Review: The Couple at the Table by Sophie Hannah

I love Sophie Hannah's writing, and recently undertook a big reread-in-order of all her Charlie Zailer and Simon Waterhouse books, and very enjoyable it was too - I'd forgotten quite how good they are and how much I love Hannah's style of writing and these characters. When I requested The Couple at the Table, I hadn't initially realised it was a Charlie and Simon book - it's quite a while since there's been a new one - so it was an excellent surprise to have the opportunity to catch up with them and the rest - Liv, Gibbs, Sellers (who has an unexpected new girlfriend), etc.

TCatT has a definite Agatha Christie vibe about it - the whole country-house-murder-limited-pool-of-suspects thing, though the "country house" here is actually an expensive resort, where Charlie and Simon spend a few days (Charlie's idea, obv.) which inevitably coincide with a murder; in this instance, of the awful Jane. There's even a Poirot-esque denouement where all the suspects are gathered together by Simon to reveal whodunnit.

Fantastic read, as always, which I thoroughly enjoyed from start to finish.

Anyway, I can't end this review without mentioning the following utterly delightful description of DI Proust, which made me cackle loudly: "an older, bald man with chalky-pale skin and a piercing stare who looks like a malicious frozen lollipop in human form". Kudos, Sophie Hannah. There can be no more perfect description of the man.

Many thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review.

Review: The Interview by Gill Perdue

 

When a fourteen year old girl, Jenny, is found at the side of the road covered in blood and clearly having been assaulted, Specialist Victim Interviewers Laura and Niamh are called in to gently find out what's happened to her.

But Jenny is angry, and traumatised, and she's not talking. Or not in ways that make  much sense. And when further information comes to light - her mother and little brother have suffered critical injuries, and her stepfather is missing - it becomes even more urgent to somehow piece together the truth.

Laura, though, has her own issues - exacerbated since the birth of her young daughter - to deal with, and it's not getting any easier.

The Interview was an engrossing read if not always a comfortable one - inside Jenny's head, and indeed Laura's, are not easy places to be. Jenny tells dark fairy tales to allude to what's happened to her; Laura experiences horrific thoughts and fears and can't push them away. 

(Laura's mental health struggles and experiences with OCD and intrusive thoughts were very well done, I thought - my partner has similar issues, and I appreciated the careful, realistic way this was addressed.)

It was interesting, and believable, that due to bed shortages Jenny has been placed temporarily on an adult psychiatric ward, mainly, it seems, among elderly women with dementia. Jenny's interactions with the nurses and her fellow patients add a further dimension to the story.

The Interview is an excellent if disturbing read which considers the effects of trauma, both long and short term. Abuse - sexual, emotional and physical - is a major theme and readers should be aware of this, as it's very distressing and hard to read at times, but sensitively and responsibly addressed. 

 A superb first novel by Gill Perdue which I can highly recommend. Many thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy.

Review: Hidden Depths by Araminta Hall

April 10, 1912: Lily, pregnant and desperately unhappy in her marriage, boards the Titanic with her aristocratic husband Henry and maid Becky, pinning her hopes on a promised reunion with her family in America.

Fellow passenger Lawrence cannot conceive of a future at all after the death of his beloved wife Cissy, despite his young son back in Britain.

As the voyage progresses, can Lawrence, sunk in misery, find the strength and motivation to help a woman desperately in need, as his wife would have insisted he do? Can Lily, indeed, find a way to help herself? And what in fact is really going on between the newly distant Becky, Henry, and the very unpleasant Dr Henderson?

The story is deeply rooted in a righteous anger at the constrictions of women's lives and the abuse that those social conditions could render invisible and allow to flourish. Lily feels and indeed is horrifyingly trapped, her experience contrasting with that of Lawrence's late wife, a warrior for women's rights. 

Of course, as we all know, the Titanic will never reach New York. But the disaster - as well and accurately written here as it is - takes up relatively little of the story as a whole, indeed I briefly forgot at times which ship the characters were aboard. When it does come, it is movingly written and believable. 

I absolutely loved this book, which will stay in my mind for a long time. And the author's note at the end, in which she discusses her inspiration for the story, blew my mind. Do not omit to read!

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy.

Review: Looking for Jane by Heather Marshall

 

I was delighted to be given the opportunity to read an advance copy of Looking for Jane, which explores the history of women's reproductive rights in Canada through the experiences of various women: Evelyn, who is sent to a home for unmarried mothers in the 1960s; Nancy, who becomes involved in a network providing access to safe abortion when it was still illegal; and in the present day, Angela, struggling to conceive a baby with her wife, who by chance becomes connected to the other women.

These women are fictional, but many of the events described are real. The book unflinchingly portrays the consequences of society where women are denied the right to control their own bodies and lives: the harsh, in fact abusive regime of the maternity home where young women were forced into giving up their babies without choice or compassion, the brutal realities of backstreet abortion, the very real danger of arrest and imprisonment for those who worked to provide safe abortions for women who needed them. The underground "Jane Network" was a real thing, starting in Chicago in the late '60s, and the author has used this both as a theme and as a starting point for more personal stories.

Heather Marshall's first novel is a hugely engaging and powerful read about motherhood, pregnancies wanted and unwanted, and the crucial importance of choice.

One minor issue for me was that - at least in my copy - very few dates are given, which I did find a little confusing as to when things were actually taking place. We know from a letter that Evelyn's story begins in 1961, and can work out more or less when the later events happen, but it's rarely stated.

An excellent, eye-opening read.