Review: Paper Chains by Nicola Moriarty

 

Title: Paper Chains

Author: Nicola Moriarty

Published: Random House Australia February 2013

Synopsis: A heart-warming story of love, friendship and forgiveness – and the crazy twists of fate that shape our lives… Hannah and India are new best friends. Although true friendship means always telling each other the truth, doesn’t it…? Hannah, you see, is running from her life back in Sydney. Now in London, she’s trying to put the past behind her, and finding this amazing new friend is a positive step forward. If only she could stop punishing herself for what she did. India knows Hannah is hiding something big, and she’s determined to figure it out. Fast. Because India has a secret of her own… One that is currently sealed in a love letter that’s making its journey across Europe in the most unconventional way. Before it reaches its destination, can India help Hannah learn to forgive herself? And will Hannah wake up and realise that India needs rescuing too …? Read an extract

Status: Read from January 28 to 29, 2013 — I own a copy {Courtesy Random House/Netgalley}

My Thoughts:

I was charmed by Nicola Moriarty’s debut novel, Free-Falling and I have been looking forward to the release of Paper Chains. This wonderful contemporary adult novel reveals the secrets of two young Australian women, India and Hannah, who meet while in London.

The deceptively lighthearted introduction to Paper Chains slowly gives way to a compelling tale of heartbreak, loss and hope.
As backpacker India considers her next travel destination, she chooses to befriend the shy and fragile Hannah, seeing her as “…an opportunity, a new project – someone to fix, someone to save” but in truth, Hannah is a distraction for India whose open facade hides heartbreaking secrets of her own.
Hannah is drawn to India’s confidence and warmth, despite being uncomfortable with accepting her attention. Her life in England is a self administered punishment and friendship offers her solace she doesn’t feel she deserves.

With careful timing and sensitivity Moriarty reveals Hannah’s painful secret, one that saw her flee Australia for London, hiding in a grimy flat and punishing herself for her regrets. It focuses on an issue that surprised me for a number of reasons, though none I can reveal without inadvertently giving too much away, and is explored with compassion by the author.
Hannah’s palpable misery distracts from India’s own secret – one that is drifting around the world in the form of a letter addressed simply to Simon, The Aella, a journey we follow in between chapters of the story. There are hints that not all is as it seems with India, from her conflicted feelings about the aforementioned Simon to her determination to rescue Hannah and I was probably more prepared for India’s shocking secret than Hannah’s, but that doesn’t lessen the impact of tragedy, even though it is tempered with hope and love.

Written with compassion and genuine insight, Paper Chains is a poignant tale of friendship, family and forgiveness that will touch your heart. Fans of Monica McInerney, Cecilla Ahern and Anna McPartlin should embrace Nicola Moriarty, and expect more great things to come from this talented author.

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Review: The Rainbow Troops by Andrea Hirata

 

 

Title: The Rainbow Troops

Author: Andrea Hirata

Published: Vintage January 2013

Synopsis: Ikal is a student at Muhammadiyah Elementary, on the Indonesian island of Belitong, where graduating from sixth grade is considered a major achievement. His school is under constant threat of closure. In fact, Ikal and his friends – a group called The Rainbow Troops – face threats from every angle: pessimistic, corrupt government officials; greedy corporations hardly distinguishable from the colonialism they’ve replaced; deepening poverty and crumbling infrastructure; and their own faltering self-confidence. But in the form of two extraordinary teachers, they also have hope, and Ikal’s education is an uplifting one, in and out of the classroom.

Status: Read from January 22 to 24, 2013 — I own a copy {Courtesy Random House Australia}

My Thoughts:

The Rainbow Troops is a remarkable debut novel by a young man who once promised his schoolteacher he would write a book in her honor. Inspired by Hirata’s own childhood experiences on the tiny, isolated island of Belitong, on the east coast of Sumatra, this is the poignant story of ten young children from among the islands poorest families, and their struggle to gain the education they are guaranteed under Indonesian law.

On his first day at Belitong’s only free school, Muhammadiyah Elementary, Ikal breathes a sigh of relief when the tenth child the school needs to remain operational appears at enrollment at the last minute, saving him from being sent to work as a helper at the grocery market or a coolie (labourer) for the miners or fishermen to supplement his family’s meagre income. As he takes his seat in the ramshackle building which contains not much more than a chalkboard and a few desks and chairs he marvels at the opportunity he has been given, ignoring the leaking roof, “…a roof with leaks so large that students see planes flying in the sky and have to hold umbrellas while studying on rainy days”, crumbling concrete floors and missing wall planks. In front of Ikal stands fifteen year old Bus Mus, the new class teacher, and school supervisor, Pak Harfan. Beside him sits nine other children, the Rainbow Troops.

