The Last Trace by Petronella McGovern

 The Last Trace is a story with many components. Lachy has a secret: if he unthinkingly drinks alcohol too quickly he experiences black holes in his memory. It is more of an embarrassment than anything else until it begins to cause problems in his recent and further back past. Lachy’s fourteen year old son, Jai, has come to live with him in country New South Wales and Lachy has taken a year’s leave of absence from his job of getting water to drought-stricken areas around the world. Jai has been ‘sin binned’ by his mother and stepfather who believe he needs to spend some time away from his Sydney school mates. 

It’s also the story of a family over three generations and two countries. Lachy’s mother, Gloria, came as a young woman to Australia from her home in America. Her generation’s part of the book is told by her sister, Elizabeth, in 1968, in America, where the family is ruled over by their ultra-religious father.

Lachy’s sister, Sheridan, is married to his best friend, Nick, they have two daughters and love Kai as much as their girls. They are all gathered together at Mimosa Hideout, Sheridan and Lachy’s family’s retreat, for Easter when something terrible happens which splits them apart.

From this point on present and past events, from the points of view of Lachy, Sheridan, Kai and Elizabeth, are detailed, leading towards a bombshell conclusion. This intelligent, mesmerising, intriguing (I could add a whole lot more adjectives, but I won’t) book grabbed me and wouldn’t let me go. 

I haven’t read Petronella McGovern before but I will now.  Official verdict: WOW 😮!!

Death at the Sign of the Rook by Kate Atkinson

 

Jackson Brodie is back and he’s on the trail of an art thief. Jackson has been hired by a sister and brother whose mother has died and they are dividing up her possessions between themselves, in accordance with her Will. They have found that a painting their mother held dear is missing and they have asked Jackson to find it.

As he goes about this task, Jackson meets up with various characters from his past, both in person and in his mind. As usual, there is lots of witty repartee with all of them. As well, lovely new characters are introduced, including an agnostic vicar (call me Simon); Lady Milton and all who dwell in her Stately Home which has had to stoop to holding Murder Mystery weekends; Ben, an amputee war veteran and bee keeper, and more.  Jackson joins forces with Detective Constable Reggie Chase (with great reluctance on her part) who is hoping to capture a spree killer.

 The mystery of the stolen painting is cleverly laid out; Jackson Brodie is as quirky and as funny as ever, and there are a lot of laugh-out-loud moments through the book which is unputdownable, of course.

I have been in Kate Atkinson’s thrall since I first read Behind the Scenes at the Museum, a long time ago. She is still as brilliant as ever.

Published by Penguin

Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty

 

On a flight from Hobart to Sydney a passenger, ‘a lady’, suddenly gets up from her seat and starts to walk down the aisle, pointing to particular passengers and telling each of them when she expects they will die, and the cause of death.The flight attendant who tries to stop her is given her own prediction.

In her unique way, Liane Moriarty weaves an intriguing story from this starting point. The individual characters who, mostly, logically reject their assigned predictions, are all unsettled and unnerved, as who wouldn’t be? Under the circumstances who wouldn’t try to take control of this hypothetical destiny, you know, just in case? In every alternate chapter ‘the lady’ is telling her own story.

This is so clever, and so different, and I have never read a book like it. Individual characters have their own stories but I had no trouble remembering which was which because they were all examining aspects of life pertaining to each of them and so they all stood out. I wasn’t able to guess how the mystery of the lady and her predictions was going to be solved but when it was, it made for a most satisfactory ending.

Just brilliant!

Published by Pan Macmillan 

The Masterpiece by Belinda Alexandra

 

The Masterpiece is an epic story covering Paris in two time lines: 1923 and 1943-1946. In 1923 Katerina, a Russian emigree, is a brilliant although as yet unacknowledged artist; Max and Serge have ambitions of becoming established dealers in highest quality art; Madeleine, Katerina’s friend, having run away from her upper class family, is working as a singer; Efron Archer,  an Errol Flynn-like character, is part of the story at this point.

Paris in 1943 is firstly occupied by the Italians,  but then comes the full horror of German occupation. To this day ownership of paintings looted by the Germans from European homes is still being contested with the aim of restoration to the descendants of original owners. 

The Masterpiece is about the almost unimaginable world in which people found their previously purposeful, meaningful lives torn apart and the struggle for survival, without losing their humanity and compassion,  became paramount. Katerina, Max and Serge bring that time to life.

In 1946 Eve Archer has left Australia and is living in Paris. She has come with the purpose of finding Serge Lavertu. The most important part of this epic story involves Eve, her connections to Serge, Madeleine, Katerina and Max, amid the chaos of France’s restoration and the rush for justice and punishment for alleged crimes committed through the war years, while currently corruption and cover ups are putting the outcome of true justice in jeopardy.

This is a book you can sink your teeth into. It keeps alive a history which must never be forgotten.

Thank you Belinda Alexandra for your gracious gift of a copy of The Masterpiece.

Published by Harper Collins