The Blue Hour by Paula Hawkins

 

Unfortunately, I had gotten to the unputdownable stage of the Blue Hour by Paula Hawkins when I realised it was starting to creep me out. There were so many things I loved about it until then: Eris, a beautiful Scottish island connected to the mainland by a causeway; Vanessa Chapman,  reclusive, slightly mad female artist (deceased); James Becker, art expert charged with curating her works, and so on.

James, “fatherless bastard of a supermarket checkout girl”, is living with his blue blood wife, Helena, in the Gamekeeper’s Lodge of Fairburn House, to which Vanessa’s body of work has been bequeathed, and where James is employed for his expertise.   Helena was formerly engaged to Sebastian, the heir to Fairburn and James’ friend from Oxford.  I loved that intriguing set up too: so far, so good.

On hearing some disturbing news about one of Vanessa’s works which he has integrated into an exhibition at the Tate Gallery, James is urged by Helena and Sebastian to go to Eris and investigate and also collect the materials which make up the rest of the bequest. It was at this point that I started to wonder what I had gotten myself into, reading-wise. When you’re sitting up in bed at midnight with chills creeping up your spine there is no point in putting the book down and hoping to drift off into a nice, peaceful slumber. I was in for the long haul, like it or not.

The writing is brilliant, the story is solid, the atmosphere electric and the characters are fascinating. There are twists galore and the suspense is close to unbearable. I know my late sister would have loved it, but she was always braver than I.

Published by Doubleday

Strangers in Time by David Baldacci

 

In David Baldacci’s novel, Strangers in Time, in 1944 the Luftwaffe’s bombs are raining down on London. Charlie’s parents and grandfather have been killed and he is living with his Gran in a tiny flat in Bethnal Green; Molly’s parents had sent her away in 1939 to Leiston, a village in the country, hoping she would be safe there, but Molly aged fifteen has now made her way back to London after her father’s payments have stopped coming; Ignatius lives above The Book Keep, the bookshop he inherited from his wife.

This book recreates the horror and hopelessness the people of London experienced through World War 2. It also tells the story of an unlikely alliance that becomes a life long bond. David Baldacci’s mastery with words conjures up the indiscriminate destruction and also the every day search for enough to eat and even for shoes that fit. I hated to think of Charlie hobbling about in his too-small shoes.

I had a small problem with Charlie’s dialogue. East Enders don’t necessarily take the ‘g’ off every word that ends with ‘ing’, and ‘quid’ is not a collective term, such as ‘cash’. A quid is just a pound; and ‘ain’t’ can only mean ‘am not’, ‘is not’ or ‘are not’. Oh, and one more tiny thing: Australians don’t have ranches, they have cattle properties, sheep properties or farming properties.

That little niggle aside, it was a good, atmospheric story that didn’t shy away from the fact that people still commit crimes in wartime as well as acts of heroism and humble kindness. Ignatius appears to be a good, kind man although the children are not so sure, and Molly has to unravel the mysterious disappearance of her parents. I think I see a movie in the making.

Published by Pan Macmillan

What Does it Feel Like? By Sophie Kinsella.

 

A

I’ve never read anything like this brave, beautiful novella based on Sophie Kinsella’s own life. I finished it in one reading last night and I am still stunned by Sophie’s brilliance in being able to write this book with her customary wit and lightheartedness. I had no idea until I got to the end that Sophie was actually writing her own story.

Sophie’s heroine, Eve, a successful novelist writes a best seller which is turned into a smash hit movie. So far, echoing Sophie’s life. The next echo is Eve very slowly coming to the realisation that her life is irrevocably changed. 

 Because I had no prior knowledge of Sophie Kinsella’s story, everything I read last night came as a surprise to me. For this reason I’m not going to give away any spoilers; but I wish everyone could read this book (just 79 pages) and take inspiration from Sophie Kinsella’s bravery and the constant, absolute love and devotion of her husband and their five children.

I must admit I borrowed this book from the Parkes online library (Borrow Box) simply because I wanted to read a story about a beautiful dress by a writer whose books have always delighted me. Of course, it isn’t about a beautiful dress, it’s about a beautiful person who has now taken up residence in my heart. I will never forget Sophie Kinsella.

A Penguin book.

The View from the Balcony by Janette Paul

 

It might seem like I love everything I read but I don’t. I read a lot of books and I only post reviews of the ones I’ve enjoyed and which I hope others will as well. The View from the Balcony is a case in point. I thought this one was positively brilliant, and I don’t mind saying so.

Three women are visitors to three patients at a rehabilitation hospital. Andie was injured when a man suffered a heart attack and accidentally drove his car into a group of people on a street corner. Andie is recovering at home from concussion and has no memory of the incident but she learns that a man who pushed her out of the way of the oncoming car was severely injured and is a patient at the Hepburn House Rehabilitation Hospital.

