The New Mrs Clifton by Elizabeth Buchan

Posted on September 27, 2016 by Tracy Baines

It’s so nice to be able to breathe out again. Talk about tension.

The New Mrs Clifton had me gripped from the off. I had eagerly anticipated its arrival and was not disappointed. I am still haunted by the characters of Elizabeth Buchan’s previous novel, I Can’t Begin to Tell You and now I can add Gus and Krista Clifton to the cast list that has taken residence in my head.

As the Second World War draws to a close, Intelligence Officer Gus Clifton surprises his sisters at their London home. But an even greater shock is the woman he brings with him, Krista – the German wife whom he has secretly married in Berlin.

Krista is still suffering from her experiences at the hands of the British and their allies as Berlin fell; she is all but broken by the horrors she cannot share. But Gus’s sisters can only see the enemy their brother has brought under their roof. And their friend, Nella, Gus’s beautiful, loyal fiancée, cannot understand what made Gus change his mind about her. Bewildered, they cannot fathom the hold Krista has over their honourable Gus. How can the three women get her out of their home, their future, their England?

The stifling atmosphere of the house oozes from every page, the suffocating tension between the women pervades each chapter.

We learn of the consequences of Krista’s arrival in the first two pages, so the reader is in no doubt as to what the end will be but the who, and the why and the how keep you hooked until the end.

An absolute eye opener to post-war England for anyone who is under the impression that once war was over it was a series of hope and happy endings. I couldn’t help but think of the war in Syria and the people of Aleppo as I turned the pages, drawing parallels, thinking about the future they face when war is eventually over. Let us hope that is sooner rather than later.

It is a story of deprivation and resolution, and what it takes to survive when the future is bleak. What choices we are left with.

A fabulous read from start to finish.

Elizabeth Buchan’s previous novels include the prizewinning Consider the Lily, Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman and I Can’t Begin to Tell You. Her short stories have been broadcast on Radio 4 and published in a range of magazines. Elizabeth is patron of the Guildford Book Festival and of the National Academy of Writing. She has been a judge for the Costa Novel Award and sits on the authors’ committee for the Reading Agency

The New Mrs Clifton is published by Penguin

www.elizabethbuchan.com

www.penguin.co.uk

Despite the Falling Snow by Shamim Sarif Review by Frances Colville

Posted on September 23, 2016 by Margaret Graham

Despite the Falling Snow by Shamim Sarif was first published in 2010 but has recently been reissued by John Blake to coincide with the release of the film (starring Charles Dance and Rebecca Ferguson) written and directed by Sarif herself. Two previous books, I Can’t Think Straight and The World Unseen have also been made into films.

Set partly during the Cold War in the post-Stalinist Moscow of the 1950s and partly in Boston forty years later, this is a vivid portrayal of love, life and loss. It’s a very visual book, made to be filmed, and at the same time a gripping read with some interesting twists and turns. A thriller with a difference, in fact.

But what I really like about this book is that it is essentially a love story with a spy story background, rather than – as is so often the case – the other way around. And although the main character, the central character, is a man, we are drawn from the beginning into the lives of the women in the story and much of the story is told through their eyes rather than Alexander’s. This might sound confusing, but in fact it makes for a clever, well-plotted and well-written novel which works on several different levels. I think it will make an excellent film and it’s certainly a good read.

Despite the Falling Snow by Shamim Sarif pub. John Blake. £7.99

Teresa Mills’ Mosaics Review by Margaret Graham

Posted on September 21, 2016 by Margaret Graham

At Frost we love to see something just that bit different, and Teresa Mills’s products certainly fit the bill.

Teresa is the author of four best selling books on mosaic art which I found interesting even before I laid eyes on the Pixelated Mosaic Kits, because I have had a fascination with mosaics ever since I saw my first Ancient Roman floor. But wouldn’t Teresa’s kits be a fiddle? Wouldn’t any child end up having a tantrum as they struggled to cut and grout the tiles?

No, actually, that’s the beauty of the kits. The tiles fit the pixelated design exactly without cutting and grouting so absolutely no need to run screaming from the room with grout in your hair, pursued by your child, or grandchild who has been driven to fury by the fiddle of it all.

These tiles are a manageable size, and the quality is excellent. My favourite (because I like them) is the butterfly. Everything comes in a cotton bag, the base board is wooden, and the tiles are glass, glitter and silver.

Megan Cannell, who edits our Young Voices thread, had a go. She is 15 but you’re never to old to be creative and she found, as did I, that the tiles are not too small, and are easy to fix. The colours are vibrant, and we felt they’d be just right for Mabel, who is eight, or for a young lad we know.

