Tag Archives: suspense

Jera’s Jamboree review : Up Close by Henriette Gyland

upcloseUp Close by Henriette Gyland

Paperback: 384 pages

Publisher: Choc Lit   (7 Dec 2012)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 190693178X

ISBN-13: 978-1906931780

Too close for comfort …

When Dr Lia Thompson’s grandmother dies unexpectedly, Lia is horrified to have to leave her life in America and return to a cold and creaky house in Norfolk. But as events unfold, she can’t help feeling that there is more to her grandmother’s death than meets the eye.

Aidan Morrell is surprised to see Lia, his teenage crush, back in town. But Aidan’s accident when serving in the navy has scarred him in more ways than one, and he has other secrets which must stay hidden at all costs, even from Lia.

As Lia comes closer to uncovering the truth, she is forced to question everything she thought she knew. In a world of increasing danger, is Aidan someone she can trust?

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Up Close begins with intrigue … in the prologue we join a watcher outside the window – a watcher who is waiting for the old woman to die.

“Her evident shock registered, and for one long moment they simply stared at each other, spellbound, frozen in time, as memories of their unwilling bond flashed through both their minds.” 

Hooked!  Who is the watcher and what is the connection?

Chapter One begins with the reader experiencing Lia Thompson’s nightmare alongside her.  She’s in her grandmother, Ivy’s house,  having missed the funeral but is there to sell the house as quickly as possible and fly back ‘home.’  We find out that her mother, Connie, doesn’t want anything from the estate.  Lia is still jet-lagged having flown in from Philadelphia two days ago.  We also find out that Lia wanted to get far away from Norfolk.  Lia’s life in Philadelphia is shared and we’re introduced to nearest neighbour Mrs Larwood who brings Ivy’s dog back.  Ivy was not a dog lover.

From this first chapter I was intrigued.  I wanted to know why Connie didn’t want anything from her own mother’s estate, what happened that made Lia move as far away as she could and why had Ivy bought a dog if she wasn’t a pet lover?

Chapter Two we’re introduced to Aidan Morrell.  He’s prepping to dive at Holkham Beach and we’re made aware of an injury he received on a warship in the Gulf.  Lia meets Aidan as he comes out of the sea.  They were at 6th form college together but Lia doesn’t remember him.  She was in a daze for most of that time.  Aidan had a crush on her and we’re made aware of something happening with his brother.  We’re also made aware that a close member of Lia’s family died when she was a child …but not how.

More questions from me!  Why was Lia in a daze?  How did Lia’s family member die? What happened to Aidan’s brother?  What happened with Lia’s best friend Samantha?

The intrigue only gets deeper as we move further into the plot – and as the intrigue deepens, so does the attraction between Lia and Aidan!

The environment is perfect for the suspense and the secrets.  An isolated community with Aidan living alone on the farm and Lia alone in the house; attics; deserted beaches; solitary running and diving; a scene involving snow.  I also have to mention the art and how the author uses it as a way of Aidan expressing himself – especially when he starts to feel safe enough to show how he sometimes perceives the world to be … the darker side.

Plenty of times I was tense and alert.  I have to admit that I detest underwater scenes on movies although I do love the water and enjoy swimming underwater myself.  The scene in the swimming pool after it is closed while Lia is learning to dive and the climax underwater on a group dive left me feeling shaken and nauseous!

Lia and Aiden’s connection is there from the beginning but because Lia is engaged, they both make excuses for why they can’t do anything about the attraction.  Later, the intimacy between Lia and Aiden is beautifully written.  Their relationship is not an easy one with underlying secrets but I loved the fact that Lia was always led by her own belief about Aiden and not by what the evidence seemed to be presenting.

The Armed Forces is a central connection to the plot in Up Close.  Gyland is not afraid to tackle Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and how it affects the lives of the sufferer and their families.

I love plots that drop subtle clues and lead the reader to try and work out where the story is heading, to unravel those clues to find an answer  … Up Close is exactly this type of story.  It wasn’t until I reached page 297/384 that I had an inkling of where we were being led.  As I continued to read I became surer although there is another incident that made me question what I believed.  This is such a fabulous plot with the different strands weaving together to leave us with a story that gives the wow factor.

There is also personification (if you read my reviews you’ll know I love this!)  On page 238:

“The wind had dropped, and the trees in the garden, their branches held high in a last act of defiance, seemed to have accepted finally that this was the season of death.”

Beautiful and very apt for that particular place in the plot!

I don’t think there’s any doubt about how I felt about Up Close … alongside the romance we have the suspense and intrigue … not only is it a keeper for me but it has gone straight onto my Top 20 reads of 2012.  What an amazing debut novel!  Henriette Gyland is definitely an author to watch.  I’m a fan!

