Snap reviews

The Irish Nurse at the Lodging House (Natalie Meg Evans, narrated by Emma Feeney, 4/5*)

The Irish Nurse at the Lodging house is an engaging read and an entertaining listen. I particularly enjoyed Emma Fenney’s narration.

I’m not usually drawn to this genre of historical fiction (World War II Britain), as it tends to be formulaic, with its plucky heroines, doughty military men and ‘ordinary folk’ braving air raids and rationing with stalwart resolve, all as predictable as a traditional British Christmas pudding. In fact, I steer clear of it, wary of the addictive nature of this cloying formula.

But oh, every now and then a bit of Christmas pudding is just irresistible! And The Irish Nurse at the Lodging House satisfies that craving admirably!

The main character is Grace Whelan, aka Grace Wheeler. She adopts a British name and accent to get a place as a private nurse to a bedridden wealthy woman, aunt to the dashing RAF pilot Owen Henderson. And she gets a bed in a lodging house, sharing a room with the socialite Bettany, who also has her sights on Owen. But Grace is Irish, working class and burdened by a dysfunctional family including a criminal brother, Cormac, who is evading national service.

Yes, there are clichés aplenty in this book, but they are forgivable: it’s a good yarn, well told, and it does what it says on the tin. So I’ll set my literary prejudices and snobbery aside to give it 4 stars.

The Beautiful Dead (Belinda Bauer, 2-4/5*)

Having read and really loved Bauer’s novel Exit, I was delighted to be given a review copy of The Beautiful Dead, only to listen to the entire thing feeling a little let down. I only found out after listening that it was published seven years before Exit. Aha, I thought, that explains it: her work has evolved. I found Exit to be much more original and clever. The Beautiful Dead is an excellent mystery novel, well written and with engaging characters, but it’s pretty standard fare.

For those who like the genre — evil serial killer, intrepid journalist on his tail, cat and mouse, high octane finish, yada yada yada — The Beautiful Dead delivers all the standard components in spades. Pacing is good, dialogue is good. But it’s a genre that I am thoroughly bored with. So I guess this is a Marmite book….

I’d give it 2 stars for myself, but up it to 4 stars because it does what it says on the tin.

If you find this review turns you off, hang on a minute – and seek out Exit. That’s a cracking good read.

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Physicist Detective vs. the Criminal Defense Lawyer (Raymond Marylowe – 2/5*)

I was excited to read The Physicist Detective vs. the Criminal Defense Lawyer based on the title and the blurb, including a quote describing it as a “genre-defying masterpiece”.

It was disappointing.

At first, I found it very funny. The police running in shouting that there has been a murder and they cannot solve it without the help of a detective physicist was funny. The writing style, so amateur (or naive) as to be quite hilarious. I was giggling as I read the first story. This read like a particularly silly Monty Python sketch — I could easily picture John Cleese in the main role.

For example, here’s a typical Monty Python-esque section where a man introduces himself:

“My name is Governor General Walter Conrad Vale Harlan Bishop. Perhaps you’ve heard of me!”
“Governor General Walter Conrad Vale Harlan Bishop!!” everyone at our table exclaims. “You’re that War Consultant, and one of the most influential men in America!”

The repetition of that ridiculous name is funny. Having everyone at the table respond in the same words at the same time is indeed amusing.

But… the joke wore thin. As the unlikely explanations abounded, as silly situation piled on silly situation, I got tired of it. The problem with using ‘every cliché in the book’ as a red thread in your story is that, no matter how ironically you do so, it eventually just starts to read like a story packed with annoying clichés.

Yes, it’s clever, it’s funny, it’s a silly, ridiculous romp and no doubt many readers will enjoy it. It just failed [for me] to fulfil the promise of the opening chapters.

