Book Beginnings on Fridays - Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool

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 is Film Starts Don't Die in Liverpool. I saw the film a few weeks ago and enjoyed it so wanted to read the non-fiction book it was based on as soon as I could get hold of a copy from the library.

 

 I didn't know she was sick until she went to Lancaster. There had been the usual fanfare of publicity with the same slogan written on the billboards, only with the place name changed:

 'The girl who can't say "No" says "Yes" to Illinois'; or 'The girl who can't say "No" says "Yes" to East Hampton.' This time it was Lancaster, England.

 

  

 

 

Book Description

On 29 September 1981, Peter Turner received a phone call that would change his life. His former lover, Hollywood actress Gloria Grahame, had collapsed in a Lancaster hotel and was refusing medical attention. He had no choice but to take her into his chaotic and often eccentric family's home in Liverpool.

Liverpool born and bred, Turner had first set eyes on Grahame when he was a young actor, living in London. Best known for her portrayal of irresistible femme fatales in films such as The Big Heat, Oklahoma and The Bad and the Beautiful, for which she won an Oscar, Grahame electrified audiences with her steely expressions and heavy lidded eyes and the heroines she bought to life were often dark and dangerous. Turner and Grahame became firm friends and remained so ever after their love affair had ended. And it was to him she turned in her final hour of need.

From a Low and Quiet Sea by Donal Ryan

 

From a low and Quiet Sea tells us the stories of three men. Farouk is an immigrant who has risked everything and suffered a lot to escape from Syria and make a life for himself in Ireland. Lampy is a heartbroken young man still living at home with his mother and grandfather and finally we meet John. He was greatly affected by the death of his brother when he was still a child but has gone on the be very successful, we are also told about an affair he had. They are  given a section of the novel each rather than their stories being interwoven throughout. However in the fourth and final part of the novel we learn what links them together. 

 

What I love about Donal Ryan's work is his ability to tell us so much about his characters in very few pages, they are well developed and convincingly brought to life, not a word is wasted. Having said this I did struggle to connect with John a lot more than the others although this may well be down to me as I've been in a reading lull of late.

 

From a Low and Quiet Sea is definitely worth a read if you enjoy well written, intelligent fiction. If you haven't tried any of the authors previous work then perhaps read one of his first two novels before giving this a go, links to my reviews of those are below:

The Spinning Heart

The Thing About December

 

Thanks to Netgalley and Transworld for a review copy.

 

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Book Beginnings on Fridays - The Christmas Train

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 is The Christmas Train by David Baldacci, my second festive novel of the season.

 

Tom Langdon was a journalist, a globetrotting one, because it was in his blood to roam widely. Where others saw only instability and fear in life, Tom felt graced by an embracing independence. 

 

  

Book Description

Disillusioned journalist Tom Langdon must get from Washington to LA in time for Christmas. Forced to take the train across the country because of a slight 'misunderstanding' at airport security, he begins a journey of self-discovery and rude awakenings, mysterious goings-on and thrilling adventures, screwball escapades and holiday magic.

He has no idea that the locomotives pulling him across America will actually take him into the rugged terrain of his own heart, where he will rediscover people's essential goodness and someone very special he believed he had lost. 

Book Beginnings on Fridays - A Christmas Party

 

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 is A Christmas Party by Georgette Heyer, I haven't read anything by her before but I'm enjoying this festive crime novel. 

 

It was a source of great satisfaction to Joseph Herriard that the holly trees were in full berry. He seemed to find in this circumstance an assurance that the projected reunion of the family would be a success.

Book Description

‘Tis the season to find whodunit …

 

It is no ordinary Christmas at Lexham Manor.

Six holiday guests find themselves the suspects in a murder inquiry when the old Scrooge who owns the substantial estate is found stabbed in the back.

Whilst the delicate matter of inheritance could be the key to this crime, the real conundrum is how any of the suspects could have entered the locked room where the victim was found, to commit this foul deed.