 

Buy it but be loathe to share your copy ... it's a keeper!

Buy it but be loathe to share your copy … it’s a keeper!

I would like to thank the publisher for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.  If you haven’t discovered the independent publisher Choc Lit  already, I strongly recommend you you check out their range of novels.  Choc Lit recently received Publisher of the Year award at the Festival of Romance.

Where to buy:

Amazon Kindle £1.97 (at the time of review)

Amazon Paperback £7.19

The Book Depository Paperback £7.18

You can find out more about Henriette on her blog.  She also tweets and you can connect with her on Facebook.

 

Jera’s Jamboree review: Out of Sight by Isabelle Grey

Out of Sight by Isabelle Grey

Paperback: 368 pages

Publisher: Quercus (2 Aug 2012)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0857383183

ISBN-13: 978-0857383181

In a village in south-west France, a young Englishwoman, Leonie, meets a quiet, withdrawn man called Patrice. He has no wife, no child, and refuses ever to get inside a car. Leonie is certain she can help this man, that her love will heal his emotional wounds. But Patrice will not tell her anything about his past. So she decides to search herself – unaware of what she’ll discover.

 

Five years before, Patrice was living in London. He was called Patrick, and he had a wife and child. And one fateful day in July changed his life for ever.

 

Out of Sight is a third person narrative and told in four parts.  I really enjoyed the way this is laid out allowing the mystery and tension to build.

In Part One we’re in Sussex and it’s 2005.  The reader gets to know Patrick, his family and parents.  The reader is left on a cliffhanger.  We know that something is about to unfold but not what.

Part Two finds us in France.  It’s now 2010 and we become involved in Patrice’s relationship with Leonie.  It is through a conversation with Leonie that we find out he was married for three years and is now divorced.  He tells Leonie.

“I let her down.  There was no future for us together.”

The reader knows he is lying about one thing but is still unaware of what happened on that day in July where we left Patrick in 2005.

Leonie knows that Patrice is wounded in some way and often refers to him as a wild animal being hunted.  There is an incident where Patrice’s reaction is fearful.  He withdraws from the relationship with Leonie by becoming unavailable.   Leonie asks herself all sorts of questions.  She wants to save him:

“How she longed to lead him out into the sunshine where he could be his best and fullest self, for she was intuitively sure it was what Patrice himself most wanted, however deeply buried that wish might be right now.” (page 113)

There is another life-changing moment and Patrice handles it in the same way he’s handled everything else so far. This is a poignant time in the story as we suffer with Leonie.  Leonie’s best friend Stella directs her to look at an article from the Brighton Argus.  Now Leonie knows what happened on that fateful day …

Part Three we’re back in Sussex, 2005 where everything is laid bare.  For me, this was the most heart-wrenching and brought out the rawest emotions.  Exquisitely written, we experience everything Patrick and Belinda do.  The reader begins to understand more about Patrick’s childhood and his beliefs, which have shaped him.

In Part Four it’s London, 2011.  Leonie is sharing Stella’s flat.  Despite her loss and the subsequent depression, Leonie still holds hope in her heart that there is a future for herself and Patrick.  This part caused me the most confusion in how I felt about Patrick.  Having not liked him in France, then beginning to understand him when we revisit his life in Sussex and even sympathising with him a little … in London he made me angry and I loathed him.  I could understand why he compartmentalised for self-preservation and why he never truly engaged with life – always wearing his mask, unavailable on an emotional level … but I still loathed him! I hate to admit it but I could see myself in Leonie …

It is here where we realise that other people also hold their secrets close and the wounds they carry, which interfere with engagement on a deeper emotional level … and the redemption that’s possible when we understand this.

Out of Sight is a story about forgetfulness, tragedy, loss, how we deal with that loss and carry on engaging in life … but it’s also about family secrets and how our role models from childhood affect our trust in the universe to keep us safe and provide for us.  The reader is taken on a psychological and very emotional journey alongside these brilliantly portrayed characters.

This is a debut novel that has provoked all sorts of emotions in me and will stay with me for a long time.

 

Buy it but be loathe to share your copy … it’s a keeper!

I would like to thank the author (and Quercus http://www.quercusbooks.co.uk/) for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Out of Sight is available to purchase:

Amazon Paperback £5.99 

Amazon Kindle format £7.16

And all good book stores

 

About the Author:

Isabelle Grey grew up in Manchester and graduated from Cambridge.  A former freelance journalist for national newspapers and magazines, she also writes television drama.  Under her maiden name Isabelle Anscombe, she is the author of five non-fiction books.  Out of Sight is Isabelle Grey’s first novel.  She lives in London.

You can tweet with Isabelle Grey.

