Woman Reads Books - MayHello! Thank you so much for stumbling onto my little blog.
I love reading - and spend far too much money on books every month (or week to be honest). I thought it might be nice to share my thoughts on some of the books that I've read. I hope you enjoy having a look at my reviews and ramblings - please feel free to contact me using the form provided.
Happy reading!2024-03-29T11:58:32+00:00urn:md5:2870f953650165bc3e5a172d738388c0DotclearWhen She Was Bad - Tammy Cohen (pub. Transworld)urn:md5:9396be6e2272175e28325f9f318ac5ef2016-05-31T20:04:00+01:002016-06-05T17:55:42+01:00ireneannMay<p><img src="http://www.womanreadsbooks.com/public/.wswb_s.jpg" alt="wswb.jpg" style="display:table; margin:0 auto;" title="wswb.jpg, May 2016" /></p>
<p><strong>Sarah, Amira, Paula, Ewan and Charlie enjoy their routine 9-to-5 life. Until the day an aggressive new boss walks in...</strong></p>
<p><strong>Suddenly, there's something chilling in the air.</strong></p>
<p><strong>Who secretly hates everyone?</strong></p>
<p><strong>Who is tortured by their past?</strong></p>
<p><strong>Who is capable of murder?</strong></p> <p><img src="http://www.womanreadsbooks.com/public/.logo4_t.png" alt="logo4.png" style="display:table; margin:0 auto;" title="logo4.png, May 2016" /></p>
<p>I cannot say this plainly enough; if you have not bought this book - buy it now. It is fantastic.</p>
<p>Really, truly, a fantastic read.</p>
<p>I usually write all my reviews down in a little book I keep by the side of me, but I'd just put up the review of the new Maggie O'Farrell novel, <em>This Must Be The Place</em>, today so my book was by my computer. The thing is, I didn't want to wait to write this down, so here I am, tapping away rather than writing with a pen!</p>
<p>I have quite recently reviewed another of Tammy Cohen's books, <em>The Broken</em>, which had lived happily in my Dining Room for a while - and that was great, "a real page-turner" were the actual words I wrote. Seriously, that had nothing on <em>When She Was Bad</em>.</p>
<p>I was quite honestly holding my breath at several parts of this book, and it's fair to say I was totally and utterly hooked. Thankfully the little one was at nursery today so I have managed to read it all in one day - and I do mean thankfully, I would have been a very neglectful mother if he had been here. Obviously not on the scale of Noelle Egan, but neglectful nonetheless.</p>
<p>I honestly had no idea at all who Child L or Child D was, until they were revealed. I even had my suspicions, but they were totally wrong - how great is that!?! I admit to being initially confused by the entries from Anne, and several times turning to the blurb to double-check that I hadn't overlooked her name; but all soon became apparent. Her narration of the Egan story was very chilling, and it ran perfectly alongside the unfolding saga of the Hamilton workplace - drawing me further and further into the depths of tension I haven't seen for a while.</p>
<p>Each of the colleagues - Sarah, Amira, Paula, Ewan and Charlie - were given a life so totally rounded that I felt like I knew them. Rachel, the new boss, whilst not having a voice for most of the book, was portrayed so well by the other characters, that I shared their dislike of her. Giving Rachel a couple of chapters towards the end of the book, whilst adding another dimension to her that I hadn't seen before, didn't serve to endear her to me very much at all I have to say. The events are played out in such a way, that they take on a sense of realism - helped no end by visions of people that have shared some of the same traits as Rachel in their quest for power I'm sure!</p>
<p>I really feel like I could gush forever about this book, such is the whole-hearted pleasure I've got from reading it. I was gripped, thrilled, smiling, squirming and in a state of near nervous tension for practically all of <em>When She Was Bad</em> - it is a terrific read.</p>This Must Be The Place - Maggie O'Farrell (pub. Tinder Press)urn:md5:76203d36de5b8703f9989f04d14631232016-05-31T15:30:00+01:002016-06-05T17:55:42+01:00ireneannMay<p><img src="http://www.womanreadsbooks.com/public/.tmbtp_s.jpg" alt="tmbtp.jpg" style="display:table; margin:0 auto;" title="tmbtp.jpg, May 2016" /></p>
<p><strong>Meet Daniel Sullivan, a man with a complicated life. A New Yorker living in the wilds of Ireland, he has children he never sees in California, a father he loathes in Brooklyn and a wife, Claudette, who is a reclusive ex-film star given to shooting at anyone who ventures up their driveway.</strong></p>
<p><strong>He is also about to find out something about a woman he lost touch with twenty years ago, and this discovery will send him off-course, far away from wife and home. Will his love for Claudette be enough to bring him back?</strong></p> <p><img src="http://www.womanreadsbooks.com/public/.logo4_t.png" alt="logo4.png" style="display:table; margin:0 auto;" title="logo4.png, May 2016" /></p>
<p>That was great - Maggie O'Farrell has such a distinctive writing voice it's a pleasure to lose yourself in it for a while. And I took my time with this, not because I struggled to get through it, just that I was really enjoying savouring each delicious word.</p>
<p>I was totally sucked into Daniel and Claudette's worlds, living each up and down quite viscerally. It was certainly a roller-coaster of a journey, both for them, and for me as a reader. The journeys are believable and kept drawing me back to the book and further into the story.</p>
<p>Each character is brought to life by O'Farrell, and perhaps with the exception of Timou, I liked all of them.</p>
<p>It's a definite tale of what could have been. Certain events are just sad missed opportunities, some merely through circumstance and some because of the actions of other people. And whilst we are not all celebrated film stars, we each share the same pressures and forces which pull us one way or another; so it's easy to identify with both Claudette and Daniel and the paths their lives take.</p>
<p>The novel does flit constantly between time frames, but I didn't feel that this was in any way detrimental to the book, again, if anything, this made me want to keep reading.</p>
<p>I'm going to do one of my little tangents here, and this will be of no interest if you have a Kindle, but peeling the dust jacket off and finding that imprinted map rather than a plain cover, was a joy. It was so beautiful I peeled the dust jacket back quite a few times just so I could marvel at it. Small things etc.!</p>