Coral’s mother, Val, is a patient at the hospital after a fall. Coral is trying frantically to prepare for an upcoming, eagerly anticipated trip, while at the same time sorting out Val’s care, finalising a work matter, looking after her temporarily disabled daughter and supervising a problem with her absent son’s flat.

Mara has been seconded to assist Estelle, a mean, scary senior partner in the legal firm where Mara works, who is in the hospital also recovering from a serious accident.

A single balcony which connects the three patients’ rooms eventually becomes a place where the women connect. They each empathise with the others’ difficulties and celebrate their happy moments as well, as they sit  together on the balcony and gaze over the sparkling blue ocean. The three stories unfold into one memorable, unputdownable, highly recommended book.

Janette Paul is another wonderfully talented Australian writer.  Thank you Pan Macmillan for my review copy.

Published by Pan Macmillan

Smuggler’s Cove by Fern Michaels

 

Smuggler’s Cove is my first Fern Michaels and I was amazed to see the number of titles including several series written by her, listed at the front of the book. Smuggler’s Cove is a short book and looks like it is the first in a new series.

Jackson Taylor had a difficult childhood and grew up to be a young man determined to have it all, wealth, prestige, the lot, at any cost. By the time his children, Madison and Lincoln, were teenagers Jackson’s fortunes were reversed in spectacular style and the children’s privileged New York lifestyle was gone. Several years later the now adult children learned that their Uncle Kirby had died and left them his marina at Smuggler’s Cove on the Jersey Shore.

So begins the story of how Madison and Jackson and Jackson’s wife, Olivia, became involved in the world of Smuggler’s Cove. It is good old fashioned story telling and Madison is the principal character. Back in the dark ages when I was young one of my favourite authors of light fiction was Judith Krantz and although her books centred completely on the fashion world, her style was similar to Fern Michaels’. 

Smuggler’s Cove is a feel-good story, without being a fluff piece or sloppily romantic (although a romance is hinted at). Perfect for a cozy sit-down with animal of your choice on your lap and beverage of your choice close by. Thank you NetGalley for my reader’s copy.

Published by Kensington Publishing Corp.

The Ones We Love by Anna Snoekstra

 

Janus has written a best selling novel and has moved with Kay, his wife, and their children, Liv and Casper,  from Melbourne to Los Angeles where he is working on a screenplay and hoping to see his book turned into a movie. Liv, 22 years old and studying fashion design, wakes up one morning in pain and covered in bruises with no recollection of leaving a party the night before. She is in her brother’s bedroom and finds a padlock on her bedroom door.

So begins a mysterious, suspenseful story. Liv’s parents tell her she is locked out of her bedroom because mould has been found there but they wont tell her how she came by her injuries and her mother is furious with her. Liv earns a little money babysitting for the next door neighbours and so a new element is introduced into this intriguing book. 

Kay, Liv’s mother, and Casper, her brother, are separately and individually having difficulties adjusting to life in America. Anna Snoekstra drops little clues throughout the story and I picked up on some of them, but I wasn’t prepared for the real answer to what was behind the locked door.

This was an absolutely ripping yarn and fans of mystery and suspense and spot on characterisations are going to love it. Thank you, Anna Snoekstra, for a thoroughly enjoyable read!

Thanks to NetGalley for my copy.

Published by Penguin.

Three Days in June by Anne Tyler

 

I was very happy to find this little hard covered gem on a recent visit to the Big Smoke. Anne Tyler is still in top form as her narrator, Gail, tells about the weekend of her daughter’s wedding. The first Anne Tyler I remember reading, years ago, was about a woman who walked away from her family who were having a day at the beach. I became an instant fan of Tyler’s plain, pure and simple style from that moment.

Gail tells of how the weekend began on Friday with an uncomfortable conversation with the headmistress of the school where Gail worked, followed by the arrival at her door of her ex-husband, Max, who should have been staying at their daughter’s house the night before the wedding; but Max had brought a cat he was fostering, and the husband-to-be was allergic to cat dander so it turned out Max had to find somewhere else to stay. The cat fits neatly into the story and if I hadn’t already started to love this book up till then, I did now.

Gail’s lack of ‘people skills’ having been pointed out at her meeting with the headmistress, she goes on to narrate some of her past history as well as what is happening in the present, mindful of this description. It is a short book (165 pages) but it says so much, including what it doesn’t say. It is a love story without seeming to be. Gail is quite judgmental of herself as well as others and it is up the reader to find the pictures which go with her words, which is a worthwhile, rewarding exercise.

My Anne Tyler collection was destroyed when a natural disaster hit our house two years ago but this beautiful little book is now going to occupy a proud position on my bookcase, which makes me happy!

Published by Penguin Random House.