Jera’s Jamboree: Review The Summer of Secrets by Alison Lucy

The Summer of Secrets by Alison Lucy

Paperback: 400 pages

Publisher: Canvas (17 May 2012)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1780334982

ISBN-13: 978-1780334981

 

One heady summer. Three big secrets.

1989:

Newlyweds Danny and Harriet arrive at their honeymoon paradise in the Caribbean. Days later Harriet returns home. Danny is left distraught but finds comfort in the arms of two women. Nine months later, three baby girls are born…

2010:

Megan leaves her childhood sweetheart behind in the UK to go in search of her long-lost father. Miles from home and temptation is at every corner – not least in the arms of the gorgeous Ray…

Esmé, a Mexican beauty, married Miguel at fifteen. In unlocking the secrets of her past, can she shed the shackles of her enforced marriage?

Claudia has led a life of privilege but she’s never really known what it feels like to be loved. Could David be the answer? Or will he disappoint her, just like her mother always did?

Three women set off on an adventure to uncover the secrets surrounding their missing father. It may be the only way to lay their demons to rest but seeking out the truth could tear their lives apart.

 

 

We start our journey in Cancun, Mexico in 1989 where we find out about Danny’s addiction and Harriet’s secret.  Harriet is not impressed with the beach house that’s Danny now owns on the island of Des Amparados and leaving him behind, flies back home alone.  Hector is the caretaker of the house and looks after Danny on the island.  Danny decides to leave Hector the house with the proviso that once he dies, it is inherited by Danny’s children.

Catalina intervenes one night when Danny is being beaten up on the mainland… and he finds comfort in her arms in the cove of the island.  Then a boat appears in the small cover of the island bearing Lucy and four young men.  After they have left, he is inconsolable.  He hears a gunshot and lays low on the ground in the gravel.  We are left with this enigmatic sentence:

“The sound of the final gunshot echoed across the island.” Page 49

Next, we find out that Harriet is pregnant and Megan is her daughter.  Catalina gave birth to Esmerelda (Esme) and Lucy to Claudia.  We follow the three daughters lives who all feel as if there is something missing from their existence.  They are three very different lives – Harriet and Megan in the UK have a very troubled relationship, Catalina and Esmerelda in Cancun living by the Mexican customs before they find a way out which is no way out at all … and Claudia … living a privileged life but with her grandfather … and very little contact with Lucy.  Ultimately, all three women set off to find Danny and in the process find out more about themselves.

Written in a third person narrative and alternating between them, it’s really easy to become absorbed with each of the characters and identify with them.  As well as the three daughter’s journey to find Danny there is also heartbreak and love along the way for them.  Being involved in each of their lives means there is no time for the reader to be bored as there is always something happening.  The stories merge when Megan, Esme and Lucy come together on the island but there is more intrigue waiting for the reader as we journey to the climax and resolution.  I loved the way it all tied up.

My favourite character is Claudia.  For me she made the biggest transition from her protected life and naivety into a woman who listened to her intuition and used it.  She grew into her own strength.

I loved the style of writing.  For example this simile on how Claudia was feeling:

“Her skin tingled and she felt all stirred up and giddy, like an angry wasp under a champagne glass.” (page 271)

The settings take the reader to many places … in Mexico (both in the city, Cancun and the island), London, Essex, Oxford and Las Vegas.  I enjoyed reading about a different culture and I learnt something new!  At 15 in Mexico, there is a ritual ceremony for the girls called La Quinceanera.  This was a part of Esme’s culture.

For the majority of the story there is the suspense of not knowing what happened to Danny.  A postcard sent from him in Las Vegas to Lucy more than ten years ago makes Claudia believe he is alive.  On reflection, there are subtle clues but I was so caught up in what was happening to the woman that although it was in the back of my mind, I didn’t guess.  I loved it that I didn’t know what was coming!

In the penultimate chapter we are back in Cancun in 1989 where everything is revealed…

The Summer of Secrets was for me a strong three fairy read.  It has all the elements of a good read – suspense, mystery, death, journeying to other places and cultures, characters that entrance and find themselves, families, romance, heartbreak and love.  One for your to read list.

 

Buy it and spread the word

I won my copy of Summer of Secrets via LoveReading.  Thank you for choosing me!

The Summer of Secrets – the Early Years is available on Amazon Kindle FREE at the time of my review.  It includes three exclusive short stories.

The Summer of Secrets is available to purchase:

Amazon Kindle £4.05 

Amazon Paperback £4.26 

The Book Depository Paperback £5.84 

and all good book stores

You can find out more about Alison Lucy on her website and her author page at Canvas.  You can tweet with her and find her on Facebook.

Jera’s Jamboree review: Silenced by Simon Packham

Silenced by Simon Packham

Paperback: 192 pages

Publisher: Piccadilly Press (1 Jun 2012)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1848122101

ISBN-13: 978-1848122109

“At first I thought there were technical problems – something wrong with the sound system – because when I opened my mouth I couldn’t hear a thing. But it was more serious than that…I was completely dumb.”

