The Crooked House

The Crooked House by Christobel Kent

Published by Sphere

Hardback Edition

8th January 2015

 

 

One fateful night. One unthinkable family tragedy. One survivor.

This is Alison's story.

Alison is as close to anonymous as she can get: with no ties, no home, a backroom job, hers is a life lived under the radar. She's a nobody; she has no-one and that's how she wants it.

But once Alison was someone else: once she was Esme Grace, a teenager whose bedroom sat at the top of a remote and dilapidated house on the edge of a bleak estuary. A girl whose family, if not happy, exactly, was no unhappier than anyone else's - or so she thought.

Then one night a terrible thing happened in the crooked house, a nightmare of violence out of which Alison emerged the only witness and sole survivor and from which she has been running ever since. Only when she meets academic Paul Bartlett does Alison realise that if she's to have any chance of happiness, she has to return to her old life and confront the darkness that worked its way inside her family and has pursued her ever since.

As she seeks to uncover the truth of what happened that terrible night, Alison begins to question everything she thought she knew. Is there anyone she can trust?

 

This book starts with a fantastic opening.  Esme Grace, upstairs in her bedroom, while the rest of her family are downstairs, hears a series of loud bangs.  When she finally ventures downstairs all she sees are dead bodies, her entire family have been murdered in one single incident.  Esme leaves her life, and moves south with her aunt, becoming Alison in the process.

Now in a relationship with Paul, she gets the opportunity to return to Saltleigh in order to attend a wedding in her home town.  As Paul doesn't know about her past, she can't think of a good enough reason not to go with him.  Surely, by now, almost 15 years later, no one will recognise her, and her new identity will remain as such?  Of course it doesn't, else what would be the point of the book?  Alison returns but it isn't long before the interest of those she left behind is gripped with this woman who some seem to recognise as Esme Grace.  The killer was identified as Esme's father, who police claimed shot his family before turning the gun on himself.  Esme has never been convinced that it was him, and now is as good a time as any to see if she can find out anymore about that dreadful night.

However, if you don't think your father did it, then that must mean that someone else from the village did, and if that is the case, other's may know too.  Is Alison treading on dangerous ground by looking for a killer that has so far remained anonymous, and who can she really trust?  Quite frankly, I'd trust no one and get out as soon as possible, but Alison is drawn into finding out the truth, and soon learns that nothing is really what it first seemed.  I have to say, I think this would make a great television drama as it's very atmospheric.

Happy Reading

Miss Chapter x

Late Fragments: Everything I Want to Tell You About this Magnificent Life

Late Fragments: Everything I Want to Tell You (About this Magnificent Life) by Kate Gross

Published by William Collins

5th January 2015

Hardback Edition

 

What are the things we live for? What matters most in life when your time is short? This brave, frank and heartbreaking book shows what it means to die before your time; how to take charge of your life and fill it with wonder, hope and joy even in the face of tragedy.

Ambitious and talented, Kate Gross worked at Number 10 Downing Street for two British Prime Ministers whilst only in her twenties. At thirty, she was CEO of a charity working with fragile democracies in Africa. She had married 'the best looking man I've ever kissed' – and given birth to twin boys in 2008. The future was bright.

But aged 34, Kate was diagnosed with advanced colon cancer. After a two-year battle with the disease, Kate died peacefully at home on Christmas morning, just ten minutes before her sons awoke to open their stockings.

She began to write as a gift to herself, a reminder that she could create even as her body began to self-destruct. Written for those she loves, her book is not a conventional cancer memoir; nor is it filled with medical jargon or misery.

Instead, it is Kate's powerful attempt to make sense of the woman who emerged in the strange, lucid final chunk of her life. Her book aspires to give hope and purpose to the lives of her readers even as her own life drew to its close.

Kate should have been granted decades to say all that she says in these pages. Denied the chance to bore her children and grandchildren with stories when she became fat and old, she offers us all instead her thoughts on how to live; on the wonder to be found in the everyday; the importance of friendship and love; what it means to die before your time and how to fill your life with hope and joy even in the face of tragedy.

 

This is the first book in my attempt to include more non-fiction on the blog, and boy is it a powerful one.  Can I firstly say a huge thank you to Katherine Josselyn for sending me a copy of this book to read over Christmas, I feel very privileged to have been able to read Kate's story.

