#CanYouHearMe #ElenaVarvello #Review @katherinesunde3

1978.
Ponte, a small community in Northern Italy: peaceful woods, discarded rubbish, a closed-down factory. An unbearably hot summer like many others, wilted flowers and trips to the waterfalls.

This story is narrated by Elia Furenti, who lives in a secluded house with just his father and mother. A calm, quiet, unremarkable existence. Until the summer of 1978 when he is sixteen.

In the August of 1978, the summer I met Anna Trabuio, my father took a girl into the woods. 

This is the story of the village of Ponte; small, provincial, unremarkable. Ponte has a cotton mill, where Elia's father works but in 1977 it becomes bankrupt and is left to rot, decline, fall away until it is nothing but "cold chimneys.....the wind whistling between the empty buildings." 

The fall of the mill was the beginning of the end 

This is the story of Elia and what happens to his father following the closure of the mill. It is the story of Elia and Anna and of being sixteen. It is the story of a village rocked by the discovery of a murdered boy and with the disappearance of a girl.

I keep referring to it as a story rather than a novel as it very much had this sense of storytelling. Despite actually being full of difficult themes and disturbed characters, harrowing incidents and mental issues, the writing has an air of patience about it. Perhaps because it was Elia's story and he is recounting the version of what he saw, what he discovered, observed, tried to piece together as a naive sixteen year old. Perhaps it is due to the beautiful descriptions which deftly create a sense of time and place. The writing evokes the heat of the summer, the rural community, the isolation of the village and the atmosphere of Italy with impressive effect.

We lived at the top of a hill - the house where [my father] grew up - where the road died into a path, three kilometres from Ponte, a small provincial town .......a narrow valley, an abandoned pyrite minim a twisting river, an old stone gorge, another with two lanes over the river and woods all around. 

I loved the local characters, the brief but telling descriptions of the village and the villagers and the relationship between Elia and his mother. It is only a short novel, but the world it creates is endless and easy to picture.

There are some sections written from an anonymous point of view as well which create tension and suspense and also remind the reader that something mightily threatening is going on, lurking in the shadows and that one person is in great danger. I liked this contrast between a small, quiet, unremarkable village and an unsettling revelation of a crime that destroys everything. I liked the exploration of what happens when the central purpose, destination and definition of a town is lost and how everything starts to unravel. About what happens when people aren't equipped to recognise or have the support to confront depression, unhappiness and desperation - or do not know how to stop it.

Elia's father dominates the story. His decline is disturbing and sad. Elia's mother's patience and perseverance is touching and the reader is forever wondering whether his father is obsessed with the ghosts of the mill or up to something more sinister and dangerous. Elia is sixteen and this is a great age at which to place the protagonist - on the cusp of adulthood and also on the cusp of not only having to take on responsibility but also on the cusp of discovering the usual things that take over the minds of young boys, particularly in long, hot summers. 

It is a coming of age novel, it is a crime story, it is about love, responsibility, mental health, mothers, fathers and small communities. At 272 pages it is a short, easy read and there is something very distinctive in the narration and prose. I very much enjoyed this novel and enjoyed the European atmosphere and setting. And the message at the end that "hate does nothing" is a powerful message for any reader but also reflects the powerful humility, understanding and emotional journey of the characters who we follow so closely in this story.

Can You Hear Me is published on the 13th July 2017 by Two Roads.

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

#DontCloseYourEyes #Holly Seddon #Review

This is a novel about two sisters, twin sisters, Sarah and Robin. The novel alternates between Sarah's first person narrative and Robin's third person narrative. It also alternates between the present day and the past, starting in 1989 and then slowly moving forward year by year to trace the lives of the girls; gradually revealing the complex, dysfunctional family life of Sarah and Robin and gradually revealing why they are struggling so much in their present.

