The Moon Pool by Sophie Littlewood

The Moon Pool

by

Sophie Littlefield

North Dakota is like nowhere Colleen has ever seen. Vast plains of silver snow, studded with shimmering black pools, lit by flares of orange light.

This is the landscape that swallowed her son.

Across town, another mother also searches for her missing boy. He too disappeared from the oilfields where he worked. And no-one seems to care that he is gone.

These two women must work together to find their sons. But what they discover might destroy them both...

I listened to the audio version of The Moon Pool, which was brought beautifully to life by narrator, Laurence Bouvard. The story of two mothers from very different backgrounds, drawn together to search for their missing sons was compelling, moving, and utterly convincing. 

There's a back-story about corporation conspiracy, corruption, and cover-ups, but at its heart the book is about family, friendship, and what it means to be a mother.

On the strength of this excellent book, I'll be reading more of Sophie Littlefield's work.

The House of Memories by Monica McInerney

The House of Memories

by

Monica McInerney

Following a tragic accident, Ella O'Hanlon flees to the other side of the world in an attempt to escape her grief, leaving behind the two people she blames for her loss: Aidan, the love of her life, and Jess, her spoilt half-sister. In London Ella is taken in by her beloved uncle Lucas, whose extraordinary house holds many wonderful memories for her. Along with other members of the very colourful Fox family, Lucas helps Ella to see that she is not the only one still hurting, and that forgiveness can be the greatest healer in a family and in a marriage. For anyone who has ever loved and lost, this is an exquisitely moving and life-affirming novel.


What a beautiful read this was, I couldn't stop once I'd started. It was heartbreaking in places - I don't often cry when reading, but this had me in tears. There was plenty of humour too, to balance things out. The story was written with such warmth and depth, I felt like the cast were all family members by the end, and although Jess still struck me as being thoroughly spoilt, I did at least have more sympathy for her by the end of the story - a testament to the skill of the author! I'm so glad there are lots more Monica McInerney books I can get stuck into and am off to download another right now.

First Fruits by Penelope Evans

First Fruits

by

Penelope Evans


Kate is special; she is her dad's first fruit, his offering. He is bring her up to have his special power, the ability to manipulate people. She practices what he's taught her with devastating effect. Yet one night, when a recurrent dream comes to her once more, the truth that has long eluded her is revealed. Nothing can cleanse her world but fire and death.



I heard about this novel on Facebook and am so glad I downloaded it. I could barely put it down and read it over two nights. I love an unreliable narrator, and 14-year old Kate Carr is one of the best I've read. The tone was perfect, and brought her so vividly to life I could almost see her (which was pretty scary). It was a suspenseful, creepy, intense read, with plenty of hooks (and some laughs) and a cast of well-rounded characters - her minister father was a truly terrifying creation. It was hard to warm to Kate at first, but as the plot unfolded I was rooting for her all the way. Brilliant.

I've read and enjoyed another of this author's novels - The Weight of Water - and am off to download another.

Little Egypt by Lesley Glaister

Little Egypt

by

Lesley Glaister

Twins Isis and Osiris are now in their 90s, living together in Little Egypt, the English manor house where they were born and brought up. Their names are a clue to their parents' near fetish for everything Egyptian. In fact this near fetish leads their parents to Egypt itself, in search of a big discovery back in the 1920s, demonstrating more enthusiasm than savvy. Having left the twins in the care of the housekeeper, they never return. Isis and Osiris are now bound to the house, tied not by love or memories but dark secrets that won't let go.


Another triumph for the supremely talented Lesley Glaister. I've read all her books, and a new one is a treat to look forward to. Little Egypt was well worth the wait, as original and atmospheric as her previous books, with brilliantly developed characters dealing with obsession, neglect and madness. I loved the descriptions of Egyptology, of which I knew nothing before, and the 1920s setting - described in flashbacks by the main character, Isis, now an old woman - was brought vividly to life. It's a deeply sinister tale in parts, and darkly humorous in others.

Hard to sum up in a way that will do the book justice, I can only recommend that you read it.

