Friend Request by Laura Marshall: Review

"I am a decent person now. I pay my taxes and go to the dentist. I recycle. I care about my friends, and about the world in general. But how do I reconcile that with the things I did when I was sixteen? I'm that person too, aren't I?"


In the debut novel from Laura Marshall, Louise is shocked to receive a Facebook friend request from her old schoolmate Maria - because Maria has been missing, presumed dead, for over twenty-five years.

In the age of social media it feels inevitable that someone would, at some point, write a novel with this title and basic premise. It could've gone either way - good or bad - but I'm happy to report that Laura Marshall's story is most definitely the former. Actually, it's really great.

Louise has got on with her life for over twenty-five years since Maria died - she's been married and divorced, built her own business, has an adored four-year-old son, Henry. But for all of that time she's been haunted by what happened to Maria and by her own role in that. Now it looks like Maria, or someone posing as her, is back. But why, and why now? 

The narrative follows both the present day and 1989, when the younger Louise fervently tried to win the favour of the popular Sophie (clearly, to adult eyes, a highly skilled manipulator of her friends). As another '80s schoolgirl, albeit a few years earlier, I was able to relate to the era. I should think "Sophies" exist in every time period, though, eternally bolstering their own egos and papering over their own insecurities at others' expense. How far will Louise go to keep in with the in crowd?

The teenage friendship dynamics are skilfully drawn and make the reader question whether they would, in similar circumstances, act in the way Louise did despite knowing it was wrong. I'd like to think I wouldn't. But then again I was basically a complete idiot when I was sixteen, so who knows? 

The plotting is tight and in true psychological thriller tradition, as the tension mounts, Laura Marshall manages to cast suspicion on pretty much everybody yet still keep the outcome a complete surprise. There's plenty of momentum throughout but this builds as we approach the final reckoning and near the end - as the truth was coming out - my emotions were really put through the wringer, even to the point of tears at certain revelations.

The characters, including the less pleasant ones, were all believable - sometimes disturbingly so - and some were even likeable. I was able to relate to the protagonist, Louise, in various ways. But ultimately, it's the innocents in this book who will stay with me.

Highly recommended.


Next up: The Other Woman by Laura Wilson.

The Art of Hiding by Amanda Prowse - Review

"Finn had promised her a life free of worry, a good life for her and their children.

Finn had lied."

Amanda Prowse has now written a number of family drama type novels - I've read two, I think, and enjoyed them both. The Art of Hiding is the most recent, published on 18 July this year. It has a rather lovely, striking cover and the synopsis sounded like it would be an enjoyable read. 

Our protagonist here is Nina - wife and mother, who we initially meet living a very affluent lifestyle courtesy of husband Finn. The Nina we meet at the beginning of the novel apparently doesn't have that much in her life to worry about (despite a lack of confidence and a general feeling that she doesn't fit in with the other parents at her sons' expensive school), as her main concerns are burning issues like whether or not to take snacks to her elder son's rugby match. Actually, Nina has plenty to worry about.... she just doesn't know it yet. 

When Finn is killed in an accident Nina quickly learns that her comfortable life is an illusion. Her husband's previously successful business is bankrupt and there are huge debts. Finn had promised always to take care of her, and after a difficult, insecure childhood Nina was happy to let him do just that, abandoning her aspiration to become a nurse and relinquishing any involvement in the business or their finances. Now, though, her life and that of her two sons, Connor and Declan, is crashing down around her. No longer cushioned by her husband's money, homeless and broke, Nina has to - somehow - rebuild her life without him. And just maybe rediscover some of the aspects of herself that were submerged and suppressed in her marriage. 

This is an emotional read, especially the first part of the book. It's easy to relate to Nina's desperation as the full extent of the crisis becomes clear, and there are some painful scenes of her pleading for help from various quarters which is not forthcoming. Indeked, it's hard not to feel angry at the utter lack of empathy shown by, for example, the headmaster of the school the boys have attended since they were three years old. Clearly when the money runs out, so does many people's humanity. 

