Crippen Review

Crippen

-       John Boyne

Publisher: Black Swan

July 1910: A gruesome discovery has been made at 39 Hilldrop Crescent, Camden.
Chief Inspector Walter Dew of Scotland Yard did not expect the house to be empty. Nor did he expect to find a body in the cellar. Buried under the flagstones are the remains of Cora Crippen, former music-hall singer and wife of Dr. Hawley Crippen. No one would have thought the quiet, unassuming Dr. Crippen capable of murder, yet the doctor and his mistress have disappeared from London, and now a full-scale hunt for them has begun. Across the Channel in Antwerp, the S.S. Montrose has just set off on its two-week voyage to North America. Slipping in among the first-class passengers is a Mr. John Robinson, accompanied by his teenage son, Edmund. The pair may be hoping for a quiet, private voyage, but in the close confines of a luxury ocean liner, anonymity is rare. And with others aboard looking for romance, or violence, or escape from their past in Europe, it will take more than just luck for the Robinsons to survive the voyage unnoticed.

When I started reading this book I didn’t know about Crippen or his infamous crime. Happening in 1910 it was a little before my time! J So I approached this book as a true novel rather than a fictional biography and I really enjoyed it. The story alternates each chapter between Crippen’s life story and his plans to be a doctor, and between the launch of the ship where a certain Mr Robinson and his son are heading to Canada for a fresh start. Over time these two stories come together like shuffling a pack of cards.

The writing style was so easy to follow and engaging. While the focus would switch between characters in one scene, it was done in such an easy method that it was never confusing and felt more like a tracking camera angle following people in a crowd than anything else. The variety of people on board the ship gives the story a real flavour and an insight into the importance of class in society in those days. In fact I was a little disappointed that some of the other people’s stories weren’t explored in as much detail and while Crippen’s story is nicely completed, I was left wanting to know more about the other passengers!

Although the initial hook was a crime story, it reads as more of a society at the start of the twentieth century. I admit I felt quite a bit of sympathy for Crippen as he is continually thwarted in his early ambitions to be a medical doctor and fails to stand up for himself with strong women. But at the same time he is quite a cold man and the scene of him in his dental surgery was very chilling! Generally though I struggled to the book down as I wanted to know the circumstances that lead to Cora Crippen’s gruesome end – and I wasn’t disappointed. A truly engaging read that chills and entertains.

Recommended for fans of Beryl Bainbridge and Robert Harris. 8 out of 10

Guest Review: Teacher, Teacher!

Once again, I have Sarah over to review one of her Transworld books! 

Teacher, Teacher

- Jack Sheffield

Publisher: UK - Corgi

It's 1977 and Jack Sheffield is appointed headmaster of a small village primary school in North Yorkshire. So begins Jack's eventful journey through the school year and his attempts to overcome the many problems that face him as a young and inexperienced headmaster.

The many colourful chapters include Ruby the 20 stone caretaker with an acute spelling problem, a secretary who worships Margaret Thatcher, a villager who grows giant carrots, a barmaid/parent who requests sex lessons, and a five-year-old boy whose language is colourful in the extreme. And then there's also beautiful, bright Beth Henderson, who is irresistibly attractive to the young headmaster...

Hello all, so, my third Transworld review, and I'm off on another totally different genre tangent - this time real-life memoir.  Teacher, Teacher describes Jack Sheffield's first year as a head teacher in a small school in Yorkshire in the '70s and is a very 'nice' tale.

There's nothing wrong with Teacher, Teacher - the kids are nice, the love story is nice, Jack Sheffield is nice, the...  well, you get the idea!  It just doesn't rock any boats.  The funny stories ellicit a smile, the sad ones a slightly misty eye, but it lacks any real emotional punch.  The main effect it had on me was a hankering for a bit more '70s school-life in modern-day schools - when kids could be kids and bake, climb, paint, swim, without Health & Safety and the PC brigade sticking their oar in.  Also, when teachers weren't bogged down by rainforest-loads worth of paperwork and could actually invest real time in getting to know and understand their charges.  Despite being a head teacher, Jack still had his own class to teach - something the modern-day head never gets to do!  (Ahem, education-sector mini-rant over....)

