REVIEW: The Man She Married by Alison James

The Man She Married by Alison James

Genre: Domestic Thriller

Read: 28th February 2020

Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon

(publication date: 13th January 2020)

★★★★★ 5 stars

WOW! This intriguing thriller is not only based on but also has us pondering the question "Just how well do you know your husband?" It also takes identity theft to such a frightening level that combined with everything else, makes THE MAN SHE MARRIED incredibly hard to put down.

Alice Palmer meets Dominic Gill in a lift. She's at Ellwood Archer to make arrangements for her catering company. He is there for a job interview. The first thing she notices are his eyes - warm topaz and mesmerising. But Alice is hesitant. After being jilted a week before her wedding once before, Alice never thought she would ever meet "the one". But Dominic is attractive, charismatic, kind and charming and despite all misgivings, she accepts his offer for coffee...which then turns into dinner...then dating...until he surprisingly proposes to her three months later.

Their wedding quickly follows on 1st April (I couldn't help but note the irony of the date) and, despite the absence of his family which is easily explained with his mother being ill with a heart condition while his estranged brother remains behind to care for her, Alice couldn't be happier. So what if she sees - and ignores - some serious red flags? They are happy, in love and life couldn't be better.

Even when Alice inadvertently discovers a bank statement with a mysterious reference to "Galea", even when he continues to make excuses as to why they can't meet his family, even when she catches him in a lie and he easily sways her with his charm, even when she follows him to a flat in North Acton, even when she finds a speeding ticket for somewhere he wasn't meant to be, even when their anniversary weekend turned into anything but romantic, even when he turned into someone she didn't recognise, even when she was approached by a mysterious woman with an accent who claimed to have information on who her husband really was...Dominic explained it all away and Alice dismissed any misgivings she may have momentarily had.

But now, it is Valentine's Day and Alice is preparing for a romantic evening for them both. With the fish prepared, the wine uncorked and a text from Dom to say he would be leaving the office in 30 minutes, Alice enjoyed a bath and prepared herself for her husband...and the amazing news she had for him. She was pregnant! Unable to contain her excitement, she snapped a photo of the positive test result and WhatsApp'ed it to Dom, eager for his response. But it never comes. So she calls her friend JoJo to tell her the news. Then an hour passes, two hours, three...something is wrong. She calls Dominic but there is no answer.

Furious with him for spoiling such a momentous occasion, she changes into sweat pants and is dozing when the doorbell rings. She opens the door to police and some devastating news. There's been an accident...and Dominic is dead.

Alice accompanies police to the hospital mortuary with JoJo by her side to see the man she married dead on a slab. There is no doubt it's him. With a small nod, she confirms that yes, it is her husband Dominic. Yet when his estranged brother Simon walks in, he insists "That isn't Dominic Gill. That isn't my brother."

So who was the man Alice married??

The journey then takes us to Australia where we meet a different set of characters in a different set of circumstances that become all too familiar as the deception and lies begin to unearth just what and who Dominic is, or isn't. The consequences are devastating as the truth is slowly revealed.

The man she married was not the person Alice thought he was. And if he lied about that, what else did he hide from her? And how can she find out the truth if all she has to go on is lie after lie?

I have to say, I could have shaken Alice at how completely oblivious she was to the red flags she saw - and ignored - to the many holes in Dominic's story. I could see them as plain as day and just felt like yelling at her "Open your eyes, woman!" But she accepted his plausible explanations and often excused his behaviour. But whatever his reasons, nothing prepared me for what lay beneath his lies and layers of deception.

Told from the alternating perspectives of Alice and Dominic in THEN and NOW chapters that give us, the reader, a clearer picture of things, THE MAN SHE MARRIED is a complete and complex tale filled with twist after twist along the way. Reading from Dominic's perspective gives us greater insight into his past and just who he really is. But who is he, really? Is he a conman? Is he a psychopath? But one thing is certain...despite his charm and his good looks, he is dangerous...very dangerous. And Alice is his perfect cover. This clever tale weaves together his story into Alice's and leaving behind nothing but questions.

Fast paced and gripping from the very first page, THE MAN SHE MARRIED is shockingly dark in parts with twists and the evil that one man does. I must add, that sexual assault features in a couple of small parts of the story for those that may be triggered. It is not a huge feature, but it is there.

After the author's previous thriller "The School Friend" (formerly "The Friendship Pact"), of which I was half-hearted about, I wasn't sure what to expect from THE MAN SHE MARRIED. But this...this is a thriller on a whole other level! It is original, it is twisted but it is brilliant! Just when you think you know what's going on, something else happens to turn it all around again!

A definite recommendation for thriller fans!

REVIEW: Three Hours by Rosamund Lupton (ARC)

Three Hours by Rosamund Lupton

Genre: Thriller

Read: 29th February 2020

Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon

(publication date: 9th January 2020)

★ 1 star

I must be in the minority here because I simply could not get into this book. What is essentially THREE HOURS felt like three years to me...and I didn't even finish it! It was slow, uneventful and boring. I tried to connect to the characters but everything just felt distant...like I was viewing it through a fish bowl.

It is, from what I can gather, a hate crime. But then aren't most school shootings? I can't tell you much more as I never completed the book. I didn't even get to hear from the shooter's perspectives (if there ever was on).

The premise sounded interesting...but that was where it ended. My second book in a row that has been somewhat disappointing, although at least I finished the last one...this one I was just bored to tears.

20% is my cut-off point if a book fails to grab me. I couldn't even make it that far. Maybe I gave up too early...who knows...but for me, if a book does not grab your attention from the beginning and pulls you in, then I move on to something that does. I felt none of the thrills promised - just...*yawn*...boredom.

Billed as "One of the most exhilarating reading experiences I've ever had" - I feel as though I was reading a different book. But I guess THREE HOURS would be fine if you're into this type of story of this kind of crime, but it just wasn't for me, sadly.

I would like to thank #RosamundLupton, #NetGalley and #PenguinBooksUK for an ARC of #ThreeHours in exchange for an honest review.

REVIEW: I Choose You by Gayle Curtis (ARC)

I Choose You by Gayle Curtis

Genre: Psychological thriller

Read: 29th February 2020

Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon

(publication date: 1st January 2020)

★ 1.5 stars

Firstly, I think it is important to note before starting this book that suicide features heavily in this story. It is talked about, it is acted out and it is a game purported by an unknown subject manipulating their victims - or participants, as they are referred to - into playing. As a difficult issue for some I felt it important to make it known that it is a common thread throughout the entire story.

So, ready?

Thirty years ago, Elise and Nathaniel shared a horrific trauma in which their mothers both committed suicide...the possible victims of the Suicide Watcher. This united them in grief when they meet up again in a support group run by Magda King, whose brother succumbed to suicide. A recipe for disaster, right? Well, these two were obviously blind to that fact and ended up married with three children of their own - Ida, Miles and Buddy. (honestly where does the author come up with these names? Ida for a 15 year old girl??) Elise has recently had baby Buddy (whose name sounds more like a dog than a child), and had some kind of post natal psychosis going on where she didn't feel that Buddy was hers. Aside from that, they finally believe that their nightmares are over...until Ida is murdered. (don't believe the premise in the abduction theory...never happened)

Fast forward a couple of years later...and baby Buddy is now 20 months old. But Elise is a raving lunatic. She is now in full-on psycho mode accusing a doctor she worked with and his wife of swapping their babies when they were both born at the same time in the same hospital. She has gone so far that they have taken out a restraining order against her and threatening legal action. But Elise is adamant. Their baby - Louis - is really her child, and Buddy is their's. What makes her think that? Her baby had an unusual birth mark on his right leg which she saw immediately after he was born...but later when they brought him to her in the hospital it was gone. The doctor's wife's face said it all...Louis has that very birthmark.

So amidst accusations, threats, police involvement and whatnot, Nathaniel assures Elise that Buddy IS their's as the DNA results proved it. But Elise would not be swayed.

And that seems a plausible enough storyline, right? Wrong!

Then there are the intermittent philosophical ramblings of a headcase peppered throughout the entire story, picking off their victims like going through a shopping list. Only with a far more metaphysical take in the theoretical sense of the entire nonsensical waffle! Did that make any sense? No? Well, neither do these chapters.

