**AUTHOR POST** Angela Clarke

It is my great pleasure to hand over my blog today to Angela Clarke, author of the Social Media Murder Series, "Follow Me" and "Watch Me". 

Angela will be appearing at Bibliomaniac's Book Club event on Wednesday 18th January in Harpenden. Keep an eye on my blog for more posts about this! To find out more about Bibliomaniac's Book Club click on the link below:

Bibliomaniac's Book Club

Today she talks to us about "The Difficult Second Book". Thanks so much Angela for coming along today and chatting! 

The Difficult Second Book

People often say musicians struggle with that difficult second album. But what about authors? Can the same be said for that difficult second book?

I never set out to write a crime series, I never set out to write a crime novel. In 2014, I was trolled in response to some feminist posts I wrote. It didn’t last too long, but during the couple of days it did, the graphic rape threats (they helpfully sent pictures) and threats of violence I received left me frightened and more than a little perplexed. Until then, Twitter had been a safe space, somewhere I could find and interact with like-minded people. What would drive someone to brutally threaten a stranger just because they disagreed with something they wrote online?

I began to do some digging. I found out information about those who had sent terrifying rape threats to me. One was a father of two young girls who sat on his children’s school’s PTA. Another was a nineteen year old economics student at Warwick University, and female. If you want to know what they said, take a look at my novel Follow Me. I reproduced their intimidating messages word for word. If they wish to claim their work, I’m more than happy to credit them. That is what the trolls really gave me: grist for the mill.

I became fascinated with what drove people to behave badly online. Is it because, under the illusion of anonymity, we forget there is a real person on the other end of the internet? Whether we’re shaming, flaming, trolling or campaigning, you are talking about and too real people. Each of those words is striking another human being. Just how far would we go? If a killer was tweeting clues to their next victim, would we engage with them? Would we share their posts (even in the misguided notion that we might be helping)? Would we challenge the killer? Would we follow the killer online? From these kernels, grew a book about the internet. My Great Internet Book. About how technological developments like social media are changing the way we interact, changing how we live. How technology is advancing too fast for us to develop social etiquette, norms and laws in line with it. How in that lag, we are finding new ways to hurt people, and we’re making ourselves vulnerable.

When I presented My Great Internet Book to my agent she read it and said, ‘Darling, it’s full of dead bodies. You’ve written a crime novel.’ How exciting! I loved watching and reading crime, and in technology I’d found a niche. I write the Social Media Murder Series. The first, Follow Me, concerns trolling, and a tweeting serial killer, the second is themed on SnapChat, and explores revenge porn and online bullying.

Many of my crime writing pals, both on screen and in print, try to get rid of a character’s tech. We can all think of character whose mobile phone have no signal or battery. That way the character can’t call for help, or Google the answer to something. But that’s too easy. Far better is to have fun with the darker elements of our new toys. To make us think about what we open ourselves up to when we share so much online. Or even if we don’t. Did you know you could take a nude Selfie on your phone and immediately delete it, but a copy will be saved on the cloud unless you have actively disabled that option? That means you might never share that nude Selfie with anyone, but it could still be stolen from your cloud and published online. It could still be sent to your work colleagues, the parents of your children’s friends, it could still destroy your life. That’s an uncomfortable darkness we should all be aware of. We need to talk about these things. We need to educate ourselves and each other. We need to be kinder.

So, did I have a difficult second book? Oh no, because as long as we keep inventing new technology, and new ways to abuse it, I have plenty of material. Stay safe, guys.

Thanks so much Angela! This is really interesting and great to hear that there will hopefully be many more Social Media Murder books coming in the future!

To read my reviews of Angela's books you can click here:
My review of Watch Me by Angela Clarke
My review of Follow Me by Angela Clarke

Angela’s bestselling crime thriller Follow Me is out now. Watch Me was released on 12^th January 2017. Angela will be appearing at the Criminally Good Books event on the 18^th January 2017. 

You can follow her on Twitter at @TheAngelaClarke, and receive an exclusive free short story and insider industry information on getting published by signing up to her newsletter here: http://angelaclarke.co.uk/free/

You can follow me and Bibliomaniac's Book Club on Twitter @katherinesunde3 or by signing up on this blogsite to receive all future posts via email. 

"The Dry" by Jane Harper

Luke Hadler turns a gun on his wife and child, then himself. The farming community of Kiewarra is facing life and death choices daily. If one of their own broke under the strain then.......

Set in a small community in Australia, during a drought that is destroying the land, the farmers' livelihoods, marriages, friendships and lives. Aaron Falk, a Federal Police Officer who left Kiewarra twenty years ago, has returned to investigate the death of his childhood friend.

As Falks digs deeper into the mystery surrounding the murder of the Hadler family, he finds himself haunted by ghosts from the past and struggles to come to terms with the rejection he suffered from this community all those years ago, a rejection that which made him leave for a new life in Melbourne. Then the past becomes entangled with the present and the secret Falk thought he had buried long ago is brought back to the surface.

