**AUTHOR Q&A** Helen Cox "Starlight Diner" series

Today I have the absolute honour of welcoming author Helen Cox to my blog. Confession: I have rather fallen in love with the world of the Starlight Diner. Helen Cox's world is colourful, bright, fun and full of songs to which you know all the lyrics and sing them from the top of your voice while going about your daily chores!  So refill your coffee, help yourself to another spoonful of ice-cream, set the iPod to Kylie and read on to hear all about Helen, maple syrup buttermilk pancakes, travelling the A19 of life and hot dates with Captain America.......

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your journey to becoming a published writer?

Well sure… but I’m not a woman who is easily synopsized. I might be better off writing the blurb for what’s underneath my little blonde cover. Blurbs are supposed to be all the most appealing parts, right? So if I do that, people will never know that I have, in an “emergency”, been known to eat cheesecake with my bare hands…

Alright, here are the key facts: though my topsy-turvy life takes me all over, I’m a Yorkshire lass at heart. The first record I ever bought was a 45 of I Should Be So Lucky by Kylie Minogue. I learnt most of my lessons about love from summer reruns of Saved by the Bell and, though not one to hold grudges, I’m still a little bit annoyed at my mother for making me miss an episode of Press Gang in 1989 for a dental appointment.

It’s true that some scars never heal. 

When it comes to writing, it’s something that is in my blood. I’ve always written, since I could hold a pen in an upright position. I’ve been putting pen to paper ‘professionally’ for about a decade (if anyone out there understands the true definition of writing ‘professionally’ do drop me a line and explain it to me). During that time I specialized in film journalism, founded my own film magazine and wrote a few non-fiction books. Then one night, out of nowhere, I started writing a novel and by some miracle it was picked up by a publisher. I think because it’s the first novel I’ve ever written some people have viewed my publishing contract as an ‘overnight success’ of sorts but it’s been a life-long journey to get to this stage and I actually don’t believe that ‘overnight success’ even exists. In any pursuit there are many miles to travel and often what you first thought of as the “destination” just turns out to be a petrol station (sometimes with an attached Little Chef) on the A19 of life.

You often publish short stories, extracts, character snippets or back stories as spin offs from "Milkshakes and Heartbreak at the Starlight Diner" Is "Milkshakes...." more than just a book?

Milkshakes and Heartbreaks at the Starlight Diner started off as a word document I saved to my desktop as ‘Waitress Story’ and I thought I’d never come back to it. In the immortal words of Jake Houseman (Baby’s father from Dirty Dancing): “when I’m wrong, I say I’m wrong.”

The world of the Starlight Diner is very real to me. The characters are familiar; all family. I guess a lot of them are splinters of who I am. Many of the feelings Esther felt in the first book, I’ve been through. And I’ve had times in my life when I’ve been as wise as Mona; as reckless as Jimmy; as cynical as Bernie and as fun-loving as Lucia. And I imagine many other people can relate to those feelings just as well as I can. When I wrote the first Starlight Diner book, I created my own little universe where I live whenever I write about it, and I guess it’s not too surprising that a person like me, who has never really settled in one place for that long, has created this space in which absolutely anyone can find a home.

The details about the diner are very vivid and the location is very specific in the novel. What is the inspiration behind the story? Is it based on a real place?

The Starlight Diner is an amalgamation of features from different diners across New York City with some imaginative details woven in. I went on a little tour of them while I was writing the book, for serious research purposes you understand, and spent a lot of time observing the surroundings and the happenings of different eateries around Manhattan. I may also have devoured a substantial amount of New York Cheesecake but exact figures are unconfirmed. Though the Starlight Diner is fictional, I first had the idea for setting a story in a diner when I visited The Remedy Diner on East Houston Street. It’s just a few blocks away from where my fictional diner would stand if it was real-life bricks and mortar.

Have you ever lived in New York? Did you need to do much research for the authenticity of the novel?

Sadly I’ve never lived in New York City… yet. I get the feeling that at some point in my life I will. I don’t know where that feeling comes from. It’s just a place I’m drawn to; a place that never ceases to inspire me. And in the fantastical mind of a writer trifling issues such as ‘how will I get a visa?’ or ‘how will I earn money there?’ don’t carry much weight.

I have spent a good chunk of time in New York City however. About three months or so over the last decade. I’ve also read both fiction and non-fiction works by other authors to better understand the different facets of the city; spent a lot of time looking at old maps of Manhattan and conducted interviews with people who live in New York to try and get under its skin.

Do you ever 'fantasy cast' for a film adaptation? Who would you love to see play the lead roles of Esther and Mona?

Hah. I never let my delusions of grandeur quite reach that altitude but if I HAD to pick an actress for the role of Esther I’d probably pray that either Rosamund Pike or Emily Blunt would read the script and say ‘yes’. I will watch both of these actresses in any movie, knowing that they’re always going to astonish me. As for Mona, casting Gabrielle Union could be a lot of fun due to the fact that she’s an actress generally associated with the 90s – when the Starlight Diner books are set.  Or Leslie Jones. I really enjoyed her stint in the new Ghostbusters film and she’s definitely as quick-tongued as Mona.

If you were in a diner, which fictional character would you most like to be served by? 

It would have to be Amelie Poulain. She’s the most adorable fictional waitress in history. We both have incredibly vivid imaginations so I think we would get on a treat. Plus, I got a B at GCSE French so I’d understand at least two thirds of everything she said to me.

