**Q&A** "Tea & Chemo" by Jackie Buxton

This week my friend, Nicola Bourne, publishes her book "The Fabulous Woman's Guide Through Cancer". To mark its publication on the 18th November, I am doing a few posts this week about a few  other fabulous women who have written about their battle with cancer. 

My first interview is with Jackie Buxton who wrote "Tea and Chemo" which was published in November 2015. 

Synopsis: 

At the age of 45, wife and mother Jackie Buxton was diagnosed with breast cancer. Lurching between the crippling fear that the cancer had spread, and the great comfort of knowing she was one of the lucky ones who could be treated, she did what she always does when life presents her with a challenge: she wrote it down. 

Jackie quickly realised that even with cancer, life was far from bad. Never known for her scientific prowess, she nonetheless became a 'bit of an expert' - at least in the field of hair loss, water retention and biscuits - and decided to use her writing to share experiences and help others recognise you don't have to be defined by your cancer. 

Tea & Chemo is full of laughter, tears, honesty and hope, and offers inspirational words to everyone facing the life challenges that cancer inevitably brings. 

All proceeds from the sales of Tea & Chemo will go to three incredibly important charities, whose compassionate care and professionalism make the difference to so many lives: The Haven, Breast Cancer Now and The Robert Ogden Macmillan Centre, Harrogate.

Welcome Jackie and thank you so much for coming on my blog today to talk about your book and cancer experiences. It's great to have you here. 

Could you start by just telling me a little bit about yourself and your journey into writing and becoming a published author? 

I've always loved writing, even from primary school really. Then I went into a writing-heavy career of press and PR for charity, followed by freelance copywriting, all of which I loved. Nonetheless, there was this little chink in my head, tapping a way. It was the fiction writing itch that I had to scratch. On a transatlantic flight back from my honeymoon, my new hubbie, and everybody else on the flight apart from me, was asleep. I've never really slept on planes, I'm generally far too excited about the trip or returning home and when it's a big posh plane like this one, too giddy about all the films on offer.

I saw a picture of a tombstone and article about a pauper's grave in the free newspaper and right there in that moment, I was struck with the most vivid idea for a novel. I scribbled the idea down on serviettes (extras provided by the equally excited stewards and now I always carry a notebook) and I've been scribbling away ever since.

My first moment of fiction publication came with a short story about childbirth (eeek!) in an essentially humorous anthology of 'ordinary women's stories' and you could probably hear the shriek of delight at the other end of the street when I heard my submission had been selected for publication. I've had a few more short stories published, both in anthologies and magazines, and it always feels great to know your efforts will be read, and you pray, enjoyed, by readers. But the novel was the biggy for me.

The novel outlined on serviettes is in a drawer somewhere but my second novel was Glass Houses and this is the one I became particularly obsessed with. After initial rejections and further re-writes, often taking months, I'd started to amass a tidy pile of  'near misses' but more importantly, wonderful feedback returned with a rejection from publishers and agents. I studiously acted on this because hey, this was free help from the experts. It was gold dust. It's amazing how obvious the observations of new readers of your work are – in hindsight.

Flitting about on Twitter one day, I noticed a fairly new publisher kept popping up and this publisher seemed to have a great ethos, not to mention lots of fans. His tweets said that Urbane Publications welcome submissions.

Finally I found myself in the right place at the right time because Matthew Smith, the man at the helm of Urbane Publications, wanted to publish Glass Houses and also an idea for a self-help/ memoir which I'd submitted on a bit of a whim. That book became Tea & Chemo and more about that next…

What gave you the idea for a book about your experience of cancer?  

Other people! I'd blogged for a year or so before being diagnosed with cancer in December of 2013, but didn’t imagine I'd be blogging about my illness. No, my blog was supposed to be about the strange, bizarre and generally amusing things that happen when you're just going about your daily life as a human, not the dark topic of cancer.