I read a few reviews of this book on Twitter and Facebook and decided it was my kind of story. I requested it immediately even though my TBR pile is in danger of toppling over and my diary for January is already rammed with books waiting to be reviewed...... But I *had* to have this book.

I am so glad I was lucky enough to get an ARC just before publication date and squeeze it in to my reading schedule as the reviews are right - it really is a bit of special book.

The opening is hugely atmospheric. Harper sets a scene of heat, death and decay through images of insects and nature which capture the affects of the drought on the landscape. Then she uses this imagery to reveal the scene of the murdered Hadler family. Although clearly this is a harrowing picture laid out in front of us, the sense of stillness, quietness and isolation makes the realisation of what we see before us even more hard hitting. The atmosphere of desperation is eerily conveyed through the weather and the landscape - a technique used throughout the whole novel with the drought becoming as much of a character as the protagonists. Harper's ability to capture the acrid dryness is impressive and I could almost feel the suffocating heat catching in my throat despite the fact it is actually snowing outside my window.

Harper's prose is full of evocative descriptions and effective dialogue.  I thought these sentences at the beginning of the prologue captured the essence of the character's suffering and sense of hopelessness.

"'It'll break,' the farmers said as the months ticked over into a second year. They repeated the words out loud to each other like a mantra, and under their breath to themselves like a prayer."

And the chilling last line of the prologue:

"So nothing reacted when deep inside the house, the baby started crying."

This idea of nothing reacting also hints at the numbness beginning to trickle through the community as behaviours and attitudes become so changed by the long term effects of the drought. It is an interesting exploration of a community under pressure and I liked that the pressure was a completely different kind from the usual ones found in crime thrillers.

Despite the oppressiveness of the heat, Harper's language blows through the pages like a fresh wind. Her writing is full of original imagery; she presents characters and situations through sentences that lack any cliches or well worn paths often trodden in this genre. This is a book that makes you pause, look up from the page and let the sentence sink in as you absorb and enjoy the picture or character created in front of you.

"How short was the road from the decision to this moment? The question ached like a bruise."

We are never allowed to forget about the dry and Harper's references are subtle and unforced yet permeate through the passages like the dusty footprints on the ground that follow everyone everywhere in this time of drought.

"a stern sign hanging from an egg timer next to the shower head had ordered him to keep ablutions to three minutes."

And another example of her writing style is when the Hadler family funeral takes place, we are reminded that the 13 month old Charlotte escaped death:

"No name spelled out in flowers for her" 

But her future would not be a happy one:

"Not many places to hide for a kid destined to grow up with the label 'lone survivor'."

Again this also captures the underlying sense of a small community in an isolated countryside. In fact, this novel is as much an exploration of the dynamics and workings of an insular community as an investigation of murder. I thought the setting almost felt post apocalyptic at times which was really effective as this implies a society where the rules are different and what becomes acceptable has changed - what can happen to a town which is suffering extreme circumstances.

"It's so bad Aaron. So bad. You can feel it. We're all walking around like zombies. Not sure what to do, what to say. Watching each other. trying to work out who'll be next to snap."

What is also interesting is the reaction to Luke's death. Although horrific, there is also a "parochial pity" as he is now "out of it, isn't he? While the rest of  us are stuck here to rot, he's got no more worrying about crops or missed payments to the next rainfall," which conveys the pressure the people are under. I thought this was a really interesting thing to explore and again, reinforced my feeling that this is a very different kind of crime story.

The main character is Aaron Falk. The story is told from mainly from his point of view as he refuses to believe his best friend Luke would kill his own family and refuses to accept that Luke could be a murderer or would commit suicide. He is convinced that someone else is responsible, that there is a murderer at large. Joining forces with the local police, Falk teams up with Raco to investigate the crime. Immediately there are hints that Luke and Falk have a hidden secret and something has happened to them in the past when they were teenagers. Harper's interjection of a short italicised phrase begins to infiltrate the pages and create a further atmosphere of unease and suspense.

"Luke lied. You lied."

Falk, Luke, Gretchen and Ellie were "teenage tight, where you believe your friends are soul mates and the bonds will last forever" and now, with both Luke dead and Ellie having died twenty years ago, it is only Gretchen and Falk left. But what happened between them? How did Ellie die and how is her death linked to the death of Luke? What does Falk know and what is he trying to hide? Why did he leave and what was he trying to escape?

I was drawn to Falk. Initially - and for almost two thirds of the book - he is a little aloof and reserved. He feels like a bit of a loner, a man who is secretive and insular. He is a great observer and a man troubled by something which is stopping him from moving on with his life emotionally. He is excellent at his job and relates well to people but for some reason he is disliked and some people are not pleased to see him return. He is well crafted, intriguing and Harper's ability to create a male protagonist with such authenticity and complexity is impressive.