I do like quality products and I hope that Teresa is on to a winner here, especially with winter and Christmas not too far away. Grannies, who seem to do a fair bit of child care these days, will welcome these kits with open arms. I just feel that anyone, young or old, who produced the finished article would find a sense of satisfaction – a piece of creative craft well done. Let’s face it, it must encourage the creativity that lies within everyone, and that is always a good thing.

These Pixelated Mosaic Kits are handmade in the UK, and the team at Frost highly recommend them. They are reasonably priced too. The three above are £11 each.

Available in a variety of designs, from insects and animals to shapes and letters, they are an ideal way to delve into the wonderful world of mosaics. Each kits contains all you need to make your very own mosaic masterpiece. Handmade in the UK from high quality materials, each kit comes in its own beautiful cotton bag with the design printed on the front. They are suitable for all ages and are perfect for keeping the kids busy or as a boredom buster.

For more details: www.teresamillsmosaics.com

The Inheritance by Katie Agnew Review by Frances Colville

Posted on September 19, 2016 by Margaret Graham

If you like a good story with a variety of locations and some interesting characters, you’ll love this new novel from Katie Agnew, whose first novel Drop Dead Gorgeous won a WH Smith Fresh Talent Award.

The Inheritance is essentially the story of Sophia Beaumont-Brown who used to be an IT girl, but is currently single, cut off from her family and reduced to sofa-surfing. An appeal for help from her dying grandmother offers her the opportunity to turn her life around and to make sense of the past. Can she unravel the stories of her family’s history and find what her grandmother wants her to find before it is too late?

But The Inheritance is not just Sophia’s story. Several different threads draw us into the lives of other characters in the book with settings ranging from pearl diving communities in Japan through pre-war and wartime England to 21^st century London and New York. The plot is well handled and you’ll be kept guessing until the last chapters as to exactly how it is all going to work out. An easy-to-read but fascinating story with some intriguing twists.

The Inheritance by Katie Agnew was published in trade paperback by Orion on 21 July 2016 priced at £13.99.

The Stylist by Rosie Nixon Book Review

Posted on September 13, 2016 by Margaret Graham

Absolutely the novel for all those who love a really good romp with a bit of an edge.

Written by Rosie Nixon, the Editor-in-Chief of HELLO! The Stylist is the Cinderella story for our time. Amber Green is an ordinary sales assistant in an exclusive London boutique – so admittedly she doesn’t slog away in a kitchen, but the girl needs a few princes in her life.

Then lo! Amber is mistakenly offered a job with Mona Armstrong who seems to exist on coffee, water and champagne, with not a morsel of food passing her lips. Mona is a ‘stylist to the stars’.

Written in the first person, Rosie Nixon whooshes Amber into the exotic world of the glamorous and famous where she has to style some of Hollywood’s hottest celebrity stars at the LA Award Season. (Though she travels in economy while Mona doesn’t, of course)

The pace of The Stylist must replicate the frenetic life of just such a stylist, and Rosie Nixon with her experience of women’s glossy magazines, will know all about that. I thought the juxtaposition of Amber, unspoilt by her life with the stars, longing to be home, the Eastenders theme tune playing through her mind as she struggles to sleep on her return to Britain, was touching amongst the glitz. This normality does actually keep us empathising with her. Clever, I thought.

The Stylist is a serving of sun, fun and a real look behind the scenes. But it is a novel that doesn’t ignore the core of the protagonist.

Does Amber find her prince? Ah well, read it, enjoy the ride, and find out for yourselves.

A really fun read. A success.

Keep your eye on Frost Magazine next week, because Rosie Nixon’s A Day in the Life will be published. See if the glitz extends into this extraordinary young woman’s every day life. Crikey, she’s busy, and quite lovely. Life ain’t fair, says Granny Graham.

The Stylist available now, published by HQ in paperback £7.99.

The Grantchester Mysteries by James Runcie Review By Margaret Graham

Posted on September 13, 2016 by Margaret Graham

I feel a bit of a fraud saying that this is a review. It is really a ‘I could kiss your feet, James Runcie, I enjoy these so much.’ And I’m not really a devotee of feet.

Honestly, for a lilting evocation of a gentler time, the early 1960s,this is the series for you. Though there are murders, but somehow they’re rather charming too.

I stumbled across Sidney Chambers and the Shadow of Death by accident, but from the first page, I loved it. It’s not just because I can picture James Norton in his television role of Sidney, or Robson Green as Inspector Keating, but it is the life it evokes, the mysteries, the profound insights into Sidney’s world as a man of God, at times a slightly doubting one (?). They are uproarously funny, or so I have found The Problem of Evil, but also moving. His love for his wife is touching, his confusion as a male living with a female, hilarious.

