no need, it is multi-stranded and superbly executed ably supported by a brilliant cast of characters from the provincial solicitor to the young blackmailer, from the sleazy journalist to the hard-nosed publican all there to be laughed with, and on occasion at as hopes are dashed and fears are sometimes unrealised.

Child’s Play was my sixth read in my 20 Books for Summer 2018 Challenge and Reginald Hill made sure it was a sheer delight – I think I’m enjoying this series even more on the repeat reads.

First Published UK: 1986
Publisher: HarperCollins
No of Pages:368
Genre: Crime Fiction – Series
Amazon UK
Amazon US

Dalziel & Pascoe Series

A Clubbable Woman (1970)
An Advancement of Learning (1971)
Ruling Passion (1973)
An April Shroud (1975)
A Pinch of Snuff (1978)
A Killing Kindness (1980)
Deadheads (1983)
Exit Lines (1984)
Child’s Play (1986)
Under World (1988)
Bones and Silence (1990)
One Small Step (1990, novella)
Recalled to Life (1992)
Pictures of Perfection (1994)
The Wood Beyond (1995)
On Beulah Height (1998)
Arms and the Women (1999)
Dialogues of the Dead (2002)
Death’s Jest-Book (2003)
Good Morning, Midnight (2004)
The Death of Dalziel (2007)
A Cure for All Diseases (2008)
Midnight Fugue (2009)

The A.B.C. Murders – Agatha Christie

Classic Crime Fiction
5*s

Hercule Poirot in this, the thirteenth book written about him by the Queen of Crime, Agatha Christie, is according to our dear friend Captain Hastings, a wee bit bored with no juicy crimes to solve. How fortunate then that he should receive an anonymous letter from someone signing themselves A.B.C.

I can’t say any more about this book without commenting on the then relatively unused style of alternating between a first person narrative by Captain Hastings and third person narrative provided by the same Captain Hastings but pertaining to be from another character. Needless to say we are now used to our author’s playing games with viewpoints but back in 1936 when the book was first published it was quite unexpected, but apparently well received.

Of course despite Hasting’s speculation that the event foretold in Andover may well be a burglary, Poirot is sure it will be murder, and of course he is right. Mrs Alice Ascher is killed in her ‘cheap’ tobacco and paper shop and left on the counter is a copy of the ABC railway timetable.

One of the things that has most enchanted me re-reading these novels is the very thing that passed me by when I first discovered them as a child. Whilst the murder mystery itself easily stands the test of time there is something about the everyday items and attitudes that surface now and again which instantly makes you realise this was first read, possibly by my grandparents when they were far younger than I am now! I mean you barely hear about maps nowadays let alone a book of railway timetables that people actually went and purchased! Although apparently my internet research indicates that there was a reprint done in 2010 named abc Guide for railway enthusiasts.

After Mrs Ascher’s death Inspector Crome, aware of the anonymous letter which saves the drunken errant husband of the deceased woman from suspicion, is condescending towards Poirot but he manfully rises above it, resplendent with his dyed hair and full moustache. Soon Poirot gets another letter indicating that the next murder will happen in Bexhill and challenging Poirot to solve the case. It’s fair to say the police don’t have a clue and nor does it seem that Poirot has much idea which direction to proceed except to chase around the country by train to the destinations given in the letters, but he has the victim’s family and friends to keep him busy while he waits…

A little later in the book it is commented on that each of the victims, I don’t think I’m giving much away to say we got passed the letter C, had their own little drama going on that would make for a good story, and it’s true. One of the delights is the varied age and disposition of the victims and their families which almost defies the long-held belief that Agatha Christie isn’t great at developing her characters as she certainly packs enough into this little book to satisfy this reader. A particular mention has to be given to  the wonderful Doctor Thomson who is intent on profiling the killer – again who knew that such methods were around in the 1930s?

Of course with the crimes happening up and down the country although always in places where a traveller has a convenient railway station to alight and depart from, the traditional gathering in the drawing-room to reveal the killer isn’t quite possible, but fear not, Hercule Poirot and his little grey cells does not disappoint in the dénouement.

So this book having been purchased in Bath in November 2017 is the first entry on my Mount TBR Challenge 2018 and earns me one-third of a book token.

