Review: Antidote to Murder by Felicity Young

 

Title: Antidote to Murder {Dr Dody McCleland #2}

Author: Felicity Young

Published: Harper Collins Australia March 2013

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Status: Read from April 26 to 27, 2013 — I own a copy{Courtesy the publisher}

My Thoughts:

Antidote to Murder is the second enthralling book in Felicity Young’s historical mystery series featuring Dr Dody McCleland. Set at the turn of the 19th century in England this story plays out against a backdrop of political and social unrest as suffragettes demand the vote, labour strikes cripple London and German spies seek British intelligence in preparation for war. In Antidote to Murder, Dody’s pursuit of her medical career makes her the target of unscrupulous colleagues and ambitious misogynists. Framed for the death of a scullery maid who was the victim of a botched criminal abortion, and with Dr Benard Spillsbury away and Chief Inspector Pike missing, Dody is forced to face her accusers alone while trying to unmask the real culprit butchering desperate young women.

In my thoughts about A Dissection of Murder I lauded Young’s fascinating balance of political and social commentary with crime and mystery and the author has achieved that same balance here.
With Dody accused of committing a criminal abortion resulting in death, a large part of this story explores attitudes to family planning in the early 1900′s. With contraception prohibitively expensive, abortion criminal and unwed pregnancy resulting in social ostracism, women shouldered both the blame and the responsibility for pregnancy. Uniformed about their own bodies and often seduced by loving promises, young women sought desperate means to end burgeoning pregnancies namely ‘backyard’ abortions procured by knitting needles, poisons and other dubious means.

Though Dody is not a militant feminist, and is against abortion, she does feel strongly that women should be informed about birth control methods, including contraception. Already in defiance of social convention as a part time assistant forensic surgeon for London’s Home Office, the coroner’s court is willing to accept the flimsy circumstantial accusations against her with the view that a woman doctor is ‘unnatural’ and therefore an acceptable scapegoat.

The execution of the plot and the way each element fits is quite brilliant. The search for the real abortionist has plenty of twists and turns as suspicion is cast about. A doctor obsessed with Mata Hari presents as a likely suspect as does one of Dody’s jealous colleagues. Dody’s sister, Florence, involves herself in the search inadvertently forcing the killer to act.
Detective Inspector Mathew Pike is absent through much of this struggle, on special assignment for the Home Office investigating an exotic dance troupe, but returns to defend her once he is aware of what she is facing. He and Dody have not yet acknowledged their affection for one another but as they grow closer, Dody is forced to confront her conflicting desires.

Antidote to Murder combines a fascinating setting with superb characterisation and an intriguing plot. Along with A Dissection of Murder, this is a spectacular series I can’t praise highly enough and recommend without reservation.

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Review: Dark Horse by Honey Brown

Title: Dark Horse

Author: Honey Brown

Published: Penguin Australia April 24th 2013

Status: Read from April 22 to 23, 2013 — I own a copy {Courtesy the publisher}

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My Thoughts:

Having read After the Darkness last year I thought I knew what to expect from Honey Brown and while I was rewarded with a compelling story of psychological suspense, the shocking twist in the tale of Dark Horse took me by surprise.

After a messy divorce and the reluctant sale of her property Sarah Barnard can’t face a day of forced celebration with her parents and so just after dawn on Christmas morning, she packs supplies and canters into the bush upon her beloved horse, Tansy. Distracted, Sarah doesn’t notice the change in the weather until a torrent of water is rushing towards her. With no way to retreat, Sarah and Tansy are forced to seek higher ground and take refuge at the site of an old bushranger’s hut in the midst of being renovated. Resigned to waiting for rescue, Sarah establishes camp, content in her solitude, but then a man calls to her from the darkness, and Sarah is no longer alone.

From the moment Heath whistles to Sarah from the edge of the campsite I believed I knew the path the story would take but the twist in the plot left me breathless, catching me unaware. In hindsight the clues are there in the story, hiding, at times, in plain sight, but Brown masterfully plays on the reader’s expectations and with careful, but never obvious, manipulation, subverts the truth.

