Chasing the Sun - Linda Geddes

Time for a little non-fiction, methinks, in the midst of all these wonderful novels I’ve been reading. And I’ve owned this book for over a year. I was waiting for an opportunity to savour it unpressured by other reading/review commitments. The time is now! 

I am a sunlover, a sun worshipper. By that I don’t mean that I choose to lay out for hours on a sun drenched beach seeking a sun tan. Far from it, I find that incredibly boring. No, I love and worship the sun for its warmth, for its light and for the way it makes me feel. I’ve believed for years that the Sun is vitally important for my well-being. I’ve joked with friends that I am a solar cell and I need the Sun to recharge. So it felt like this book could’ve been written for me when I saw it.

‘Since the dawn of time, humans have worshipped the sun. And with good reason. Our biology is set up to work in partnership with the sun. From our sleep cycles to our immune systems and our mental health, access to sunlight is crucial for living a happy and fulfilling life. New research suggests that our sun exposure over a lifetime - even before we were born - may shape our risk of developing a range of different illnesses, from depression to diabetes.

Bursting with cutting-edge science and eye-opening advice, Chasing the Sun explores the extraordinary significance of sunlight. - from ancient solstice celebrations to modern sleep labs, and from the unexpected health benefits of sun exposure to what the Amish know about sleep that the rest of us don't.

As more of us move into light-polluted cities, spending our days in dim offices and our evenings watching brightly lit screens, we are in danger of losing something vital: our connection to the star that gave us life. It's a loss that could have far-reaching consequences that we're only just beginning to grasp.’

It’s a scientific book for sure but it’s not so scientific that the layman can’t get a reasonable grasp on it. I suppose I related mostly to those things that were relevant to my own situation. For example for some years I’ve believed that I’ve suffered from SAD. Reading this book has made me wonder whether it’s just a very extreme case of the winter blues that I have. But certainly I’ve been reassured that my light therapy is probably one of the best treatments I can use for my condition.

I never made a secret of the fact that I abhor e-readers. This may be why.

‘Another study found that, compared with reading a print book, using an e-reader prolonged the amount of time it took participants to fall asleep, reduced the amount of REM sleep experienced and left him feeling more tired the next morning.’

I read a lot in bed and I suffer from insomnia. Sometimes for review/blog tour purposes I’ve been in situations where I’ve had to read an ebook. But I’ve never looked at any kind of relationship between using an e-reader and an increase in my sleeplessness. But it may not be quite that simple. For the book has much to say about sleep and circadian rhythms.

Interesting to wonder whether this is a book that I should’ve read because I don’t need to be converted to how important the Sun is. It is one which I would recommend to sceptics. However there was much to learn within a broader context because as we know nothing in isolation can be the sole provider of all the health and life benefits we need. But the book confirmed for me that, as I always suspected, the Sun is vital and I do right to worship and revere it!

The Corset - Laura Purcell

I’ve had me a histfic fest this week. Along with Stacey Hall's The Familiars this is another book I’ve been wanting to read for ages. I believe the writer has subsequently published another book in the time that I’ve had this sitting waiting! I comfort myself with the thought that I am contributing to the endurance of a book over time by reading and blogging about it a good while after the initial excitement has died down, keeping a book on the radar. It does sadden me sometimes that a book which is all over social media one minute, on everyone’s TBR, everyone’s blog, garnering all the praise and accolades and then it disappears. Others take its place, no less deserving, maybe, but it seems that books become all but forgotten to make way for others. 

‘Is prisoner Ruth Butterham mad or a murderer? Victim or villain?

Dorothea Truelove is young, wealthy and beautiful. Ruth Butterham is young, poor and awaiting trial for murder.

When Dorothea's charitable work leads her to Oakgate Prison, she finds herself drawn to Ruth, a teenage seamstress - and self-confessed murderess - who nurses a dark and uncanny secret. A secret that is leading her straight to the gallows. As Ruth reveals her disturbing past to Dorothea, the fates of these two women entwine, and with every revelation, a new layer of doubt is cast...

Can Ruth be trusted? Is she mad, or a murderer?’

Two women who couldn’t be more different on the surface find their paths crossing fuelled by that Victorian propensity for doing good and finding that charity begins far from home. Thus it is that Dorothea Truelove, oh how Dickens would have loved her name, becomes fascinated almost obsessed by the confessions and revelations of Ruth Butterham, who admits to and believes that she is a murderer. As well as Dickens you might also experience a flavour of Sarah Waters and a DuMaurieresque menace. 