So, the tale is this, a 29 year old woman who has bowel issues, goes to her doctor and has a sigmoidoscopy . When faced with later bowel issues, she tells medical staff that it is okay because this has been looked at via a colonoscopy and everything is fine.  However, it is not, and when she practically collapses on a flight home, a trip to the hospital reveals stage 4 colon cancer - there is no stage 5.

Kate Gross is 34, with twin boys who are just four years old.  She has a fantastic career as CEO of Africa Governance Initiative (AGI), this is previous to working at 10 Downing Street for both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.  This woman has a most promising career ahead of her, both in terms of her work and home life.  This is not to be fulfilled.

This is Kate's memoir and legacy to her boys, the Knights, now almost six years old.  She died at home on Christmas Day, still making sure that everyone else that survived her was going to be okay.  This book is both a celebration of her life, and also of how it has changed since her diagnosis of what she terms the nusiance.  It's a book that reminds you to celebrate life, and to grab it with both hands, for none of us knows how long we have been granted on this earth.

Get this book, laugh and cry as you read one woman's story, and hold on to those closest to you.  Make the most of every moment that you have.

 

Happy Reading

 

Miss Chapter x

The Life I Left Behind

The Life I Left Behind by Colette McBeth

Published by Headline Review

Hardback Edition

1st January 2015

 

 

She's dead but she's the only one who knows what really happened;

What your friends have said.

What the police missed.

Who attacked you.

So if you want the truth who else are you going to turn to?

 

Five years ago Melody Pieterson was attacked and left for dead.

She coped by burying the person she was, locking away her memories and creating a new life for herself. Her attacker is behind bars. In four weeks' time she will get married. She's almost normal.

Then the body of another woman is found, close to where Melody was discovered. Like her she has blond hair and green eyes. Like Melody police find a gold bird cage necklace at the scene. And Melody realises her attacker has been out there all along.

The woman's name is Eve Elliot. Melody sets out to discover everything she can about Eve to work out why they were targeted. But the more she gets to know her the more she realises what's wrong with her own life. Eve may be dead but she's the only person who can teach Melody how to live again.

So, the book begins with the murder of a woman, her son, who has been out building forts all day comes home and finds her dead in their lounge, he spends all night with the body until his father returns home the next day.  Then we move to the present day, with our dead narrator Eve.  Eve has been murdered and her body found in a field by an elderly man out walking his dog.  In her hands she is clutching a gold bird cage necklace.  This is the only link that the police have to a previous attack on a woman, Melody Pieterson, five years beforehand.  Melody was left for dead but has now recovered and is trying to live her life again.  That is, until the police notify her that a murder has been committed, and that the obvious suspect is the man who was convicted of attacking Melody, her former neighbour David Alden.

Melody is trying to hold her life together, but she can't.  She never really believed that David attacked her but as her memory of the night in question is still blank, she has nothing other than her instinct to go on.  Then she learns that Eve was investigating her case, and that she too believed that someone else was responsible for Melody's attack.  Did she find out who the killer actually was, and was that why she was killed?  If that is the case, should Melody be worried that the wrong man was convicted and that the real killer is still out there, possibly looking to finish what he started five years beforehand?

I think that Colette McBeth has written a solid story here.  There are three main female narratives, that of Eve, Melody and of DI Victoria Rutter who is trying to find the killer.  The dead narrator concept works; Eve knows who killed her, and is trying desperately to let Melody know from beyond the grave but will she be too late?  You soon learn not to trust any of the characters, as no one seems to really be telling the truth, either now or in the past.  They all have something they want to hide.

This is Colete McBeth's second novel and it's a good one.  If you are a fan of crime novels, this would be a good start to the year.

 

Happy Reading

 

Miss Chapter x

The Wrong Knickers - A Decade of Chaos

The Wrong Knickers - A Decade of Chaos by Bryony Gordon

Published by Headline

1st January 2015

Paperback Edition

 

 

Bryony Gordon survived her adolescence by dreaming about the life she'd have in her twenties: the perfect job; the lovely flat; the amazing boyfriend. The reality was something of a shock. Her Telegraph column was a diary of her daily screw-ups; she lived in a series of squalid shoe boxes; and her most meaningful relationship of the entire decade was with a Marlboro Light.