<p><em>This Must Be The Place</em> was a terrific read. Perfect to lose yourself in.</p>Shutter Man - Richard Montanari (pub. Sphere)urn:md5:6b4a7c784fc3a37dd6c6b8cfaad705e82016-05-26T16:18:00+01:002016-05-27T14:54:24+01:00ireneannMay<p><img src="http://www.womanreadsbooks.com/public/.sm_s.jpg" alt="sm.jpg" style="display:table; margin:0 auto;" title="sm.jpg, May 2016" /></p>
<p><strong>The Farren family has been a plague upon Philadelphia's most dangerous neighbourhood, the Devil's Pocket, for generations. There, row after row of tumbledown houses hide dark secrets - none darker than Billy, the youngest Farren.</strong></p>
<p><strong>Afflicted by a syndrome that means he can't recognise faces, Billy must use photographs to identify his family - and his victims. And when your life has bled away, he takes a final, gruesome picture for his wall.</strong></p>
<p><strong>But what is the meaning of the horrific ritual Billy enacts with every murder? And is there any connection to a childhood event Detective Kevin Byrne has buried so well it's hidden even from his former partner Jessica Balzano?</strong></p> <p><img src="http://www.womanreadsbooks.com/public/.logo4_t.png" alt="logo4.png" style="display:table; margin:0 auto;" title="logo4.png, May 2016" /></p>
<p>I'm a fan of Richard Montanari, I find his books have the right amount of plotline and gruesomeness to appeal to my warped sense; though whilst I did like <em>Shutter Man</em>, I didn't totally love it.</p>
<p>The problem, and I'll get this out of the way first, so as not to weigh over the whole review; it was just a bit confusing. Maybe confusing isn't the right word, but I really had to work at it to keep up - it was a little disjointed which meant that, whilst it was interesting, it was also hard to keep up with who was who and when it was. That's it. If you can get past that, and you can I'm sure (if you don't have 3 children vying for your time too), it's a good read.</p>
<p>I enjoy reading the enduring relationship between Byrne and Balzano, and I always like the way the characters bounce off one another. Though the working dynamics have changed with Balzano now Assistant District Attorny, it's still easy to read the closeness between the two characters, so even if you hadn't come across them before you could still quite easily engage with them as a new reader.</p>
<p>The Farren family are the right side of insanity to be quite terrifying, especially the lengths they go to in their attempt to be the most destructive influence in Devil's Pocket. Obviously it was Billy who we are presented with the clearest picture of, the others tended to meld into one huge mess of nastiness and criminality. Am I allowed to say I felt a bit sorry for Billy though? I did. Maybe I'm just weird, but he felt a little like a pawn at times being played by those around him.</p>
<p>I was never quite sure who the next victim was going to be, and certainly I had no idea of the reasoning behind Billy's murders until the end of the novel. The depiction of the murders themselves were actually a little tame I thought, compared to other Montanari offerings, though this of course isn't necessarily a bad thing! They did verge on quietly disturbing, in particular the Rousseau slaying right at the start which set the scene for the rest of the book.</p>
<p>I'm pleased things were explained properly at the end of the story, and we were given a real reason as to why events unfolded as they did. It does all tie together nicely, so I wasn't left wondering why something had happened, or someone was killed which I did appreciate. The whole idea of prosopagnosia was an interesting one to get my head around, even though, like I said earlier it did make me feel a certain amount of sympathy for a serial killer!</p>
<p>Shutter Man is a good read, even better if you concentrate I'm sure.</p>http://www.womanreadsbooks.com/index.php?post/2016/05/26/Shutter-Man-Richard-Montanari-%28pub.-Sphere%29#comment-formhttp://www.womanreadsbooks.com/index.php?feed/atom/comments/43Dead Gone - Luca Veste (pub. Avon)urn:md5:42cfaa944fb8eb987b23adaa3fd8e0252016-05-23T11:47:00+01:002016-05-27T14:56:46+01:00ireneannMay<p><img src="http://www.womanreadsbooks.com/public/.dg_s.jpg" alt="dg.jpg" style="display:table; margin:0 auto;" title="dg.jpg, May 2016" /></p>
<p><strong>A serial killer is stalking the streets of Liverpool, gruesomely murdering victims as part of a series of infamous, unethical and deadly psychological experiments.</strong></p>
<p><strong>When it becomes apparent that each victim has ties to the City of Liverpool University, DI David Murphy and DS Laura Rossi realise they're chasing a killer unlike any they've hunted before – one who doesn’t just want his victims’ bodies, but wants their minds too.</strong></p> <p><img src="http://www.womanreadsbooks.com/public/.logo4_t.png" alt="logo4.png" style="display:table; margin:0 auto;" title="logo4.png, May 2016" /></p>
<p><em>Dead Gone</em> raises a bit of a question in my mind (yes this is another of my preambles before I actually 'talk' about the book). So, the weekend before last, I'd wandered into my local branch of WHSmith, I think because we were running early for my daughter's dance class for once, rather than because I was looking for something in particular. Anyway, over by the pen counter there were 3 or 4 crates stacked up, each filled with discounted books. Not like £1 to clear, these were 50p each. 50p for a book; I think I even used to pay more than that when I was young!</p>
<p>So here is the question - what makes a book end up in a 50p clearance? There was nothing to single this one out against the hundreds of other full-price offerings on the shelves. It would, in fact, have passed my spine/cover test at any price. I'm just interested. I thought maybe it was going to be rubbish - but then there's a quote from Mark Billingham on the front, so that discredits that theory as well. If there is anyone that know the answer, I am genuinely interested. Question over!</p>
<p>I liked <em>Dead Gone</em> a lot. About 20 pages in I was struggling for some reason; maybe I was tired I dunno, by 50 pages in I didn't want to put it down. This is a serial killer hunt coupled with some quite disturbing psychological experimentation case studies. It was a bit dark, but ooh so good.</p>