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My Brilliant Demise (D.A. Hinckley – 3/5*)

My Brilliant Demise is a light and entertaining read, despite myriad plot holes. It was unclear to me if it was intended to be a serious warding-off-an-apocalypse thriller or a comedy: the characters are all said to be brilliant, in one way or another, but they behave rather stupidly and the story veers into farce at times.

I give it a 3-star rating (rather than 1 or 2) because despite its flaws it was kind of fun and held my attention to the end. It’s a decent beach-read.

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Pretty Face (Mark Dawson – 3/5*)

In Pretty Face, Isabella Rose is an assassin for hire, with a moral code that helps her determine which jobs she will accept. When tasked with eliminating a pilot, she does her own research to allay her doubts. Meanwhile, she’s trying to protect an orphanage in Marrakesh against a corrupt general who wants the site it’s on.

Pretty Face is part of a series, which I haven’t read, but it works as a standalone: it was easy to pick up enough about the background to easily follow what was going on and who was who.

It’s a decent thriller that kept me engaged and entertained on my daily walks. The narrator, David Thorpe, delivered an excellent reading. His clear diction and well-modulated voice made it an easy listen.

Just a 3-star rating for me, because while there was nothing really wrong, there was nothing that made Pretty Face rise above average or above my expectations. But go for it if the description appeals and you’re looking for a thriller with a female lead and plenty of action.

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Horrible Husbands (Jessica Huntley – 3/5*)

Horrible Husbands is a good read. It brings together three women, who have been friends for a long time and are catching up. Gradually they reveal to each other that they are each in a toxic relationship. Death ensues.

While I enjoyed reading it, Horrible Husbands seemed to be on the fence as to whether this was humour with a touch of farce, or a serious novel about manipulative control and domestic violence. As a reader, I was on the fence between enjoying the ride and weeping.

That said, there’s a lot to like about this thriller (euh, if you’re a woman, I suppose), despite a few flaws in emotional pitch. It’s pretty gripping.

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Murder at Raven’s Hollow (Louise Marley – 3/5*)

Murder At Raven’s Hollow is the third book in a series. Having not read the others, I found it worked very well as a standalone.

D.S. Harriet March and D.I. Ben Taylor are investigating a murder after human bones are discovered at Raven’s Hollow under the ruins of an old greenhouse. I found the book brought the village and scenes to life very vividly, and the characters were unique and interesting. March’s mother in particular, a raging narcissist, was one of my favourite characters.

The mystery is indeed intriguing and I enjoyed the plotting as the connections between the various characters in the village are gradually revealed.

Murder At Raven’s Hollow is a decent cozy mystery that I enjoyed reading, but not special enough to make me seek out the other books in the series.

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How to Get Away with Murder (Tam Barnett – 2/5*)

This was an easy read but I found the entire thing way too far fetched. For me, suspension of disbelief is one of the most important things a novel needs to do, and this didn’t. Kelli’s actions are not credible at any point, and I found myself quite impatient. Also, I didn’t find any humour in it, dark or otherwise. It was a bit of a struggle to finish it.

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The Party (Tessa Hadley – 3/5*)

I loved the other Tessa Hadley novels I’ve read, but this one didn’t grab me. I didn’t particularly engage with the characters or really care what happened. But Hadley’s writing is as wonderful as always. It’s short (a novella) so perfect for anyone who wants to read well written short fiction.

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The Little Clothes (Deborah Callahan – 4/5*)

The Little Clothes is an excellent book. It’s moving but also quite disturbing.

Audrey is a lawyer, 38, single. The earlier part of the book shows how isolated she is, despite going to the office and regularly seeing her parents and a pub quiz group of so-called friends. She moves among them but is essentially invisible to them. They take her attention, but give her none. One night she takes a bottle of wine in the pub and tries to attract the bartender’s attention to pay for it. After being ignored for some time, she walks out. The extent of her invisibility becomes more and more apparent to her.