Robin can't leave her house. She never sets foot outside the door. Her day is made up of patterns, an enforced routine which she believes keeps her physically fit but more importantly keeps her in control. She watches her neighbours from the window and lives vicariously through them, displacing her own anxieties and experiences on to their lives.

Sarah has no home. Kicked out by her husband and denied access to their toddler, Sarah is desperate to get her daughter back. But she has a dark secret, a past that is catching up with her and it is time for her to confront some of these issues if she can ever get her family back again.

The dual narrative and the dual timeline make this novel very compelling. The chapters are short and flit backwards and forwards, between both women and between the present and past. I was immediately hooked, almost overwhelmed with questions about both characters and devouring the suggestions, allusions, hints and tensions that Seddon sprinkles across the opening pages.

Seddon implies that something darker, something more tragic has happened in the past as Sarah refers to her lies that "spill out of her like blood". Robin refers to her packing cases, still stored in the house from when she first moved there, as she is unable to let "their grief spill out into the room". It's impossible not to want to know what has happened to these women to make them so damaged, so emotionally crippled and so full of secrets. It's impossible not to want to find out why they are telling lies, why they are so full of grief, what happened to them and why they are unable to negotiate their way through their present life. But there's no sensationalism. There's nothing unbelievable or contrived about what is happening to these characters. To me it felt like they were the victims of circumstances and I felt frustration on their behalf as well as empathy and sympathy.

There's no preamble in Don't Close Your Eyes. We are thrown into the womens' lives and from the beginning I immediately engaged with Sarah and found her situation very emotional reading. Sarah's husband is confronting her with a list - a list of reasons why she can no longer be a part of his life and no longer be the mother to their young daughter. There are seven things on the list which he explains over several chapters but each time Sarah is able to explain them to the reader with a voice that seems honest and an explanation that any mother, anyone who has parented and anyone who has been sleep deprived or under pressure can relate to. Seddon really stirred up my emotions and very cleverly evokes the feelings of a young, first time mother. The writing is incredibly engaging and captivating.

"It took about two months to really slide into cliches - hardworking man who just wants some peace and quiet when he gets home, frazzled woman, alone all day with the endless demands of a child."

I really responded to Sarah's observations and thoughts about how it is impossible to "be your best self in these conditions" and also her insight about today's parenting which is reliant on "gentle and reasonable negotiation." Yes, I was firmly in Sarah's corner and immersed in her distressing situation of being thrown out of her family home and seemingly wrongly charged by her husband on seven counts.

But I am not naive and I am well versed in the world of psychological thrillers so it wasn't long before I began to question the reliability of the narrators. Or begin to wonder what impact their strange, complex family life was having on them now. I did trust the narrators but I was becoming wary of them. Although as more and more is revealed about their parents, their parent's behaviour and then the psychological traumas the girls lived through my relationship with them becomes more complex and more full of questions.

I was intrigued by Robin and her obsession with the neighbours whom she has renamed Mr and Mrs Magpie. She watches them, she puts words in their mouths and she sees it as her responsibility to save them from the "inevitable". When we see Robin in the past, she is strong, vocal girl who is not afraid to challenge the adults. When we see her as an adult she is paranoid, weak, completely trapped both physically and mentally. Robin can't fix her own life but she sees it as her duty to fix that of the Magpie family. As the novel hurtles along, bringing the past, the present, Sarah, Robin and all the revelations about their brother and their parents to a head, the danger and threat that Robin has unwittingly caused in the Magpie household also soars to a jaw dropping, breath taking denouement.

Ah, I have so much I want to talk about! And so much I can't say without spoiling it for any readers!

I think this book is absolutely outstanding. It absolutely blew me away. I was entranced. I was utterly transfixed by it. I couldn't look but couldn't look away at some of it and when I had finished I was completely speechless. It took me about twenty minutes before I could rejoin the real world but even now, the characters have not left me.