I find myself pondering them, wondering if the books are actually about friendship: he and Keating, he and his wife. Then there’s his feelings of compassion, at times sorely tried, his confusion at the behaviour of people,his beloved dog who dies… Arghh.

Do try them, enjoy them. They will remind you of good things, good people, and you will continue to picture Sidney and Keating playing their weekly backgammon, and sorting out the problems of the Cambridge area. I am reading them out of order, I’m sure, but it doesn’t matter. I still guess at who dun it, and each stands on its own. I think I prefer the series to coffee creams, and that’s saying something.

I now have The Perils of the Night, and The Forgiveness of Sins to read. I do hope there is another on the way, or I might sulk. It has been known.

James Runcie is the son of former Archbishop Runcie. He is novelist, documentary film-maker, television producer and playwright. He is Commissioning Editor for Arts on BBC Radio 4, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and visiting professor at Bath Spa University. (where my daughter went to university and loved every minute)

The Grantchester Mysteries published by Bloomsbury. Read them, I insist.

The Cockney Sparrow By Dilly Court Review by Jan Speedie

Posted on September 12, 2016 by Margaret Graham

An enthralling and gritty saga which highlights the poverty and deprivation seen in London at the turn-of-the-century.

Clemency Skinner is gifted with a beautiful voice which will help her leave behind the appalling life she leads with her mother and crippled brother. Abandoned by her father the family exist in a damp hovel in Stew Street paid for by working on the streets. Each day Todd Hardiman, an evil, unscrupulous pimp, threatens their daily existence. Escape to a better life comes for Clemency when she joins Augustus Throop and his troupe of street buskers and through her singing is asked to join the cast at the Strand Theatre – stardom beckons. Life is looking up for Clemency and her family but then Jared Stone enters her life and everything changes but maybe not for the better…

Dilly Court is a well published author of 20 titles – her research into the setting of the story and the depth of her characters makes this an interesting and enjoyable read.

Dilly Court began her career writing commercial scripts for television. She grew up in North East London but now lives in Dorset with her husband and Archie, a large yellow Labrador. She has two grown up children and three grandchildren.

Published by Arrow on 8^th September 2016, £5.99

The Ice Beneath Her by Camilla Grebe Review by Margaret Graham

Posted on September 8, 2016 by Margaret Graham

Does anyone out there enjoy the plethora of Scandinavian noir on the television? Or is enjoy the wrong word? After all, noir is not an idle threat. If you do, or even if you don’t, you should try this novel.

Grebe has been compared with Jo Nesbo – you know the thing ‘if you like Jo Nesbo you’ll love this’. Well, I think that Swedish Camilla Grebe stands alone.

With The Ice Beneath Her, we have a craftswoman at work. Camilla Grebe’s clarity of language reminds me of my friend Nikki Gemmell’s writing, who reworks, and reworks to present a vivid empathy that is almost too inclusive, because all that happens to her characters, happens to the reader. I use her regularly as an example of an author for those aspiring to write. I think I will now add Grebe.

Now, I’m not comparing Grebe with Nikki but I am saying that I felt her writing to be as finely tuned as Nikki’s. Perhaps while waxing lyrical I should include Elizabeth Clark Wessel, who translated the novel from Swedish to English, and in so doing, faithfully stayed as close as anyone could, to the author’s vision.

So, what is this vision? What is this novel about, the one that is already making waves with film rights sold to Warner Brothers’ New Line Cinema, and international rights that have already sold in 20 territories?

A thriller, or perhaps crime novel, that introduces us to Emma, a mousey sales assistant who is swept off her feet by a charismatic CEO and whose life is opened up to love. But life ceases to be peachy after her lover runs off (perhaps). It is then that the mouse transforms into a welter of furies. A murder is then lobbed into the mix, the detectives use a brilliant criminal profiler who is in the early stages of dementia. Soon Emma, the transformed mouse and the detectives are on the heels of the mystery man and it is clear their paths will cross.

I know, I know, I’m not making this easy to follow, but it isn’t. It’s complex, and as you read it, it is hard to even guess at what’s going on under the surface. This isn’t a weakness, it’s just a puzzle, and the power of the writing. plotting and general structure is such that you more than stick with it, sure the writer is leading you somewhere. It was disturbing, and exercises the grey matter, but was unputdownable. I didn’t read it before I needed to go to sleep. BEcause I would be tossing, turning, and fretting.

A must read book about obsession, betrayal and of course, love. Highly recommended.

Published on 8th September by Zaffre at £12.99 E-book available.

Next week, Camilla Grebe will be telling us of A Day in her Life. Make a date to be with us.

Frost Magazine

Books and Lifestyle

Category Archives: Book Reviews