The two women’s histories are told as a dual narrative with Ruth’s retrospective account told to Dorothea from her prison cell. Dorothea’s is recounted as a present day 

account of her life and inclinations. Both raise questions as to the treatment and understanding of women in a society bound in a straitjacket of its own convention. 

On one level it is as if Purcell has carried on from a female perspective where Dickens left off. 

But the Corset is also something of a gothic thriller, a measured thriller rather than a fast paced swashbuckler. But it is brutal in places which fills you with a cold shiver. There’s a also a sense of something almost supernatural in Ruth’s naive beliefs. Gothic is a much bandied term nowadays. True gothic, to my mind, IS horrifying. This book satisfies the criteria. 

It’s a well constructed narrative that pulls the reader along with it willingly. The juxtaposition of the two past and present narratives vie for your attention. You’re desperate to find out exactly what happened for Ruth to confess to murder and you also want to know how Dorothea’s aspirations progress. I’m trying to word this carefully because I don’t wish to offer any spoilers. Although I feel like I’m the last person on the planet to read this book!

It’s a tight plot with an unexpected twist at the end. Cleverly executed as the poor unwitting reader is led to believe one thing and is unpreprared for the ultimate revelation. A real chiller thriller. 

The Familiars - Stacey Halls

This was one of the books I bought last year fully intending to read sooner rather than later but it has been later. Another book published a year ago but I have to say it was well worth the wait. Utterly engrossing historical fiction concerning the Pendle witches of Lancashire.

Some blurbish matters……

‘To save her child, she will trust a stranger. To protect a secret, she must risk her life . . . 

Fleetwood Shuttleworth is 17 years old, married, and pregnant for the fourth time. But as the mistress at Gawthorpe Hall, she still has no living child, and her husband Richard is anxious for an heir. When Fleetwood finds a letter she isn't supposed to read from the doctor who delivered her third stillbirth, she is dealt the crushing blow that she will not survive another pregnancy.

Then she crosses paths by chance with Alice Gray, a young midwife. Alice promises to help her give birth to a healthy baby, and to prove the physician wrong. 

As Alice is drawn into the witchcraft accusations that are sweeping the North-West, Fleetwood risks everything by trying to help her. But is there more to Alice than meets the eye? 

Soon the two women's lives will become inextricably bound together as the legendary trial at Lancaster approaches, and Fleetwood's stomach continues to grow. Time is running out, and both their lives are at stake. 

Only they know the truth. Only they can save each other.’

Almost a dual narrative in concept the novel tells the story of the Pendle witches and their subsequent trial but alongside it and very dominantly is the courageous tale of Fleetwood Shuttleworth. So it is also what I call a ‘big house’ story (and, oh, how I want to visit Gawthorpe Hall!). All these elements work in harmonious tandem with each other to produce an immersive read with plenty of intrigue and rich historical research that will have you scuttling off to raid Wikipedia - if you’re anything like me!

The book examines the role of women within the society of the time. The two main female characters, Fleetwood and Alice, are from different social and economic backgrounds but their implicit views converge. The men portrayed in the book are domineering, with a sense of superiority and that arrogance assumption that they are right about everything even if it borders on infidelity. 

For all Fleetwood’s youth and her, perhaps less than happy and fulfilling childhood, she is quietly feisty and determined. Always trying to shake off the manacles of the seventieth century views on how women should behave she baulks at little to protect her unborn child and to seek justice when it seems justice will not be sought. Loyalty, too, is fundamental to her motivation. 

Wherever you have witches you have a sense of the supernatural and ethereal but not in the ghostly, ghastly, ghouly way. Some of it is subtle. A dog called Puck? Oh yes. And descriptions of the pastoral landscape might conjure Titania. 

As with any good historical novel the quality of research is tantamount to the reader being able to engage fully with the narrative. And if you’re a bit of a history buff you twitch at any glaring anomalies and inconsistencies. I didn’t twitch, not once. And I’m a history buff. I was riveted the whole way through. A wonderful lockdown read. I’m now pleased I waited. And I’d like to thank myself for buying a copy of this book.

The Silent Patient - Alex Michaelides

I won this book in a Children in Need auction. I'm not sure if 'won' is the right word. My bid was the winning one, perhaps, is more accurate. I've often seen these auctions but never before proffered a bid. Always the pessimist I assumed I'd be unsuccessful and I would do better just giving my intended bid straight to the charity. But last year I decided to go for it. I put in a number of bids on various books and this one was successful! A hardback copy personally signed by the author. I can't even remember what I bid! It doesn't matter. I was thrilled and sometimes you can't put a price on that. In addition to my pleasure there was the added one of knowing that hopefully my book acquiring and reading habit has in some way benefited somebody in need.

