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Twisted by B A Morton Reviewed by Margaret Graham

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Twisted by B A Morton reviewed by Margaret Graham

Blimey, talk about tense …

In Twisted, Jack Miller’s been playing a dangerous game, and the stakes are about to be raised.

I read the first few lines and was hooked.

Poor old DI John Samuels is on the trail of a bank robber, but he has no idea of the people he’s dealing with. In particular, let me introduce you to Spook, who is one of the most balmy and evil characters I’ve come across. How on earth did B A Morton conjure her up, let alone all the others. You see, so few are conventionally good people, but they’re so interesting. I was totally engrossed, and found myself – understanding? Well no, not understanding why they were as they were, but close to that.

The pace, the story, the characters are all spot on. So, let’s get back to the book: the ruthless robber is Miller, for whom bank robbery is simply a means to an end. Wounded while making his escape Miller has half a million in used notes and a hostage that wasn’t part of the plan. As the police close in, Otto, the crime boss wants his cash, and someone wants Miller silenced  – forever.

Then there’s the weird misfit Spook. Unstable and fearless, she’ll go to any lengths to get what she wants. Then a judge’s daughter disappears and evidence points at Miller. It is then that Miller discovers just how crazy Spook really is. (Ah ha, but I knew it all along, so very there).  With every twist and turn, and even with the rapid pace, Morton keeps us with her.

Published by Caffeine Nights, Twisted surely lends itself to a series. I do hope so.

B A Morton lives in the North East of England, and writes across a number of genres, including crime, romance, horror and historical fiction. She lives in a cottage built on the remains of a medieval chapel.

She is a member of the Crime Writers’ Association. In 2011 her debut novel, Mrs Jones, a crime thriller set in New York, took second place in the international literary competition, The Yeovil Prize, and launched her extremely successful career.

 

 

The Reluctant Pilgrim by Penny Gerrard Reviewed by Margaret Graham

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The Reluctant Pilgrim review

At the start of The Reluctant Pilgrim, Penny Gerrard asks, ‘How do I capture the contrasts using what can hardly be more than verbal snapshots? Can I bring you the sights, sounds and smells which for me, in the future, will immediately say ‘Israel’?

Well, she can, and she does.

The Reluctant Pilgrim records a journey Gerrard took which showed her some of the best and worst of the troubled land she has been reading about in the Bible since she became a Christian forty something years ago.

Starting at the shore at Caesarea Philippi Gerrard immediately brings to life the shore: I felt the warmth of the sun, the blue of the sea, and the five desalination plants of today’s Israel. And this is how the journey continues, history mixed with today, conveyed in straightforward prose and using interesting photos.

I was actually in Israel quite a while ago, cycling on and off road. I saw the parched land bloom, I visited places named in the Bible, I would, however, have liked to read Penny Gerrard’s journey before I went.

Why? She weaves us through past and present. The present being 3 shekels to reserve yourself a music filled cubicle in a public loo, the past being the fact that Roman soldiers were known to use dead chicks in lieu of the more usual sponges. Oh joy.

We go with her to Tiberius, founded on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. And onwards to, amongst others: Bethlehem, then the home of Dead Sea Scrolls and finally Jerusalem.

The Reluctant Pilgrim is a journey through faith, as well as a country. Gerrard has the happy knack of being able to bring a place to life. How? She doesn’t ignore detail, she writes with a great sense of place. The Reluctant Pilgrim is thoughtful, and evocative.

Bravo.

The Reluctant Pilgrim by Penny Gerrard can be obtained from Amazon.co.uk

Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff Reviewed by Margaret Graham 

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Fates and Furies 

This is a novel that deserves its hype, and trust me, not all do.

At age twenty-two, Lotto and Mathilde are tall, glamorous, madly in love, and destined for creative greatness. A decade later, their marriage is still the envy of their friends, but by now we understand that things are even more complicated and remarkable than they have so far seemed.

Lauren Groff is in full command of her perspectives. She reveals each new twist effortlessly, and her vibrant prose keeps us gripped and involved over more than two decades. Basically, Groff explores the unsettling truth: that secrets are often the cement – or do I mean the engine? – of relationships.

I really enjoyed Fates and Furies, and admire the oomph of the prose and profound understanding of creative, and relationships, that Groff displays. It’s a clever, accessible, and resonant novel. Brilliant.

Lauren Groff is the author of the New York Times bestselling novel The Monsters of Templeton, the short story collection Delicate Edible Birds and Arcadia. She has won Pushcart and PEN/O. Henry prizes, and has been shortlisted for the Orange Award for New Writers. Her stories have appeared in publications including The New Yorker, the Atlantic, One Story, and Ploughshares, and have been anthologised in Best American Short Stories 2007 and 2010, and Best New American Voices 2008. She lives in Gainesville, Florida, with her husband and two sons.

Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff. Published in hardback by William Heinemann in September 2015 at £14.99

 

Love You Better By Natalie K Martin Book Review

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By Frances Colville

loveyoubetterbookreviewNatalie K Martin’s second book Love You Better is about domestic violence. Set in London, Thailand and Ibiza with links to other parts of the world, the story is fast paced with well-drawn characters and a good if somewhat predicable story line. We all know that domestic violence can occur in all sorts of households and relationships, and any book which reinforces this and flags up some of the telltale warning signs is welcome. The author has done her research well. And her love of travel shines through too.