There are some very effective twists and revelations in this novel. There were some moments that if this were a film, would have a cinema audience gasping in unison. But to me, talking about the impact of the twist and turns does the novel a disservice as there is much more to it than that. This is a multilayered novel which has some incredibly well crafted characters and an incredibly well managed storyline. The collision of all the threads is masterfully handled. I loved the first two thirds because I was so engrossed with the characters and I loved the last third because it was so tense and delivered so many punches. Seddon has the drama, the twists the jaw dropping realisations, the flawed characters, the dysfunctional families and all the ingredients to call this a psychological thriller. Don't Close Your Eyes is fast paced and tightly structured but it also takes its time to explore several themes and issues. It has a great plot but it is also a novel about two impressive and very well crafted characters.

This is a novel that rivals "I Let You Go" but should not be seen just as a psychological thriller. This book considers mental illness, parenting, family relationships, violence, abuse and what it really means to be normal and what it really means to help someone.

I genuinely loved this book and I genuinely found it a powerful, compelling and fascinating read.

Don't miss Don't Close Your Eyes when it publishes on 6th July with Corvus.

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

#LivingTheDream #LaurenBerry #Review

Living The Dream by Lauren Berry

Published by Little, Brown on 6th July 2017.

Emma Derringer is an assistant at an advertising agency in London. Most days Emma wears a mask of indifference that disguises either her boredom, her hangover or both. When her overbearing boss isn't looking she pursues her career as a writer, sending articles, posting blogs and trying to get noticed for her talent, instead of mistakes on her PowerPoint presentations.

Clementine Twist arrives home from a stint in New York with a hefty overdraft, a crushed heart and a waning confidence in her budding career as a screenwriter. She moves in with her mum, gets a job in a bar and spends her days composing emails to agents, producers and anyone who might help her onto the slippery ladder of the film industry.

As their 30s loom and the freedom and fun of their 20s gives way to the adult pressures of job satisfaction and perceived success, Emma and Clem realise it's time to ramp up their efforts, and think about quitting the day job.

This book is a playful, lighthearted, fun read all about Emma and Clem as they negotiate their way through life, juggling parents, bosses and one night stands as they try to establish a career. It's also a novel about friendship. And drinking!

I'm not sure I'm the right target audience for this novel as I'm a lot older than the characters in the book and at a very different stage in my life, but there were aspects I could relate to and there were plenty of more universal themes or situations in which we've all found ourselves to some degree. I think that transition between leaving college and trying to find where you fit in the world is a good choice to write about as it gives the author lots of opportunities to place her characters in entertaining situations as they navigate their way through their twenties and into "adulthood". 

London is a great backdrop as a setting and adds to the sense of youth, vitality, life and laughter. I also liked the scenes in the office. I thought the author evoked the sense of frustration, disbelief and the difference between expectation and reality well. There is a lot of sarcasm and wry observations to bring this to life and the internal thoughts of Emma did make me smile. 

Even if I'm not quite the right readership, everyone enjoys a novel that is fast paced, light and more importantly, funny. This novel really bounces a long. There is a lot of humour and to me, the voices of the young female characters felt reasonably believable. As I mentioned before, I enjoyed a lot of the passages about work; the frustrations, the questions, the eye rolling. Again, that theme of expectation, desire, striving for those ideal goals set against the actual reality and restrictions in life is a recurring idea that is well explored and well captured.

This book reminded me of Lisa Evans "Not Working" and is perhaps striving towards being a kind of  new Bridget Jones - Bridget Jones' blog, rather than diary! 

I'm sure there are plenty twenty somethings who will enjoy this entertaining debut and find much in it that resonants. It's an easy read; well paced, cheeky and fun. 