Which fictional character would you most like to take on a date  / out for lunch at the diner? What food would you order?

OK, to be honest… I’d really quite like to go on a date with Captain America. I’m a little bit obsessed with the USA obviously, so the charm of an American accent is not lost on me. Due to the fact he was frozen in the forties and revived in the 21^st Century he’s got a bit of an old-fashioned heart like me. He’s a super-hero so you’d be totally safe in his company and, I’m not sure if anyone else caught this, but in the latest movie he stopped a helicopter flying away by holding onto it with his bare hands. As a result I would like to make out with him. On his face.

Not that I’ve in any way over-thought this question / fantasized about taking Cappy out for lunch on a regular basis.

What would I order? Buttermilk pancakes. Always. With maple syrup aplenty.

What tracks would you have to put on the Jukebox if you were in a diner?

If we’re talking about 1950s tracks I’d choose something at the later end of the decade with an iconic riff like Summertime Blues by Eddie Cochran. In terms of 1960s tracks it’s difficult to beat some of the classic soul tunes from that era. Something like You Keep Me Hangin’ On by The Supremes starts playing and it’s impossible not to move your body and sing (or shout) along. My musical tastes are insanely eclectic but our Dad pretty much raised me on tunes from that period, so they hold a special place in my heart.

The novel talks about 'running away from ghosts' and trying to escape your past. Have you ever had any kind of experience yourself of trying to run away from something? Have you ever tried to 'recreate' yourself somewhere new?

Sure, there have been difficult things in my life that I’ve tried to distance myself from. Painful experiences. Heartbreaks that have shunted me into fresh starts. If I’ve given a particular relationship or situation everything I can give it and things aren’t working out, I’ve never been afraid to walk away and seek my own path.

Of course, this hasn’t led to the most settled of existences so in some respects, I guess I feel like I’ve spent my whole life ‘on the run’.  Not per se running away from things but searching for my place in the world.

The closest I ever came to replicating what Esther did in my story was when at the age of twenty-five I moved from York to London. I left my job as a waitress for an offer of writing copy for an advertising company. I gave up my flat. Broke up with my boyfriend, and rented a room (which I temporarily shared with a rat) just off Tottenham Court Road. I was far away from all my family and most of my friends. It was a pretty scary thing to do and certainly there were lots of lonely nights and weekends before I got to know anybody in the city.

I’ll admit it felt like an opportunity to ‘recreate’ myself. I came from a modest background and hadn’t always been able to afford the clothes and haircuts and beauty products that so many people are prone to using to project a certain image. But nobody who lived in London knew I hadn’t had two coins to rub together my whole life. So I have had that experience of trying to become somebody else in a new place. Can’t say it stuck. Turns out, in the end, we just are who we are. And, we’re much happier when we’re being true to who we are and what we want deep down.

Book Two - "Secrets & Fries at The Starlight Diner"- is coming out in on the 16th Dec 2016 and you obviously always planned this second instalment to follow on from "Milkshakes...". Have you anymore planned in the series? 

I am soon to start writing a third Starlight Diner book to complete the character arc for the diner owner, Bernie. He’s never been the focus of the main stories but in the background he is on his own journey too and I’d like to put the final story in place to complete that. Whether or not that will be published traditionally or whether it will be self-published I don’t know at present, but I’m excited to write it and hang out with my characters again.

In the new book, do we still see Esther, Mona and Walt? 

Esther, Mona and Walt all feature in the second book. Esther is less-involved in the third story as it is set a couple of years after the second book. I think it’s important to hold onto those characters as they, and the love they show towards each other, are really the lifeblood of the stories and it’s that which keeps the narrative thumping along.

If you had to sum your book up in one line, what would it be? What's the one line sales pitch?!

Being concise isn’t entirely my specialty but I’ll go with:

Esther’s about to start a new life in the land of the free. But what good is a life you’re too afraid to live?

Thank you so much Helen - you've been a brilliant guest and brought a lot of sunshine to my Saturday morning with your answers! It's been so great to meet you and hear all about your writing world! 

I'm off to finish "Secret and Fries" as quickly as I can ......! Good luck with its publication - and just to say, it's currently on Amazon at the preorder price of  £1.99!

Here's some more about Helen and The Starlight Diner:



Helen Cox is a book-devouring, photo-taking, film-obsessed novelist. If forced to choose one, Helen’s Mastermind specialism would be Grease 2. To this day, she still adheres to the Pink Lady pledge and when somebody asks her if she is a god she says ‘yes.’

After completing her MA in creative writing at the University of York St. John Helen found work writing for a range of magazines, websites and blogs as well as writing news and features for TV and radio. She has written three non-fiction books and founded independent film publication: New Empress Magazine. She currently lives in York and writes novels.

More information about Helen can be found on her website: helencoxauthor.wordpress.com. She can be found on Twitter: @Helenography.

"Milkshakes & Heartbreak at the Starlight Diner"


Next time you’re in New York, take a turn off Broadway onto East Houston Street. There, you’ll see it: The Starlight Diner. A retro eatery curious enough to delight tourists and locals alike. Fifties tunes stream out of the jukebox long into the night, and it serves the tastiest milkshakes in the five boroughs.

Esther Knight waitresses at The Starlight Diner. She’s sharp, sarcastic, and she’s hiding something. Nobody at the diner knows why she left London for New York – or why she repeatedly resists the charms of their newest regular, actor Jack Faber.