I also like Raco, the local Police Officier. He felt more punchy; unafraid to ask the questions, cross the lines and is sharp, shrewd and objective enough to interpret more of what is going on around him. I enjoyed the developing the relationship between the two men and found the dynamics between them, their working and professional interaction, engaging. Raco often brings a little bit of pace and lightness to the storyline. He is clever and insightful and able to push Aaron in a way Aaron is restricted because of his ghosts from the past. He is also able to push Aaron to look for things that always been there but he's chosen not to see. I really enjoyed the increasing dramatic tension when Aaron had to relive conversations, look again at photos and rethink the things he thought he knew.

This novel does begin slowly - perhaps in keeping with the setting and temperature of Kiewarra - but the last third is absolutely compelling and it suddenly becomes a real page turner. I was completely gripped and could not be interrupted as I read on to the end, watching the revelations, realisations, twists, turns and last minute rug pulling moments leap from the page.

I enjoyed the way the story resolved itself - there is quite a lot of exposition and explanation but it is not superfluous; it is measured, considered and carefully executed. Just like the rest of Harper's writing.

To me, this novel seems to cross over a few genres. Yes, it is a murder story, yes there is mystery and crime, yes it is a police procedural novel but it is also a novel about friendship, about secrets, about hidden pasts. It is a novel about small communities, coming of age and the environment. It is not a page turner but it is intriguing. It is not a quick one sitting read but it is compelling and gripping. I really enjoyed it and actually, the last third of the book completely transformed my opinion. For the most part I thought it was a very well written crime story but by the end I thought it was a clever, multilayered story with a dramatic and climatic denouement that was hugely satisfying and left me staring blankly ahead beyond the pages as the final few revelations sank in.

"The Dry" might be a bit different from your usual crime thriller read, but I would recommend you read it. I think Harper offers something a little different and I really admired her writing. There is no way this reads like a debut and I can't wait for the next book from her!

"The Dry" by Jane Harper was published on 12th January 2017 by Little, Brown.

Thanks to the publishers Little, Brown and netgalley for the last minute approval and thanks also to all the bloggers who convinced me to read this book with their enticing reviews!

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

"Behind Her Eyes" by Sarah Pinborough

Why is everyone talking about the ending of Sarah Pinborough's Behind Her Eyes?

This has to be one of the most anticipated releases of 2017 so far. The marketing has been tantalising and it has literally been one of the most talked about books on social media for a while. It's been bold in its claims and with a promise of an ending that will completely blow you away, I was thrilled to get an ARC of this book and more than just little curious about the story.

Meet Louise. A single mum with a four year old son Adam. Stuck in a rut. Getting by. Managing on her own while her ex-husband remarries and begins to start a new family. On a rare night out she meets a man at a bar, sparks fly and suddenly she is filled with hope that she has finally connected with someone again. Until she gets in to work the next day and realises this man is her new boss, David.

And David is married. One morning, Louise bumps into Adele, David's wife, and they become friendly. Louise can't help but become drawn into their world and their marriage-split between her attraction for David and her fondness for Adele who seems to be hiding something. Soon she realises their marriage is not perfect and not as idyllic as they try to pretend. Soon she is caught up in a tangle of complications as she tries to figure out just what is going on between them and then things start to take a deadly direction.

The novel is told in alternating sections hopping between the first person narratives of Louise and Adele, and then a further narrative from Adele, this time in third person from the past.

Adele is an intriguing character from the outset. She is desperately in love with her husband and does everything to make him happy.

"I love my husband. I have since the moment I set eyes on him, and I will never fall out of love with him." 

But even though she does everything he could wish to look after him, even though she appears to have dedicated her days to domestic chores and looking after her appearance to please him, she reveals that things are not right.

"I'm a beautiful woman, I look after myself. Why can't he still love me?........I have only ever tried to be the perfect wife and give him the perfect life. Why can't he let the past go." 

From the outset it is clear that there is a dark secret behind this couple's marriage. We just need to try and figure out what it is but even with Louise's help as she becomes Adele's confidant and spends more time with both David and Adele, we find ourselves becoming more confused by David's changing personality and concerned about Adele's emotional state of mind.

Pinborough then goes on to weave a masterful story full of suspense and tension, never quite giving us enough detail to work out what is really going on, ensuring that every time we think we have worked something out, she throws in another revelation, another confession or resolution from one of the characters. The success of this story is that we are as drawn in as Louise and as intrigued, concerned, fascinated and frightened by the characters as she is. Pinborough starts off with a story about an affair and a jealous wife and then transforms it in to something more astounding, successfully sustaining intrigue for the entirety of the novel and keeping a few jaw dropping twists until the very final pages.