The story goes back and forth between the past and the present - titled THEN and NOW. That should be easy enough to follow in theory...I repeat IN THEORY. But the problem was there was one story in the THEN, another in the NOW and then the philosophical theoretical nonsense thrown in between! I have to admit I found it terribly difficult to remember in which timeline which story went where and what related to who when. It didn't make it any easier that Elise and Nathaniel featured in both, which simply added to the confusion.

Then we get confession after confession regarding Ida's death...which incidentally took place in the THEN chapters. And after all that, it was then theorised that Ida took her own life as the latest victim (participant) of the Suicide Watcher...or maybe it was the mother's brother's uncle twice removed? Then when the identity of Ida's killer is revealed it would have been a clever touch, if not for the whole convoluted mess in between, but it really just fell as flat as the rest of the story.

And by the end, I'm thinking...WTF? This person kills that person after they had killed another person and then kills themselves?

Honestly...I CHOOSE YOU could be broken down into three categories:
The GOOD, the BAD and the UGLY.

The only good thing this book had going for it was the whole Suicide Watcher theme. It was original and intriguing. "You have sixty seconds to choose - to shoot yourself or to be shot?"

Then we have the characters, none of which were likable in any way, shape or form. I wanted to shoot all of them, they irritated me that much. And there was so much happening in this book I simply could not keep up. Nor could I distinguish between the past and present as it all just jumbled together with a load of random people that had no development or substance.

Which then brings us to the worst part of this book - the UGLY. O.M.G!! The horribly choppy writing that was just such a convoluted mess. That by the end I was just so confused by all the unanswered questions and plot holes that were left unresolved. I just didn't get the whole point of whose baby was really Elise's and the random nutter that was a friend but also a patient but also a client...where did that one come from and what the hell did it mean? It was never followed up and just left blowing in the breeze like most of the storyline.

When I started this book, I went in with my eyes open to enjoy it...and I tried. I really did. And when it started it did show promise. I thought for sure I would give it at least 3 stars. But what the hell happened after that? In all honesty, I kept reading hoping all loose ends would be tied up by the end and I'd find out who the Suicide Watcher was and who killed Ida. I guessed who the Watcher was but not Ida's killer...but then I think they were running out of suspects after all the confessions.

There was way too much happening in this book and way too many random people that just didn't need to be there. I'm sorry, but I just couldn't like this book...and despite the almost clever way it ended, I just didn't much care anymore by then.

I would give it 2 stars just because I finished it, but even then 2 stars is leaning towards the notion that I thought it was "OK". Which I didn't. So it's a sorry 1 from me.

I have her next book already. I just hope it is vast improvement on this one.

I would like to thank #GayleCurtis, #NetGalley and #AmazonPublishingUK for an ARC of #IChooseYou in exchange for an honest review.

REVIEW: The Sleepover by Samantha King (ARC)

The Sleepover by Samantha King

Genre: Psychological thriller

Read: 27th February 2020

Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon

(publication date: 7th November 2019)

★★★ 3.5 stars

My first book by Samantha King, THE SLEEPOVER is every parent's worst nightmare. Your child goes to a sleepover and you return to collect him the next morning only to find he isn't there! His friends aren't saying anything, the mother is oblivious and you're pulling your hair out racking your brains thinking where your child could possibly be!

This is what happens to Izzy Brooke and her 12 year old son Nick.

Izzy has always been protective of her son ever since he was born, particularly after returning home one afternoon when, nearing the end of her pregnancy, she found the love of her life and father of her unborn child had hanged himself. Despite her grief she vowed to be the best mother she could be to her son and protect him at all costs. But Nick needed a father and so with the help of her best friend Katie, Izzy joined a dating site and met Craig who she later married. Craig was a good step-father to Nick. He loved him like he was his own flesh and blood, and he adored Izzy.

Then a year ago, Nick was brutally attacked by bullies when he decided to walk to school by himself. It was this incident that divided the once happy family with accusations flying, resulting in Craig leaving the family home. And it was Izzy and Nick once more.

Now a year later to the day, it is Friday the 13th and Nick is pleading with his mum to allow him to go to his best friend Adrian's house for a sleepover. Still reeling from Craig's accusations last year and her guilt at not protecting her son enough, Izzy is reluctant to let him go. But this is a new school and these are new friends. What could go wrong?

Finally relenting, she drops him off and arranges to collect him the following morning. But the next day when she arrives, all her nightmares have become reality when it is discovered that Nick isn't there. Overcome with guilt once again and telling herself she knew this was a bad idea, Izzy is frantic with worry. She questions each of the boys there but they claim to know nothing. Nick was there when they went to sleep...and when they woke he was gone.

The police are called and Izzy's ex, Craig, arrives with everyone turning over thoughts and possibilities while the three boys sat there white with shock. Where could Nick have gone in the middle of the night? And why would he leave the sleepover he was so desperate to attend, leaving all his belongings behind? It didn't make sense.

And then a body is found in the Thames...

Questions arise and fingers are pointed as we are thrown different scenarios and red herrings to throw us off the scent as Izzy searches for the truth about what happened to her son. As the reader, we suspect just about everyone along the way as the story threw us twist after twist!

The story is gripping from the beginning though it slows down in pace for most of the way until the penultimate finale delivering a few shocks, whilst remaining compelling throughout.

A cautionary tale, THE SLEEPOVER covers a variety of topics every parent should be aware of - bullying, peer pressure, the social media influence, secrets and duplicitous behaviour.

The final twist, when it came, was shocking but I had admittedly anticipated it just prior to its reveal. A twisted psychopathic tale, THE SLEEPOVER is a tense and taut thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat as you try to pick your way through the ever growing list of suspects. Even at the end, you are still questioning just who is really behind it!

THE SLEEPOVER is an engaging read I recommend to fans of psychological thrillers

I would like to thank #SamanthaKing, #NetGalley and #LittleBrownBookGroupUK for an ARC of #TheSleepover in exchange for an honest review.

REVIEW: Citizen Armies by Beryl Kingston (ARC)

Citizen Armies (Jackson Family Saga #2) by Beryl Kingston

Genre: Historical fiction

Read: 24th February 2020

Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon

(publication date: 2nd September 2019)

★★★★ 4.5 stars

Before beginning CITIZEN ARMIES, I decided to read the first book in this series, "Everybody's Somebody", and to be honest I'm glad I did. Although CITIZEN ARMIES could probably work as a standalone, the reader will get far more background into Rosie and her family by reading the first book first.

The story picks up some years after "Everybody's Somebody" left off, just as war was declared in Britain. Rosie and Jim's daughters have grown with Gracie now 18 and working at Guy's Hospital training to be a nurse and Mary at 16 evacuated along with her school to Hastings. Jim now runs old Mr Feigenbaum's fruit and veg stall, after the old man's death, as well as being Chief Warden for the ARP. Her girls having grown up, one working and one almost finished school, Rosie feels she ought to be doing more for the war effort and decides she too will join the ARP. Jim is reluctant, at first, but Rosie is nothing if not determined and so she endeavours to become an ambulance driver.

Then the Blitz comes with constant day and night raids over London from the Luftwaffe which was to last in excess of six months. But despite all her training and all her expectations, nothing could prepare Rosie for the things she would see. If she thought war was brutal, cruel and senseless before, she is more than sure of it now. As the Germans wreaked havoc from the skies above them, hundreds and thousands of innocent civilians are killed. Why? It was beyond comprehension.

Struggling with fatigue, Rosie's family are a constant source of love and support. Once again there joys amidst the tragedies as the daily battles on the home front continue to exhaust the country. But nothing compares to the battles fought at the front...and we get firsthand insight to those at Dunkirk to the D-Day Normandy landings to the Battle of the Bulge as well as the Battle of Britain fought in the skies above.

When Mary completes school, she begins training at Guy's alongside her sister to become qualified nurses. Gracie meets a young soldier she is treating, Sam, and after walking out together for some months, they marry. It is at their wedding that Mary meets Sam's best man and fellow soldier, Bertie, whom she later marries before both men are sent back to North Africa. It is then through Sam's and Bertie's eyes we are given some insight into the battles they were involved in.