Though simply written, this is an inspiring tale of struggle against adversity told with warmth, humour and tenderness. The children, the Rainbow Troops, will capture your heart as Ikal shares their stories, recounting his friends achievements, triumphs and tragedies as they struggle to claim their right to an education. There is Lintang who leaves his home at dawn to pedal the 40km to school each day, dodging crocodiles and wading through flood waters, never missing a day, Mahar whose imagination entertains them all with stories and Haran who sits, smiling happily, in class even though he doesn’t understand a word. learning what becomes of these ten (later 11) children is both heartbreaking and revealing.

The Rainbow Troops is also a story of quiet rebellion. Belitong lies in the shadow of the giant PN tin mining company who, with government approval, strip the land of its riches while caring nothing for its native citizens. Muhammadiyah Elementary educates its students with few resources, it’s teachers are unpaid and it is constantly threatened with closure but it fights the injustice with everything it has.

It is impossible to read The Rainbow Troops and not be moved by such an incredible story that is more fact than fiction. With memorable characters, irresistible charm and touching simplicity, this is a story that reminds us to appreciate what we have but also to strive for what we want most. This is a story the world should know.

‘Laskar Pelangi’ was a phenomenal success when published in Indonesia in 2005, an immediate bestseller, spawning a TV series and film. This is the first of four novels Hirata has penned in the interim, and the first to be translated into English, now on the cusp of global release.

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Win a copy of our Book of the Month for January 2013 – THE RAINBOW TROOPS – the Indonesian record-breaking bestseller, in the tradition of Slumdog Millionaire and Shantaram.

 

Review: Trapped by Kevin Hearne

Title: Trapped {Iron Druid Chronicles #5}

Author: Kevin Hearne

Published: Del Rey November 2012

Synopsis: After twelve years of secret training, Atticus O’Sullivan is finally ready to bind his apprentice, Granuaile, to the earth and double the number of Druids in the world. But on the eve of the ritual, the world that thought he was dead abruptly discovers that he’s still alive, and they would much rather he return to the grave. Having no other choice, Atticus, his trusted Irish wolfhound, Oberon, and Granuaile travel to the base of Mount Olympus, where the Roman god Bacchus is anxious to take his sworn revenge—but he’ll have to get in line behind an ancient vampire, a band of dark elves, and an old god of mischief, who all seem to have KILL THE DRUID at the top of their to-do lists

Status: Read from October 29 to 30, 2012 — I own a copy {Courtesy Del Rey/NetGalley}

My Thoughts:

The Iron Druid Chronicles is a favourite urban fantasy series of mine. Debuting in 2011, Books 1 through to 4 were published in quick succession so it feels like it has been a long wait for Trapped, the fifth installment, featuring Atticus, Oberon, Granuaile and a host of mythical figures.

Trapped begins twelve years after the events of Tricked (the gap broken by Hearne’s short story ( click  for my review of Two Ravens and One Crow), just as Atticus is ready to complete Granuaile’s binding. Before it can begin, they are interrupted by a Slavic thunder god fleeing a freed Loki whose release from captivity is said to herald the start of Ragnarok – the burning of the earth. Atticus’s adventure into the realm of the Norse Gods (in Hammered) and making an enemy of Hel – the Goddess of the Dead (in Tricked), as well as various Roman and Greek Olympian gods, seems to have brought forward the prophesied apocalypse and he is ordered to fix it by Odin and Frigg. What follows is a frantic game of hide and seek as Atticus tries to avoid being sucked dry by vampires, assassinated by dark elves, torn apart by vengeful Gods and revealing his true feelings for Granuaile so he can finish initiating the first new Druid bound to Gaia in more than a thousand years.

Action packed and fast paced, I still adore Hearne’s twists on mythology and the manner in which he involves them all in the series from North American Indian skinwalkers to the fae of celtic lore and and introduces yet more – in this case the Svartalfar, or dark elves. The plot of Trapped is fairly complex as Atticus and Granuaile are the targets of many, all with differing agenda’s and not able to trust anyone fully, except each other.

Atticus is a fantastic yet flawed character. Often arrogant and sometimes selfish his actions come back to haunt him in this installment and he is has some serious penance to do. To his credit, Atticus takes responsibility for his poor choices and does what he can to make amends, even at the risk of his own life. The romance that sparks to life with Granuaile is not unexpected and I’m glad it has finally blossomed though I am not sure The Morrigan is going to be too impressed when she figures it out. It was great to witness Granuaile finally come into her own in Trapped – she surpasses her master in may ways and proves to be formidable partner in battle. Oberon is, of course, his usual lovable self, often more quick-witted than both of his human companions (and always craving bacon).