I must admit I was wholeheartedly captivated by Adele's character and she reminded me of other literary characters who have equally fascinated me. I liked her duplicity, the carefully planned projection of what she wanted to people to think of her versus the callous manipulation that lies behind it. The third person sections also reveal a traumatic past and show us that Adele has suffered, struggled and then survived harrowing events. Although again, Pinborough drip feeds this story, still not quite giving us enough information to work out the whole context of Adele's past and why she ended up receiving therapy for so long.

But I also liked Louise and the novel certainly needs a more relatable, real character who is ordinary - flawed but ultimately well meaning- who is just trying to do her best despite her own feelings of inadequacy, anxiety and a propensity to over think everything. Louise also suffers from terrible night terrors. Her dreams are vivid, highly distressing and leave her exhausted and fragile.

I enjoyed the mounting tension which is created through several narrative devices and plot twists.

Firstly we have Louise coming to terms with her own failed marriage, her personal situation, her feelings for David and her confusion about the man she knows and the man Adele is married to. Louise is likeable, she has our sympathy and support. She doesn't always make the right decisions but she is only human; loneliness can affect the way people respond to the lure of friendship and the offer of love.

Then we have Adele. We are not sure whether she is a fragile woman who is has become completely dominated and controlled by her powerful husband to which she owes her life and to whom she seems bound to forever by some deep secret in their past.

And finally David. Is he the lighthearted man who Louise met in the bar that night and finally shared laughter and bright conversation with? Or is he a husband who has fallen out of love with his wife and seeks to keep her confined to the house, isolated and totally dependent on him while he enjoys her wealth?

I really enjoyed the theme of dreams that is very important in the novel. Night terrors, a nightmare you can't wake up from, the exhaustion of never getting a good night's sleep and the fascinating concept that you can control you dreams adds a whole new layer to the plot which makes this book stand out from the others in this genre. The reader does have to accept some artistic license towards the end but I was more than willing to accept the small liberties taken as Pinborough entertained me with such a clever, multilayered story I was totally prepared to suspend belief in the name of an excellent story. Isn't that what great fiction is all about sometimes?

I really enjoyed this book. It has great characters and a great premise. It is full of intrigue, suspense, and tension. It is a psychological thriller with a difference!

It reminded me of "Her Fearful Symmetry" by Audrey Niffenegger and the film "Inception".

"Behind Her Eyes" by Sarah Pinborough will be published on 26th January 2017 by Harper Collins.

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

"The DamselFly" by SJI Holliday

The tragic murder of  bright school girl Katie Taylor sets the small town of Banktoun alight. Polly McAllister has returned to Banktoun to make amends. She is thrown in at the deep end with her job as school counsellor and it's not long before she uncovers a multitude of murky secrets. Katie had enemies. Katie's boyfriend is not so squeaky clean.

DC Louise Jennings and DS Davie Gray must work together to unravel the latest dark mystery in a town blighted by tragedy. They must find out who murdered Katie before someone takes matters into their own hands. 

Trial by social media. A baying mob. But they've got the wrong man...... Because the killer is closer than you think.

Can I just say, wow -cover crush!! Isn't it gorgeous!

And, a quote from Elizabeth Haynes on the front, Amanda Jennings on the back and book blogger extraordinaire Anne Cater (randomthingsthroughmyletterbox @annecater) on the inside page, I mean, what fantastic endorsements! There is no way you can leave this sitting on the shelf in the bookshop!

This is SJI Holliday's third novel set in Banktoun, although it can be read as a stand alone. There are some overriding story arcs that carry across the trilogy but there is enough catch up provided to keep you up to speed. I would recommend that you give "Black Wood" and "Willow Walk" a read though as they are great thrillers.

For those of you who have read the other titles in this series, rest assured,  "The Damselfly" does not disappoint.

SJI Holliday welcomes us back to Banktoun and provides us with yet another story of murder, mystery and suspense.

Welcome to Banktoun. Twinned with Le Harve, France. Le Happiest Town in the County.

The story kicks off straight away with several lines of intrigue. First we meet Katie and the book opens with a killer line:

"Sometimes, Katie wished that she was dead."

Oh dear.

Well, before her wish comes true, she wins five thousand pounds on a scratch card while bunking off school with her boyfriend Neil. She swears him to secrecy. Katie has big plans - university, a future, a move away from her sister and mother.

Then we meet Polly who is a school counsellor, retuning to Banktoun to make amends and resolve some issues but finding herself thrown headlong into dealing with the aftermath of Katie's supposed suicide. Polly's complex back story and conflicting emotions about returning are well captured as she sees "memories at every turn, not all of them good" while out on her lunch break on her first day.

Then returning to school, this sense of trepidation and unease becomes even greater.

"A prickle of fear down her back, like ice sliding down a car windscreen. Something has happened. Something has definitely happened. Something bad."

And when she finds out that the girl who has died is Katie Taylor, daughter of Mandy Taylor, the case becomes even more emotionally complicated for her.