Audrey’s experiences throughout the novel serve as analogies for the way trauma affects people. Trauma is a profoundly formative and transformative experience that marks someone for life. Yet it is invisible to others. Trauma victims carry this invisible wound that informs their every action, their very nature, Because it is invisible to others, the very core of the person, the very thing that makes them ‘them’ is invisible and lives in isolation. Despite these dark themes, some parts are pretty funny.

It is rewarding to see Audrey’s gradual growing awareness and her self-assertion, but overall the book left me feeling quite raw. The lightness of tone masks some triggering content.

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Things Don’t Break On Their Own (Sarah Easter Collins – 4/5*)

Things Don’t Break On Their Own is a family drama that is both gripping and at times very moving.

The central character is Willa, now an adult still mourning the loss of her sister Laika, who disappeared on her way to school many years ago. It’s hard to relate much more about this intricately plotted mystery without spoilers.

I found myself immersed in this story. The pacing is excellent, as the characters are explored in depth and the events of the past are gradually revealed. The various twists are convincing and the ending is shocking and satisfying.

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The Silver Squad (Marty Essen – 2/5*)

This one missed the mark for me. The Silver Squad is a road trip/crime spree featuring a couple of septuagenarians and a 40-something woman who joins them along the way.

Having enjoyed books like The Thursday Murder Club (which has sparked a slew of copycats, some of them pretty entertaining), I thought I’d enjoy this as a light read in between a couple of more serious novels. I didn’t, at least not much. It was not ‘hilarious’ and I was not charmed.

I think it’s cultural, really. I think this type of novel works well with the so-called ‘typical dry British humour’, which at its best is understated, nuanced and witty. The Silver Squad is more American: rather brash and over-explained.

For this very reason, it’s quite possible that American readers might enjoy it more than I did, so I up my rating from 1 star to 2, to give it the benefit of the doubt. Tomahto-tomayto and all that…

My thanks to Netgalley for providing an ARC, in exchange for an honest review.

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In the Margins (Gail Holmes – 3/5*)

The blurb of In the Margins notes that Frances Wolfreston “uniquely preserved the earliest part of Shakespeare’s legacy”.

I think I would have needed to be psychic to have figured this out from reading this book. Yes, Shakespeare’s poem Venus and Adonis is frequently mentioned, and we learn that Frances loves collecting books and that she writes her name in her books, but that’s about it. Otherwise, the novel is about her life, family and a few other women, living straitened lives under Puritanical rule. It’s interesting, but the connection to preserving Shakespeare’s legacy is tenuous at best. Pointless really even to refer to it in the blurb.

The blurb also states that “In the Margins is a testament to the way literature can illuminate our inner lives and set us free when the world around us is covered in darkness.”

Again, I got nothing of this reading the book. Yes, we know that Frances loves books, but I got no sense that books were ‘illuminating’ her inner life or setting her free. Again, what stands out in this narrative is Frances’ distress over her mother’s imprisonment, and her attempts to have her released. The books are peripheral. And even what we do learn about women’s lives at this time isn’t anything new or insightful.

Apart from this feeling that the book wasn’t what it purported to be, I did enjoy it and was reasonably engrossed in the story. It’s well written. I listened to the audiobook, beautifully narrated by Hannah Morrish.

Overall, my 3* rating is not generous, but I can’t stretch to a 4: it’s a good read but rather slow, and not what I expected. It’s always better to underpromise and overdeliver rather than the reverse.

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Friends of Dorothy (Sandi Toksvig – 2.5/5*)

I was split between its pros and cons.

Pros: I liked the various themes handled in this book – found/’logical’ families, queer lives, homophobia and transphobia, living with trauma, ageing, and more. I liked the characters, particularly Amber, Dorothy and Bobby the Builder.

Cons: I looked forward to reading this because I’m a keen fan of QI and enjoy Sandi Toksvig’s dry humour in that show. Unfortunately, I feel this humour falls quite flat on the page, and it rather descends into farce in places, The writing is – it pains me to say this – not particularly skillful.

