The Trophy Child – Paula Daly

Psychological Thriller
4*s

Bronte is just ten years old but she has a punishing schedule of piano classes, harp lessons and because her mother Karen Bloom is worried about the way she reads aloud, she also needs to fit in some drama classes to help that out. Of course she also has extra homework to ensure that she excels in every subject, but things in the Bloom household hide more than the obvious maternal pushing of Karen.

Noel Bloom is a doctor who seems to also be keen on alcohol, or maybe this is a mask for avoiding his home life aka known as Karen. Noel had left his first wife Jennifer when Karen became pregnant with Bronte. Jennifer now lives in a nursing home due to her MS which means that Noel’s first daughter Verity, now a feisty teenager lives with him too. Oh and there is Karen’s son from a previous relationship, a relationship she doesn’t want to discuss. Ewan now in his late teens is something of a disappointment to Karen and she is determined that Bronte will be far more successful.

So far so good, we have all met a Karen, a woman who imagines that the other mothers are lazy and misguided, a woman the is focussed on getting the best for her daughter no matter the cost. Then something happens which turns everything on its head and life for the Bloom family will never be the same again!

Paula Daly is at her best when she is creating characters we love to hate. She has made Karen a figure that can’t be pitied, so what emotions are left? She is also far better than many writers at creating convincing characters of the children. Although for a good part of the book Ewan was only partially visible, he too comes into his own later on, with a convincing performance that works to round the stereotypical view painted by his mother of a no-hoper.

As the plot begins to unfold the cracks in the family really begin to show and with each member taking a stance, I wouldn’t want to have lived there as they circled and protected in equal measure. Because underneath the plotline this is a story about relationships too. Modern blended families provide a wealth of complex bonds, that between Verity and Bronte being my favourite of the entire book. Two sisters who have had very different upbringings, have different aptitudes and different mothers are nonetheless siblings.

But best of all this book features the return of DS Joanne Aspinall, one of my favourite characters who first appeared in Just What Kind of Mother Are You? And she has a much larger part to play this time. She is running an investigation that involves the entire Bloom family, and she will get her answers. She also provides much of the witticisms that appear in The Trophy Child which despite the seriousness of the subject, gives the book a real jaunty feeling at times.

All in all a totally compelling read which had me engrossed, madly guessing the outcome from the very first page, all whilst giving me the impression that I was part of the investigation, if only I could sort out those red herrings from the clues that gave the answers. How did I do? Pretty badly, as usual although I had one strand cracked early on, Paula Daly was just far too wily for this amateur detective.

I would like to thank the publishers Grove Atlantic for giving me a copy of The Trophy Child. This review is my thank you to them and the incredibly talented Paula Daly.

First Published UK: 26 January 2017
Publisher: Bantam Press
No of Pages:  352
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Amazon UK
Amazon US

Previous Books by Paula Daly

Just What Kind of Mother Are You?
Keep Your Friends Close
The Mistake I Made

This Week in Books (February 15)

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Hosted by Lipsyy Lost & Found my Wednesday post gives you a taste of what I am reading this week. A similar meme is run by Taking on a World of Words

My current read is The Chalk Pit by Elly Griffiths the ninth in the Dr Ruth Galloway Mystery series which will be published on 23 February 2017.

Blurb

Boiled human bones have been found in Norwich’s web of underground tunnels. When Dr Ruth Galloway discovers they were recently buried, DCI Nelson has a murder enquiry on his hands. The boiling might have been just a medieval curiosity – now it suggests a much more sinister purpose.

Meanwhile, DS Judy Johnson is investigating the disappearance of a local rough sleeper. The only trace of her is the rumour that she’s gone ‘underground’. This might be a figure of speech, but with the discovery of the bones and the rumours both Ruth and the police have heard that the network of old chalk-mining tunnels under Norwich is home to a vast community of rough sleepers, the clues point in only one direction. Local academic Martin Kellerman knows all about the tunnels and their history – but can his assertions of cannibalism and ritual killing possibly be true?

As the weather gets hotter, tensions rise. A local woman goes missing and the police are under attack. Ruth and Nelson must unravel the dark secrets of The Underground and discover just what gruesome secrets lurk at its heart – before it claims another victim. Amazon

I have recently finished The Trophy Child by Paula Daly

Blurb

A doting mother or a pushy parent?