 

Chris loses the power of speech completely when his best friend dies in a car crash. Why? What terrible secret is he hiding? And can he find his voice before it’s too late?

 

Powerful and original, this is a thought-provoking new thriller by the author of “coming 2 gt u” and “The Bex Factor”

 

When Piccadilly Press tweeted for any bloggers interested in reading Silenced, I read the synopsis and quickly tweeted back.  Along with the intrigue of finding out what Chris’ secret was, I was also interested in the selective mutism aspect.

We find out from a newspaper article that Facebook tributes for 15 year old Declan Norris are flooding in.  We’re then transported to 8 months after the crash and Chris has gone to visit the site of the accident for the first time.  He’s chatting to Declan and the reader feels there has been a resolution of some kind.

Starting from the morning after the crash until we’re back to 8 months after crash at the same scene, we become involved in the St Thomas school community dealing with their grief and specifically, Chris’ healing journey.

Narrated in the first person, we become a part of Chris’ pain and guilt. He can speak up until 5 days after the crash when at the memoriam at school, he is unable to perform his part.  It only takes a few more weeks before CAMHS become involved (the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service).  I work with our local CAMHS so for me, Chris’ sessions brought this service to life for me!  Despite all the support available for Chris, he still remains mute.  As the story progresses we get to know more about his friendship with Declan and come to understand that Chris isn’t mute from his best friends death but from the secret he is hiding.

Chris’ peers and family add depth to the story … Ariel, (Declan’s girlfriend) knows there is something underlying his inability to speak and doesn’t give up trying to help him and Will, who is a new boy and leads Chris into some daredevil escapades.  These key characters are quite interesting in their juxtaposed roles.  Will’s high jinx leads Chris to forget for a short time while Ariel is drawing him out to make him remember.

“Ariel was like a truth drug.  The longer I spent with her, the more likely I was to crack.  She seemed to have worked out I was hiding something.  And she wasn’t going to let go.” (page 105)

The frustration of his parents at his inability to talk is poignantly shown in an overheard conversation.

The intrigue of what could possibly have had such a huge impact on Chris draws the reader on and the language is apt for the YA audience.  So is the perspective of the adolescent – as adults I think we sometimes forget that maturity (usually!) brings an emotional intelligence.

My rating is based on the targeted audience:

Buy it and spread the word

Simon Packham on Amazon

I would like to thank Piccadilly Press for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

You can find out more about Simon Packham on his website and his Piccadilly Press author page. You can also tweet with him.

Jera’s Jamboree: Review and Giveaway – On The Island by Tracey Garvis Graves

On The Island by Tracey Garvis Graves

Paperback: 368 pages

Publisher: Penguin (16 Aug 2012)

ISBN-10: 1405910216

ISBN-13: 978-1405910217

 

It would always be summer on the island…

 

When thirty-year-old English teacher Anna Emerson is offered a summer job tutoring T.J. Callahan at his family’s holiday home in the Maldives, she accepts without hesitation: a tropical island beats the library any day.

 

T.J. has no desire to leave town, not that anyone asked him. He’s almost seventeen and if having had cancer wasn’t bad enough, he now has to spend his first summer in remission with his family instead of his friends.

 

Anna and T.J. are en route to join T.J.’s family in the Maldives when the pilot of their seaplane suffers a fatal heart attack and crash-lands in the Indian Ocean. Marooned on an uninhabited island, Anna and T.J. work together to obtain water, food, fire and shelter but, as the days turn to weeks then months and finally years, Anna begins to wonder if the biggest challenge of all might be living with a boy who is gradually becoming a man…

 

I am going to be honest from the beginning … I’ve found this review so very hard to write as I absolutely loved On the Island.  I was so caught up in the story that I read it in under 24 hours, pushing everything else aside so I could carry on reading.

We begin with Anna narrating in June 2001.  She meets TJ at the airport.  It’s a long and drawn out journey and at Malé International Airport, Maldives, they find out they haven’t been booked on to the seaplane that will take them to their final destination.  However, there has been a cancellation and they find themselves the only passengers with pilot Mick.  Mick very quickly becomes unwell and they find themselves crashing into the sea.

TJ takes over the narration (throughout the story, the narration alternates with Anna and TJ in the first person).  Anna is unconscious and he slides his hand through her life jacket straps to keep her buoyant.  Unable to do anything but let the current take them, they’re carried to a lagoon.  He drags Anna along the sand before losing consciousness himself.