Originally, Hearne planned The Iron Druid Chronicles as a six book series, I sincerely hope he has changed his mind because I couldn’t bear to think that the next book will be the last for Atticus, Granuaile and Oberon. If you enjoy urban fantasy I highly recommend this series though it’s not one you can join midstream so start with Hounded, you won’t be sorry.

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Review: The One Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed out The Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson

Title: The One Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared

Author: Jonas Jonasson

Published: Allen & Unwin September 2012

Synopsis: Sitting quietly in his room in an old people’s home, Allan Karlsson is waiting for a party he doesn’t want to begin. His one-hundredth birthday party to be precise. The Mayor will be there. The press will be there. But, as it turns out, Allan will not . . .Escaping (in his slippers) through his bedroom window, into the flowerbed, Allan makes his getaway. And so begins his picaresque and unlikely journey involving a suitcase full of cash, a few thugs, a very friendly hot-dog stand operator, a few deaths, an elephant and incompetent police. As his escapades unfold, Allan’s earlier life is revealed. A life in which – remarkably – he played a key role behind the scenes in some of the momentous events of the twentieth century.

Status: Read from September 28 to October 01, 2012 — I own a copy {Courtesy Allen & Unwin Australia}

My Thoughts:

This quirky, funny and clever novel follows the present and past adventures of the endearing Swedish centenarian, Allan Karlsson. Less than an hour before his 100th birthday celebration, Allan climbs out of the ground floor window of his nursing home with no real plan other than to avoid all the fuss. Contemplating his next move at the local bus station, he is asked to mind a young man’s suitcase and hoping it’s contents may be useful, absconds with it on the next bus out of town. What follows is an absurd adventure as Allen is hunted by the criminal gang who wants the $50million crowns in the grey suitcase back and the police concerned for his well being, all the while collecting unusual allies in his wake.

Allan’s life, we learn, is characterised by an extraordinary mix of luck and hubris. Endlessly optimistic and resourceful, as Allan travels across Sweden with the grey suitcase variously accompanied by a master thief, a hot dog seller, a red headed woman who spews profanity and an elephant named Sonya, we learn of his astounding personal history. Once an orphaned explosives expert, Allan’s skill and his willingness to go wherever life takes him leads him around the globe at the behest of presidents, prime ministers and world leaders. Primarily motivated by good food and vodka, the apolitical, atheist Allen unwittingly plays a integral part in key moments of history from the creation of the Atom Bomb to preventing the assassination of Winston Churchill and giving Richard Nixon the idea that lead to the Watergate Scandal. The intertwining past and present narratives work wonderfully to create a picture of Allan’s incredible life and somehow, despite the preposterous connections and unlikely predicaments, it is a journey that seems perfectly plausible.

Translated from the author’s native Swedish, the writer’s voice has a unique tone that works beautifully with the black humor and wry observation in this novel. The pace is excellent as Jonasson skillfully blends historical fact with fanciful fiction, eccentric comedy with social commentary.

It’s fitting that I read The One Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window and Disappeared sipping on a Vodka ‘Cruiser’, I only wish I could have shared it with Allan. Charming, sharp and inventive, this novel has earned a place on my favourites list and comes with my sincere recommendation.

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Proof ;D

If you are an Australian resident – I have great news! Allen & Unwin are offering you the chance to win one electronic edition of this novel.

Click Here to Enter

(Entries close Sunday 21st October. Winner selected via random.org)

 

Thrill Week II Review: After the Darkness by Honey Brown

Title: After The Darkness

Author: Honey Brown

Published: Viking  August 2012

Synopsis: Trudy and Bruce Harrison have a happy marriage, a successful business, and three teenage children. One fateful day they take the winding coastal route home, and visit the Ocean View Gallery, perched on the cliff edge. It’s not listed in any tourist pamphlet. The artist runs the gallery alone. There are no other visitors. Within the maze of rooms the lone couple begin to feel uneasy – and with good reason.  Trudy and Bruce will be ripped from the safe, secure fabric of their life and will have their world turned upside down and shaken. Attacked, trapped and brutalised, they barely escape the gallery with their lives – only to find there’s no real getting away

Status: Read on September 06, 2012 — I own a copy {Courtesy Penguin Australia}

My Thoughts:

I’d been wanting to read After The Darkness for months and Thrill Week finally provided the perfect opportunity. I picked it up to read a few chapters before bedtime and found myself, at 3am, turning the final page.