 

 

First Published UK: 1936
Publisher: HarperCollins
No of Pages: 331
Genre: Crime Fiction – Classic
Amazon UK
Amazon US

Three Things About Elsie – Joanna Cannon

Contemporary Fiction
4*s

Florence Claybourne is in her eighties and lives in sheltered accommodation named Cherry Tree. One afternoon she falls and contemplates the events of the previous few weeks, and her life. Elsie is Florence’s best friend, the one who keeps her on the straight and narrow, even more important now that she has been threatened with expulsion due to her behaviour.

It was called sheltered accommodation, but I’d never quite been able to work out what we were being sheltered from. The world was still out there. It crept in through the newspapers and the television. It slid between the cracks of other people’s conversation and sang out from mobile telephones. We were the ones hidden away, collected up and ushered out of sight, and I often wondered if it was actually the world that was being sheltered from us.

In some ways this book reminds me of Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey, a book I found too hard to properly enjoy because reading a story about a woman with dementia when my own mother was suffering of this awful disease, meant that I made unfair comparisons with the real-life situation whereas the book was by its very nature fictional. I have a feeling that if I’d read this book at the same time, I might have drawn similar comparisons. I mention this because I firmly believe that each of us brings our own life’s experiences, our hopes and our fears with us to each book we read, and because of that our take on the story is bound to be slightly different. Fortunately I found this a charming read albeit one with a solid mystery which kept me entertained and softened the sometimes harsher intrusive thoughts about the realities of old age.

Florence is clearly in the early stages of dementia but she’s a fighter. When a man she recognises from some sixty years before turns up in the same sheltered housing complex, a man she believes died all those years ago, she’s switched on enough to try to find some proof. With the help of Elsie and the brilliantly portrayed General Jack, she finds out the man’s name is Gabriel Price although once she finally remembers, she believes he is in fact is Ronnie Butler. What significance Ronnie Butler played in Florence’s life is very gradually revealed during the time she lays on the floor of her flat, waiting for help and looking at ‘all manner of nonsense under that sideboard.’

The characters make this book, Florence and her friend Elsie are a wonderful double act with some gentle, wry humour to lift the spirits. The Manager of the care home Miss Bissell who seems to need to lie down a lot of the time, when she isn’t doing Sudoku. Miss Bissell wisely lets Miss Ambrose, one of our third person narrators, a supervisor at Cherry Tree, have the difficult conversations, even if she’s rarely allowed to make any decisions. Through Miss Ambrose’s eyes we get to see a different view of Florence. A woman who is decidedly not keen on joining in with the other residents, a woman who talks or quite often shouts to herself and someone who buys twenty three Battenberg cakes that are stacked high in the sideboard, a fact Florence staunchly denies.  The other third person narrator is the adorable Handy Simon, the handyman who over the course of the book has a leap forward in terms of character development from a shy young man welded to the image of his hero fireman father to a man who begins to imagine, and realise. that there is a world outside the facts he’s been so attached to.

With the time ticking away while Florence lies on the floor, imagining who her saviour will be, the story is bought up to the present, although the truth of course is buried deep in the past.

One thing that can’t be denied is that this is a story that will imprint itself on your mind, the language is absolutely beautiful, the observations knife-sharp so although the story on the surface is seemingly gentle, has a hard kernel at the centre which made spending some time with the residents of Cherry Tree an absolute delight.

I’d like to say a huge thank you to the publishers HaperCollins UK who allowed me to read Three Things About Elsie ahead of publication on 11 January 2018, this unbiased review is my thank you to them and the hugely talented Joanna Cannon.

First Published UK: 11 January 2018
Publisher: HarperCollins UK
No of Pages: 464
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Amazon UK
Amazon US

 

 

Her Deadly Secret – Chris Curran

Psychological Thriller
5*s

A character led psychological thriller that packs a real punch.

Joe and Hannah Marsden’s fourteen year old daughter has disappeared. Lily hasn’t returned from school and although at first the police were sure she’d turn up soon we first meet Joe as he returns from giving a press conference to appeal for her to get in touch. Hannah didn’t attend, doesn’t want Joe near her and anyway we all know that the police watch the behaviour of those who are part of the televised appeals.

Loretta is the Family Liaison Officer assigned to the Marsden family there to support them through the difficult time, but also to observe, and there is plenty of observations to make that’s for sure. Hannah is distraught, completely poleaxed by her grief whereas Joe secretly wants to escape the confines of the now claustrophobic house but he also wants to know what has happened to Lily.