We follow Nina's struggles as she moves, with her boys, back to the area where she grew up and hunts for a job, rapidly discovering that years of marriage and motherhood have not qualified her for very much at all, and see her beginning to question whether - despite her love for her husband - her marriage was quite as perfect as she had thought. 

While the basic plot has certainly been done before, Amanda Prowse is a natural storyteller who creates relatable characters and situations and knows how to engage the reader's emotions. If there's a criticism to be made, it's that some of the dialogue doesn't  always quite ring true. It's a minor quibble, though, and I enjoyed this a lot. (I was particularly pleased later in the book when it looked like the story was going to go in a certain, overly predictable direction which made my heart sink slightly. Amanda Prowse subverted my expectations, and I appreciated it!)


Up next: Friend Request by Laura Marshall.

The Good Sister by Jess Ryder - Review

Stories about sisters are definitely having a Moment in publishing right now. Good sisters, bad sisters, little sisters, big sisters, there are sisters all over the place; it's clearly a subject which strikes a chord with people, perhaps because the sisterly relationship is one so many women have experienced and can relate to, for good, for bad, or for complicated. (Not me, though. I haven't got a sister.) 

Neither does Josie at the start of this book, not as far as she knows. Josie is twenty-four, stable, sensible - she has a responsible job, an affluent background, two loving parents, a flat with boyfriend Arun. When her adored father Jerry, "The Viking", dies in an accident - losing control of his motorcycle on a country road in the middle of the night - Josie's world begins to unravel. She learns that her father had another family - another daughter, Valentina, of very similar age and appearance but very different in personality. Valentina is wild, unpredictable, a troubled troublemaker with a chaotic lifestyle. As the worlds of the two sisters collide, Josie's life too begins to spiral more and more out of control. 

I found The Good Sister a very compelling read. Chapters are narrated by both Josie and Valentina - contrary to convention the chapter heading doesn't tell you which, and while it's usually obvious, this enables the author to effectively mislead the reader on occasion. There are plenty of twists and turns here and the eventual denouement is a surprise, though I did guess the identity of one character shortly before it was revealed (the careful avoidance of certain pronouns is a sure sign of authorial trickery!). 

The late Jerry prided himself on his romanticised Viking heritage, regaling his daughters with stories, and snippets of Viking lore are woven through the narrative. This adds an unusual dimension, though ultimately I did sympathise with Valentina's final verdict on "all that Viking stuff". 

There are some great descriptions here. The characters jump off the page and Valentina's chaotic life and appalling living conditions are particularly well drawn. An account of a (disastrous) party is particularly vivid and memorable.

All in all a cleverly crafted and highly engaging read which I can thoroughly recommend. 

Many thanks to Bookuture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!


Up next: The Art of Hiding by Amanda Prowse.

Yesterday by Felicia Yap - Review

Does love equal memory? Or does memory equal love?

Felicia Yap's impressive debut is a scintillating psychological thriller with a sci-fi twist. It's set in a world much like ours, with one huge difference: the key social division between people concerns their memory status. All adults are classified according to whether they can remember only yesterday (Monos) or both yesterday and the day before (Duos). Duos are accorded higher social status, better jobs, and generally more admiration and respect. Monos, by contrast, are often regarded as stupid and can only aspire to menial jobs. The prejudices are deeply culturally entrenched; "mixed marriages", while not illegal, are socially frowned upon and viewed as doomed to failure. After all, Monos and Duos are just too different to make it work.

Naturally, this very limited capacity for memory presents major challenges for day to day living and society has evolved to find ways of coping. Modern technology helps greatly - inventions by successful Duos like Steve Jobs and Tim Berners-Lee enable people to record everything (in their iDiaries, of course) and learn from them key "facts" which they are then able to retain. (I admit I'm not entirely clear about how this works, though a brief explanation is given. However the author, Felicia Yap, unlike me has a background in biochemistry so presumably has some insight into how memory works.)The reason why memory is so limited is touched upon (it's something to do with a genetic switch) but never expanded on - its just the way people are, and as far as anyone knows, that's the way they have always been. 