Karen Bloom expects perfection. Her son, Ewan, has been something of a disappointment and she won’t be making the same mistake again with her beloved, talented child, Bronte.

Bronte’s every waking hour will be spent at music lessons and dance classes, doing extra schoolwork and whatever it takes to excel.

But as Karen pushes Bronte to the brink, the rest of the family crumbles. Karen’s husband, Noel, is losing himself in work, and his teenage daughter from his first marriage, Verity, is becoming ever more volatile. The family is dangerously near breaking point.

Karen would know when to stop . . . wouldn’t she?

Next up for my Mount TBR Challenge 2017 I am going to read The Other Typist by Suzanne Rindell

Blurb

New York City, 1924: the height of Prohibition and the whole city swims in bathtub gin.
Rose Baker is an orphaned young woman working for her bread as a typist in a police precinct on the lower East Side. Every day Rose transcribes the confessions of the gangsters and murderers that pass through the precinct. While she may disapprove of the details, she prides herself on typing up the goriest of crimes without batting an eyelid.
But when the captivating Odalie begins work at the precinct Rose finds herself falling under the new typist’s spell. As do her bosses, the buttoned up Lieutenant Detective and the fatherly Sergeant. As the two girls’ friendship blossoms and they flit between the sparkling underworld of speakeasies by night, and their work at the precinct by day, it is not long before Rose’s fascination for her new colleague turns to obsession.
But just who is the real Odalie, and how far will Rose go to find out? Amazon

What are your reading this week? Do share!

First Chapter ~ First Paragraph (February 7)

Welcome to another Tuesday celebrating bookish events, from Tuesday/First Chapter/Intros, hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea Every Tuesday, Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea posts the opening paragraph (sometime two) of a book she decided to read based on the opening. Feel free to grab the banner and play along.

This week I’m sharing the opening paragraph from The Trophy Child by Paula Daly, a favourite author of mine and in this book she’s sharing something that I find disquieting – the helicopter parent.

Blurb

A doting mother or a pushy parent?

Karen Bloom expects perfection. Her son, Ewan, has been something of a disappointment and she won’t be making the same mistake again with her beloved, talented child, Bronte.

Bronte’s every waking hour will be spent at music lessons and dance classes, doing extra schoolwork and whatever it takes to excel.

But as Karen pushes Bronte to the brink, the rest of the family crumbles. Karen’s husband, Noel, is losing himself in work, and his teenage daughter from his first marriage, Verity, is becoming ever more volatile. The family is dangerously near breaking point.

Karen would know when to stop . . . wouldn’t she? Amazon

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

First Chapter ~ First Paragraph ~ Intro

Part 1
1

Monday, September 21

The girls’ changing room smelled heavily of sweat, mud and a sickly-sweet deodorant that was beginning to irritate the back of her throat. She didn’t have a lot of enthusiasm for hockey. Not a lot of enthusiasm for school, full stop, now that she was on a probationary period. It was to be a period of indeterminate length, during which her behaviour would be monitored by a variety of well-meaning professionals.

Verity Bloom: not quite a lost cause.
Not yet.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I wonder what was behind the author’s choice to feature the ‘second’ child in this opening rather than Bronte – well whatever the reason, I’m strongly suspecting this will be a great read as long as Karen’s behaviour doesn’t annoy me too much!

What do you think? Have you read The Trophy Child? Do you want to?

Weekly Wrap Up (September 18)

This week I got some great news from the publishers Bonnier Zaffre
Dear Cleo,

I hope all is well with you. Just getting in touch to tell you something that I hope you might like.
As you may know, My Husband’s Son by Deborah O’Connor is coming out in paperback on 6th October and I’ve just received copies of this stunning book. I wanted to let you know that a quote from your review has been included in the first page of the book!

I hope this makes your day! 

Many thanks and best wishes,
C

Did it make my day? Hell yes! It also guarantees that some of my dear friends will receive this book as a gift!

Last Week on the Blog

Well I managed to celebrate two author’s birthdays on the blog this week:

First up was the wonderful Roald Dahl who I met as a child as he lived fairly close to where we lived in Buckinghamshire and he did a talk at our local library. Roald Dahl would have been 100 on 13 September 2016 and Audible had a promotional post of his audio books – including one the great man read himself.

