No Harm Can Come To A Good Man by James Smythe

 How far would you go to save your family from an invisible threat?

A terrifyingly original thriller from the author of The Machine.

ClearVista is used by everyone and can predict anything. It's a daily lifesaver, predicting weather to traffic to who you should befriend.

Laurence Walker wants to be the next President of the United States.

ClearVista will predict his chances.

It will predict whether he's the right man for the job. It will predict that his son can only survive for 102 seconds underwater. It will predict that Laurence's life is about to collapse in the most unimaginable way

 

Family man Laurence Walker is on the brink of becoming the Democratic Presidential candidate; in fact in many eyes is certain to become the future President of the US, when a personal tragedy strikes. As part of his campaign, he is required to answer 1000 questions from ClearVista, which is computer software that can predict and give you the answer to almost anything. When he receives the results, he is shocked to find that it gives him a 0% chance of succeeding in his Presidential ambitions. Everything for the Walker family then goes scarily wrong when the video ClearVista has produced for Laurence predicts that his wife and children are in danger from him.

The novel is set in the not-too-distant future and you can easily believe that the events it portrays are capable of happening. I really cared about Laurence, his wife Deanna and their children, Lane, Alyx and Sean, thinking about them even when I wasn't reading and just going about my day to day tasks. I found that work got in the way when all I wanted to do was stay at home so I could finish the book and find out what would happen in the end; surely this should be a valid excuse to give your employer? (Not that I dared try to!)

 

It's a book that can't be pigeonholed into one specific genre. Yes, it's a thriller which touches on Science Fiction but there's so much more to it than that. Whatever you like to read, you'll find that this is an excellent story that will keep you hooked well into the night. I love all the books by this relatively new young author and he is getting better with each one he publishes. I hope No Harm Can Come To A Good Man is the success it no doubt deserves to be.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Waiting On Wednesday (If I Knew You Were Going To Be This Beautiful, I Never Would Have Let You Go)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases we can't wait to be published.

 

 

If I Knew You Were Going To Be This Beautiful, I Never Would Have Let You Go by Judy Chicurel

 

I've seen this book compared to Anne Tyler so I've got to read it.

 

 

It is the summer of 1972, and Katie has just turned eighteen. Katie and her town, Elephant Beach, are both on the verge: Katie of adulthood, and Elephant Beach of gentrification. But not yet: Elephant Beach is still gritty, working-class, close-knit. And Katie spends her time smoking and drinking with her friends, dreaming about a boy just back from Vietnam who’s still fighting a battle Katie can’t understand.  Impeccably crafted and hugely affectionate, this novel in stories is a vivid portrait of a place whose conflicts—between mothers and daughters, men and women, haves and have-nots— reverberate to our own time.

 

Published by Amy Einhorn Books on 30th October 2014

 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Its Monday! What Are You Reading is a weekly meme run by Book Journey and you can mention books you've just finished, are currently reading and any you plan to read this week. You can leave a link to your blog and read other bloggers posts.

 

I got a lot of reading done this week and managed to get through three books:

 

Close To The Broken Hearted by Michael Hiebert

Famous: A Novel by Blake Crouch

The Cove by Ron Rash

 

I loved the first two but was disappointed with The Cove. I'd heard good things about it but found it slow to begin with, it was a quick read though and the ending was good.

  

Next up is No Harm Can Come To A Good Man which is the latest novel by James Smythe. It's half term this week so not sure how much time I'll get to read but I love his books and have been looking forward to this one. I managed to be first in the queue for a library copy as well.

 

Book Beginnings On Fridays (Famous: A Novel)

Book Beginnings on Fridays is hosted by Rose City Reader and as she says the idea of this meme is for you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author's name. There's a linky list on the website and you can use #BookBeginnings on Twitter.

 

Update: I finished the novel this morning and thoroughly enjoyed it. It's fast paced and well written in a style that makes it easy to read. Some have complained about the ending but for me it worked well and I keep thinking about it. Rating: 4 out of 5.

Famous: A Novel by Blake Crouch

 

Let me tell you something about being famous. First off, it doesn't make you depressed or dissociated from humankind. That's all bullshit. Being famous...is like the very best thing in the world. Everybody knows you, everybody loves you, and it's just because you're you. And that's supposed to make you want to eat sleeping pills? Only reason celebrities say fame blows is so we won't hate them. Because if we really knew how happy they are, how incredible it is just to be them, to own the world, we'd hate them, and then they'd just be notorious.