We also meet Louise, a detective investigating Katie's death. As she is despatched to take a look at the crime scene, Louise wonders why she was so keen to join the Serious Investigation Unit - but then she remembers "life would be so boring otherwise." Although, I think she might actually prefer a boring day in the office to the one she will actually end up having! Louise also has a crush on her colleague Davie Gray with whom she must now work. Through Louise, Holliday delivers some very effective description of what is happening around her. I admired Holliday's imagery in "Willow Walk" a lot so I did enjoy being able to read more passages where she conveys a scene through a few words. Her ability to capture atmosphere is impressive.

And then there is Neil, Katie's boyfriend. Is he all he seems? Has he been as faithful and as truthful as he led Katie to believe?

So, the scene is set. The character's introduced and plenty of intriguing details about each of them have been hinted at as we set off to investigate Katie's death. A perfect premise and set up. A perfect number of characters to engage us, develop plenty of sub plots and complex threads without overwhelming or confusing us. The chapters alternate between the different characters which ensures the plot is driven forward with great pace and it is hard to stop yourself from reading 'just one more chapter' as you are keen to see who has to say what next. The chapters are organised into bigger sections headed with Monday, Tuesday and so on as the investigation continues which also creates a sense of pace, desperation and anticipation.

As well as this, the chapters are also broken up with draft emails and conversations taking place on social media. The ThreeWiseMonkeysBlog is posted but only in draft form. It is anonymous and the reader devours the clues, hints and tone of voice within these draft posts trying to work out who they are written by. This adds yet another layer of mystery and threat. The subtitle of the posts are "Telling It Like It Is" and that is exactly what the they do. The voice is unpleasant, bitter, cruel, blunt and vindictive. It's confrontational and it's easy to guess what kind of chaos it would cause if it were ever published.

"What's that saying - you can choose your friends, you can't choose your family? I wouldn't choose my family. Not if I had a choice. A proper choice. Families are science. You come from the same seed, spread down over the years like pollen. Friends are psychology. Chosen or thrown together? Why do you choose your friends? Why do they choose you? And ....what if they unchoose you?"

There's also a 'secret' group set up on Facebook which grows with frightening popularity. Its messages become threatening, violent, out of hand and Holliday shows how quickly a rumour, an allegation, one misjudged sentence can stir up a frenzy of hatred and aggression.

There are a lot of different voices and different types of writing in this book which makes it a really engaging and page turning read. Holliday creates believable characters with authentic voices. Her use of dialect and colloquialism also gives the book vitality and energy - it makes it real.

There are so many different threads to consider, be wary of, be intrigued and frightened by that it is a compelling crime thriller. There is plenty of action, excitement, and drama; there are well developed characters who you invest in and feel yourself becoming involved with. There are lots of great details, hints and clues which show what an accomplished storyteller Holliday is.

This is a powerful read. Holliday explores the effect of social media on police investigations, friendships, communities and individuals extremely well. Social media is so much part of our everyday existence that it is fascinating to read about it's more deadly side.

There are also many other themes in this book that are universal like relationships - appropriate / inappropriate / equal / unequal and what happens when lines are crossed, judgements made, assumptions spread. It is also a book about families, friendships, secrets, resentment and jealousy.

I highly recommend this book and think it will appeal to a huge range of readers. If you like detective novels, books set in Scotland, books set in small communities that are affected by tragedy or books about social media crime, siblings, families and friendship then this is the book for you.

You may also want to read Angela Clarke's Social Media Murder series ("Follow Me" & "Watch Me") as well as Alex Caan's "Cut to the Bone" and TM Logan's "Lies" for other novels that use social media to generate mystery, murder and threat.

"The Damselfly" is out on 2nd February and published by Black and White Publishing. But if you can't wait that long, don't forget to look up "Black Wood" and "Willow Walk"which are available on Amazon and in bookshops.

Here's my review of "Willow Walk" if you fancy taking a look!
Bibliomaniac's Review of "Willow Walk" SJI Holliday

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

"Lies" T M Logan

WHAT IF YOUR WHOLE LIFE WAS BASED ON LIES? 

A gripping new psychological thriller of secrets and revenge.

When Joe Lynch sees his wife enter an underground car park in the middle of the day, he's intrigued enough to follow her down.

And when he sees her in an angry altercation with family friend Ben, he naturally goes to her defence - and doesn't for a minute believe the accusations Ben makes against her.

It's pure misfortune that, just as the clash becomes violent and Ben is knocked unconscious, Joe's son has an asthma attack, and Joe has to take him to safety

This is a debut novel from Bonnier Zaffre, a publisher which I have come to rely on for great first novels from new, fresh voices. I chased this book down on NetGalley as I was very keen to read it and I'm delighted that once more, Bonnier Zaffre did not disappoint! Billed as a "gripping, new, psychological thriller" it is exactly that and although this descriptor follows many titles at the moment, I think it is deservedly placed alongside "Lies".

