White Bodies – Jane Robins

Psychological Thriller
5*s

I can’t deny I was excited to hear that Jane Robins whose non-fiction books The Magnificent Spilsbury and the case of The Brides In The Bath and The Curious Habits of Doctor Adams  I thoroughly enjoyed and which sit proudly on my bookshelf, was writing a psychological thriller. I also can’t deny that I am reading far fewer books in this genre, because many fail to delight me in the way that they once did. But boy did this one work. The plot was tight, the writing engaging and the characters were weird enough to be chilling but normal enough to be believable.

Callie and Tilda are twenty-seven year old twins with Tilda being the more outgoing and outwardly successful of the two, Callie somewhat hampered by an obsessive nature who dwells on every conversation, every look and every perceived slight to the nth degree. It is Callie that waits for invitations for movie nights with her sister but rarely meets up with Tilda’s fun-loving friends. So imagine her excitement when Tilda introduces her to her new man, Felix. But Callie’s overwhelming need to make sure her twin is safe means that she is on her guard.

It isn’t long before Callie hears and sees things that convince her that Tilda is in an abusive relationship and she trawls an on-line forum, obsessively, for confirmation and advice.

This is one of the creepiest psychological thrillers I have ever read. The premise is similar to many others in the genre – these are not people on the whole that you’d want to spend any length of time with, but there are so many aspects of their behaviour that you will have come across in your friends, family or colleagues that all the way through, I had a feeling that this could be true. This genre really does work best when you believe – a bit like fairies – and because it feels so real, as Callie goes searching for clues, it is impossible to separate the truth from the fiction. Added to that the bizarre but sadly only too believable on-line tales that draw Callie into endless discussions about abusive men, the story becomes not only claustrophobic but has a hue of ghastly inevitability.

White Bodies was absolutely compelling, it was one of those wonderful books which from the moment I read the first page I was sure I would enjoy. I don’t know what it is that makes some books far more ‘readable’ than others but this was one of them. What I do know is that this book is solidly underpinned with brilliant writing. Since childhood, I have been drawn to stories about twins, although I sincerely hope that some aspects of twin behaviour, mentioned in this book were dreamt up in Jane Robins’ imagination! Of course there are twists, that is what the genre is all about, but the author hasn’t gone all out to do a complete about face, the book hanging solidly together from the first to the last page and the book doesn’t rely on the twists for a great reading experience, there is much more to enjoy!

I’d like to say a huge thank you to the publishers Touchstone who granted my wish to read White Bodies which will be published in the US on 19 September 2017. UK readers apparently have to wait until after Christmas to read this book, which is somewhat bizarre as the author is British and the book is firmly set in the UK. Anyway despite the wait, if you enjoy a good psychological thriller, and live in the UK, mark this one down as To Be Read and if you are in the US please note your cover is different to the one above – enjoy!

First Published UK: 28 December 2017
Publisher: HQ
No. of Pages: 384
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Amazon UK
Amazon US

 

 

This Week in Books (September 13)

Hosted by Lipsy 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

At the moment I am reading She Did It by Mel Sherratt, her new standalone psychological thriller which will be published on 19 September 2017.

Blurb

A successful businesswoman, Tamara enjoys her champagne lifestyle to the full. At least, that is the front she displays to the world. As well as being lonely, she’s running out of money. A promising new member of staff brings the injection of fresh blood needed to win the contract that will turn things around.

Working for Tamara is a perfect ruse for Esther. But, along with fake references and qualifications, she also has a plan for revenge. Sensing Tamara’s vulnerability, Esther uses their acquaintance as a way of getting close to someone who hurt her in the past.

Tamara is keeping things secret. Esther has a dark side she is trying to hide. For both of them, lying is a habit. But when mistakes begin to catch up with Esther, and people start dying, Tamara realises she’s chosen the wrong person to trust as a friend. Amazon

I have recently finished White Bodies by Jane Robins, a stunning psychological thriller which is also out on the 19 September 2017 in the US but UK readers need to wait until 28 December 2017 before they can read it.

Blurb

Sometimes we love too much

Callie loves Tilda. She’s her sister, after all. And she’s beautiful and successful.

Tilda loves Felix. He’s her husband. Successful and charismatic, he is also controlling, suspicious and, possibly, dangerous. Still, Tilda loves Felix.

And Callie loves Tilda. Very, very much.

So she’s determined to save her. But the cost could destroy them all… Amazon

Next I plan to read The Many Deaths of Mary Dobie by David Hastings which is one of the finalists in the Ngaio Marsh Award for the best Crime Novel.

Blurb

Dreadful murder at Opunake’, said the Taranaki Herald, ‘Shocking outrage’, cried the Evening Post in Wellington when they learned in November 1880 that a young woman called Mary Dobie had been found lying under a flax bush near Opunake on the Taranaki coast with her throat cut so deep her head was almost severed. In the midst of tensions between Maori and Pakeha, the murder ignited questions: Pakeha feared it was an act of political terrorism in response to the state’s determination to take the land of the tribes in the region. Maori thought it would be the cue for the state to use force against them, especially the pacifist settlement at Parihaka. Was it rape or robbery, was the killer Maori or Pakeha? In this book, David Hastings takes us back to that lonely road on the Taranaki coast in nineteenth-century New Zealand to unravels the many deaths of Mary Dobie – the murder, the social tensions in Taranaki, the hunt for the killer and the lessons that Maori and Pakeha learnt about the murder and about themselves. Amazon

What do you think? Any of these take your fancy? Please do leave your thoughts in the comments box below.