Esther is desperate to start a new life in the land of the free, but despite the warm welcome from the close-knit diner crowd, something from her past is holding her back. 
Can she ever learn to love and live again?

Read my review here:
http://bibliomaniacuk.blogspot.com/2016/06/milkshakes-and-heartbreaks-at-starlight.html

"Secrets & Fries at the Starlight Diner" 


What brings Bonnie Brooks to The Starlight Diner? And why is she on the run?

As the front-woman in a band, Bonnie is used to being in the spotlight, but now she must hide in the shadows.

Bonnie only has one person who she can turn to: her friend Esther Knight, who waitresses at the Fifties-themed diner. There, retro songs play on the jukebox as fries and sundaes are served to satisfied customers. But where has Esther gone?

Alone in New York City, Bonnie breaks down in front of arrogant news reporter, and diner regular, Jimmy Boyle. Jimmy offers to help her. Can she trust him?

When the kindly owner of the Starlight Diner offers Bonnie work, and she meets charming security officer Nick Moloney, she dares to hope that her luck has changed. Is there a blossoming romance on the cards? And can Bonnie rebuild her life with the help of her Starlight Diner friends?

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

"The Night Rainbow" by Claire King

Before I start I have to say that I don't think I can do justice to this book. My language feels distinctly inadequate, limited and repetitive after having read such a well crafted, exquisite story. So I apologise in advance -perhaps I should just say that I've given it 5 stars instead of bumble through a review!

"At once moving and gripping, elegant and spare, The Night Rainbow is a daring novel about a child faced with the baffling world of adult grief. Claire King nails the voice of the child narrator from the first page; Pea is a heroine you won't forget." Maggie O'Farrell

As O'Farrell says, I too will not forget Pea, the main protagonist in this stunning debut. She is a heroine - a delightful girl who has the heart of an angel and the kindness of a fairy. Her voice is immediately compelling and I was transfixed from the opening page. Although only 5, her voice is endearing, yet fresh, and sometimes so starkly insightful it brings a lump to your throat.

"Margot is like me and she is not like me. I am 5 and a half. Margot is only 4 but she's tall for her age. We both like cuddles and insects and cuddling insects and we both have freckles and green eyes, like Maman, with sparkles of blue and brown. In the sunlight Maman's eyes are kaleidoscopes. Margot and I are the same and not the same, you can tell by our dreams. I am always dreaming about witches chasing me, or picnic days at the beach before all the dying happened - these are the best ones. Margot dreams more about the tiny people that live in the cupboards and have parties on Thursdays, and about jigsaws that make themselves."

"Jigsaws that make themselves" - I love that. So simple, yet so profound. A child's voice but a image that is laden with deeper meaning. This sums up Pea. Pea whose father has died in an accident, whose mother is grieving the recent loss of baby and now, heavily pregnant has neither the physical energy nor the emotional strength to look after Pea and Margot. The girls are left to play in the meadows surrounding their home, inventing games and setting themselves the daily challenge of trying to make their Maman happy again. Their life is a jigsaw of grief, loss, responsibility and worry which Pea and Margot try to put together again with their imaginary adventures.

But despite a life of such a broken jigsaw with missing pieces, this is not a depressing read at all. Pea's voice is strong and her observations of the world around her capture her sense of bemusement, delight and discovery. We are gently immersed back into the world of a young child and invited to see the world from her perspective. King captures the voice of a 5 year old effortlessly. I was convinced from the start.

"That [father's death] was tragic, the priest at the church said so, but afterwards it was a catastrophe."

King has taken a few liberties with the voice but only to enhance the readability of the book. She ensures there are enough nuance and flourishes to remind us that this is a very young child. The conviction of Pea's voice comes from her innocence, naivety, Pea and Margot's struggle to understand the sometimes baffling behaviour of the adults and the lovely way in which a child can observe things yet completely miss their significance.

The girls' quest to find happiness is heartwarming. They want to fix things and their innovative and imaginative attempts to do so are charming and delightful to watch. They use their "cleverness" again and again and the reader cannot help but fall in love with them and will them to succeed.

King also uses metaphors throughout the poetic prose. Her imagery is stunning and there is a real sensory overload throughout the whole book. I was there. I was in France, in the summer, in the sticky heat, in the meadows and in the market place. Every sight, smell, touch or taste is captured and used to enhance the characters, the action and the plot. King also uses the imagery of nests, birds and flight which actually carry much more deeper, hidden meanings as the novel unfolds.

"the summer babies [birds], all thin and wobbly and not as polished as the grown ups. The mother bird...keeps leaving the wire and flies in big circles.....Come on, I think she is saying, flying is easy. But her children edge from side to side on the wire, cocking their heads and looking nervous.......She doesn't [put food into their mouths] anymore. They have to do it for themselves."

The descriptions are perfectly beautiful. Pea's candid and spontaneous descriptions are incredibly effective.

"Maman sits on the sofa, with her feet up on a stool and her plate balanced on top of her belly like a hat. I sit before her, just the tiniest amount of cool space between our warmnesses. It feels like nothing and everything."

"I don't even remember the last time she kissed me, because I never knew I had to."

And then there is the lovely humour which delicately lifts the book and levels any oppression from the enormity of what Pea and Margot are actually handling. For example when a neighbour calls around, Pea and Margot lean out precariously from an upstairs window reasoning:

"Firstly Maman seems really angry and it will be better if we are not there to get under her feet when she has finished her argument and secondly because if we lean out of the window we can see better."