PRAISE FOR LIVING THE DREAM

‘Lauren Berry was never going to create a run-of-the-mill rom-com . . . It’s a timely satire on the everlasting problem of personal ambition verses paying the bills’ Stylist

‘Bridget Jones’s diary for the millennial set’ InStyle

‘Very witty and incredibly relatable, with an ending that'll make you want to grab life by the horns.’ Emma Gannon, author of Ctrl, Alt, Delete

‘Funny and clever, it’s for any professional woman who’s dared to harbour a dream outside an inbox.’ Ayisha Malik, author of Sophia Khan is Not Obliged

‘Living the Dream is a Bridget Jones' Diary for the millennial set: funny, fresh, and hard to put down. Much as with one's real life best friends, you'll want to shake Emma and Clementine by their shoulders as often as you'll want to get a drink (or three) with them.’ Katie Heaney, author of Dear Emma

‘Lauren Berry is London's Lena Dunham and her whip-smart and endearingly cheeky debut, LIVING THE DREAM, is an entertaining and often laugh-out-loud-funny tale of young cosmopolitan women on the fringes of a glamorous city life that seems just out of reach. Readers, grab your best friends and read this book over cocktails.’ Julia Fierro, author of The Gypsy Moth Summer and Cutting Teeth

LAUREN BERRY 

@laurenmkberry

Lauren Berry is the founding editor of satirical feminist magazine KnockBack. She has been featured in the Guardian, Observer and Easy Living. Lauren makes a living in branding and journalism under a variety of guises, including the pseudonym Marie Berry. She lives and works in London. Living the Dream is her first novel.

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

#HowToStopTime #MattHaig #Review

Tom Hazard has a dangerous secret.

He may look like an ordinary 41-year-old, but owing to a rare condition, he's been alive for centuries. From Elizabethan England to Jazz Age Paris, from New York to the South Seas, Tom has seen a lot, and now craves an ordinary life. Always changing his identity to stay alive, Tom has the perfect cover - working as a history teacher at a London comprehensive. Here he can teach the kids about wars and witch hunts as if he'd never witnessed them first-hand. He can try and tame the past that is fast catching up with him.

The only thing Tom mustn't do is fall in love.

This is a really interesting novel. It is quite a short book and it's a very smooth read that mimics the unhurried feeling of someone whose life will last four times longer than everyone else's. There is a clear plot and there are characters who need to 'travel' on their own emotional journey even if this spreads itself across a couple of hundred years rather than ten! But I found there was also a lot of meditation on the themes of history, legacy, love and life.

I am very aware of Haig's campaign to raise awareness about mental health and his honesty in talking about his own battle with depression. I thought that this book had many pertinent observations about life, love, human nature and patterns of behaviour that to me, made it a book that was also a bit of a philosophical self help manual as well.

"Don't attach yourself to people, and try to feel as little as you possibly can for those you do meet. Because otherwise you will slowly lost your mind....."

"Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom."

 "Ordinary life is not a guarantee of happiness."

By creating a lead character - Tom -  that although not immortal, will live to the age of perhaps 500 years, it gives Haig a chance to reflect on ideas such as how we live our life and how we give meaning to our life. I enjoyed these sentences like the ones I have quoted above as they made me pause for a moment and also added a deeper layer to the book. However, this is not a moralistic, preaching, self gratifying book - Haig has a deft hand and a lightness of touch meaning there is always humour or pertinence in his words so the reader is kept moving along with the plot. And the chapters are short, flit from year to year, relationship to relationship meaning that the reader is caught up in the action and Tom's emotional journey.

Although there is only one narrative voice in the this book, the time line does jump around. It's all clearly signposted and it's all very easy to follow. I thought the fact that the time line jumps forward and back - sometimes big jumps, sometimes smaller, was effective. It worked well and let the reader gradually fit the pieces together despite the fact that there was no urgency to try and make sense of things. For example, towards the end of the book there is an extra section - neither a chapter nor not a chapter, relevant but not relevant. The title of this section itself, "an interlude about the piano", indicates that when you will live to be 500 years old there really is no hurry to get to the end of the story. There is time for an interlude.

Haig has a talent for evoking a strong sense of time and place. He uses the odd detail to place the reader in whichever year he is concentrating on but it is easy to picture the place and each moment in time felt easy to visualise and relate to.