I have read better memoirs - James Herriott being my personal favourite - but Teacher, Teacher is a perfectly good way to while away a few hours without taxing the grey matter.  Be warned though, any teachers reading it might end up slightly green with envy by the end!  6 out of 10.

Guest Review: Black Swan Rising

Today I have Sarah stopping by to review her second book from Transworld's Book Group - and a book I reviewed last month. If you're curious about my review check it out here and then compare against Sarah's thoughts! :-)

Black Swan Rising - Lee Carroll
Publisher: Bantam Books

When New York City jewelry designer Garet James stumbles into a strange antiques shop in her neighborhood, her life is about to be turned upside down. John Dee, the enigmatic shopkeeper, commissions her to open a vintage silver box for a generous sum of money. Oddly, the symbol of a swan on the box exactly matches the ring given to her by her deceased mother. Garet can’t believe her luck and this eerie coincidence until she opens the box and otherworldly things start happening. . .

So, my second Transworld review, and a book much more in keeping with mine and Mel's usual genre - Urban Fantasy.  Eagle-eyed viewers may remember that Mel has herself reviewed this book already (in early September) so this is kind of a long-distance dual review!  To remind you, Black Swan Rising stars Garet (I never worked out how you were supposed to pronounce her name - GAR-et, GA-ret, Gar-REET etc), a New York jeweller who discovers the supernatural side to the world she lives in, and her very significant part in it.

Like Mel, I loved the beginning of this book - the supernatural side to Manhattan is only slowly and tantalisingly revealed with a genuine sense of other-world-ness.  The creatures you meet may appear human, but human they are not, and whilst they may be on Garet's side, that does not mean they do not have their own agenda, or are not capable of frightening her (and us!).

Having only very recently been to New York I loved the set-pieces throughout the novel, and the historical tie-ins are both very clever and very engaging (what's not to love about a supposedly senial man saying he's been visited by a long-dead famous painter, only for that painter's particular blend of colours to end up on the man's hospital bed sheets?!). However, I am very much in agreement with Mel about the love-interest, Will Hughes.  How Garet had can trust him so implicity, so quickly, I do not know.  And when she almost loses her humanity to him no mention is ever made of it again, let alone repurcusions for Will who really should have known better!

That aside there is plenty of scope for further novels (especially if they feature Lol, my favourite character by a country mile), and like Mel I will definitely pick up the sequel at some point, 7 out of 10.

Death Sentence Review

Death Sentence

-       Mikkel Birkegaard

Publisher: UK - Bantam

Frank Føns is a very successful crime writer. His novels, famed for their visceral descriptions of violent death, have made him a household name. But now someone is copying his crimes. For Frank what once seemed a clever, intriguing plot twist, has suddenly become a terrifying, blood-spattered reality.In the novel, a redhead who was scared of water is drowned. In the mirror-image of the real world, she has become an ex-girlfriend chained and left to die at the bottom of the harbour. A corrupt police-officer tortured to death becomes a contact who dies with fear in his eyes. Someone is taking Franks’ fiction and using it to destroy his life. The writer must become the detective.In fiction, the bad guy always gets caught, but in real life there is no such guarantee. Fear becomes real. The knife cut hurts like hell. Our narrator may not survive. No-one is promising you a happy ending. For Frank what had once been a game is now a matter of life and death.

Frank is an alcoholic, writer of horror novels which specialise in extreme torture and gory scenes. He makes a living from it even if it has cost him his family and turned him into an isolated man with little human contact. Then someone starts to recreate his graphic murder scenes in complete detail using people close to him as the victim...