Why did I bid on this book? There was such a lot of positive buzz on social media. Numerous endorsements that infiltrated my susceptible radar. But since the auction was in 2019 why has it taken me so long to read it? Proofs and blog tours to put it simply. However in this pandemic lockdown physical proofs aren't on offer so I am taking the opportunity to rampage through my TBR.

For a book published over a year ago, a best seller with an abundance of reviews across the internet there's nothing new that I am going to be able to offer. Everything has already been said. So all that I can is proffer is my response.

Firstly I was very impressed by this as a debut novel. So often a writer falls prey to what I call the 'debut novel exuberance syndrome', over wording and over plotting. This story was an accomplished piece of plotting and writing. It's economic without being sparse. I think that's crucial in a psychological thriller such as this. There's a balance to be struck between reader and writer. If an author throws too much at the reader there's a danger of detachment for the reader because they can't maintain an angle on what's happening but if the novelist offers too little the reader gets frustrated. Pitching it right is necessary for this genre and this book is pitch perfect. Excellent pacing too.

There is no shortage of psychological thrillers out there. I'm constantly amazed at how authors continue to come up with the most fiendish and twisted of plots. There is something delightful in heading towards the conclusion of a book and finding yourself openmouthed at the twist. This book has a wonderful twist.

There are many reviewers out there who admit to reading a lot of psychological thrillers and therefore saw this twist coming. I can see that up to a point. You get locked into a genre of books. You get locked into the formula of such work and I suppose it becomes second nature to want to get the twist.
I am fortunate in that my reading tastes are eclectic. I've read lots of psychological thrillers but usually they're spaced out in between other genres so I don't get locked in. Possibly the twist delighted me more because of that.

It's hard to like the characters in the story. And I find that an important feature of this type of novel. As a reader you need to remain objective. If you find yourself engaged too emotionally with any of the characters your bias can cloud your enjoyment of the outcomes. But they are fascinating characters, Alice and Theo. I was in danger of sympathising with Alice at some points because I found Theo shallow and sinister.

I enjoyed the author's style, an intelligent narrative which, as well as offering us a story, invited the reader to consider mental heath issues and treatments. I also enjoyed some of the allusions to Greek mythology. The legend of Alcestis is fundamental to grasping elements of the plot.

So, would I enter a book action again? Yes, I would. Would I read another book by Alex Michaelides? Yes I would. Is he writing another one? Apparently it will be published in 2021!

The Book of Dust - Philip Pullman

I've had this book sitting on my TBR shelf since the day it was published. It's one of those books that I wanted to read but I needed to delay reading it because I wanted to read it so much! Does that make sense? I guess to another reader it probably does. The anticipation is great but the dread of finishing it is as great. The perpetual paradox for the avid reader. Now I have read it and I feel as bereft as I thought I would now that it's done.

Strangely I didn't review La Belle Sauvage on this blog. I thought,  what on earth can I say that hasn't already been said by everybody else. I know there's nothing new that I can find to say about the book. Yet something in me wouldn't allow that to happen with this second volume of The Book of Dust sequence. And now I'm here I don't know what to say about it. Did I enjoy it? You bet. Did it live up to my expectations? Yes it did. Thank you and good night!

No, seriously. If La Belle Sauvage was a prequel then the Secret Commonwealth is almost a 'postquel'! For Lyra is no longer a baby, neither is she a child. She is a young woman, a student, thoughtful and slightly less impetous, who is maturing very nicely. This volume has close links with The Amber Spyglass and refers to one of the most horrifying, draining events that happened in that book. The relationship between Lyra and Pan, her daemon, is one of the crucial themes in this volume. Malcolm is all grown up and a professor at the University. He and Lyra's paths have crossed but at the beginning of the book she is unaware of his identity. As might be expected the plot is complex; there is a murder that precipitates much journeying and travelling, much trusting of strangers, much fleeing from foes, much solving of enigmas and many unanswered conundrums. We meet old friends like Ma Costa and Farder Coram. We find new ones. 

I was reminded of the whole Harry Potter thing in terms of J. K. Rowling writing those books as her characters aged along with her readership presumably. Here there is a sense that Pullman is expecting his readers to have grown along with Lyra. Well I have! 

As with the other books in the series you can enjoy this simply as a fantasy story. But of course with Pullman you know to expect something deeper behind the fiction. Organised religion continues to be a "character" in the series. Underlying philosophies punctuate the narrative but with a much more contemporary feel that links the fantasy world to our own world perhaps more than in any of the other books.

The Secret Commonwealth of the title is tantalising. And I'm worried that by defining it I might be offering up a spoiler. Suffice to say it concerns matters which may not always be prevalent in the physical world. But as a theme that remains consistent to the intention of all the other books it's a crucial part of the development of the whole sequence.

