The Swimmers - Chloe Lane

This is a delicate tale, fiercely truthed yet searingly compassionate It tells of a degeneratively sick mother who wishes to end her life and has even set a date for the event. Erin is her daughter, returning home for a holiday weekend where she learns to reacquaint herself with her relatives and reach a level of understanding as she sees through the various eccentricities and borderline dysfunctions of her family members. The family have been competitive swimmers and I saw this as a metaphor to run throughout the book. Erin is required to navigate life in much the same way as she might compete in a swimming race. And of course the potential to drown is there. The potential to lose the race is there. 

This might seem like a sombre subject to base a novel around but fear not. There is a wit that underpins the more serious aspects of the story. And naturally, given the subject matter, the reader considers the subject of euthanasia and assisted dying. 

The women characters - Erin, her Mum, and her aunt - are all strong, maverick maybe, but seemingly self contained. And in some ways it was hard to engage with them and yet it was impossible not to be carried along by the situation but in a far more objective sense. It’s interesting to consider how we might deal with such a situation ourselves. Sometimes Erin‘s behaviour was questionable but I had a feeling that it was a reaction to her bewilderment at what was going to happen and how little time, really, she had to prepare and adjust for that.

I found it to be a well written book. I thought the writer got under the skin of the main protagonist, Erin, well, showing the chaos of her thoughts and feelings. I even ended up feeling something for Auntie Wynn by the end of the book who I found to be quite a formidable character initially. And I loved the courage of Erin’s mum. 

I’ve often found there to be a weird synchronicity among books but this is one of several books I’ve read lately that deal with losing one’s mother. If that’s a situation you’ve experienced then this book will be poignant, difficult even, to read. The book also highlights the cruelty of a disease like motor neurone, which is the wasting illness that Erin‘s mum is suffering from. 

I found the ending of the book to be inconclusive. Not in the sense that the writer didn’t finish it adequately! But that a situation like that is inconclusive. I wanted to know how Erin and her aunt would fare in the days following the death, but contrary as I am, I also think it would’ve been a mistake to extend the story any further. 

It’s an unusual and interesting book. A challenging subject to deal with perhaps but relevant in the times that we’re living in.

My thanks to Gallic books for a gifted copy.

Oh William! - Elizabeth Strout

 

 I love Elizabeth Strout’s style. There is something almost conversational about it. You feel sometimes like you’re a friend, a confidante. The narrative flows in the same way that people’s thought processes and conversations flow. It’s quite distinctive, I feel.

Oh William! is a Lucy Barton novel. And I love the continuity and the unravelling of Lucy‘s life. And this book tells of her marriage and divorce from William. In My Name is Lucy Barton Lucy took pains to tell us that she didn’t want to talk about the marriage so we knew very little about William. But by the end of this book we know a lot about him. And we know a lot more about Lucy too.

Lucy‘s background almost always defines her and her sense of feeling invisible is emphasised in this story. But here we see her from William’s perspective too and he feels that she is a spirit, yet he also says that she’s a strange one.. The overriding sense I had was that their relationship was a very moving one yo-yoing between fondness and exasperation. The relationship as a marriage doesn’t endure yet their sense of friendship is sustained and they seem to have an enviable bond.

Under Strout’s skilful pen the depth of emotion and feeling that can be built up between two people through a sustained relationship is sensitively explored, dissected and developed - the way that two people get to know each other over the years. Although I think the novel does suggest that we can never truly know another person. There is the hint that people do have the potential to change maybe? I liked the way that William and Lucy were able to talk about the fractures in their marriage seemingly without recrimination or animosity, just stating the facts. That is easier to do after the event maybe but all too often people don’t get that chance to talk through what might have gone wrong.

What I also love about Strout’s writing is that she’s observational and nonjudgemental. Whether her characters are behaving well or badly the end result is real because they behave as people behave,  not as people “behave in books“. 

The blurb tells us that William asks Lucy to join him on a trip to investigate a recently uncovered family secret and it turns out to be a fascinating and intricate development in the story  but I think it’s also about a midlife crisis maybe not just for William maybe for Lucy as well? Lucy constantly asks questions but finds no answers and her recent widowhood has caused her to think about life as much as William in his desire to unearth his family secrets. I think it’s also story of grief and of loneliness. 

Another aspect of Strout’s writing I enjoy is the sense of place. The juxtaposition between the hectic New York life and the more staid New England life is well expressed here. I felt that New York for Lucy is symbolic and signifies her escape from a past that she would care not to dwell on.

But can we call the Lucy Barton novels a trilogy? There is something delightfully unconventional about them as sequels (or prequels depending upon which order you read them and I don’t think that matters in the end) and I think they are unique in contemporary fiction. Personally I hope there will be more Lucy Barton books and that knocks the trilogy theory out of the window. Good!

I love the ending of the book too. 

‘But we are all mythologies, mysterious. We’re all mysteries, is what I mean.

This may be the only thing in the world I know to be true.’

Oh Lucy! Oh Elizabeth!