If you want to read a book about that moment when you make a decision - not a big decision, not an agonisingly complicated decision, but more of a snap decision - a whim to go left rather than right, leave work early, to surprise an old friend or your partner, then this is the book for you. If you want to read a book about how that snap decision actually has such a profound impact on your life that things are never the same again, then this is the book for you. If you want to read a book all about the 'What if' question that we all love to ask ourselves when we are wandering along in our daily routine, this this is the book for you! As our protagonist Joe says:

"I often wonder what would have happened if I hadn't seen her car that day. If the light had been green instead of red. If my son had been dozing or daydreaming, or looking the other way........"

This novel is also about secrets and lies. If Joe hadn't decided to follow his wife's car that day would things have carried on as normal? Can secrets be hidden forever? Can lies be spun forever? Or will they always be discovered - will fate intervene at some point?

Why did Joe follow his wife's car that day? Was it a snap decision, a whim or was it fate? Whatever it was, Joe had "made a spur of the moment decision that would change my life," and whether it was fate or not doesn't slow down the complicated web of mystery, revenge and duplicity he finds himself unwittingly caught up in.

I really liked Joe. The story is told from his point of view and I found I immediately felt very at ease with his voice. I thought he was very convincing, authentic and likeable. His relationship with his son shows how gentle, patient, humorous and thoughtful he is as well as revealing his commitment to his family. Although accused of being average, I liked the fact he was deliberately ordinary and flawed. In fact, doesn't that make the story even more relatable and engaging?

I think it is also unusual to read a psychological thriller that is written from a male point of view and where it is the man who is the character we align ourselves with and who seems to be the caught up in the emotional turmoil of the situation rather than the manipulator, the planner or the dastardly villain. I liked that.

At times Joe's voice is kept light, for example when he tries to talk to high flying, ultra successful Ben at the start of the novel Joe reflects his sense of inferiority and captures the difference between men and women's interactions with his causal reference to "Awkward Bloke Conversations". But then at other times it is very honest and open.

"And that was when everything I knew started to fall apart."

I also thought the dialogue was really well written. I forgot I was reading a book I was so immersed in the moment and the action. There are several passages which are just pure dialogue but it is effective. It keeps the story moving forward as well as developing characters and showing the relationships between them.

The theme of lies is obviously central to the book but there are some interesting, thought provoking questions raised by Joe as he struggles to unknot the lies from the truth.

A lie. Why did she lie? Why do people usually lie?

Mel, his wife, lies to him. Little white lies, bigger lies to cover her tracks, a few more lies not to hurt Joe or to keep things more simple, lies to protect her family, huge whopping lies that actually destroy everything they thought they knew about each other. And then, Joe muses while looking after William, what about the "lies we tell our children?" Can lying ever be good? Can it ever help us? We lie to protect ourselves, our families, each other - surely that kind of lying is ok? Everyone lies, but as the cover says, what happens when all of these lies mean that actually your whole life has been built on them?

Well, for the answer to that, you'll have to read the book to find out......!

This is a contemporary novel and social media plays a large role in the way it helps to compound the lies, create more lies and then perpetuate the lies as they circle around and around the contact list and beyond, going viral in a way that everyone fears and is almost powerless to control. I'm enjoying how social media is infiltrating novels at the moment - it really does help create tension and suspense and really does put the protagonists in very tricky, isolating and excitingly compromising situations.

"Having that many notifications in one go was new to me. I was not a prolific user of Facebook in any case - my life's not even half interesting enough, I'd once told Mel, which she'd said was missing the point of social media entirely."

"They had seem my post, they knew where I'd been. It was like suddenly realising you lived in a goldfish bowl."

I thought the language Logan used to talk about social media was interesting too. I hadn't fully appreciated how menacing the terms we use innocently to talk about our behaviour on things like Facebook actually was:

"Facebook's certainly good for stalking too."

"'Fraped?' 'Facebook raped.'"

And how dependent we are on these gadgets that rule our lives, control our lives and yet can equally destroy our lives. Again, this is well captured by Logan:

"my car was gone. My laptop, iPad and desktop PC were gone. My mobile phone was gone. They might as well have sent me back in time to 1900."

There are many other themes in the story; entrapment, achievement, competition, jealousy, status, friendship, marriage and perception but ultimately this is a very well told story, with strong characters  and an intriguing premise. I know we are not supposed to say it but there is a twist, and no, I didn't see it coming!

Logan does a perfect job of introducing us to likeable characters with enough humour and honest observations to make it engaging and realistic but then cranks up the suspense, tension, complications, revelations and twists to create a gripping, dramatic and exciting ending. This is a well observed novel, relevant to today and just a great read. It really does make you think about 'What if' and how easily life can suddenly go into free fall.

"Lies" will leave you wondering about what is real, what and who can you really trust, should you be sharing a "download of your life" on social media and whether you should take that detour tonight on the way home.

I wouldn't if I were you!

