In the Springtime of the Year

 

I have read all of Susan Hill’s Simon Serrailler detective series which I enjoyed immensely; however, In the Springtime of the Year is my first look at one of her standalone novels. It is the intensely moving story of Ruth, widowed at just twenty years of age, faced with the sudden loss of her deeply loved husband, Ben, and the happy life they had made together.

Susan Hill’s descriptions of the natural world are beautiful; Ruth’s search for a way to live without Ben is quite heartbreaking. She is comforted by Ben’s young brother, Jo, but she and the rest of Ben’s family are unable or unwilling to share their grief. Ben’s mother is almost driven to the point of madness at the loss of her son, but he was the love of Ruth’s life, and her future. Ruth has a better understanding of this than her mother-in-law. It’s a conundrum as old as time but in this case optimistic me hopes that they were able to sort it out in the future. I know it’s just a book but, really, why read a book if you can’t feel personally involved in the lives of its characters?

It’s a sad but ultimately uplifting story and I’ve read that Susan Hill who wrote it in 1974 used her own experience of grief for inspiration. 

Published by Vintage Books

Our Noble Selves by Kate Atkinson

 

In 1941 Harry Flynn, working as a temporary foreign correspondent for the News Chronicle, arrives in Singapore from London just in time to be captured by the Japanese army and imprisoned in Changi jail. Harry spends the rest of the Second World War working on the Burma railway, eventually arriving back in Britain at war’s end “…underweight, with the sallow complexion of a POW who had been no stranger to starvation and disease”. By 1949 back in London Harry is working in a small printing press, wording everything from bill posters to wedding invitations,  when Gerald Barry, his former editor at the News Chronicle chances upon him eating a corn beef sandwich in a park.

Thus begins Kate Atkinson's latest typically magnificent novel. Gerald Barry asks Harry to be part of bringing to life the Festival of Britain, starting with reading through countless poems and basically taking it from there. Harry is a rather adorable character (of course, I’m always up for finding Kate Atkinson’s leading males adorable so don’t be swayed too much by my judgment). Harry came back to Britain hoping for an untroubled kind of future with possibly a nice wife, family, dog and all the trimmings but he has first to settle in to a life free from the horrific memories of the Burma railway and the ghastly Changi prison.

 Through his work on the Festival of Britain lots  of different people come into Harry’s life. There are still elements of spy networks even though the War has been over for four years; many people are struggling to rebuild their lives and many are out to take what they can get to reclaim a former glory, real or imagined, or to create a glorious present. Among other things Harry is a suspect in the disappearance or possible murder of a mysterious French woman, and unexpectedly, he finds someone he cares for.

Our Noble Selves is evocative of an extraordinary time in our recent shared history with characters, good, bad and indifferent all rebounding in their individual ways from the shattering reality of World War Two.

Published by Penguin

Nine Lives by Catherine Steadman

 

Just give me a minute until my goose bumps settle down. Reading Nine Lives was an experience not to be undertaken by those particularly faint of heart. This is a brilliantly written suspense novel; and cleverly, without being cute or twee, the biggest hero, and there were several ultimately, is a cat!

Frankie has moved into her beautiful new house in an exclusive London suburb with her cat, Blue, following her divorce. I worried at first for Blue because Frankie lets him out every morning to explore the new neighbourhood, wearing a collar with a little camera attached. But Blue comes home safe every night and Frankie looks at his daily wanderings on her laptop.

That is the basis of this story in the Rear Window mould. (Rear Window was an Alfred Hitchcock movie in which James Stewart whose character was laid up with a broken leg could see through the rear window of an apartment in the block opposite his, what appeared to be a crime being committed.)  But even Alfred Hitchcock was no match for Catherine Steadman in building heart rate soaring suspense.

I read an awful lot of books but I only talk about the ones I would recommend to others, and I’ve got to say Nine Lives is nothing short of a masterpiece in the thriller genre. Looks like I’ve found myself a new binge worthy writer in Catherine Steadman!