In the early days of their isolation on the uninhabited island, we read about how they survive each day.  As the story progresses we move on much faster …  the plot moves at a perfect pace (and builds in intensity).  For quite a while all their energy is spent on just surviving but as it gets a little easier, Anna and TJ start getting to know each other.  At one point TJ relates a poignant memory in relation to the time he was having chemotherapy and this pulled on my heart-strings.

The attraction between them builds and after TJ’s 18th birthday, this attraction opens up a moral dilemma for Anna. When the intimacy develops, the sexual scenes are beautifully portrayed.

There are plenty of crises on the island, which made me hold my breath.  At times the tension is almost unbearable.  Such a page turner!  There were situations that brought tears but also times of laughter.  The resolution of the scene with the shark had me cheering!

I identified with both lead characters, which I think shows how good the writing is.  There are no flowery descriptions, the chapters are short as are some of the sentences (great for building tension).

There is much more to the plot after the three years spent on the island.  I won’t spoil it by telling you how, where or why or even what comes afterwards.  I will say that this part of the story had me just as hooked, engaging all my emotions.  The epilogue is exactly what I needed for a satisfactory conclusion.

On the Island is a story that I will be thinking about for quite some time and I have no hesitation in recommending it.

Buy it but be loathe to share your copy … it’s a keeper!

 

On the Island is a debut novel and was self published in the US.  It spent 5 weeks on The New York Times bestseller list, top ten in the Wall Street Journal and top fifteen in USA Today.  Film rights sold to MGM, with Temple Hill Productions (Twilight) scheduled to produce.

 

I am fortunate enough to have two copies of On the Island.  I was sent a copy from the Real Readers programme (link on my sidebar) and a copy from the publisher.  The giveaway is for the finished paperback copy.  If you would like to enter, just leave a pick me comment.  The giveaway is open to UK/IE only and closes 24th August 2012 at midnight (BST).

On the Island is available to purchase (at the time of my review):

Amazon Kindle format £2.99

Amazon paperback £5.99

The Book Depository paperback £5.99 

Penguin paperback £7.99 

And all good book stores

Jera’s Jamboree review: 666 Park Avenue by Gabriella Pierce

666 Park Avenue (666 Park Avenue 1) by Gabriella Pierce

Paperback: 336 pages

Publisher: Canvas (2 Aug 2012)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1780336977

ISBN-13: 978-1780336978

 

 

What if your mother-in-law turned out to be an evil, cold-blooded witch . . . literally?

Ever since fabulously wealthy Malcolm Doran walked into her life and swept her off her feet, fledgling architect Jane Boyle has been living a fairy tale. When he proposes with a stunning diamond to seal the deal, Jane can’t believe her incredible luck and decides to leave her Paris-based job to make a new start with Malcolm in New York.

But when Malcolm introduces Jane to the esteemed Doran clan, one of Manhattan’s most feared and revered families, Jane’s fairy tale takes a darker turn. Soon everything she thought she knew about the world—and herself—is upended. Now Jane must struggle with newfound magical abilities and the threat of those who will stop at nothing to get them.

We’re introduced to Jane Boyle in an haute couture boutique.  She’s been searching all week for the perfect dress to wear for a restaurant date with Malcolm.  He’s been away on business.  They’ve been together for a month having met at an antique auction.  Jane’s enlisted the help of colleague and friend Elodie Dessaix.  Jane is despairing after trying on everything from the sales rack when the sales assistant finally ends her telephone conversation and tells Jane that Malcolm has left a message that she is to buy anything she wants and for the cost to be put on his account.  The cash register starts opening and closing on its own … and so we have our first introduction to not only the differences in their lifestyles but also the energy of Jane’s magic.

After the proposal at the restaurant, Jane decides she wants to visit her gran (who she hasn’t seen for six years) before crossing the ocean to New York.  Finding things not as she expects, it is here that Jane finds a gift left by her grandmother and a letter of explanation.

From the moment they enter 666 Park Avenue, there is an intimation that not is all as it seems on the surface for this high profile American family.  As the time builds towards their wedding day so does the crises.  It’s at a party arranged by Jane through her job that she realises just what she’s up against.  With the help of friends, she learns more about magic and how to harness and use her energy.

If you read my reviews you will know how much I enjoy seeing a lead female character grow and we certainly do with Jane.  From a naïve woman whose childhood was spent on an isolated farm we see her grow into her power and assertiveness.  On the other hand though, we see Malcolm fall rather heavily from his pedestal!  A strong and charismatic man to begin with … I despised his weakness although I understood his motivation.  Lynne (Malcolm’s mother) is the matriarch who controls everyone and keeps them on a tight leash.  It will be very interesting to see the contretemps between Jane and Lynne escalate in the trilogy as Lynne tries to get the one thing she desires above everything else.

Weaving through the high society and the magic is a love triangle.  I admired Jane’s loyalty  – although I hope we see more of Harris!

