Bibliomaniac's Book Shelf: My Week in Books 24th Sept 2017

BIBLIOMANIAC'S BOOK SHELF 

24th September 2017

Somehow I've managed to do a lot of reading this week... I discovered two authors who were new to me and whose work I fell in love with, and then one of my favourite author's published their new book so my mantra this week has mainly been 'just one more chapter'!

 As well as many books, there have been many late nights, reading way beyond I should but hey, what's a bibliomaniac to do? 

If I only tell you about one thing this week...

This week I had the exciting privilege of hosting a panel event with Angela Clarke, Rowan Coleman, Tammy Cohen and Anna Mazola. It was amazing! I was a little (actually a lot) star struck as I genuinely love the books by these fabulous women but they were so friendly I  relaxed quickly! It was a really fun evening! 

Chairing the panel was very easy as all of the authors chatted away with lots of sparkle, laughter and charm - and the time passed too quickly! Some of the things we heard about were the books they had read over the summer, the various projects they were involved in alongside writing novels, their writing routines, researching their novels, Richard & Judy and their future projects! 

They were an amazing panel to listen to and I cannot recommend their books highly enough - or as panelists for any future events! 

Here are a few pictures from the night! 

And details of my next event are at the end of this post! 

Don't forget to catch Angela Clarke on CBS Reality on Sunday evening at 10pm for "Written In Blood" where she investigates the true crime of 'The Facebook Killer' that has inspired her writing!

MISS BOSTON & MISS HARGREAVES

by Rachel Malik 

A story of the land, friendship and of secret lives.

When Rene Hargreaves is billeted to Starlight Farm as a Land Girl, far from the city where she grew up, she finds farmer Elsie Boston and her country ways strange at first. Yet over the days and months Rene and Elsie come to understand and depend on each other. Soon they can no longer imagine a life apart.

But a visitor from Rene's past threatens the life they have built together, a life that has always kept others at a careful distance. Soon they are involved in a war of their own that endangers everything and will finally expose them to the nation's press and the full force of the law.

Because of it's elegant prose, this novel possibly leans towards literary fiction but there is no doubting Miss Boston and Miss Hargreaves is very readable, charming and engaging. It has echoes of a Kate Summerscale book, although the author is very clear that this is a fictionalised account of what might have happened to these women who did exist in real life, rather than an historical truth. The author strikes a great balance between retelling the lives of the two main characters (one of which was Malik's grandmother) and the historical events in which they become involved as well as weaving an entrancing tale of companionship and friendship. There is no denying that the reader cannot help but be intrigued by the relationship that develops and grows across the pages, or by affected by the fact that this relationship has such an impact on both the lives of the two women. 

I enjoyed Malik's ability to capture the relationship between the two women with such understated language. It must be a challenge to write about your family history but Malik successfully weaves what she has learned about her grandmother into a piece of fascinating fiction. Her ability to evoke the era in which the novel is set is effortless and perfectly done. She firmly roots the reader within the time and place of the story with language, dialogue, description and detail that creates an atmosphere capturing the period. This secure placing within the historical setting then ensures the full significance of the events which unfold are felt by the reader. 

Malik's prose is considered, thoughtful, atmospheric and graceful. The characters are well crafted, easy to picture, easy to invest in and to care about. The interjection of phrases unique to the wartime is well done, as is the way Malik is able to convey class and social standing with one or two key details. There is also a lingering sense of tragedy and being haunted by the past which adds a sense of melancholy but never becomes too much or too distracting. 

The last third of the book focuses on a court case and there is a definite change of pace and style for this section of the book. I had been meandering along the pages and suddenly I was racing through, my attention awakened fully by the increase in dialogue, pace, revelations and drama. I was engrossed by the shock, scandal and cruelty that befell these endearing, harmless, well meaning and private people. The final section of the book is more powerful because of the time Malik has spent from the beginning of the novel developing these nuances, subtle moments and tender depiction of the relationship between the characters. 