Sarah’s reason for being on the mountain is seemingly clear while Heath is the enigma. He appears untruthful, giving vague answers to even the simplest of questions and as Sarah’s suspicion of him grows, so does ours. The tension builds as Sarah battles her intense attraction to Heath, who is young, fit and handsome, even though she suspects him to be dangerous. Brown skillfully develops a relationship between Sarah and Heath that is, if not entirely understandable, feasible, despite the obvious contradictions.

The sense of unease that permeates the narrative comes not only from the situation but is also carefully cultivated by Brown as she creates a disquieting landscape of thick fog, unstable ground and howling winds. Lashed by rain and in danger of flooding, the mountain is a threatening presence. Sarah and Heath’s battle against the elements, and their isolation, heightens the suspense whilst enforcing intimacy with the need to keep dry and warm.

Once begun, I found it impossible to put Dark Horse aside. The pace is compelling, the tension superb and the plot veers into a breathtaking twist. Dark Horse is a finely crafted, stunning psychological thriller that I can’t recommend strongly enough.

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Review: The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty

Title: The Husband’s Secret

Author: Liane Moriarty

Published: Pan Macmillan April 2013

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Status: Read from March 31 to April 01, 2013 — I own a copy {Courtesy the publisher}

My Thoughts:

I am a huge fan of Liane Moriarty and I have enjoyed every single one of her novels, most recently What Alice Forgot and The Hypnotist’s Love Story. The Husband’s Secret is her fifth adult fiction novel and for me, her best yet.

“For my wife, Cecilia Fitzpatrick
To be opened only in the event of my death”

She found the envelope amongst a stack of old tax records and imagined it contained a sentimental message, given it was dated just a few days after the birth of their first child, fifteen years ago. Cecilia has no idea that the letter will blow her world apart.

The story of The Husband’s Secret unfolds from the third person perspectives of three women, Cecilia, Tess and Rachel. At first the connections between these women are peripheral but the secret Jon-Paul has been keeping for decades will change them all.

Cecilia has been married to John-Paul for fifteen years, they have three bright and beautiful daughters and a busy, happy life. Cecilia is the P&C president, a successful Tupperware host and her neat and orderly world is shattered when her husband returns early from a business trip.
Tess is devastated when her husband announces he has fallen in love with her best friend, cousin and business partner, Felicity. Her only thought is to escape and she abandons her life in Sydney to return to her childhood home. Tess isn’t interested in renewing old friendships but finds she can’t resist the attentions of an old flame.
Every day is an effort for Rachel. It is only the presence of her toddler grandson that relieves the grief that has haunted her since her teenage daughter was murdered more than twenty years ago, and now her son and his wife are moving to New York. Bereft, Rachel renews her obsession with the man she suspects murdered her daughter, a man that teaches at the school where she is a secretary, a man she is convinced is really a monster.

With consummate skill, Moriarty winds her way through a minefield of moral ambiguity as her story explores the very personal implications of choosing between right and wrong. I’m desperate to avoid spoilers so I can say little except that the author challenges the simplistic notions of guilt, of punishment, of justice and redemption.

The Husband’s Secret is so successful in large part because of Moriarty’s wonderfully crafted characters. The everyday rhythms of their lives render these complex women familiar somehow and I quickly became invested in their fate. As a mother myself I understood each women’s concerns about protecting their children and I empathised with them as they struggled to decide how best to do so.

The Husband’s Secret is a compelling, thought provoking novel, inspired by an article about real life deathbed confessions and their surprising consequences. An intriguing examination of conscience, love, betrayal and forgiveness this novel will stay with you well after the last page has been turned.

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Review & Giveaway: Sweet Damage by Rebecca James

Title: Sweet Damage

Author: Rebecca James

Published: Allen and Unwin April 2013

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Status: Read from March 27 to 28, 2013 — I own a copy {Courtesy Allen & Unwin}

My Thoughts:

Sweet Damage is the second novel by Rebecca James. Her first, Beautiful Malice, gained international success for it’s chilling story of twisted friendship.