 

  

 

Book Description:

 

  "My name is Lancelot Blue Dunkquist, and the best thing about me is, when you doll me up right, I look just like the movie star, James Jansen." Meet Lance. 38-years-old. Works a meaningless job. Still lives above his parents' garage. By all accounts, a world-class loser. Except for one glaring exception... He has a million-dollar face. Lance has been mistaken twenty-eight times for the Oscar-winning movie star, James Jansen, and for the last 10 years, he's saved his money, studied Jansen's films, his moves, his idiosyncrasies, even the way he speaks. Now, after an unceremonious termination from his job, Lance has decided that the time has come to go after his dream. From New York's ridiculous avant-garde, off-off Broadway scene, to the surreal glitter of Los Angeles, follow Lance on his madcap journey of self-abandonment to become his likeness. Part comedy, part human tragedy, and part suspense, the world through the eyes of Lancelot Blue Dunkquist is like none you've ever seen.

Close To The Broken Hearted by Michael Hiebert

 

Close To The Broken Hearted is set in the same fictional small town of Alvin, Alabama as the author's previous novel Dream With Little Angels. Detective Leah Teal has been receiving lots of calls at the station from young mother Sylvie Carson, her colleague Chris thinks she's phoning with false alarms and is crazy but as stranger things start happening Leah isn't so sure. Years ago, during an argument over land, Sylvie watched as her three year old brother was shot dead by Preacher Eli. He's just been released from prison, could he be behind it all?

 

As well as having this to deal with Leah is also bringing up her two children, fifteen year old Caroline and twelve year old Abe, alone. Her husband was killed in a car crash ten years ago and now Abe's twelve he's asking more and more questions about his Dad.

 

I enjoyed Dream With Little Angels so was delighted to see the author had written another novel surrounding the same characters. Indeed for me the story is as much about the relationship between Abe and his mother as it is the crime that needs to be solved. The prologue is as heartbreaking as anything else I've read before and Michael Hiebert is a very good storyteller, I hope this isn't the last book about the Teal family, it would be lovely to meet them all again.

 

Rating: 4 out of 5 

Thanks to Netgalley and Kensington for my copy in return for an honest review.

 

Published by Kensington on 24th June 2014

 

Book Beginnings On Fridays (Close To The Broken Hearted)

Book Beginnings on Fridays is hosted by Rose City Reader and as she says the idea of this meme is for you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author's name. There's a linky list on the website and you can use #BookBeginnings on Twitter.

 

This week my book beginning is Close To The Broken Hearted by Michael Hiebert. I enjoyed his novel Dream With Little Angels and have got an ARC from Netgalley of his latest which I'll start reading later today. 

Alvin, Alabama - 1971

The spring sun is low in the sky outside the single paned windows of the kitchen in the small farmhouse where the family has gathered to eat. Upon the table sits a roast chicken ready to be carved, a plate of mashed potatoes, and a bowl of peas and corn, both harvested last year but kept frozen through the winter months. The light falling in through the windows is deep orange, almost red, as the father, Tom Carson, stands to say grace.

 

 

 

Book Description:

At twenty-two, Sylvie Carson has known a lifetime's worth of trouble. When she was a child, her baby brother was shot to death by a man named Preacher Eli. Orphaned by her teens, Sylvie is now raising her own baby with no partner in sight. For all these reasons, Leah Teal, Alvin, Alabama's only detective, tries to stay patient when Sylvie calls the station day and night, always with some new false alarm. But now Preacher Eli is out of prison and moving back to town. 

As far as the law is concerned, the old man has paid his dues--though Leah's twelve-year-old son, Abe, vehemently disagrees. Between that and his relentless curiosity about the daddy he hardly knew, Abe's imagination is running in all directions lately. While Leah struggles with how much of the past to reveal to Abe, she's also concerned about Sylvie's mounting panic. Something in her gut tells her the girl might be a target after all. For as Leah knows well, there's danger not just in the secrets others keep from us, but in the lies that corrupt from within. It's a hunch that will be tested soon enough, as tensions mount on both sides.

 

Publication date: June 24th 2014 by Kensington   

 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Its Monday! What Are You Reading is a weekly meme run by Book Journey and you can mention books you've just finished, are currently reading and any you plan to read this week. You can leave a link to your blog and read other bloggers posts.