This is a very well crafted, well executed and polished novel. It is beautifully controlled and accomplished for a debut novel and the author's background in academic writing does show through. It is a historical fiction and it is more literary than commercial in style but it is engaging, entrancing, tender and well worth a read. I thought the evocation of characters, time and place was exceptionally well presented and I found myself caring about the characters much more than I realised once the story had finished! 

Miss Boston and Miss Hargreaves is currently available in Hardback and will be published in Paperback in February 2018. My thanks to the publisher for my advance copy of the book in return for an honest and unbiased review. 

IN A COTTAGE IN A WOOD

by Cass Green 

It is not often that the minute I receive a preordered book on the day of publication I drop everything and read it, but this week I made an exception! Having read Cass Green's first adult novel The Woman Next Door I could not wait to read In A Cottage In A Wood. The cover was already sending shivers up my spine! 

This is a captivating story. The main character, Neve, finds the whole of her life turned upside down after a chance encounter with a troubled woman called Isabelle, late one night on Waterloo Bridge.

After a brief, confusing and disturbing conversation on the bridge in the middle of a freezing night, Isabelle presses a parcel into Neve's hands then throws herself to her death by jumping into the Thames. Not surprisingly this harrowing encounter causes havoc with Neve's emotional state of mind, especially as she is already troubled and her life is already crashing around her. So when she finds out that Isabelle has left her a cottage in Cornwall, Neve decides she has nothing else to lose. She walks away from her sister's home where she has been camping out and sets off to find this cottage and start a new life. 

She sets off to find the cottage in a wood. A cottage that she doesn't find until late at night. In the dark. That the taxi won't take her too because it is not easily accessible. A cottage that is not the charming picturesque home that she had in envisioned but one with bars across the window and full of unpleasant surprises... 

Green is an assured, confident and skilled writer who understands how to construct a superbly chilling tale. She effortlessly maintains tension, suspense and intrigue throughout every chapter; this novel is well paced and a definite page turner even though Green allows herself plenty of time to develop the characters and weave her tale. In Neve, Green has created a flawed, emotionally complex and vulnerable individual who the reader gradually becomes more and more attached to as we watch her try to solve the mystery behind Isabelle's death and deal with the fallout of what she discovers. Neve's life at the beginning of the book is full of chaos, mistakes and reckless decisions which don't necessarily make her likeable, but the effect this chance encounter with Isabelle has on the direction of her life is a fantastic hook and ensures the reader wants to follow her on her journey. Neve's character is well developed and we learn to care about her as she deals with several emotional and psychological issues which result in a significant change in her personality and a re-evaluation of her priorities.  Not only does Neve need to uncover the mystery behind the haunted cottage and the truth behind what made Isabelle jump from the bridge, she also has to confront some difficult and traumatic truths about her own life. I liked that she wasn't quite what I was expecting in a protagonist, her flaws obvious and her weakness on show, yet I was still invested. I liked her emotional journey and how the reader became very much part of this alongside her. I liked that we were as shocked by the secrets she uncovered as she was herself and shared her grief, surprise and heartache at these harrowing revelations.

Green's greatest talent is for creating compelling characters who perhaps aren't quite so conventional or straightforward. It is also for storytelling and for adding layer upon layer to the story so that Neve's situation not only becomes more threatening but more complicated and more devastating. I was impressed with the way that Isabelle and Neve, two characters united only through a coincidental circumstance, could have such an impact on each other's lives. I was impressed with how the story developed and the many strands that were woven together into such a multi layered, tightly plotted, well executed, exciting narrative. 

This novel deals with grief, torment, violence and families. It's about secrets, unexplained actions, the past and the devastating consequences of discovering the truth. I liked that the plot developed so much beyond just a spooky house in a dark wood - although this dark and gothic element was incredibly appealing and very effectively used to structure the story and increase the ominous sense of danger from something Neve could not see or understand. 

