Book review: Drowning by TJ Newman

Sunday, May 14, 2023 Permalink

Drowning by TJ Newman was a rare read as I was rivetted from the opening paragraphs. She put me onto that plane as it was going down and, though only briefly exposed to some characters, I already cared about their fate and had a very visceral reaction to what was happening. (Full disclosure, I was – ahem – quite teary before the end of the first chapter*!)

I tend to skim read more than I should – usually over descriptive prose, or sometimes [what I believe to be] irrelevant detail – to get to the action. But by action I mean conversations or things progressing the plot. I’m not really a lover of heart-pumping ACTION action. When watching movies I fast forward fight scenes and car chases.

Getting me truly panicked about a narrative means I need to be really engaged. I need to be there and I need to care. Which was the case here. I wanted to skim as much as possible because I REALLY NEEDED TO KNOW WHAT WOULD HAPPEN!**

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four-half-stars

Book review: In the Blink of an Eye by Jo Callaghan

Tuesday, December 27, 2022 Permalink

We’re not yet in 2023 and I already wonder if In the Blink of an Eye by Jo Callaghan will be one of my favourite books released in that year. It’s a debut novel that feels as if it’s written by a seasoned author. One who’s confident with their craft and characters they’ve created. In fact, I did check a couple of times to see if our lead, Detective Chief Superintendent Kat Frank had featured in previous outings.

She hasn’t but I loved that Callaghan gives us a senior, experienced and confident protagonist and one who’s a significant way through her career and life. Kat’s likeable but has baggage. She’s talented but also fallible.

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four-half-stars

Book review: The Gosling Girl by Jacqueline Roy

Wednesday, February 2, 2022 Permalink

I very much enjoyed The Gosling Girl by Jacqueline Roy so it meant my reading year started with a bang. In fact I thought this was very nearly a 4.5 or 5 star read. (Which are rarities in my little harsh-rating-system world.) I suspect I’ve marked it down a little because I was waiting for something that didn’t come… something that would have given me a little more insight. A little more understanding. Which of course, may say more about my need to know than it does about the book itself. Not to mention my expectations of characters’ depravity or otherwise. While others may well have complained if it went further.

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four-stars

Book review: Vanished by James Delargy

Saturday, June 12, 2021 Permalink

Vanished by James Delargy is a difficult book to describe. I assumed it to be a thriller, but as I started reading I was worried there were going to be some supernatural forces at play and that’s not a genre I enjoy.

Thankfully the mystery surrounding the disappearing family is very much grounded in human actions and interactions… and they’re not swallowed by the earth or some creature hovering beneath.

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three-stars

Book review: Falling by TJ Newman

Wednesday, May 26, 2021 Permalink

Falling by TJ Newman opens with a bang and does not release its readers until the very end.

In fact I must confess I skimmed far more than I meant to here, but it was only because I felt the urgent need to know what would happen. I could not turn the pages quickly enough. I’m fairly sure I held my breath on a number of occasions and steeled myself (several times) for the worst.

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four-stars

Book review: The Mother Fault by Kate Mildenhall

Saturday, October 17, 2020 Permalink

I must admit I hadn’t requested The Mother Fault by Kate Mildenhall for review. I hadn’t read the blurb so assumed it to be another book about a mother ‘losing’ a child or a child being hurt and – very literally – the mother being blamed, or at fault.

As someone without kids I struggle a bit with all of the books about parenthood and its highs and lows. But I kept hearing amazing things about this book so finally decided to give it a try. And I am soooo glad I did because I loved it and only later realised ‘fault’ was less about blame, than a geological reference. D’oh!

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four-stars

Book review: Ruin Beach by Kate Rhodes

Friday, January 11, 2019 Permalink

For the third or fourth time in just a couple of weeks I find myself coming upon a series part-way through. But thankfully – once again – it was certainly not a problem. And I enjoyed this a lot, so have already added this book’s predecessor (cos there is only one) to my ‘must borrow or buy’ list.

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four-stars

Book review: The Truth and Triumphs of Grace Atherton by Anstey Harris

Saturday, January 5, 2019 Permalink

The publicity surrounding The Truth and Triumphs of Grace Atherton suggests it would be popular with fans of Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, by Gail Honeyman – my favourite book of 2017, so I happily moved away from my crime fiction and thrillers to dip my toes into the quirky world of Grace Atherton.

It has to be said however, that Grace and Eleanor have little in common. And that’s not a bad thing. Anstey Harris’s Grace is very different to the prickly Eleanor (who readers couldn’t help but love) however this grabbed me from the first sentence…

We were staying at David’s apartment in Paris the night the woman fell onto the Metro tracks.

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four-half-stars