I loved the dialogue and relationship between Margot and Pea. I find myself unable to think of any adjectives that would really do it justice or explain how well captured the dynamics are. They are so absorbed in their world, share so much, teach each other so much and the lovely attempts at assertion and superiority as they jostle against each other to prove their cleverness or competence are delightful, charming and heartwarming. Again, these keeps the tone light and gentle.

Another image that repeats throughout the novel is that of fairy tales, fairies and witches. Josette's house is described as a cottage made of bonbons and cakes and I think the allusion to fairy tales is quite deliberate. We are after all seeing the world through the eyes of a 5 year old and we are also being lulled into a world where reality and unreality become blurred, where we are encouraged - just like Pea and Margot - to make sense of what we are told through stories and made up games.

I really enjoyed the passage at Josette's house where she cuts Pea's hair by placing a bowl on her head.

"Is she going to make you into a salad? says Margot. Or a cake make of hair?"

The repetition of witches and Pea's fear of them reinforces King's exploration of dreams and happy endings. Pea can't articulate what it is she is scared of, she can't verbalise what her pain is or explain it and so she can't acknowledge it. The reader has to read between the lines, between the description, motifs and metaphors and begin to piece together the jigsaw themselves.

At some point I realised just how magnificent King's writing was and just what depth was disguised within the prose. And then towards the end of the novel there is a slight dramatic increase in pace, action and tension. When I finished the book I felt bereft but I also wanted to turn back to the beginning and read it again knowing what I had now learnt about the characters. I think reading it again would bring as much pleasure as the first time and even more appreciation for King's exquisite writing.

This is a story that will overwhelm you with the scent and heat of a summer in France, which will tickle you with the wings of a fairy and entertain you with the escapades of two young girls. It will also encourage you to see the world through new eyes - eyes which at times see things with more perception, frankness and profundity than any adult, while also not seeing the threats, dangers and complexity of what is happening around them.

Not since "Finding Martha Lost" or "The Museum of You" have I fallen in love with such a character like Pea. King's writing reminded me of Carys Bray, Joanna Harris and Jo Baker. Anyone who loves a well crafted, beautifully written tale that is about characters will love this. It's as uneventful as a remote french village highstreet but as colourful as the wild flowers in the meadow, slow like a siesta but as lush and juicy as the ripest peach.

It's a story about the blessings and perils of imagination and truth. It's about innocence, friendship, trust and love. There is grief, there is compassion. I just loved it. A stunning 5* read from me.

"The Night Rainbow" published in 2013.

I can't believe this is King's first novel. Her second "Everything Love Is" published in July 2016 and is equally poetic, lyrical and captivating. I highly recommend you take a look at it too. Here's the link to my review: http://bibliomaniacuk.blogspot.com/2016/06/everything-love-is-claire-king.html

For more recommendations, review and bookish chat you can follow me on Twitter @katherinesunde3 (bibliomaniacuk)

All I Want For Christmas.....

All I want for Christmas is a good book - and some time to spend reading it!

So here's a list of books which I think would be perfect to feast on over Christmas - hopefully something to suit everyone's stocking and not cause too much indigestion!


The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

Set in Alaska in 1920 this is an absolutely beautiful story, written in equally beautiful and mesmerising prose. Jack and Mabel are setting up their homestead in the brutal, isolating, wild countryside of Alaska; struggling to cope with the work of the farm and the loneliness of living in such a hostile location. One night they build a snow child and from this moment things change. The Snow Child disappears, but in it's place appears Faina, a young girl who they come to love as their own daughter. Yet as they begin to learn more about her, Faina's presence begins to change Jack and Mabel. Ivey's evocation of human nature, love, despair, hardship and the incredible setting are powerful. The characterisation is equally compelling. There is just enough sprinkling of magic and fairy tales to make it a unique and captivating read, which I gave 5* and always recommend!


A Week in December by Sebastian Faulks

Following the success of "Birdsong", "Charlotte Grey" and his incredible 790 page "Human Traces", Faulks has become a highly acclaimed and hugely successful author. This book is set in contemporary London and although published in 2009, deals with concerns which are very relevant within our society today. This will be a rewarding and thought provoking read for fans of literary fiction.

London, the week before Christmas, 2007. Over seven days we follow the lives of seven major characters: a hedge fund manager trying to bring off the biggest trade of his career; a professional footballer recently arrived from Poland; a young lawyer with little work and too much time to speculate; a student who has been led astray by Islamist theory; a hack book-reviewer; a schoolboy hooked on skunk and reality TV; and a Tube train driver whose Circle Line train joins these and countless other lives together in a daily loop.

With daring skill, the novel pieces together the complex patterns and crossings of modern urban life. Greed, the dehumanising effects of the electronic age and the fragmentation of society are some of the themes dealt with in this savagely humorous book. The writing on the wall appears in letters ten feet high, but the characters refuse to see it — and party on as though tomorrow is a dream.

Sebastian Faulks probes not only the self-deceptions of this intensely realised group of people, but their hopes and loves as well. As the novel moves to its gripping climax, they are forced, one by one, to confront the true nature of the world they inhabit.




I love these books. They are atmospheric, eerie, chilling and full of suspense. A perfect blend of gothic, ghost and psychological thriller writing. I rated both 5*. "The Ice Twins" is set on a tiny Scottish island and the description of the sea, the landscape and the freezing weather is immensely atmospheric. "The Fire Child" is set in Cornwall - equally rugged, dark and gothic, with the chapter headings as a countdown to Christmas day as events begin to spiral out of control. A real treat!