In Sweet Damage, Tim, an easy going, twenty something kitchen hand who has been staying on his ex-girlfriends couch since his return from an overseas trip. When she insists he finds his own space he is thrilled to find an inexpensive room in a large house in the leafy Australian suburb of Fairlight. The only catch is his young, agoraphobic enigmatic housemate, and landlord, Alice, who is not only haunted by unspeakable tragedy, but perhaps something altogether more sinister.

I was immediately drawn to the premise of Sweet Damage, tantalised by the gothic overtones and the promise of a chilling mystery and I was barely a quarter of the way through when the first wave of shivers rolled over me. It wasn’t the last time I felt that tingle of dread, the measured pace allows the suspense to build as the narrative weaves in and out of the past and present, before twisting unexpectedly.

Anna is such an interesting protagonist, and the ambiguity surrounding her character plays beautifully into the suspense. Her agoraphobia, her secretiveness and her difficulty interacting with Tim suggests she has something to hide and as strange things begin to happen in the house, it is understandable that Tim suspects her, especially since she is unable to deny any wrongdoing.

Tim is a little wary of Anna and her odd behaviour but with the arrogance of youth he is not really threatened by the odd occurrences at Fairview. Tim is more concerned with his on again/off again relationship with Lilla, his ex-girlfriend, with whom he admits an obsession. However Anna ignites his protective instinct and he is drawn to her vulnerability which contrasts so vividly with Lilla’s brash personality.

The writing is finely crafted to create an atmospheric and gripping story of psychological suspense. Several suspects move in and out of the frame as the mystery unfolds. As the story reaches it’s climax I thought perhaps Anna and Tim piece things together perhaps a little too quickly but the final confrontation is shocking and not everyone will see it coming.

I devoured Sweet Damage in a few hours, it is an easy yet engrossing read. I think it can be enjoyed by a wide range of ages (16 and up) and recommend it to those who enjoy spine tingling suspense.

Earlier today I posted a Q&A with Rebecca, make sure you take a look!

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AWW Feature: Q&A with Rebecca James, author of Sweet Damage

Welcome Rebecca James!

I am delighted to feature Rebecca James at  Book’d Out today and talk a little about her newest release, Sweet Damage. Rebecca James was born in Sydney, Australia, in 1970 and grew up in various different places throughout New South Wales, including Bourke, Sydney, Wellington and Bathurst. During her twenties Rebecca worked as a waitress, an English teacher in both Indonesia and Japan, a bartender, and (most memorably) a mini-cab telephone operator in London. During her thirties Rebecca spent most of her time having babies, she has four sons, and helping her partner run a small kitchen business in Canberra.

Rebecca’s first novel Beautiful Malice (Allen & Unwin 2010), a young adult psychological thriller, placed Highly Commended in the 2010 FAW (Fellowship of Australian Writers) Christina Stead Award and became a international best seller.

Sweet Damage is a compelling story of suspense that  I devoured within hours. My review is available HERE and I have three copies to giveaway, for now I am going to let Rebecca tell you more about her fabulous new novel, read on…

Q&A with Rebecca James

Q: Can you give us the ‘elevator pitch’ for Sweet Damage?

Rebecca: Laid back surfer Tim Ellison can’t believe  his luck when he scores a cheap room to rent in a  Sydney mansion. The only catch is his new flatmate, Anna London:  withdrawn  and agoraphobic she’s not exactly easy to make friends with. When strange and terrifying things start happening in the house, Tim wonders if he’s made a mistake taking the room and soon he’s caught up the tragic mystery of Anna’s past and the discovery of secrets both shocking and horrific.

Q: What was the first element of inspiration for creating Sweet Damage?

Rebecca: I was thinking about anxiety and agoraphobia and how having a person who’s basically  trapped in a house had a lot of potential for a story. And then I started thinking about how a lot of people view mental illnesses like agoraphobia, how they see it as a weakness, a failure. I thought it would be interesting to narrate most of the story from Tim’s perspective – a well-meaning but slightly insensitive guy who is completely baffled by Anna’s situation, her inability to leave the house. That was the basic set-up and then I had to put Tim and Anna under a whole lot of pressure and create a big mystery and lot of twisty plot elements to keep readers guessing and turning the pages.

Q:  Sweet Damage is written in the first person view from a young male,  did his gender pose any difficulties for you as you wrote?