I liked the chapters when Tom was teaching history. Maybe it's a little cliched and maybe it's a chance for the author to effuse about the value of history but I enjoyed it.

"How would you make history come alive? ......History is alive. We are history. History is everyone. It is everything."

There are references to real historical figures in the novel and I am not entirely sure how well this worked for me. Whether it was included to add authenticity or for a bit of fun, I thought the main characters and the premise was strong enough with out the addition of 'real history'. For me, the highlights in the writing and the story were the passages about Tom's mother and the sections about witchcraft. These felt authentic, well crafted and again, although the scenes were four hundred years old, they held much resonance for a modern day reader.

I wasn't sure what to expect with this novel. I like Haig's writing, I liked his protagonist, I liked Haig's observations on happiness, love, human nature and the glimpses into the past. If you're looking for something a little different this summer then this would be worth reading.

How to Stop Time is published on 6th July by Cannongate.

Book Club Questions:

The structure of the novel is not linear and jumps around a bit. Why has the author decided to do this? How did the time hopping affect your reading of the novel?

How did you feel towards the protagonist Tom and how convincing did you find his narrative voice?

What do you think the novel says about love?

What did you think about the relationship between Tom and his mother?

There are several references to real historical figures in the novel. Did you think this enhanced or distracted the plot?

What do you think were the main challenges to the author when writing this book?

Did you like the ending?

If you liked this book you may want to read:



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

#DontSayAWord #ALBird #BlogTour #Review

A happy child. A loving mother. A family built on a lie.

Every parent knows the world can be scary. Lawyer Jen Sutton knows it better than most. And she’ll go to any length to protect her son from what – and who – lies outside their front door.

Some might say she’s being over-protective. But isn’t it a mother’s duty to protect her child from harm?

Jen has kept her secrets safe. Until the postcard arrives, signed by the one person she hoped would never catch up with her… and her new case begins to feel a little too close to home.

One thing is clear: Jen has been found. 

Now, she faces a choice. Run, and lose everything? Or fight – and risk her son discovering the truth.

How far would you go to protect your son?

This novel is truly psychologically chilling.

A L Bird grabbed me from the beginning - not just with the suggestion of danger to her son and the numerous clues and hints that there was something darker hiding between the pages that I needed to read on and uncover, but with her writing. Jen's narrative, told in first person, is jumpy, nervous, full of anxiety and panic. The most effective thing about this book is Jen's voice and the most effective thing in this novel is how convincing her fears, anxieties and constant state of high alert remain and dominate the pages. You cannot help but read this book without your heart leaping to your mouth and without holding your hand to your chest to regulate your own breathing. Jen's character is frightened, disturbed, fearful and desperate to keep her son safe. All of this is conveyed with palpable reality to the reader and the constant flip between always thinking the worst, and then the relief that this time there is no threat, is incredibly well handled and incredibly effective.

Jen is hiding from several characters from her past. Even though the actual details about what these people did to Jen and why she has to run are not revealed until much later, the reader quickly puts a few clues together and begins to build enough of a picture to understand what might have happened to Jen. This is of course made more explicit when she is presented with a case at work which deals with a woman facing a prison sentence for drugs and prostitution which appears to provoke an emotive response from Jen and a determination to 'save' this woman that goes beyond the call of duty.

It also puts her in danger and threatens to destroy the "life" she is working so hard to create for herself and her son.

The relationship between Jen and her ten year old son, Josh, is also very well captured. Jen is a devoted parent. Josh comes first, every single time. He is all that matters to Jen and they clearly have a very strong bond. Josh is also convincingly portrayed and he treads a good line as he sits on the cusp of still being young enough to indulge his mother's over protectiveness as well as beginning to need some answers. I liked how easy and close their relationship was and I think Bird's dialogue and interaction between Josh and Jen reflects a mother and son who have grown up without the help, support and friendship that most families develop within their local communities. It is only Jen and Josh - and this intensity, and Jen's fear of letting anyone else into their lives, is presented in a way which the reader understands and feels sympathy.