But I guess the backbone of the book is imagination. After all that's what created the whole series in the first place didn't it? It's what we need to read the book with, isn't it? It's what the writer utilises in profound abundance to create this world that has drawn us in so completely.

And now, I sit back and wait for the final book, the concluding part..................

A Wolf Called Wander - Rosanne Parry

Not a book you’ll find on many a TBR. Not a book that’s a proof you’ve been dying to get your hands on from a book blogger’s perspective. A shame because it’s a most entertaining read. This book was a Christmas present from some dear friends who live in Portland, Oregon. The author is a local lady. My friends that thought as I’m a reader a locally sourced book would appeal to me. It’s been on my TBR shelf since Christmas. And during this current unprecedented lockdown due to coronavirus I have read all my proofs and blog tour books and I’m now starting on my neglected TBR shelves. This is the first I’ve picked because I love these friends dearly and I’m dying for them to know how much I enjoyed the book. That begs the question did I enjoy it?

‘A New York Times bestseller

The wolf star, brightest of all in the summer sky, shines over my home ground. I know every hidden lake and rocky ridge, but if my pack is not in the mountains, then it is no home to me. I feel a howl deep inside, but dare not let it out.

Swift lives with his pack in the mountains, until one day his home and family are lost. Alone and starving, Swift must make a choice: stay and try to eke out a desperate life on the borders of his old hunting grounds, or strike out and find a new place to call home. The journey Swift must go on is long and full of peril for a lone wolf, and he'll need to take every chance he can. Will he find the courage to survive all by himself? 

Inspired by a true story, A Wolf Called Wander is about family, courage and survival. With beautiful illustrations from artist Mónica Armiño and an extra factual section about wolves and their environment, this book is perfect for animal lovers.’

Wolves have always fascinated me. Perhaps it’s the fairytale ‘big bad wolf thing’ but I’ve always felt they’ve got something of an unfair rap as predator and devil.This book, which I believe is probably intended at the younger reader, redresses that balance.

The whole story is told from the perspective of the wolf, initially called Swift,but as he matures prefers to be known as Wander, a juvenile wolf, who is separated from his family, his pack. So it typifies the 'lone wolf' concept except that Swift/Wander doesn't want to be a lone wolf! He wants a home and a family. Does he get it? Read the book. It’s apparently based on a true story of a wolf who was microchipped so that scientists could track just how far a wolf can travel. 1,000 miles ! 

It’s a wolf coming-of-age story, I guess! For in it Wander learns how tough it is to survive; to find food, to find water, to be safe, to learn about humans and the threat they pose. It’s an endearing narrative that attempts to get inside the wolf’s head as he tries to make sense of this world he’s left alone in. It attributes him with emotion, conscience and a kind of morality. The story is accompanied by some lovely illustrations. At the end of the book there’s also some factual information about wolves which I found very interesting.

I had no expectations of the book at all when I began it. As a reader I did think of Jack London, White Fang, Call of the Wild, and for me, being as perverse and contrary as I am, the title made me think of John Cleese and A Fish called Wanda but once I got beyond all of that I was totally immersed. And easy, straightforward, entertaining and informative read. A good choice for a sunny lockdown afternoon. 

The Murder Game - Rachel Abbott

This is the second in the Sergeant Stephanie King series but I didn’t realise this when I started reading. And apart from one or two oblique references to a past that included another of the characters it did not impact on my enjoyment of this story. It’s not often I’ll say ‘I couldn’t put it down’ because life intervenes and you have to put it down. But - this book - I couldn’t put it down! Life had to wait!

It had a hypnotic quality to it as the premise became clear. It was one of those books where you thought you knew what was happening and decided no, it couldn’t possibly be and then when it did you were like I didn’t see that coming but you had seen it coming and decided it simply wasn’t possible. But it was!! Talking in riddles am I? Maybe, but if I told you what happened then I’d have to kill you!! And then I’d be playing The Murder Game!

Lets play the Blurb Game - 

‘A year ago today, we all gathered for Lucas's wedding at his glorious Cornish home overlooking the sea.

But no one was married that day.

Now Lucas has invited us back to celebrate the anniversary. But the anniversary of what? The wedding that never happened, or the tragedy that occurred just hours before the ceremony was due to begin?

He's told us that tonight he has planned a game. We have our costumes, we have our parts, and everyone must play. The game, he tells us, is about to begin.

What does Lucas want from us? What are we not being told? And what's going to happen when this terrible game is over?’

