Tragedy at Bawley Bay - Elizabeth M Cox

A interesting little novella that has more than a passing ‘affinity’ with Sarah Waters, (Ouch! I know, I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist). Set in Victorian Kent on the River Thames, this is a gothic ghost story mostly told in the form of a first person written account of the mysterious events of Christmas Eve 1866 by Miss Jane Waterford and the events leading up to that date.

Its authentically written therefore you are completely convinced of the historical accuracy.  You do feel transported back to that era with all the protocols and predilections of the age including the burden of living with forbidden desires and dealing with all the secrecy that entails and the backlash that exposure can produce. As you read Jane’s heartfelt account you unhesitatingly believe her. There is something of the spiritual about the story, karmic forces at play that do send a chill through you. As a ghost story its unnerving rather than frightening. 

I’m not an e-reader fan but I think this is just the kind of work that suits such a medium. Something to be read on the daily commute and it’s short enough to give a reader the satisfaction of completion.

It doesn’t need to be any longer. The story is told and told well. 

It won’t set any worlds alight and I can’t see it hitting the best seller lists but if this is the author’s first toe dip into the sea of the written word then there’s promise of more to come. 

Tin Man - Sarah Winman

This is a beautiful, poignant book. And that’s my review. Thank you for reading it. And I hope you get hold of this book and enjoy it as much as I did. 

Nah, not really. I can’t get away with that can I? But this book has made me realise that I’m maybe more of a reader than a reviewer! And it made me wonder what people want from a book review. Do I wax lyrical about plot, character, narrative, quality of writing? Sometimes I’m reading a book that is so good I forget all about such things and just let the book envelope me and carry me along with it and nothing else seems to matter. 

This book struck such a chord with me. When I was a child my mother had a painting in the dining room. Where she got it I don’t know, it certainly wasn’t won in a raffle and it wasn’t even by a recognised artist. It was a picture of some daffodils in a Sylvac type urn on a highly polished table where you could see the reflection of New York style buildings in the background. One daffodil has fallen from the vase and lays on the table. The daffodils are a vibrant yellow. I never discussed with my mother what she saw in it but it must have been something for it remained on the wall for years. Then we moved house and I didn’t know where it had gone. Years later I found it in her attic after she died, covered in an old sheet. So precious to her that she couldn’t throw it away. Now it hangs in my dining room. I look at it every day always seeing some kind of other life in it. Maybe that’s what my mother did.

This story covers a plethora of emotion but a leitmotiv throughout is painting, pictures, photos and words triggering memories and feelings. There is a wistfulness running thorough it that frequently moved me to tears. A story of love and friendship, of loss and longing and dealing with grief. And its not so much what happens but why it happens and how its described. The simplest of phrases and described tender gestures that just cause your eyes to leak like fountains. And its all done without sentiment, but simply, as it is, which somehow makes it all the more moving.

Is this a tale of extraordinary people? Or is it a tale of ordinary people who happened to find each other at exactly the right time?  But you cannot capture time and what follows is, in the words of kd lang, constant craving. 

I read When God Was a Rabbit and wondered whether such a laudable debut could be followed up and sustained. Yes, it can.

That’s my review. Thank you for reading it. And I hope you get hold of the book and enjoy it as much as I did. Oh, you will probably need tissues.

All the Wicked Girls - Chris Whitaker

As I started to read this I found my self subconsciously reading it in a southern American drawl. It seemed to fit and I have to say it lasted for as long as it took me to read this enthralling second novel from Chris Whitaker. And that wasn't for long for I struggled to put this book down once I had begun.

Bible Belt America. Small town, so beautifully and ironically, called Grace. A succession of missing girls. A palpable atmosphere of slow burning tensions and historical grievances between the inhabitants of this place literally living beneath a cloud. All the backdrop for a tight, complex plot, more dark and cerebral than Tall Oaks but none the less compelling.

Parallels between the two novels can de drawn thematically and between the characters. It is as if Whitaker has created a cast he doesn't wish to let go of. And whilst that can sometimes render a narrative formulaic and contrived it doesn't here. For me it showed a writer developing his art.