If you enjoyed Angela Clarke's "Follow Me" and "Watch Me", Alex Caan's "Cut to the Bone" and Helen Fitzgerald's "Viral", you will enjoy this book.

"Lies" by TM Logan is published by Bonnier Zaffre on 17th January 2017 (ebook) and will be out in paperback 4th May 2017.

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

"Her Husband's Lover" Julia Crouch

She stole her husband. Now she wants to take her life.

After the horrors of the past, Louisa Williams is desperate to make a clean start. Her husband Sam is dead. Her children, too, are gone, victims of the car accident in which he died. 

Sam said that she would never get away from him. That he would hound her to death if she tried to leave. Louisa never thought that he would want to harm their children though. 

But then she never thought that he would betray her with a woman like Sophie. And now Sophie is determined to take all that Louisa has left. She wants to destroy her reputation and to take what she thinks is owed her - the life she would have had if Sam had lived.

Her husband's lover wants to take her life. The only question is will Louisa let her?

This novel starts off in the way it continues until the very last word; dramatic, intense, confusing and with a unnerving sense of threat from something unknown. 

It opens with a terrible and devastating car crash – which could be a good metaphor for the entire book as this is a messy, complicated, confusing story, full of moments that completely change your thoughts and feelings towards the characters. 

The opening scene of Louisa escaping her battered car which was chased off the road by her husband Sam is very real and emotionally intense.

“Where is he though? Are they still in danger?”

Louisa’s panic about Sam overrides everything else around her and this immediately unleashes a torrent of questions from the reader about what has happened, why she was trying to escape and what has Sam done to propel them into this desperate situation. The added horror that both her children have died in the accident makes this an opening that can only hook the reader in and drag them quickly only on a journey that will keep them balancing on the edge of their seat, wishing the sofa had a seatbelt to keep them tightly in place as the twists, turns, emergency stops and law breaking speed of the story hurtle them along on a ride that can only leave you feeling distinctly nauseous.

So Crouch continues to set the scene. Louise is recovering and they tell her she is “lucky”, but she feels anything but. Crouch evokes a heavy atmosphere of fear which will keep you checking over your shoulder as she builds more and more tension with hints that Louisa’s life is still at stake; that her marriage and family life have been hellish.  The anonymous nature of the voice and the threat create even more suspense and tension.

"The face disappears from above her and she thinks she has escaped. But then, a prickle of hot breath burns at her ear. “If you survive,” the voice says, “if you survive, I’m not going to let you get away with it. If you survive, you’d better watch out, Louisa.”

As we read on, more and more is revealed about Sam. His past, his backstory, the basis on which his relationship with Louisa is based, all making the reader quite uncomfortable. Our sympathy is with Louisa although there are a few subtle clues that imply all may not be as it seems.....

“She has supported him through the fallout from the horrible, brutal murder of his first wife, the ensuing intrusion and suspicion of the police and, finally, vindication of his pleas of innocence and the dropping of all charges. He wouldn’t be able to find anyone else who would love him like she does.”

Generally though we are on her side:

“Tragic Louisa Williams. That prefix has been applied to her name so many times that she should probably add it to her passport.”

I must say that actually I found the passages when Louisa is at a toddler group very powerful. I thought Crouch’s description of the “wave of maternal hostility that Louisa can practically see rolling across the room towards her” was very effective and captured the situation so well. I also liked her description of NOISY TOYS and  “the cacophony” which “set Louisa’s teeth on edge.” It set mine of edge too. If there is one thing this author can do is put you in the same room and the same moment as their character. There is no escaping from the events and characters in this book and there is no point trying to put it down, it won’t let you. 

The story begins from Louisa’s view point and initially there is no reason not to trust her. Until we are introduced to Sophie, Sam’s lover; until the novel begins to jump backwards and forwards and colour in some of the edges around the situation. And then things change gear, take us off road- suddenly it’s as if we’ve done a U turn and we are no longer sure of our destination.

I think another reason that it is hard to put the book down is that actually the characters are not that nice. When Louisa reads the news headlines and the vindictive stories the press have found to print about her, she reflects that:

“Making a monster of the victim is a popular sport, particularly when she’s a woman.”

But how far did they have to go to make a monster? What is the truth behind these allegations about Louisa?

For me, this book really was about monsters. And victims. And the sport of monsters. I kept wondering who was the monster, who was the victim and who was behaving monstrously to who.  It’s hard to talk about the book any more without giving anything away, you’ll just have to read it for yourself and find out the answers – if you can! But it is intriguing and it is really interesting to see a story generated by characters that actually don’t always have very redeeming features, characters that you are not always inclined to side with or support but at the same time you are quite fascinated by them. However, if I'm beging honest, I did find the characters rather too monstrous for me and did find the continual sinking levels to which events seem to fall too quite difficult to cope with at times. I wonder if this is a book that you almost have to be in the right mindset for or be prepared to take yourself to a dark place for a while. 