Weekly Wrap Up (September 3)

My time looking after Bertie is coming to an end as my daughter returns from her holidays later today. As you can see he has thrived under my tender care and I have quite fallen in love with this beautiful tom cat. When sending the latest picture to my daughter and informing her that I was tempted to keep him I got the response “I’m sure I gave strict instructions not to love him too much as I know how adorable he is” Indeed she did, I had a whole A4 sheet of paper of instructions on how to care for Bertie which finished with “Don’t fall in love with him”

This Week on the Blog

It’s been a busy old week beginning with my review of The Judge’s Wife by Ann O’Loughlin, a book set in Ireland split between the 1950s and the 1980s with one of the settings being an asylum.

My excerpt post was for One Day in December by Shari Low which was published on 1 September 2017.

My review of a non-fiction book; Stranger in the House by Julie Summers was a fascinating account of the way lives changed at the end of the Second World War when the men returned. With many perspectives and experiences this made for superb reading.

On Thursday I reviewed Dear Mr. M by Herman Koch, the third book I’ve read by this author and by a whisker possibly my favourite of the bunch.

Friday saw me reviewing my last book for the 20 Books of Summer 2017; The Summer House by Santa Montefiore which was a light read set amongst the upper classes.

This was followed by my review of Wendy Percival’s novella, Death of a Cuckoo which has convinced me to give the genealogist Esme Quentin series a go.

As a bonus post because I am so chuffed that I finished the 20 Books of Summer Challenge this year I sorted these twenty books into categories for a round-up post with a few facts and figures.

This Time Last Year…

I was reading The Ice Beneath Her by Camilla Grebe an intriguing psychological thriller that is set in Sweden. Told by three narrators; Emma Boham a sales assistant, a Policeman Peter, and a Henne a psychologist. All three have issues but they are determined to find the killer of a young woman and to discover if the similarity to a crime committed ten years previously or not. This is an example of character led crime fiction at its best and I was instantly drawn into the story.

You can read my full review here or click on the book cover

Blurb

A young woman is found beheaded in an infamous business tycoon’s marble-lined hallway.

The businessman, scandal-ridden CEO of the retail chain Clothes & More, is missing without a trace.

But who is the dead woman? And who is the brutal killer who wielded the machete?

Rewind two months earlier to meet Emma Bohman, a sales assistant for Clothes & More, whose life is turned upside down by a chance encounter with Jesper Orre. Insisting that their love affair is kept secret, he shakes Emma’s world a second time when he suddenly leaves her with no explanation.

As frightening things begin to happen to Emma, she suspects Jesper is responsible. But why does he want to hurt her? And how far would he go to silence his secret lover? Amazon

Stacking the Shelves

I was delighted to receive a copy of the psychological thriller White Bodies by Jane Robins courtesy of my wish being granted on NetGalley. I have been eyeing this novel up ever since I first heard about it having thoroughly enjoyed this author’s non-fiction books The Magnificent Spilsbury and the Case of the Brides in the Bath and The Curious Habits of Dr Adams. This book is being published in the US on 19 September 2017 but UK readers will have to wait until 28 December for a copy.

Blurb

Sometimes we love too much

Callie loves Tilda. She’s her sister, after all. And she’s beautiful and successful.
Tilda loves Felix. He’s her husband. Successful and charismatic, he is also controlling, suspicious and, possibly, dangerous. Still, Tilda loves Felix.
And Callie loves Tilda. Very, very much.
So she’s determined to save her. But the cost could destroy them all… Amazon

After seeing And The Birds Kept On Singing by Simon Bourke on What Cathy Read’s WWW post, I couldn’t resist buying a copy for myself. I’m a huge fan of writers that can pull off alternative versions of the same premise.

Blurb

Pregnant at seventeen, Sinéad McLoughlin does the only thing she can; she runs away from home. She will go to England and put her child up for adoption. But when she lays eyes on it for the first time, lays eyes on him, she knows she can never let him go.

Just one problem. He’s already been promised to someone else.

A tale of love and loss, remorse and redemption, And the birds kept on singing tells two stories, both about the same boy. In one Sinéad keeps her son and returns home to her parents, to nineteen-eighties Ireland and life as a single mother. In the other she gives him away, to the Philliskirks, Malcolm and Margaret, knowing that they can give him the kind of life she never could.

As her son progresses through childhood and becomes a young man, Sinéad is forced to face the consequences of her decision. Did she do the right thing? Should she have kept him, or given him away? And will she spend the rest of her life regretting the choices she has made? Amazon

I was also lucky enough to be asked by Anne Cater to review The Book of Forgotten Authors by Christopher Fowler which will be published on 5 October 2017 – after all what book lover can resist a book about books? Having read the foreword I know I’m going to love this book, the tone is just right!

Blurb

Absence doesn’t make the heart grow fonder. It makes people think you’re dead.

So begins Christopher Fowler’s foray into the back catalogues and backstories of 99 authors who, once hugely popular, have all but disappeared from our shelves.

Whether male or female, domestic or international, flash-in-the-pan or prolific, mega-seller or prize-winner – no author, it seems, can ever be fully immune from the fate of being forgotten. And Fowler, as well as remembering their careers, lifts the lid on their lives, and why they often stopped writing or disappeared from the public eye.

These 99 journeys are punctuated by 12 short essays about faded once-favourites: including the now-vanished novels Walt Disney brought to the screen, the contemporary rivals of Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie who did not stand the test of time, and the women who introduced us to psychological suspense many decades before it conquered the world.

This is a book about books and their authors. It is for book lovers, and is written by one who could not be a more enthusiastic, enlightening and entertaining guide. Amazon

What have you found to read this week? Any of these take your fancy?

Since my last post I’ve read 4 books, discarded 2 and gained 3
Making a Grand Total of 178
Physical Books – 100
Kindle Books – 69
NetGalley Books – 18