#AuthorInterview #SueShepherd #LoveThemAndLeaveThem

Today I am thrilled to be joined by Sue Shepherd, author of Love Them and Leave Them! Before we talk to Sue, here's a bit of information about her second novel.

What's the book about?

Sometimes you have to leave the one you love … sometimes you’re the one who’s left behind. 

On his way home, Ed makes a split-second decision that changes the lives of all those who love him.

Six years on, Ed’s daughter, Jessie, is stuck in a job with no prospects, her dreams never fulfilled. It will take more than her unreliable boyfriend, Chris, and temperamental best friend, Coco, to give her the confidence to get her life back on track.

But what if Ed had made another decision? It could all have been so different …

Six years on, Ed’s daughter, Jessica, has a successful career, loving boyfriend, Nick, and a keen eye on her dream home. But when new clients, a temperamental Coco, and her unreliable boyfriend, Chris, walk into her life, Jessica’s perfect world soon starts to unravel.

Love Them and Leave Them is a story of love, families, friendship and a world of possibilities. Whichever decision Ed makes, the same people are destined to come into his daughter’s life, sometimes in delightfully different ways. And before they can look forward to the future, they will all have to deal with the mistakes of the past.

To read my full review of Love Them and Leave Them please click on the link below:

Bibliomaniac's review-lovethemandleavethem

To buy a copy of Love Them and Leave Them please click on the link below:

Amazon link to Love Them And Leave Them

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: SUE SHEPHERD 

And now it's time to hand over to Sue! Thanks so much for coming on my blog today Sue! 

Can you sum up the story for Love Them and Leave Them in one sentence?

What difference could it possibly make? A man is forced into a split-second decision. Six years later we see two alternative lives of his twenty-something daughter. (Not quite one sentence, but close.)

What three words would you use to describe the novel?

Thought provoking. Emotional. Intriguing.

Which genre would you describe your novel as?

I always find this a tricky question. I guess technically it’s a RomCom because there is romance. Although, as one reviewer said, “Yes, there is romance- but it's so far from sickly-sweet, it kind of creeps up on you!” Plus of course, there is also comedy. But, it’s not your classic RomCom, there are also elements of suspense and drama. Ultimately, it’s a story about love, loss and possibilities. 

Love Them and Leave Them is a ‘sliding doors’ kind of story where a split decision changes the course of the future for all the characters. The novel follows two outcomes for the characters based on the two different decisions Ed makes in the opening pages. What appealed to you about writing a story with two storylines? What were you hoping to achieve or explore with this story?

I must confess I am a terrible ‘what if’ person. If I decide to take a different route home I can’t help but wonder what would have happened if I’d gone the other way. I met my husband in such a chance way and it could so easily have gone the opposite way, and I find it amazing to think that if it were not for that encounter, my children wouldn’t exist and I would be living somewhere different. I really enjoyed writing Love Them and Leave Them, I was fascinated to explore the tiniest differences as well as the life changing ones.  I hope readers were left thinking about what could be different in their own lives, if they did this or that.

So far, the reviews seem to suggest that many people have been left wondering what if? which is great. A writer can ask no more than that her readers are still thinking about the book after they’ve finished reading it.

Because of the nature of the plot, how did you go about planning and writing this novel? Where there any challenges you weren’t prepared for or obstacles you faced while writing?

I do very little planning in advance. It’s just not my way. I prefer to put my characters into a situation and then wait and see what happens. For example, there was a certain crime that one of my characters was accused of committing in both parallels. For some time, I wasn’t even sure if that character had committed the crime in either of the versions. Then, one day, when I was out walking the dog, the character just popped into my head and explained everything to me.

It was a complicated storyline, and quite tricky to hold in my head. But, because the characters became so real to me I just kept talking to them and checking where they all were. Rather than plotting in advance, I prefer to do a timeline after the first draft and check everything makes sense and look for holes. I also owe my editor a big thank you, because, by the time he became involved, he knew the storyline as well as I did, and we were able to have detailed discussions to ensure both parallels worked.

The main character in the story is Jessica. Obviously, there are two different Jessicas! Did you have a favourite version or one version that was easier to write? What characteristics did you want Jessica to retain in both her story lines?

Interesting question. Ultimately, I had to remind myself that they are the same person, so certain characteristics would be so ingrained that they wouldn’t change. Most readers have told me that they preferred Jessie at the start, but, over time they came to like Jessica as well. And I think I’d agree. I enjoyed highlighting their similarities, for example they both like their toast cold. But, equally interesting was writing about their differences. As the reader meets Jessie she’s still dealing with the after-shocks of the incident which occurred six years before, so I definitely wrote her as a more vulnerable person. Whereas Jessica leads a somewhat charmed life and this is reflected in her self-assurance. My editor and I had many discussions about the two women and we both agreed that even the way they speak is slightly different. I took the time to ensure that Jessie’s language choices are slightly less bold than Jessica’s. It was honestly a fascinating exercise to think about the differences between them.