I do think Friends of Dorothy would work brilliantly as a TV series, so long as it focused less on the farce and more on the deeper issues, with the dark humour preserved.

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The Specimens (Mairi Kidd – 3/5*)

I was excited to get the opportunity to read The Specimens; my knowledge of Burke and Hare, the notorious Victorian murderers, and the anatomist Robert Knox, was sketchy, to say the least and I was intrigued to find out more. Unfortunately, the novel didn’t quite meet my expectations.

The story unfolds from the perspectives of two women, Nelly and Susan. While I like the idea of presenting the story from the perspectives of minor characters in the [true] events, and I was interested in some of the quite vivid domestic details, I think this strategy introduced too many tangents to the main story and only obscured the facts rather than providing any enlightenment. I realised while reading that I really did want to know more about the three men, and the events they were involved in, not about the minutiae of their wives’ lives. Yes, it’s fiction, but I would have rather had more insights (albeit fictional) into the minds and actions of the protagonists. I found myself drifting to Wikipedia to satisy my curiosity….

So while I appreciate what the author wanted to do, and many readers might enjoy this approach, for me it didn’t quite work. That said, it is well written and I liked the narrative style, if not the structure.

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The Trouble With Mrs Montgomery Hurst (Katie Lumsden – 3/5*)

An entertaining ‘period’ drama that would be great on TV. Let’s not mistake it for authentic historical fiction though: The Trouble With Mrs Montgomery Hurst is set in the mid 19th century, but does not really immerse the reader in that period. Instead, it’s a bag-of-Allsorts, mish-mash of Georgian/Victorian/Edwardian/modern social and cultural mores, values, attitudes and behaviour.

The author’s love of classic British literature shines through, and I loved that. But if you set out to beg comparison with the greats, you’re setting a very high bar indeed. I’m afraid I spent so much time comparing it, that all I wanted to do was go back to Austen, Gaskell, etc. and enjoy the real thing. Still, I enjoyed the read. I don’t know how to express the literary-appreciation equivalent of ‘the costumes are lovely!’ but that’s kind of where I was…

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The 3rd Option (Ben Sharpton – 1/5*)

The 3rd Option tackles a topic that is interesting in these days where conservatives are trying to pull back the rights women fought hard to gain. I was intrigued to find out what someone might propose as the ‘solution’ to the anti-abortion/pro choice ‘debate’. Sure, I knew it would be some form of sci-fi — I wasn’t expecting an actual, real, 3rd option. But I was disappointed. I feel that something way more far out would have been more believable (in a ‘suspend-your-disbelief’ sense of ‘believable’).

In terms of technical competency as a novel, it’s pretty basic. The dialogue, plotting, characterisation, narrative structure and writing style are not bad, but not particularly skillful. Also, it takes waaaay too long before the author reveals what the 3rd option actually is. And the reveal is underwhelming.

It may be a detail, but another thing got under my skin a bit: the author doesn’t seem to have done much research about life today in Lithuania. He apparently sees it as some sort of backwards country, where, oddly, people eat American food (pancakes and syrup for breakfast? really? in a small B&B in Lithuania?). Also, someone goes to a post-office to pay their bills! I know many people still do this in the US, but most of Europe does all their banking online these days… Lithuania is a developed country, with a high-income advanced economy and an advanced tech sector; people are not going to the post-office to pay their utility bills. (Funny how many Americans still take it for granted that the US is an advanced country. Have you SEEN the rest of the world?)

The one thing I do appreciate about The 3rd Option is that it demonstrates that not all religious people in the US are raving fundamentalists, and at least some of them are trying to be more sensible about abortion. In view of the terrifying rise of various forms of religious fundamentalism and Christo-fascism, I wish more moderates were speaking up. I add an extra star for that.