Rebecca: Sometimes, yes! In my first draft my editor made the comment that Tim at times sounded like a 40 year old woman rather than a young man in his twenties. In redrafting I had to be really conscious not to let my voice override his, make sure he wasn’t thinking the way I would in his situation.

Q:  Is Fairview, the house in which Anna and Tim live,  based on a real location?

Rebecca: The location is real but the house itself is a product of my imagination. I know Fairlight the suburb pretty well, as I’ve lived there myself (in a small flat, not a mansion!) and my grandmother used to live in the very street – Lauderdale Avenue – in which I set the book.

Q:  What draws you to the young adult /psychological thriller genre?

Rebecca: I didn’t set out to write YA fiction. When I was writing my first book, BEAUTIFUL MALICE, I wasn’t thinking about categories or genres at all. It wasn’t until I started looking for an agent that I had to start thinking of how to pitch it. Interestingly, Beautiful Malice sold as a YA book in most territories, but as an adult book in others. in fulfilling my contract (BEAUTIFUL MALICE sold in a two-book deal) I had to try and write a book with similar crossover appeal – and so I hope SWEET DAMAGE is the same as BEAUTIFUL MALICE in that it will appeal to both teens and adults.

I’m definitely drawn to psychological thrillers. I think it must be my favourite genre in both books and movies. I enjoy the element of suspense and I always love it when there’s a completely unexpected twist that you don’t see coming.

Q: Do you and your sister, Wendy (The Mistake) talk about your writing with each other?

Rebecca: Yes, we do. We read each other’s manuscripts and give feedback. We talk about plot and characters and pacing and style – all the elements of novel-writing basically.

Q: Name three of your favourite novels by Australian women writers

Rebecca: It’s difficult to name only three  and I find it hard to list favourites as I don’t tend to think of books in that way. So I’m going to list three books that kept me thinking about the characters  and the writing long after I closed the last page.

OUT OF THE SILENCE by my sister Wendy is a book I couldn’t get out of my head for a long while. Maggie’s plight really brought home to me how dreadful and unfair life could be for women before feminism made abortion possible. Her story’s a great reminder how important feminism has been for women (and still is) and how much we’re now able to take for granted. (OUT OF THE SILENCE has just been republished as an ebook by Momentum press so you can now buy it from Amazon).

THE SPARE ROOM by Helen Garner is another book that resonated for me. I love Helen Garner’s ability to apply a her sharp critical lens to the domestic life of ordinary people. She’s honest about people’s motivations, and their small pettinesses and there’s a courage and beauty in that honesty that I really admire.

I also love Liane Moriarty’s work, particularly WHAT ALICE FORGOT (I haven’t read her latest yet, but intend to remedy that very soon). Liane Moriarty reminds me a bit of Anne Tyler in that she’s fundamentally kind to her characters. She shows people in all their flawed glory without being judgemental or superior, which is, I think, a great novelistic skill. The idea that people can be both flawed and lovable, that life is sticky and complicated, and that people can surprise themselves in both good and bad ways, is, for me, a recurring message of her work.  Her books somehow make me feel more optimistic and cheerful.

Q. What is your preference?

• Coffee/Tea or other? Tea.
• Beach/Pool or River? Beach. But I love pools too. And rivers.
• Slacks/Jeans or Leggings? Jeans. (Slacks? No way! They sound so old -ladyish!)
• Butterfly/Tiger or Giraffe? Giraffe. They have cute faces. Though I don’t know what I’d do with one.
• Swing/Slide or Roundabout? Actually the thought of either makes me a feel a bit queasy. I’d rather just sit on a bench seat and read, thanks very much!

You can connect with Rebecca James at

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A special edition of Beautiful Malice, with a preview of Sweet Damage, is currently available from Allen & Unwin

Review & Giveaway: The Wild Girl by Kate Forsyth

Title: The Wild Girl

Author: Kate Forsyth

Published: Vintage: Random House March 2013

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Status: Read from March 15 to 17, 2013 — I own a copy {Courtesy the publisher}

My Thoughts:
The Wild Girl is a stunning tale of passion, love and war where history and imagination intertwine to create a wonderfully rich portrait of a woman whose contribution to the legend of the Grimm Brothers is finally acknowledged.

