The Nearest Thing to Crazy
Elizabeth Forbes
Dan and a group of his friends enjoy a Sunday lunch together on a perfect summer's day. They're pleased to welcome their glamorous new neighbour and novelist, Ellie, who has rented a house in the village to work on her book. She likes to place herself in the centre of her plots, she says, although it's hard to see what she'll find to write about in this quiet country backwater. As Ellie slots effortlessly into the village social scene, Dan's wife begins to feel increasingly alienated from her friends and isolated from her family, but, for the life of her, she can't fathom why..
I saw a recommendation for this novel on Facebook and I'm so glad I ordered a copy as it turned out to be one of the best things I've read this year. An all too believable situation, brilliantly played out. I was setting my alarm early every morning, which I only do when I've a book I don't want to put down! Gripping and twisty, at times I thought I knew what was going on and then I wasn't so sure. Fantastically well-written and cleverly put together, the story stayed with me long after I'd finished reading - always a good sign.
Can't wait to read more from this author.
The White Cuckoo
Annie Ireson
When twenty-seven year old Tamasyn Hargreaves travels to the heart of Northamptonshire to fulfill a deathbed promise to her mother, she soon begins to sense that something surreal and supernatural has drawn her there.
Who are the strange children she keeps bumping into? What secrets are concealed within the contents of a box of memorabilia she is given? Why does she look uncannily like a photograph of Jessie Smith, who gave birth prematurely in 1910 after being raped by a nobleman?
As Tammy reveals shocking secrets about her own family, she soon realises she must resolve the mysteries of the past before she can keep her promise to her mother.
The White Cuckoo is a story of two women whose lives connect through time. Is destiny just the past, rewritten?
From the opening chapter I was hooked into this beautifully written novel. I was right there with adolescent Harry and young Jess in the woods, as she goes into labour, rooting for them to find a way to survive.
The story starts and finishes in 1910 and the period detail brings the era vividly to life, but the modern day setting that makes up the bulk of the story is just as evocative. I liked the intriguing - and rather chilling - supernatural element, and all the characters are well-drawn - especially Tammy. I was absorbed into her life to the point where I didn't want the book to end. Some wonderful lines too ... Her lovely, gentle, wooden Dad, captured in his dark icy orbit of grief and loneliness. She flinched with the weight of knowing that she was his sun. Fantastic.
I really enjoy novels that cover big themes of family secrets, lies and divided loyalties and destiny, and how the past affects the present, and the author has handled them skillfully, pulling all the strands together in a deeply satisfying way.
Nell got up and walked away from the unmarked grave, glancing back just once
over her shoulder. I will be home soon. Cousins Sylvie and Nell have always been
rivals. But when the Nazi occupation of France maroons Sylvie with Nell 's
family, the girls grow up quickly in the early days of rationing, black-outs and
the arrival of RAF planes in the skies overhead. Circumstances throw both girls
into the path of the same man, and the machinations of war change the course of
all their lives, with devasating consequences.
The September Garden
by Catherine Law
I love being transported to another era, and particularly like stories set during wartime. I was drawn to this novel as it's partly based in the area where I live, which for me added an extra layer of enjoyment. Apart from that, The September Garden is a beautifully written romance set against a well-researched backdrop of German occupation, collaboration, rationing and family rivalry. It's a well-crafted, atmospheric and entertaining read and I'll be looking out for more novels from Catherine in the future - wherever they're set.