Despite the high concept, this is ultimately more detective story than science fiction. The story cleverly weaves together several strands, arising from the discovery in the Cam of a woman's body, quickly identified as that of forty-three year old Sophia Alyssa Ayling. Successful novelist/aspiring politician Mark Henry Evans (a Duo, of course), his unhappy Mono wife Claire, ambitious DCI Hans Richardson who's hiding his own challenges, and the elusive Sophia herself all have their role to play. To say more would spoil it. But I will say: there are twists, turns, and the ending is a complete surprise. 

This book is destined for huge success. Read it! I can't wait to see what Felicia Yap does next.

True Love at the Lonely Hearts Bookshop by Annie Darling - Review

Full disclosure: I'm not really a big romance reader (well, not since I used to raid my nan's bookshelf as a teenager for the Mills & Boons she bought at 5p each from the market), and in the case of this book, the title, cover and even the author's name make it pretty clear that "gritty urban thriller" is probably off the table and romance is most definitely on it. (To be fair, I'm not that big on gritty urban thrillers either.) However, I *am* all for variety in my reading matter, and I'm certainly not such an old misery as to be entirely averse to a spot of romance if it's fun, interesting and well written.

Bookshops/teashops/a combination of both seem to be big news in publishing at the moment and titles featuring them abound. This is the sequel to a previous book, The Little Bookshop of Lonely Hearts (which I haven't read), featuring the same shop - the romance-themed Happy Ever After - but a different central character. In this case, it's the bookshop's admin manager Verity Love (*the* most perfect name for a romantic heroine), a twenty-seven year old self described spinster, Jane Austen addict - she has a quote for every situation - and owner of a difficult cat called Strumpet (excellent name also).

Verity's invented an imaginary boyfriend, perfect Peter Hardy (oceanographer), entirely in order to get her friends off her back, but of course this backfires when they inevitably seize an apparent opportunity to meet him and Verity has to throw herself on the mercy of a random handsome stranger. It's all a bit far fetched, but it would be curmudgeonly to complain. Handsome stranger Johnny, announcing upfront that his heart Belongs To Another, offers a mutually beneficial arrangement whereby he acts as Verity's real fake boyfriend, Peter Hardy (oceanographer) having been retired, at social occasions - hence getting both sets of friends off their backs. There follows a summer of weddings and parties as Verity and Johnny get to know each other better.

I did relate to Verity, an introvert who finds the modern world just a bit too overwhelming at times and needs her alone time to recover. She has friends, a job and a loud, eccentric family but just doesn't feel she has space for a boyfriend. Will she change her mind and can Johnny ever get over the thoroughly undeserving woman who currently holds his heart to ransom? Well, the answers to those questions will come as no great surprise, but it's fun getting there.

This is a light, cosy, humorous read which once I got into it, I thoroughly enjoyed. The ending was perhaps a bit too pat after a long build up and as I said, there are no big surprises, but the story was fun and I liked all the characters, with Verity's family being particularly good value.

Recommended for anyone who enjoys contemporary romance, or even those who think they don't but are prepared to give it a chance!

The Lying Game by Ruth Ware - Review

I enjoyed Ruth Ware's first novel, In a Dark, Dark Wood, but it was her second, The Woman in Cabin 10, which really established her on my Must-Read-Authors list. (It's not actually so much of a list, as a section of my brain designated for that purpose. But you get the general idea.) Anyway, The Lying Game consolidated that even further.

Having said that, it was a bit of a slow burner for me. I liked that part of the story is set in a boarding school (despite, or perhaps because of, never having been to one, I've been a sucker for boarding-school stories since my Enid Blyton reading days). However the school element is not actually that pronounced, as most of the novel takes place in the present day. The story is narrated by Isa (which she tells us rhymes with nicer, although I can't help rhyming it with Tizer) who attended Salten House, a girls' school in a remote and vividly drawn coastal location, seventeen years earlier, where she formed an intense friendship with Fatima, Thea and Kate. It's described by others as a clique, and it certainly is that, excluding and indeed alienating others, not least by their enjoyment of the "Lying Game" - inventing elaborate stories with which to deceive others. Mainly, harmless. Sometimes, not.