Dortchen Wild lives in the small kingdom of  Hessen-Cassel in Germany in the early 1800′s, as Napoleon Bonaparte marches across Europe. One of five daughters of an apothecary,  her only relief from her father’s tyranny comes from the rare occasions she can escape his attention and her friendship with her next door neighbour,  Lotte Grimm. As the war intensifies, Lotte’s older brothers Jakob and Williem return home. With a single glance, twelve year old Dortchen falls in the love with the scholarly Williem but he barely notices her and she can only worship him from afar. As war rages and Cassel is plunged into economic ruin, the Grimm brothers hope to reverse their fortunes by publishing a book of collected fairytales.  It’s not until Dortchen shyly offers to contribute that Williem realises Dortchen has grown up, but her father forbids any courtship between the desperately poor neighbour boy and his daughter. While the lovers endure years of enforced separation due to abuse, war and poverty Dortchen never stops hoping for her own happily ever after.

Kate Forsyth uses historical record as the anchor for a story that she then develops with informed imagination. The Napoleonic War and it’s social effects grounds the tale in time and place while her fictional narrative winds in and out of what is known about the Grimm brothers, the origins of their fairytale collection and Dortchen. I don’t doubt that Forsyth’s research, using primary sources such Williem’s diaries amongst others, is impeccable but I most admire how she creates a plausible, seamless narrative melding fact with fiction. The author’s intuitive grasp of behaviour and motive ensures her characters, their environment and their lives feel authentic.

In the tradition of the original Grimm’s fairytales, Dortchen’s childhood is beset by darkness. Her mother was a weak woman addicted to Laudanum and subservient to her husband. Dortchen’s father, pious and strict during her childhood, devolved into a drunken, abusive tyrant in her adolescence, illustrated in several harrowing scenes. The war and resulting economic deprivations is hard on the family and though three of the sisters are eventually able to escape, Dortchen is forced to remain at home and care for her ailing parents. It is saddening to see Dortchen withdraw into herself in self defense, her spirit eroded by her fading hopes for escape from her father. The spark is only revived when she steals a moment or two with Williem. Her relationship with him is fraught with angst, drama and passion, their love is challenged repeatedly and a happy ending is never guaranteed.

The fairytale’s appear in the narrative not just as stories passed between the characters but also with some relationships to the plot. Dortchen often hopes that Williem will recognise her pain in the tales that she tells, though his scholarly focus seems to make him somewhat oblivious to the subtleties. They also reflect the political and social instability of times with tales of greedy kings and an abandoned, unfed children, despite their origin being from other times and places. The fairytales themselves are both versions of familiar stories like Cinderella and Snow White as well as less well known tales like that of a singing bone that identifies a murderer.

Really I could go on, The Wild Child is remarkable. A tale of triumph over adversity, an epic historical romance, a fascinating glimpse into the history of storytelling – it is all those things and more. One of my favourite reads for the year, I recommend it wholeheartedly.

 

Earlier today I posted a Q&A with Kate Forsyth HERE. Visit to learn more about the author, the book and  download an ESampler.

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AWW Feature: Q&A with Kate Forsyth, author of The Wild Girl

Welcome Kate Forsyth

I am thrilled to introduce you to Australian author Kate Forsyth today. Kate Forsyth is the internationally bestselling author of more than twenty books, including The Witches of Eileanan and Rhiannon’s Ride series for adults, and The Puzzle Ring, The Gypsy Crown, and The Starthorn Tree for children. She has won or been nominated for numerous awards in Australia and the US.

Currently undertaking a doctorate in fairytale retellings at the University of Technology, having already completed a BA in Literature and a MA in Creative Writing,  last year she published  Bitter Greens (Random House 2012)  an exquisite retelling of the Rapunzel fairytale, interwoven with the dramatic true life story of the woman who first told the tale and I was captivated by its effortless blend of history and fantasy.