Our final narrator is Rosie Weatherall, a mysterious addition to the storyline, she is watching the news story of Lily’s disappearance unfold with horrified interest as it reminds her of the disappearance of her elder sister Alice. Rosie’s father has recently been released from prison, convicted of killing Alice fifteen years previously. After struggling to accept that her adored father, a widely respected classical musician could have ever committed such a crime, her mother finally convinced her that it was the case, the evidence was squarely against him.

With secrets bursting to be set free, Her Deadly Secret makes for full-on compulsive reading ably assisted by our three brilliant narrators; Loretta, Joe and Rosie. All three are searching for the truth but that’s not easy when those in the know are masters of deception.

A good psychological thriller has characters you can believe in, even when they may behave in strange ways due to the abnormal circumstances they are plunged into. I absolutely believed, although of course my suspicions were on high alert for criminal behaviour, that these were genuine people. Books in this sub-genre should also follow the unwritten rules of crime writing that the outcome can’t come out of left-field. It is even better when there are some red-herrings to keep the reader wondering. I’m pleased to state that all these conditions were met, and more. Even the minor characters, such as Lily’s own secret boyfriend was believable all the more so because many of these held conflicted beliefs which is always one of the biggest problems for a writer to convey without losing credibility for their creations. But we all can believe one thing, whilst suspecting another from time to time, people generally struggle with two conflicting views are presented to them. This is illustrated through one character in the book, who reports another to the police, and then soon apologises to the suspect, realising that what she thinks she saw, could have in fact been viewed in an alternative way. There are many more such examples which for me only had me all the more wrapped up in the family’s nightmare. Added to that was the wonderful backdrop of Hastings, Loretta’s family life and a religious community called The Children of Light which all served to round this off as an immersive read.

I’d like to thank the author and publishers HaperCollins UK for providing me with a copy of Her Deadly Secret, this honest review is my belated thanks to them for the book and the brilliant reading experience which examines the ripples caused for years when a child is murdered. Back in July when Her Deadly Secret was published, the author kindly wrote a guest post for me on how she finds inspiration for her books which you can read here. If you like the sound of this book, it is currently at a bargain price in eBook format so I’d snap it up quickly while I will be adding the author’s previous two books, Mindsight and Her Turn to Cry to my wishlist.

First Published UK: 21 July 2017
Publisher: HarperCollins UK
No. of Pages: 304
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Amazon UK
Amazon US 

 

 

 

Bones and Silence – Reginald Hill #20booksofsummer

Crime Fiction
5*s

I simply adore this series, it takes a true writer to pen an entire collection where each book has a different feel and yet stays absolutely committed to the chief protagonists: Dalziel. Pascoe, Wield and Ellie whilst coming up with different types of scenarios as a stage for them to play on.

The stage in Bones and Silence is a literal one with the talented, determined and beautiful Eileen Cheung putting on a community medieval play The Mystery which is planned for the May Bank Holiday weekend. Her aim is to cast Dalziel to play God, riding atop a truck through the town – sheer brilliance!

Of course it isn’t all play-acting as the book opens with Dalziel witnessing something, but what did he really see through his window? The end result is a woman is dead and Dalziel is convinced that he saw two men, a woman and a revolver. In the time it takes for Dalziel to sprint to the house, the woman is dead and her lover and her husband both insist that she shot herself. Dalziel doesn’t believe a word of it!

Meanwhile Peter Pascoe who is still recovering from serious injuries inflicted during the previous book takes a more circumspect view and is somewhat less than convinced of Dalziel’s certainty.

Of course one potential murder and a play is not enough for Reginald Hill so we have some sub-plots to involve ourselves in, including some cryptic letters written anonymously to Dalziel which Pascoe investigates. All of this gives the reader many opportunities to witness the acerbic wit of Dalziel, the more introspective Pascoe and I’m glad to say Wield gets a decent part to play in this book. And of course inbetween the police action Eileen Cheung is cracking her whip with rehearsals and cutting through Dalziel’s expected reticence to knuckling down to put on a play that the entire community of Yorkshiremen and women can enjoy.

Ellie is a little less bolshie in this book following a serious lack of judgement that put others in danger in the previous episode but fortunately this being book eleven, I know she gets her spark back later on in the series. One of the great delights of this book is that although Reginald Hill has created some wonderful characters he allows different aspects of their nature to ebb and flow. We think of Dalziel as being charmless and dogmatic but at times he is capable of great empathy which turns him from a caricature into a fully rounded man, each of the other main protagonists are given the same treatment. This top-notch characterisation along with the, just the right side of genius in solving the crime in Bones and Silence, just served to underline what an absolute treat these books are.