The Ice Twins by S K Tremayne
A year after one of their identical twin daughters, Lydia, dies in an accident, Angus and Sarah Moorcraft move to the tiny Scottish island Angus inherited from his grandmother, hoping to put together the pieces of their shattered lives.

But when their surviving daughter, Kirstie, claims they have mistaken her identity—that she, in fact, is Lydia—their world comes crashing down once again.

As winter encroaches, Angus is forced to travel away from the island for work, Sarah is feeling isolated, and Kirstie (or is it Lydia?) is growing more disturbed. When a violent storm leaves Sarah and her daughter stranded, Sarah finds herself tortured by the past—what really happened on that fateful day one of her daughters died?

The Fire Child by S K Tremayne
When Rachel marries dark, handsome David, everything seems to fall into place. Swept from single life in London to the beautiful Carnhallow House in Cornwall, she gains wealth, love, and an affectionate stepson, Jamie.

But then Jamie’s behaviour changes, and Rachel’s perfect life begins to unravel. He makes disturbing predictions, claiming to be haunted by the spectre of his late mother – David’s previous wife. Is this Jamie’s way of punishing Rachel, or is he far more traumatized than she thought?

As Rachel starts digging into the past, she begins to grow suspicious of her husband. Why is he so reluctant to discuss Jamie’s outbursts? And what exactly happened to cause his ex-wife’s untimely death, less than two years ago? As summer slips away and December looms, Rachel begins to fear there might be truth in Jamie’s words:

‘You will be dead by Christmas.’ 


A Place Called Winter by Patrick Gale

In the golden 1900s, Harry Cane, a shy, eligible gentleman of leisure is drawn from a life of quiet routine into courting and marrying Winnie, eldest daughter of the fatherless Wells clan, who are not quite as respectable as they would appear. They settle by the sea and have a daughter and conventional marriage does not seem such a tumultuous change after all. When a chance encounter awakens scandalous desires never acknowledged until now, however, Harry is forced to forsake the land and people he loves for a harsh new life as a homesteader on the newly colonized Canadian prairies. There, in a place called Winter, he will come to find a deep love within an alternative family, a love imperiled by war, madness and an evil man of undeniable magnetism.

So this is more tenuous as Christmas read - in fact it isn't really about Christmas, just features a town called Winter. But it would be a great book to spend the holidays reading - a book to read when you have time to fully immerse yourself in Harry's world and time to process the prose as well as the story line and characters. As with all Gale's books, it is emotive, heart rendering, poignant and unforgettable. Set in the 1900s, it explores the social history of this time including attitudes to marriage, madness, grief and love. It is beautifully written, absorbing and a book to truly immerse yourself in. A 5* rating from me.


The Quality of Silence by Rosamund Lupton

On 24th November Yasmin and her deaf daughter Ruby arrived in Alaska.

Within hours they were driving alone across a frozen wilderness

Where nothing grows

Where no one lives

Where tears freeze 

And night will last for another 54 days.

They are looking for Ruby's father.

Travelling deeper into a silent land.

They still cannot find him.

And someone is watching them in the dark.

I've included this book because it is set in Alaska. The description of the desolation, the snow, the ice, the cold and the sheer brutal conditions is very well evoked and adds incredible tension to the story line. This is quite an easy read and I read this as part of my book group early this year. It's a satisfying page turner. 


"A Year and a Day" by Isabelle Broom

For Megan, a winter escape to Prague with her friend Ollie is a chance to find some inspiration for her upcoming photography exhibition. But she's determined to keep their friendship from becoming anything more. Because if Megan lets Ollie find out about her past, she risks losing everything - and she won't let that happen again . . .

For Hope, the trip is a surprise treat from Charlie, her new partner. But she's struggling to enjoy the beauty of the city when she knows how angry her daughter is back home. And that it's all her fault . . .

For Sophie, the city has always been a magical place. This time she can't stop counting down the moments until her boyfriend Robin joins her. But in historic Prague you can never escape the past . . .

This is for people looking for a much lighter read, for a story with more heartwarming moments than spine chilling ones and for those who love a good bit of romance and intertwining story lines. It's set in Prague and the descriptions of the city steal the show. It's a great read, a perfect winter holiday read; enjoyable with a good blend of emotion, drama, happiness and humour.

And here's a few more ideas.....

Classic Christmas reads:



Popular Christmas reads:


What will you be asking for this Christmas? What's your all time favourite Christmas novel and what book would you like to find in your stocking on the 25th of December this year? Let me know in the comments below!

If you'd like to follow me on Twitter you can find me at @katherinesunde3 (bibliomaniacuk) for more recommendations, reviews and bookish chat.

"Girl Unknown" Karen Perry

This is a great premise for a thriller - a tried and tested idea but one that never fails to appeal to readers. I also loved the cover - it's so eye-catching. Admittedly it does rather follow the form of popular psychological thrillers these days but its a form that works - I saw it and knew I wanted to read it! And the strap line for the book is just so inciting.....

A deadly cuckoo in the nest....

Professor David Connolly's life changes the day that Zoe Barry walks into his office claiming to be his daughter. David welcomes her into their home but it his wife Caroline and his children, Robbie and Holly, who find this new girl, who says she is their sister, more difficult to accept and deal with.