Out of school, the girls spend most of their time at the Tide Mill, the dilapidated nearby home of Kate, her artist father Ambrose, and stepbrother Luc, and it is here that most of the drama takes place, until everything shockingly falls apart.

Seventeen years on, Isa and the others are summoned back to Salten by a three word text from Kate - "I need you". The past is returning to haunt them. But are their memories of what happened real, or are they also lies?

Ruth Ware really shines on building the atmospheric location - the salt marsh, the Reach, the Tide Mill - and also on the experience of early motherhood - Isa's bond with her baby daughter, Freya, and the feelings generated by conflict with the needs and demands of others, especially as she becomes more enmeshed in her own lies, are beautifully drawn.

As I said, I found it something of a slow burner - while I liked the characters and the setting, and the book is very well written, it took time to get really engrossed in the plot. However from about half way through, momentum seemed to gather and it became genuinely gripping.

A recommended read!

Last Seen Alive by Claire Douglas - Review

I'd read a previous book by Claire Douglas (Local Girl Missing) and while I did enjoy it, I couldn't say I found it unputdownable and I didn't remember much about it afterwards. Maybe I just wasn't in the right frame of mind, because her latest, Last Seen Alive, had me thoroughly gripped.

It begins when Libby - recovering from stressful events in both her recent and more distant past - and her husband Jamie (plus dog Ziggy, who was great) agree to a week's house swap, exchanging their very ordinary flat in Bath for a beautiful, incredibly luxurious country house in Cornwall following a desperate request from a stranger. It's clear there is more going on here than meets the eye, and indeed strange and often alarming things start to happen very quickly. 

While this premise - young couple move into a remote house, scary stuff happens - was in itself not especially original, I really enjoyed this part of the book. Claire Douglas builds up the tension very effectively and while it was obvious that *something* was going on and all was not as it appeared, I had absolutely no idea what. I was also finding the straightforward, linear style of storytelling quite refreshing, devoid (apart from a very short section right at the beginning) of the flashbacks, flash-forwards and multiple narratives and timeframes so beloved of current psychological fiction. I have nothing against these devices which can work very well indeed, but they do seem to be all but compulsory now.

This does change, however, in the second part of the book, when everything suddenly gets turned on its head in a rather mind-bending way and it takes a while for the reader to work out what on earth is happening. This was very effectively and cleverly done, though it's difficult to say any more without risk of spoilers! And yes, there are flashbacks and yes, there are changes of narrator - though it is not overdone.

All in all I enjoyed this enormously.  The plot was unpredictable, often surprising, and does become quite complex, but ultimately the twists and turns made sense The only thing which jarred a little was the ending, which left the reader on a knife edge with matters unresolved - if with a certain sense of natural justice perhaps being dispensed. While I'm not someone who necessarily requires everything to be tied up neatly with a bow, though, this was just a step too far in terms of future uncertainty! I hope Claire Douglas will at some point resolve this, perhaps through a reference in a future book.

A recommended read!

The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel - Review

"The first time I saw Roanoke was in a dream." From that first line onward, there are distinct shades of Daphne du Maurier here.

The Roanoke Girls came garlanded with praise. Compelling... addictive... disturbing... challenging. And dark. Always the dark.

Lane is not quite sixteen when her mother - a deeply damaged woman incapable of normal mothering - takes her own life, leaving only a baffling note: "I tried to wait. I'm sorry." Luckily for Lane (or so she's told), her hitherto unknown grandparents Yates and Lillian Roanoke, who are already raising her similarly-aged cousin Allegra, are keen to offer her a home, and Lane is duly dispatched from New York to the old family home in a remote part of Kansas. After one hot summer, she's gone - returning ten years later for the only reason which could draw her back - Allegra has disappeared.