In After the Darkness, Trudy and Bruce Harrison are on their way home after a relaxing week away when a sign for the Ocean View Gallery captures their attention. Stepping inside the unusual building they are confronted by a maze of rooms and disquieting sculptures of glass, wood and stone. They dismiss their feelings of unease, admiring the breathtaking vista of the ocean, and accept the gallery owner’s offer of coffee. Just minutes later, Bruce is unconscious and as Trudy fights to rouse her husband she is blinded with chemical spray and then bound. Disorientated and terrified the couple are at the mercy of their sadistic captor but with strength born from abject fear they manage to kill the man and escape. In shock, Bruce and Trudy return home, collect their children and try to piece their lives back together but they are haunted by those few hours in the house on the hill and their once charmed lives begin to spiral out of control.

The opening chapters of After the Darkness are gripping. Lulled into complacency by the pleasure of a leisurely drive along The Great Ocean Road and the normality of browsing an art gallery on a warm, sunny day the terror Bruce and Trudy encounter is a sharp, shocking contrast. The first person point of view includes the reader in the journey, I know my own heart began to race as the the drug began to take effect and Trudy’s confusion turned to desperate panic. Brown captures the psychological horror of being powerless, facing seemingly certain torture and death at the hands of a mad man. I breathed a sigh of relief at their escape but as the title suggests, it is what comes after that is the focus of this novel.

“I think a part of me knew even then we weren’t leaving, not really. Some things you don’t escape from.”p50

As their bruises ripen and the immediate shock fades the horror does not recede as they hoped and the Harrisons’ struggle with the facade of ordinary life. Reaching out to the police results in their claims being summarily dismissed. That leaves the Harrison’s with few options and Brown allows us to witness the couple’s slow disintegration from post traumatic stress. Both of them operate in a kind of fog, going through the motions but crippled by flashbacks and paranoia. They make poor decisions that exacerbate their feelings of loss of control. Trudy is led astray by a new tenant in one of their properties, Bruce thinks only of making someone pay. Normality blurs – truth and lies, right and wrong, everything tainted by frustrated fear and anger until Trudy and Bruce spiral into the darkness they so desperately tries to escape. This novel reveals it is not enough to just survive a terrible event, it must be overcome.

It should be noted that in an unusual move it is Bruce, not Trudy, who is the target of their sexually predatory captor, allowing Brown to explore a type of victimology rarely featured in fiction. It is Bruce’s shame that drives his reaction to the incident, a desperate need to deny what had happened to him coupled with the eventual need to reassert his masculinity with aggression and control. It is his shame that ensures Trudy’s silence and her guilt at escaping the worst of the abuse in the gallery.

Once begun, I couldn’t put After The Darkness down, caught up in the story of the Harrison’s inexorable slide towards destruction. The pacing is compelling, the creeping tension superb and the journey unpredictable. After the Darkness is a stunning psychological thriller that examines the stain on the soul true terror leaves behind.

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Review: Burning Lies by Helene Young

 

Title: Burning Lies

Author: Helene Young

Published: Michael Joseph July 2012

Synopsis: Kaitlyn Scott is searching for the truth about her husband’s death, even if that means revisiting the most painful day of her life. But what she uncovers is a criminal willing to stop at nothing to keep his secret. Ryan O’Donnell, an enigmatic undercover cop, is investigating arson attacks when he is drawn into Kaitlyn’s world. He tries to fight his attraction for her, hoping the case might put his own demons to rest, but it only threatens to push him over the edge. With Kaitlyn and Ryan on a collision course, the arsonist seizes the chance to settle some old scores. As the Atherton Tableland burns, the three of them are caught in a fiery dance of danger and desire, and not everyone will come out alive. Read an Excerpt

Status: Read from June 25 to 26, 2012 — I own a copy {Courtesy Penguin/Netgalley}

My Thoughts:

I’ve been eagerly awaiting the publication of Burning Lies, the third in a series of romantic suspense novels by Australian author, Helene Young. Set in far north Queensland the books are loosely linked by character and environment. Burning Lies features Kaitlyn Scott, a Border Watch officer who works with Morgan (Shattered Sky) and Lauren (Wings of Fear), and Ryan O’Donnell, (Wings of Fear), an undercover federal officer. With plenty of action, sizzling romance and page turning suspense, Burning Lies is a fast paced, exciting novel.