One thing that struck me was that although this is a series that features the same police officer she did not dominate the narrative as so often happens with series.  I liked the book better for that. It was a wonderful example of a character being used as the character they are supposed to be within the broader intent of the story, allowing the actual crime and fiction to develop organically.

There was something vaguely Du Maurierish about the story with the Cornish setting, the house, Polskirrin and references to boathouses! But I also felt an Agatha Christie like presence with a cast of characters sequestered in one place and all potentially under suspicion. 

The plotting is ambitious and impressive. I would love to see this writer’s plot notes!

But what is a good plot without the characters?! Plenty here to scrutinise. To like and dislike. To question and ponder. Lucas? He has a hold over his boyhood friends which felt claustrophobic. None of them wanted to defy him. Much of the narrative is told from Jemma’s point of view. Jemma is married to Matt, one of Lucas’s friends, so you feel you’re getting a more objective view. There is also the occasional perspective from Alex, Lucas’s mysterious sister.  There was a degree of mystery to all of the characters in a way which made it hard to like them especially Isabel who I would dearly liked to have slapped. But when that happens it allows the reader to remain objective about the unfolding events because there’s no bias towards any one character.

Yep, it’s a damn good yarn. I’m scared to say too much more in case I give anything away. But it is a gripping page turner.

Thanks to Rosie Margesson at Headline/Wildfire  for sending me a proof. 

The Switch - Beth O’Leary

Me? I love a debut novel! But I also love seeing what an author does after that. Do they even go on to write another and how does it compare with the first? Is their style recognisable in the second book? Do you get a sense of where they’re at as a writer? So I was delighted to get my impatient, little hands on a limited edition (Number 37 out of 125, who wants to touch me?!) signed proof of Beth O’Leary’s The Switch.

'Eileen is sick of being 79.
Leena's tired of life in her twenties.
Maybe it's time they swapped places...

When overachiever Leena Cotton is ordered to take a two-month sabbatical after blowing a big presentation at work, she escapes to her grandmother Eileen's house for some overdue rest. Eileen is newly single and about to turn eighty. She'd like a second chance at love, but her tiny Yorkshire village doesn't offer many eligible gentlemen.

Once Leena learns of Eileen's romantic predicament, she proposes a solution: a two-month swap. Eileen can live in London and look for love. Meanwhile Leena will look after everything in rural Yorkshire. But with gossiping neighbours and difficult family dynamics to navigate up north, and trendy London flatmates and online dating to contend with in the city, stepping into one another's shoes proves more difficult than either of them expected.

Leena learns that a long-distance relationship isn't as romantic as she hoped it would be, and then there is the annoyingly perfect - and distractingly handsome - school teacher, who keeps showing up to outdo her efforts to impress the local villagers. Back in London, Eileen is a huge hit with her new neighbours, but is her perfect match nearer home than she first thought?'

Reader, she’s done it again! I think it’s better than The Flatshare! Shoot me, do, if you must, but that’s what I feel. She’s something of a writing witch who casts a spell over me!! On paper I shouldn’t enjoy either book! I don’t DO chicklit, romance etc. But I do do Beth O’Leary!! As with the Flatshare there’s a balance that doesn’t allow the book to fall firmly into any other genre than uplit. For whilst there’s much sadness in The Switch it’s ultimately feelgood with a clear message about getting older and dealing with the dreadful things that life can throw at us.

I suspect, too, that for me, because I AM older I exulted in a novel that has a greying protagonist as well as a younger one. The story acknowledged that just because you’re getting older doesn’t mean that everything stops working! Yeah, we still want, no need, love, companionship and…….. the benefits of that! This book makes it quite clear. Hurrah!

And if Tiffany and Leon were memorable characters then prepare yourselves for the silver tornado who is Eileen!  I want to be Eileen! Subjectively I am biased towards her but objectively Leena, her granddaughter, is as endearing and as rich a character. It’s a delightful tale with an original twist on the swapping lives theme because it’s a location swap. Of course that provokes some subtle considerations of how people adapt to their surroundings like chameleons. The two locations, as different as they are distant, threaten a displacement of comfort zones which make for a intriguing read. Clever, too, because there’s something for everyone, young or old, something to relate to. 

I did recognise a style in this second book and recurring themes of love, loss, ageing, caring and taking the time to understand people and burrow beneath their veneers to see what really makes them tick. Plus it’s funny, it’s sad, it’s compassionate. With several plot lines working in tandem with each other, much like the Flatshare, the narrative bounces along without plateauing.  I think this second book firmly establishes Beth O’Leary not merely as mistress of her genre but as queen of that genre!!