And despite all this back story that constantly hounds Jen, she is primarily a parent with a ten year old who also works. Her juggle between trying to be the best mum, remember everything for the school run, manage the household and also appear professional, committed and focused at work are well captured too. I think what I liked about Bird's prose was that it leapt off the page. It was so easy to be with Jen all the time and so easy to feel her rushing around, juggling everything, trying to stay focussed and constantly checking her watch, her phone, her shoulder that I was hooked and found that I could not put the book down.

The other thing that I loved about Don't Say A Word was the number of cliffhanger moments. Wow, Bird is relentless! There are so many brilliant, jaw dropping moments and there are so many scenes when you think the worst has happened, when you literally forget to breathe, when you are falling off the edge of your seat, when you can barely look that actually you almost miss the real threat and the real danger that is creeping up on Jen. So distracted is she too with seeing the worst every time the doorbell rings, every time she's held up a traffic light, every time someone asks her a tricky question, that she finds herself suddenly caught up in a much more life threatening situation and about to lose everything that she has fought so hard to keep.

I did wonder how reliable Jen was as a narrator and I did begin to suspect a few of the other characters as the novel plunged into the last third but I don't think this is a novel about guessing the twists. Yes, Bird can deliver them, yes there are several, yes I didn't see them all, yes she kept me guessing until the final pages and yes the twist pack a punch, but ultimately this is a novel about a mother, domestic abuse, drugs, the legal system and the agencies that aim to protect the vulnerable. This is a novel about a mother who has a secret past, a past that she is trying to escape and a past which threatens to catch up with her and force her to confront what really happened and what she is really running away from.

This is a fast paced novel. Jen's breathless narrative, her honest, raw voice is captivating and the dialogue between the characters spurs the action on as well as helping to develop three dimensional characters who feel real, authentic and help to reveal more about Jen as well as create more suspense, suspicion and tension in the plot. I liked the short chapters, the short sentences, the energy and the emotion that Bird creates.

I liked it all.

A L Bird's first novel The Good Mother  made a huge impression on me and I was really excited to receive a proof copy of Don't Say A Word from the publishers. I was expecting a roller coaster of a ride with a few surprises and shocking twists along the way and that is exactly what I got. I was gripped by Don't Say A Word and Jen is a character who will stay with me for a long time. I will reread this book and I will be recommending it - to everyone!

If you want a compelling, realistic, highly believable, gritty, gripping read, then Don't Say A Word is the novel for you!

Don't Say a Word is published by HQ Digital on 30th June 2017

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

#TheOtherTwin #LucyVHay #BlogTour

THE OTHER TWIN by LUCY V HAY

Published by Orenda 3rd July 2017 

I think I physically stopped breathing for a moment when I saw the front cover for this novel. That and the fact it is published by Orenda who are super talented at publishing fantastic books and from whom I know I am always going to get a book that is well written and original. And, as if that wasn't enough, it's Lucy Hay - super talented author, script editor, blogger and also pretty impressive at chairing panel events from what I saw at Crime Fest. Phew. Highly anticipated read? Just a little! 

The Other Twin is about Poppy, returning to Brighton for the first time in years following the news of the death of her sister India. Dying from a fall from a railway bridge, Poppy is not convinced by this official explanation about India's death. She digs deeper and deeper in search for the truth but as she does, she finds herself uncovering secrets that have been very deeply buried. Just who is involved in India's death? Who is Jenny and what part did she play in her sister's life or death? And is Poppy prepared for the journey her search for truth will take her on?