For Rosie and her family, just when they thought the Blitz was over and done with a few years before, then comes a new weapon in June 1944 with the launching of the V1 rocket (flying bomb), more commonly known as a doodlebug or buzzbomb. Launched from France, the V1 rocket could be heard approaching but as soon as its engine cut out that was when the bomb would fall from the sky and create even more devastation. Then in September 1944 came an even greater threat in the V2 rocket missile which was soundless and its presence only known when it hit. The devastation was enormous, killing hundred of thousands yet again. With these new rockets, Rosie is recalled to her ambulance duties and it is a V2 that delivers her the greatest tragedy of all.

Not for the first time, I have often thought how utterly terrifying it would have been to live through the war, particularly the Blitz and the constant bombings. My dad was a just a child when the war began and his recollections as a child of those horrors are simply terrifying. It would be scary enough for an adult but even more so for a child. He remembers the Blitz and the V1 rockets which he refers to as "doodlebugs", although he was evacuated to Wales at some point for the duration of the war. I have read many books in this era but Beryl Kingston really does capture that horror and the terror felt by those who lived it every day. There is just something that really makes you feel as if you are there living it alongside Rosie and her family.

Whilst the first book spans three decades with the first war featuring in just a part of it, CITIZEN ARMIES is set solely throughout the course of WW2 so there is more detail in the various battles than in the first. Rich in by historical detail, the reader is given enough insight into the war to keep it interesting but without boring us with too much factual content. This is what make Beryl Kingston so easy to read as she has just enough mix of historical fact with the fiction to make it so compelling.

A fascinating account of an ordinary family in extraordinary times, CITIZEN ARMIES is totally absorbing from start to finish. It highlights the strength of the British people when, even through their darkest days of the Blitz and then the V1 and V2 flying bombs, they did not surrender where other countries had. Instead they rallied together, made cups of tea and got on with it. Through it all, no matter what the Germans threw at them Britain would stand united and come out victorious. And that they did.

A compelling depiction of life during that time through Rosie's eyes and those of her family, CITIZEN ARMIES is an intriguing tale you will not want to put down. I sincerely hope there is a Book 3 as we continue to follow Rosie and her family, but I also feel this book rounded things off nicely.

I definitely recommend CITIZEN ARMIES for lovers of historical fiction, but not before reading "Everybody's Somebody" first.

I would like to thank #BerylKingston, #NetGalley and #EndeavourQuill for an ARC of #CitizenArmies in exchange for an honest review.

REVIEW: Everybody's Somebody by Beryl Kingston

Everybody's Somebody (Jackson Family Saga #1) by Beryl Kingston

Genre: Historical fiction

Read: 23rd February 2020

Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon

(publication date: 31st July 2017)

★★★★ 4.5 stars

I came across Beryl Kingston quite by accident but it wasn't until I received one of her books from Netgalley, which just so happens to be the sequel to this one, that I decided to grab myself a copy of EVERYBODY'S SOMEBODY to read first. And I am glad I did. I do love some good old historical fiction.

The story opens with a Prologue which I admit I found a little confusing at first as it is set in a art gallery with a school group perusing the works of a well-known artist. I wondered where this was going and what it had to do with the story when it became clear that it was set in the present day. But with no date titled at the beginning of the prologue  made it very confusing to start with. However, on this visit the teacher focuses on the artist's portraits of more famous people such as Lawrence of Arabia but two girls are fascinated with the dark haired woman in four of his paintings. When they ask their teacher who she was the teacher replied "someone no consequence". But once out of earshot, one of the girls confides to the other "I don't care if she had consequence or not. She looks strong. And if you think about it, she must have been somebody. Everybody's somebody. I'd like to have met her."

Taking place in the early 1900's (again, no year is specified), the story is centred around young Rosie Goodison who has just turned 12 and is excited to be going into service with her first job some miles away to contribute to the family. The oldest of then four children, Rosie's family lives a simple life in the village of Binderton. Her new position is as nursery maid to a young three year old called Rachel and she soon throws the cat amongst the pigeons when she alters young Rachel's diet to solids rather than the bread and milk fed to babies, much to the nanny's chagrin.

From the first moment, Rosie comes across as a very strong character. Despite her fears of being so far from home and her family for the first time in her life, she maintains the age-old English tradition of the stiff upper lip and just gets on with things. She is in awe of the smart uniform she is provided with the meals they are supplied with, which are plentiful and the "best grub she's ever had". She soon befriends Maisie, the other nursery maid, who tells her that there will be another baby to look after soon which is why she was taken on. And sure enough, young Bernard was born, joining the nursery about a week later.

Due to her duties and the distance, she was only able to visit her family once a year - on Mothering Sunday. As each year passed, Rosie noticed her family growing and her mother pregnant yet again. Rosie expresses a desire to be nearer her family, so when her brother Tommy gets a job gardening for the Vicar in the village he keeps his ear out for anything that would suit Rosie. He is rewarded when a woman pays a visit to the vicarage looking for a suitable cottage for her boys on their summer vacation from Eton. Rosie is then given the position of housekeeper to Anthony and Nicholas Eden, two rather pompous and entitled young men whose talk of the coming war would be "a good show". Whilst keeping house for these two untidy and very privileged boys, she learns a great deal about the world out there by listening to snippets of their conversations and reading the newspapers they have discarded. 

War soon breaks out and Rosie is horrified to learn her brother Tommy and his best friend Charlie have joined up, with no real preparation of what to expect or of what's to come. Anthony and Nicholas say it will be all over by Christmas but vow to join up as soon as they have finished school, if it is still going by then. When the summer is over and the boys return to Eton, Rosie finds herself without a job. However, Anthony writes her a glowing reference and refers her to a place in London that is always on the lookout for new girls.

So Rosie packs herself off to London to the RAC club where she is given the position of live-in waitress, meaning her board and lodgings are supplied along with the job. It is here she meets the artist Gerard de Silva who was on the brink of success. 

One day on her afternoon off, Rosie inadvertently finds herself at a suffragette rally where she meets Kitty Jackson and her docker brother Jim, who she describes "her lion". The three of them become inseparable friends, meeting every Thursday to go to the music hall and later fish and chips. Kitty and Rosie become best of friends, but it's Jim Rosie finds herself with unexpected feelings for. Romance blossoms between the two and one day when Kitty has to work, Jim and Rosie find themselves alone and in each other's arms beneath the tree in St James Park, that was to become a special place for them. Over the coming weeks as the war developed in France, Rosie's fears for Jim are soon realised when conscription is introduced. She tries to help him escape it but they have their first row, beneath their tree, when he tells her it is not possible. Furious with him for not listening, she storms off back to the club.

With Jim in France, Kitty and Rosie get on with life back home, treasuring every letter they receive from Jim, but still fraught with worry. It is these chapters, through Jim's eyes, that detail life in the trenches that brings the reality of the horrors these men and boys faced daily. And as the war rages on right up to its end and onwards, there is tragedy and life-changing consequences for Rosie.

EVERYBODY'S SOMEBODY brings to life the horrors of war its aftermath, the suffragette movement, the Spanish flu, flooding of the Thames as well as life in the early 20th century. Swept up in it all, Rosie has to deal with Jim suffering trauma from the war, losses in her family, financial pressures and prejudices. When she falls pregnant, she loses her job at the RAC club whose policy it is not to employ "women with child". Outraged, she captures the attention of Gerard de Silva who just so happens to be in the club at the time and offers her a job as his model. Jim is not happy and tries in vain to forbid her, but Rosie is her own woman, vowing to control all aspects of her life. It is, of course, her sitting for de Silva which leads to those four paintings mentioned in the prologue of which she is the sitter. Those paintings, though commissioned at the time, are painted over a number of years, the last one being with her two young daughters. 

Throughout the story, Rosie is faced with many adversities and through them becomes stronger. Never wanting to be like her mother and producing babies every year, Rosie seeks out the early form of birth control in the "dutch cap". Growing from a headstrong impulsive child into a feisty smart woman who fights for a better life for her children, Rosie isn't perfect as she succumbs to the charms of Gerry de Silva and into his bed. Her husband Jim is a kind, gentle and dependable man, despite his grumpiness whereas de Silva is self-absorbed. To be honest, when the growing unrest in Germany in the early 30s began, de Silva being a Jew up and scarpered, I felt that that was the best thing that could have happened. I didn't like de Silva. I found him too charming and a little sleazy. I loved Jim and felt sorry for him that Rosie was deceiving him this way. But Rosie loves Jim regardless, and soon settles back into family life struggling to find work in the wake of the depression of 1929, and ends with the growing unrest in Germany with the Nazi movement in the early 30s.