Frank is a difficult person to like. At first I just thought he was lonely and isolated but as I read further and find out more about his past I have to confess that I just didn’t like him very much. But I was fascinated by his story. The way he is drawn into the murders is well done – even if you think he should have gone to police straight away. There aren’t many characters introduced in detail outside of Frank himself, but this is more the study of the man losing his grasp than a crime novel. Crimes do occur but it is Franks reactions that keep you glued to the page rather than the mystery of who did it.

The details of Frank’s books are gruesome and for the most part lacking in glamour. The detail is needed for the story but not lingered over – something I was grateful for as that level of detail would have turned me off! However, some of the scenes are not for those with a weak stomach. Alcohol, drug use and sex is prominent throughout but in keeping with the characters and the story.

The writing is easy to slip into – the translation from the Danish seems flawless. The ending will frustrate some people but I enjoyed the ambiguity. I hadn’t read a crime or mystery book for a long time and now I realise I’ve been missing out on a genre a really enjoy. I won’t be leaving it so long before I pick up another mystery. J

Recommended for fans of Steig Larsson and Jo Nesbo. 8 out of 10.

Guest Review: The Sandalwood Tree

Today, I have my old friend Sarah popping by to review a book she recieved from Transworld's Book Group!

The Sandalwood Tree

- Elle Newmark

Publisher: Black Swan

It is 1947, and Evie and Martin Mitchell have just arrived in the Indian village of Masoorla with their five-year-old son. But cracks soon appear in their marriage as Evie struggles to adapt to her new life, and Martin fails to bury unbearable wartime memories.

When Evie finds a collection of letters, concealed deep in the brickwork of their rented bungalow, so begins an investigation that consumes her, allowing her to escape to another world, a hundred years earlier, and to the extraordinary friendship of two very different young women.

And as Evie’s fascination with her Victorian discoveries deepens, she unearths powerful secrets. But at what cost to her present, already fragile existence?

Hello all Mel-followers, I'm back again!  Like Mel, I'm taking part in the Transworld challenge (what's not to love about free books??!!), and my first book to review is The Sandalwood Tree.  It would seem a very different type of novel to those I have always reviewed here, but as well as the Sci-Fi/Fantasy stuff I love World War, and Middle East-based books - and, how lucky am I, The Sandalwood Tree encompasses both!

This book is beautifully written by someone who has obviously spent plenty of time in India, and you get a real flavour of what life was like there in the late 1940s when religion was a dividing factor.  The experience is almost visceral at times - not just the sights, but the smells, the sounds, the textures.  It is a fabulous book for a dull or wet day - transporting you to another place entirely.

It also explores the after-effects of war, not just on the man involved (in this case the shell-shocked and guilt-ridden Martin), but on his family too.  The latter especially are so engaging - the mother, Evie, is a woman desperate to hold her family together, but at the same time unwilling to believe she cannot have happiness in her life, even if this means a life without her husband.  And then there's little Billy, a child so well-formed I cannot imagine he was not modelled on someone the author knew.

The story itself keeps your interest without a problem, but is in essence a 'nice' story - no major about-turns or surprises.  This is not a major criticism - who doesn't like an easy-to-read novel occasionally? - but means for me it doesn't reach the heights of A Thousand Splendid Suns, 8 out of 10.

Sarah is a member of Transworld Book Group!

Nothing But Trouble Review

Nothing But Trouble

-       Rachel Gibson

Publisher: UK – Corgi

Chelsea Ross knows she's a great actress. Which is lucky, as she's just got the toughest role of her life! Washed up from Hollywood and in serious need of some cash, Chelsea jumps at the $10,000 opportunity to act as 'carer' to famous hockey player Mark Bressler, currently injured after a car crash. After all, how hard can it be to play nice and pick up after an incredibly hot invalid in need of her tender loving care? Just three months of playing nurse and the cash is hers. But Mark Bressler doesn't need help. The moody hockey player's glory days may be over, but he has no intention of letting anyone aid his recovery, least of all the maddeningly cheerful Chelsea. He's determined to get her to quit – and Mark isn't the type to give in. But then again, neither is Chelsea...