The Accident by C L Taylor

The Accident                                                         by C L Taylor                                                                                        

A gripping debut about the deadly secrets your children can keep …

Sue Jackson has the perfect family but when her teenage daughter Charlotte deliberately steps in front of a bus and ends up in a coma she is forced to face a very dark reality.

Retracing her daughter’s steps she finds a horrifying entry in Charlotte’s diary and is forced to head deep into Charlotte’s private world. In her hunt for evidence, Sue begins to mistrust everyone close to her daughter and she’s forced to look further, into the depths of her own past.

Sue will do anything to protect her daughter. But what if she is the reason that Charlotte is in danger?

I love psychological thrillers and couldn't wait to read this debut novel by C L Taylor - it didn't disappoint! I was drawn in from the first page and could barely put it down after that, desperate to find out why Sue's daughter, Charlotte, was in a coma - and to discover Sue's history too. Partly told in sometimes shocking flashbacks, the truth was gradually and cleverly revealed, building to a twist I didn't see coming - and I nearly always guess the twist. It's a gripping story, well-written and full of intrigue and suspense, and I was rooting for Sue - and Charlotte - all the way. 

I loved it. 

Thanks to Avon/HarperCollins for the preview copy.

Nearest Thing to Crazy by Elizabeth Forbes

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 by Annie Ireson

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.

The September Garden by Catherine Law

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.

Tony Hogan Bought Me an Ice-cream Float Before He Stole My Ma by Kerry Hudson

Tony Hogan tells the story of a Scottish childhood of filthy council flats and B&Bs, screeching women, feckless men, fags and booze and drugs, the dole queue and bread and marge sandwiches. It is also the story of an irresistible, irrepressible heroine, a dysfunctional family you can't help but adore, the absurdities of the eighties and the fierce bonds that tie people together no matter what. Told in an arrestingly original -- and cry-out-loud funny -- voice, it launches itself headlong into the middle of one of life's great fights, between the pull of the past and the freedom of the future. And Janie Ryan, born and bred for combat, is ready to win.

Tony Hogan Bought Me an Ice-cream Float Before He Stole my Ma

by

Kerry Hudson

I loved this beautifully written, sharply observed novel.  Despite the mostly grim circumstances of the feisty heroine, Janie Ryan, there was plenty of humour throughout.  Janie is an original and engaging voice, easy to warm to, and it was interesting (and horrifying in parts) to read a story about people on the outskirts of society - the sort of people we perhaps turn away from in real life, and feel uncomfortable being around. 

The Yarmouth setting is well-observed and the relationships, though flawed, are warm and believable, especially between daughter and mum.  You'll be rooting for Janie from the word go.

Tony Hogan is gritty and gripping, funny and moving, and I'd recommend it to anyone looking for something a little bit different.

Some great references to 80s music too!

.

Florence & Giles by John Harding

1891. In a crumbling New England mansion, 12 year-old orphan Florence and her young brother Giles are neglected by their guardian uncle. Banned from reading, Florence devours books in secret, and twists words and phrases into a language uniquely her own. After the violent death of the children’s first governess, a second arrives. Florence becomes convinced she is a vengeful and malevolent spirit who means to do Giles harm. against a powerful enemy, with no adult to turn to for help, Florence will need all her intelligence and ingenuity to save Giles and preserve her private world.

Florence & Giles
by
John Harding

I've just finished listening the the audio version of Florence and Giles in the car, and it took me a moment to come back down to earth (how I managed to listen and concentrate on driving at the same time I don't know!)

I've been listening to novels for a couple of years now, and so much depends on the narrator I've occasionally given up, but Laurence Bouvard so perfectly captured the essence of Florence - and even the male characters, including her brother Giles and friend, Theo - that I was immediately pulled into the story and didn't want to leave - cue lots of extra driving!

The suspense was perfectly pitched, and the house and the people in it brought wonderfully to life. I felt like I was there with Florence, running down corridors and finding my way to the library or her 'secret' tower overlooking the drive, where she read her books and waited for Theo to visit. 