I’m sure this wasn’t planned but what a perfect time for publication? Whilst we are in the throes of this pernicious pandemic and enduring the limitations imposed on our lives what better way to take ourselves out of our despondency and into another world for a few hours to emerge feeling better than when we began. 

My thanks to Quercus Books for a copy of this tale. 

The Smiling Man - Joseph Knox

I read Sirens earlier this year. For my thoughts and the provenance of my acquisition of Joseph Knox's books check out this post -

https://bookphace.blogspot.com/2020/02/sirens-joseph-knox.html

Blurb -

A body has been found on the fourth floor of Manchester’s vast and empty Palace Hotel. The man is dead. And he is smiling. 

The tags have been removed from his clothes. His teeth have been replaced. Even his fingertips are not his own. Only a patch sewn into his trousers offers any information about him. 

Detective Aidan Waits and his unwilling partner, DI Sutcliffe, must piece together the scant clues to identify the stranger. But as they do, Aidan realises that a ghost from his past haunts the investigation. He soon recognises that to discover who the smiling man really is, he must first confront the scattered debris of his own life . . . 

If I liked Sirens then I loved The Smiling Man. A reacquaintance with Aidan Waits, the delightfully flawed detective who hinted in the former book of a past significant to his present and maybe his future. We are treated to the exposition of that past. It's cleverly done for you don't realise it initially. I must be careful not to spoil but it does give you an insight into this man's motivation and how he ticks. 

This book is another intelligently plotted thriller, substantial and rich in its creation of places, peoples and atmospheres. It's another complex story that requires full attention from the reader if they are to gain maximum pleasure from the reading of it. It's dark and uncompromising, looking at the seedier side of life in a city challenged by all the inner city problems synonymous with our current age.

The narrative is evenly paced and never lets up. There's twist after twist as followed up leads drag us down blind alleys and the red herrings are smoked, pickled and salted. The writing is assured and confident.The realism is such that you fear and wonder what lengths this writer may have gone to create it so powerfully! There's no shortage of good crime thrillers but what sets Knox apart from some of his contemporaries is the gracefulness of his prose which sounds like a contradiction when you have a raw, and at times, violent tale. Maybe it's because one's expectations of a crime novel hover beneath the bench mark of literature. 

Reading this certainly took my mind off the current situation we're living in. And now I need to seek out a pandemic purveyor of books so I can purchase The Sleepwalker! 
My thanks to Joseph for a signed copy which I will treasure. 

Payback - Claire MacLeary - BLOG TOUR

An overstretched police force, a debt-ridden widow, her robust neighbour - and what have you got? Payback is what you’ve got! This is the fourth story in the Harcus and Laird series. I’m going to admit this and I know it’s not pretty but……..this is the first I’ve read! However I’ve been a sucker for women police/detective/PI partnerships since Cagney and Lacey hit our TV screens in the 80’s. So there was a pretty good chance I’d like this. But what’s it all about……..

Blurb

When police are called to a murder scene at the home of Aberdeen socialite Annabel Imray, they find themselves under pressure to get a conviction, and fast. Meanwhile, local PIs Wilma Harcus and Maggie Laird are at rock bottom, desperate for income. As Maggie contemplates replacing Wilma with an unpaid intern, an eccentric widow appoints them to search for her lost cat – and Wilma goes off-piste to negotiate a loan, with terrifying terms.  As the fear caused by a series of sinister break-ins escalates, Maggie blames the aggressive language in public discourse for inciting violent crime. But before long, she finds she is in the danger zone herself.

Will Wilma manage to save her?

Whilst this could never be placed in the ‘Cosy Crime’ category there’s a mischievousness that meanders in and out of the pages. The dynamic between our two leads is light hearted at times yet the author isn’t afraid to pull the punches when the plot demands it. So you get a comfortable balance that makes for a satisfying read. 

I never deliberately offer spoilers so I’ll be reticent about discussing the plot in any detail. Suffice to say it has several strands that link together nicely with some parallel events running between the police and Harcus and Laird. The willing reader is led down several garden paths before we are allowed to experience the actual garden! Don’t take anything or anyone at face value!

The dynamic between the two women is clever. They are polar opposites practically which possibly ensures that the reader will relate to one or other of them. They’re both in domestic situations which surely won’t be completely unfamiliar. And it’s a kind of celebration of female friendship. 

I’m sure that some of the references in this novel relate to the previous books in the series. However I don’t think the fact that I haven’t read any of them spoilt my enjoyment of this one. If anything it’s made me want to read the others and see just what went on!

The narrative style is accessible and easy to read. It’s the work of an experienced writer and provided she can come up with more tantalising plots like this one Harcus and Laird have a rosy future!