Can we trust Zoe? Is she who she says she is? Why has she turned up now and what exactly is she after? Can David and Caroline's marriage survive their secrets from the past that Zoe's arrival is forcing them to confront?

"Girl Unknown" is a beautifully written, tense and taut thriller. The emotional depth of the characters is expressed with polished prose and in words that sit heavy on the page, weighing down the paper with the enormity and complexity of this family's situation; their choices, their decision and their actions. The author conveys their concerns, thoughts and reactions through comments, revelations and observations, striking a perfect balance between an intelligent character driven novel and a tense, page turning thriller.

It is an absorbing novel told through the voices of David and Caroline which alternate in each chapter.  From the outset there are smatterings of clues indicating something more sinister or destructive is coming. David begins by reminiscing of a past relationship, before he met Caroline yet despite it ending nearly two decades ago, his emotional commitment to this woman, Linda, is very obvious.

"....this love affair - I had no idea how much it meant to me - it, too, would be laid to rest. We both knew it...."

From the beginning of Caroline's narrative there is also lots of darker comments that also increase the suspense and tension for what is about to happen:

"....conscious that I was about to be swept up by something more powerful than I understood, something dangerous and beyond my control." 

"I didn't know she existed. But that was when I first felt her shadow fall over me. The first time I felt the ripples of a new presence within my home, like a dye entering water, already changing its chemistry." 

Perry's imagery and metaphors are quite stunning and the beauty of the prose often caught me by surprise. It's almost as if the story line and Zoe's arrival become secondary. For me, it was the interaction between David and Caroline which was compelling and what gripped me. For me, I was most engrossed in the empathetic exploration of this married couple and I loved so many of the passages where Perry's writing was bewitching. For example there is a great passage about being in a long term relationship and how "rot can set it" and a "stone becomes dislodged". Then again when Caroline muses on a marriage repairing itself after a crisis:

"[it] resolved itself slowly, seeping away, like water finding a drain. I have learned that there are several steps- significant markers - along the path to reconciliation. ....At times you're just playing at being married to each other. At other times the pieces fit naturally into place, giving you hope." 

Perry's writing can by lyrical and full of poetic images but then it can also be more threatening and blunt:

"She was a thief, come to steal from me all that I loved. I knew it then: I would have to guard myself against her." 

I seemed to relate to Caroline more, feeling more sympathy towards her as it is she who is more affected and threatened by the arrival of Zoe and what it reveals about David's past. I marked more quotes from her sections as she had a more mesmerising reflective voice which again allowed me to relish in Perry's prose.

"I thought of these strands of DNA and imagined them to be threads escaping their spools. She was a thread that ran through the fabric of our family.....woven into a complex tapestry. Love, trust, fidelity: these were the strands that bound us together."

"Families don't come apart because a thread has loosened. The break, when it comes, is sharp, brutal. It takes ripping and hacking to tear the tapestry apart." 

But what I also liked about Caroline is that she too is fallible, at fault and with her own mistakes she has tried to bury in the past. She is not a victim, nor is she a villain. Perhaps the success of this story is that it is about relatable, believable people. The plot is not far fetched but it is as terrifying as any of the crime thrillers on the market at the moment.

Not that David isn't reflective, considered and thoughtful. Not that he doesn't begin to feel the ripples from Zoe's presence and the way she behaves once welcomed into their family. He too comes to realise some profound changes that are affecting them all and also his role as a father. He realises that for Holly, he is "becoming a different father from the one she had known and relied upon until then." Most interesting was his response when asked what History meant and he recalls a famous quote:

"History is an account, mostly false, of events, mostly unimportant, which are brought about by rulers, mostly knaves and soldiers, mostly fools."

For the discerning reader this could almost capture the main theme of the book. This story is about the history of each character, how they have decided to deal with it, remember it, inform the way they behave today. It's about whether their histories are real, true, significant.

Zoe herself remains quite elusive and "unknown". Cleverly revealed largely through the way other people perceive her and rarely given a chance to tell the reader her version of events, she remains distanced from the reader. However, there are enough clues to ensure we are not sympathetic towards her. As she says about herself when describing the attributes of a Pisces:

"Pisces are the Chameleons of the Zodiac......very adaptable. And our inner lies are important to us. Our secrets and dreams." 

There is something deliciously dark about her. The reader watches as she appears to silently, secretly, invisibly inflict unhappiness, confusion and distress upon David's family. And there is always that question of whether she is trustworthy, whether she can be believed or whether she is scapegoated by Caroline, Robbie and Holly. How do we know who to trust and who to believe?

But as the story continues there are more and more things that don't stack up. Things that can be explained away but linger with a heavy scent of doubt. Things that concern the reader. Ultimately, this is someone who David knows so little about, someone he has welcomed back due to a nostalgic yearning for a first love. And all of these characters have secrets, have made mistakes, have shown themselves to be distrustful, jealous and prepared to seek revenge. Are these characters strong enough to listen to each other? To trust each other? To really see what is in front of them?

I thought the last line of the story was epic. It holds the absolute weight of consequence, responsibility, love, knowledge and guilt in its twelve short words.

"Girl Unknown" reminded me of "An Inspector Calls" and "A  Casual Vacancy". It will appeal to anyone who enjoys a thriller about families, marriages, lost children and where the consequences of one decision have the most devastating and chilling results. This is a fascinating exploration of a dysfunctional family - it's not just about Zoe and who or what she is, but as much about what she triggers and how she affects each member in the Connolly's family.