This family is full of damaged girls and Lane is no exception, angry and prone to verbally lashing out at those who care for her. As Allegra tells her on her first day, "Roanoke girls never last long around here... In the end, we either run or we die." And the litany of lost girls... Jane, Sophia, Penelope, Eleanor, Camilla, Emmeline.... proves the truth of her words.

There aren't a lot of surprises here - the never-spoken secret at the heart of the Roanoke family is revealed early on, and the rest of the book mainly expands on that. There is an element of mystery around Allegra's disappearance, but this is low key and the resolution is no real shock. Nonetheless the novel is compelling, atmospheric and haunting - and yes, it's dark - and will, I suspect, remain in the minds of most readers for a long while as a horrifying portrayal of some deeply twisted relationships and the harm caused as a result.

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

The Marriage Pact by Michelle Richmond - Review

"The Pact has no divorces, but it also has more widows and widowers than you would expect."

I really wasn't sure what to expect from The Marriage Pact. The title sounded a bit Mills and Boon, and I'd never heard of the author. In fact I was engrossed from the start, and - while a love story is at the novel's core - there's nothing remotely Mills and Boon about it. 

Newlyweds Jake - a psychotherapist mainly working with relationship counselling - and Alice - a former rock musician turned lawyer - are both intrigued and flattered when invited to join The Pact, a somewhat shadowy organisation devoted to ensuring its  members stay married. As it turns out, they have some rather unusual methods of ensuring that. Things quickly become rather weird and unpleasant. Then they become even weirder and more unpleasant. Still, they can just leave.... can't they?

Tightly plotted and skilfully characterised (the story is told by Jake, but I particularly liked Alice, who had a certain unpredictability about her), this is a thoroughly absorbing read, even if a few questions remained unanswered by the end. The apparently limitless capacity of The Pact to know exactly what's going on in its members lives all the time is never really explained. And I felt Alice and Jake - and indeed the other members - were a little too ready to (almost literally) sign their lives away without finding out more about what they were potentially  letting themselves in for. A certain suspension of disbelief was necessary in order for the story to work, though.

Most of the way through, I was wondering how on earth this was going to end and how Alice and Jake could possibly extricate themselves from the nightmare they'd stumbled into. Safe to say, the ending was unexpected. Satisfying? I'm still not sure, but it's hard to come up with an alternative.

All in all a compelling read with, ultimately, some interesting things to say about love and marriage.

They All Fall Down by Tammy Cohen - Review

I've only recently discovered Tammy aka Tamar Cohen, but she has rapidly become one of my must-read authors - you know, one of those who immediately has you seeking out their entire back catalogue for a spot of binge-reading - so I was excited to get my hands on her latest.

They All Fall Down is set in a private women-only psychiatric clinic, The Meadows - clearly fertile ground for psychological intrigue. The central character, Hannah, is being treated following a deeply traumatic incident, the details of which are only gradually revealed. All we initially know is - ominously - that there's a baby involved. We also see events from the perspective of Hannah's mother Corinne, and Laura, one of the therapists at the clinic. Following two recent suicides, Hannah has become convinced a murderer is on the loose. But how reliable are her perceptions? And just who is tormenting her with reminders of what she has lost? Suspects abound, both within and without The Meadows.

The plot is very cleverly put together and while it's obvious there is more to certain characters than meets the eye, the ending came as quite a surprise. While I'm not sure if I would class this among Tammy's very best, it's definitely a compelling and highly enjoyable read with many intriguing and well drawn characters, including one truly heinous individual - but will you guess who that is?

With a psychiatric clinic as the setting and many characters having mental disorders of various types, there is plenty of scope here for getting things wrong, but in fact the subject is sensitively handled.

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

Sunday Best: Review of Sunday Morning Coming Down by Nicci French

 Sunday Morning Coming Down  is the seventh book in a series which started with Blue Monday and progressed through the days of the week all the way to Sunday. Probably because I hadn't read the blurb properly, I'd assumed this would be the final book in the series and would tie up the overarching plot. Clearly this is not the case, but having now exhausted the days of the week I wonder what the next book will be called?