I think the most important and obvious thing to say about this novel is that it is possibly the most contemporary and relevant novel I have read for a while. Hay's ability to capture the complexities within society, between social groups both online and real, is utterly authentic. I am impressed with how she creates characters who are diverse, recognisable, flawed, interesting and always so real that every line feels completely believable. Hay doesn't give you a chance to settle into the story gently, the reader is thrown in from the first line as if jumping on the train at the last minute just before the doors shut and having to quickly work out who else is in the carriage, where they are sitting and how they relate to each other. 

I think she just wants to ensure that you don't draw breath at any point in the book and miss your stop because you are so fascinated by the story that is unfolding in front of you, layer by layer by layer. I must admit to feeling a sense of confusion at the beginning of the book but actually, I'm sure it's deliberate to unsettle me, to transport me out of my comfort zone, to challenge me and to make me turn the pages with real, genuine interest as to where this story might go and where the characters were taking me next.

The novel is set in Brighton and this is the perfect location for the issues and themes explored in this book. I have been to Brighton several times and although my experience is much more tame compared with the Brighton Hay captures, her writing is very evocative. The way she captures the sense of place exaggerates the sense of time and that this story is set in the absolute up-to-the-minute present day. 

The incorporation of social media was also very effective. I am really intrigued to see how authors are beginning to incorporate the online world into their novels. The inclusion of India's blog posts is recreated with specific detail including the comments from the followers. The detail not only makes it very authentic but also adds more tension to the plot. Poppy's use of India's laptop and her investigation and searching of emails is not there as a token nod to the modern day world, it's there to add to the grim and gritty reality of the story. It's used cleverly and with thought. It generates more tension and suspense.

This book is complex, multilayered, full of dynamic characters and Hay's writing is excellent yet intense. It was an impressive debut and quite stunning really in all it achieves. The exploration of issues such as siblings, identity, social media and truth are thoroughly tested. The Other Twin is a novel that is fresh, original, bursting with energy, vitality, truth and raw honesty. 

As others have said, this thriller is compulsive, addictive, fascinating and inventive. I recommend! 

But don't just take my word for it! Follow the Blog Tour and see what all these other fantastic bloggers are saying about The Other Twin! 

LUCY V HAY 

@LucyVHayAuthor

lucyvhayauthor.com

Lucy V. Hay script editor and blogger who helps writers via her Bang2write consultancy. She is the associate producer of Brit Thrillers DEVIATION (2012) and ASSASSIN (2015), both starring Danny Dyer. Lucy is also head reader for The London Screenwriters' Festival. Lucy is also an author, writing both screenwriting books and crime fiction. 

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

#BibliomaniacsBookShelf 26th June - 1st July

Bibliomaniac's Book Review

26th June - 1st July 2017 

I have had a great week and have so much bookish stuff to share that I have decided to do a 'round' up  in case you missed anything! I hope you enjoy and I hope you find something to read from my recommendations!

Book Reviews:
Click on the links below to see my full reviews.



 The Binding Song was my favourite read this week. It's set in a prison and tells the story of psychologist Janet as she tries to rehabilitate the prisoners while also dealing with her own deeply buried secrets. It is chilling, haunting and seriously creepy with a touch of the supernatural. I fell in love with it.  It won't suit everyone, but for me, it was perfect.

Last Seen is also a chilling tale about two women who were best friend until one of them suffered a huge tragedy. Set in Cornwall and exploring friendship, siblings, motherhood and a tragedy, this book is sure to become a bestseller and appeal to the mass market. It is compelling and a great story with some twists and turns making it very readable and full of drama.

I was intrigued to see how Fiona Barton's story The Child would match up to her debut The Widow but I am delighted to say it was as good, if not better! The Child starts with an investigation into the discovery of some bones belonging to a baby at a building site. As our protagonist delves deeper and deeper she finds herself having to reinvestigate an older crime and becomes entangled with the lives of three women. A very good read.