The magic is really well written.  The description of the energy and Jane learning to harness it is brilliantly portrayed.  The first thing Jane sees in 666 Park Avenue is the family tree carved in the marbled wall with the line of descent through the female line.  I loved this.

With brilliant characterisations, suspense, death, secrets, magic and love, there is plenty to hold the readers interest.  It would be hard to pigeonhole 666 Park Avenue into a particular genre!  Definitely one for your reading list.

 

Buy it and spread the word

666 Park Avenue can be purchased from the following:

Amazon Kindle format £4.05 

Amazon Parperback £4.26

The Book Depository Paperback £5.24

and all good retailers

The second book in the trilogy The Dark Glamour is due for publication Amazon Kindle format 6th September (£4.80) and Amazon paperback (£5.59)  18th October 2012.

I would like to thank Canvas Books for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

666 Park Avenue has been made into an American TV series for ABC.

You can find out more about Gabriella Pierce on her Canvas author page.

Jera’s Jamboree: Review Safe House by Chris Ewan

Safe House by Chris Ewan

Hardcover: 448 pages

Publisher: Faber and Faber  (2 Aug 2012)

ISBN-10: 0571290639

ISBN-13: 978-0571290635

When Rob Hale wakes up in hospital after a motorcycle crash he is told that Lena, the woman he claims was travelling with him, doesn’t exist. The woman he describes bears a striking resemblance to his recently deceased sister, Laura, but has he really only imagined her?

Rob sets out to find the answers to who Lena is and where she has gone. He is aided by Rebecca Lewis, a London-based PI, who has come to the Isle of Man at the behest of his parents to investigate his sister’s suicide. But who is Rebecca really and how did she know his sister?

Together Rob and Rebecca follow the clues to discover who took Lena. In doing so they discover that even on an island where most people know each other, everyone hides a secret, and that sometimes your best option isn’t to hide but to stay and fight.

Before Part One begins we read a brief reflective account of the motorbike crash.  In Part One Rob has regained consciousness in hospital.  We learn the doctors attribute Lena to Rob’s head trauma, which can cause cognitive disruption.  Rob’s background is shared and we read how he met Lena.  He’s released from hospital really quickly considering his injuries … this was my first hook…  something wasn’t quite right about his release.  Once out of hospital he meets PI Rebecca.  This was another thing that intrigued me.  Why did Rob’s sister Laura give Rebecca’s details to her parents?  What was the link?  Rob and Rebecca go to the isolated cottage on the plantation where Rob first met Lena and their investigations reveal some interesting things.

Part Two takes us deeper into the intrigue and we meet new characters.  Instead of giving answers it only raises more questions!  The rest of the story is told alternating with Rob and Rebecca hunting down answers and another set of characters on a journey that does include some harrowing scenes when these characters meet.

The setting of Safe House is perfect.  Both on land (the Isle of Man) and sea there is isolation.  The suspense is quite dramatic in places and with the build up of clues I found myself continually trying to work out how everyone fitted in and why.  All the characters have secrets that unravel, including Rob’s parents.

Safe House is a thriller that will pull you in and engage your inference skills.  It’s a ‘dark’ read that exposes the abuse of power and the devastating effects that obsession can have on a life.

Buy it and spread the word

NOTE:  There is information about the Isle of Man and the TT race before the story begins so the reader is able to put the story into context.

I would like to thank the publishers for accepting my request on Netgalley to review in advance of publication.

You can find out more about the author by visiting his website.  On the website you will find links for following Chris Ewan on Twitter and Facebook.

Safe House on Amazon:

Kindle format £4.28

Hardback £7.94

Paperback £11.69

Safe House on The Book Despository:

Hardback £11.24

Safe House on Faber & Faber:

Hardback £14.99

Jera’s Jamboree review: I’ll Be There by Holly Goldberg Sloan

I’ll Be There by Holly Goldberg Sloan

Paperback: 224 pages

Publisher: Piccadilly (5 April 2012)

Language English

ISBN-10: 1848122675

ISBN-13: 978-1848122673

Raised by an unstable father who keeps the family constantly on the move, Sam Border hasn’t been in a classroom since the second grade. He’s always been the rock for his younger brother Riddle, who stopped speaking long ago and instead makes sense of the world through his strange and intricate drawings. It’s said that the two boys speak with one voice-and that voice is Sam’s.

Then, Sam meets Emily Bell, and everything changes. The two share an immediate and intense attraction, and soon Sam and Riddle find themselves welcomed into the Bell’s home. Faced with normalcy for the first time, they know it’s too good to last.

Told from multiple perspectives, Holly Goldberg Sloan’s debut novel offers readers fresh voices and a gripping story, with vivid glimpses into the lives of many unique characters. Beautifully written and emotionally profound, I’ll Be There is a story about connections both big and small, and deftly explores the many ways that our lives are woven together.

