A Version of the Truth

A Version of the Truth by B. P. Walter

Published by Avon Books

February 2019

We all see what we want to see…

2019: Julianne is preparing a family dinner when her son comes to her and says he’s found something on his iPad. Something so terrible, it will turn Julianne’s world into a nightmare and make her question everything about her marriage and what type of man her husband is or is pretending to be.

1990: Holly is a fresher student at Oxford University. Out of her depth and nervous about her surroundings, she falls into an uneasy friendship with a group of older students from the upper echelons of society and begins to develop feelings for one in particular. He’s confident, quiet, attractive and seems to like her too. But as the year progresses, her friends’ behaviour grows steadily more disconcerting and Holly begins to realise she might just be a disposable pawn in a very sinister game.

A devastating secret has simmered beneath the surface for over twenty-five years. Now it’s time to discover the truth. But what if you’re afraid of what you might find?

A Version of the Truth is the debut novel by B. P.Walter and it's an interesting but dark novel.  When your son discovers something on the home pc, do you believe what your eyes saw, what your son believes to be true, or your husband's account of what you thought you saw?  This is the exact predicament that Julianne is up against.  Her son Stephen discovers some files in the family dropbox account and what he sees there he his convinced is pretty sinister.  He tells her about it, and she later confronts her husband James about the contents.  He spins her a line about the files being used as information for MI5 and nothing to actually do with him per se, and that she should just forget about it all.

Julianne probably could forget about it all if, twelve months previously, she hadn't been approached by a journalist asking probing questions about James.  Finding these files triggers her memory back to that meeting and internally she begins to question what James has told her.  Stephen still isn't convinced that his father is telling the truth - but do either of them actually want to probe deep enough to uncover the real facts?

This storyline is written in tangent with that of Holly, a working class girl who gains a place at Oxford university in 1990 to read English.  There she meets siblings Ally and Ernest, and their friends Peter and James.  She is both captivated by the attitude their wealth and status gives them all, and repulsed at the same time.  Like most girls at the university she is captivated by James.  Their behaviour to Holly and to each other does leave a lot to be desired though and one night, what starts as innocent fun with a game of Truth or Dare soon as tragic consequences for Holly.

As you can imagine these two storylines are of course linked, and by the end of the novel you can see how the lives of Holly and Julianne are intertwined.  For me not everything was resolved however by the turning of the final page.  It felt a little like there could be a sequel to this book, a what happens after tome waiting in the wings.  The build-up was good and Walter has created some characters that are truly despicable but that we as a reader know exist as high up members of our society today.  I just felt a little unsatisfied that those who should have got their just deserts didn't.

Happy Reading

Miss Chapters x

In Conversation With Victoria Maxwell

Today I am lucky enough to be in conversation with Victoria Maxwell, author of Class of 1983, a time-travelling YA novel.  Without further ado, let's find out more about her...

Your book is set in the 1980s – what are you favourite things from this period of time?

Pretty much everything, but just to name a few - John Hughes movies, Back to the Future, Xanadu, Family Ties, Quantum Leap, Who’s the Boss?, Sweet Valley High books, Journey, Styx, Cyndi Lauper and Toto, 80’s cardigans, perms, blue eyeshadow and My Little Pony.



What made you choose the YA genre for your first novel? Is this a genre that you enjoy yourself?

When I started writing the book I was working as an English teacher in a high school in Sydney. I only started reading YA books when my students kept recommending them to me. The first YA book I read as an adult was Twilight and I fell (back) in love with the genre. It’s pretty much all I read now. There’s something about YA fiction that feels so raw and honest and heartfelt to me that I don’t always feel when I read books for grown-ups.

Any advice to anyone dreaming of becoming an author?

It’s pretty hard work. It took me nine years from idea to book on the shelf, but it was all worth it of course! My advice is to write because you love it. It’s tough out there, and while some people get a publishing deal and make bank, most of us are working other jobs and writing on the side. Write because your soul needs to, not because of what success you think you could gain from it. Writing a book is a success in itself! Also, don’t be afraid to go the indie route. The publishing industry is changing and we don’t have to spend years trying to get an agent and publisher to get our books out to readers any more. It’s an exciting time to be an author!