Published by Quercus

The Dying Light by Ann Cleeves

 

The Dying Light is the latest book in Ann Cleeves’ Matthew Venn series. The story is set in the picturesque area of Barnstaple in North Devon (there is a map at the beginning of the book).

Two young women, Hannah and Lottie, are found dead at the stunning holiday home owned by Hannah’s parents. Hannah’s father, Paul, is a politician who attracts a lot of media attention and the question hangs in the air of whether Hannah was targeted by someone wanting to harm Paul. That is, of course, just one thought to keep in mind for Detective Matthew Venn and his team, as they begin their investigation into the apparent murders.

Ann Cleeves with her brilliant storytelling had me right there  along with Matthew, Jen and Ross as they interviewed suspects and built up a picture of the teenagers’ last day, while also following Matthew’s story of his home life with Jonathan. Meanwhile, Jonathan has made an important discovery of his own and he is anxious for Matthew to take the time to share it with him.

As usual Ann Cleeves has come up with an immersive story. I like the way she describes her characters with just enough detail for me to build up my own pictures of them. This is Ann’s fortieth year as a published author, and what a brilliant career it has been so far!

Published by Pan MacMillan 

Eyes on You by Adele Parks

 

I had pre-ordered Eyes on You, and it was definitely worth the wait before it landed on my Kindle. I’ve always enjoyed Adele Parks’ books, but this one is her absolute best!

Eyes on You is a deep, dark, psychological thriller. Since she was fifteen Amy has had to live with the horror of being the daughter of a murderer. This is the story of how she navigates her way through the murky waters of the life she feels she has been thrown into.

This book is a page turner extraordinaire, shifting in time between seventeen years ago to a week ago, to yesterday to today, which, rather than making the story seem disjointed, keeps building the suspense because it is following a circle back to the opening chapters.

It is impossible to comment further on the story without ruining the absolutely brilliant effect of becoming absorbed into Amy’s relentless attempts to right the wrongs of the past. I wish I could have taken longer to read it but that would have been like trying to find the brake on a roller coaster! 

Published by HQ for Harper Collins

Shooting Reality by Rozzi Bazzani

 

Shooting Reality is the third book in the DS Bec Harpin series.  Bec is hoping to rid herself of the word ‘acting’ before her position’s title as she takes on the investigation of the murder of Shelley Goodwin, a high-profile producer of a popular reality television cooking show.

While Bec and her team are hard at work looking into all of Shelley’s known associates, including her husband, Chad Goodwin, pressure is coming from not only Chad Goodwin’s influential friend, the Arts Minister, for Bec to keep away from Goodwin, but also from Bec’s own superiors to prove she is capable of not allowing demands on her personal life to encroach on her work. That last bit is never easy for Bec because it seems there is always a friend asking her, just this once, for help away from her job.

There is nothing simple about this case, even though what appears to be incriminating evidence is found quickly. Shelley’s friends all have stories to tell, and a podcaster is sure she is going to be able to solve the murder with her own investigation. Meanwhile Bec is finding time away from work, whenever she can, with Josh between their mountain home and Josh’s restaurant.

Another death, more suspects, and a nicely complex story emerges, and I think this is Rozzi Bazzani’s best Bec Halpin book so far. 

Published by S & B

Before She Met Me by Julian Barnes

 

Before She Met Me was first published in 1982 by Jonathan Cape but I’ve only just found it.  My problem with Julian Barnes is that I can’t pace myself through his books. He is so clever, so witty, so badly behaved, sometimes, that I plough through them and get to the end long before I meant to. This one was a perfect example of that.

Graham is plodding away as a college lecturer, married not particularly unhappily, with one daughter, when he meets, and falls in love with, Ann. When he eventually leaves his marriage, his embittered wife, Barbara, comes up with a rather ingenious way to scupper Grahame’s happy-ever-after. There follows the story of a man who finds that bits of his brain of which he was previously unaware until he was advised about them by his friend, Jack, have taken over his thinking, and therefore his life.

Brilliant characters, superb writing, and that’s all you need to know. I loved discovering this ‘old’ book although to me 1982 was last week.

Published by Penguin Books Australia