The setting, location and characters are perfect for this story and Green delivers all the shocks, twists, upset, revelations and drama that you would expect from the cover and title of this novel. I found it a great read, a polished and flawless psychological thriller which had me completely hooked me from the outset. I read it in one sitting. And now I want another book from Cass Green. She's too good. 

In A Cottage In A Wood was published by Harper Collins on 21st September 2017. 

THE LIMEHOUSE GOLEM

by Peter Ackroyd

Dan Leno, the great music hall comedian, was known in his lifetime as 'the funniest man on earth'. So how could he have been involved in one of the most curious episodes in London's history when, in a short period during the autumn of 1880, a series of murders was attributed to the mysterious 'Limehouse Golem'?

In Peter Ackroyd's novel the world of late-Victorian music hall and pantomime becomes implicated in a number of sinister scenes and episodes, and the connection between the light and dark sides of nineteenth-century London begins to attract contemporary figures as George Gissing and Karl Marx. But there are also less well-known characters who play a significant role in the narrative. What, for example, is the secret of Elizabeth Cree, about to hang for the murder of her husband?

Ackroyd's style is very distinctive and the minute I started reading this book I recognised his quirky, fast paced, intelligent and engaging prose. This book is not for the faint hearted - it is dark with a capital D. The reader is thrown headlong into the unpleasant world of Victorian London in all its gratuitous and shocking detail. From the very opening there is plenty of graphic description, gore, violence and murder. Ackroyd's ability to capture London and to place the reader so convincingly in the depths of its dark, brutal, harsh and unforgiving streets is admirable and impossible to turn away from, even when it is depicted with such bleak and base language. 

This is a macabre tale. It is also compelling. The characters are fascinating and I enjoyed the inclusion of various historical figures who contribute to such a wide ranging cast of characters. It's imaginative, creative and treads the line between fact and fiction perfectly, presenting a murder investigation that is intriguing, shocking and impossible to put down. The book is relatively short at around 270 pages and because of the various characters who take over the narration, it's easy to read and to keep turning the pages. There are lots of different types of narration including court transcripts, diaries as well as third person accounts which also gives the book a unique and original feel. The use of dialogue is exceptionally well done and each character is well crafted. Ackroyd's characterisation is very impressive and it goes without saying that this book reflects his skill and experience as such an accomplished writer. The characters create a real sense of vitality and energy despite the overruling murky atmosphere of threat and definitely add to the appeal of the novel.

Anyone who enjoys Jack the Ripper, Whitechapel and Sweeny Todd will love this book. It is dark and it is grim reading in places so it will not be for everyone. There is a lot of gore and description of brutally murdered bodies and as I said before, I think Ackroyd's style is distinctive and not for everyone but The Limehouse Golem is an intriguing story. I liked the blunt truth of the character's statements and the way events were presented. I must admit my main motivation for reading is because of the forthcoming film starring Bill Nighy as I do like to read the book before I watch the film! I can't wait to see this transfer to the big screen!

The Limehouse Golem was first published in 1994 and then republished by Vintage on 24th August 2017. My thanks to the publishers who provided an advance copy of the book via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

BLOG TOURS 

THE DOLL HOUSE

As you know, I really enjoyed this book and have been raving about it so it was an honour to be on the blog tour this week. I was lucky enough to host a guest post from Phoebe Morgan as well so do check out my post here! 

https://bibliomaniacuk.blogspot.com/2017/09/thedollhouse-phoebemorgan-blogtour.html

NO WAY BACK 

I was also on the blog tour for No Way Back with a review of the book. You can read my review here:
https://bibliomaniacuk.blogspot.com/2017/09/nowayback-kellyflorentia-blogtour.html

A THOUSAND ROOMS 

I also hosted an interview with Helen Jones about her latest book A Thousand Rooms which you can read here:
https://bibliomaniacuk.blogspot.com/2017/09/helenjones-athousandrooms-qanda.html

EVENTS

I am delighted to announce my next event which will be November 29th. Details below and click on the link to buy your ticket! 

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/christmas-books-tickets-37867386372

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