Today I am delighted to be celebrating the release of Kate’s newest novel, The Wild Girl (Random House 2013), the story of Dortchen Wild and her relationship with the Grimm brothers, the authors of the Grimm’s Fairytale collection. The Wild Girl is a stunning tale of passion, love and war where history and imagination intertwine to create a wonderfully rich portrait of a woman whose contribution to legend is finally acknowledged.

You can read my review of  The Wild Girl , and have the chance to win a copy, HERE.  But first, Kate graciously agreed to answer some questions for me about The Wild Girl. Read on to learn more about this novel and how you can download an Ebook Sampler to enjoy.

Q: Please tell us about The Wild Girl

Kate: ‘The Wild Girl’ tells the beautiful untold love story of the forbidden romance between Wilhelm Grimm, the younger of the famous fairy tale scholars, and the young woman who told him many of their most compelling fairy tales. Her name was Dortchen Wild and she grew up next door to the Grimm brothers in the small German kingdom of Hessen-Cassel. It was a very bloody and turbulent time, with Napoleon conquering most of Europe, and Dortchen’s father was an autocratic man who disapproved of the impoverished Grimm brothers and forbade her from seeing Wilhelm. They met secretly so she could tell him such well-known stories as ‘Rumpelstiltskin’, ‘Six Swan’s, ‘Hansel & Gretel’, ‘The Frog King’, and ‘The Elves and the Shoemaker’, (plus many more). She was only nineteen and he was twenty-six, yet it was a long time before they could at last be together. 

Q: Why did Dortchen Wild capture your imagination?

Kate: It was the irresistible combination of the beautiful and heart-wrenching love story, and the telling of the tales. I’ve always been both enchanted and frightened by fairy tales and I found it extraordinary that this one young woman had a head stuffed full of all these marvellous stories, and that she told them to Wilhelm so they could be saved forever. I felt a very strong connection to Dortchen right from the very beginning – her birthday is actually only a week before mine – and I found it very easy to imagine myself into her skin.

Q: What are the challenges in melding historical fact and fiction?

Kate: The first and most difficult challenge is finding the facts in the first place. Dortchen Wild is virtually forgotten by history. I had to create a lot of story out of my own imagination, using her own stories to guide me. Then there was the difficulty of portraying such well-loved figures of the Grimm brothers as fictional characters. I set the known facts as immovable pegs around which I wove my own intuitive interpretation of their lives. Finally, there’s the need to write a compelling, fascinating, unputdownable novel. I had to make sure the story wore the historical background lightly. I really dislike books where the author feels a need to show off their scholarship by weighing down the story with pages of details and facts. It has to be just enough to bring the past to life without slowing down the pace. It can be a delicate balancing act sometimes.

Q:What was the most surprising piece of information you uncovered in your research?

Two things, which actually strike off each other. Firstly, Jane Austen and the Grimm brothers were contemporaries of each other. Her first novel ‘Sense & Sensibility’ was published in 1811, and the first edition of the Grimm’s fairy tales was published in 1812. She was actually ten years OLDER than Jakob Grimm at this time.

Secondly, the last witch to be executed in Europe died only 3 years before Jakob was born, in 1782. That means Jane Austen was seven. The woman’s name was Anna Göldi and she was convicted of bewitching her employer’s daughter causing her to have fits.

Q: What was the highlight of your research trip to Germany?

Kate: I had a couple of magical moments, but the one that stands out for me the most is on my first day in Kassel (which used be spelt with a C).

I had had a extraordinarily vivid dream in which a young woman danced alone in a snowy forest, at twilight, dressed all in black. They sky was grey, the ground was white, ravens flew over, crying harshly. Above the forest was a castle, its windows lit up with light. People were dancing up there, their shadows twirling past the golden windows, and I could hear violin music spilling into the dusk. The girl in black was dancing wildly, laughing and crying both at once. Then a tall young man, also dressed all in black, stepped out of the shadowy forest and danced with her and the scene – so strange and wild – turned into a joyous one. I had used this dream as the opening and closing scenes of the novel and, indeed, it became the front cover image as well.