I believe the strength of Whitaker's writing comes from his ability to create characters who drive the novel forwards. Many of his characters are damaged people who forge bonds, sometimes unwillingly and who struggle to make something of their lives. All generations feature but Whitaker draws them all with the same depth that allows them to stand out from the page and draw us along with their stories. We care about them, we care what happens to them. We want justice for them where it is required. Tall Oaks had some laugh out loud moments and whilst there is some black humour here it is not as much to the forefront and rightly so. This is a darker, more chilling tale.

We are led down many different paths and fed many red herrings before we are allowed to meet the real  perpetrator. And there are no punches pulled. Don't expect a sweetly, saccharin redemption as a conclusion. You won't get it.

The real shock for me though was to discover that Chris Whitaker isn't alive and well and living In Alabama. No, he is a British writer living in Hertfordshire! So, y'all, reckon you better go get some of this here Chris Whitaker cause he's the real McCoy.

The Thousand Lights Hotel - Emylia Hall

I have great affection for Emylia Hall and I’ll tell you for why. Six years ago when I was a novice reviewer Ms. Hall’s The Book of Summers was the second book I ever reviewed, for Real Readers. And it made an impact on me because on the front cover at the bottom it said ‘Manuscript proof copy not for sale’. For some reason this endowed me with, what I now know is ridiculous, an exaggerated sense of importance. It gave me some credibility, personally, as a reviewer because I felt that  someone had trusted me with this proof copy. I still have that book. So when I received a copy of The Thousand Lights Hotel from Headline Books I was delighted to revisit Ms. Hall’s work and experience how she has developed as a writer and hopefully how I may have developed as a reviewer!

This book was made for summer, the beach, vacational reading, preferably in Italy as that’s where it’s set. It’s the perfect holiday read. Paradoxically, it is the complex simplicity that elevates Emylia Hall’s stories to just beyond mere chick lit. The mood and style created in The Book of Summers shows in this current book with a greater maturity of writing. Similar themes are explored, the parent/child relationships, the love of foreign lands and I suppose ultimately the finding of selves whether you are a parent or a child. 

This book is rich and vibrant; you can almost smell the food described, the sea, that indefinable something that you only find in Italy that draws many people back again and again so ably described here with the guests at the hotel; some are visiting for the first time and you just know they will return and others who returning, some year after year.

The body of the plot is an emotional one, not wanting to give too much away here but there are themes here that will resonate with many readers and may even provoke a tear or two. The principal characters have some depth and the reader can engage with them in their dilemmas. The narrative flows easily and economically. We are not overburdened with details that are irrelevant. Again there is the paradox of the beautiful scenery and a landscape played against the turmoil of emotion that Kits’s visit to Elba ignites. 

As with this genre of stories the ends are all but tied up, a little is left our imagination and if it all seems a little sentimental and saccharin towards the end it really can’t go anywhere else. 

Take it on holiday with you. It’s escapism. It works.

City of Circles - Jess Richards

Let’s cut to the chase. Give this book an award now. Forget about shortlists and other delaying tactics, just hand over the award.

It’s as if Lewis Carroll and Franz Kafka have taken you by the hand and led you into a Max Escher picture of Gormenghast and The Magic Faraway Tree with refreshments by Timothy Leary. Such language, such imagination, such imagery. This book had me in its thrall right from the start. And I fear I may lack objectivity. In truth I do not know if this book is good or bad. But I do know that the Book Cupid shot an arrow into my heart with it. And this book requires an open mind and an open heart.

On one level it’s simply a story, whimsical, quirky; how about running away from the circus instead of to it? A story of love, loss, grief. A story of searching. A story of Danu, the tightrope walker. Populated with characters of intensity, it’s a richly layered tale. Magical realism is the genre if you require a genre. And you can enjoy it just on that level.

But on another level the prose just blew me away. The words are like jewels, precious stones. I wanted to say them aloud and let the phrases roll off my tongue forever. It’s a long time since I have been so overwhelmed by the consistent beauty of language in one book.