I then too part in the Agatha Christie Blogathon timed to coincide with Agatha Christie’s 126th birthday, my choice was to revisit Miss Marple after over thirty years of shunning her for not being anywhere as delightful as Hercule Poirot – you can read my thoughts on The Murder at the Vicarage here

I was also extremely lucky to receive an ARC of The Trespasser by Tana French, the sixth in the Dublin Murder Squad series which I reviewed on Monday.

The Kill Fee by Fiona Veitch Smith got plenty of coverage this week featuring in my First Chapter, First Paragraph post on Tuesday and later in the week I reviewed the book.

Wednesday highlighted my reads for the week, including The Woman on the Orient Express by Lyndsay Jayne Ashford; another entry for Agatha Christie, this time in a book inspired by the Queen of Crime.

On Friday my post was a book tag, this one about all things NetGalley – you can read my responses here

This Time Last Year…

I reviewed the psychological thriller, Can Anybody Help Me by Sinéad Crowley, a real tale of our time that involves an internet site for mothers – remind you of anything? This book is swiftly paced to say the least and proved to make for some compulsive reading!

 

It was crazy really, she had never met the woman, had no idea of her real name but she thought of her as a friend. Or, at least, the closest thing she had to a friend in Dublin.

Struggling with a new baby, Yvonne turns to netmammy, an online forum for mothers, for support. Drawn into a world of new friends, she spends increasing amounts of time online and volunteers more and more information about herself.

When one of her new friends goes offline, Yvonne thinks something is wrong, but dismisses her fears. After all, does she really know this woman?

But when the body of a young woman with striking similarities to Yvonne’s missing friend is found, Yvonne realises that they’re all in terrifying danger. Can she persuade Sergeant Claire Boyle, herself about to go on maternity leave, to take her fears seriously? Amazon

Stacking the Shelves

There were just two books added to my shelves this week – I know, I can hear those gasps of amazement and awe at my self-restraint.

First is Rush of Blood by Mark Billingham which has a publication date on NetGalley of 7 February 2017 but actually this book is already available to buy here in the UK, having originally been published in 2012.

Blurb

In the standalone novel Rush of Blood, internationally bestselling author Mark Billingham puts a sinister twist on a deceptively innocent topic: the beach vacation.

Three British couples meet around the pool on their Florida holiday and become fast friends. But on Easter Sunday, the last day of their vacation, tragedy strikes: the fourteen-year-old daughter of an American vacationer goes missing, and her body is later found floating in the mangroves. When the shocked couples return home to the U.K., they remain in contact, and over the course of three increasingly fraught dinner parties they come to know one another better. But they don’t always like what they find. Buried beneath these apparently normal exteriors are some unusual kinks and unpleasant vices. Then, a second girl goes missing, in Kent—not far from where any of the couples lives. Could it be that one of these six has a secret far darker than anybody can imagine?

Ambitiously plotted and laced with dark humour, Rush of Blood is a first-rate suspense novel about the danger of making new friends in seemingly sunny places. NetGalley

I was also delighted to be approved to read The Trophy Child by Paula Daly, an author that has entertained and delighted me with each of her three previous novels Just What Kind of Mother Are You?, Keep Your Friends Close and The Mistake I Made The Trophy Child will be published on 7 March 2017 by Grove Press.

Blurb

Karen Bloom is not the coddling mother type. She believes in raising her children for success. Some in the neighbourhood call her assertive, others say she’s driven, but in gossiping circles she’s known as: the tiger mother. Karen believes that tough discipline is the true art of parenting and that achievement leads to ultimate happiness. She expects her husband and her children to perform at 200 percent—no matter the cost. But in an unending quest for excellence, her seemingly flawless family start to rebel against her.

Her husband Noel is a handsome doctor with a proclivity for alcohol and women. Their prodigy daughter, Bronte, is excelling at school, music lessons, dance classes, and yet she longs to run away. Verity, Noel’s teenage daughter from his first marriage, is starting to display aggressive behaviour. And Karen’s son from a previous relationship falls deeper into drug use. When tragedy strikes the Blooms, Karen’s carefully constructed facade begins to fall apart—and once the deadly cracks appear, they are impossible to stop.

A thrilling tale of ambition and murder, Daly’s richly imagined world of suburban striving and motherly love is an absorbing page-turner about the illusions of perfection and the power games between husband and wife, parent and child. NetGalley

TBR WATCH

Since my last post I have read 5 books, and gained 2 and had I located a read book left on the spreadsheet so the total is now a fairly respectable 172 books!