 

I didn't get much reading done last week, when not at work I was stuck at home but not able to concentrate on a book as gas engineers made lots of noise installing a new boiler. I did finish The Girl With All The Gifts by M.R. Carey though and I'm now reading I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes. I got a review copy from Transworld & wasn't sure I'd enjoy it as I've seen it described as a spy thriller, but it's excellent so far. My copy runs to almost 900 pages so it will keep me busy for a while.

 

Book Beginnings On Fridays

Book Beginnings on Fridays is hosted by Rose City Reader and as she says the idea of this meme is for you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author's name. There's a linky list on the website and you can use #BookBeginnings on Twitter.

 

My book beginning this week is I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes:

 

There are places I'll remember all my life - Red Square with a hot wind howling across it, my mother's bedroom the wrong side of 8-mile, the endless gardens of a fancy foster home, a man waiting to kill me in a group of ruins known as the Theatre of Death. 

 

 

I finished a book yesterday afternoon and didn't know what to read next. I picked up the proof copy of this that I was kindly sent by Transworld, read the first page and couldn't put it down.

 

 

Book Description:

 

Can you commit the perfect crime?

Pilgrim is the codename for a man who doesn't exist. The adopted son of a wealthy American family, he once headed up a secret espionage unit for US intelligence. Before he disappeared into anonymous retirement, he wrote the definitive book on forensic criminal investigation.

But that book will come back to haunt him. It will help NYPD detective Ben Bradley track him down. And it will take him to a rundown New York hotel room where the body of a woman is found facedown in a bath of acid, her features erased, her teeth missing, her fingerprints gone. It is a textbook murder - and Pilgrim wrote the book.

What begins as an unusual and challenging investigation will become a terrifying race-against-time to save America from oblivion. Pilgrim will have to make a journey from a public beheading in Mecca to a deserted ruins on the Turkish coast via a Nazi death camp in Alsace and the barren wilderness of the Hindu Kush in search of the faceless man who would commit an appalling act of mass murder in the name of his God.

 

The Girl With All The Gifts by M.R. Carey

Ten year old Melanie is special, although she doesn't know why, and is kept in a cell overnight. In the morning the Sergeant and his men come to get her, strapping her into a wheelchair while aiming guns at her. She jokes with them that she won't bite; they don't find this funny. She's then taken to a classroom with over twenty other children who are also in wheelchairs. They can't look at or talk to each other and there are days when some are taken away, never to be seen again. Melanie loves school and learning and her favourite teacher is Miss Justineau, and a lot of the story centres on the relationship between the two. 

 

It's very difficult to write a review for this without giving too much away. I only heard of The Girl With All The Gifts a week ago, and as soon as I read the book blurb I couldn't wait to start it. I downloaded it to my kindle as soon as I'd finished my then current read. I was gripped straight away and for me the first third of the novel, set in the military base, was my favourite part of the story.  We know that the world outside isn't as it should be and we're told that Birmingham now has a population of zero. Later on in the book, it becomes more of a "survivors against the elements" story.

 

I've read a lot of post-apocalyptic fiction, some good and some unfortunately not so. The Girl With All The Gifts fits into the first category and the beginning is different to anything else I've read in this genre. 

 

 

Rating: 4 out of 5

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Its Monday! What Are You Reading is a weekly meme run by Book Journey and you can mention books you've just finished, are currently reading and any you plan to read this week. You can leave a link to your blog and read other bloggers posts.

 

This week I've read The Three by Sarah Lotz and Another Night, Another Day by Sarah Rayner.

 

 

 

I've been good recently at getting through my review and tbr books so I've treated myself to The Girl With All The Gifts by M.R. Carey. I've just started reading it, I only heard about it on Saturday but it looks so intriguing I couldn't wait to start it.

 

Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week.

It was created by Marcia @ A Girl and Her Books but now has a permanent home here

 

Only one for me this week and it's my current read:

 

The Girl With All The Gifts by M.R. Carey 

 

 

Melanie is a very special girl. Dr Caldwell calls her 'our little genius'.

Every morning, Melanie waits in her cell to be collected for class. When they come for her, Sergeant keeps his gun pointing at her while two of his people strap her into the wheelchair. She thinks they don't like her. She jokes that she won't bite, but they don't laugh.