What techniques did you use for helping you to keep track of the characters and their roles / actions / behaviour in both story lines?

As I said before, I don’t do a lot of planning. I do however make mad notes at odd hours of the day and night. So, in my notebook you’d find sentences such as –

Frankie – best friends with Jessie. Never meets Jessica.

Jessica’s Tom is allowed to walk home from the bus, but Jessie’s isn’t.

Tracy the school friend still doesn’t like Jessica but feels sorry for Jessie.

I realise that unless you’ve read the book, these notes will make absolutely no sense whatsoever to you. For that, I apologise. 😊

Does the novel have any messages for the readers?

I’d like it if people were left feeling uplifted and re-assured that time can heal. Also, that dreams may be delayed, but they are still achievable.  I’d be especially pleased if it helped anyone to deal with a loss. I suppose the ultimate message is - nothing is set in stone. Every day has the possibility to take us down a different path. Quite an exciting thought.

This is your second novel. How did the experience of writing your second novel differ from your debut?

Well, for a start it was quicker. My first book took years to write. I had two small children and my debut novel was written purely as a hobby. I put it down for months on end before finally picking it up again. Book two was quite different, as I was writing it, my first book became a best seller, which was amazing. So, then I knew that I was capable of writing a book that people enjoyed, which, on the one hand, is very comforting to know. On the other hand though, it certainly puts the pressure on for book two! I think I learnt so much during the editing process for book one that writing book two was easier. I knew what needed to be done and I got on and did it. 

Are you working on anything at the moment?

I’m on the second draft of book three. As I said about book two, I think it gets easier with each book you write. The writing gets tighter, and I found there was slightly less editing to do each time. I was better able to recognised when I was slipping into bad habits, like using a word or phrase too much.

Very soon, I’ll be sending book three to my editor for his opinion and then we’ll be working together to make sure it’s the best it can be. I can’t say what it’s about at the moment, I’m afraid, but, as with my first two books, which focused on guardian angels and parallel lives, book three does have a slight supernatural element to it.

Is there one decision in your life you wish you could go back and change? Is there a parallel universe with another Sue Shepherd in and if so where is she and what is she doing?!

It’s tricky, isn’t it? There are things I wish I’d done. I always wanted to go to University. I would have loved to have studied Performing Arts and I wish I’d travelled a bit more. But, the fact is that doing any of those things would’ve changed my chance meeting with my husband, and would ultimately lead to the nonexistence of my sons! Of course, I would never know, but still, I simply can’t imagine a world without my family in it.

On a slightly more frivolous note, I am annoyed at myself for not looking after my figure a little better, and not exercising more. So, perhaps there’s a parallel world somewhere where Sue Shepherd doesn’t have bingo wings and a rounded tum!

I'm sure we all have frivolous regrets like that Sue!

Thank you so much for coming on my blog today and answering all my questions in such detail. It's always fascinating to hear more about the story and author behind the book! I'm looking forward to Book 3 already! Thanks again for a great interview! 

Thank you so much for having me, Katherine. I’ve really enjoyed your questions.

SUE SHEPHERD 

Sue Shepherd writes contemporary romance and enjoys creating novels with heart, laughs and naughtiness. She doesn’t pull any punches when choosing her subjects, but manages to handle her characters’ challenging situations with sensitivity and humour.

Her debut novel 'Doesn't Everyone Have a Secret?' was published by Corazon Books in March 2015.  It reached the top 10 UK Kindle chart, and also topped the romantic comedy, contemporary romance and humour charts. It became available in paperback on Amazon.UK in November 2015.

Sue’s second novel ‘Love Them and Leave Them’ was published in September 2016.

Sue lives on the picturesque Isle of Wight with her husband, two sons and a standard poodle.  Her passions in life are: her family, writing, the sea-side and all the beautiful purple things her sons have bought her over the years.  Ask Sue to plan too far in advance and you'll give her the heebie-jeebies and she'd prefer you not to mention Christmas until at least November!

Website: www.sueshepherdwrites.co.uk

Twitter -@thatsueshepherd

Facebook - www.facebook.com/SueShepherdWrites

For more recommendations and reviews you can follow me on Twitter @KatherineSunde3

or check out my website bibliomaniacuk.co.uk

#DeepDownDead #StephBroadribb #review

Yes, I am so late to the party with this one it's embarrassing. Author Alex Caan recommended it as THE must read debut, as did so many book bloggers whose excitement and enjoyment of this novel was barely containable in the 140 characters they were restricted to in their abundance of tweets!

