The House Next Door by MT Edvardsson unfolds from three points of view. As we’re introduced to them Edvardsson intersperses their narratives with police interviews as each are questioned about the deaths of a man and woman. Slowly over the course of opening chapters we meet most of the players and get a sense of where they fit into this puzzle.
This book is written by Swedish author MT Edvardsson and published (obviously) in Swedish. I often worry a little about translations because you may be missing some stunning prose in the author’s native language – and you’re at the mercy of the translator’s ability to transform not only the language, but the tone and underlying nuances of the original.
There were probably a few moments early on that it seemed an obvious translation but either the phrasing settled or I became inured to the style of the author and translator as I stopped noticing part-way through and overall I think translator Rachel Wilson-Broyles does the original justice.
For some reason I’d been a bit reticent to dive into Ghosted by Rosie Walsh. I’m not a fan of romance but the idea of being ‘ghosted’ by someone who seemingly had no reason to disappear / ignore you was kinda intriguing.
And thankfully I decided to give the book a ‘try’ because I enjoyed it far more than expected and it ended up consuming my Friday night.
This book opens with a series of blog posts by Stephanie, one of our leads. She’s one of those pesky ‘mommy’ bloggers we read about. (And yes, I’m being sarcastic!) Though she does have the annoying habit of using the word ‘mom’ more than any sane adult would, opening each blog post with ‘Hi moms!’ and addressing her readers as ‘moms’ rather than ‘you’ or anything else… just in case a non-mom was to read it.
That aside, her posts set the scene for what’s to come and Stephanie soon finds herself with less time to blog as her life becomes complicated following the disappearance of her best friend Emily.
I guess I need to stop being so surprised when I read a book outside of my usual crime fiction / thriller genre and enjoy it. Perhaps it’s (now) more the norm than the exception.
To the best of my knowledge I’ve not previously read a novel by Joanna Trollope. I’ve heard of the popular English author of course, but tend to assume her books wouldn’t be of interest – relegating them to the part of my life I’ve left elsewhere. The time in which I loved and read Maeve Binchy, Barbara Taylor Bradford, Danielle Steel and the like.
So it’s always a surprise when I find myself reading something which seems alien and familiar (and comfortable) at the same time.
Kate Eberlen’s Miss You has been compared to the very popular One Day by David Nicholls. I know that book’s been made into a movie and there’s another similar movie circling around my brain that I just can’t put my finger on…. And it’s not the 1978 movie, Same Time Next Year... which I recall being popular when I worked on the VHS / Beta video counter at a local electronics store sometime in the early-mid 1980s.
Anyhoo.. it is reminiscent of such movies though even more frustrating for the romantics out there because our erstwhile lovers don’t even really meet…. in the beginning.