There is absolutely no doubt that this is a very gripping novel and certainly has an incredibly clever plot which has been constructed with meticulous management, control and delivery. For me, I did find the different narrative threads and the changes in time and place confusing at times. I did have to work quite hard to keep up with everything but I think this is the purpose of the author. I think Crouch quite deliberately wants to keep spinning us around and around and not ever let us turn off the roundabout to happy endings.

Oh yes. The ending. The screech-to-a-halt-and-find-yourself-reeling-from-the-impact ending.

Worth every moment of your journey!

If you loved "The Girl on the Train" then "Her Husband's Lover" is your next ticket to a thrilling read - it will totally and utterly make you miss your stop!

“Her Husband’s Lover” is published on 26th January 2017 by Headline.

For more recommendations from me you can follow me on Twitter @katherinesunde3 (bibliomaniac)

Bibliomaniac's Book Club: January's Read (PaperLight)

January's Bibliomania is for Ali Land

"Good Me, Bad Me"

Join us here for Bibliomaniac's Book Club where each month I will share some questions, ideas and conversation starters for a novel. 

For every month there are two books, a PaperLight choice and a PaperWeight choice depending on the mood of your book group. For full details of the books for 2017 please click on the link below:
http://bibliomaniacuk.blogspot.com/2017/01/bibliomaniacs-book-club-books-for-2017.html

Billed as one of the top psychological thrillers for 2017, with claims that it is the most explosive, controversial and extraordinary debut this year - totally perfect for reading groups - the Bibliomaniac's Book Club PaperLight choice for January is "Good Me Bad Me."



Good Me Bad Me will be published on January 12th by Michael Joseph (Penguin)

What is it about?

'NEW N A M E .
NEW F A M I L Y.
S H I N Y.
NEW.
ME . '

Annie's mother is a serial killer.

The only way she can make it stop is to hand her in to the police.

But out of sight is not out of mind.

As her mother's trial looms, the secrets of her past won't let Annie sleep, even with a new foster family and name - Milly.

A fresh start. Now, surely, she can be whoever she wants to be.

But Milly's mother is a serial killer. And blood is thicker than water.

Good me, bad me.

She is, after all, her mother's daughter...

Check out the Official Book Trailer at You Tube by clicking on the link below!
https://youtu.be/MCi2d3GVzMI


To read my full review of "Good Me Bad Me"click here:
http://bibliomaniacuk.blogspot.com/2016/12/good-me-bad-me-ali-land.html

"Good Me Bad Me" Questions:

What are your reactions to Milly? Is she a reliable narrator? Did you trust her?

What points do you think the novel makes about nature v nurture? What about fate and how much we can affect our futures?

Is it really possible to be evil at such a young age?

What are your reactions towards Phoebe? Do you feel sympathy towards her? Is she a character you love to hate? Is she a bully?

What do you think about Mike? Victim or Villain?

What do you think the novel might be saying about therapy and psychiatry? What do you think about Mike's therapy sessions with Millie?

How are the themes of family, siblings and parenting portrayed in the novel? Was there anything that you found particularly interesting, poignant or thought provoking?

Would the outcome for Mike and his family have been any different if Millie had not arrived in their house?

The narrative style of this book is very distinctive. How did you respond to this? Why do you think this style is chosen by the author?

In "Good Me Bad Me", who do you think is the ultimately the victim and who is the villain? How much are all the characters to blame or responsible for the events? 

Where to hold your book group for "Good Me Bad Me":
A study or lounge in someone's house
Reclining on a chaise lounge

What could you serve?
Something with a high alcoholic content to steady your nerves
Crisps, nibbles and chocolate - pure comfort food to combat the disturbing nature of the book

What props could you use to start a conversation about "Good Me Bad Me"?
A self help book
A mobile phone
A passport or identity card
A snake (a plastic toy one will suffice!)
Art materials

Quotes to start a conversation with:

"It was me that told."

'NEW N A M E .
NEW F A M I L Y.
S H I N Y.
NEW.
ME . '

"I've managed to keep your nighttime visits a secret so far. The fact you come as a snake, underneath the door. Up into my bed. Lie your scaly body next to mine, measure me. Remind me I still belong to you."

"He meant: my mind does not function the same way an average person's does."

If you liked this book and want to read similar novels try:

"Little Deaths" by Emma Flint
"The Collector" by John Fowles
"The Girl on the Train" by Paula Hawkins
"The Wasp Factory" by Iain Banks
"Carrie" by Stephen King

To find out more about Bibliomaniac's Book Club please click here:
http://bibliomaniacuk.blogspot.com/2017/01/bibliomaniacs-book-club-books-for-2017.html

To find out about January's PaperWeight read click here:
http://bibliomaniacuk.blogspot.com/2017/01/bibliomaniacs-book-club-januarys-read.html

You can follow me on Twitter @katherinesunde3 (bibliomaniacuk)