But better late than never! And I have to say, Deep Down Dead is down right brilliant. With such a catchy title and such a eye catching front cover, the story completely lives up to the promise of something full of pace, adventure and intense drama. This is an edgy debut that absolutely packs a punch. Broadribb's energy and vigour ricochets out of every sentence and every page.

The protagonist, Lori Anderson is tough and feisty. She is a bounty hunter in Florida but coming under more emotional and financial pressure as a single mum whose 9 year old daughter Dakota suffers from Leukaemia and the hospital bills are piling up high. Offered a job that she can not afford to turn down, she is left with no choice but to take her daughter along with her. It should be straight forward, it should be a way to make a 'fast buck' but things are never that simple......The fugitive she's assigned to haul back to court is JT, her former mentor; a man who has taught her everything she knows but also knows her murky past. Not only that, but a man who is involved with several very unscrupulous groups of people and criminal activities so it isn't long before the three day journey that should have been simple and straightforward becomes life threateningly dangerous.

The most important and impressive thing about this debut crime thriller is the character of Lori. I have never met anyone like her before. Even though I have little in common with her, I found that within a few pages I was completely on her side, part of her life and fully committed to following her story wherever it might take me. She's a breath of fresh air. She's brave, feisty and raw yet she's also vulnerable, under pressure and straightaway it's obvious from the dialogue with her daughter, she's a great mum who will always prioritise her daughter above all else. I liked her narrative voice which is punchy and full of energy.

"Course, I should have guessed just where my curiosity would get me, but right then I had no idea that the new life I'd built for myself and my daughter would be shot to shit inside of twenty four hours." 

Lori speaks very directly to the reader and there is a real sense of immediacy in the writing which means the reader cannot help but get involved with her story and her character. I enjoyed the conversational style of the writing. I also liked that even though Lori is a tough woman with an unusual career, she is also sensitive, caring and insightful. Lori is the perfect balance of strength, resilience and drive with a troubled past and emotional present which makes her intriguing and exciting to read about but also convincing and believable as a person. I liked that even though Lori is caught up in a world of criminals, carries a gun and on the one hand is confident woman who is able to face the consequences of her actions and decisions, she is also not afraid to show her emotions or reactions. She is flawed and fallible. She is not weak or a victim, but she has to confront the ramifications of her actions and behaviour and work out how to resolve situations she unwittingly finds herself embroiled in. She's honest.

"It was because I'd broken his rules.... and it seemed he couldn't forgive me for that. .....I'd never felt more alone." 

I liked that Lori kept hinting of the darkness buried in her past or of what adventure was to come - she's the queen of cliffhanger chapter endings!

"I should have stayed right there, or gone straight home. But I didn't." 

I also thought the relationship between Lori and JT was very well written. The development of their relationship and the dynamics between them are well controlled and add a higher level of tension, suspense and depth. It's an intense, complex relationship and I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed the characterisation of JT as much as Lori and thought he was as intriguing and well developed as Lori. Broadribb is able to really bring her characters alive and strikes the perfect balance between fictionally fascinating yet convincing.

This novel is a good 330 pages long and although the story hurtles along at a rapid pace, it is full of detail and full of character development. It's a story you can invest in and reap the benefits from. It's a story that can completely take you away from the real world for a while and it was like watching an exceptionally good film or binging on a box set for the evening. So many brilliant reviews and quotes have already been made about this book it is hard to find anything new or original to say about it so I'm not going to try. I would just like to finish by borrowing the adjectives "hard boiled and heart breaking" though as I think this really captures the success and appeal of the book.

And Deep Down Dead is the first in a series - there was a sneak peak at book 2 at the end which was very tantalising! I'm absolutely sure there is a huge fan base already waiting for the next book in the series! Broadribb has made such an impression with her debut and it will be great to read any future instalments.

Deep Down Dead was published by Orenda Books in October 2016. 

Steph Broadribb



Steph Broadribb was born in Birmingham and grew up in Buckinghamshire. Most of her working life has been spent between the UK and USA. As her alter ego - Crime Thriller Girl - she indulges her love of all things crime fiction by blogging at www.crimethrillergirl.com where she interviews authors and reviews the latest releases.

Steph is an alumni of the MA in Creative Writing (Crime Fiction) at City University London, and she trained as a bounty hunter in California. She lives in Buckinghamshire surrounded by horses, cows and chickens.

DEEP DOWN DEAD is her debut novel.

@crimethrillgirl

@OrendaBooks

For more recommendations and reviews you can follow me on Twitter @KatherineSunde3 or check out my website www.bibliomaniacuk.co.uk

#Quicksand #MalinPerssonGiolito #Review

Is Maja a normal 18-year-old, the poster girl next door, popular and excelling at her schoolwork, caught in the middle of a terrible tragedy? Or, is she the most reviled teenager in the country?