For Inspector Hemingway of Scotland Yard, the investigation is also complicated by the fact that every guest at Lexham Manor is hiding something – casting suspicion far and wide…

Book Beginnings on Fridays - Fever

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 Fever by Deon Meyer. I've loved post apocalyptic fiction since I was a teenager and read The Stand by Stephen King.

 

I want to tell you about my father's murder.

I want to tell you who killed him, and why. This is the story of my life. And the story of your life and your world too, as you will see.

 

 

 

Nico Storm and his father drive across a desolate South Africa, constantly alert for feral dogs, motorcycle gangs, nuclear contamination. They are among the few survivors of a virus that has killed most of the world's population. Young as he is, Nico realises that his superb markmanship and cool head mean he is destined to be his father's protector.

But Willem Storm, though not a fighter, is a man with a vision. He is searching for a place that can become a refuge, a beacon of light and hope in a dark and hopeless world, a community that survivors will rebuild from the ruins.

And so Amanzi is born. 

  

Into the Water by Paula Hawkins

 

Into the Water is the second novel by Paula Hawkins following her hugely successful debut The Girl on the Train. This new book is different in that it doesn't focus on one main character but on several who all live in the same small town.

 

Nel Abbott is found dead in the river but she isn't the first; it wasn't long ago that her teenage daughter's best friend also lost her life in the area known locally as 'The Drowning Pool' and there have been others. Some victims go as far back as the Witchfinder Trials and Nel was obsessed by them all, so much so that she was writing a book on the subject. Nel is thought to have jumped to her death but her estranged sister Jules, who has returned to her home town to look after her niece, doesn't believe this is the case.

 

Secrets and mysteries abound among the residents of the town which made the story compelling.  I've read in some other reviews that there are too many characters that made the story confusing. This almost put me off from reading it but I'm glad I did. I didn't find this to be an issue at all, each chapter is told from the point of view of one of the characters and it soon became clear to me who was who and I was gripped from the start. Definitely worth a read, just don't go into it expecting The Girl on the Train 2 as this is a different style of novel, I'm already eagerly awaiting her third.

Rating: 4 out of 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Book Beginnings on Fridays - The Doll Funeral

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 from The Doll Funeral by Kate Hamer:

 

My thirteenth birthday and I became a hunter for souls.

I knew the moment that Mum called me something was going to happen. I heard it in her voice. 

 

 

 

Description

My name is Ruby. I live with Barbara and Mick. They're not my real parents, but they tell me what to do, and what to say. I'm supposed to say that the bruises on my arms and the black eye came from falling down the stairs.

But there are things I won't say. I won't tell them I'm going to hunt for my real parents. I don't say a word about Shadow, who sits on the stairs, or the Wasp Lady I saw on the way to bed.

I did tell Mick that I saw the woman in the buttercup dress, hanging upside down from her seat belt deep in the forest at the back of our house. I told him I saw death crawl out of her. He said he'd give me a medal for lying.

I wasn't lying. I'm a hunter for lost souls and I'm going to be with my real family. And I'm not going to let Mick stop me.

 

 

This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel

Book Description

Rosie and Penn always wanted a daughter. Four sons later, they decide to try one last time - and their beautiful little boy Claude is born. Life continues happily for this big, loving family until the day when Claude says that, when he grows up, he wants to be a girl.

As far as Rosie and Penn are concerned, bright, funny and wonderful Claude can be whoever he or she wants. But as problems begin at school and in the community, the family faces a seemingly impossible dilemma: should Claude change, or should they and Claude try to change the world?

 

 

My Thoughts

I've been hearing about this book for a while and there has been a lot of hype online, I was surprised at first as it took me a little while to get into. I think it was simply because I found all the characters and family members that were introduced early on confusing, once they'd all clicked with me though I was enthralled.

 

The family are all wonderful and Claude wanting to be Poppy is never an issue for them. It felt like it would be a great household to grow up in, a home full of love and compassion. I couldn't help but root for Poppy throughout the story, hoping that everything would work out alright for her in the end.

This is a novel with a powerful message, one with some heartbreaking moments but overall one that is warm and sometimes funny.