<p>It had me guessing throughout - and yes I changed my mind several times as to who the killer was, but also yes, I did know as soon as they were introduced. But fair play, Veste did make me doubt myself.</p>
<p>Detective Inspector David Murphy had the pre-requisite dark past that quite a few 'detective in charge of a murder spree' seem destined to have in crime novels. You know, the triumphant return against the odds thing. It might be nice every now and again not to have to cope with their tortured past, but I have to say that here it at least serves to move the story along. Anyway, Murphy seems like a nice enough chap that I would be interested enough to read more of. It wasn't until towards the end of the novel that I gelled with the relationship between Murphy and Laura Rossi, it just didn't click before for whatever reason. I can't tell you why now I've finished, any more than I could whilst I was reading it. I did however, get the very definite impression that DS Tony Brannon was a knobhead; even in the very small part he played in <em>Dead Gone</em>!There are lots of good, rounded characters here that make me definitely want to read more from Luca Veste.</p>
<p>The psychology aspect of the novel was, as I've already said, quite dark, but inherently very interesting too. I did enjoy reading the psychology behind it all, and indeed at times it was this and Experiment 2, that kept drawing me back to the book. That makes me sound terrible doesn't it? Oh well, it's said now!</p>
<p>Having spent a bit of my twenties quite near to Liverpool, it was good to have my memories of the city recalled. Certainly I remember clearly all the potholes on the old dock road - fondly of course. It certainly adds an extra element of enjoyment though when you can picture some of the places being described, though they are brought quite eloquently to life even if you're unlucky enough never to have stepped foot in Liverpool.</p>
<p><em>Dead Gone</em> is expertly crafted so it had me on the edge of my seat more than once, and I caught myself holding my breath on many an occasion too!</p>
<p>There was no way this deserved to be on clearance, but I'm so glad it gave me the opportunity to find this gem - I'm off to have a look if Veste has published any more now!</p>http://www.womanreadsbooks.com/index.php?post/2016/05/23/Dead-Gone-Luca-Veste-%28pub.-Avon%29#comment-formhttp://www.womanreadsbooks.com/index.php?feed/atom/comments/42while my eyes were closed - Linda Green (pub. Quercus)urn:md5:22aa18ab7e4f9f9ba9bbb5c8b6abfe312016-05-20T12:09:00+01:002016-05-27T14:55:16+01:00ireneannMay<p><img src="http://www.womanreadsbooks.com/public/.wmewc_s.png" alt="wmewc.png" style="display:table; margin:0 auto;" title="wmewc.png, May 2016" /></p>
<p><strong><em>One, two, three</em>...Lisa Dale shuts her eyes and counts to one hundred during a game of hide-and-seek. When she opens them, her four-year-old daughter Ella is gone.</strong><br />
<strong>Disappeared without a trace.</strong></p>
<p><strong>The police, the media and Lisa's family all think they know who snatched Ella. But what if the person who took her <em>isn't a stranger</em>? What if they are convinced they are doing the right thing? And what if Lisa's little girl is in danger of disappearing forever?</strong></p> <p><img src="http://www.womanreadsbooks.com/public/.logo4_t.png" alt="logo4.png" style="display:table; margin:0 auto;" title="logo4.png, May 2016" /></p>
<p>Well that was quite amazing wasn't it? I'm all buoyed up with having had such a fantastic run of reading. It almost makes me want to buy some more books - like I need an excuse :).</p>
<p>I honestly could not put this down - I am not being glib when I say that, I mean it. I read it until I fell asleep last night and then thought about it when I woke at 6.30 this morning. It was sublime.</p>
<p>I've written before about how horrifying it must be to literally lose your child, and this novel just brings that gut-wrenching feeling to life. I could feel the anguish of Lisa, and her whole family, from the moment Lisa realised that Ella was missing and not just playing, right through the entire book.</p>
<p>It's happened to me once, and only for 30 seconds at most, but my eldest managed to escape my attention in Disneyland Paris when he was about 3 or 4. It was quite honestly the longest 30 seconds of my life. I screamed at the top of my voice whilst feeling that someone had reached into my chest and ripped my heart from my body; I honestly don't know if I could live through that horror for any length of time. He was, mercifully, handed back to me by some rather bewildered French tourists, who obviously later would go back home and laugh about the mad English mother who over-reacted whilst waiting for the studio-bus tour (which the boy then hated!). But this horror is conveyed throughout every page of this book - no wonder it was an ebook bestseller before it was printed in paperback.</p>
<p>Each character is carefully crafted and the division of the novel between the three main characters is extremely effective in drawing you in and keeping you reading, building tension and a sense of the world unravelling page by page.</p>
<p>It's interesting too to see that Harry Potter references are now becoming a literary technique, with dementors giving an effective analogy for the darkness and all-consuming terror. I would ordinarily like to give you the actual quote, but as per usual, I can't find it now! Anyway just thought I'd mention it as it struck me whilst I was reading.</p>
<p>There's so much I could witter on about, but I'm trying not to spoil it, as usual, if you haven't actually had the pleasure yet. We know very early on what's happened to Ella and who took her. I can honestly say the person who did it is a little bit terrifying at times with their mental instability. I understood why it happened though and whilst I cannot condone it in any way at all, I did feel sympathy towards the character. I think it would be hard not to really, but I'm happy to be told otherwise. It was very easy to get inside their psyche and find the explanation for the actions though, and I'm glad that they weren't just a one-dimensional bad person.</p>