Maja has spent nine months in jail awaiting trial for a shooting in her school. Among those killed were her boyfriend and her best friend. 

Now the time has come for her to enter the courtroom. 

This book is billed as a cross between "We Need to Talk About Kevin" and "The Secret History". It's said to be for fans of "Serial" and "Making a Murderer". It's the winner of Sweden's Best Crime Novel 2016 and the press release that came with my proof copy was crammed full of incredible quotes from reviews from across the whole of Europe.

There are anticipated reads and there are anticipated reads! This is an anticipated read that you need to make your next read.

The premise of the book is established on the first page. We are in a classroom with an assortment of characters. Maja is our narrator and she tells us:

"Everyone has been shot but me. I haven't got so much as a bruise." 

What happened? Is she guilty? Why did this happen? What precedes two teenagers walking into school with a bomb and guns and shooting their friends? As the novel continues with the court case of Maja we continue to ask these questions right up until the very last page. Can the story ever answer these questions? Can you ever know why these sort of tragic events happen? Can you assign guilt, judgement and punishment to one person, one moment, one thing?

The most captivating thing about this book for me was that the author is truly exploring so much more than all of these questions. By the end of the book I was still really struggling to work out what I thought and whether Maja was guilty or not and then it almost ceased to matter. The issues, themes, ideas and observations raised, discussed and described throughout the 400 pages are so interesting and so engrossing that actually I found myself asking questions about very different things from the questions I had set off with.

The novel is narrated by Maja. It is told in several different sections. There are the sections set in the court room as the trial is taking place, then we go back in time to read about the friendships, relationships and events leading up to the shooting.

Initially I found it a little hard to get into the story as the legal terminology, long sentences and immense detail was quite a lot to take in. Also although the reader has been told what happened, we have not been given much detail and so we are still trying to piece together what actually took place, who was there, why Maja was there and what she might or might not have done. We hear things from Maja, the lawyers and the newspapers which creates tension and ambiguity and though this is effective in the long run, initially it just took me a while to get used to it. We are in court but rather than finding out any answers, I found I was asking more questions.

At first I was also confused about Maja and how I was supposed to feel towards her. She is 18, she is a good student, she has a good home life and was in a relationship with lots of friends.  But she appears to be responsible for killing several innocent people. She narrates the novel in a clear, intelligent voice which feels very authentic and shows insight to the kind of relationships was involved with. She understands the duplicity and the manipulation in friendships, the importance of appearance and the competition for popularity at school. Sometimes Maja made me feel sorry for her and think she was innocent and sometimes she was vague, ambiguous and more scathing. She is a fascinating character. As the title implies, she is like quicksand, there are two sides to her which keep shifting and often leave you wondering which to believe. I loved reading her story.

After the first court scenes, the novel moves back to a section titled "Sebastian and Me". I really enjoyed this shift of location, time and context. This section had more of a YA  / crossover novel feel to it. I really became immersed in the relationships Maja was involved in and the character of the enigmatic and complex Sebastian. I really enjoyed Maja's dilemmas about being in love with him yet not being in love with him - needing to help him but not knowing how to help him, a boy who was privileged but deprived. As the chapters continued I became more attached to Maja as a character and began to build more of a relationship with her. I was not always sympathetic towards her or able to relate to her situation but I was invested and I wanted to see where we were heading and what ending we were moving towards.

The novel then alternates between the court scenes and sections recounting the relationship between Maja and her best friend Amanda and then with Samir. The reader might assume that the court scenes will dominate a book about finding out whether it's main character is a victim or a killer but actually it is more about the lives of the teenagers, their interactions, their experiences and their home lives. There is more to glean from these passages than the statements given in court.

And the ending. Wow. Totally page turning. Totally gripping.

This is a dense novel. It's one to immerse yourself in. It is thought provoking, considered and intelligent. It is about social, political and economical issues. It is a reflection on Sweden and Europe and it is also a novel about 18 year olds who negotiate their way through first love, sex, school and relationships with their parents. It has weight, depth, excellent characterisation and a gripping plot. It is a lengthy novel and it requires concentration but it is so rewarding and so well constructed that it truly does deserve every single one of the accolades it's already won and will doubtlessly go on to receive many, many more.

This book is hugely impressive. It can not be summed up in one word or one genre. It is a court room drama, it is a murder story, it is psychologically thrilling, it is a coming of age novel. It is a must read.

Quicksand is published by Simon and Schuster on the 6th April 2017.