Rating: 4 out of 5

 

Thanks to Headline and Netgalley for a copy in return for an honest review.

 

 

 

 

Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller

Ingrid went missing from a Dorset beach twelve years ago and is presumed to have drowned. She left behind her husband Gil, who is an author with one famous novel to his name, and their daughters Nan and Flora. Flora was only ten years old when her mother disappeared and has always believed that she's alive.

 

Gil thinks he sees Ingrid but then has an accident causing both daughters to return to the family home to look after him, his possible sighting is put down to old age and ill health.

 

The story is beautifully told, both in the present day and the past. The latter in the form of letters that Ingrid wrote to her husband and left hidden in the many books inside their house by the sea. Truths, infidelities and tragedies are gradually revealed and I was gripped. This was a clever way of letting us learn about the characters and their marriage and it worked extremely well.

 

I enjoyed the author's first novel, Our Endless Numbered Days and Swimming Lessons is even better.

 

 

Rating: 5 out of 5

 

 

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Books (UK) for my review copy.

 

Publication date: 26th January 2017 

 

 

The Dry by Jane Harper

The Dry is set in the small country Australian town of Kiewarra. It hasn't rained there for two years, the severe drought leaving tensions high for the community. This has been made worse by the murders of the Hadler family, thought by local police to have been carried out by the husband/father of the victims who then committed suicide.

Policeman Aaron Falk has returned to his childhood town for the funeral of his best friend Luke. Luke's parents don't believe that he was capable of such a brutal crime and Aaron stays to look into what happened. This isn't the only mystery, years ago their friend Ellie drowned and her father has always blamed Aaron.

 

The two story threads and secrets from the present and past made this novel a compelling read. It grabbed my interest from the off and held it all the way through to the very end. The Dry is well written and heartbreaking in parts, if you enjoy crime fiction you won't be disappointed. 

 

Rating: 4 out of 5 

 

Publication date: 12th January 2017

Thanks to Little Brown and Netgalley for a copy in return for an honest review.

Update

After what seems like ages I've finally got the reading bug again. For the last six weeks or so the only thing I've managed to read is a couple of short stories, this has happened before but never for this long. There's no point me starting a book when I'm in this mood as it will feel like a chore and I'll be unable to finish it.
This afternoon I suddenly missed not having a book on the go so I downloaded Mystery in White by J Jefferson Farjeon to my Kindle. It has been on my wishlist for a while and I'm already a quarter of the way into it.
Does anyone else ever struggle to read? If so is there anything you do to help or do you just wait until your reading mojo returns? 

Book Beginnings on Fridays - The Dry

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 The Dry by Jane Harper.  I received a copy from Netgalley and it is due to be published by Little Brown on 17th January 2017. 

 

It wasn't as though the farm hadn't seen death before, and the blowflies didn't discriminate. To them there was no difference between a carcass and a corpse. 

 

 

 

Description

I just can't understand how someone like him could do something like that.

Amid the worst drought to ravage Australia in a century, it hasn't rained in small country town Kiewarra for two years. Tensions in the community become unbearable when three members of the Hadler family are brutally murdered. Everyone thinks Luke Hadler, who committed suicide after slaughtering his wife and six-year-old son, is guilty.

Policeman Aaron Falk returns to the town of his youth for the funeral of his childhood best friend, and is unwillingly drawn into the investigation. As questions mount and suspicion spreads through the town, Falk is forced to confront the community that rejected him twenty years earlier. Because Falk and Luke Hadler shared a secret, one which Luke's death threatens to unearth. And as Falk probes deeper into the killings, secrets from his past and why he left home bubble to the surface as he questions the truth of his friend's crime.

 

All We Shall Know by Donal Ryan

 

Melody Shee is pregnant and now alone, her husband left when she told him the child she was carrying wasn't his. The father is a seventeen year old traveller called Martin Toppy that Melody has been teaching to read. When Melody goes to the site Martin was living on she meets Mary Crothery and the two women become friends.