However, the ending of the book was clearly signposted from the early pages and for me this detracted from the impact of the story as it evolved. It’s hard to care enough about the development of a character – even one you empathise with as much as Effie – if you’ve already worked out what is going to happen to her. There were a few other things which pulled me up short. Is the character Oliver intended to be the same age as the other main characters (that is, mid twenties) and if so, how can he possibly be one of the most sought-after lawyers in London? A three storey whitewashed Georgian house in a quiet street in Clapham for £500,000? I don’t think so. Nitpicking? Yes. But why not get it right?

This book is still a good read though. It flows well, it’s interesting and I did actually want to know if I guessed the right ending. And I liked the play on words in the title. A book worth reading in fact. I’m going to search out the author’s first book Together Apart and look forward to future offerings as well.

Love You Better is published by Lake Union Publishing and will be available in the UK in paperback and ebook versions from 8th October 2015.

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying By Marie Kondo Book Review

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thelifechangingmagicoftidyingDe-cluttering is very in at the moment. In fact, it is a trend that does not seem to be going away, and when you think of our consumeristic society and all of the stuff we have is it any wonder? We buy too much and have nowhere to put it. Most of us are drowning in stuff. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying By Marie Kondo is less of a book, more of a movement. People on Mumsnet rave about it and people say it has changed their life. It has 453 five star reviews on Amazon.co.uk. The hype is so high I was actually thinking about buying the book the very day it arrived to be reviewed. Happy me. I read the book quickly. We moved in to our new place in May this year and our flat is still overflowing with stuff, despite numerous trips to charity shops and selling stuff on eBay.co.uk. Can this book help? Let’s find out.

The books premise is that you should only keep things in your life if they spark joy. The KonMari method (a nickname of the authors) claims to tidy your rooms once and for all. You start with clothes, then books, then papers, miscellaneous items (like kitchen equipment) and, lastly, sentimental items. You leave sentimental things to last after your decision making skills have become better. Some of the book is great and other things seem harder. The tidying must be done all at once. Not easy when you have a baby. Whatever section you are doing must be put in a pile on the floor and then done all at once. I don’t know when I would find the time to do this. As for everything ‘sparking joy’. I have a lot of things that don’t spark joy but I need them. I am not going to get excited about my underwear or cutlery. Despite this, this is a good book. The book is not just about throwing things out, it is also about storing things, finding the place where things should go. Kondo even tells you how to fold properly (vertically, as it turns out). Some of the book is a bit hippy but Marie Kondo knows her stuff and following the method will result in a tidy and clutter free house. I will do this method fully and do a more in depth article soon. I just have to find the time. In the meantime, I like this book because it left me feeling inspired to get going and has great ideas. I have already thrown a lot of stuff out and this book even helps you make some tough decisions. Good if you want to get your life, and home, in order.

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying: A simple, effective way to banish clutter forever is available here.

Transform your home into a permanently clear and clutter-free space with the incredible KonMari Method. Japan’s expert declutterer and professional cleaner Marie Kondo will help you tidy your rooms once and for all with her inspirational step-by-step method.

The key to successful tidying is to tackle your home in the correct order, to keep only the things you really love and to do it all at once – and quickly. After that for the rest of your life you only need to choose what to keep and what to discard.

The KonMari Method will not just transform your space. Once you have your house in order you will find that your whole life will change. You can feel more confident, you can become more successful, and you can have the energy and motivation to create the life you want. You will also have the courage to move on from the negative aspects of your life: you can recognise and finish a bad relationship; you can stop feeling anxious; you can finally lose weight.

Marie Kondo’s method is based on a ‘once-cleaned, never-messy-again’ approach. If you think that such a thing is impossible then you should definitely read this compelling book.

 

 

Bright Stars by Sophie Duffy Book Review

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I have read all of Sophie Duffy’s books and it is fair to say that I am a fan. Duffy is an exceptionally talented writer and Bright Stars is another jewel in her crown. The story of a group of university friends and the night that tore them apart, Bright Sparks is a well written novel on the bonds of friendship and love. How one little mistake in life can have devastating effects for decades after. Duffy captures the different periods, switching between the past and the present brilliantly. Bright Stars is another great novel from Duffy. I couldn’t wait to find out what happened next. Hugely enjoyable.

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Cameron Spark’s life is falling apart. He is separated from his wife, and awaiting a disciplinary following an incident in the underground vaults of Edinburgh where he works as a Ghost Tour guide. On the day he moves back home to live with his widowed dad, he receives a letter from Canada. It is from Christie.

Twenty-five years earlier, Cameron attends Lancaster University and despite his crippling shyness, makes three unlikely friends: Christie, the rich Canadian, Tommo, the wannabe rock star and Bex, the Feminist activist who has his heart. In a whirlwind of alcohol, music and late night fox raids, Cameron feels as though he’s finally living.