Florence's original style of talking and thinking wasn't at all overdone and was totally inkeeping with her character, adding to the novel's wonderful, dark and gothic uniqueness - though there are some lovely touches of humour throughout the book.

The sense of mystery concerning her background, and the disappearance of their first governess, soon had me wondering if things weren't quite as they seemed, and without giving too much away I have to say that the ending shivered me quite.

I've actually read a previous book by John Harding called What We Did on Our Holiday, which I loved, but this couldn't be more different, and I'm now eagerly awaiting something else from this author.

Home for Christmas by Cally Taylor

Home for Christmas
by Cally Taylor

Beth Prince has always loved fairytales and now, aged twenty-four, she feels like she’s finally on the verge of her own happily ever after. She lives by the seaside, works in the Picturebox – a charming but rundown independent cinema – and has a boyfriend who’s so debonair and charming she can’t believe her luck! There’s just one problem – none of her boyfriends have ever told her they love her and it doesn’t look like Aiden’s going to say it any time soon. Desperate to hear ‘I love you’ for the first time Beth takes matters into her own hands – and instantly wishes she hadn’t. Just when it seems like her luck can’t get any worse, bad news arrives in the devilishly handsome shape of Matt Jones. Matt is the regional director of a multiplex cinema and he’s determined to get his hands on the Picturebox by Christmas. Can Beth keep her job, her man and her home or is her romantic-comedy life about to turn into a disaster movie?


I finished reading Home for Christmas last night, and am still feeling the nice warm glow that it left. Beth and Matt are so lovely and believable it was a pleasure spending time with them, and by the end of the book I felt like they were my friends.

The story is written from both points of view, which I really like as I enjoy getting into the character's heads, and Cally Taylor's done a great job of being a 'bloke'!

I'm a fan of independent cinemas - there's a beautiful art-deco one near where I live - and I particularly loved the plot about the Picturebox where Beth works, which is due to be sold to a big chain company, and found myself hoping it wasn't going to happen.

The story is set in Brighton and the wonderful descriptions really brought it to life - it's clear the author has a genuine love for the place.

Home for Christmas is a fantastic, heart-warming read with a wonderful cast of characters, plenty of laugh-out-loud moments and some that made me cry, and despite the title it can - and SHOULD - be read any time, anywhere.

Highly recommended.

This review appears on Amazon

Then by Julie Myerson

Then
by Julie Myerson

It was 9.22, the moment when everything stopped. First there was the burning air, then came the darkness, the fire, and finally the frost. Now, in a frozen, wasted London, a woman – uncertain even of her own name – is fighting to stay alive. Along with a small group of fellow survivors, she takes refuge in an abandoned skyscraper in what was once the financial centre. But spectres stalk the empty offices and endless corridors, and soon visions of a forgotten world emerge, a world of broken love and betrayal, and horrific, shocking mercies – a world more traumatic even than the desolate present.

It's a tribute to the power of Julie Myserson's atmospheric writing that this book scared the bejaysus out of me. Not in a creepy/horror/ghosty/blood and guts kind of way, but in the sense of I can totally imagine this has happened. And I really don't want to.

At times it's hard to work out what's actually happened and what's imaginary as the story flashes between past and present, and I was compelled to keep reading, drawn completely into Izzy's life. It's a bleak and devastating read at times, but there are flashes of humour here and there and the ending packs an emotional punch that stayed with me for days afterwards.

HIGHLY recommended.

Far to Go by Alison Pick

Far to Go
by Alison Pick

From the jacket:

Czechoslovakia, 1939

Pavel and Anneliese Bauer, much like any other affluent Czech family, dote on the six-year-old son, Pepik, and enjoy a life of domestic comfort. Their nanny, Marta could not adore Pepik more. But as rumours of the Nazi threat, and then German troops, reach their corner of Sudetenland, this charmed existence is turned on its head: for all that the Bauers barely consider themselves Jewish, their lives are now in danger.

I enjoy stories set during this period, and Far to Go is one of those that stays with you long after you've finished reading it.