The story begins with Sam … we find out all the things we need to know to understand him and his passion/outlet for music and therefore the reasons why church plays an important part in his existence.  Whilst Emily is sharing her feelings about singing in church the reader gets to know Emily and her middle class family.  The importance of the title is introduced straight away – it is the song Emily sings in church whilst transfixed on Sam.  Unbeknown to Emily it is a song that Sam’s mother used to sing to him.  The song is important at key points …

Sam comes into Emily’s life and changes her forever.  She looks at everything around her with a different perspective and matures in the blink of an eye.  Sam is so innocent and wears no mask because he hasn’t had to interact with society on a daily basis.  Ironically, the rules we have been taught are to distrust someone like Sam when all along, the upper class Bobby Ellis is the one who is ‘acting’ in public while hiding a totally different persona underneath.  Take note! Perhaps it was unkind of me but the disasters that befell Bobby on the day of the prom had me laughing … that’s what you call karma  :)

The romance between Emily and Sam is magical.  They have a powerful connection.  At one point, Sam is waiting for Emily to finish soccer practice and when she realises he is there, they kiss through the chainlink fence.  A powerful symbol at that point in their journey.

I really liked the alternating narratives (written in the third person).  I must admit that at first, while the foundation is created, the story was ‘ok’ for me.  I could pick the book up and put it down.  From the time the crisis happens though, I was hooked.  The suspense grabbed me.  I couldn’t put it down.  Spending time with Sam and his brother Riddle when they’re together and then when they’re apart while also spending time with Emily and Bobby Ellis … and Sam’s father Clarence.  You just have to turn those pages to see what each of the characters are up to and I was intrigued to find out how, or if, it would all weave back together again.

The background that Sam and Riddle have gives them the skills they need to survive after the crisis point.  The exciting thing about the resolution is that you think it’s going to happen … but it doesn’t.  There’s more to come.  I loved the whole scene with Riddle and the orange tent, from his comparison to The Three Bears and the way he felt to the laughter I couldn’t stop when he was found.

All the characters are brilliant but my favourite just has to be Riddle.  So very interesting.  Suffering from asthma, allergies and on the autistic spectrum, it’s clear why he finds a place in Debbie Bell’s heart.  I was so caught up in the story that at one point, when Riddle screamed I did too!

I identified with Emily having thought deeply about things for as long as I can remember and seeing patterns within patterns.  Should I admit to feeling like Emily about pictures?  Probably not … I thought I was the only one who felt like that though obviously not as the author has created it as part of Emily’s personality!

I can’t end my review without mentioning synchronicity.  I love the way that characters and their reasons for being a part of the story are woven in, as well as the ‘bigger’ picture.

I’ll Be There is a debut novel that’s multi-layered. Targeted at the Young Adult audience, many adults will also identify with the emotions and survival of finding a place to belong.  A word of warning, have your tissues ready at the ending!

‘Everyone whose path you cross in life has the power to change you’ 

Buy it and spread the word

I would like to thank Piccadilly Press for offering I’ll Be There on Twitter for review in exchange for an honest opinion.

You can find out more about debut author Holly Goldberg Sloan on her website.  You can follow her on Twitter and Holly has an author Facebook page.

I’ll Be There is available from:

Amazon Kindle £3.71

Amazon Paperback £3.91

The Book Depository Paperback £5.05

And all major bookstores

Jera’s Jamboree reviews: The Storyteller by Antonia Michaelis

The Storyteller by Antonia Michaelis

Paperback: 320 pages

Publisher: Amulet Books (1 Jan 2012)

Language English

ISBN-10: 1419701223

ISBN-13: 978-1419701221

Anna and Abel couldn’t be more different. They are both seventeen and in their last year of school, but while Anna lives in a nice old town house and comes from a well-to-do family, Abel, the school drug dealer, lives in a big, prisonlike tower block at the edge of town. Anna is afraid of him until she realizes that he is caring for his six-year-old sister on his own. Fascinated, Anna follows the two and listens as Abel tells little Micha the story of a tiny queen assailed by dark forces. It’s a beautiful fairy tale that Anna comes to see has a basis in reality. Abel is in real danger of losing Micha to their abusive father and to his own inability to make ends meet. Anna gradually falls in love with Abel, but when his “enemies” begin to turn up dead, she fears she has fallen for a murderer. Has she?

Award-winning author Antonia Michaelis moves in a bold new direction with her latest novel: a dark, haunting, contemporary story that is part mystery, part romance, and part melodrama.

The prologue shows the reader a scene in the woods, which is very poignant.

We’re introduced to Anna’s world -  naïve and still enjoying some childhood activities although best friend Gitta appears more worldly-wise than her.  She is on the edge of changes, which are precipitated by the finding of a doll in the school’s common room.  The doll belongs to Abel Tannatek’s 6 year old sister, Micha.