For more recommendations and reviews follow me on Twitter @KatherineSunde3 or check out my website www.bibliomaniacuk.co.uk

#MyHusbandtheStranger by #RebeccaDone #review

A tragic accident. A terrible injury. And in a moment, the man you fell in love with is transformed into a total stranger. How would you cope? What would you do? Would you be strong enough to stay? But what if you found out that it wasn't an accident at all...?

In sickness and in health? When you say these vows, you hope never to be tested on them - at least not to the extremes that Alex and Molly experience.

I requested this book because I seem to have a morbid fascination with other people's dysfunctional relationships - or maybe I'm fascinated about how people behave, react and cope under pressure. Young, married Alex and Molly find themselves suddenly under huge pressure, emotionally, practically and financially.

Alex has been left brain damaged from a tragic accident. He can no longer work or go out as independently as before. He spends his days lying unwashed on the sofa surfing the internet. He follows instructions literally and is no longer able to complete simple tasks or be responsible for household chores. Molly has had to give up a successful career in London, friendships and a flat in the capital to move to Norfolk and take a job in a local company where she can arrive at 9 and leave at 5 so that she can care for Alex and support them both.

The opening pages are so full of sadness as Molly describes waking up and hoping that today will be the day that she comes downstairs to find the old Alex has returned. That he is cooking pancakes and that they can recapture all those in jokes and romantic rituals that they shared in the early days of their marriage. For Molly, the hardest thing about Alex's condition is that every now and again she sees a flicker of the old Alex- the 'before' Alex, every now and again something happens to remind her of why she loves him and the man he used to be. But this is few and far between and for the most part life is frustrating, demanding and unrelenting.

This is not an easy novel to read and for the first section I was wondering why I was reading something that was so distressing. Molly's pain is so vivid, so palpable, so well conveyed that I was right there with her - trying to get ready for a meeting, knowing she is under pressure at work after having already been served a verbal warning, finding Alex slumped on the sofa and that the milk has gone off because he put it back in the cupboard...... And then when he jostles with her over the half full container and it spills all down her and all over the floor I actually wrung my own hands out and shared in her gasp of horror.

"Stinking fluid is leaching across the concrete floor - the exposed innards of this cottage a constant reminder of our half-finished dream renovation project - snaking under the fridge and ancient kitchen units like something toxic. We might as well have just stuffed rotting mackerel into the wall cavity." 

The novel is narrated from Molly's point of view which makes her experiences more intense and her anxieties, worries and predicaments more immediate and more impactful. There is something a little claustrophobic about the novel - not only do the couple live in a small property that is in a rural setting, there is something quite suffocating about their lifestyle. But this is important and deliberate. Done is exploring the reality of living with the man you fell in love with who has now changed beyond recognition. Done is exploring what it is like to live as the carer of your husband; what it is like to try and make ends meet, juggle work and home and live with the constant worry of what your partner might end up doing next. Every single aspect of Molly's day and week is planned around Alex. It's exhausting. And heartbreaking.

"In the end, it's the little things that get to you.....It's our favourite joke in our favourite film, missed for the umpteenth time. It's being handed black tea with the tea bag still in...." 

I think this book is brave because there is nothing sentimental or sugar coated about Molly and Alex's situation. It's hard to feel sympathy for Alex as despite his terrible suffering since his accident, on a day to day level he is very difficult to deal with and has few redeeming characteristics. And then although Molly is clearly under enormous pressure - which has built up over a period of time - she is also fallible, flawed, short tempered and openly frustrated. It's honest and it's realistic. It's not happy reading.

The story flits between the present day and then back to when they met. We are introduced to chapters from Alex from before the accident. This helps to break the intensity of the present situation and also gives the reader a chance to get to know Alex  - the Alex Molly fell in love with. This also brings in a second plot line to the story. This narrative begins to expose the relationship between Alex and Graeme (Alex's twin brother who is very supportive and on hand to help Molly) and reveal more about their family life.

At this point the story becomes more multilayered as it becomes clear that there is some darker past hiding in Graeme and Alex's life and that Graeme may not be the person Molly thinks he is. And for those of us who love the dysfunctional relationships, we now become involved in the emotionally complex relationships between Alex, his brother and his parents.

The tale then moves rapidly along as the reader tries to piece together what actually happened on the night of Alex's accident. At the same time, the present day story line is also speeding along as Alex seems more and more out of control and their marriage more and more threatened. We are watching Molly tested to breaking point in the present day and Alex being tested to breaking point in the past. I enjoyed this second story line as it was gripping and compelling with all the twists and turns of a good family drama.