82 physical books
70 e-books
20 books on NetGalley

What have you found to read this week?

NetGalley Book Tag

 

I discovered a tag created by the wonderful Koutni at Kourtni Reads – as my relationship with NetGalley would be filed under ‘complicated’ this sounded like a good place to air my feelings, especially in light of their recent changes to the reading shelf!

Auto-Approved: Who’s one author whose books you automatically want to read, regardless of what they’re about?

A few authors could fall into this category but I’m going to plump for Belinda Bauer who even managed to woo me with her book The Shut Eye which had a strong supernatural element – any other author would quite probably have been shunned.

Request: What makes you want to request a book that you see on NetGalley?

It depends on my willpower – on weak days (all of them then) it can range from an eye-catching cover, a book other bloggers have raved about, a synopsis that grabs my attention, being on the auto-approved publisher list and the most likely, I’ve read and enjoyed previous books by the author.

In fact my latest request is The Trophy Child by Paula Daly, made when I wasn’t even looking! Honest, I went to check something out for this post, and it was there, looking at me! I loved Paula Daly’s previous three books; Just What Kind of Mother Are You?, Keep Your Friends Close and The Mistake I Made so my fingers nearly fell over themselves trying to request this one, due out in January 2017

 

Feedback Ratio: Do you review every book you read? If not, how do you decide what books to review?

My aim is always to review every book but like many other NetGalley members sometimes this takes a while! Hence my huge upset at the long list of books on my reading shelf that I’ve had approved for over 3 months.

The only time I don’t write a full review is if I don’t finish a book and that’s not always because I didn’t like it. I sent publisher feedback on Mary Ann Cotton – Dark Angel: Britain s First Female Serial Killer by Martin Connolly, a book I really wanted to read but the formatting was so awful I couldn’t read it. This is from someone who managed to read an entire ARC that had all the ‘s’ and ‘f’ letters omitted, so I don’t give up easily! What confounded me on this one was that half the words from one line would appear three lines (or more) below which made it more like an extreme brain trainer puzzle than a good read. I have the physical book on my wishlist instead.

Badges: If you could create your own badge to display on your blog, what would it be for?

 

Ooh this is tough, I love the badges and proudly display mine on the sidebar of my blog but as for a new one? Perhaps there should be one for requesting at least one book for every one I review which is why my overall percentage rating remains more or less stable and the total number never reduces!

Wish for It: What’s one book that you are absolutely dying to read?

Again – these are tough questions – how on earth am I meant to pick just one book? One book which is on my ‘waiting for release’ wishlist on Amazon is The Good People by Hannah Kent (author of the amazing Burial Rites)

County Kerry, Ireland, 1825.

NÓRA, bereft after the sudden death of her beloved husband, finds herself alone and caring for her young grandson Micheál. Micheál cannot speak and cannot walk and Nóra is desperate to know what is wrong with him. What happened to the healthy, happy grandson she met when her daughter was still alive?

MARY arrives in the valley to help Nóra just as the whispers are spreading: the stories of unexplained misfortunes, of illnesses, and the rumours that Micheál is a changeling child who is bringing bad luck to the valley.

NANCE’s knowledge keeps her apart. To the new priest, she is a threat, but to the valley people she is a wanderer, a healer. Nance knows how to use the plants and berries of the woodland; she understands the magic in the old ways. And she might be able to help Micheál.

As these three women are drawn together in the hope of restoring Micheál, their world of folklore and belief, of ritual and stories, tightens around them. It will lead them down a dangerous path, and force them to question everything they have ever known.

Based on true events and set in a lost world bound by its own laws, The Good People is Hannah Kent’s startling new novel about absolute belief and devoted love. Terrifying, thrilling and moving in equal measure, this long-awaited follow-up to Burial Rites shows an author at the height of her powers.

2016 NetGalley Challenge: What was the last book that you received as an ARC that you reviewed?

The Kill Fee by Fiona Veitch Smith was the last book I reviewed having received the ARC from NetGalley. I chose this book, not just because of the beautiful cover but because I’d read the first book in the Poppy Denby Investigates series, The Jazz Files – which ok, I did chose mainly because of the cover – and found I enjoyed this historical murder mystery set in the 1920s.

What do your answers look like?