My only little quibble would be that I felt the title almost detracts from the high quality prose and well written, accomplished characterisation and storyline. Although still a fitting title, I just think it might be slightly underselling itself and perhaps missing out on reaching some of its potential audience.

This is the second book I have read by Karen Perry and it will not be the last. I am a fan.

"Girl Unknown" will be published by Penguin Random House on 1st December 2016.

Karen Perry is the pen name of crime writing duo Paul Perry and Karen Gillece. They both live in Dublin, Ireland. You can follow them on @KarenPerryBooks. They have also written Sunday Times bestselling titles "The Boy That Never Was" and "Only We Know".

If you enjoyed my review then please follow me on Twitter @katherinesunde3 (bibliomaniacuk)

"Penhaligon's Attic" Terri Nixon

1910. Anna Garvey arrives in Caernoweth, Cornwall with her daughter and a secret. Having come from Ireland to take up an inheritance of the local pub, she and her eighteen year-old daughter Mairead are initially viewed with suspicion by the close-knit community.

Anna soon becomes acquainted with Freya Penhaligon, a vulnerable girl struggling to keep her family business afloat in the wake of her grandmother's death, and starts to gain the trust of the locals. As their friendship deepens, and Freya is brought out of her shell by the clever and lively Mairead, even Freya's protective father Matthew begins to thaw.

But when a part of Anna's past she'd long tried to escape turns up in the town, she is forced to confront the life she left behind - for her sake and her daughter's too . . .

Cornwall is always such an excellent place to set a story. We are all so in love with "Poldark" that conjuring up an image of rugged coastline, mystery, romance and drama is easy. Cornwall lends itself beautifully to such storytelling and has been chosen as the location by many many authors including on of my favourites, Daphne Du Maurier. The mystical sounding place names like Caernoweth and the traditional first names and family names of the characters all contribute to the mythological atmosphere, perfect for a good yarn.

The sea is used effectively by Nixon to create tension and excitement. I particularly enjoyed one of the very early scenes with Freya when she is shown how powerful it can be and Nixon establishes the relationship the characters have with their coastline:

"....she had loved the seas all her life. She had admired it, been in awe of its raw power, spoken to it like a friend even, and thanked it for the treasures it had given her. In return it had almost stolen her life. It smashed itself against the rocks behind her, and against the breakwater, expressing its own anger at losing her."

The book is very easy to read, it is very plot driven and sweeps along with as many undulations as it's rolling countryside and with as much drama as its precarious cliffs. There are quite a few characters to keep track of but not too many to make it confusing or over complicated. Nixon has very clearly evoked a strong sense of time and place. Her use of historical detail is subtle enough not to draw attention to itself and thorough enough to leave the reader firmly rooted in the period. The language spoken by the characters is very easy to follow. Again, Nixon has struck a good balance between using enough dialect to remind us where we are and enough informal or historical language to remind us when we are without alienating the reader in any way. It feels authentic.

The prose flows well and the chapters are clearly marked in to different sections with headings that mean the reader is never lost or unsure as to where they are in the plot.

Reading this book is like indulging in your favourite Sunday night costume drama. It is like comfort food for these winter evenings. There are good characters and plenty of familiar themes to satisfy anyone looking for an enjoyable historical drama or anyone who enjoys a good saga.

"Penhaligon's Attic" is published by Piatkus Little, Brown on 1st December 2016.

Terri Nixon
Terri Nixon was born in Plymouth in 1965. At the age of 9 she moved with her family to Cornwall to the village featured in Daphne Du Maurier's Jamica Inn - North Hill - where she discovered a love of writing that has stayed with her ever since. Her first commercially published novel was "Maid of Oaklands Manor" published by Piatkus in 2013. She has since published two more novels in the Oaklands Manor Trilogy: "A Rose in Flanders Fields" and "Daughter of Dark River Farm".


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

"What Alice Knew" T A Cotterell

I think all I can say is 'Wow'.

This has given me the biggest book hangover in a while. I was literally stunned when I finished reading the last page and in some sort of trance for the following hours. Don't you just love it when a book like that falls into your life?! Bibliomaniac heaven.

In some ways it's not like a conventional best-selling, page-turning psychological thriller yet it is page turning and it so deserves to be a best seller!

I'd say "What Alice Knew" is more character driven than plot driven, with Cotterell not only successfully immersing us in the complexity of the protagonist's dilemma, but also getting us to consider wider issues about human nature, knowledge and truth. It has a gripping plot line but it is really a discussion of human behaviour. This book is exceptional in its ability to engage, thrill, intrigue and entertain as well as provoke philosophical questions and reflection. It's an accomplished, accessible, well paced novel that rivals all its contemporary popular "Grip Lit" titles with relatable characters and a compelling writing style. It's absorbing, arresting and addictive.

If you haven't read it then I highly recommend that you put everything else aside, find a spot (it doesn't have to even be quite because you'll lose yourself in this story) and get reading!

It's going to be a tricky book to review as I am torn between being absolutely desperate to talk about it and wary of giving anything away. The succinct blurb on the back cover is perfect in only telling the reader what they need to know and really I don't want to say more than that - other than, trust me, this is not just a clever marketing campaign - this book really will live up to the hype and you need to find out just what Alice knew.......!

So in case you haven't read the blurb, this is the story of Alice. Alice who has a perfect life, a dream job, a wonderful, loving husband and great kids. She is happy. She is secure. She is with her life partner and there is nothing that she doesn't know about him or about their relationship. She's confident, rational, logical and content. Nothing is going to ruffle her feathers.