Where do you get your writing inspiration from?

I first had the idea for Class of 1983 when I was a high school teacher. There was a book room at our school that was hardly ever used, it was full of stacks of old class sets of books. The little room was like a time warp. Every time I went in, I had this feeling I was going back in time and I thought about how cool it would be if I could walk out in another time. I guess my vivid imagination is my inspiration! I’m very inspired by song lyrics too. A lot of the scenes in Class of 1983 were inspired by 80’s pop songs.

What are you working on next?

I’m currently working through a very rough draft of the sequel to Class of 1983 which I’m hoping to publish later this year and I’m also working on a standalone book which desperately wants to be written.



If, heaven forbid, there was a fire, what possession would you grab first to save?

I’d grab my rescue kitties and make sure my fiancé was safe. Everything else can be replaced. But maybe an 80’s cardigan and some snacks!



What five people, living or dead, would you choose to invite to a dinner party?

Jesus, Shakespeare, Olivia Newton John, Michael J Fox and Tonya Harding.




Thank you so much Victoria for hanging out with me.  Class of 1983 is available to buy from Amazon in both kindle and paperback format and you can find out more about Victoria and her writing by going to www.magicpizza.press.


Happy Reading

Miss Chapters x

The Lost Man

The Lost Man by Jane Harper

Published by Little, Brown

February 2019

He had started to remove his clothes as logic had deserted him, and his skin was cracked. Whatever had been going through Cameron's mind when he was alive, he didn't look peaceful in death.

Two brothers meet at the remote border of their vast cattle properties under the unrelenting sun of the outback. In an isolated part of Australia, they are each other's nearest neighbour, their homes hours apart.

They are at the stockman's grave, a landmark so old that no one can remember who is buried there. But today, the scant shadow it casts was the last hope for their middle brother, Cameron. The Bright family's quiet existence is thrown into grief and anguish.

Something had been troubling Cameron. Did he choose to walk to his death? Because if he didn't, the isolation of the outback leaves few suspects...

This is the third of Jane Harper's novels and I think it might just be my favourite so far.  Set in the Austrailian Outback, this is a book where the setting plays a primary role in the novel.  Cameron Bright's body is found after he never showed up to complete some repair work on a mast on the edges of his property.  What made this man, who was knowledgeable about the area, abandon his car and therefore his supply of food and water to wander across the remote outback to end up dying on top of the notorious grave of The Stockman?

It is Christmas in Australia and the sun is relentless.  Cameron's body has been found and brothers Nathan and Bub are having to deal with this discovery as well as keeping their own heads above water.  Each has his own problems - Nathan has become more reclusive than ever, following on from his ban to enter the city a decade previously. His son Xander is visiting from Brisbane and even he can see the changes in his father's behaviour.  Younger brother Bub is getting fed up with not being listened to, and seems to have more problems than alcohol can deal with.  Also at the property are Cameron's wife and daughters, Harry who has helped out on the farm since anyone can remember, Liz, the boys mother and two British backpackers who were after summer jobs.

Each character has their own secret or two and Jane Harper draws them out one by one.  What did Nathan do that resulted in him being shunned by his own community?  Who are these British backpackers - isn't it strange for them to be out here with no experience?  Why was Cameron out at the Stockman's grave?  When Nathan discovers the car abandoned by his brother, something is niggling him but he can't figure it out - what was going through Cam's mind and was he really walking to his own death that day?

Jane Harper certainly brings the hardships of living and surviving in the outback to the forefront of the readers mind in The Lost Man.  It certainly doesn't make me want to live that way, and you come away with a new found respect for anyone who has to deal with such a harsh climate on a daily basis.  This  book is full of the trials and tribulations one family can experience, especially when they are your closest and only neighbours.

Happy Reading

Miss Chapters x