But I take it away again as the actual 3rd option proposed feels like a cop-out at best, and at worst another insidious, sneaky way for anti-abortionists to undermine women’s self-determination. Sure, it’s just a novel, and I should judge it as fiction, normally. But it is speculative fiction, written by a person who holds something of a position of authority (albeit a small one), and it’s not a stretch to conclude that the author intends it to have some influence in certain circles. So, I feel justified on rating it not only on literary merit but also on its philosophical stance.

And by that token, I argue that the only valid ‘solution’ is to trust women to decide what they want to do with their own bodies.

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The Honeymoon (Rona Halsall – 2/5*)

This was a relatively entertaining listen but I found it impossible to suspend my disbelief and really get sucked in. Chloe comes across as something of an idiot, ignoring so many red flags.

It should be given as a warning to any woman who allows herself to be fooled by all the brainwashing we are subjected to around ‘romance’ and empty romantic gestures.

When the characters and story in a novel irritate you, it’s hard to be objective about it. What’s good is the narration and the pacing: it keeps you guessing as to what will happen next. As for the plot, there are various twists and turns but it’s all rather contrived and ultimately quite silly.

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An Ideal Husband (Erica James – 3/5*)

This is not a bad book by any means. It’s competently written, with a fairly believable family and the setting and scenes feel reasonably true to life. That said, it’s all very cosy, twee and quite predictable. Everyone’s so damn English and middle class and [largely] well behaved, and, well, self-satisfied. They lack real depth and complexity. The sweetness is not balanced or countered with sufficient acidity.

It’s unchallenging and an easy read, so depending on what you’re looking for, this might be your thing. I was rather disappointed. I was drawn to the book because the protagonist, Louisa, is a woman around my own age, and I thought I would be able to identify. No. She is too good to be true and has about as much depth and personality as a Victorian sponge. Her husband, Kip, just comes across as something of a fool.

I recommend it for anyone looking for a nice, British, slice-of-life mild family drama.

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Helle and Death (Oskar Jensen – 2.5/5*)

A fairly enjoyable whodunnit. The story is a classic locked room mystery.

Bunch of people in their 30s, who were friends a decade ago, brought together in an old mansion, and get snowed in. Then the host is murdered. Yes — it’s an Agatha Christie revival, this time with a Danish guest-turned-sleuth.

Nobody loves a classic British mystery more than I do, and I’m all for reviving the classic formula. But Helle and Death is a 2.5-star read for me because it felt rather formulaic. And I mean formulaic, rather than ‘homage’. It’s clever, well structured and intriguing, so it probably deserves a better review than this, but it just didn’t hit the mark for me. This is parotting the classic form while bringing nothing new. Nothing stood out for me apart from the narration: the audio version is a pleasure to listen to.

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The House Hunt (C. M. Ewan – 3/5*)

Very mixed feelings about The House Hunt.

PROS
Boy is it a page turner! It grips like superglue. For a couple of nights I got way too little sleep: first, I couldn’t put the book down and then, once I finally did, in the early hours, I was haunted by it and unable to sleep. And then I had nightmares. I put all this in the PROS because it takes skill to create such strong feelings in the reader.

It’s well written, and very visual; you feel like you are in that house, right in the middle of the action. You can feel the claustrophobia, the menace, the tension. I really was totally hyped while reading and had to force myself to take deep breaths to calm my heart. Wow!

CONS
I didn’t particularly like it, didn’t like any of the characters and found the plot stretched the bounds of believability to snapping point. In fact, much as I couldn’t put the book down, so I couldn’t wait for the whole unpleasant experience to be over.

So I’ll give it a 4 for the skill and the author’s success in creating a tense, claustrophobic thriller. And a very personal 2 stars for the unpleasantness (and plot weaknesses). Overall then, a 3-start read for me. Judge for yourself if this is your cup of tea!

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Delphi (Clare Pollard)

This was an interesting read in that it throws you back into what it was actually like to be in lockdown day after day, as a deeply abnormal situation became totally normalised. I enjoyed soaking up the atmosphere. It captures it remarkably well. All this interlinked with a story of research into prophecy.