It's all the more interesting for being based on Alison's own grandparents, who fled their native Czechoslovakia for Canada during the Second World War.

The story's primarily told through the eyes of Pepik's nanny, Marta, and a present-day Holocaust archivist, and it highlighted a role I knew nothing about before: that of the Kindertransport, and the role it played in taking Jewish children (almost 10,000 of them) away from areas occupied by Nazis to the safety of British households. I read later that most of them survived, and a few were even reunited with their parents.

There's a feeling of sadness throughout the book that makes it hard to read at times - it's a dark time in history and you sense there's not going to be a happy ending - but it's part-thriller too and keeps you turning the pages.

Ultimately Far To Go is a story of love, family and loyalty and the characters, though flawed, are well-drawn and realistic and the writing is beautiful.

Alison is also a successful poet, and it shows!

Plugged by Eoin Colfer

Plugged

by Eoin Colfer

Eoin Colfer is more famously known for his Artemis Fowl books for children, but his first adult novel should win him a new army of grown-up fans. I was hooked from page one.

Dan McEvoy is an Irish ex-army sergeant living quietly in New Jersey, working as a doorman at a casino to supplement his pension, nursing a hair transplant, and harbouring a crush on one of the hostesses, Connie.

But everything changes when Connie is murdered in the parking lot, and his friend and hair surgeon, Zeb, is kidnapped.

Out to avenge Connie’s death, Dan gets pulled into a world of corruption and the bodies soon start piling up. With dodgy cops on the loose, and a ruthless drug-dealer and crooked lawyer after him, Dan employs his soldier-training skills to survive. Oh and his crazy neighbour thinks Dan's her ex-husband.

Soon he’s having flashbacks to his time in the Lebanon, hearing Zeb’s voice in his head and wondering whether to call his therapist, and his only ally is female cop, Ronelle Deacon - but can she be trusted?

Dan is a witty narrator, and there are enough laugh-out-loud moments and pithy one-liners to nicely balance the blood-splattered torture and violence - of which there’s plenty. There’s a real noir feel to the story that I particularly loved, and Dan has enough depth – or ‘issues’ – for the reader to care what happens to him.

Plugged is a brilliantly written and funny - at times dark - but wildly entertaining read.

It’s great escapism, and I’ve got my fingers crossed it’s the first of many outings for Dan McEvoy.

Thanks to Samantha Eades and Headline for the review copy.

Cuckoo

Cuckoo

by
Julia Crouch


Cuckoo was such a page-turner it kept me awake at night longing to find out what was going to happen next.

Having said that, it’s not a typical thriller; more a slow-burn, psychological chiller that leaves you wondering how well you ever really know anyone; even those closest to you.

Rose and her artist husband, Gareth, seem to have the perfect life, living in rural bliss in their newly refurbished home with their lovely daughter, Anna and little baby, Flossie.

Out of the blue, Rose gets a call from her old friend, Polly – a washed-up musician now living in Greece - whose husband has died in an accident.

Despite Gareth’s misgivings, Rose invites Polly and her sons to stay, but it soon becomes clear that Polly is unstable and her boys have been running wild. They’ve barely settled in when Flossie becomes seriously ill, possibly at Polly's hands, and after that Rose and Gareth’s cosy life slowly starts to unravel.

Told from Rose’s point of view it’s difficult initially to understand why she lets Polly have such a strong hold over her, in light of what happens, but as the story moves from Wiltshire to Brighton, revisiting their past, it seems that perhaps Rose isn’t quite who she appears to be either.

Cuckoo is a gripping and, at times, disturbing read full of foreboding and tension, as well as some wonderfully lyrical prose.

It brilliantly explores the nature of friendship and marriage when both are based on shaky foundations, and although the ending wasn’t necessarily one I’d have chosen, it certainly stays with you long after you’ve turned the last page.

I’m already looking forward to Julia's next novel.

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

by
John Boyne



This is a ‘cross-over’ book that can (and should in my opinion) be read by both children and adults. I keep shuffling it from one section of the library where I work, to another, to maximise its potential!