Melanie loves school. She loves learning about spelling and sums and the world outside the classroom and the children's cells. She tells her favourite teacher all the things she'll do when she grows up. Melanie doesn't know why this makes Miss Justineau look sad.

 

Another Night, Another Day by Sarah Rayner

 

Three people meet at Moreland's Psychiatric Clinic where they are all receiving treatment. Karen's father is dying, she's a widow with two young children to bring up. Abby is separating from her husband and they have a seven year old son who has autism. Michael is married and his two children are at university; he's the family's sole bread winner and his business has collapsed with him owing lots of money. All of them are believable and it could easily be any one of us in their situation. In this novel we meet some characters from two of the author's previous books, One Moment, One Morning and The Two Week Wait. Another Night isn't a sequel to either of these though and you won't need to have read them to understand or enjoy her latest.

Despite the subject matter I found this an easy read and with some humour throughout it never becomes too dark or heavy going. Sarah Rayner manages to convey what it's like for people suffering from anxiety or depression and how it affects the way they think about and see things.

Thanks to Picador for the proof copy. It's published on 17th July but will also be available in Waterstones from 8th May, to coincide with Mental Health Awareness Week.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Book Beginnings On Fridays (Another Night, Another Day)

Book Beginnings on Fridays is hosted by Rose City Reader and as she says the idea of this meme is for you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author's name. There's a linky list on the website and you can use #BookBeginnings on Twitter.

 

Another Night, Another Day by Sarah Rayner

 

Johnnie struggles to open the heavy metal door of the clinic without dropping the stack of files he has clutched to his chest.

'Ah, Johnnie,' says Gillian, just as his duffle bag slides off his shoulder. 'Thank goodness I've caught you.'  She is chatting with Danni, the receptionist.

Johnnie's heart sinks. The traffic into Lewes was nose to tail, his first session is due to start in less than five minutes, and he badly needs a cup of coffee. 

'Could we catch up at lunch?' he ventures.

He can tell at once from her expression that they can't. 

 

 

 

Book Description:

From the author of the bestselling One Moment, One Morning comes another beautiful, bittersweet novel set in Brighton…

Three people, each crying out for help

There’s Karen, about to lose her father; Abby, whose son has autism and needs constant care, and Michael, a family man on the verge of bankruptcy. As each sinks under the strain, they’re brought together at Moreland’s Psychiatric Clinic.

Here, behind closed doors, they reveal their deepest secrets, confront and console one another and share plenty of laughs. But how will they cope when a new crisis strikes?

 

Published by Picador on 17th July and available in Waterstones shops from 8th May to coincide with Mental Health Awareness Week. 

The Three by Sarah Lotz

They're here ... The boy. The boy watch the boy watch the dead people oh Lordy there's so many ... They're coming for me now. We're all going soon. All of us. Pastor Len warn them that the boy he's not to­­--
The last words of Pamela May Donald (1961 - 2012)

 

In 2012 four plane crashes happen across the world on the same day and within a short space of time of each other. This day becomes known as Black Thursday.  Pamela Donald lives long enough to leave a mesaage on her phone but miraculously from three of the crashes there's a single survivor, and each one is a child. The children are creepy which I always find scary in a horror novel; they are Jessica Craddock, Bobby Small and Hiro Yanagida. We get to see how the crashes affect the bereaved and how they cope with looking after the children.

The story is told via excerpts, interviews, emails etc used for a book written by Elspeth Martins, an investigative journalist. I wasn't expecting this and to be honest was disappointed at first as I would have preferred if it had been told using more traditional story telling. It did work well though and the short sections because of this format made it easy to pick up and read in short bursts. The dictaphone messages recorded by Paul Craddock (Jessica's uncle) were probably my favourites but I found the online discussions between Chiyoko (Hiro's cousin) and her friend Ryu dull for the most part. 

 

I first heard of The Three last year and have been looking forward to reading it ever since. I was delighted to get a review copy from the publisher via Netgalley and started reading it straight away. I enjoyed it even though it wasn't quite what I was expecting, I thought it was going to be more of an out and out horror novel and I was a little disappointed with the ending, but don't let that put you off. It's a good novel but I was hoping it would be great, especially as it has been compared to Stephen King, a comparison which is always going to be hard to live up to and maybe this raised my expectations.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5