Meanwhile, I was really struck by the wealth of well-written and very informative information on cancer and its treatments and there was nothing which wasn’t covered either in person or in literature from the hospital. I'm very grateful for that. But there was something else I wanted to read and that was the stories from the patient's mouth. But I didn't just want any stories. I wanted the positive stories of people who'd had this thing, done it, got the hat (wig, scarf…) to show for it and emerged the other side, battle scarred, perhaps, but smiling nonetheless. I searched online and didn’t find what I wanted.

Jump forward a couple of weeks and I was starting to cope with this cancer diagnosis. I was very aware that after the initial knee crunching appointment in which the cancer bombshell was dropped, I was one of the lucky ones because the aim of my treatment was cure. And that's about as good as it gets when you enter this terrifying world of cancer where there are no definites. Buoyed by feeling so much better than when I was first diagnosed, I wanted to shout it from the treetops. I wanted other people to know that some normality does return fairly soon after a cancer diagnosis, that cancer is doable and to be heartened by this.

I decided to shout this from my blog. But I would only post when I had something positive or informative, to say. I enjoyed writing the posts, they helped me formulate my feelings about what was really happening to me and I received just the loveliest of feedback from readers both in comments on the blog, on Facebook and Twitter and in emails. Some people even suggested I should turn the blog posts into a book and I was chuffed, really chuffed that these people even contemplated such an idea. But I found myself asking why anyone would buy such a book when they could read the posts online. I also couldn't imagine how anybody would want to publish a book on cancer by little old, really not very good at science, me.

Sometimes people sew a seed don't they and you don’t realise it's taken root until it bursts into flower. And that's what happened with me. When I saw that Urbane Publications weren't just interested in stories but also in non-fiction, particularly memoir and self-help – ideas only at this stage please (even better) -  I had to submit. I knew that if I didn’t try, I'd always wonder. Thus Tea & Chemo was born. My wonderful publisher and I quickly agreed that half of the book would be made up of my original blog posts and the other half would be further anecdotes, as, now a year following diagnosis, I had so much more to say.

What is the one thing you would like people to take away from your book?

Hmmm, tricky. Perhaps that a primary cancer diagnosis is 'not all bad'. It was nearing Christmas 2014, my active treatments had recently finished and lots of people said that they were sure I'd be glad to see the back of this year. I realised that my answer always revolved around the year not being half as bad as I might have expected and there were so many silver linings – seeing much more of my friends and family being right up there.

Nicola Bourne talks about making some 'fabulous changes' to her life once she had survived her battle with cancer. Did you feel anything similar? Did you make any fabulous changes to the way you lived your life? 

I certainly did feel similar. Once active treatment of chemotherapy and radiotherapy was over and I was left alone with only a few daily pills to fight the big fear of cancer returning, I just couldn't imagine how cancer wouldn't come back. It seemed too powerful for anything my little body and those pills could offer. I've since learnt that this is really normal and when my oncologist told me that it would take time for me to regain trust in my body, he was absolutely right. Almost three years post diagnosis, I do feel much more confident that I may, just may, be ok.

So, I was really keen to make as many changes as possible to my lifestyle in an effort to take back some control in the big fight. The trouble was, I'm a right little goody-goody when it comes to diet and exercise. I just like healthy food and have always loved sport. I can't help it, I'm sorry I'm such a bore. And thus, search as I might, I couldn't find any monumental changes that I could make. I remember saying to people that I almost wished I smoked or had a fry-up every day because then I could give it up. Nonetheless, I've made some small but significant changes to my diet – which I stick to, most of the time.

But there was one monumental thing, standing out in lights, if you cared to examine my lifestyle.

Sleep – or a lack of it.

I've talked about this a lot in my blog and in Tea & Chemo and I really feel that I abused my body for years by depriving it of sleep. The more I read now about our bodies needing at least seven hours to have the time to fully repair the damage we've done during the day, or to fight the nasties which invade us all the time but a well-kept body will repel without us ever knowing, makes perfect sense.

The trouble is, I can survive really well without sleep and this was a great benefit to me as a writer. In the past, I'd hang around with my husband and children until they tripped off to bed or started nodding on the sofa, and then I'd creep up to my study and tap away on the keys until the early hours. It was when I did my fiction writing.