Burning Lies is literally more grounded than either Shattered Sky or Wings of Fear. Though Kaitlyn works for the airborne coastal border protection service featured in the previous novels, most of the action in this story takes place amongst the landscape of the Atherton Tablelands. Burning Lies sees Young’s characters caught up in the investigation of deliberately lit bushfires during the height of summer.
For Kaitlyn, the bushfires stir painful memories. Five years ago her husband was accused of setting the devastating Canberra fires that he and Kaitlyn’s father died in. Anxious to protect her young son and mother from a repeat of the tragedy, Kaitlyn’s home is as fire proof as possible and she volunteers as a rural fire service member, but all her defenses may still not be enough against a determined arsonist.
In Wings of Fear, Ryan was working undercover in a bikie gang accused of human trafficking. While the operation was successful, Ryan didn’t escape unscathed and now is targeted by the gang. He has been sent to Northern Queensland, not only to escape the men looking for him but also to identify a suspected arsonist at work in the area. Ryan’s cover has him as a city firefighter on leave who joins the local volunteer rural fire service, while living at a property next door to Kaitlyn.
Kaitlyn and Ryan are well fleshed out protagonists, each battling their own internal demons while facing external challenges. Their relationship begins with a spark of instant attraction and builds through the novel, complicated by their circumstances. I really appreciate the way in which the author develops the romantic relationships in her novels, skillfully creating an attraction that blooms naturally.
The plot of Burning Lies is fast paced and builds suspense from the opening pages. Not only do the fires pose a real danger to the characters, Kaitlyn is being stalked and Ryan is being hunted. There is mystery surrounding the identity of the firebug and the truth of what happened during the fires Canberra and when the climax comes everything falls in to place, leaving the reader breathless.

Burning Lies is a fantastic read, unique but with all the action, adventure, mystery and romance found in both Shattered Sky and Wings of Fear. Helene Young is one of my favourite authors and I am already eagerly awaiting her next book!

Please stop by later today for your chance to learn more about Helene Young and WIN a signed copy of Burning Lies!

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About the Author

Helene Young lives in Trinity Beach, on the edge of the Great Barrier Reef in North Queensland. Her work as a senior captain with a major regional airline takes her all over the east coast of Australia. She is the RUBY-award-winning author of the popular romantic suspense novels Wings of Fear and Shattered Sky. In 2011 she was voted by the Romance Writers of Australia as the country’s most popular romance novelist.

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Review: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

 

Review: Gone Girl

Author: Gillian Flynn

Published: Crown Publishing June 2012

Synopsis: “‘What are you thinking, Amy? The question I’ve asked most often during our marriage, if not out loud, if not to the person who could answer. I suppose these questions stormcloud over every marriage: What are you thinking? How are you feeling? Who are you? What have we done to each other? What will we do?’” Just how well can you ever know the person you love? This is the question that Nick Dunne must ask himself on the morning of his fifth wedding anniversary, when his wife Amy suddenly disappears. The police immediately suspect Nick. Amy’s friends reveal that she was afraid of him, that she kept secrets from him. He swears it isn’t true. A police examination of his computer shows strange searches. He says they aren’t his. And then there are the persistent calls on his mobile phone. So what did really did happen to Nick’s beautiful wife? And what was left in that half-wrapped box left so casually on their marital bed? In this novel, marriage truly is the art of war..

Status: Read from June 03 to 04, 2012 — I own a copy {Courtesy Crown Publishing/Netgalley}

My Thoughts:

I have no idea how to review this book without inadvertently revealing something that will spoil it for a reader, so it may be the shortest review I have written in a while.

After a slightly slow start I was gripped by this chilling, tangled tale of love, hate and revenge. The plot is complex yet startlingly simple on reflection. The twists are incredible, lulled into believing one thing, I actually drew in a breath of shock each time Flynn flipped the direction of the story on its head. Flynn plays brilliantly on our own prejudices about class, marriage, money, domestic violence and infidelity and delves deeply into the psyche of two ordinary yet shocking personalities.

Just as I thought I had a handle on the characters of Amy and Nick, I would be side swiped by a revelation I hadn’t considered. What you think you know about these people, their marriage, their life can never be relied on. Guilt and blame is assigned and then shifted and it isn’t until the end you have any idea where you stand, and even then…

Brilliant and disturbing in equal measure Gone Girl is an engrossing read, don’t be fooled by the brevity of this review – I just don’t want to spoil anything for you! Gone Girl won’t be for everyone, but I found it simply astonishing.

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Review: The Betrayal by Y.A. Erskine

Title: The Betrayal

Author: Y.A. Erskine

Published: Bantam Australia May 2012

Synopsis: Tasmania is in the grip of one of the longest, bleakest winters on record and it’s particularly icy at the Hobart Police Station. Of the many golden rules in policing, one is especially sacred: what happens at work stays at work. So when a naive young constable, Lucy Howard, makes an allegation of sexual assault against a respected colleague, the rule is well and truly broken. Soon the station is divided. From Lucy’s fellow rookies right up to the commissioner himself – everyone must take a side. With grudges, prejudices and hidden agendas coming into play, support arrives from the unlikeliest of corners. But so too does betrayal . Read an Excerpt

Status: Read on May 14, 2012 — I own a copy {Courtesy Random House Australia}

My Thoughts:

Linked to The Brotherhood, the stunning debut by Australian crime author, and ex-police officer, Y.A. Erskine, The Betrayal is as equally compelling.

