Harper Collins Archives

Book review: It’s Not What You Think by Clare Mackintosh

March 26, 20262 min read

It’s Not What You Think by Clare Mackintosh is another unexpected read from the English author. Her debut I Let You Go was a very memorable book for me and in my review I comment on almost dropping my iPad into the bathtub (where I read) as the midway plot twist was sooooo shocking with limited foreshadowing. On starting this I assumed I was about to read a book about a cheating partner who gets his comeuppance, with the victim / partner becoming a key suspect… but this was far from that. Again Mackintosh flips things a third of the way through the book and we realise we’ve been duped. Suddenly the type of book we thought we were reading is far from what unfolds.

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Book review: Marble Hall Murders by Anthony Horowitz

April 25, 20253 min read

Before I started Marble Hall Murders by Anthony Horowitz I re-read my reviews of Magpie Murders and Moonflower Murders and realised this review was going to be similar. Firstly it’s very long. And though I LOVED the book within a book theme again, I feel like Horowitz spends too long in the fictitious inner novel before getting back to real life. Here—we get so embedded in the fictional Pünd plot I thought maybe there wasn’t going to be a real-life mystery— but was again being jolted out of the book within a book and and reminded there was another layer to come. I realise that sounds as a criticism but it’s really more that I was quite contented, completely lost in the Pünd account so would have happily stayed there.

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Book review: Anna O by Matthew Blake

February 4, 20243 min read

Anna O by Matthew Blake borrows its title from the pseudonym of a patient who inspired (or at least influenced) Freud’s origins of psychoanalysis. Of course the character in this book is referenced thus as she either has resignation syndrome (a withdrawal from life – which IS a real thing), or is faking it to avoid murder charges. Also… her name is Anna (Ogilvy).

This book has been pretty hyped so my expectations were heightened. I received an early copy while at the Theakston Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate last July. I’d expected big things as a result so held off reading it until just before the Australian publication date in early February 2024. And it has to be said my thoughts on it changed many times over the course of its 440-ish pages.

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Book review: Day One by Abigail Dean

August 2, 20233 min read

It took me some time to realise Day One by Abigail Dean was named after a particular school day, rather than a countdown of days (like Ruth Ware’s recent release), or referring to the first day AFTER an event.

I didn’t enjoy Dean’s popular debut novel Girl A as much as others, and I wondered if it’d been over-hyped, though I mention in my review that as Dean kept readers guessing for some time, I’d not engaged in the plot as much as I would have liked cos I was kinda confused about what I was reading. Day One similarly keeps secrets from readers, though we most certainly know there are some as Dean foreshadows the events of the present / past and future so – though we know we’re not learning about the events in linear fashion – we kinda know where we end up.

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Book review: Marple – Twelve New Mysteries

September 21, 20222 min read

It’s no secret that I’m a massive fan of Agatha Christie – in particular all-things-Miss Marple who is my favourite Christie crime-solver (followed by Poirot and very distantly by the Beresfords). I’ve written before also about my favourite Miss Marple actress who (despite my usual lack of visual-ness) I ‘picture’ when I think of Miss Marple.

Anyhoo, like everything it seems… everything old is new again and several well-known authors have contributed to an anthology featuring my very favourite female detective.

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Book review: Em & Me by Beth Morrey

February 11, 20223 min read

Em & Me by Beth Morrey was a delightful surprise. Not because I didn’t think I’d enjoy it. I certainly loved Morrey’s debut novel, Saving Missy… but my thrall here was because my reading of it came at exactly the right time. It was the feel-good book I didn’t know I needed. If that makes sense.

Before I started it I’d wondered if the blurb gave away too much and the book itself would have nothing left to proffer, but it wasn’t the case. Because though we do kinda know where this is going, I was very happy to travel along with Delphine and her daughter Emily and the assortment of family and friends they’ve gathered along the way.

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Book review: The Stranger in the Lifeboat by Mitch Albom

November 20, 20214 min read

Before The Stranger in the Lifeboat I’d not read anything by Mitch Albom. I’ve not even seen the movie based on his popular book, Tuesdays with Morrie. But something about his latest release had me intrigued.

As a lover of mysteries, thrillers and crime fiction, I knew it wasn’t going to be ‘that’ kind of book, but there was mention of a mystery at the heart of this novel which I thought might appeal. And I certainly enjoyed this book, however it wasn’t really the question posed by the book, but Albom’s writing that had me enchanted.

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Book review: Girl A by Abigail Dean

January 15, 20213 min read

There’s been a bit of buzz around Girl A by Abigail Dean. That can be both a good and bad thing. I read it earlier than planned as I was excited about it, but at the same time I probably had heightened expectations as a result.

For much of this book I wasn’t sure if I was reading about a cult, or about kidnapped children. Dean keeps it pretty vague for a while and readers are on edge, recognising that we don’t have the full story. Waiting for more.

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