<p>I utterly, utterly adored this book, thank you Linda Green! If you only go out and buy one book this weekend, make it this one.</p>http://www.womanreadsbooks.com/index.php?post/2016/05/20/while-my-eyes-were-closed-Linda-Green-%28pub.-Quercus%29#comment-formhttp://www.womanreadsbooks.com/index.php?feed/atom/comments/41The Secret to not Drowning - Colette Snowden (pub. Bluemoose)urn:md5:e7458ad69a262bb1288bb36dbe19d2ff2016-05-19T14:14:00+01:002016-05-27T14:55:16+01:00ireneannMay<p><img src="http://www.womanreadsbooks.com/public/.stnd_s.jpg" alt="stnd.jpg" style="display:table; margin:0 auto;" title="stnd.jpg, May 2016" /></p>
<p><strong>How did the girl who once dreamed of being a Charlie's Angel become such a cowed and submissive woman? Marion's life appears perfectly fine but she is controlled and bullied by her husband, her only respite a once a week trip to the local swimming pool.</strong></p>
<p><strong>A chance meeting with an old school-friend develops into a secret relationship. Her friend points out that Marion has a choice: she could leave her abusive and unfaithful husband. But is it too late?</strong></p> <p><img src="http://www.womanreadsbooks.com/public/.logo4_t.png" alt="logo4.png" style="display:table; margin:0 auto;" title="logo4.png, May 2016" /></p>
<p>If you've read one of my earlier postings, you'll know that this was a recommendation from Standard Issue magazine (thank you!). It certainly lived up to my expectations of a thought-provoking read.</p>
<p>To say this was beautifully written would be a bit of an understatement. Colette Snowden certainly has got the knack of writing quiet, understated terrifying scenes. I really can't remember reading anything quite so shocking as the pink gerberas for a long time - it just sucker-punched me.</p>
<p>I liked the way that Snowden didn't give the husband a name (if she did I missed it) - I wasn't quite sure of the capitalisation of "He" - was it that "He" was the name Marion gave him? That He was a sort of God-like figure - all seeing and to be worshipped? That by not giving him a name somehow made him, rather than Marion, worthless? Maybe He just didn't need a name - just another faceless bully and abuser? Whatever the reason, and maybe I am just overthinking it, I despised Him.</p>
<p>I understood the reasons Marion didn't leave, I 'got' the sense of the eggshells she was constantly afraid of breaking. The sheer terror that, even though she had plenty of opportunities, she never did just pack up and leave. Tell a person they're stupid enough times and that's what they become.</p>
<p>The clever use of the repetition by Marion served to highlight her insecurities and doubts about their relationship. The belief that something is rotten at the core, yet the ability only to acknowledge it in private. The constant questioning that she did trying to assure herself that she wasn't mad, that she knew the truth despite what he said to her.</p>
<p>Her fear of Him that meant she always had to be on her best behaviour, even when people like Mandy and Julie saw straight through the charm to the devil underneath. It was all utterly real and disturbing.</p>
<p>I did like Marion; she seemed like someone I could get on with, especially if cakes were on offer! She had a quick wit and seemed interested in others, which I admired. (Did I mention the cake?!)</p>
<p>I admit to voraciously finishing <em>The Secret to not Drowning</em> in a day; I honestly couldn't put it down - or even if I could I didn't want to. The emotional abuse she was subjected to seemed all too real for me just to abandon it without knowing what happened in the end.</p>
<p>It's an exquisite book. Needless to say I enjoyed it and I would heartily recommend it. Stunning!</p>http://www.womanreadsbooks.com/index.php?post/2016/05/19/The-Secret-to-not-Drowning-Colette-Snowden-%28pub.-Bluemoose%29#comment-formhttp://www.womanreadsbooks.com/index.php?feed/atom/comments/36When I Was Invisible - Dorothy Koomson (pub. Century)urn:md5:c9f1a84d690e59989112ffd1e2b7972d2016-05-17T14:35:00+01:002016-05-27T14:55:16+01:00ireneannMay<p><img src="http://www.womanreadsbooks.com/public/.wiwi_s.jpg" alt="wiwi.jpg" style="display:table; margin:0 auto;" title="wiwi.jpg, May 2016" /></p>
<p><strong>In 1988, two eight-year-old girls with almost identical names and the same love of ballet meet for the first time. They seem destined to be best friends forever and to become professional dancers. Years later, however, they have both been dealt so many cruel blows that they walk away from each other into very different futures - one enters a convent, the other becomes a minor celebrity. Will these new, 'invisible' lives be the ones they were meant to live, or will they only find that kind of salvation when they are reunited twenty years later?</strong></p> <p><img src="http://www.womanreadsbooks.com/public/.logo4_t.png" alt="logo4.png" style="display:table; margin:0 auto;" title="logo4.png, May 2016" /></p>
<p>You know you've got a page-turner when you can't bear to put it down when you go to make cuppa! I had recollections of my dear Poppa telling people I always had my nose in a book when I was little; this prompted memory is of course the reason I had tears down my face.</p>
<p>Okay so it wasn't.</p>
<p><em>When I Was Invisible</em>, like Dorothy Koomson's Goodnight Beautiful, had me crying; not to the same extent obviously, but nonetheless tears were shed.</p>
<p>This is, as Koomson's previous novels, utterly beautifully written. She manages to craft the characters of Roni and Nika so wonderfully that I was totally and utterly hooked and invested in them both. I really cared about them and what happened to them. It wasn't just the two of them though, all the characters are given the same care, from Reese to Mrs Daneaux, so I felt like I shared the same sort of relationship with them as Nika and Roni did.</p>
<p>Koomson gives a note at the beginning that this book contains a storyline which may be triggering, and I think that is a fair statement to make. It doesn't shy away from the subject, though not in a graphic way, more in an emotional manner and the ramifications such events have on a person's life and how they see themselves. It is hard to understand how some people react to the knowledge of what is happening and I can only hope that things would be much more different now than they were when it happened in the storyline of this book. It's quite hard to skirt around this without giving too much away, but I wouldn't want to spoil it for anyone so I hope you forgive me.</p>