The story is compelling and absorbing throughout with realistic unforgettable moments and characters that are steeped with passion and emotion. An unassuming woman, all that remains of Rosie's time on earth are those four portraits in an art gallery...and she may have been someone of no consequence but she was still somebody. Because everybody's somebody in the grand scheme of things. And Rosie sure left her mark throughout the early 20th century and into the 30s...with her life continuing through WW2 in the sequel. As well as in the paintings later displayed for the world to see.

A poignant and well-written story of one woman's journey, EVERYBODY'S SOMEBODY sweeps us through the early 1900s, through the Great War and into the 20s and early 30s. I loved the vastness of the tale spanning the early 20th century as we watch Rosie grow from the impulsive 12 year old and into a resourceful woman.

I thoroughly enjoyed EVERYBODY'S SOMEBODY and was immersed in it from start to finish. The dialect used was true to the era of the working class and was easy to follow, despite the incorrect spelling as it was written as it was pronounced. Sometimes this can be difficult to distinguish depending on the area from which they originate, but in the case of the characters here, it was very easy to follow. I also liked the fact that while the war featured it wasn't detailed in loads of history that would put the reader to sleep. There were historical facts but they were infused with the story with an expert hand.

I did, however, have a few niggles. My main one being that there was no year or date specified at the outset in the Prologue and then the ensuing chapters. I found it difficult to work out the timeline at times because of this. I felt that as the story moved the new chapter should have had the new year titled at its beginning. Sometimes it felt like I was swimming through the cloud waters of time with no clue as to where I was. While this is only a small niggle, it niggled all the same. 

As EVERYBODY'S SOMEBODY concludes, Rosie has felt tragedy, love and loss through the aftermath of the Great War, the recent depression and the looming presence of Hitler and the Nazi regime on the horizon. EVERYBODY'S SOMEBODY is a superb story that you can immerse yourself in with Beryl Kingston's easy to read writing style. But I do recommend you read this one first before the sequel "Citizen Armies" .

I thoroughly recommend EVERYBODY'S SOMEBODY to any reader who enjoys historical fiction and family sagas.

100 Books I Have Loved!

There have been many books I have read over the years since I began my love affair with books, but this list comprises of at least one hundred I've read and loved that I can remember. I could keep adding to the list...but I had to stop somewhere!

1. The Stranger by Kate Riordan
2. Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey
3. The Ice Cream Girls by Dorothy Koomson
4. The Poldark Series by Winston Graham
5. 99 Red Balloons by Elisabeth Carpenter
6. Trust Me by Gemma Metcalfe
7. The Mother's Mistake by Ruth Heald
8. The Orphan Sisters by Shirley Dickson
9. Picture of Innocence by T.J. Stimson
10. Brothers and Sister by Adele O'Neill
11. Goodnight Mr. Tom by Michelle Magorian
12. My Name is Eva by Suzanne Goldring
13. The Child Next Door by Shalini Boland
14. Her Missing Child by Kerry Watts
15. The Secret Letter by Debbie Rix
16. The Governess of Penwythe Hall by Sarah E. Ladd
17. The Forgotten Village by Lorna Cook
18. Our Last Goodbye by Shirly Dickson
19. Traces of Her by Amanda Brittany
20. The Girl from the Corner Shop by Alrene Hughes
21. Flesh House by Stuart MacBride
22. The Jarrow Trilogy by Janet MacLeod Trotter
23. Seven Days by Alex Lake
24. The Mallen Trilogy by Catherine Cookson
25. The Thorn Girl by Laura Elliot
26. Liar by K.L. Slater
27. Tell Me You're Mine by Elisabeth Noreback
28. Flowers of the Dead by Barbara Copperthwaite
29. Dark Place to Hide by A.J. Waines
30. The Girl Who Came Back by Kerry Wilkinson
31. The Royal Nanny by Karen Harper
32. I See You by Clare Mackinstosh
33. The Thing About Clare by Imogen Clark
34. The Daughter in Law by Nina Manning
35. S is fot Stranger by Louise Stone
36. A View Across the Rooftops by Suzanne Kelman
37. The Boy in the Photo by Nicole Trope
38. The Nanny by Gilly Macmillan
39. All Her Secrets by Sue Watson
40. The Woman at 46 Heath Street by Lesley Sanderson
41. The Doll House by Phoebe Morgan
42. The Good Samaritan by John Marrs
43. Little Boy Found by L.K. Fox
44. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
45. Lead Me Home by C.S. Savage
46. The Silent Girls by Ann Troup
47. The Secret Mother by Shalini Boland
48. I Am Watching You by Teresa Driscoll
49. The Silent Child by Sarah Denzil
50. Sister Sister by Sue Fortin
51. Blink by K.L. Slater
52. The Sister by Louise Jensen
53. Little Liar by Lisa Ballanatyne
54. The Child by Fiona Barton
55. A Fight in Silence by Melanie Metzenthin
56. The Silent Ones by K.L. Slater
57. No Kiss Goodbye by Janelle Harris
58. Place of Execution by Val McDermid
59. Random by Craig Robertson
60. The Baby Farmers by Annie Cossins
61. Follow You Home by Mark Edwards
62. Sleepyhead by Mark Billingham
63. Friend Request by Laura Marshall
64. I Know You by Annabel Kantaria
65. The Ice Twins by S.K. Tremayne
66. The Attic Room by Linda Huber
67. The Wife's Secret by Kerry Wilkinson
68. The Perfect Betrayal by Lauren North
69. The Orphan Daughter by Sheila Riley
70. The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell
71. Single by K.L. Slater
72. Snow Angels by Nadine Dorries
73. Little Girl Lost by Carol Wyer
74. Only Daughter by Sarah Denzil
75. The Mother I Could Have Been by Kerry Fisher
76. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
77. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
78. Snatched by Stephen Edger
79. The Doctor by Lisa Stone
80. A Woman's War by S. Block
81. The Wedding Dress Maker by Leah Fleming
82. Girl on a Train by A.J. Waines
83. The Trust by Jamie Sinclar
84. Sara Dane by Catherine Gaskin
85. The Friend by Teresa Driscoll
86. The Penmaker's Wife by Steve Robinson
87. The Mermaids Singing by Val McDermid
88. Messiah by Boris Starling
89. The Child of Auschwitz by Lily Graham
90. Cold, Cold Sea by Linda Huber
91. 11-22-63 by Stephen King
92. The Wire in the Blood by Val McDermid
93. Lock Me In by Kate Simants
94. The Blossom Twins by Carol Wyer
95. The Cry by Helen Fitzgerald
96. Eeny Meeny by M.D. Arlidge
97. Tilly Trotter Trilogy by Catherine Cookson
98. The Guilty Mother by Diane Jeffrey
99. Snakes and Ladders by Victoria Selman
100. The Midwives of Lark Lane by Pam Howes

REVIEW: The Bobby Girls by Johanna Bell (ARC)

The Bobby Girls (The Bobby Girls #1) by Johanna Bell

Genre: Historical fiction

Read: 21st February 2020

Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon

(publication date: 26th December 2019)

★★★★ 4 stars

Waiting with baited breath to immerse myself into THE BOBBY GIRLS, I was not disappointed. Although it is a fictional story, it is also steeped in plenty of history through the suffragette movement of how women came to enter the police force in 1914 as Women Police Volunteers (WPV). As volunteers they were not paid nor had they any powers of arrest but they did have specific roles in which they were to assist women in attempting to prevent acts of immorality. In other words, to help control their "loose" behaviour. In addition, women were more likely to respond to women rather than men.

In a highly male dominated profession, the women came up against a lot of resistance to the idea by men who thought they would merely be creating extra work for them, rather than alleviating it. And while not every woman was a suffragette, many believed that they could play a more active role in society rather than their only value being for cooking, cleaning and producing offspring.

It's London 1914 and many men are away fighting the Great War while a call has gone out for female volunteers to join the newly formed WPV. Amongst the many applicants, four women from different backgrounds join the ranks of volunteers and go through weeks of study and training in preparation for the tasks they will be undertaking. Of the four - Sarah, Maggie, Annie and Irene - only the latter three go on to complete their training as it is revealed that Sarah is far too short sighted for the job. Devastated, she returns to the one she was passionate about - a writer at "The Vote", a suffragette newspaper campaigning for the rights of women.