I spent time with my family, spent time with my stories. It was perfect, except in that I was regularly having only four hours sleep.

With great conviction but a slightly heavy heart I've had to knock that routine on the head. It's so tempting to break my rule though, because I struggle with work-load as it is, before I even add in my own writing, and it's so tempting to forge on through so that I start the next day with a shorter to-do list. But I am committed to this lifestyle change, and though my sleepy halo slips from time to time, I regularly get seven hours sleep now, and very rarely only get four. It used to be the other way round.

Nicola also talks about the importance of feeling "fabulous" and in her book she encourages women to believe we are all fabulous, always, whatever we are facing. Do you have any fabulous advice about this?

There is nothing fabulous about me, truly. I'm just an ordinary girl who benefited from a wonderfully balanced upbringing. I thank my parents for teaching me that much as we might be the centre of their universe, we are not the centre of the universe. 'Good' and 'bad' things happen as we live our lives and the more difficult times can enrich us just as much as the good stuff. I have the ethos that it's unrealistic to expect everything to be permanently hunky dory, however, if you can learn to dance in the rain when the sun turns to storm, then you can know real happiness, even in the darker times.

Somewhere along the line I've learnt that happiness is not a 'thing', it's merely a matter of perception. If we try to live our lives seeing the positive in every situation – love and companionship is what I think of when I look back at my confrontation with cancer for example – then we might never know 'unhappiness'. Or, at least we might empower ourselves to put right the thing that isn't working to make us happier again. I'm not fabulous, I'm very flawed, but I am happy and always have been, even though I've had the knocks and curve balls we all have. I think taking control of our own destinies, rather than allowing ourselves to become victims, is where fabulous lives come from.

In your opinion, can you tell me who you consider to be a fabulous woman?

So many! I think that all my close friends and family are pretty fabulous to be honest, but I do have one friend who has the most amazing, sunny outlook and she has been knocked so, so many times by disability, disease, disastrous relationships and real poverty in her life and in the lives of those close to her. The thing is, you would never know. Even when she talks about the things that are going on, she talks with such optimism, bravery and with the biggest smile on her face that you could be forgiven for thinking that she didn’t have a care in the world. She really is an inspiration of how to get the absolute best out of every day.

If it’s possible, can you finish by sharing your one top tip for fabulous women who maybe fighting cancer? 

You can do this! Try to see the treatment in small chunks, rather than the big picture of beating cancer because that can seem way too enormous, if not, impossible, particularly when you haven't had chance to get used to this turn your life has taken. My father in law whispered to me in my ear just before going in for my mastectomy operation: A to B, B to C, C to D. Simple, but it worked for me.

Thank you so much Jackie. This has been a fabulous interview and you really are inspiring with your uplifting outlook. Thanks so much for answering my questions in such detail. 

"Tea & Chemo" is available through Amazon and Urbane Publications.

For more information about Jackie please visit her website:
https://jackiebuxton.blogspot.co.uk

My review of "Glass Houses" can be found here:
http://bibliomaniacuk.blogspot.com/2016/11/glass-houses-jackie-buxton.html

My interview with Jackie about "Glass Houses" can be found here:
http://bibliomaniacuk.blogspot.com/2016/11/q-jackie-buxton-glass-houses.html

For more reviews and recommendations from me, you can find me on Twitter @katherinesunde3 (bibliomaniacuk)

**Q&A** Jackie Buxton "Glass Houses"

Fifty-one-year old Tori Williams' life implodes when she sends a text while driving  and allegedly causes the horrific crash in which three people die. Public and press are baying for her blood, but Tori is no wallflower and refuses to buckle under their pressure and be a pariah. 

Etta, another driver involved in the fatal accident, saved Tori's life at the scene. She's a hero, so why is her life falling apart? 

Perhaps by saving Etta using any means, Tori can save herself—and in doing so, protect her own future and the future of those she loves. 