Thrown - Sara Cox

 

I must admit this book “threw“ me when I realised it was by the DJ Sara Cox! I didn’t twig that to begin with. The title is one of those clever plays on words because you can interpret it on several levels but you only get that while you’re reading the book.

I enjoyed the construction of the plot; several residents of an estate join together in the local community centre for a pottery class. Radiating out from that premise we are treated to the lives of four of the women there and their respective partners or ex partners - Becky, Sheila, Jameela and Louise. All very different women and all with their own tales to tell. Well drawn characters that encourage the reader to invest in them and root for all of them to find resolution for their various issues. 

The pottery metaphor endured throughout the novel under the guiding hand of Sasha the teacher. Sasha is the thread that also joins the lives of the women.

In many ways it is a typical debut novel, full of linguistic and descriptive exuberance. Some of the situations were predictable but enjoyable as it was interesting to see how the characters would react to the truths and outcomes that the reader could probably see coming.

It was satisfying to have all ends tied up at the conclusion and you had the sense of a well rounded read. It’s a story of friendship and dealing with upset. Alongside some poignant moments are some amusing ones. 

My thanks to Team Bookends for a proof.

The Fourth Species - A. E. Warren

  I got a hell of a shock when I checked to see if Tomorrow’s Ancestors book 3 had been published. For I saw three unfamiliar titles and I was aghast that I might have missed three new books in the series. How could this have happened?  I’d been checking regularly or so I thought. And then I realised that the first two books in the series had previously been self published but now they’ve been picked up by Del Rey UK the science fiction and fantasy imprint of Penguin and they’ve been given spanking new titles. I relaxed and bought my copy of The Fourth Species.

There’s a comfort in books of the same series. For often your approach to the characters is that of an old friend. I’ve enjoyed all of this series. It works on a number of levels. You can enjoy it simply as a good old sci-fi dystopian yarn. Elise and the gang fighting good against bad, exploring their relationships with each other and even with themselves. If you read this as a standalone I think you’ll probably be eager to read the first two in the series. The full premise is explained in the first book which I believe is now called Subject Twenty One. I don’t really want to give anything away suffice to say that Elise is the main character and continues thus throughout the series looking for the truth and working hard to expose a fractured and flawed regime. The author has created a credible, alternate  society and it’s very easy to become involved in her stories.

But you can scratch beneath the surface and discover some comment perhaps on the morality of science. A look at class systems and how divisive they are. And you can also see how people deal with extreme situations, of poverty and hardship. There is an underlying comment about power and control,  what that can do and about the relationships people have with each other in general - family and friends.

The writing is tight, efficient with a well paced narrative. It’s interesting with a series of books to consider what the reader’s expectation is for the new instalment. And I think that you have to have as wide a vision as the author to know that there will be other books to follow. Perhaps some characters from previous books don’t put in an appearance, other than by name, in this one. But if you’ve invested in the series then you put your trust in the writer to reveal all when the time is right. My understanding is that the next book will be the last in the series. I hope it’s not long to wait!

Coward - Tim Clare

 

I’ve probably spent twice as long reading this book as I normally do. The scientific information was detailed and needed careful reading to assimilate it all. I will admit some of it went over my head and I know that at some point some rereading will be necessary. But in between all the facts and hypotheses is the author’s searingly honest and relatable account of his voyage with anxiety. 

Mental health always seems to be a “touchy“ subject. That’s bewildering because we all have “mental health“ of some kind! It’s a given. It’s not a constant though, throughout our lives we are all at someplace on the spectrum with varying degrees of impact on our daily lives. I think the pandemic scrambled the scale for many people and I think this book is so pertinent and relevant at this time and will resonate with a wide audience who may recognise some symptoms that were not there before. COVID-19 buggered up, not just our lives, but our minds.

Tim’s suffering led him to explore every possible avenue to try and understand his condition and find some alleviation. And so this book is impressively thorough. Whilst the subject matter is serious and anyone who experiences even the mildest of anxiety disorders knows it’s no laughing matter – Mr Clare has injected the book with some wit and humour. I loved some of the chapter headings, “Shift Happens“, “Eat Shit and Diet”! The book takes a journey through current thinking about anxiety disorders, some of the historical treatments that have led to today’s research, potential causes and possible solutions. It’s more than an overview, it’s a comprehensive guide that seeks to inform and educate the layman about a frighteningly common disorder. The book also contains a wealth of useful helpful information and contacts.

It’s not a self-help book and it isn’t advocating some miracle cure to deal with your anxiety but it does tap into one of the most fundamental aspects of understanding anxiety certainly from the sufferer’s point of view citing how ‘your whole model of the world skews around a lopsided set of behaviours.’ Also listening, and how important that is. And how so often in this day and age if you try to talk to someone all they want to do is offer their own anecdotes and experiences when really all you want to do is have someone listen to you without judging or telling you to pull yourself together. I think this book also makes you feel less alone. And that is also something that really helps.

My thanks to Canongate Books for the proof copy of this book.

The Game - Scott Kershaw - Blog Tour

 Across the globe, five strangers receive a horrifying message from an unknown number.