You'll have to read My Husband the Stranger yourself to see how the story lines collide and whether the characters can survive the challenges, obstacles and tests they face on their tough journeys - I'm not giving anything else away. I think some readers may find it a challenging read but this is not a morbid, vicarious novel looking for tears. It is an almost gritty read that is trying to convey the real emotional distress of 'in sickness and in health'. Ultimately this is also a book about love, commitment, decisions and families. Molly never loses sight of the man Alex used to be and neither should the reader.

My Husband the Stranger is published by Penguin on 6th April.

More on Rebecca Done 



@writerbex

Rebecca Done lives in Norwich. After studying Creative Writing at the Norwich School of Art & Design, she worked for several years as a magazine editor. Currently a copywriter, Rebecca is also a keen runner, fair-weather surfer and one-time marathon canoeist. 

For more recommendations and reviews you can follow me on Twitter @KatherineSunde3 (bibliomaniacuk) or check out my website www.bibliomaniacuk.co.uk

#Reservoir13 #JonMcGregor

Midwinter in the early years of this century. A teenage girl on holiday has gone missing in the hills at the heart of England. The villagers are called up to join the search, fanning out across the moors as the police set up roadblocks and a crowd of news reporters descends on their usually quiet home.

Meanwhile, there is work that must still be done: cows milked, fences repaired, stone cut, pints poured, beds made, sermons written, a pantomime rehearsed.

The search for the missing girl goes on, but so does everyday life. As it must.
As the seasons unfold there are those who leave the village and those who are pulled back; those who come together or break apart. There are births and deaths; secrets kept and exposed; livelihoods made and lost; small kindnesses and unanticipated betrayals.

I requested this book as soon as I saw it on NetGalley as I am a fan of Jon McGregor. There is something very entrancing about his prose. His novels are usually short but resonant and linger beyond the page. His sentences are unassuming yet haunting.

This novel is slightly longer than some of his previous titles at over 300 pages but honestly it is a read that flows like a mountain waterfall rather than the still, unmoving reservoirs it describes. You will be caught up in the rhythm of his words and you will move through the pages as gently and as fluently as the rhythm of the seasons he describes, losing track as the days merge into months then years.

Rebecca Shaw has gone missing.

"She was thirteen years old. When last seen she'd been wearing a white hooded top with a navy-blue body-warmer, black jeans, and canvas shoes. She was five feet tall with straight, dark-blonde, shoulder-length hair." 

The village lead a search, the police investigate and the public are urged to speak up if they see or hear anything that might help. But "doubts were beginning to emerge."

In terms of the search and the investigation, the reader is never given much more information than this. Unusually, the tragedy of the missing girl is the backdrop to the story rather than the main focus. This is not a typical crime novel, it is much more a piece of literary fiction, but it is full of atmosphere and tension. The opening pages capture the oppressive feel within the community as they try to make sense of what has happened and then the mood continues to become more eerie as McGregor writes:

"At night there were dreams about where she might have gone. Dreams about her walking down from the moor, her clothes soaked and her skin almost blue. Dreams about being the first to reach her with a blanket and bring her safely home." 

McGregor's uses repetition throughout the novel. Sometimes it is a repetition of the exact sentences, sometimes slight changes are used to mark the passage of time - for example when details are rereleased by the police it is written the same as the initial press release but they change the age, her length of her hair, the condition of her clothes. The dreams suffered by the villagers are also repeated, becoming more and more unsettling or ghostly. Set against this, is the repetition of the description of another fireworks display at New Year - a straight forward, informative sentence which shows how normal life resumes. McGregor's skill is always in this juxtaposition of the ordinary, mundane observations against the more insightful and emotive observations.

I thought the use of repetition was incredibly effective. It is used powerfully to track the passage of time, the inevitable rhythm of the seasons and individuals lives but also more poignantly, the fading hope, the growing desperation and inevitability of life moving on; the fading concern or care for the missing girl. It feels poetic and cyclical. It's clever but understated and without pretension. It's readable and engaging, compelling and sensitive.

McGregor is a great creator of characters. Each character appears to have small, bit part but they are memorable and all evoke sympathy or interest. The girl's mother is like a shadow, spotted around and about the town and the moors, "walking the same paths and tracks she'd always walked." A simple statement but weighted with meaning. One of my favourite characters was Su Cooper, her husband Austin and their twins. I liked the mixture of statements which show the reader how they are looking after their family - that are statements explaining the practicalities of their actions and preparations but over time the sentences reveal more about the tensions, pressures and complexities of family dynamics and marriage.

I liked the almost list like observations. I liked the clear setting of time, season, who was doing what and what was happening where. I liked the mundanity of the meetings people attended, the arrangements they made. Reservoir 13 is like a litany; a repetition of the things people do, the pattern of their lives, the order they think they have created, the inevitability they think their life is following.  Yet beneath this, Reservoir 13 is really telling us what is hidden underneath all this. It is an exploration of the human condition - of the little things in life that occur, build up, unfold and affect everyone. Reservoir 13 is poetic and mesmerising. Through it's simple prose it shows how everyday hurt and suffering cannot be hidden even against the distraction of a devastating crime.