 

Donal Ryan's novels may be short but he manages to pack so much into them and creates believable characters. All We Shall Know is no exception to this, Melody isn't a likeable person but I loved her Dad and found the story about Breedie, Melody's friend at school, particularly heartbreaking.

 

Rating: 4 out of 5

 

Thanks to Transworld Publishers and Netgalley for a copy in return for an honest review.

 

You can read my reviews of Donal Ryan's previous two novels here:

The Spinning Heart 

The Thing About December

 

 

Book Beginnings on Fridays - I'm Travelling Alone

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 is one that I only got in the post just over one hour ago and started reading straight way. I'm Travelling Alone by Samuel Bjork was published in 2013 in Norway and will be published in the UK in December 2016 in paperback, for those that can't wait until then it is available in hardback or eBook formats now.

 

Walter Henriksen took a seat at the kitchen table and made a desperate attempt to force down a little of the breakfast his wife had prepared for him. Bacon and eggs. Herring, salami and freshly baked bread. A cup of tea brewed from herbs from their very own garden. 

 

 

 

Book Description 

 

When a six-year-old girl is found dead, hanging from a tree, the only clue the Oslo Police have to work with is an airline tag around her neck. It reads 'I'm travelling alone'.

One divorced detective estranged from his only child. The other with no family to speak of, determined to take her own life. An unexpected pairing. A brilliant team. 

Book Beginnings on Fridays - #ReadWithoutPrejudice

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 choice is intriguing, I don't know the title of the book, what it's about or even who the author is. It's due to be published by Hodder & Stoughton on 1st October 2016 and they have an online campaign called #readwithoutprejudice. I've only just been approved for a copy on Netgalley and will start reading it in a minute, I cannot wait to see what it's like.

 

The miracle happened on West Seventy-fourth Street, in the home where Mama worked. It was a big brownstone encircled by a wrought iron fence, and overlooking either side of the ornate door were gargoyles, their granite faces carved from my nightmares.

 

 

Book Description:

 

There are two points in life when we are all equal: at the moment of birth and at the moment of death. It is how we live in between that defines us.

Delicately balanced.

Perfectly crafted.

Beautifully written.

We want you to immerse yourself in this dazzling novel, free from any preconceptions that a cover, title or author can bring.

We ask you simply to #readwithoutprejudice.

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

 

I got two kindle eBooks this week and both were only £0.99 each.

 

The Railway Man's Wife by Ashley Hay 

 

In a small town on the land's edge, in the strange space at a war's end, a widow, a poet and a doctor each try to find their own peace, and their own new story.

In Thirroul, in 1948, people chase their dreams through the books in the railway's library. Anikka Lachlan searches for solace after her life is destroyed by a single random act. Roy McKinnon, who found poetry in the mess of war, has lost his words and his hope. Frank McKinnon is trapped by the guilt of those his treatment and care failed on their first day of freedom. All three struggle with the same question: how now to be alive.

Written in clear, shining prose and with an eloquent understanding of the human heart, The Railwayman's Wife explores the power of beginnings and endings, and how hard it can be sometimes to tell them apart. It's a story of life, loss and what comes after; of connection and separation, longing and acceptance. Most of all, it celebrates love in all its forms, and the beauty of discovering that loving someone can be as extraordinary as being loved yourself.

A story that will break your heart with hope. 

 

 

The Silent Hours by Cesca Major

An epic, sweeping tale of love and loss inspired by heartrending true events in the Unoccupied Zone of wartime France.

The Silent Hours follows three people whose lives are bound together, before war tears them apart:

Adeline, a mute who takes refuge in a convent, haunted by memories of her past;

Sebastian, a young Jewish banker whose love for the beautiful Isabelle will change the course of his life dramatically;

Tristin, a nine-year-old boy, whose family moves from Paris to settle in a village that is seemingly untouched by war.

Beautifully wrought, utterly compelling and with a shocking true story at its core, The Silent Hours is an unforgettable portrayal of love and loss.