And within that language are truths and wisdoms that I just wanted to read and re read. There’s so much that should not be glossed over as ‘just’ the narrative in a fiction. There are words and notions here to be pondered and considered. There’s paradox after paradox, yin and yang sublime. The name of the city in the story, Matryoshka, gives something away, named after the nestling dolls, one inside another.

Reading is subjective, I’ve already vaguely alluded to that. In your life as a reader there are maybe a handful of books that really grab hold of you. I thought I was too old for it to happen again!! But it has. I will read and re read this book. I will gift a copy to as many people as I can. I will name it as one of my favourite books, not just this year but of all time. And I am humbled, for this book deserves better words than I can give it.

From the Shadows - Neil White

Wowsers! Never read a book by Neil White before, my loss absolutely. Thanks Nudge, for the opportunity. If you read no other legal thriller this year at least read this one. It is scrumptious!! You expect a twist at the end of thriller but at the end of the prologue?! Oh my, I never saw it coming. I am so tempted to do a spoiler here that, in spite of writing a review, I am metaphorically sitting on my hands I so want to share it!!

I loved this. Every single word of it. It’s like a one of those fireworks that explodes again each time you think its finished. Plenty of action but also plenty to think about.

Many courtroom dramas fail to strike a balance and there’s an overload, m’lord, of the courtroom protocols and procedures. Here all the narratives inside the court are so relevant and pertinent. As with most of the legal thrillers these days issues of integrity are raised. Do defence lawyers care about the truth and about real justice? I think these issues are admirably dealt with here without becoming sanctimonious at all. It comes across as very real. 

The cast of characters are diverse, many merely functional, others drawn with some depth so that we can begin to care about them. The plot is as tight as a tick. The writing flows easily and accessibly. I did find the time frames a little exasperating; it switched about more than I would like and I wasn’t entirely clear as to why. But it was a small price to pay for the quality of the rest of the story. 

There are some chilling moments. There are some hard to guess outcomes. It’s a fiction that involves the reader right to the end. The temptation to offer a saccharin conclusion is avoided, thankfully, the credibility  of the novel as whole would have been diluted. I’ve little negative to say. I really enjoyed it. So much so that I’m cutting this review short to go seek out some more Neil White.

Between Sisters - Kristin Hannah

This book was first published in 2003 but there must be sufficient confidence in it to republish in 2017 or maybe its a first UK publication? Several years ago I read a Kristin Hannah book. It was a freebie and I had minimal expectations from it. But I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed it far more than I thought I was going to. So when the benevolent bibliophilists from Nudge Books made this novel available I was happy to renew my acquaintance with Ms Hannah,

I guess this is chick lit, romantic fiction if you’ve a need to pigeon hole it. Neither are genres that have the polarity to draw me towards them. But I do believe that if you are a reader/reviewer you must occasionally step outside your comfort zone to maintain an objectivity and broaden your horizons.

It would be too harsh to say that I didn’t enjoy this book but it won’t reach the higher echelons of my best reads this year list. It’s the work of an experienced writer with a proven track record. A writer who understands her craft, her audience and I salute that. 

Given the original publication date, yes, some bits are dated; the reference to Tony Soprano doesn’t have the same impact as it did in 2003. I think you have to bear that in mind as you read. The plot was predictable. Two sisters fall out, follow diametrically opposed lives and circumstances draw them back together. I’ll not be persuaded to give any more away than that. The plot is well thought out and the narrative moves along consistently. The writing flows.The characters are efficiently drawn. 

If you’re a sucker for a bittersweet, sentimental, emotional escapist novel you wont be disappointed. It’s schmaltzy,  It’s a tear jerker. But it’s meant to be. The kind of book you disappear and leave your life behind for the duration. Life isn’t really like this but who cares? It’s a story, it’s entertainment. and as such it’s superficial but some of these are the reasons people read. If you like a little more depth to your reading then maybe it’s one to miss.