Here in THE WRONG KNICKERS Bryony busts open the glamorized myth of what it means to be a young (perpetually) single girl about London town, and shares the horrible and hilarious truth. The truth about picking up a colleague at the STI clinic; sinking into debt to fund a varied diet of wine, crisps and vodka; and how it feels when your dream man turns out to be a one night stand who hands you someone else's knickers in the morning.

Bryony's wonderfully ridiculous and ultimately redemptive story is essential reading for everyone whose 'best years' weren't quite what they were expecting...

I finished The Wrong Knickers yesterday, and was exhausted by it.  I thought my twenties was manic - university, holding down two, sometimes three part-time jobs and partying like it was 1999 every weekend where I could but Bryony Gordon takes it all to another level. 

Bryony's problem, and one that was an issue for many a child born of the 70s and particularly 80s is that they were the 'want-it-all' generation.  You could have everything you wanted, just put it on any of the plastic cards in your wallet and the dream was yours for the taking.  When Bryony decides that the time has come to move out of the family home, getting the perfect flat in London - on a budget she can actually afford - proves harder than she first thought.  Yes, she has a glamourous job as a journalist but it's not actually well paid, and all of her money seems to be going on take-aways, alcohol and drugs.  Who mentioned that you need to save for electricity, water and council tax?!

Could I have written anything so honest myself, if I was Bryony?  I doubt it.  This is certainly a no-holds bar book about her life.  Men who want to snort cocaine off of her breasts, an affair with a married man who only wants her for sex, and the most disastrous account of going to Glastonbury that couldn't fail to put anyone off of going.

If you didn't do it back then, live through it with Bryony.  If you did have your own decade of chaos, recollect all those heady days, and chortle as you reminisce.  Or like me, read and think, blimey, and I thought my twenties was chaotic....

Happy Reading

Miss Chapter x  

Die Again

Die Again (Rizzoli and Isles 11) by Tess Gerritsen

Published by Bantam Press

1st January 2015

Hardback Edition

 

THE VICTIMS

In Boston, Detective Jane Rizzoli and Forensic Pathologist Maura Isles are investigating a bizarre murder. A man has been found gutted and hanging in his home. When the remains of another victim are found, it is clear that this murderer has been at work for years, and not just in Boston.

THE KILLER

Six years ago, a group of travellers set off on an African safari. None of them are seen again – apart from one woman who stumbled out of the bush weeks later, barely alive. The only woman to have seen the killer’s face.

THE SURVIVOR

Has the ‘safari killer’ resurfaced in Boston? Jane is sent to Africa to find the one link between the two cases – the only survivor - and convince her to face death once again...

Tess Gerritsen is back with her latest Rizzoli and Isles thriller.  This one begins in Africa, on safari.  I was instantly captivated and drawn to the heat of the wilds, with jungle animals roaming dangerously outside your tent, with only a warning bell to alert you to attackers.  Only in this case, the warning bell doesn't sound and one by one, the innocent tourists are violently killed.

Six years later, in Boston, two people are found murdered in their apartments, and Maura Isles believes there is a link between them.  Can these two seemingly separate killings actually be intrinsically linked to the killings in Africa almost a decade before, and should the only remaining survivor of that trip be worried that the killer will be looking for her next?

I haven't read any Rizzoli and Isles for a while and I have missed them.  It was nice to be back in their company again, as well as roaming around Africa with a killer on the prowl.  I thought I'd got this one sussed out though, and in my head, I was naming the killer with confidence.  Only I was so wrong on that front, and I'm still kicking myself for having not worked out 'whodunnit' before it was revealed to me.

Don't worry if you haven't read any of the previous books in this series, as Tess Gerritsen makes them work entirely as stand-alone novels, so feel free to jump right in here with number 11 and then work your way through the back catalogue.

Happy Reading

Miss Chapter x

A year in books 2014

Blimey, my first full year here on Miss Chapter's Reviews and I didn't think I'd get through quite as many books as I have done.  I'm quite impressed that I've managed an average of more than one book a week, alongside everything else that I do.

Favourites for the year though?! Funnily last year it was obvious to me who the contenders were, and for the year before, but this year.....?  Let me think.

If I'm being totally honest here, I don't think there was any one particular title that did it for me this year but there were authors who did instead.

This year I discovered the works of Rachel Joyce which I loved, both in Harold Fry and Queenie Hennessy.  I've got Perfect lined up ready to read in 2015.

 

I also found Menna van Praag who writes wonderful magical stories but for some reason is published by an American publishing house and not a UK one which frankly is bonkers in my opinion. The House at the end of Hope Street is bloomin marvellous.