Book Beginnings on Fridays - The Fireman

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 The Fireman. At the time of writing this post I'm almost a third of a way into the book, I love apocalyptic fiction and I'm thoroughly enjoying the latest Joe Hill novel. My copy is an ARC from Netgalley and Orion Publishing and it's published in the UK on 7th June.

Harper Grayson had seen lots of people burn on TV, everyone had, but the first person she saw burn for real was in the playground behind the school. 

 

 

Book Description

 

 Nobody knew where the virus came from.
FOX News said it had been set loose by ISIS, using spores that had been invented by the Russians in the 1980s.
MSNBC said sources indicated it might've been created by engineers at Halliburton and stolen by culty Christian types fixated on the Book of Revelation.
CNN reported both sides.
While every TV station debated the cause, the world burnt.
Pregnant school nurse, HARPER GRAYSON, had seen lots of people burn on TV, but the first person she saw burn for real was in the playground behind the school.
With the epic scope of THE PASSAGE and the emotional impact of THE ROAD, this is one woman's story of survival at the end of the world.

Book Beginnings on Fridays - The Secret To Not Drowning

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 The Secret To Not Drowning by Colette Snowden. I only heard about this book on Twitter the other day and have borrowed an ebook from Suffolk libraries, it's one of the books included in Brave New Reads and you can read about them all here

 

There are four people in the room but only one of them is me.

I am the only one flat on my back, legs in the air, knickers somewhere on the floor. I am the only one focusing only on the paper towels stacked in piles from the floor almost to the ceiling. Little green bundles, ready and waiting for all those doctors and nurses to wash their hands and dry them again afterwards.

 

 

 

Book Description:

 

 How did a girl who once dreamed of being a Charlie's Angel become such a cowed and submissive woman? When a chance meeting at her once a week trip to the swimming baths develops into a secret relationship she has the chance to become the women she wanted to be but is it too late?  

 

 

Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt

 

Hex was originally published in The Netherlands in 2013 but has just been released in the UK and US. It is set in a small, fictional place called Black Spring, but this is no normal American town. It is haunted by a woman from the seventeenth century whose eyes and mouth are sewn shut, she wanders the streets and can enter any home she chooses. Known to the residents as the Black Rock Witch they believe that if her stitches are cut open the entire population of Black Spring will die but a curse prevents any of them from leaving for more than a few days. Surveillance cameras are everywhere and the town is practically under quarantine.

 

At the beginning it was amusing to see how people dealt with her, she was hidden from outsiders by being disguised or covered up so the secret wouldn't get out. The story was far from light-hearted though and it was creepy when the witch (Katherine) was first introduced. The idea that she can suddenly appear in the corner of a room while you're doing normal, everyday things or by your bed while you're sleeping is quite frankly terrifying. Hex didn't scare me all the way through but is original and different to anything other novel I've read before. Something that often disappoints me with horror fiction is how authors end a story, this wasn't the case with Hex though, I loved it. 

 

Rating: 4 out of 5

 

Thanks to Bookbridgr and Hodder & Stoughton for my copy in return for an honest review.

 

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

Laura (Lo) Blacklock is a travel journalist given a chance to go on the maiden voyage of a luxury cruise ship. She's hoping the trip will do her good and help her recover from a break in at her flat where she came face to face with the burglar. 

 

One night she's woken by noises coming from the cabin next door and is convinced she heard a body being dumped into the sea. Everyone tells her this isn't possible as no one is missing and the cabin has been empty, but if that's the case who was the woman who answered it's door to Lo and lent her a mascara?

The story started well and when the characters on the ship were introduced I was immediately trying to work out who could and couldn't be trusted. This has been compared in other reviews to Agatha Christie and I can see why. Unfortunately I began to lose interest towards the last part of the story, it felt rushed, as though the author had run out of ideas and wasn't sure how to finish and tie everything up. Lo was also making some annoying and at times perplexing decisions. You need to suspend belief for most crime thrillers to work but this went too far and I'm also not entirely sure what the very end was supposed to mean. Plenty will enjoy this quick and easy read though.

Thanks to Netgalley for a copy in return for an honest review.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

 

Publication date: 30th June