“Not drunk. Had sex. No hangover. No memory.”

It’s been two weeks since Constable Lucy Howard shared a celebratory drink with a trusted colleague, Special Operation Group officer Nick Greaves and woke up naked in his bed with no idea what happened in between. Blaming one too many drinks Lucy fled, disgusted with herself for betraying her boyfriend and decided to forget it ever happened. It’s not until she is taking the statement of a victim of sexual assault that she realises that Nick had drugged and raped her and takes the extraordinarily brave step of making an official complaint against the popular constable. In a case of he said/she said, Lucy’s allegation rocks the Tasmanian police force to it’s core, exposing an ugly vein of misogyny, corruption and betrayal.
The Betrayal is linked to The Brotherhood primarily by its cast, Lucy Howard, for example, was the rookie constable who was partnering Sergeant John White when he was killed in the line of duty. Erskine also picks up threads of the story left unfinished in The Brotherhood, giving us some insight in to the longer term fall out for those involved in the case, including the perpetrator. The same format is used to tell the story, a third person narrative divided amongst thirteen characters, many of them familiar such as Detective Will Torino, the journalist, Tim Roberts, and Constable Cameron Walsh. As the story unfolds, the shifts in view provide a different perspective of not only the case involving Lucy and Nick but also a wider view of the force as Erskine continues to explore corruption in the police force.
The Betrayal is as confronting as The Brotherhood, perhaps more so because of the nature of the incident and Erskine’s brutal honesty about the legal outcomes for victims of sexual assault. Lucy is well aware that prosecution is unlikely but decides that as a police officer, and for her own peace of mind, she must report Nick no matter the consequences. As an elite member of SOG, Nick has an enviable status amongst the force, on top of which he is handsome and charming. Much like in any sexual assault case, stereotypical attitudes come in to play and are exacerbated by the status of the defendant. Lucy is accused of false reporting, targeted in a smear campaign, harassed and physically threatened. Nick’s mates rally to protect not only his reputation but also their own secrets and I honestly felt sick at a scene where a few of Lucy’s female colleagues trash her gleefully. When I learnt that the initial events of The Betrayal are a thinly veiled admission of an incident in Erskine’s own eleven year police career I was stunned. Erskine confesses she decided not to press charges against her assailant, certain her case wouldn’t have stood a chance and unwilling to be further victimised by the media, the system and her colleagues. Lucy’s story then is a case of ‘what if?’ and unfortunately, as disturbing as it is, I think it’s entirely possible it would have been much worse than what Erskine has imagined.

The Betrayal is a confronting but utterly compelling novel, Erskine exposes the underbelly of policing that society prefers to remain ignorant of. Dark, gritty and raw I was fascinated and repulsed in almost equal measure. This is a stunning piece of crime fiction and I recommend The Betrayal, and The Brotherhood, without reservation.

I am thrilled that later today, Yvette Erskine will be a guest of Book’d Out as part of my AWW feature. Make sure you stop back to learn more about Erskine and the story behind the story of The Betrayal.

*Just an FYI: It is estimated that in Australia only 1 in 10 cases of sexual assault that go before the courts result in any conviction and in 60% of those cases the defendant pleads guilty to a lesser charge.(Australian Institute of Criminology 2009)

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About the Author

Y.A. Erskine spent eleven years in the Tasmania Police Service. She was active in front-line policing and served as a detective in the CIB. She is also an historian with an honours degree in early modern history. Y.A. Erskine lives in Melbourne and is happily married with two dogs.

AWW Feature & Review: Chatting with Malla Nunn about Silent Valley

Malla Nunn grew up in Swaziland before moving with her parents to Perth in the 1970s. She attended university in WA, and then the US. In New York, she worked on film sets, wrote her first screenplay and met her American husband-to-be, before returning to Australia where she began writing and directing short films and corporate videos. Fade to White, Sweetbreeze and Servant of the Ancestors have won numerous awards and have shown at international film festivals from Zanzibar to New York.  Malla’s first novel, A Beautiful Place To Die won the 2009 Sisters in Crime (Australia) Davitt Award for Best Adult Crime Novel,  and was shortlisted in 2010 for Edgar Award. Let the Dead Lie, the second in her Detective Emmanuel series, was released in 2010 and Silent Valley has been released this month. Malla and her husband live in Sydney with their two children.