This incredibly topical and contemporary morality tale appeals across generations and will find favor with fans of authors such as Liane Moriarty, Marian Keyes, and Kathryn Croft.

I'm thrilled to be able to welcome Jackie Buxton to my blog today to talk about her new novel "Glass Houses".

Where did the inspiration come from for this novel?

I've always been interested in the human psyche, particularly when it comes to our foibles and hypocrisies. We jump a red light because we're late, for example, but conveniently forget about this as we rant at the tale of somebody committing a similar traffic violation which has more serious consequences.

Years before I wrote the first words of Glass Houses, a couple of, 'wrong place, wrong time' articles in the news where press and public had demonised the perpetrator of a foolish but not malicious act, had really got my mind buzzing with the contradictions of human behaviour. I found myself asking: if there are no unfortunate repercussions from our 'crime', if we escape without incident, are we any less guilty than the person whose 'crime' does have consequences and whose life is thrust into a desperately dark place? In a caring, cohesive society, what should the appropriate punishment be for somebody who has done something stupid but not through malice or cold-blooded evil?

It was only when I was struggling with a different story during an inspirational week of writing and tuition courtesy of The Arvon Foundation, that the penny dropped and I realised that a contemporary story of crime, punishment and redemption was what I really wanted to write. And that is where Glass Houses began.

 Can you tell me a bit about the difference between writing this novel and your previous title Tea & Chemo? Either practically or emotionally....... 

That's a great question because the writing processes were so very different and yet strangely alike. Where Glass Houses took several years to move from the idea to published novel, Tea & Chemo took eleven months. Working with fictional characters is tricky. You’re the puppeteer and sometimes the strings get tangled up or you can't get their feet to do what you want them to do and you have to unravel everything and start again. I had none of this with Tea & Chemo. I didn’t have to come up with a story because it was my story, I knew it very well, and the bloggy writing style flows easily because it's much like having a chat on page. That said, I had a similar fear for both books which ensured I never skimped on research and this was the fear of getting my facts wrong. For both books, I'd constantly stop what I was writing, check something and check it again, before I could continue. For both books I'd be musing way after I'd logged off for the night, if I could have said anything that might upset or be misconstrued.

Emotionally? Both books brought me to tears on several occasions but, as you can imagine, the tears with Tea & Chemo were so much more raw because they were real. Where the general narrative style of Tea & Chemo was straightforward, the emotions weren't. I will always wonder if writing the book in the year following treatment, 'kept me in the moment' longer than it might have done. But even if this were true, I think that I had the opportunity to write so much that was positive regarding love and support (both in friendship and professionally) that it wasn't necessarily a 'bad' moment, at all.

Glass Houses tackles a very emotive and heavy subject. Do you have any techniques or things you do to protect yourself when writing the more harrowing or intense scenes?

You know, I have cried many times when writing scenes for my characters but generally, I'm so happy that the words have had this effect on me when I already know the story, that I generally move away from the words ecstatic, optimistic that my readers might also cry which means that they're totally engrossed in the story.

I think it was the research which hit me hardest. I read lots about coma and spoke with coma victims and their loved ones and it's not the simple – person is ill, person gets better – scene you sometimes see on screen. Some of those stories of love and loss were very difficult to listen to. I also did lots of research into texting at the wheel and the effects on lives of this and other anti-social driving practices. I'm not sure I could say I have a strategy for dealing with this but it's certainly had an impact on my own behaviour. I had never texted at the wheel before, but I had lifted the phone to my ear. Some of those pictures of the crashes and the resulting impact on lives, even for those who survived, have stayed with me and I can safely say that after doing the research I've done, I would never now touch my phone in the car.

Which character did you find hardest to write and why? Which was easier and why?