Maggie, Annie and Irene become fast friends as most of the other women are far older than they are. Then when, at the end of their training, they discover they are all placed at Bethnal Green Police Station in the East End, they are ecstatic. However, upon their arrival, just about every officer makes them feel unwelcome, making snide comments about their abilities and with no provision made for them they are forced to change in the toilet cubicles, in case a male officer should enter. Only one police officer, PC Frank Bird, welcomes their arrival and is responsible for showing them where they will be focusing their attentions and easing their role into the community.

But it seems no one is happy about their presence, neither the male officers - who see them as just creating extra work for them when they call on them to get them out of whatever scrapes they may find themselves in - or the community - who laugh at the very thought of "women policemen"! But with Frank's help and the support of each other, they soon fall into their roles within the community when the locals see they really are there to help them. Their daily patrols see them gaining the trust and advice from prominent locals such as Sally from the launderette, Bob the landlord of the local pub The Lamb and the elderly Arthur. Recording their daily activities in a diary in their breaks and at the end of the day soon provides evidence of their worth and the invaluable work they carry out every day.

When the Chief Constable gets wind of their activities through the daily diaries, he congratulates them on their work and begins them on night patrols. The three women are a little naive in what to expect of their night patrols believing them to be no different from their daytime ones. But they soon discover after dark a whole other world comes alive and their work intensifies but equally rewarding.

But trouble is brewing when a face from Maggie's past recognises her on patrol and realises he could capitalise on her duplicity by blackmailing her. Maggie soon finds herself in way over her head and without confiding in her two friends, lives to regret her decision.

Each women have secrets. Maggie comes from a privileged background in Kensington but has a traumatic home life with a controlling father who instills fear and compliance from his wife and children by beating them. Not only that, her beloved brother and best friend, Eddie has signed up to fight for his country, much to the chagrin and outrage from their father. But Maggie has an even bigger secret. She has lied about her age to join the WPV, and at 18 would have needed her parent's consent...which her father would never have given. And so she sneaks out daily on the pretense that she has taken up a volunteer position at an orphanage, which would be more acceptable to her father. Annie is incredibly shy and timid but gains her confidence through her work with WPV; her only fear is the fate of her beloved fiance Richard who, when he returns on leave, is a shadow of his former self. Irene comes from an impoverished background, working another job to pay the rent on a pokey little room with barely enough to eat. She finds their presence in the East End a little too close to home and lives in fear she will be recognised.

The depiction of the roles in the early 20th century is an authentic picture of the distinctions between the classes as well as those of men and women. The poverty, the injustice, the social aspects and the attitudes the first women police officers faced has been well researched as we follow Maggie, Annie and Irene in their journey as WPVs. Although the story followed is predominantly Maggie, the other two provided good background though I do hope future stories in the series will feature the other two respectively, as they featured so little in this one.

A delightful story with some lighthearted moments, a bit of tension and a little heartbreak, THE BOBBY GIRLS is a smashing debut and promises to be the beginning of a warm historical saga.

I love how the author ended the book with some photos of the real Bobby Girls, giving a real authenticity to the story and the era. I look forward to reading "The Bobby Girls' Secrets" in May, "Christmas with the Bobby Girls" in November and "The Bobby Girls' War" in May 2021.

A highly entertaining and easy read, THE BOBBY GIRLS is perfect for those who enjoy wartime historical fiction.

I would like to thank #JohannaBell, #NetGalley and #HodderAndStoughton for an ARC of #TheBobbyGirls in exchange for an honest review.

REVIEW: Hold Your Tongue by Deborah Masson (ARC)

Hold Your Tongue (DI Eve Hunter #1) by Deborah Masson

Genre: Crime fiction, police procedural, thriller

Read: 19th February 2020

Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon

(publication date: 26th December 2019)

★★★★ 4 stars

HOLD YOUR TONGUE is the dark and gritty debut by Deborah Masson featuring DI Eve Hunter and set in Aberdeen, Scotland. Although slow to start, it soon picks up pace as an addictive and compelling thriller.

The opening Prologue sets the overall scene of what's to come. It is dark, it is disturbing and it is enough to make you balk in its vividity. And it's in this opening preface that we learn the significance of the title, which is more than apt. The identity of those in this prologue are unknown but as the story builds throughout it does become clear.

DI Eve Hunter is returning to work after six months leave following a brutal attack on her and her colleague, DS Nicola Sanders, leaving her with a badly broken femur resulting in a limp and Sanders paralysed from the neck down and in a wheelchair for the rest of her life. Left with unresolved guilt Eve blames herself for the attack, believing she could have prevented it, and as we are drip-fed information throughout details of that night come to light further into the story.

In no condition to return, Eve must now lead a team where not everyone welcomes her or respects her - blaming her for what happened to Sanders. On her first day back, she is introduced to DC Jo Mearns who, although respectful, radiates an obvious air of animosity and contempt towards her. The fact that she came in replacing the very detective who suffered life-changing injuries on Eve's watch only fuels her hostility. It doesn't help that DC Scott Ferguson constantly sneers at Eve and makes snide comments regarding her ability to lead the team. Only DS Cooper remains in her corner as a friend and confidante, and someone she knows she can rely on.

But Eve has no time to dwell on her team's derision as she is thrust head first into the gruesome murder investigation on her first day. Eighteen year old Melanie Ross's body has been discovered in a hotel room tied with Venetian blind cord, her tongue removed and a newspaper headline pinned to her body. Upon informing Melanie's parents' they are quick to offer up a suspect and the case appears to be clear cut...until the following week, another woman is found in similar circumstances in a dance studio. Looking at the two cases, it is apparent that the killer is selecting these women based on the headlines pinned to their bodies where newspaper articles that had been written about them. So what, apart from the articles, links them? And what is the significance of the Venetian blind cord and removal of their tongues?

The following week, the arrival of a tongue sent directly to Eve immediately reveals the identity of a woman known to them and therefore has them questioning the significance of the victims. But it isn't until one of their own is targeted that brings the reality of these murders home to them and will have them stopping at nothing to unravel the mystery and catch this sadistic killer.

I didn't like Eve to begin with and although I warmed to her somewhat, I still found her constant martyrdom of self blame a little tiresome. I am not a lover of strong female leads who prefer their own solitude to wallow in self pity or drown their sorrows in a bottle of prosecco whilst putting up a front of strength and courage in the face of adversity and refusing help from concerned friends. Maybe I find it hard to relate to because that kind of behaviour is so far removed from myself but if someone is offering you a friendly ear or some company, where's the harm in that? Does being independent and self-sufficient make you a better person? Or just more lonely? Despite my niggles about Eve, I did warm to her a little further in and found myself advocating her along the way.

Eve's team are an interesting bunch and while they don't always agree they do work well together, despite their differences. DS Mark Cooper is reliable, honest and remains a good friend to Eve throughout the past and present. He has a family who welcome all and sundry into the fold....his wife Louise is so warm and welcoming I could feel her arms around me and smell her delicious cooking. DC Scott Ferguson has the makings of a competent detective with good instincts but he is arrogant and hostile, undermining Eve at every opportunity. He holds Eve responsible for the attack that left Sanders paralysed and unable to continue as a detective. DC Jo Mearns hails from Bolton in England and is new to the team, replacing Sanders after her untimely attack. Often paired with Ferguson, his animosity towards their boss rubbed off on her and she finds herself disliking Eve at first sight. But as the story progresses we see a vulnerable side to Mearns which adds to her character and her early behaviour. Then there is DCI Hastings. At the mention of the name Hastings, I found myself constantly picturing Supt Ted Hastings from "Line of Duty"...lol...yet this Hastings (yes, like the battle...lol) was not as hands on in that respect, though he is no-nonsense and respected.

I thoroughly enjoyed HOLD YOUR TONGUE, despite its slow build and my niggles with Eve, as it is not your regular police procedural. It is dark, it is disturbing and at times gruesome. But it also came with a well-written solid plot with twists and reveals to have your swiping pages into the night.