Anyway, when I went to Kassel I went to the castle there and went walking through the parklands and forest around it, looking for a spot that seemed to chime with my dream which I remembered so vividly. I came to the woods below the forest and stood so that the castle was in the same spot as it was in my dream. I wondered to myself – if violin music was played in the castle, could you hear it from here? Just then – I swear to this with everything I hold true – I heard violin music. It was the spookiest, most eerie thing that has ever happened to me. At first I thought I must be imagining it. But no. A young woman stood just below the palace, playing a violin. She was about 19 years old, blonde-haired and blue-eyed, just like I imagined Dortchen would look, and she stood alone on the shore of the lake, just below the palace, playing her violin. Every hair on my body rose up, quivering. I could not believe it!

Kate took a photo of the child and shares it here at left

Q: Which is your favourite Grimm fairytale?

Kate: Can I please have three? ‘Six Swans’, ‘Sleeping Beauty’ and ‘The Leaping, Lilting lark’, which is one of the tales Dortchen told Wilhelm. Its a very beautiful and romantic variant of ‘Beauty and the Beast’ with a much stronger and more active heroine.

Q. Name three of your favourite novels by Australian women writers

‘Angel of Ruin’ by Kim Willkins.

‘Daughter of the Forest’ by Juliet Marillier.

‘The Forgotten Garden’ by Kate Morton.

Q. What is your preference?

• Coffee/Tea or other? Tea!
• Beach/Pool or River? Beach.
• Slacks/Jeans or Leggings? None of these. I mainly wear dresses
• Butterfly/Tiger or Giraffe? Tiger.
• Swing/Slide or Roundabout? Swing.

You can find out more about Kate Forsyth @

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Review: Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

 

Title: Life After Life

Author: Kate Atkinson

Published: Doubleday/Random House March 2013

Status: Read from March 14 to 16, 2013 {Courtesy TheReadingRoom/ Random House}

My Thoughts:

Life After Life is an extraordinary, elegant novel of fate, love and redemption. Though initially I struggled to make sense of Atkinson’s structure I was quickly captivated by this unique novel.

Set during the first half of the 20th century in Britain, against the backdrop of enormous social and political change, fate twists capriciously for one girl born on a snowy evening in February, 1910.

For Ursula Todd, death is not the end, instead it is the beginning, another chance to get it right. Ursula does not remember her previous lives but instead is driven by a distorted echo that compels her to to sidestep the events that previously led to her demise. In one instance it takes several incarnations, and determined action, before Ursula is able to avoid succumbing to influenza. In another, significant change is effected simply by protesting against the unwanted attentions of a family friend. Details matter, a seemingly innocuous decision can lead to tragedy for herself or her loved ones, or avert it.
Ursula becomes many things, a secretary, a mistress, a battered wife, an air raid warden, a mother but she remains recognisably Ursula. That the string of fates Ursula experiences are wholly possible for a girl born into the genteel middle class in 1910, is what ensures the credibility of the story.

I am in awe that the author is able to so deftly manipulate the construct of time and reality without the concept falling into a muddled farce. Though it does help to pay close attention to the dates that head each chapter, the narrative moves smoothly between one timeline and another and becomes easier to follow as you gain familiarity with the structure.

Beautifully crafted, Life After Life is so much more than what the blurb promises, or than I can articulate. I found it a compelling, thought provoking and extraordinary tale.

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Review: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

 

 

Title: The Fault in Our Stars

Author: John Green

Published: Penguin Australia Jan 2013

Status: Read on January 23, 2013 — I own a copy {Courtesy Penguin Au/Netgalley}

My Thoughts:

I was thrilled to finally get my hands on a copy of The Fault in Our Stars. A bestseller in it’s year of release of 2012, it has received accolades from both critics and readers alike. The gushing, gif laden reviews on Goodreads are hard to ignore as is the frequency at which this novel comes up in ‘best of’ lists amongst bloggers.

In The Fault in Our Stars, John Green explores the sensitive subject of adolescent cancer with heart and humour. Hazel is sixteen, her constant companion a portable oxygen bottle, the cancer invading her lungs that will someday claim her life kept at bay by a miracle drug. Forced to attend a Cancer Support Group by her parents, Hazel meets seventeen year old Augustus, in remission after sacrificing his leg to sarcoma.