Anna begins to follow Tannatek – first to the elementary school where she sees him pick up Micha and then to the University restaurant where she eavesdrops on the fairytale he is creating.

Slowly, very slowly, Anna begins to erode the walls Tannatek has built up around himself and Micha. Going against everyone’s warnings, she wraps her own life around his.  She is never sure of the part he plays in the darkness that surrounds them but despite that, her love grows for him. Their romance reminds me of the mythic journey of the Cups in the Tarot.

While Anna is moving closer to him, there is another peer at school who is in love with Anna and secretively follows her everywhere.  When the tragedies happen, this made it difficult to predict whether I should side with Anna in her beliefs or lay the blame elsewhere.

There are plenty of ‘hooks’ in the story.  For example on page 135:

“Later, she would think, what if she had called, if she had talked to him on that Sunday, if she had … but who cares about later?  Later is always too late.”

Written mostly around the season of winter in Germany, the scenes/setting create just the right atmosphere for the darkness of the story.

The writing is really beautiful:

“The ice was smooth and wide, and it lay hidden under the snow like a secret thought.” (page 311)

This is such an unusual story, not only because it is part romance, part mystery and part melodrama but also because the fairytale that Tannatek creates is a reflection of his and Micha’s life.  Rich in symbolism, it is enchanting while at the same time dark and compelling.  It weaves its way through their everyday lives and I was engrossed trying to work out who represented who and the deeper meaning behind the words.

The Storyteller is a poignant story that steals into your heart and gives you hope but then shatters it into splinters, just when you think it will be whole.

Targetted towards the Young Adult audience, I would also suggest for adult readers (because of its literary content and also because of the myth/symbols).

Buy it and spread the word

I won my signed copy of The Storyteller via A&C Kids UK.  You can find them on Facebook  and tweet them.

The Storyteller is available to purchase from:

Amazon paperback £5.24

The Book Depository paperback £5.59

 

You can find out more about the author here.

Jera’s Jamboree review: Heart-Shaped Bruise by Tanya Byrne

Heart-shaped Bruise by debut author Tanya Byrne

Hardcover: 336 pages

Publisher: Headline (10 May 2012)

Language English

ISBN-10: 0755393031

ISBN-13: 978-0755393039

They say I’m evil.

The police. The newspapers. The girls from school who sigh on the six o’clock news and say they always knew there was something not quite right about me.

And everyone believes it. Including you.

But you don’t know. You don’t know who I used to be. Who I could have been.

Sometimes I wonder if I’ll ever shake off my mistakes or if I’ll just carry them around with me forever like a bunch of red balloons.

Awaiting trial at Archway Young Offenders Institution, Emily Koll is going to tell her side of the story for the first time.

Heart-Shaped Bruise is a compulsive and moving novel about infamy, identity and how far a person might go to seek revenge.

Heart-Shaped Bruise is written in the form of a journal.  It begins with a letter Emily has written to Juliet – the antagonist that put her where she is.  The letter tells Juliet she’s not sorry, it isn’t an apology.  So from the beginning, the reader feels ambivalent towards Emily’s character.  However, Emily’s reaction to finding a love letter from a previous occupant throws into the mix the knowledge that she’s not unfeeling (although she is unrepentant!)

Emily journals sessions with her therapist and in the beginning she is not very compliant.  As the sessions progress the flashbacks are longer and we walk alongside Emily as the picture builds of the reasons behind everything.  Imagine an 18 year old who doesn’t want for anything in her life and from one incident, her identity and everything she’s believed in is blown wide apart.  With her father in prison, Emily falls into a black hole until a plan forms.  Even though the reader knows what she hopes to achieve, we don’t know until the very end the incident that puts her into the Institution awaiting trial.  We still don’t know the outcome of that incident for sure.  The intrigue of watching this unfold keeps the reader turning the pages.

I have to say I identified with Emily.  Nothing is ever black or white and I love psychology – we certainly get a psychological profile for Emily … It’s quite unusual to be rooting for the perpetrator.  How cleverly this story is crafted!  I’m definitely TEAM EMILY!

Another thing to ponder is the media hype surrounding anything that’s thought to be newsworthy.  We may not mean to but it’s so easy to make a judgement from the words of others…

The writing flows and Emily’s character carries you along the whirlwind path she chose for herself.  The other characters are three-dimensional too – I fell a little in love with one of her peers myself!

A debut novel targeted at the YA/Crossover genre, I will certainly be watching for Tanya Byrne’s next novel.

Buy it and spread the word

I would like to thank Sam Eades at Headline, for providing a copy in exchange in for an honest review.

You can find out more about the author by visiting her blog or tweet with her.