<p>At the beginning I did have to flick back to check which of the girls were narrating, but I don't feel like this put me out too much to be irritating. Certainly once I got further into the novel I suffered no such problem. I understood why each of the girls made the choices they did, and so how they ended up running away from not only their past but also the possibilities of their potential.</p>
<p>I really enjoyed <em>When I Was Invisible</em> and I'm glad it jumped to the top of the must-read next pile. I'm already eagerly anticipating Dorothy Koomson's next book; obviously in a no-pressure kind of way!</p>http://www.womanreadsbooks.com/index.php?post/2016/05/17/When-I-Was-Invisible-Dorothy-Koomson-%28pub.-Century%29#comment-formhttp://www.womanreadsbooks.com/index.php?feed/atom/comments/33Die of Shame - Mark Billingham (pub. Little, Brown)urn:md5:825f9d692188b392d43c527efd97ea4b2016-05-14T16:53:00+01:002016-05-27T14:55:16+01:00ireneannMay<p><img src="http://www.womanreadsbooks.com/public/.dos_s.jpg" alt="dos.jpg" style="display:table; margin:0 auto;" title="dos.jpg, May 2016" /></p>
<p><strong>Every Monday evening, six people gather in a smart North London house to talk about addiction. There they share their deepest secrets: stories of lies, regret, and above all, shame.</strong></p>
<p><strong>Then one of them is killed - and it's clear one of the circle was responsible.</strong></p>
<p><strong>Detective Inspector Nicola Tanner quickly finds her investigation hampered by the strict confidentiality that binds these people and their therapist together. So what could be shameful enough to cost someone their life?</strong></p> <p><img src="http://www.womanreadsbooks.com/public/.logo4_t.png" alt="logo4.png" style="display:table; margin:0 auto;" title="logo4.png, May 2016" /></p>
<p>Have I spoken before about my love for Mark Billingham? Well not for him, I'm not going all Annie Wilkes on him, I mean of course, his novels. I love them. I was one of the people proclaiming how Tom Thorne would made a fantastic TV detective years before he did; so initially I was a tad disappointed that <em>Die of Shame</em> was not a Thorne novel but a Tony De Silva one.</p>
<p>Only initially though because, as usual, Billingham enveloped in a big, fluffy (albeit slightly bloody) blanket of wonderfulness.</p>
<p>I really could have lived without the events on pages 340-341 (1st edition hardback), not because they were out of place, but I just felt so let down by De Silva. Are men really this weak? Was it that he had to risk everything only to see what he really hard? I can't believe it was Heather's irresistibility, as that totally goes against my mind's eye picture of her. Anyway this major lapse aside, Tony is a very interesting, flawed yet likeable, character.</p>
<p>The other characters in Tony's Monday night group, are as equally accessible and I have to say I gave a inward squeal at the newcomer towards the end of the book.</p>
<p>The novel flicks between 'Then' and 'Now' which works extremely well in building up the tension and whodunnit element of the story. I did guess both crimes, but I didn't mind that in the slightest, and I don't think I'm brushing it aside just because it's Billingham. I was interested enough in the characters and their journeys to not worry about solving it. It all made logical sense and so I was happy enough with that.</p>
<p>Mark Billingham has a very homely (I struggled with whether to make an analogy to country music here!) way of writing. I don't mean that in any way negatively, but it's just like being in a safe place. I can rely on him to carry me through the story, not babysitting, just leading me like an older brother. I know when I choose one of his books that I'm going to get something enjoyable and interesting; just a bloomin' good read - <em>Die of Shame</em> is no exception.</p>
<p>This usually would be the perfect place to end, but we're also treated to a little bonus short story at the end of the hardback edition, so it just feels rude not to mention it.</p>
<p>I did enjoy this little 21 page extra. I often marvel at the skill people have to write a novel. Even when I rip it to pieces because I thought it was a pile of poo, it was still a better pile of poo than I could produce. But short stories? That's a whole different set of cleverness. Being able to produce something so succinctly with crafted, developed characters, setting, and an accessible, rounded, intriguing story - it's amazing really when you think about it.</p>
<p>So, this was a great example of a very clever short story.</p>
<p>It was both interesting and dare I say it, filled with a tension that was palpable. The old woman was terrifying and it brought a whole new version of 'strange man with a dog' adages we were told as children. As I said earlier I enjoyed this, even though it had me just a teeny bit scared!</p>http://www.womanreadsbooks.com/index.php?post/2016/05/17/Die-of-Shame-Mark-Billingham-%28pub.-Little%2C-Brown%29#comment-formhttp://www.womanreadsbooks.com/index.php?feed/atom/comments/35Behind Closed Doors - B.A. Paris (pub. Harlequin Mira)urn:md5:9088d2afcda5efedf87ae8a3408160382016-05-13T17:36:00+01:002016-05-27T14:55:16+01:00ireneannMay<p><img src="http://www.womanreadsbooks.com/public/.bcd_s.jpg" alt="bcd.jpg" style="display:table; margin:0 auto;" title="bcd.jpg, May 2016" /></p>
<p><strong>Everyone knows a couple like Jack and Grace. He has looks and wealth, she has charm and elegance. You might not want to like them, but you do.</strong><br /></p>
<p><strong>You’d like to get to know Grace better.</strong><br /></p>
<p><strong>But it’s difficult, because you realise Jack and Grace are never apart.</strong><br /></p>
<p><strong>Some might call this true love. Others might ask why Grace never answers the phone. Or how she can never meet for coffee, even though she doesn’t work. How she can cook such elaborate meals but remain so slim. And why there are bars on one of the bedroom windows.</strong></p> <p><img src="http://www.womanreadsbooks.com/public/.logo4_t.png" alt="logo4.png" style="display:table; margin:0 auto;" title="logo4.png, May 2016" /></p>
<p>OH MY GOODNESS how absolutely, amazingly awesome is this book? I totally and utterly loved it. From the first page to the last word, I was completely hooked.</p>