I was given the wonderful opportunity by Pan Macmillan Australia to chat with Malla Nunn and ask her a few questions about her Detective Emmanuel crime series. Malla was incredibly gracious, especially given my nervousness. I couldn’t find my proper microphone so I chatted to Malla with my phone on speaker and a Wii Sing microphone held up to the receiver.  For that reason you will find you need to turn your speakers all the way up to hear us. We talk up a storm and though I kept it to just half an hour, I could have talked to her all day.

Click here to listen to my chat with  Malla Nunn

(MP3 approx : 30 mins long).

As you listen,  read my five star review of Silent Valley.

Title: Silent Valley (released in the US as Blessed Are the Dead)

Author: Malla Nunn

Published: Pan Macmillan May 2012

Synopsis: A remote town. A girl of rare and exquisite beauty. A murder that silences a whole community. The body of a seventeen-year-old girl has been found covered in wildflowers on a hillside in the Drakensberg Mountains, near Durban. She is the daughter of a Zulu chief, destined to fetch a high bride price. Was Amahle as innocent as her family claims, or is her murder a sign that she lived a secret life? Detective Sergeant Emmanuel Cooper is sent to investigate. He must enter the guarded worlds of a traditional Zulu clan and a white farming community to gather up the clues Amahle left behind and bring her murderer to justice. But the silence in the valley is deafening, and it seems that everyone – from the uncooperative local police officer, to the white farm boy who seems obsessed with the dead girl – has something to hide. With no cause of death and no motive, Cooper’s investigation is blocked at each turn. Can he tough it out, or will the small-town politics that stir up his feelings about the past be more than he can bear? In this page-turning tale of murder and mystery, Nunn entangles us in a rich and complex web of witchcraft, tribalism, taboo relationships… and plain old-fashioned greed

Status: Read from April 24 to 25, 2012 — I own a copy {Courtesy the publisher}

My Thoughts:

After finishing Let The Dead Lie I was eager to dive into Silent Valley, the third installment of Malla Nunn’s Detective Emmanuel Copper series set in Southern Africa in the 1950′s. Silent Valley picks up a short time after Let The Dead Lie ends with Emmanuel on his first real case since being reinstated to the force. Along with Native Constable Samuel Shabalala, Colonel van Niekerk has sent Emmanuel to a small rural town where a homicide has been reported, what they find is the posed body of a dead Zulu girl, the daughter of a local cheiftan, with no visible signs of injury. Though under orders to wrap the investigation quickly and return to Durban, solving the murder is proving to be difficult being as it is complicated by a lazy local cop, a corrupt station owner, an arrogant chief and a reluctant doctor. Finding Mr Insurance Policy might just crack the case wide open, but things are never quite that simple for Detective Emmanuel Cooper.

The plotting of Silent Valley is superb, there are numerous twists and turns that kept me guessing almost the entire way through the novel. Emmanuel and Shabalala have to use every bit of their combined knowledge and skills to find the murderer and, as usual, Emmanuel can’t help but step on a few toes in the process. He puts the town’s Constable offside almost immediately by questioning his competence, while a powerful white local family, the son of whom is a suspect, wants the whole matter quashed and pulls strings within the CID to place pressure on Emmanuel. It seems that everyone is this community has secrets that would prefer remain hidden and none take kindly to Emmanuel investigating them. Emmanuel is not willing to give up though and continues to follow leads even those that seem to pull him in opposite directions.
I really liked the way Shabalala’s unique skills are brought the the fore in Silent Valley. The Zulu culture is an important feature of the story and as a Shangaan Zulu, Shabalala helps interpret the beliefs and motives of the local Zulu tribe. His tracking and keen observation abilities are also integral to Emmanuel considering and dismissing suspects and Shabalala gains more confidence in his partnership with Emmanuel in this more familiar setting.
It is Colonel Van Niekerk that insists on the involvement of Dr Zweigman in the case when the local medic, Dr Helen Dagliesh proves reluctant to assist with determining the cause of the girl’s death. The three men, Emmanuel, Shabalala and the Doctor, are a formidable team as always, but on this case, their refusal to back down results in a life threatening injury to the ‘old Jew’.

While solving the murder of Amahle remains the central focus of the novel, Nunn continues to explore the culture of Southern Africa in the 1950′s. The stark realities of Apartheid are ever present and Nunn also explores the conflict between white Afrikaners and the English.
Tribalism and witchcraft also play a part as the investigation involves a local Zulu tribe.

Silent Valley is my favourite of this high quality crime series so far and leaves me eager for the next. With intelligent writing, intriguing story and appealing characters, the Detective Emmanuel series should be on everybody’s reading list.