Author

Claire MacLeary

Claire MacLeary lived for many years in Aberdeen and St Andrews, but describes herself as “a feisty Glaswegian with a full life to draw on”. Following a career in business, she gained an MLitt with Distinction from the University of Dundee and her short stories have been published in various magazines and anthologies. She has appeared at Granite Noir, Noir at the Bar and other literary events. Claire’s debut novel, Cross Purpose, was longlisted for the prestigious McIlvanney Prize, Scottish Crime Book of the Year Award 2017, and Burnout was longlisted for the Hearst Big Book Award 2018. Runaway is her third novel and continues the Harcus & Laird series.

This is but the start of the blog tour. Do check out what other bloggers have to say about Payback.  

@SarabandBooks

@ClaireMacLeary

@LoveBooksGroup  

#Lovebookstours 

https://amzn.to/2RDZjhO

https://www.waterstones.com/book/payback/claire-macleary/9781912235827

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Chris Whitaker - We Begin at the End

Chris Whitaker is one of the those authors of whom I cannot for the life of me understand why he isn’t on all the award and best seller lists, celebrity and TV/Radio book clubs. Because, dammit, this guy can write! This is his third novel. I’ve read them all and I’d happily read his shopping lists!

It’s exciting to experience a writer’s progress from the first novel through. The maturity of this book suggests to me a writer comfortable in his own skin, confident, and implicitly understanding how to satisfy his readers. I saw a similarity of style, theme and….. setting. I find it amazing that Whitaker is domiciled in the UK and is not a native American. He writes of small town America with a sagacious understanding that I fear many actual natives don’t have! 

This latest continues that trend, this time we’re in California. Cape Haven to be precise and whether the town is aptly named or not you’ll have to read the book to find out. Not the only location though, much of the action takes place in the Big Sky Country state of Montana. Whitaker creates his characters and his plot so that everything weaves and balances in literary harmony. No contrivance just a character driven narrative which flows and demands the engagement of our emotion. These people intertwine with each other, the reader and the events depicted in the story so elegantly and steadfastly yet with such raw frailty. 

Here is a writer who understands children, the paradox of their self absorption yet that intuitive compassion that can be diluted as we age. Possibly because of the name Radley the ghosts of Jem and Scout seemed to be reading alongside me. Duchess Day Radley will squeeze you heart, such a damaged soul who deserves so much more than the challenges thrown at her, defined by a past she has had no control over she tries so hard to make everything right and yet her volatile nature so often turns the sliding door moments in the wrong direction. Names are everything here, often with subtle intent. 

And yet for all its humanity and observations of love, friendship and family bonds, this is a crime story. Walk is the local police chief, as damaged as Duchess maybe but in different ways. He has his ongoing challenges. Yet his intrinsic decency allows him to step off the page and into our hearts too. The crime is a fusion of story telling and the crime itself for without the crime the story doesn’t get told and without the story there is no crime which is stating the obvious I know but it gives credence to the faintly palindromic nature of the title,  begin at the end - end at the beginning.

I enjoyed the subtle and sometimes black humour of Tall Oaks and All the Wicked Girls. It takes a back seat here although some of the exchanges between Duchess and beautiful Thomas Noble, (another example of how  evocative a choice of name can be), will bring a wry smile to your face. And that’s how it should be for this is not a tale to make us smile. It’s a tale to make us think and consider the complexities of people and relationships, of place and motivation. 

And I will end at the beginning - Chris Whitaker is one of the those authors of whom I cannot for the life of me understand why he isn’t on all the award and best seller lists, celebrity and TV/Radio book clubs. Because, dammit, this guy can write!

The Silent Treatment - Abbie Greaves

A surprise book post. A debut novel. An equation destined to make my heart sing. And an unexpected window of free unfettered time to immerse myself fully and read this story in nearly one sitting which I love, and I truly believe is better for the book!

It’s not a novel that can easily be slotted into a genre. There’s a degree of suspense on several levels but it isn’t a thriller or even a crime tale. There’s some moving observations regarding relationships, the longevity of a relationship and what happens when something strains that relationship to a breaking point that seems Impossible in some respects yet unavoidable in others. It’s a novel that asks us to look at love in all its many guises. It’s a novel that asks us to look inside ourselves and consider the nature of secrets and truth. 

‘Frank hadn’t spoken to his wife Margot for the last six months. Not one, solitary sentence, not one single word. Margot has no idea why. Well, she has plenty of ideas why Frank is choosing not to speak to her but no firm answer. For six, silent months they’ve lived under the same roof, slept in the same bed, and eaten every meal together in an increasingly uncomfortable quiet. To all intents and purposes, the marriage continues as lovingly as it ever did – only it is playing out in mute.