Rarely has a book left me feeling so conflicted, The Fault in Our Stars is moving, poignant, funny and charming. I teared up several times, laughed out loud, smiled like a goon and sighed heavily. I read it in a few frantic hours and refused to look up. I cared about Hazel, fell in love with Augustus, sympathised with their families, wanted to smack the douche bag drunken author about the head with his own book. In short I adored it.

The thing is The Fault in Our Stars has plenty of flaws too. It is emotionally manipulative, it often contradicts it’s own intent to be subversive and it is at times it’s terribly glib. I tried to care, but in the end I had to simply let it go.

The Fault of Our Stars is incredible – not perfect – but compelling and masterfully crafted. What more is there to say?

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Review: Web of Deceit by Katherine Howell

 

 

Title: Web of Deceit {Detective Ella Marconi #6}

Author: Katherine Howell

Published: Macmillan February 2013

Synopsis: When paramedics Jane and Alex encounter a man refusing to get out of his crashed car with bystanders saying he deliberately drove into a pole, it looks like a desperate cry for help. His frantic claim that someone is out to get him adds to their thinking that he is delusional. Later that day he is found dead under a train in what might be a suicide, but Jane is no longer so sure…Detective Ella Marconi shares Jane’s doubts, which are only compounded when the case becomes increasingly tangled. Then, just when she thinks she’s closing in on the right person, a shocking turn of events puts more people in danger and might just see the killer slip through her hands

Status: Read from January 29 to 30, 2013 — I own a copy {Courtesy Pan Macmillan Australia}

My Thoughts:

Once I started Web of Deceit I couldn’t put it down, which led to a very late night given I had intended, at midnight, to read only a chapter or two before getting some sleep. I really should have known better as I always find Howell’s series to be compulsive page turners, packed with intrigue, action and excitement.

Web of Deceit opens as Sydney paramedics Jane and Alex attend a minor car accident. The driver, Marko Meixner, blames the incident on a stalker and even though his almost incoherent ravings suggest a psychiatric disorder, Jane wonders if there might be some truth in what he is saying. Unfortunately there is little more they can do other than deliver him to the local hospital and notify the staff of their concerns. The incident is quickly forgotten as they continue on with their day, Alex’s mind is on his rebellious teenage daughter and Jane is simply eager for their shift to finish so she can rendezvous with her secret lover. Nearing the end of shift, Jane and Alex are annoyed when they are called to extricate a body from under a city train, but when they identify the corpse as the morning’s patient, Jane feels compelled to share her concerns with the on scene detective, Ella Marconi and her partner. Now it is up to the detectives to determine is Marko fell, pushed or jumped in front of the train, dragging them into a tangled web of secrets, lies and violence.

While Ella and Murray follow paper trails, badger unreliable and reluctant witnesses and try to avoid the censure of their penny pinching captain, they become convinced that Marko was in fact murdered. Their prime suspect is a newly released parolee who was incarcerated after Marko testified against him for murder more than a decade previously, but they can’t easily dismiss Marko’s boss and his partner, who have been siphoning the company’s funds. As always I love the realism Howell injects into the police procedure – mountains of paperwork, petty office politics, leads that don’t pan out and the sheer leg work to solve a case.

Detective Ella Marconi is the anchor of this series, but in each book Howell introduces a new paramedic team that are integral to the plot, ensuring the series never goes stale and the installments work well as stand alone novels. The paramedics contribute their own subplots as Howell skillfully weaves the personal and professional stories of each character into the main storyline, often with surprising crossover. In Web of Deceit, Jane is dealing with her ex-husband’s crazed wife and her new lover’s secret identity while Alex is struggling with PTSD and a recalcitrant daughter. Both are fully realised, complex and likeable characters.

The patients, victims and perpetrators are also of interest in the story. Rarely is any character, even the villain, a convenient stereotype. Howell demonstrates insight into the emotions and motivations of each – a wronged wife, a frightened girlfriend, a frantic father, heightening the tension by connecting the reader with characters that feel familiar.

Web of Deceit is Katherine’s sixth novel, and I think has edged out the others in the series as my favourite by the slimmest of margins. Fast paced, slick and utterly absorbing this is a fabulous read which I recommend without reserve.

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The Ella Marconi Series

Book 5