McGregor writes in very long paragraphs, with long sentences and a lack of speech punctuation. Some readers may find this difficult to follow or at times overwhelming. I think it is another way of hiding the unusual and the poignant amongst the normal and everyday.

I did enjoy it a lot. I think McGregor is a talented writer. I think his style is unique and very distinctive. It is definitely worthy of re-reading, re-reading and probably re-reading again.

This novel reminded me of some of the aspects of "Happy Valley' and 'Broadchurch'. Reservoir 13 is a gripping character driven story where the police procedural element has been stripped away and made secondary. Although the TV shows are firmly about a police investigation they are also about communities under pressure and characters coping in with everyday life while trying to solve a crime. McGregor looks at the effects of a community during a long running missing persons investigation; what else happens to these people and their lives while the crime continues unsolved. He explores how the police investigation continues to infiltrate and haunt the town but no longer claims the front pages or headlines of their daily life. McGregor asks fascinating questions about human nature, about what is noticed or unnoticed and how the unremarkable is remarkable; how the ordinary can be extraordinary and as damaging and as full of impact as the sensationalist headlines that consume people.

Recommend.

Reservoir 13 is published by Fourth Estate on 6th April 2017.



Jon McGregor is a British author who has written three novels. His first novel, If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things was nominated for the 2002 Booker Prize, and was the winner of both the Betty Trask Prize and the Somerset Maugham Award in 2003. So Many Ways to Begin was published in 2006 and was on the Booker prize long list. Even the Dogs was published in 2010 and his newest work, Reservoir 13 is due in April, 2017.
www.jonmcgregor.com
@jon_mcgregor

For more recommendations and reviews you can follow me on Twitter @KatherineSunde3

#Review #TheOtherHalfofHappiness #SofiaKhan #AyishaMalik

Sofia Khan is just married. But no-one told her life was going to be this way . . .

Her living situation is in dire straits, her husband Conall is distant, and his annoyingly attractive colleague is ringing all sorts of alarm bells.

When her mother forces them into a belated wedding ceremony (elopement: you can run, but you can't hide), Sofia wonders if it might be a chance to bring them together. But when it forces Conall to confess his darkest secret, it might just tear them apart.

A book to make you smile, laugh and cry, this is the story of a mixed-race marriage and a mixed-up family, for anyone who's ever struggled to balance their pride with their principles, or stuck around to try to mend a broken heart. 

I was absolutely thrilled to receive a review copy of this novel as I have been eagerly anticipating it's arrival since finishing the last page of Ayisha Malik's first book a year ago. This novel is a continuation of Sofia's story. It is possible to enjoy as a stand alone, but probably makes more sense to read Sofia Khan is not Obliged first as this story continues to share with us the ups and downs and ins and outs of the relationship between Sofia and Conall who are now married.

I'm also absolutely thrilled that Malik decided to continue Sofia's story. Sofia is a great character and I really wanted to find out what would happen to her now she was married to her (hot) Irish next door neighbour! She is a lively, witty character and it was lovely to be back in her company, even if she still isn't sharing those chocolate digestives and KitKats. No doubt Malik felt under pressure to deliver an equally entertaining, light-hearted-yet-not-without-serious-issues novel, but deliver it she did. There is absolutely nothing disappointing about this book. I loved it.

In fact, as the character Sakib says, "I think it's better than the dating book.....It's more insightful - [there's] more depth." I totally agree. I think Malik is a great writer because her book feels like a conversation with a friend; it is honest, down to earth, sometimes raw, sometimes emotional and always humorous. But on top of that, her real skill is that although this is relatively lighthearted novel about marriage, families and relationships, it is actually layered with insightful, intelligent observations about people and society. Don't underestimate Malik. She is obviously fiercely intelligent and a great people watcher.

The Other Half of Happiness is over 430 pages long and I was very grateful for this. I would have read on. I was in no hurry to leave. I am invested in Sofia and her family however dysfunctional they may be and however claustrophobic it sometimes feels to Sofia, I relished the fact it was quite a long novel. Malik's writing is so accessible, fluent and funny that you really have no idea how many pages or how long you have been reading for.

The book is written as Sofia's diary; clearly organised into 12 months following her as she researches her "Muslim Marriage Book" and lives through the 12 months of her marriage with Conall. This in itself makes it a very immediate and informal story. It is also very easy for the reader to form a relationship with Sofia. Alongside that we have text messages, emails and "notes for book" which often come as a kind of postscript. Even though they are in italics, they are never to be skimmed over or their poignancy underestimated. All these techniques make it a very contemporary novel and a hugely engaging read.