I don’t read many contemporary romances. I like a little paranormal usually with my romance, or else I read chick-lit which has the focus on the funny side and the romance a little more PG. So I was very surprised when this turned out to be the fifth book in a romance series based on the Chinooks Hockey team. (I think the cover fooled me into thinking it was chick-lit!). Plus I’m British – I have no idea about hockey!! Luckily, the male lead here is actually a former hockey player who survived a serious car crash so the hockey side was minimal.

The writing was easy to get into, but I’m afraid I struggled to connect to either of the characters. Chelsea was independent and her personality shone through, but I never understood her need to be an actress... it never struck me why she wanted it so badly. Mark was a miserable, grumpy guy – understandably after what he’s been through. But his sudden switch to nice guy didn’t seem to be driven by anything more than lust. In fact, I could see the lust between Chelsea and Mark, but for me it never developed into a love I could believe in.

There are some sex scenes that are a little raunchy and I have to admit I did enjoy some of the early banter between Mark and Chelsea – the rapid squirrel had me chuckling out loud and his comments about her driving her very amusing. I guess it was when the characters got together that I lost interest in the story. There wasn’t anything that drove the story at that point. If you want a quick, smexy read though, then this is for you!

Recommended for fans of Jilly Cooper and Susan Donovan. 5 out of 10

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Twelve Review

Twelve

-       Jasper Kent

Publisher: UK – Bantam Books

Autumn, 1812. Napoleon’s triumphant Grande Armee continues its relentless march into Russia. City after city has fallen and now only a miracle can keep the French from taking Moscow itself. In a last, desperate act of defiance, a group of Russian officers enlist the help of twelve mercenaries who claim they can turn the tide of war. It seems an impossible boast but it soon becomes clear that these strangers from the outer reaches of Christian Europe are indeed quite capable of fulfilling their promise...and more. But the fact so few seem able of accomplish so much unsettles one of the Russians, Captain Aleksei Ivanovich Danilov. As winter closes in, he begins to comprehend the true, horrific nature of the twelve and the nightmare he has unwittingly helped to unleash...

Set at the time of Napoleon invasion of Russia, the story pulls you straight into the time and place – and it’s an era and a country I don’t much about, but there are plenty of details that put me right into the thick of it. Following the adventures of Danilov and his three compatriots as they attempt to use guerrilla warfare to slow down and spy on the French army – a seemingly hopeless task until they recruit twelve mysterious mercenaries who’s skills with butchering and sending fear into the French army is more than impressive.

Like velvet, this story will provide smoothing shades and comforting prose if you like historical novels with a hint of supernatural and some philosophical discussions. There are many asides where the soldiers discuss the nature of war and the moral rights and wrongs. However, for some people this may rub them the wrong way. Personally I loved the extra layers the discussions about humanity which gave the book extra depth and raised it above being another historical swashbuckler. Not to say there isn’t plenty of action as Danilov and his companions race ahead and behind Napoleon’s army and creep around occupied Moscow. In fact I could detect a hint of the Three Musketeers about the whole adventure!

Towards the middle of the book, the preternatural element comes to the fore with Danilov’s suspicions on the twelve. From then on the blood and gore is increased with some gruesome elements – not for weak stomachs. But as one of the characters mentions, it is war time. The writing was thick and warming – like a thick coat on snowy days. I loved the historical setting, the natural introduction of the supernatural, the under siege mentality of the Russians of the period and really enjoyed this foray into historical supernatural.

Recommended for fans of Alexandre Dumas and Conn Iggulden. 8.5 out of 10.

I'm a Transworld Book Group Member!

Transworld Book Group Reading Challenge

 

I'm part of the Transworld Book Group - are you?

Transworld are once again doing this great idea where they will send you free books in exchange for your reviews (doesn’t have to be on a blog – Amazon or Goodreads reviews count as well!). And it’s international! All you have to is go here and say you want to take part. There’s a huge range of books and you can ask for any 4 – they’ll send you one and when you put your review up, they’ll send you the next on the list. Simples!

Here are the books you can ask for… so what are you waiting for? J