Set in Nazi Germany in 1943, the book tells the tale of two nine-year old boys who become the best of friends in the most unlikely circumstances.

Bruno is suddenly uprooted from his happy life in Berlin to “Out-With”, with his father - a highly ranked man in Germany - his mother and his sister. The only other people he sees live on the opposite side of a tall fence and they all wear striped pyjamas.

Bruno spends a lot of time in his room, until curiosity draws him outside towards the fence, where he finally meets Schmuel, a boy his own age, with his own sad story. They never get to play properly but sit on opposite sides of the boundary and talk about their lives. Bruno is eventually told he is to return to Berlin. As a final adventure, he agrees to dress in a set of striped pyjamas and climb under a loose wire in the fence to help Shmuel find his father, who has gone missing in the camp.

What happens there to both boys is truly horrifying, and a reminder of man’s capacity for inhumanity.

The essence of the book is its childish naivety, which gives it immense power. The author's skill is that we are always one step ahead of Bruno, with our own knowledge of the situation he’s writing about.

John Boyne describes the holocaust with unnerving accuracy and, although the book is short, it’s a thought-provoking read and I must confess the ending left me with a massive lump in my throat. Get your hankies ready.

The Missing Person's Guide to Love

The Missing Person's Guide to Love

by
Susanna Jones


As a fan of the author’s previous novels, I was looking forward to her latest offering, which is a chilling tale about the unexplained disappearance of a fifteen-year old girl called Julia.

The event had a devastating impact on her two best friends, Owen and Isabel, and sixteen years later Isabel has returned from her new life in Turkey to the North of England for Owen’s funeral, determined to find out what happened to Julia. Her theory is that she’s dead and that Owen was responsible for her murder, but she has no proof.

Cut off from her husband and child, and longing for the re-appearance of her beloved, bohemian Aunt Maggie - whose thoughts are interwoven throughout the book - Isabel starts digging into the past, and unsettling memories surface. She recalls how, when they were eighteen, she and Owen burnt down a local supermarket – a crime she spent time in a young offender’s institute for.

When a stranger turns up at the funeral, claiming to have known Owen in prison, Isabel finds herself drawn to him and her search for answers intensifies. What role did her Aunt play in Isabel’s move abroad, and who is the mysterious Leila visiting her husband and daughter whenever she phones home?

The Missing Person’s Guide to Love is an engrossing read, disturbing and quite mysterious at times. You’re never sure exactly what’s going on, past or present, and the truth’s not what you’re expecting.

It’s a clever, well-written and atmospheric novel with an unusual plot, and is bound to keep you turning the pages right up until its slightly confusing ending!

Behaviour of Moths

The Behaviour of Moths

by
Poppy Adams


Poppy Adams’ first novel is a dark and unusual tale of two elderly sisters being reunited after nearly fifty years apart.

Reclusive moth expert, Ginny Stone, 70, is waiting for her younger sister, Vivien, to return to Bulburrow Court - the crumbling Dorset mansion that was once their childhood home. Vivien hasn’t been back for forty-seven years, and Ginny rarely ventures outside. She’s sold off the family furniture, closed down most of the rooms and developed a precise routine. Only the attic remains untouched, where several generations of pinned and preserved moths line the walls.

Vivian’s arrival stirs up long-forgotten memories and secrets from the past, which threaten to disrupt Ginny’s carefully ordered life; the sudden death of their mother, their father’s obsessive behaviour and the strange pact she and Vivien made when they were young. Ginny grows suspicious of Vivien’s motives for coming back, and as they circle one another warily, the reader becomes aware that the sisters view their past in very different ways.

Alternating between past and present, The Behaviour of Moths is a story of nature versus nurture, obsession and misplaced perceptions. Scientific arguments are woven throughout the novel, in the examination of Ginny’s career as a lepidopterist, which suggest she is no more capable of avoiding her fate than a moth is of avoiding the flame that burns it.

The novel’s resolution doesn’t give a definitive answer, which won’t be to everyone’s satisfaction, but it’s still a riveting psychological study of families, and the things that they’re capable of doing to each other in the name of love.