Anyway, I've read most but not all of the previous books; I haven't yet read the Saturday instalment, which was a slight disadvantage but not much of one. It does help if you've read the others, particularly with regard to the ongoing Dean Reeve storyline, but I imagine a new reader could enjoy the book without that background knowledge.

The main protagonist, as in the previous ones, is Frieda Klein, a psychotherapist (with a name like that, she could hardly have chosen any other career path). Frieda has more than a passing acquaintance with murder. Here, the first body appears right at the start - under her floorboards, in fact - and things don't get any easier thereafter. Someone is targeting Frieda's friends and allies - but is it Dean Reeve or someone else?

I really enjoyed this - tightly plotted and a gripping read. Even though I've never somehow managed to fully engage with the character of Frieda, all the characters are well drawn (I particularly like Josef the Ukrainian builder). The sinister Reeve remains a lurking presence throughout.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for a review copy. Looking forward to the next instalment!

Good As You: From Prejudice to Pride by Paul Flynn

Paul Flynn's gallop through thirty years of gay (male) life in Britain is hugely entertaining. It's a largely personal account of social and cultural changes , beginning with his experiences growing up in 80s Manchester and ranging through various aspects of the subsequent decades of increasing, if still far from total, acceptance. Jimmy Somerville, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Clause 28, Chris Smith MP, Terrence Higgins, Colin and Barry on Eastenders, Peter Tatchell, Out on Tuesday, Kylie, Brian Dowling on Big Brother, Attitude magazine,  Justin Fashanu, Robbie Rogers, Elton John and David Furnish... all this and much more. Like Paul, I was an 80s kid in the Manchester area (though I'm a couple of years older) and there was a lot here I could relate to and some things I'd completely forgotten....

The book's subtitled "30 years of gay Britain"' but really it should be 30 years of gay men in Britain, because women are few and far between in these pages (Kylie notwithstanding) and lesbians are even fewer. For instance we get a fair bit on Eastenders' Colin and Barry but nothing at all on Brookside's equally significant Beth/Margaret kiss. That's understandable - the author is a gay man and writing about his own perspective and experiences. But the cover could make it clearer that the book is very much about the gay male experience rather than any other letters in the LGBTQIA alphabet soup.

I did enjoy Paul Flynn's style of writing, though there are a few odd turns of phrase and word choices. ("Having exempted himself from the admonishment of the closet...."). Then again - he's a successful journalist and I'm not.

All in all I found this a great read packed with observations, interviews and touching/thought-provoking anecdotes, which brought back many memories and provides further compelling evidence, should it be needed, that "gay" is indeed as "Good As You".

Review of Don't Close Your Eyes by Holly Seddon

I absolutely adored Holly Seddon's previous book,  Try Not to Breathe, so I was very excited to get my hands on this one. I'd kind of hoped for a return for Alex, the first book's protagonist, but that was not to be. However this story of twin sisters Robin and Sarah is equally gripping.

It's par for the course to flit between present day and the past, but it works really well. In the present, the once-successful Robin is a shadow of her former self - beset by fear, she hasn't left her home in literally years, spending her days obsessively exercising and watching her neighbours go about their lives, her only social contacts the delivery drivers who supply her with supermarket orders and takeaways.  

Sarah, always the "good" twin, is in free-fall - forbidden to see her child, the life she had in tatters, desperate to make things right. But is she the victim of a terrible injustice or the architect of her own misfortune? 

As we learn more about the earlier lives of both the twins and their sort-of-brother Callum, secrets are gradually and delicately revealed, There are some dark and distressing moments here, but they are very well and sensitively handled.

I enjoyed this tremendously and was riveted throughout, unwilling to stop reading. I loved the character of Robin in particular, but all the characters - even the unpleasant ones - are very believable. There were perhaps a couple of loose threads at the end and questions I would have liked to have seen answered.  But basically.... I loved it!

Very many thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review.