If you haven’t read this book, and personally I think each book can be read as a standalone although to fully appreciate the depth they definitely work better once you’ve read more than one, have a hanky ready for the ending – I will say no more.

Bones and Silence was my fifth read of my 20 Books of Summer  Challenge 2017

First Published UK: 1990
Publisher: HarperCollins 
No of Pages: 528
Genre: Crime Fiction – Series
Amazon UK
Amazon US

Let the Dead Speak – Jane Casey

Crime Fiction
5*s

Eighteen year old Chloe Emery left her father’s house and made her way home to her mother and in these earliest scenes I was left in no doubt at all that something awful is about to happen as her neighbour, Oliver Norris, offers her a lift and drops her home. She dashes inside the house out of the rain and then slowly, very slowly, she realises that all is not as it should be. The house smells funny and there is mud everywhere, only it is not mud, it’s blood.

Maeve Kerrigan has been promoted and she is now a DS, eager to prove herself in the new role and determined that Josh Derwent is going to realise she doesn’t need him treating her like a junior anymore. The pair are called to the Emery house where despite the lack of a body, a murder investigation is launched; Chloe’s mother Kate is nowhere to be found and all her belongings are still at home. This could prove to be a PR disaster for the police if Kate is not dead, but an equal one if they don’t treat it seriously enough.

Right from the off I had masses of questions, was Chloe really as slow as she seemed, and if so why was her bright younger neighbour, Bethany Norris so keen to spend so much time with her? With Chloe reluctant to tell the officers exactly where she’s been since she left her father’s house, or even why she left without saying goodbye, the police are sure they are missing some vital information. But, at least Chloe is safe staying with the Norris’s while the house is a crime scene.

We have a new younger woman on the team too, Georgina who it’s safe to say isn’t a hit with Maeve and so her efforts to impress fall somewhat flat but it takes her a while to cotton on. This is just one example of how Jane Casey gets the tone exactly right. Maeve may well not take to Georgina, but she tries. She doesn’t go for the all-out put downs but tries to temper them with some helpful advice, that way when Georgina screws up, we all know who to blame.

This is, like all the other books in the series, action packed with life-threatening moments coming not just where you expect them, at the end of the book. The pacing is immaculate, once I started this one, I really was terribly reluctant to put it down. There is intrigue as well as all the deadly sins, none as deadly as those inflicted on those who should be closest to us, our family. The casual lies, betrayals and greed are sewn deep into the very fabric of this book, and few of the minor characters come away with anything like an intact reputation which gives plenty of suspects to be suspected!

Now if you want taut plotting and a cast of characters to delight, then you don’t need to look any further, Jane Casey delivers on both. Even better there is an undercurrent of humour which serves to deflect from any of the horrific pictures your imagination may serve up, and believe me, there are plenty of such opportunities.

I was extremely lucky to be given a proof copy of Let The Dead Speak by the publishers ahead of publication date of 9 March 2017!

The Maeve Kerrigan Series in Order

The Burning
The Reckoning
The Last Girl
The Stranger You Know
The Kill
After The Fire

First Published UK: 9 March 2017
Publisher: HarperCollins UK
No of Pages:  352
Genre: Crime Fiction – Series
Amazon UK
Amazon US

Behind Her Eyes – Sarah Pinborough #WTFthatending

Psychological Thriller
5*s

Louise is a single mother not looking for fun when she meets an attractive stranger in a bar on a rare night out. It all looks promising and she is left with the memory of a kiss from the handsome stranger. Sadly for Louise, she also finds out that he’s married, and will be starting work as the new psychologist starting at the private practice she works for. As a modern woman she grabs whatever she can from the encounter and uses it to entertain her friend over a bottle or two of wine and a big belly laugh at her expense.

The reality of course was different to the tale she spun her friend. Louise had been devastated to see David walk into the office where she works as a PA, not least because his stunning wife Adele was on his arm, she did the only thing she could think of, she hid in the toilets until his welcome tour was over.

David and Adele have just moved to the area and Louise’s luck just isn’t playing ball. Would you believe it? Just a few days later she literally bumps into Adele on the street near her son’s school and before she knows it she is having coffee with this slightly timid but lovely woman. What Adele tells, or in part leaves unsaid, her makes her view her new boss in a different light.