Another great question. I think Gerald was probably the hardest to write. He's not a very pleasant character. He's a narcissist who characteristically blames everybody but himself for the less than perfect events in his life, but who can also be very charming, at least to the uninitiated. 'All bad baddies' aren't good in literature, I've learnt, because there's nowhere to go with them, no character development to be had, no questions to ask: they're just 'bad'. And so I spent a long time researching narcissism and revising Gerald's scenes in the hope he didn’t appear too one-dimensional. We also had to believe that his new wife, Sophie, could fall for him, at least in the first place – even when I was practically shouting at the page, Don't do it!  

I notice at the beginning of the novel there is a lot of description of glass and also it is in the title. Can you talk about this a bit?

I'm so pleased you noticed that. Obviously, I hope the title, Glass Houses, conjures up the proverb: People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. Additionally, I also became quite fixated when I was writing Glass Houses with the concept that it doesn’t matter how hard we try to repair our house (for house also read: life) if we smash it all up, it will never look the same again. But this 'not the same' doesn't necessarily need to mean 'inferior'. So yes, I had a bit of fun with 'glass' and all its metaphors and I'm chuffed to little pieces (do you see what I did there…?) that you picked up on it.

 Are you working on anything new at the moment? 

I am. Its working title is The Treehouse and it's the desperate story of one woman who kept running away.

 Which authors are you inspired / influenced by?

So many! Maggie O'Farrell is right up there at the top of my list. She could wring the emotion out of a dishrag – as could Jill Dawson, another fave. I like Ian McEwan, Anita Shreve and Rachel Joyce – all wonderful story tellers, and John O'Farrell for humour. Bryce Courtney is the author who took my breath away with The Power of One and Tandia, two books which have stayed with me forever.

What are you reading at the moment or can you recommend a good book you read recently?

I've just started SJ Watson's second novel, Second Life and am totally hooked already. Before that, the most recent novel I've loved with a passion was The One-in-a-Million Boy by Monica Wood. It's the most touching of tales and written with great observation and humour. The ending is the best I've read in a long time.

Thank you so much Jackie! It's been so fantastic to hear so much more about the book and about the writing process. Thanks so much for your detailed answers and the time you have given this interview! 

If you would like to read more about Jackie then have a look at her website: 

https://jackiebuxton.blogspot.co.uk

"Glass Houses" is available through Amazon and Urbane Publications from October 2016. 
For my review of "Glass Houses" please click here:
http://bibliomaniacuk.blogspot.com/2016/11/glass-houses-jackie-buxton.html

For more recommendations and reviews, please follow me on Twitter @katherinesunde3 (bibliomaniacuk) 

"Glass Houses" Jackie Buxton

Fifty-one-year old Tori Williams' life implodes when she sends a text while driving  and allegedly causes the horrific crash in which three people die. Public and press are baying for her blood, but Tori is no wallflower and refuses to buckle under their pressure and be a pariah. 

Etta, another driver involved in the fatal accident, saved Tori's life at the scene. She's a hero, so why is her life falling apart? Perhaps by saving Etta using any means, Tori can save herself—and in doing so, protect her own future and the future of those she loves. 

This incredibly topical and contemporary morality tale appeals across generations and will find favor with fans of authors such as Liane Moriarty, Marian Keyes, and Kathryn Croft.

I had been wanting to read this novel for a while after having seen the blurb. The use of mobile phones in cars is rapidly becoming (and rightly so) very socially taboo. The advertising campaigns against drivers who do this are becoming more and more harrowing and high profile. It is also a controversial topic; it is highly emotive and it is also incredibly relevant to society at this point in time. 

What I liked about Buxton's book was that the person texting in the car was actually a 51 year old woman - a wife and mother - a woman who is responsible, bright and professional. She is not one of the stereotypes that springs to mind with this crime, or who people automatically and judgementally think of- not a reckless teenager, a speeding boy racer. This is one very normal women who makes one decision that has a devastating impact on the rest of her life and the lives of several others as well. I liked that at the beginning it is not immediately clear who caused the accident, or how, and this in itself challenges our preconceptions of what is dangerous driving and who we might immediately suspect if we'd come across the same horrific scene. 

What I also liked was that Buxton uses this situation to explore the bigger idea that we've all taken a risk, done the thing we shouldn't have, made a mistake, made the wrong decision - the question is, how do we bring ourselves back from this? How do we atone for this?