 

I also found the delights of the Cazalets through Elizabeth Jane Howard and now have the full set to read at my leisure - why didn't I discover these earlier?  The Light Years is a wonderful beginning to a family saga and if you haven't devoured them already, I urge you too.  (The Book People are selling all five books for a mere £7.99 so grab the whole lot while you can)!

Also a mention to Suzanne Palmeiri whose Witch of Little Italy book I've loved too.  Looking forward to the new release in 2015.

And finally, an author I discovered at the end of 2013 but read a few more of in 2014 and hope to continue doing so in 2015 is Neil Gaiman - The Ocean at the end of the Lane is still a most fantastic read.

Next year I intend to try to read and blog just as much.  I want to try and add one non-fiction to the blog once a month if I can as I have lots here to read.  I think the fact that they take me a little longer to finish means that I usually choose a fictional title instead, but I'm determined to try to hold this resolution of sorts down.  I've already read January's non-fiction title and it's a weepy - can't say more than that, it's embargoed folks.

There's lots of lovely titles to look forward to next year - I've already read a couple of fab crime titles that come out in January, and there's a new Kate Atkinson to come - holding out in hope that it might swing by my way.  I also bought myself The Miniaturist as it's created such a storm I had to find out why!

Whilst 2014 marks a year in the life of Miss Chapter, I was reminded earlier this year that I have infact been reviewing books (albeit for other people) for about 7 years now which is quite an achievement I think.  I'd forgotten how long it has actually been.  Thanks to all the publishers who have graciously sent me titles this year, and who will, I hope, continue to do so next year too.  And a huge thank you to all of the authors who kindly took part In Conversation With too.

Happy New Year, and do tell, what are you looking forward to reading in 2015?

Happy Reading


Miss Chapter x

Margot at War: Love and Betrayal at Downing Street 1912-1916

Margot at War: Love and Betrayal at Downing Street 1912-1916 by Anne de Courcy

Published by W&N

6th November 2014

Hardback Edition

 

Margot Asquith was perhaps the most daring and unconventional Prime Minister's wife in British history. Known for her wit, style and habit of speaking her mind, she transformed 10 Downing Street into a glittering social and intellectual salon. Yet her last five years at Number 10 were a period of intense emotional and political turmoil in her private and public life.

In 1912, when Anne de Courcy's book opens, rumblings of discontent and cries for social reform were encroaching on all sides - from suffragettes, striking workers and Irish nationalists. Against this background of a government beset with troubles, the Prime Minister fell desperately in love with his daughter's best friend, Venetia Stanley; to complicate matters, so did his Private Secretary. Margot's relationship with her husband was already bedevilled by her stepdaughter's jealous, almost incestuous adoration of her father. The outbreak of the First World War only heightened these swirling tensions within Downing Street.

Drawing on unpublished material from personal papers and diaries, Anne de Courcy vividly recreates this extraordinary time when the Prime Minister's residence was run like an English country house, with socialising taking precedence over politics, love letters written in the cabinet room and gossip and state secrets exchanged over the bridge table.

By 1916, when Asquith was forced out of office, everything had changed. For the country as a whole, for those in power, for a whole stratum of society, but especially for the Asquiths and their circle, it was the end of an era. Life inside Downing Street would never be the same again.

This is a fascinating insight to the running of British society at the start of the 1900s and during the period of the First World War.  Margot Asquith was no ordinary politician's wife, in fact she was the second wife of the Prime Minister Henry Asquith, and she changed the face of society and politics with her wit and glamour.

However behind the facade lay the infatuation of her husband with his daughter's best friend Venetia Stanley, also coupled with his extremely strong bond with his eldest daughter Violet from his first marriage.  She went everywhere with him, and his second marriage can surely be described as being at least that of a ménage à trois, if not with Violet then with Venetia.

This isn't just a political history, but the detail that Anne de Courcey provides as to the decisions and turmoil faced by Asquith at this time from all manner of society is fascinating.  It is also a book about social history and of the changing face of government as perceived by those outside of the cabinet.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this, there was so much that I didn't know about this period that I learnt and never once was the detail dry or boring.  Henry Asquith and his family have certainly got to be one of, if not, the most scandalous family ever to live at number 10 Downing Street!

 

Happy Reading

 

Miss Chapter x