And yet....suddenly a few things just don't add up. And as Alice reflects, what do you do when a slow dawning realisation begins to creep up on you and you are forced to look at your life with fresh eyes?

"Do you come straight out with it, a blurted question loaded with tears and ultimatums?" 

Because once you start something, is there ever any way to go back? Once you know something, can you ever 'unknown' it again? Is it ever better to not know something?

At the beginning I liked Alice. She seems quiet but thoughtful. Calm. She is not weak, not a victim, she hasn't done anything wrong; she's committed to her marriage and family, she's reflective, insightful and good at her job. She is a portrait painter and I loved the insight this allowed her to have about people and truth. It is such an effective plot device and so intriguing. Through this Cotterell immediately adds multiple layers to his writing.

The book opens with Alice painting Julie, the young second wife of the rich Ray.

"I had painted a faux-girly voice and a belief in the redistributive power of of shopping......I had also painted subterfuge. ......I had painted the fragile interplay of power and trust, money and fear, love and mobility. I had painted the portrait of a second marriage." 

I love the sentences like "Uneasy lies the head that wears that crown," that are gently slipped into the prose and seemingly about something obvious, yet imply so much more and come to mean so much more as the story continues.

The references to painters, art and mythology give this thriller a fresh angle from its friends on the bookshop shelves and add a delicious depth to the characters and their situation. However it is never overly intellectualising, pretentious or distracting. It's subtly thought provoking, used to enhance characters and provide metaphors in a story that is fast paced made up largely from dialogue and internal monologue.

I think what makes this book resonate, what makes it unsettling, is that this is a normal couple - a normal family. Neither husband nor wife is apparently unhappy, vindictive, frustrated. There is no reason for anything to rumble the status quo. But it does. And from that point everything unravels. It resonates because it is relatable, believable and probably captures our deepest fears of what could happen to any of us. Cotterell constantly says to the reader, "What would you do?" "Could you?" and that classic, "What if....."

"Life doesn't just 'go on' as the cliche has it. The clocks are reset, relationships recalibrated."

I really liked the recurring concept of an "infinite lie" and how "lies compound like a debt until you can no longer pay the interest." Cotterell really conveys the domino effect of the situation Alice and Ed find themselves in. He cleverly builds plenty of tension and suspense as the reader holds their breath in anticipation while watching it all play out.

Despite how this review might make the book appear, it is not a heavy read. I flew through it in record time, totally engrossed. Although Alice is prone to reflection and artistic musings, she is also capable of shrewd, sharp and humorous description, particularly when talking about her school mum acquaintance Bea:

"Bea is part of the school-run-have-coffee-play-tennis-back-to-yours-for-a-gossip-and-a-salad-and-a-glass-of-wine-oh-go-on-then-I'm-not-driving-OMG-it's-time-to-pick-up-the-kids-brigade." 

And there is lots of very down to earth, blunt observations on contemporary society too:

"I had never realised how the Internet throbs 24/7 on subjects that make the national news. Trolls, conspiracy theorists, single issue maniacs, swivel-eyed obsessives, anyone with dodgy spelling and an iron cast opinion have a new home."

This creates a good balance against the deeper reflections about art and portraits - although the concept of faces, what we see, what we are and what is the truth, are intrinsic to the novel. I really enjoyed Alice's comments about portraits and how at times they also conveyed a kind of naivety in what she was missing, what she was not seeing, not able to grasp.

"Always start with the eyes. They tell you how strong someone is, what reserves they have, how far they would go. They reveal the structure. The rest is cladding." 

"A portrait is a painted answer; I only had a canvas of questions." 

"What is a portrait if not the opening up of a character, the physical manifestation of the story of a life." 

There are plenty of universal themes in this novel. There are the obvious ones about truth, honesty, loyalty, marriage, friendship and parenting. Then there is almost a second layer of more underlying, implied themes like the difference between right and wrong and how that can change depending on circumstances and responsibilities, what does it mean to do the right thing, how much is class still an issue in our society, what does it really mean or take to say sorry. There is a lot about perception and expectation too. As I have said already, Cotterell does a magnificent job of exploring all of these concepts through a very captivating story line which will appeal to a very wide audience and appeal to people on a number of layers. Whether you are looking for a chilling read that is ultimately enthralling and full of twists or whether you are looking for something more fascinating, entrancing and unputdownable, this is the book for you!

I found the ending very emotional. The last three pages actually had quite a profound affect on me, a bit like an epiphany even. I'd half guessed a few things along the way but really needed to join the dots and then I finished reading with a whole host of new questions! I really want people to read this book so I can talk about it some more!

My final point would be to congratulate Cotterell on writing from a female point of view with such conviction and authenticity. And for the lasting impression this book has made on me as I continue to think about the lines you often have to consider crossing or not crossing in life, and what it really means to protect those we love.

"Life isn't only what you see in front of you. It takes place in the margins, in the lines between the squares." 

If you enjoyed "The Widow" by Fiona Barton, "In Her Wake" by Amanda Jennings, "Lying in Wait" by Liz Nugent or "My Husband's Son" by Deborah O'Connor, then you will definitely enjoy this.

Without a doubt 5* from me. Absolutely loved it.

Thanks so much to Becky Hunter at Penguin Random House for the advance copy of the book.

If you want to see what else I have enjoyed reading then you can follow me on Twitter @katherinesunde3 (bibliomaniacuk)