<p>I seriously don't want to spoil any of this for you. To be fair I really just want to gush about it; I'm <ins>so</ins> jealous if you haven't read it yet.</p>
<p>The portrayal of Jack and Grace is faultlessly brilliant. I was on the edge of my seat so many times begging for someone else in the novel to wake up and do something for Grace.</p>
<p>As for beautiful wonderful Millie, I literally could have kissed her for being so brave and clever.</p>
<p>This really will send shivers down your spine as you read it. The ending, whilst somewhat inevitable, still managed to surprise ( and dare I admit - delight) me. It's not all tied up in a pretty bow, but I loved that too - one can only hope that justice really did prevail.]</p>
<p>Also, and I know this really shouldn't play any part in a good sort of review, but I did appreciate the paper quality. Yes I know! But in fairness I did admit that it shouldn't be a factor! I couldn't help just mentioning how the quality was a good echo of the quality of the writing that's all.</p>
<p>It really is an exploration of the human psyche though. How normality can sometimes be skewed through the actions of people, sometimes though closest to us too.</p>
<p>Please, please read it - honestly it's magnificent.</p>http://www.womanreadsbooks.com/index.php?post/2016/05/13/Behind-Closed-Doors-B.A.-Paris-%28pub.-Harlequin-Mira%29#comment-formhttp://www.womanreadsbooks.com/index.php?feed/atom/comments/32The Lie - C. L. Taylor (pub. Avon)urn:md5:fe8bc5ea2225751e89810f34c7bdbf2f2016-05-10T15:16:00+01:002016-05-27T14:55:16+01:00ireneannMay<p><img src="http://www.womanreadsbooks.com/public/.tl_s.jpg" alt="tl.jpg" style="display:table; margin:0 auto;" title="tl.jpg, May 2016" /></p>
<p><strong>Jane Hughes has a loving partner, a job in an animal sanctuary and a tiny cottage in rural Wales. She’s happier than she’s ever been but her life is a lie. Jane Hughes does not really exist.</strong></p>
<p><strong>Five years earlier Jane and her then best friends went on holiday but what should have been the trip of a lifetime rapidly descended into a nightmare that claimed the lives of two of the women.</strong></p>
<p><strong>Jane has tried to put the past behind her but someone knows the truth about what happened. Someone who won’t stop until they’ve destroyed Jane and everything she loves . . .</strong></p> <p><img src="http://www.womanreadsbooks.com/public/.logo4_t.png" alt="logo4.png" style="display:table; margin:0 auto;" title="logo4.png, May 2016" /></p>
<p>I'm in a bit of a quandary about <em>The Lie</em>. I loved all but the last 40 pages of it. Well, I think I did; I'm writing this the next morning as I took it to bed to finish it - well that in itself is a good thing isn't it?</p>
<p>The ending was just so flat for me - I don't know how it could have been better, but it was just an anti-climatic finish to what held the promise of being revelatory from the outset. I have vague recollections of <em>The Accident</em> being the same, but I might be wrong!</p>
<p>It's a very good novel at analysing the different female relationships, with Jane Hughes as the central character.</p>
<p>The flashbacks to the time in Nepal, are both interesting and creepy. Issac is a quiet, menacing character, and the plot developments are believable.</p>
<p>The way the relationships between Jane, Leanne, Daisy and Al, change and adapt as events unfold is, and I'm struggling for the right word her; scary, I think best sums it up. How one person can totally destroy a group of friends. It's easy for people to believe the worst of someone, even if they have known that friend for a while. People always confuse me; this isn't related to the book, just one of my musings.</p>
<p>I'm still unsure as to the fate of Ruth; whether the events of the night were actually as they were presented. But maybe that's the intention? Things left open to interpretation? Possibly.</p>
<p>Anyway, <em>The Lie</em> is worth a read.</p>http://www.womanreadsbooks.com/index.php?post/2016/05/10/The-Lie-C.-L.-Taylor-%28pub.-Avon%29#comment-formhttp://www.womanreadsbooks.com/index.php?feed/atom/comments/27Where They Found Her - Kimberly McCreight (pub. Simon & Schuster)urn:md5:ca293a1b82487350def090d7219cd5162016-05-09T14:19:00+01:002016-05-27T14:55:16+01:00ireneannMay<p><img src="http://www.womanreadsbooks.com/public/.wtfh_s.jpg" alt="wtfh.jpg" style="display:table; margin:0 auto;" title="wtfh.jpg, May 2016" /></p>
<p><strong>Motherhood hasn't come at all easy for Molly Anderson. But she's finally enjoying life as mother to five-year-old Ella and as Arts reporter for the small but respectable Ridgedale Reader. That is, until a body is found in the woods adjacent to Ridgedale University's ivy-covered campus.</strong></p>
<p><strong>This is a discovery that threatens to unearth secrets long buried by the town's most powerful residents, and brings Molly to two women who are far more deeply connected than they have ever realised.</strong></p> <p><img src="http://www.womanreadsbooks.com/public/.logo4_t.png" alt="logo4.png" style="display:table; margin:0 auto;" title="logo4.png, May 2016" /></p>
<p>This is a real page-turner of a novel. So much so in fact, that I nearly almost fell asleep reading it because I wanted to get to the end of a chapter.</p>
<p>There seemed to be a lot of characters, which I did struggle to place once or twice; though that might have had something to do with my sleep last night. I'm sure if you had the luxury of reading it in one session this would easily be overcome.
It is a gripping storyline with each of the characters playing an essential role. Molly as the untrained but relentless reporter, and Sandy as the somewhat neglected teenager, serve as the lynchpins for the unfolding events. Both are likeable troubled characters who engender a sense of empathy, or sympathy at the very least.</p>
<p>There are lots of revelations as the book reaches its climax, and on the whole these were mostly surprises, which I was pleased about!
Each coupled characters had their own personal issues to deal with, showing that money doesn't necessarily equate to happiness and a lack of problems.</p>
<p><em>Where They Found Her</em>, is written with a style which makes it easy to read. Especially good when you want to finish quickly so you can move on to one of the new releases of the previous week!