I love the primary setting in Aberdeen, as well as visits to St Andrews and Dundee. While this part of Scotland does have its own indecipherable dialect, I was pleased to NOT encounter it here as I feel the inclusion of language that it is not familiar to anyone unless they are from the area only serves to alienate that author's works to readers far and wide. I do recognise the "granite" and "grey" descriptions of Aberdeen that I was first introduced to with Stuart MacBride, whose works are also fairly dark and gruesome but also filled with dry witty humour.

A dark, compelling, intense crime drama HOLD YOUR TONGUE is told primarily from Eve's third person perspective with the addition of the killer's deranged narrative peppered throughout. The reader is left pondering the identity of the killer as we are lead a merry chase but even I admit to not seeing that one coming.

The first in a new series, I look forward to seeing more of Eve Hunter and her team and will be keeping my eye out for the next installment.

Not for the faint-hearted, if you like Katerina Diamond or Stuart MacBride then I'm sure you will enjoy HOLD YOUR TONGUE.

I would like to thank #DeborahMasson, #NetGalley and #RandomHouseUK #TransworldPublishers for an ARC of #HoldYourTongue in exchange for an honest review.

REVIEW: Snakes and Ladders by Victoria Selman (ARC)

Snakes and Ladders (Ziba MacKenzie #3) by Victoria Selman

Genre: Psychological thriller, crime fiction, police procedural

Read: 17th February 2020

Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon

(publication date: 17th December 2019)

★★★★★ 5 stars

When I read the tagline "Psycho meets Silence of the Lambs" I knew I just HAD to read this book! And wow...what can I say? It simply is...WOW!

SNAKES AND LADDERS is the third in the Ziba MacKenzie series, although I didn't know it at the time, but it reads well as a standalone. It was THAT good. There is enough background given throughout to ensure you don't miss out on anything. But be warned...once you start, you won't be able to stop and from there on in you then have a burning desire to get your hands on the other two books in the series and devour them in much the same way.

Ziba MacKenzie, who lost her husband Duncan in a shooting two years ago, is a profiler who specialises in serial killers on secondment to the FBI teaching at Quantico when she is called back to London to assist on a murder case. But not just any murder case. Someone is killing young homeless girls, mutilating their bodies and leaving behind various seemingly random items along with a single pink rose, earning him the moniker of the Pink Rose Killer. And word has reached Scotland Yard that there is to be another murder in two days' time.

While Scotland Yard has any number of profilers on their books able to assist police in their investigation, only Ziba can help. From his prison cell hundreds of miles from London, Vernon Sange (formerly Dr) holds the key to this latest mystery and he will help police on one condition - that he will only speak to Ziba.

Vernon Sange is a psychopath. But a very clever psychopath. Like Ziba, he profiles people, charms them, befriends them and even seduces them...to lure them into his trap. In his former life he was a successful university Don at Oxford, a doctor of philosophy, a lecturer, a teacher, a master, a murderer. It was Ziba's profile that lead police to him and an anonymous tip that sealed his fate during his trial. Now in his prison cell he is awaiting extradition to the US where he faces the death penalty.

Sange claims to know the identity of the PRK, and when and where the murders will take place. Ziba does not want to meet with Sange but knows, at this stage, police are out of options. And being so close to the next murder, if Sange knows anything and will only talk to her then she must see him and extricate any information she can from him. But that is easier said that done. Sange is a master. Ziba knows that as soon as he walks in Sange will be watching her. Looking for any reaction, even a flicker, that he can use to manipulate her. But Ziba resolves to give nothing away; she refuses to be played by him. But can she stop her subconscious from reacting? And can she outsmart Sange and get what she needs, never to return again?

But one thing is for sure...you can't outsmart a psychopath!

Faced with a deadly countdown, Ziba must get the answers needed to help catch the killer before he kills again. But for all his talk in her visit with him, does Sange actually ever tell her anything of use? At first, Ziba isn't so sure. But then she begins to piece some aspects together while others remain a mystery...earning her yet another long drive to the prison to see Sange once again.

While these visits are paramount to the investigation, Ziba dreads them...because Sange appears to read her effortlessly and he always wants something in return. His game is he will give her something if she gives him something first. But can she elude his mind games and figure out the clues on her own? And save the man she secretly loves?

Meanwhile in her private life, Ziba continues to grieve the loss of her husband two years ago. Although she misses Duncan, her friendship with his best friend journalist Jack Wolfe has grown into something more although she would never put Jack's life on the line by saying so. But somehow Sange knows even if Jack doesn't. And now Jack is in danger.

How does Sange know how she feels about Jack Wolfe? And why is Jack the only journalist the PRK writes to? While it is clearly Jack he sends these letters to, who is "O.D." to whom he addresses within them? And the code at the end of each letter...what do they mean? Is Sange involved more than they know?

So many questions throughout will have your head spinning that you won't want to put it down! As the truth begins to emerge piece by piece, it becomes clear that nothing is as it seems. Everything is smoke and mirrors. Mind games at its best!

SNAKES AND LADDERS is a well-crafted, well-plotted, brilliantly told murder mystery thriller that had me turning pages long into the night! I loved the short snappy chapters that kept the pace moving at a break-neck speed throughout.

I absolutely loved the dry wit peppered throughout the story. Ziba's thoughts on Fingerling as he sneered his comments at her had me chuckling on more than one occasion. Her passing thoughts on the weather even. If it didn't thrill, it made me laugh. Everything I love in a book.

Every character in the story is well developed and each has their part to play. None of them are insignificant or surplus to the tale. Victoria Selman has weaved each them into her web seamlessly leaving nothing to chance. Even one of the most likable characters with whom Ziba connected to wasn't by chance. And when that final plot twist came at the end, it was both shocking and brilliant!

While I haven't read the first two in the series, unaware at the time of requesting that this was a third installment, SNAKES AND LADDERS is everything I love in a thriller - fast paced, twisty, compelling, intriguing, witty and utterly unputdownable.

While it's always best to start a series from the beginning, I don't think it's essential to enjoy SNAKES AND LADDERS, as it flows seamlessly throughout with enough background given to know what is going on. I know I enjoyed it immensely without reading the first two...but let it be known, I have now added the first two to my collection and look forward to sneaking them into my reading list sometime soon. I suspect this is going to be one of my favourite series. Criminal Minds meets Psycho meets Silence of the Lambs.

That brilliant ending has me longing for the fourth installment now with that twist of a cliffhanger that leaves us wondering where the story goes from here...and that dawn of realisation that hit Ziba as she heard the news...I wasn't surprised, but she most definitely was. In the end, that final piece suddenly made sense to me and left me wanting more. Hands down brilliant!

Bring on book #4!!

I would like to thank #VictoriaSelman, #NetGalley and #AmazonPublishingUK for an ARC of #SnakesAndLadders in exchange for an honest review.

REVIEW: The Book Ghost by Lorna Gray (ARC)

The Book Ghost by Lorna Gray

Genre: Historical fiction

Read: 18th February 2020

Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon

(publication date: 14th December 2019)

★ 1 star

I think I must be in the minority here because while I was excited at the prospect of reading THE BOOK GHOST and I had high hopes for it, I was so disappointed with it. I love historical fiction and losing myself to a world of books, so I thought this would be fantastic nod to that part of me. Not so.

Set in the beautiful Cotswolds in the post war ear of 1946, THE BOOK GHOST, aka "Mrs P's Book of Secrets", opens with a load of confusing waffle from seances to a book press. So much of what is written is so random I found it hard to correlate just what was going on. For example, when Lucy was talking to Robert Underhill, her uncle George bustles in and out of nowhere begins to relate to the other man how Lucy came to live with them. I mean, what the hell was that about? And why was it is important to tell him that snippet of information at that moment in time? I just didn't understand it. The rest of it just seemed to be ramblings that chopped and changed in direction and subject like a distracted person with ADHD.

I did try to like the book. But it was just so difficult as I couldn't immerse myself in the story without it feeling like a tennis match. I didn't know where to to look or what I was meant to see because everything just seemed to ramble. I know what the premise tells me the story is about but there was no sign of anything like that until at least 30% in and by then my interest had waned and I really didn't care for the mystery of this child anymore. It wasn't at all what I thought it would be and I couldn't connect to Lucy at all.

Two things I hate in books are long chapters (though I can live with them) and loads of endless descriptive narration, which in this case jumped from hither to nither leaving me wondering what it was she was talking about. The writing was long and rambling and if there was a purpose in that then I missed it because I simply lost patience trying to decipher Lucy's waffle.