Until a horrific accident shatters their friendship and alters their futures forever.

Christie’s letter offers them a reunion after all these years. But has enough time passed to recover from the lies, the guilt and the mistakes made on that tragic night? Or is this one ghost too many for Cameron?

Bright Stars is available here.

 

 

Month 8 of My Reading Challenge By Frances Colville

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 This month I deliberately set out to base my book choices on recommendations from other people.  This decision in part came about because my first book  The Book of Lost and Found by Lucy Foley (Harper Collins 2015) was lent to me some time ago by a friend who has been wondering why I hadn’t yet got round to reading it.  So now I have.  And a good story it is too, telling of the relationship between two people over the course of the 20th century from the viewpoint of a younger family member.  It’s well-written and well-constructed.  I enjoyed it.  But it isn’t memorable in any way and I suspect I’ll have forgotten all about it in a month or two.

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I met Harry Bucknall, the author of my next book, Life of a Tramp, Life of a Pilgrim (Bloomsbury 2014), at a recent creative writing workshop. He mentioned his book and I was intrigued enough to pick up a copy the next time I was in a bookshop. He writes about a pilgrimage he took from London to Rome on foot, following the old Via  Francigena.  This is a fascinating mix of travel book, history and memoir and I recommend it to anyone who likes any of those genres.  I also found a personal link to the book – the author mentions Eric Newby, who escaped from a prisoner-of-war camp in Italy during WW2 and went on to write about his experiences.  My father was in the same camp as Eric Newby and frequently talked of him and his successful escape.  As I’ve said before, I like to look for connections in and between books and this one was very satisfying!

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Next up was The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver (Faber & Faber paperback 2010).  I read The Poisonwood Bible (about Belgian colonialism amongst other things) by the same author many years ago when I was living in Belgium and it has stuck in my mind ever since.  So I was very pleased when her latest book was suggested by a member of one of my book groups.  It’s a long book, and has been 10 years in the writing.  It took a bit of getting into, but the language is memorable from the start and I was soon completely hooked by the story as well. This novel works on many different levels. It’s full of information about life in Mexico and the US in the 20th century, about Trotsky, his exile from the USSR and murder in Mexico by Stalin’s men, about the art world of the early 20th century, Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo in particular and about McCarthyism in the US. A fascinating mix of fact and fiction. Above all a book about people, their inner lives and their relationships.  But I think what will stick in my mind most of all is the power and beauty of the descriptive passages. This is a book which has so much to admire, it might require reading several times. When though?  That’s the problem.

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My youngest son has been recommending Moby Dick by Herman Melville for a long time (years probably) telling me that my life is much the poorer for never having read it.  However, having tracked down his copy and had a flick through I decided to opt instead for another of his recommendations, the much shorter The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes (Vintage 2011) .  It proved to be a great choice, reminding me of On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan and Stoner by  John Williams, both of which I enjoyed very much.  Much of it resonated with me, having grown up in the 60s and 70s, and the idea of writing a novel out of relatively little appealed to me greatly.  What I didn’t get – ironically given the title – was any sense of the ending. I’m not sure it fitted the rest of the book.  And Moby Dick?  On my list for the future, but probably not this year.

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Willoughbyland by Matthew Parker Book Review

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Willoughbyland by Matthew ParkerAnother absorbing exploration of lives lived in far off times from the Sunday Times bestselling  author of Goldeneye and The Sugar Barons.  This time, in Willoughbyland, Matthew Parker explores and reveals the untold story of England’s lost colony in Guina. It is  a seventeenth-century tale of empire, El Dorado and violent rebellion, of spies, trickery and forbidden love.

Parker opens with a Foreword in which he travels to dense relentless jungle, searching for traces of the English pioneers and refugees who fled the turmoil of the post English Civil War years. Were they chasing a dream? Of course. After all, the reality of post English Civil War was not a bundle of laughs with its grief and poverty, especially for the Cavaliers who were not Oliver Cromwell’s favourite dish of the week.

I was delighted to review this book, because it is a period that fascinates, and I have always pondered on the fate of the Cavaliers, hustled off into exile.

In this case, a group of Cavaliers set sail for the Amazon and Orinoco rivers following in Sir Walter Raleigh’s footsteps. They set up a new settlement named after its founded, Sir Francis Willoughby. Thus was Willoughbyland born.

Parker sucks up the atmosphere for us, we bathe in it. We breathe in the scent of oranges, and suffer in the humidity, we begin to understand how the dream of the explorers fades in the face of incoming planters and traders. Things grow more complicated as mercenaries and soldiers follow political dissidents and increasingly the dream turns sour. Terror and cruelty become the norm. Sugar is produced, slaves are introduced …

This is an intelligent and evocative examination of a period in history that Parker reveals as a microcosm of the history of empire, with its heady attractions and appalling dangers.

Prepare to BE there, feel the heat, absorb the facts, and understand the English past just a little bit more. Well done, Matthew Parker. I knew nothing of this, and now I do. Fascinating. Good jacket too.

Published in Hardback by Hutchinson. £16.99

Also available in eBook