THE PERSON YOU LOVE MOST IS IN DANGER.

To save them, each must play The Game – a sinister unknown entity that has a single rule: there can only be one winner.

IF YOU LOSE, YOUR LOVED ONE WILL DIE.

but what is the game – and why have they been chosen?

There’s only one thing each of them knows for sure: they’ll do anything to win…

WELCOME TO THE GAME. YOU’VE JUST STARTED PLAYING.

May I offer a word of warning? If you pick up a copy of this book to read, and I hope you will, you will not be able to put it down. It will hook you, ensnare you and you will not be able to stop reading it,  so compulsive is this book.

Not perhaps what you might expect from a debut novel? When is a debut novel not a debut novel? When it’s one like this I venture to suggest! It’s a bold tale,  full of tensions and twists. It’s fast paced. There is a pleasing fusion between our contemporary world of mobile phones, satnavs, Internet domination, social media influencers with some of the cyber resistant institutions within air travel, motorways and traversing significant distances in real time. Tapping into the  popular, contemporary pastime of gaming but taking it to a nefarious and sinister level. 

It’s quite frightening in places. The writer has not shied away from the graphic. The buildup and guts of the novel were akin to a white knuckle ride. The conclusion was unexpected, to be sure, but I found myself with a host of unanswered questions. I wonder possibly whether a second read might reveal clues I previously missed or expose plot holes which I don’t really want to find. I will admit I couldn’t read it fast enough.

The five main characters are all very diverse and not just from different backgrounds and circumstances but from differing geographic locations. This all adds to the intrigue and the perplexing dilemma of what it is about these five people that have landed them in this unnerving Game. As the story progresses, though, the reader is required to suspend belief to a degree - the unanswered questions I referred to earlier. It’s the nature of fiction up to a point though isn’t it?  The book is entertaining and it’s well written. There are some challenging issues that were not necessarily explored within the narrative, that wasn’t the point I didn’t feel, but there’s stuff there to make you think.

It’s an exciting debut novel, original and not as formulaic as some thrillers from seasoned authors can turn out to be. So I would suggest that Scott Kershaw is an exciting prospect for the future of the thriller.

My thanks to HQ stories for a copy of the book and a place upon the blog tour.

Scott Kershaw lives in Lincolnshire, in a Victorian cottage that was formally ruled by mice. He likes the crackle of vinyl, the smell of paperbacks, the taste of a stiff drink and the view from the front-row barrier. He’s getting too old and heavy for crowd surfing, but that rarely stops him from trying. His first real love was cinema. His beagle, Darwin, is the one true king of dogs. As a child, Scott believed in monsters. Sometimes he still does. The Game is his debut thriller.

Breakneck Point - T. Orr Munro

  In most crime and thriller novels you spend the whole book trying to find out who did it. Not in Breakneck Point! We know who did it. It’s about proving it. Very clever little twist on the conventional crime story and I enjoyed reading this book immensely. And I was amazed to find that this is a debut thriller novel for it reads like the work of an experienced crime author.

CSI Ally Dymond’s commitment to justice has cost her a place on the major investigations team. After exposing corruption in the ranks, she’s stuck working petty crimes on the sleepy North Devon coast.

Then the body of nineteen -year-old Janie Warren turns up in the seaside town of Bidecombe and Ally’s expert skills are suddenly back in demand.

But when the evidence she discovers contradicts the lead detective’s theory, nobody wants to listen to the CSI who landed their colleagues in prison.

Time is running out to catch a killer no one is looking for – no one except Ally. What she doesn’t know is that he’s watching her, from her side of the crime scene tape, waiting for the moment to strike.

I hope this isn’t the last we hear of Ally. She’s a formidable character. There is a backstory that has left her flawed and as the blurb tells us her professional progress has been curtailed by her honesty. But her zeal and desire to seek out the truth seems indefatigable.

A dual narrative with first person from Ally and third person from the bad guy the story hurtles along at a cracking pace sending the reader this way and that as the snakes and ladders confrontation between Ali and the perp continues. 

The north Devon location is as palpable a backdrop in the same way that William Shaw used Dungeness in his novels about the policewoman, Alex Cupidi. I was reminded of those stories with Ally and the relationship with her daughter, Megan and I’m hoping that we’re going to get a similar series here.

Ally is an interesting character because there are times when you want to criticise her behaviour but not her motivation. In a strange way I never completely warmed to her but I wanted her to succeed. In fact the story is populated with numerous characters who I struggled to actually like but in a way I think it was quite important to feel that way in order to maintain an objectivity about the events and the crimes.

The killer is obnoxious and it was quite uncomfortable reading about him. I wanted to get up and shout and shake the people who were taken in by him, especially his wife Jackie. It wasn’t their fault though! He was so plausible and persuasive. 

The author has a wide experience as a CSI so you know that the details are spot-on. But the book also throws the spotlight on the threat that the Internet can pose for youngsters. Those aspects are quite chilling and hopefully will wave red flags for parents to monitor their teens cyber activities. 

My thanks to HQ stories for a proof of this book. I’m looking forward to the next Ally Dymond novel.