I love my historical fiction to be beautiful easy reads. I don't mind some complexities but I found THE BOOK GHOST to be such hard work I was exhausted just reading a chapter. I dreaded picking it back up again. And if I am at a point where I literally have to force myself to continue the book then I know it's missed its mark completely with me.

THE BOOK GHOST had an interesting premise that just didn't live up to expectations, sadly. Life's too short to get bogged down with books you don't enjoy, so move on. Which is what I did. But you just might enjoy it!

I would like to thank #LornaGray, #NetGalley and #HarperCollinsUK and #OneMoreChapter for an ARC of #TheBookGhost in exchange for an honest review.

REVIEW: Why She Ran by Geraldine Hogan (ARC)

Why She Ran (DS Iris Locke #2) by Geraldine Hogan

Genre: Crime fiction, police procedural

Read: 15th February 2020

Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon

(publication date: 19th December 2019)

★★★ 3 stars

It's been a long time since I've read two books from the same series one after the other. So when WHY SHE RAN came up as next on my TBR list, and I hadn't yet read the first one, something told me I had to read the first one before the second one. And I am glad that I did. Because had I dived into this one first, I would have been disappointed to have comes across the spoilers from the first book peppered throughout. So trust me....read "Silent Night" aka "Her Sister's Bones" first!!!

DS Iris Locke is still reeling from grief and coming to terms with the revelations that have left her life in turmoil. Unable to return to her flat after the events culminating towards the end of the last book, Iris has taken a room at boarding house for the interim but has thankfully stayed on at Corbally and the Murder Team in Limerick. Despite the ghosts of the past surrounding her in the town, Iris knows this is where she belongs.

When her partner DS Ben Slattery calls her with a new case, Iris leaps at the chance to push her thoughts to the back of her mind and focus on the investigation at hand. A young woman has been found murdered at Curlew Hall, a residential care facility for troubled teens with rich parents. Rachel McDermott was bludgeoned to death on the kitchen floor and the patient in her care, 15 year old Eleanor Marshall, has disappeared.

As the daughter of a prominent local businessman, Eleanor has been deemed troubled for years. With reports of arson, violence and aggression leading to her being placed in the care facility and now the fact that she is missing, leads detectives to suspect that Eleanor is responsible for Rachel's death. But Iris is finding it difficult to connect a 15 year old to such a violent crime...and yet the evidence appears to point in her direction. But if she's innocent, then why did she run?

Eleanor's father calls a press conference pleading for the safe return of his daughter and yet he supplies a photo that is at least 4 years out of date. What is he hiding? And why is he trying to control the information being conveyed to the press?

A massive search is underway as both the Gardai and the public comb the woods surrounding Curlew Hall for the missing teenager. But the woods are endless and the area massive...and Eleanor is a vulnerable girl suffering from epilepsy. What if she has a grand mal seizure? And if she does, what if, with no help at hand, she dies as a result? The race is on to find Eleanor before it's too late. Too long in those woods and they could be looking for a body.

When a body of a young girl is found in the woods near Curlew Cross, Iris and Ben immediately feel they have failed Eleanor by not finding her time. But upon arrival at the crime scene are surprised to find the victim is not Eleanor but her younger sister Karena. The mystery deepens as the team then try to figure out who would want to kill Karena and why?

Returning to the care facility, Iris and Ben question staff and residents once again. Someone is lying. Where is Rachel's laptop? Why did she have over twenty thousand euro and where did it come from? And what possible motive did someone have for killing her? Rachel was well-liked by everyone. And Karena? Where did she fit into all this?

Although I didn't pick the villain in this one, it didn't shock me. I'm not sure why that is...maybe coming out of the first book with a twist that was both brilliant and shocking, I may have felt this one was a bit of a let down. If Iris is still reeling from the shock of those revelations in "Silent Night", I'm still reeling as well!

I enjoyed meeting up with the same old characters and the camaraderie between them all, particularly that of Iris and Ben who work extremely well together. Despite being so vastly different from one another, they seem to get each other perfectly. It was also somewhat bittersweet watching Ben with his estranged wife Maureen, in light of her recent diagnosis of dementia. The one character that was sorely missed from this installment was DI Coleman Grady. I especially wanted to delve into his past and uncover his secret tragedy. I hope his secondment was temporary because he was incredibly missed!

WHY SHE RAN is well-written but again, the story moved a little slowly in parts, going back and forth between the same people over and over. I don't have a lot of patience with overt descriptions and slow pacing in crime fiction. I enjoy the fast pace with pieces of a confusing puzzle coming together in an attempt to solve a baffling crime. But although it didn't have the same breakneck speed race to the end as the first one, but it is still enjoyable just the same.

Whilst I heartily recommend WHERE SHE RAN, I do advise you to read "Silent Night" aka "Her Sister's Bones" first. This is one series you can't do standalones with.

I would like to thank #GeraldineHogan, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #WhySheRan in exchange for an honest review.

REVIEW: Her Sister's Bones by Geraldine Hogan (ARC)

Her Sister's Bones (formerly Silent Night) (DS Iris Locke #1) by Geraldine Hogan

Genre: Crime fiction, police procedural, thriller

Read: 14th February 2020

Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon

(publications date: 23rd August 2019)

★★★★ 4 stars

As a fan of crime fiction and police procedurals, after a while many of them tend to be a little "samey" in the sense that they have all the same cliches - usually a bit of tension between the ranks as well as the token drunken cop with no life outside of work or the pub. While SILENT NIGHT did have these, it also had something a little different to offer. Something that you probably wouldn't see coming.

The fact that I did probably shows I read a little too much crime fiction thrillers that I see a twist around every corner. Ironically, I pieced most of the puzzle together at about a quarter of the way through...just because the conclusion I foresaw was a twist I honestly didn't see happening. I just though it would make things interesting if it did...

The story opens in a Prologue some 30 years ago with ten year old Anna in complete awe of her newborn baby sister, whom she silently named "Janey" after her doll. She was so enamoured by her that she even replicated the little birthmark Janey had on her right hand on her own and on her doll, so they were triplets of a kind.

One afternoon, with a storm in the air, Anna is gazing lovingly into baby Janey's pram whilst her mother is bustling about the kitchen and telling Anna to "stop bothering the baby and to go play with Ollie". Ollie was a boy who lived in the next cottage and they had played together for as long as she could remember. But now that baby Janey was here, Anna could see no point in such frivolities when she had a new baby sister to take care of. Even when Ollie came calling, she sent him away with a flea in his ear informing him that she was "minding her new baby sister".

But then suddenly, Anna felt a cold shiver up her spine and she turned to look back at where baby Janey's pram stood in the afternoon sun, her eyes wide. Her mother looked up and saw Anna's face as both mother and daughter ran to the pram, pulling back the shade. The pram was empty. Janey was gone.

Thirty years later and after a marginally successful undercover operation that went belly up, Detective Sergeant Iris Locke is now stationed in her hometown of Limerick, despite her father's reservations. As a detective who quickly moved up the ranks to Superintendent and on the force for over 40 years, Jack Locke cannot help but worry for his daughter. He doesn't want her to see the things he used to see and face the things he had to face during his career. But all Iris ever wanted to be was a detective on a Murder Squad like her father...and to make him proud.

Early one morning, Iris is called out to a horrifying crime scene that every guard, whether detective or uniform, hates the most. The burnt out remains of a house with three victims inside...and one of them is Anna Crowe, formerly Fairley, whose baby sister vanished without a trace 30 years before. Now Anna has been killed along with her own two children. But it's not as simple as it first appears. There was no electrical fault, no embers from the fireplace, no cooking accident. The three victims were all shot in the head before as they lay sleeping in their beds by the time the fire took hold. Who would do such a thing?

The team begin their investigations, looking into Anna's estranged husband Adrian and an art teacher at a college she had once attended. But Iris believes the key to Anna and her children's murders lay in the past...and a missing baby that was never found. She begins digging around and finds that the case files for the Fairley investigation have gone missing from archives and those uploaded to PULSE are restricted.

Frustrated, Iris is forced to ask her father about the case and is shocked to learn that he was the senior investigating officer in charge of the investigation. Her father had had a stellar career with an almost 100% solve rate...but the Fairley case was the only one he couldn't solve. But Jack is reluctant to discuss it saying only that it was the general consensus that the mother had been responsible for killing the baby whilst suffering post natal depression and was later institutionalised.