This is in many ways a very good novel, well written and quite poetic in parts, well constructed and clever. The only issue for me is that while I enjoyed reading it, it had no lasting impact at all. I struggle even to remember reading it. 

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The Serial Killer’s Daughter (Alice Hunter – 2.5*)

This is a fairly standard crime mystery/thriller. It’s a decent read, quite compelling, but doesn’t stay in your mind after finishing it.

The literary equivalent of a bag of chips.

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Time Glitch (Brona Mills – 3.5/5*)

I liked this. Time Glitch is a futuristic, time travel, romance and thriller in one. I found it pretty gripping.

It’s not the most skillful writing but I thought the time glitch element was well handled. Hard to explain why without spoilers. The aspect of people travelling from the future to save humanity is well done, adding a melancholy to the ‘present’ as well as a sense of urgency.

Good characters, solid plotting… it’s a decent read and I think I’d be curious to read the next in the sequel.

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Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies (Maddie Mortimer – 1/5*)

This book has a lyrical style that I quickly lost patience with. For example:

“Lia remembered the way he looked at the door as if he were a snake and the rain had just washed off a layer of his skin. Unwrapped and remade, there he was.”

Or: “Walking down their street, the pain rattled in Lia’s toes noisily.”

Apart from the irritation I feel due to this dangling modifier, I don’t like authors that make me work this hard to understand them.

There is a story in there, lost in all these words. The style becomes even more overblown as the novel progresses.

Some readers might love this, find it lyrical and experimental and moving and heart-rending. I find it too clever by half.

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All the Wicked Games (Lauren North – 2/5*)

Let’s start on the positive: All the Wicked Games is competently written, well plotted and keeps you guessing. Lots of twists and turns — so if that’s your thing, it delivers.

So why only 2 stars? The short answer is that I found it formulaic and stretching the bounds of credibility.

The long answer is more an ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ thing. Maybe I’m just jaded and done with mystery novels (at least contemporary ones — I’ll take a classic British early 20th century mystery any day!).

Years ago, after being pretty addicted to serial-killer novels, I just quit. It seemed like authors were going round and round in circles and the only thing ‘new’ in each one was more gore, more ‘twisted’ psychology. More bodies piling up. The tropes started to bore the pants off me (investigator becomes target / killer playing mind games / race against the clock, bla bla bla). It all became silly and predictable.

The same thing seems to be happening with this genre of modern mystery/women’s fiction. I get sucked in because I like fiction about women. [Unfortunately the classification is used for any novel with women as main characters, which makes it ridiculously, uselessly broad…. but I digress.]

The women-embroiled-in-a-twisty-mystery has become another formula, with novels churned out in their thousands, all so similar. To stand out, each one strives to make the betrayal twist or the final reveal about the killer more unusual. And so this genre, too, is becoming silly and predictable. The details of the reveal are perhaps not predictable, but what IS predictable is that it will be ridiculously far-fetched.

Now it may seem unfair to vent my frustrations with a genre onto one novel (and author) but I guess this for me is just the proverbial straw. Lauren North has set out to write a particular type of book and has accomplished it well.

The fact that it didn’t appeal to me is largely on me. (Reminder to self: stop reading books like this.)

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Survivors (Amy Marsden)

A good story somewhat let down by hyperbolic prose. The overblown style is exhausting. (Editor needs to wield the red pen more forcefully.) It gets a bit better as the book progresses.

That said, the story kept me engaged. Pandemic, infected people, bites…. They may not be zombies (they’re not dead and don’t feast on brains) but what’s not to like for a hardened fan of the zombie/dystopia genre?

Despite liking the genre, however, I’m probably not really the target audience. This definitely reads as YA and I’m just an embittered middle-aged grump. If the style doesn’t put other readers off, I can see this series growing a pretty big fan base.

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