Now this is the most highly hyped psychological thriller of the year – it comes complete with the killer hashtag #WTFthatending so I was expecting something brilliant, and yes, I got it. I was determined not to be drawn in by the hashtag, but despite that, this really wasn’t what I was expecting at all, and if I’m honest, if I’d had an inkling beforehand, I might very well have dismissed this book. But, and here’s the thing, sometimes brilliant writing can and does overcome what I think I do or don’t like in books and while I was in the grip of the action, Sarah Pinborough’s writing had me completely convinced. She did a marvellous job of creating all three main protagonists, not a hint of a cardboard cutout filled in with clichés but people who appear to be a mixture of good, and the not so good, and that went a hell of a long way into making me care, in part about all three although in the best traditions of the genre, my sympathies altered depending on the latest piece of information – and believe me, there are lots of pieces to put together before you get to that ending! Despite the hashtag there is a lot of enjoyment to be had throughout the story, this isn’t a book that stands on its ending alone, in many ways trying to grapple with where the truth may possibly lie during the main part of the book was equally, if not more satisfying.

I can see this being a massive hit, perfect for diving into on winter’s nights and equally likely to be seen around the pool while on holiday. Yes, you may well finish the book like I did and on reflection wonder how the book had you quite so hooked, but the truth is, it did and I was! I can assure you that I won’t forget David, Louise or Adele in a hurry and I thoroughly enjoyed the ride.

First Published UK: 26 January 2017
Publisher: HarperCollins UK
No of Pages:  384
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Amazon UK
Amazon US

The Marriage Lie – Kimberly Belle

Psychological Thriller
4*s

Well once again the premise of this book is intriguing. Imagine finding out your devoted husband has died in a plane crash, only he wasn’t supposed to be on a trip to Seattle because he is attending a conference as a key speaker in Orlando. That’s what happened to Iris when just that morning they’d snuggled in bed and planned on having a baby. After being married for seven years you’d think Iris knew all the big things about Will but when she tries to work out how he was on that flight she realises how little she knew.

I’m not going to say too much more about the plot, I’ll let you discover for yourself what Iris uncovers and the real reason why Will wasn’t where he’d said he’d be, and it’s a thrilling journey. The plotting is superb with plenty of twists and turns right from the beginning to the very last page and along the way we meet some interesting characters.

Poor Iris is suffering from grief for the man she thought she’d married along with a burning desire to find out who her husband really was. For all the conflicting emotions she comes across as a credible character, although perhaps she should have asked some of those questions before she married Will, he seemed so perfect and he’d had a tragic early life so of course she didn’t want to open old wounds.

Iris’s family were lovely, the fussy mother and her twin brother Dave who doesn’t hesitate to help her find out exactly who Will was, where he came from and what he was doing in Seattle, were particular favourites of mine. They were realistic, all the more so because behind them all stood the solid father, quietly managing the inevitable overspill of emotion. Together this wonderful family unit highlights how little Will had, apart of course from Iris.

Iris and Dave go to Seattle to follow in the footsteps of the deceased Will and one of the things I loved about this book was the bond between the siblings. It isn’t unusual to read about sisters in books but I realised how rarely brothers feature, unless to act as a bit of muscle or the odd snarl here and there. This was an authentic sibling relationship which mirrors the genuine pleasure the pair gained from each other’s company, even in this the weirdest, and saddest of situations.

As with so many of these psychological thrillers this is a book to put time aside for and enjoy the ride with all its high points and shocking moments, trying to discern the sneaky red herrings whilst pondering how some of the things you are reading can possibly be resolved in a realistic manner. Now I’m not going to pretend that there aren’t a few coincidences, a bit of trickery to smooth out some bumps, that is only to be expected but on the whole I was convinced by much of this book because of the characters, they really behaved as real people do. Some were straightforward and some much less so – don’t worry you will recognise them when you meet them… eventually.

I was delighted to receive a proof copy of this book from the publishers Harper Collins UK via Midas PR who have supplied me with so many good books in 2017. The Marriage Lie will be published on 29 December 2016 so keep some of that Christmas money aside to treat yourself to a great book to start 2017.

First Published UK: 29 December 2016
Publisher: HarperCollins Uk
No of Pages: 384
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Amazon UK
Amazon US