After an unexpected call tips whole world on its head, Frank finds Margot collapsed on the kitchen table, an empty blister of sleeping tablets by her side.

With the damage unknown, she is placed in a medically induced coma. Can Frank find the words to explain his withdrawal before it is too late?

I’m not always a fan of book blurbs, they can be misleading but this is just about right! It gives the potential reader just the right amount of information to pique a curiosity and encourage them to immerse themselves in this moving story. 

I’m not saying you will cry as the book hurtles towards its conclusions but I’m saying there’s a pretty good chance. It’s hard to comprehend the level of heartbreak that this pair have to go through. But I’m wary of giving anything away. It was not a situation that initially could be second guessed. All kinds of theories go through your head as you try to surmise why Frank stopped talking to Maggie. I don’t think you’ll hit the right one until, perhaps, nearer the end. And I don't think you'll be prepared for the surprise, twist? Not sure what to call it. 

The book has a lovely flowing style, an easy to to read narrative that belies the complexity of the concepts within. Part present day, part past,  the lives of our two protagonists are laid bare to us through their revelations. Skilful is the writer who can develop a character when for the bulk of the novel they’re in a coma!! But that’s exactly what Abbie Greaves does with Maggie. We feel we know her. we feel we can see her lying there connected up to all the medical equipment and we’re willing her, as Frank is, to rally and survive. And Frank’s tortured anguish as he strives to explain to Maggie, not really sure whether she can hear him or not, we can feel his pain and his shame. These emotions are palpable almost. 

There are those feel that there aren’t aren’t enough books being written for the older generation. This book is, I think. It should resonate with those enviable couples who have managed to sustain a relationship of longevity. But it’s not exclusive as the history of Frank and Maggie’s pasts will also resonate with those experiencing the dawn of love and finding that one person you want to spend your life with. Perhaps I will retract my earlier assertion that this book doesn’t easily fit into a genre. Pare it down, it’s a love story. 

Thanks so much to Georgina Moore, Phoebe Swinburn both at Midas PR for a copy of this book. 

Wild Dog - Serge Joncour translated by Jane Aitken and Polly Mackintosh

With a dual narrative that alternates between 1914/15 and 2017 Wild Dog creates a landscape of repressed tension that fills the reader with an almost indefinable unease. Beautifully translated by Jane Aitken and Polly Mackintosh the two chronologies present with two differing styles which I found interesting. Was that the intention of the author? Or is it the handling of two different translators? Whatever it is, it worked, certainly for me. A secluded region of France is the common denominator in both time frames in this tale of a desire to pare our complicated and convoluted lives down to those things that really matter, but nothing is ever that simple is it? Two very different stories that converge into one allegory with one wild dog at its centre. 

Lise rents a holiday property as she attempts to eschew the modern world and get back to basics accompanied by her less than willing husband, Franck, who is over dependent on the digital world.  Lise is the light relief in the story, positive and practical she is the one character who seems to have it all sorted in her head, naively so it may seem to some, but we need her optimism.  Franck is the complete opposite and you feel his disquiet as he runs the gauntlet between the isolated gite and the town of Limogne, reluctant and uncertain about this vacation.

The brink of war kick starts the early narrative as the villagers cope with the implications of war on its population. Women realise that maybe they can manage perfectly well without men. Or can they? Josephine the doctor's wife, a potential widow, seeks solace in the wild. A lion tamer, seeks to sit the war out in almost solitude except for his caged beasts.

The wild dog of the title I saw as an allegory illustrating the paradox of the human condition. Frank is drawn to him. One can attribute many different psychological interpretations of this relationship with the dog who is both wild and wolf like yet his pack mentality allows him some of the domestic dog’s attributes. It’s fascinating. 

The earlier story lays down a foundation for some of the artefacts encountered by Lise and Franck. The meat of this early story suggests some parallels in intent if not execution. Wildness versus civilisation endures. The past and the present. The complexities of relationships endure in both stories. Characters exist in tandem, the butcher, the blacksmith. Reincarnation almost.

Joncour has created a narrative that veers towards the downright sinister at times; an almost brutal laying bare of the wildness of nature that becomes mesmerising. Lise and Franck,  yin and yang, two opposite characters which creates a balance.  Josephine and the lion tamer, again, opposites, but like magnets. their attraction seeks to unify. 

It’s an arresting tale; curiously hypnotic in its evocative prose. I was reminded in part of James Dickey’s Deliverance, something primeval almost. It's not a book you can forget easily. My thanks to Gallic Books for an advance reading copy.