So The Other Half Of Happiness is 'part 2' of Sofia's relationship guide - the marriage bit. She's been commissioned by her boss to tell all about 'Muslim Marriages'. This should be the happy ever after bit. It should be the easy bit. But it isn't that straight forward. For Conall and Sofia, marriage seems to have forgotten its promise of a happy ending and in fact brought along a whole host of issues that neither of them had thought they would be facing.

Note for book: Whatever you do- if writing a guide to marriage, don't end up penning your very own marital misery memoir. 

Conall and Sofia's relationship is complex. At first what seems a bit of miscommunication, a slight drifting, a misconception that both are happy with their career choices - and a bit of jealousy - becomes something more tangled. The small cracks get bigger and then there are some revelations which threaten to destroy everything for them. I think it's a brave story and a brave angle for Malik to take; a newly wed couple who are clearly very fond of each other but run into difficulties very early on in their relationship. Sofia may appear a little chaotic at times but she is also strong and committed to her beliefs and values. She is a refreshing voice and quite a unique one. I liked this story because it is realistic, honest and at times very sad.

I was also pleased to rejoin Sofia's mother. She is a great creation. She is so easy to visualise and it is so easy to hear her voice. Any scenes with her guarantee a raised eyebrow or smile from the reader - although again, not a character to underestimate either. Malik evokes the mother / daughter relationship effortlessly and is able to convey the religious and cultural setting with a deft hand. Although many of the references and conversations will not be unfamiliar to any daughter!

"'We can only ask our children to give us happiness,' [mum] said, ' We can't expect it.'
Mum the martyr was so much worse than mum the despot." 

Ayisha Malik is a Muslim and Sofia Khan is a Muslim. This book is about young Muslim women. As with Sofia Khan is not Obliged, The Other Half of Happiness gently challenges a few assumptions, it draws attention to a few generalisations but it is all done with a gentle touch. It is not educative or moralising, it's observational and authentic. And Kelly Bright's interview is so cleverly reported that despite the issues underlying the questions she asks, the focus remains the focus of the book - love and happiness. The Other Half of Happiness is a romantic comedy at heart (excuse the pun!). It's a book about realistic expectations, confronting truths and then finding happiness through coming to terms with what happiness means to you.

"Don't think about what you've lost. Think of the things you still have. And what, if you look for it, you might find." 

Malik's first novel was compared to Bridget Jones and I'm sure this second novel will be too. There is same feel, tone of voice and similarity in dynamics between parents, friends and partners that we see in Bridget Jones. There are similarities in the style of the novel and the structure of the chapters. Perhaps there is a similarity in the protagonists' journeys. Whatever it is, I don't think this comparison is a bad thing for Malik at all - I think it shows that she has written a book that is going to be universally relevant and universally loved.

So boil the kettle, shut the door, curl up on the bed and break open that packed of chocolate digestives. Treat yourself to The Other Half of Happiness. You'll love it.

Oh, and if you are in still in any doubt of Sofia's wisdom, how's this........

"Count every lucky star you have- they will come in the shape of the friends you love." 

If you like commercial women's fiction, if you like fiction about families, relationships and marriage you will enjoy this book. If you like a book which makes you laugh, cry and gain you unwanted attention on the train when you find yourself snorting into your coffee and spitting your biscuit on a fellow commuter, then you must read this book.

If you like a book which is very well written, well structured, well paced and actually digs a bit deeper - a book which makes you think about religion, women and society a bit more, then this is definitely a must read. Ayisha Malik is a funny, intelligent and insightful writer. I really hope that even if this is the end of Sofia Khan's adventure into writing books, it is by no means Malik's.

The Other Half of Happiness is published by Bonnier Zaffre on April 6th 2017.

To read my review of Sofia Khan is not Obliged click here

To read Bibliomaniac's Book Club guide to Sofia Khan is not Obliged click here

AYISHA MALIK 



@Ayisha_Malik

Ayisha is a British Muslim, lifelong Londoner, and lover of books. She read English Literature and went on to complete an MA in Creative Writing (though told most of her family it was an MA in English Literature – Creative Writing is not a subject, after all.) She has spent various spells teaching, photocopying, volunteering and being a publicist. Now, when she isn’t searching for a jar of Nutella in her cupboards, she divides her time between writing and being managing editor at Cornerstones Literary Consultancy. 

Ayisha is one of WH Smith's Fresh Talent picks, Winter 2016.

For more recommendations, reviews and bookish chat you can follow me on Twitter @KatherineSunde3 or check out my website www.bibliomaniacuk.co.uk