Iris doesn't understand why, not only her father but everyone else, brushes off her concerns surrounding the missing baby and the current case with the possibility of them being linked. She is determined to get to the bottom of both cases and prove one way or the other whether they are connected.

From her first day on the Murder Squad, Iris is teamed with DS Ben Slattery, an overweight aging gruff copper who enjoys a pint of Guinness and a whiskey chaser a little too much. The pair clearly do not hit it off but Iris refuses to let the bad-tempered detective get under her skin...and even if he does, she is just as determine not to show it. But as the investigation goes deeper, Slattery appears to gain a fresh appreciation for his new partner...even if she is the daughter of the old "guv".

But when it seems Slattery's days are numbered on the force, his first instinct is to head to the pub but instead he parks up in front of the house he shared with his wife for more than twenty years. Pondering her recent diagnosis after a car accident that almost killed her and claimed the life of another, Slattery wonders where he fits into anything - her life, the job - before his mind wanders to the case of Anna Crowe. He receives a phone call from a snout he'd visited with Iris earlier that day with some information on a senior officer that could turn everything on its head, and in turn he pieces the puzzle together with a shocking clarity.

The characters in SILENT NIGHT are an odd bunch that compliment each other. Iris, as the lead, is the typical strong determined detective that I often find irritating in books but I didn't in this case...though I'm not sure why. She's hardworking and ambitious but is a closed book. She doesn't want to live in her father's shadow but rather make her own mark in the guards, and resents any thought of favouritism.

Slattery is the stereotypical type. Failed marriage, drink problem and a bad attitude to boot...although this tough exterior hides his soft underbelly and the fact that he truly cares deeply about his cases and the victims. Despite his gruff nature, I quite liked Slattery.

DI Coleman Grady is another closed book. It is hinted that only Slattery and another detective know of his past which apparently affects him deeply...though to watch him at work you wouldn't know it. I look forward to picking his secrets apart and getting to know him further.

There are a few other characters peppered throughout that are crucial to the investigation such as June Quinn and Westmont (I think his name is), and another I can't begin to spell or pronounce (LOL). Their roles, while still significant, aren't at the forefront though I am sure we will get to know them as the series develops. However, we are introduced to everyone on the team in such a way that we do get to connect with them on some level that we look forward to getting to know them better.

Overall, the pace was rather slow to begin with although it did end up being a fast read. But it was well worth it to get to that ending.

The twist, when it came, was shocking despite having pieced it together myself just a quarter of the way into the story. I still didn't expect it eve though I had suspected it. And it was that twist that set this procedural apart from others. I just hope the series continues as one that is set apart from the rest which would make it unique and interesting.

SILENT NIGHT, which I believe has had its titled changed to HER SISTER'S BONES, is a brilliant debut to this fresh new series. It is compelling and intriguing with something a little different in store for readers despite its slow pace to begin with. Normally, that is something that would irk me, as I loathe slow burns, but there was just something immediately compelling about this book I simply had to devour.

I enjoyed SILENT NIGHT far more than I thought I would and as I am a little behind in my reading, I thought I would slot this one in first before tackling DS Locke's second installment. And I am glad I did because I didn't want to come across any reference to the first book made in the second to spoil what I essentially had yet to read. So my recommendation is read SILENT NIGHT aka HER SISTER'S BONES before tackling further cases by DS Locke.

As an aside, I don't see how either title SILENT NIGHT or HER SISTER'S BONES have much bearing on the story. I can see why the second was chosen but after reading it, I still fail to see its significance.

I would like to thank #GeraldineHogan, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #SilentNight #HerSistersBones in exchange for an honest review.

REVIEW: The Midwives of Lark Lane by Pam Howes (ARC)

The Midwives of Lark Lane (Lark  Lane #4) by Pam Howes

Genre: Historical fiction

Read: 12th February 2020

Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon

(publication date: 13th December 2019)

★★★★★ 5 stars

Although this is the fourth book in the Lark Lane series, it is my first. However, despite coming into the story so far in I didn't feel as if I had missed anything as Pam Howes gives the reader plenty of background on the characters who have featured throughout. But as I enjoyed this one so much I have added the first three to my ever growing TBR list in the hope I will find some time to revisit Lark Lane again soon.

The story follows Cathy now grown and marrying the love of her life and father to their 18 month old Lucy. Gianni, her husband, works with a travelling fair performing alongside his father in the Wall of Death motorbike show. The couple share their wedding day alongside Cathy's mother Alice and her new husband Johnny before a brief honeymoon and a return to the travelling fair.

Upon arrival they are given a brand new caravan by Gianni's father Luca and his wife Maria, who have painstakingly prepared it for the couple. Cathy is overwhelmed by their kindness and happy to be with Gianni but she is unsure about her place with the fair. She was training to be a nurse but those dreams had ended when she discovered she was pregnant with Lucy and then marrying Gianni. Although she wished to return to nursing, this was the 1960s and all nursing students must be unmarried. So with her training incomplete and now living with the fair, Cathy has no work to keep her occupied.

Then the fair begins and so with it brings new problems. It is noisy and smells and there is no way she can settle little Lucy down at night. She closes the windows, the caravan is stifling. She opens them for air and it is too noisy. Cathy becomes more tired as they days wear on and Lucy is tetchy and unsettled. Although it is early days, Cathy finds she is not enjoying fairground life but this is Gianni's life and she cannot and will not make him choose.

But circumstances bring new opportunities as Cathy returns to Liverpool to live with family while Gianni remains with the fair. Gianni urges Cathy to return to her nurses training and to follow her dream of becoming a midwife, alongside her friends. And it's not forever as they will be reunited when the fair arrives in town and when the fair breaks for the winter months. Cathy is not sorry to leave the fair, but she is with leaving Gianni. She will not miss Maria's daughter Eloisa with whom Gianni had a one night stand and she has carried a torch for him since. But she trusts Gianni...she just doesn't trust Eloisa.

Dividing her time between her mother's house and her Granny's, Cathy returns to nursing and eventually qualifies as a midwife alongside her friends Jean, Karen and Ellie. When a large exclusive house with sprawling grounds comes up for sale, Cathy and her friends' dream of opening their own maternity home for unwed mothers and those wishing for private accommodation during the birth of their child are realised. With the help of their families, the women set to making their dream a reality.

Meanwhile, alongside Cathy's story is that of her ex-stepfather Jack Dawson. He was serving a long prison sentence for raping her friend Ellie one night in the hospital grounds, but opportunity arose in the form of a new cellmate hailing from Glasgow, and the pair escaped whilst being transported to a new prison. They parted company and Jack joined up with the travelling fair after seeing one of their flyers requesting casual work labourers.

Taking up the persona of Scottish Dougie Taylor, Jack had mastered the accent after sharing a cell with the Glaswegian. He knew Gianni but with his long hair and beard, Jack doubted he'd be recognised. Still, he kept out of his way just in case. It wasn't long before Eloisa caught his eye, showing him her wares that she shamelessly had on offer. But Jack never lost sight of his main objective - to return to Liverpool and show Cathy "a real man".

When the fair arrives in Liverpool, things come to a head in more ways than one. There is tragedy, heartbreak, love and loss and the tension is palpable as Cathy and Jack's paths stories intertwine, all the while unbeknownst to her.

Beginning in 1960 and taking us through to 1964, THE MIDWIVES OF LARK LANE is a simple, fast and easy read. A feel-good book that you just want to lose yourself to right up to the end. Whether the series ends here, I don't know, though some have stated that it would be a good place to end it...but I must admit I would like to see what else happens with girls and their families.

There is a touch of the TV series "Heartbeat" as well as "Call the Midwife" to this book, given the 1960s era, so if you are a fan of these shows then I am sure you will love this installment of the Lark Lane series. It is also very similar to Nadine Dorries' Lovely Lane series so you like that then you will love this!

Despite being the fourth book, THE MIDWIVES OF LARK LANE can be read as a standalone because the reader is given enough background information to make the necessary connections of where the story has been as well as where it is going. But like all series, I'm guessing that they are still enjoyed best from the beginning.

I definitely recommend this book, as a standalone or as part of the series!

I would like to thank #PamHowes, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheMidwivesOfLarkLane in exchange for an honest review.