The themes of sisters and terrible secrets seems to be popular this summer and Blood Sisters is one to add to your list of recommendations for holiday reading! Jane Corry's novel is an involved read and at 455 pages it's a story that really allows you to get involved with the characters and their complex relationships. I enjoyed it; the characters are very well developed and more original making it an intriguing and interesting read. Take it on holiday with you!

One Little Mistake is an absolute must read for anyone with a child who has ever just wished they could pop out for 10 minutes and leave their child alone in the house. One Little Mistake is about exactly that - one decision, one moment and how one mistake sets off a string of events that spiral out of control. It also took a slightly different direction from what I expected meaning I enjoyed the twists, turns, revelation and the way I had to keep rethinking my feelings towards the characters. Well worth a read and well worth adding to your summer reading pile! Don't let your little mistake be that you don't read this book!

This week I was also on two Blog Tours with guest posts. You can read what author's Julia Roberts and Viv Conroy had to say about their new books here:

Guest Post Alice in Theatreland

Guest Post Viv Conroy

And somehow it's now July - which means it's time for the next Bibliomaniac's Book Club read. Usually I pick a paperlight and paperweight choice but as it's July and the holiday season, I am only doing one this time. Our book group isn't meeting again until September so with this in mind, I hope you will enjoy the paperlight choice which is The Dry by Jane Harper. Click on the link for all you need to run a book club session on this novel.

Bibliomaniac's July Book Club read

I have also uploaded my interview with Gin Phillips (Fierce Kingdom) and my panel event (Summer Scorchers) so if you fancy listening to them please click on the links or search them out at SoundCloud.

https://soundcloud.com/user-297075542/bibliomaniacs-book-club-june

https://soundcloud.com/user-297075542/an-interview-with-gin-phillips

There are still tickets available to my next live panel event on Wednesday- visit eventbrite for more details or click on the link below:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/real-life-real-books-tickets-34393602190

I have also enjoyed listening to a lot of podcasts this week. Here are some of my top picks!

 

HONEST AUTHORS

I could listen to Holly Seddon and Gillian MacAllister all day and I really enjoyed episode 11. They talk a lot about Gillian's third novel, which she is currently writing, and is about an incident involving a shaken baby. On this podcast she talks a lot about her research into this issue and the court cases she has attended as research as well as what motivated her to tackle this subject. There is also a lot of conversation about parenting, then more broadly about author finances, what their friends say to them about writing and how they fit in writing to their lives. It's honest, it's interesting and it's very enjoyable!

https://itunes.apple.com/nl/podcast/honest-authors-show/id1194154338?l=en&mt=2

I have just discovered The Bestseller Experiment podcast and am trying to catch up quickly with the episodes I have missed. This week I listened to Laura Barnett talking about her new book Greatest Hits and it was incredibly interesting. Having listened to Barnett talk about the fact there was a real soundtrack to go with the book which tells the story of an imagined songwriter looking back over her life, I had to download that as well and have been really enjoying listening it. Highly recommend you check these links out!

http://bestsellerexperiment.com/ep40-laura-barnett-greatest-hits/

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Songs-Novel-Greatest-Kathryn-Williams/dp/B0718WQK21

I then listened to a previous episode featuring Sarah Pinborough which is highly entertaining although probably better on headphones as she has a little bit of a potty mouth! I found myself getting strange looks as I listened while walking through town as I kept smiling and laughing to myself. It's a great interview and once again, great insight to the author behind the novel and the story behind the book! (no puns intended!)

http://bestsellerexperiment.com/ep18-sarah-pinborough/

My final recommendation is a podcast where book blogger Chelsea Humphrey talks about her recommendations and what you should read next. I follow Chelsea's blog The Suspense Is Thrilling Me, and also on twitter so it was fun to 'hear' her chatting about books too!

http://modernmrsdarcy.com/81-episode/

Ok, that's me done. Yes, quite a week! And next week looks as busy but I shall tell you all about that next Saturday! Don't forget to have a look out for me then! Hope you have a great weekend reading, talking and listening books!

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