I like a book that makes me do a bit of work. I like a book that drip feeds alluring details that hint of a complicated back story and lingering secrets hidden in the back of the characters wardrobes and this novel certainly does this. As we alternate between the narratives of Tori (the driver allegedly causing the accident) and Etta (from one of the other cars in the accident) we learn through Etta's conversations with her best friend Sara that she also has more to hide:

"'Ok.' Sara held up her hands. 'I understand that some secrets do more harm if they're told.'" 

Sara has known Etta for a long time and has clearly a much deeper understanding of her character than the reader. This is a really effective way of showing the reader that Etta is a complicated character and not necessarily reliable as a narrator. Etta's obsessive and destructive behaviour generates tension, suspense, action and concern as well as making the reader want to read on and find answers to all their questions. The tension between Sara and Etta is a really effective plot device and increases throughout the novel until eventually Sara calls time on Etta's increasingly worrying behaviour. 

"Stop it Etta," she said, "No more excuses. I can't be part of this."

This book is a difficult read too. The subject matter is harrowing, heart wrenching, controversial and tests our sympathy and empathy for each character at varying different stages in the story. There are also some very poignant observations within the dialogue between characters. 

"Moments in our past can haunt us in these circumstances can't they?"

"When your child dies, you die." 

This is a very contemporary novel and Buxton has incorporated the role of Twitter and social media very naturally within this story. The use of hashtags and viral threads increases the tension and drama as well as illustrating how far the ripples from this one moment spread and just how life changing the whole event becomes as #ToritheTextingKiller has to come to terms with everything that has happened.  I loved this description of Tori at the press conference:

"More questions pinged at her like bees escaping a hive; so many stings they were indistinguishable from each other." 

Tori's performance at the press conference was very moving. She is a woman who wants to atone for what has happened, that is prepared to almost jeopardise everything her husband and lawyer have worked to protect, so deep is her guilt, grief and empathy. The scene is completely compelling and I swung between feeling Tori's pain and admiring her brave, heartfelt responses to the lawyer's cringing impatience to just get her away from the press and out of the back door. It will surely be a scene that divides opinions amongst readers and discussions in book groups. 

There are frequent references to broken glass throughout the whole novel; the pane in the green house, glass shattered on the floor, glass shattered at the scene of the crash, knocked glasses from the table.... Sometimes subtle, sometimes more conspicuous, Buxton is clearly using glass metaphorically to illustrate the fragility of life as well as the saying "People in Glass Houses...." which touches on the ideas of judgement, blame and prejudice in the story. 

There are some wise words spoken by the characters. There is a lot to think about. But this novel does not preach to the readers, it is not trying to teach us a moral code. Ultimately it is a good story of two women who have to live with the mistakes and decisions they have made, and how they try to move forward with this. 

"Nobody walks across this earth unblemished," she said. "It's how we deal with our mistakes which makes us who we are." 

One of the reviewers on Goodreads refers to this book as a "moral maze" and I think that actually summarises the novel very well. I would recommend this book. It's not an easy read, it's not really a happy read but it is an important one.  Buxton can clearly handle a complicated topic and can develop realistic characters. This novel would be a great choice for fans of Liane Moriarty, Kathryn Croft and Jodi Picioult. 

"Glass Houses" was published on 1st October 2016 by Urban Publications. 

For more recommendations and reviews please follow me on Twitter @katherinesunde3 (bibliomaniacuk) 

"The Girls" Lisa Jewell

This story is set in London, where the picturesque houses encircle a communal garden. Everyone knows everyone. The children roam freely, in and out of each other's houses and as familiar with each other as siblings. When Clare moves in with her daughters Grace and Pip, aged eleven and twelve, she thinks she has found a real oasis for them - especially considering the recent traumatic events they have lived through.

But then one night Grace is found unconscious in a dark corner of the garden. What happened? Who did this?