I did very much enjoy the book though, so don't take my flippancy as a sleight on it.</p>
<p>It really is a recommended read.</p>http://www.womanreadsbooks.com/index.php?post/2016/05/10/Where-They-Found-Her-Kimberly-McCreight-%28pub.-Simon-Schuster%29#comment-formhttp://www.womanreadsbooks.com/index.php?feed/atom/comments/24Aaah, that feels better!urn:md5:3ea8d1ed98a390a52b8394930e694ec02016-05-07T16:31:00+01:002016-05-27T14:55:16+01:00ireneannMay<p><img src="http://www.womanreadsbooks.com/public/.IMAG1305_s.jpg" alt="IMAG1305.jpg" style="display:table; margin:0 auto;" title="IMAG1305.jpg, May 2016" /></p> <p>Well I think it's fair to say my itch has been well and truly scratched. This was my lovely haul from the weekend, not bad I'm sure you'll agree.</p>
<p>Have I told you how much I love Waterstones? It's very unusual that I can go in there and not find something interesting to read. This time was <em>Shtum</em> - I'm really looking forward to it, but I'm not quite sure where it's sitting on the 'read now' pile yet. It was one of the recommended ones by my local branch, and I've discovered some really good ones through that before so I'm quite inclined to be drawn towards them.</p>
<p>The other sort of new entry is <em>The Secret to Not Drowning</em> which was recommended by the excellent Standard Issue online magazine (http://standardissuemagazine.com/). Apparently telling a story of emotional abuse, it looks quite a challenging thought-provoking book.</p>
<p>The other two that weren't on my list were those impulse buy books. <em>The Reader on the 6.27</em>, I'd picked up to read the blurb and then put it down because I'd already gathered quite a pile. However, then I was offered it at half price at the till so, well, what could I do? See, absolutely no willpower whatsoever!<br />
<em>The Last Act of Love</em> I'd picked up earlier in the day at Asda, as part of the buy 2 for £7 deal, along with <em>While My Eyes Were Closed.</em> It has received lots of plaudits, so whilst I don't ordinarily read many of these type of books, I'm hoping that I can take something uplifting from it. Not of course, that it owes me anything at all.</p>
<p>The other three were on my wanted list so obviously I don't need to justify any of those!</p>
<p>And so, there we have it, the pile grows ever bigger. 7 books to replace the 1 I've nearly finished. I did buy 4 books for the children though so I'm not the only one with a problem!</p>http://www.womanreadsbooks.com/index.php?post/2016/05/17/Aaah%2C-that-feels-better%21#comment-formhttp://www.womanreadsbooks.com/index.php?feed/atom/comments/34Musings of a frustrated readerurn:md5:948a1208a340e13a6d00ec3dbf8c0cd72016-05-05T13:40:00+01:002016-05-27T14:55:16+01:00ireneannMay <p>I’m being ever so good. I know the new Dorothy Koomson novel, <em>When I Was Invisible</em>, is out today, and I SO want to buy it. As soon as I do though, I’m going to want to read it – and I have so much work to do, plus the boy to ferry around, so the inevitable feasting will be interrupted. It’s like an itch though.</p>
<p>There are so many books I’m looking forward to; I love this time of year, it’s like the stationery shopping idyll; which then always makes me think of <em>You’ve Got Mail</em> and the sharpened pencil bouquet.</p>
<p>Sometimes I think my mind goes in very peculiar directions. It’s obviously a lack of stimulation, which is why I have to have that book!!</p>
<p>Anyway just for fun, here’s my off the top of my head wish list:</p>
<p>Dorothy Koomson (obviously!!) – <em>When I Was Invisible</em> (5th May 2016)</p>
<p>I quite fancy the new Jodi Picoult – <em>Things</em> (8 November 2016)</p>
<p>Maggie Farrell – <em>This Must Be The Place</em> (17th May 2016)</p>
<p>Karin Slaughter – <em>The Kept Woman</em> (14th July 2016)</p>
<p>B A Paris – <em>Every Little Thing</em> (26th January 2017)</p>
<p>Dot Hutchinson – <em>The Butterfly Garden</em> (1st June 2016)</p>
<p>M J Aldridge – <em>Hide and Seek</em> (8th September 2016)</p>
<p>Oh My Goodness!!!</p>
<p>STOP PRESS</p>
<p>Mark Billingham – <em>Die of Shame</em> (5th May 2016)
THAT’S TODAY!</p>
<p>Oh no!! How has this escaped me??!</p>
<p>David Walliams – <em>The World’s Worst Children</em> (if I can get one of mine to let me read it to them) (19th May 2016)</p>
<p>Linda Green – <em>While my eyes were closed</em> (5th May 2016)</p>
<p>Do you see where my problem comes from? It’s just a never-ending list of wonderfulness.</p>http://www.womanreadsbooks.com/index.php?post/2016/05/05/Musings-of-a-frustrated-reader#comment-formhttp://www.womanreadsbooks.com/index.php?feed/atom/comments/21Strictly Between Us - Jane Fallon (pub. Penguin)urn:md5:9f27d7d7acab90d9dfbe77be1ef76f5b2016-05-03T13:37:00+01:002016-05-27T14:55:16+01:00ireneannMay<h3><img src="http://www.womanreadsbooks.com/public/.sbu_s.jpg" alt="sbu.jpg" style="display:table; margin:0 auto;" title="sbu.jpg, May 2016" /></h3>
<p><strong>Tamsin and her best friend Michelle have been inseparable since they were teenagers. Even now they spend all their time together, along with Patrick, Michelle’s perfect husband.</strong></p>
<p><strong>So when Tamsin hears a rumour that Patrick is having an affair, she is incensed. Unwilling to ignore it, she plots a scheme to catch Patrick in the act, using her assistant Bea as live bait. It should be foolproof.</strong></p>
<p><strong>After all, Tamsin can trust Bea with anything. From her daily coffee order to fetching her dry-cleaning, writing reports and doing all the filing – Bea does everything with a smile on her face.</strong></p>
<p><strong>Except Tamsin has never considered Bea might have her own agenda.</strong></p>
<p><strong>And if she does, then Tamsin really needs to watch her back…</strong></p> <p><img src="http://www.womanreadsbooks.com/public/.logo4_t.png" alt="logo4.png" style="display:table; margin:0 auto;" title="logo4.png, May 2016" /></p>