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Alternate Cover

Review: Night Beach by Kirsty Eagar

 

Title: Night Beach

Author: Kirsty Eagar

Published: Penguin Australia April 2012

Synopsis: Imagine there is someone you like so much that just thinking about them leaves you desperate and reckless. You crave them in a way that’s not rational, not right, and you’re becoming somebody you don’t recognise, and certainly don’t respect, but you don’t even care.  And this person you like is unattainable. Except for one thing… He lives downstairs.  Abbie has three obsessions. Art. The ocean. And Kane.  But since Kane’s been back, he’s changed. There’s a darkness shadowing him that only Abbie can see. And it wants her in its world. Read an Extract

Status: Read on April 25, 2012 — I own a copy {Courtesy Penguin Australia}

My Thoughts:

Raw Blue was one of my favourite novels of 2011 so I have been looking forward to the release of Kirsty Eagars third book, Night Beach. Combining the gritty emotional realism of Raw Blue and the supernatural element of Saltwater Vampires, Night Beach is a stunning novel, at its core it is a coming of age story but it is so much more than that. With breathtaking imagery, this atmospheric novel reveals what remains unseen.

In Night beach, Eager introduces seventeen year old Abigail who lives with her mother and stepfather with a view of the ocean from their home in suburban Sydney. On holiday during her final year of school, Abbie should be studying for her HSC and concentrating on completing her major work for Visual Arts but when her step cousin, Kane, returns from an overseas trip, Abbie’s world is thrown into turmoil. What begins as the story of a fairly ordinary, introspective teenage girl who dreams of becoming an artist with an unrequited crush, slides into something altogether ‘other’ as Abbie’s world shifts on its axis. She begins to see shadows – shadows that have an inexplicable malevolence. At first it seems likely that Abbie’s vivid imagination and emotional state are responsible for what she sees, Kane’s return has reignited her near obsessional desire for him. Yet there are things that are somehow ‘wrong’ that can’t explained by conventional understanding. Things like Abbie’s nightmares, the swaying of chandeliers when there is no breeze and Kane, Kane is somehow not the same.
Eagar weaves the ordinary with the supernatural with consummate skill never really confirming or denying the readers suspicions, leaving room for personal interpretation and speculation. The sense of disquiet, of something ‘other’, mounts so insidiously that I only gradually realised that Abbie was under threat and even then I was never exactly sure from whom, or what. In amongst the things that are ‘wrong’, Abbie’s life is fairly ordinary. She surfs, hangs out with friends ‘Hollywood’ and Max, babysits three year old ‘Joey’, struggles to master driving her manual car and mourns the changes in her relationships with her sister, father and mother. Abbie’s artistic leanings are an integral part of this novel, Eagar mentions several works that Abbie identifies with or refers to and I couldn’t resist looking them up online. They help to illustrate Abbie’s unique way of seeing not only light, colour and form but what is beneath what we see.
Her intense infatuation with Kane seems to be typical for a teenager. We know Kane, who is a few years older than Abbie, to be flawed with a history of drinking and drug taking, but ‘hot’ with obvious bad boy appeal. A semi pro surfer he has been filming in Indonesia but returned home early. It is as she gazes at Kane that Abbie first sees the shadow though she doesn’t recognise it for what it is. Is it a shadow that has attached itself to Kane, or is it simply Kane’s own shadow, his own darkness, that Abbie can somehow see?
I was completely engrossed in Night Beach, drowning in the atmosphere of anxiety and menace. It wasn’t uncommon for goosebumps to appear on my arms as I was reading Night Beach, actually even as I am writing this a shiver rolls down my spine as I remember the warning from Joey’s imaginary friend, Pinty, and Abbie’s fear of the storeroom door. I was almost convinced I could hear the buffering of waves against the shore in the distance. The landscape of Night Beach is pervasive, the beach is a place of warmth and beauty and light but just under the surface lurks cold currents, unseen threats and unfathomable depths. The culture of surfing plays into the novel perfectly, the joy of riding the waves tempered by the harsher reality of aggression and possessiveness.

Night Beach is a novel that got under my skin, complex, breathtaking and compelling, I can only insist you experience it for yourself. This is a story that stays with you, haunts you and despite its young adult label deserves an adult audience. Just as with Raw Blue, Night Beach has found a place amongst my favourite reads.

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About the Author

Kirsty Eagar grew up on a central Queensland cattle property and spent her school holidays at the beach. After studying economics, she worked on trading desks in Sydney and London before changing careers, wanting a life where she could surf every day. She travelled around Australia for a couple of years, living out of a car, worked a variety of jobs and began writing fiction. Her debut novel, Raw Blue, was published by Penguin in 2009, and won the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Young Adult fiction. Her second novel, Saltwater Vampires, was shortlisted for the 2011 NSW Premier’s Literary Awards. Kirsty lives with her husband and two daughters on Sydney’s northern beaches.

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