Lisa Jewell is a hugely popular author with a dedicated following and this novel was picked as a Richard & Judy read recently. Lots of people have commented on how she has moved to "the dark side" with this story compared with some of her earlier romantic comedies and I would agree, this book is a more sinister and nods more towards the thriller genre. However, essentially I think it is a novel about human nature, relationships, parenting, jealousy, grief and love. I think what Jewell shows in this book is her interest in characters and their interaction with each other.

I had bought this book months and months ago when it was nominated in the Richard & Judy reads this summer but it was languishing on my TBR pile. On Friday a friend asked me if I'd read it as she'd just done it with her book group and they'd all disagreed over the ending. By Sunday I could resist no more - I had to see what it was in the story that had led to such a discussion!

I'm so glad I bumped it up the TBR pile and read it! It was the perfect tonic for a wintery weekend. It's easy, light and engaging yet with enough tension, twists and revelations to keep you hooked until the end.

There are several threads of mystery and tension running through "The Girls". Clare and her daughters have lived through some very emotionally difficult times and Clare definitely carries a sense of fear and being found. There are plenty of unresolved issues between herself and her husband and these are carefully drip fed to the readers in a way that builds up a steady sense of suspense and curiosity.

Although we begin the story with the discovery of Grace, and therefore know that ultimately the we need to find out how she ended up in this state and who knows what really happened to her, we are steered away from this moment. Jewell introduces us to a wealth of characters and their roles within the close community that is formed around this communal garden. We have to start piecing the story together a little. We have to get to know each of the characters and through getting to know them more, we begin to see their weaknesses, their fallibility, their secrets.

I was intrigued by Tyler, a disturbed teenager, full of jealousy, possessiveness and a little competitive. But, once more of her situation was unveiled, although you may not necessarily sympathise with her completely, it was easier to understand her motivation and reactions to certain situations. She was very strong in my mind and very easy to engage with.

I also though Adele was an interesting character. I wasn't always sure about her culpability towards the end and I liked that she evolved in to a more complex character than I initially credited her to be. She home-schools her children, she is an 'earth mother' sort of parent, she's loving, generous and kind. But still sometimes I felt there was a hint of something a little uncertain in her bubbling away at the back of her mind.

Pip is probably the star of the show and I liked her letters to her absent father. Jewell captures the voice of an eleven year old realistically - often heartbreakingly so. Pip is a switched on, sensible, honest and perceptive child. Maybe older than her years suggest.

The male characters are as well crafted as the female ones. They all invite suspicion and judgement, ensuring that we are lead up and down several garden paths before the final few twists are revealed.

For me, this was a very good weekend read. I pictured it all vividly. I liked the spread of characters who were all colourful, three dimensional and individual. There was lots going on but not too much that you couldn't keep track of the various character's stories. There was suspense and mystery but it was enjoyably engaging rather than chilling. I really like Jewell's style and will definitely be going through her back catalogue of titles for the more recent ones that I have missed.

I think it would make a fantastic TV series. And it seems from what my friend tells me it makes a good book group choice too!

The only thing I'm a little concerned with is the slightly nagging feeling Jewell has left me with about my own house and the way my children play! We also live in a block of terraces that surround a communal garden. In the summer months my children do run a little feral (alright, the feral bit isn't just confined to the summer....) and the garden is full of various children and neighbours. We often seem to acquire extra people for lunch or tea. We frequently forget that our 'discussions' can be heard by an audience of many!

 I mean, of course I would never ever curtain twitch or listen to conversations while I'm pottering about outside (!), but the whole thing about who your neighbours really are and living a little on top of people is fascinating. It's that old thing of 'behind closed doors' I guess! I will be looking at everyone a little bit more suspiciously next time we all head out for an impromptu barbecue!

"The Girls" is available in paperback and I bought it on offer in WHSmiths as part of the Richard and Judy Book Club selection. I'm off for a coffee with my friend now to see what exactly it was that her book group disagreed on!

For more recommendations and reviews please follow me on Twitter @katherinesunde3 (bibliomaniacuk)