<p>I think this is a great book, if you like this sort of thing, which I’m not sure I do. I did, I mean like in my 20s I would have devoured it, actually in fairness that’s not completely true, because I did read it quickly, and wanted to do so.</p>
<p>My problem is, was, whatever, I really did not (in huge capital letters) enjoy the whole premise of Tamsin and Patrick which opened the book. I found it hugely annoying and it totally clouded my judgement of Tamsin from the outset, I just couldn’t find any way of condoning it. And quite frankly, the whole drunken mistake thing just doesn’t wash for me. See, that’s the other thing, I did obviously get too invested in the characters if I’m letting it bother me that much.</p>
<p>It was a totally obvious plot-line, though on the whole written well. That being said, I didn’t like some of the style of Fallon’s writing, in particular the descriptions of the characters, which felt more like a tick-box feature rather than a natural dissipation of characteristics and appearances.</p>
<p>There was also some that irritating completion of chapters – the Dan Brown syndrome (so I’m told, never actually having read any Dan Brown!) of having to punctuate every ending with a ‘this is what happens next’ flourish. For example; “Then maybe I would never have done what I’ve just done” or “Famous last words.” It’s obviously just me being picky or weird or something, but it just irritates me, like an annoying spot. Granted it’s not the worst example of this technique that I’ve read, but it was there enough that I noticed it.</p>
<p>So anyway, once I’d gotten past these negatives, I did sort of enjoy it I guess. My boy did ask if it was good whiles I was in the midst though, and I did give some vaguely negative response, so maybe it’s just that it grew on me as I neared completing.
I’m making this more and more confusing as I go on, aren’t I?</p>
<p>See, it’s like I say, if you enjoy this sort of book, and aren’t disturbed by the morals of the main character, you’ll probably love it.
It didn’t really explore the value of friendships and honesty – only in showing that Tamsin didn’t really uphold either all that well. Even the blossoming relationship between her and Adam wasn’t afforded true honesty which just led to muddy waters and an irritating (yes I’ve used that word again) ending.</p>
<p>All this negativity aside, it passed a day. I don’t mean that disrespectfully, but well it did. It ticked a box, I don’t feel like I wasted any time in reading it, I read it in the kitchen whilst waiting for the kettle to boil, but it hasn’t dramatically wowed me. I will in all likelihood forget about it fairly quickly, but I enjoyed it (I think) while it lasted.</p>http://www.womanreadsbooks.com/index.php?post/2016/05/03/Strictly-Between-Us-Jane-Fallon-%28pub.-Penguin%29#comment-formhttp://www.womanreadsbooks.com/index.php?feed/atom/comments/20The Crooked House - Christobel Kent (pub. Sphere)urn:md5:08104eaed28ea790d83900f7b2efc8e82016-05-02T13:43:00+01:002016-05-27T14:55:16+01:00ireneannMay<p><img src="http://www.womanreadsbooks.com/public/tch.jpg" alt="tch.jpg" style="display:table; margin:0 auto;" title="tch.jpg, May 2016" /></p>
<p><strong>Alison is as close to anonymous as she can get: with no ties and a backroom job, hers is a life lived under the radar. But once Alison was someone else: once she was Esme, a teenager whose bedroom sat at the top of a remote house on a bleak estuary. A girl whose family, if not happy, exactly, was no unhappier than anyone else's - or so she thought.</strong></p>
<p><strong>Then one night violence was unleashed in the crooked house, in a nightmare that only Alison survived and from which she's been running ever since. Only when she falls for the charismatic Paul does Alison realise that to have any chance of happiness, she must return to her old life and face a closed community full of dark secrets.</strong></p>
<p><strong>As she seeks to uncover the truth of what happened that terrible night, Alison begins to question everything she thought she knew. Is there anyone she can trust?</strong></p> <p><img src="http://www.womanreadsbooks.com/public/.logo4_t.png" alt="logo4.png" style="display:table; margin:0 auto;" title="logo4.png, May 2016" /></p>
<p>I took this one upstairs to finish reading it, which ordinarily, is a good sign, but not in this case. I just wanted to finish reading it, as it’s taken me 3 days to get through it. In fact, the book is still upstairs as I’m writing this, and I can’t actually remember what it’s called – oh no I’ve just had my memory pinged – <em>The Crooked House</em>.</p>
<p>I’m sure that there are lots of people who would enjoy this, but I found it really oppressive. It was like being suffocated by darkness from the outset.</p>
<p>The premise of the story is interesting enough, but it was the execution (no pun intended) of it that I found so off-putting.
The murderer is blindingly obvious from very early on, and quite why it took Esme/Alison so long to discover it is beyond me. But it’s not even this that is the real problem for me. I just found myself having to read and reread sentences because they just weren’t going in.</p>
<p>It was so darn and written in what felt like such a matter of fact way, that it was hard to feel comfortable with it. I got no real sense of the characters, with the vague exception of Esme, but even then I wasn’t that committed to her.
I’m finding it quite hard to come up with anything I like about <em>The Crooked House</em> – it really just wasn’t for me.</p>
<p>An arduous slog rather than an enjoyable read.</p>http://www.womanreadsbooks.com/index.php?post/2016/05/10/The-Crooked-House-Christobel-Kent-%28pub.-Sphere%29#comment-formhttp://www.womanreadsbooks.com/index.php?feed/atom/comments/22