Monday, 10 February 2014
Friday, 7 February 2014
Book Beginnings On Fridays (The Killer Next Door)
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 Killer Next Door by Alex Marwood and it's out now as an eBook and will be published in paperback in June. I've only just started this and have been looking forward to reading it as I loved her first novel The Wicked Girls
He checks his watch and downs the last of his coffee. "Okay. Miss Cheryl should be done with her fag break. Let's take you down to her."
She follows him down to the interview rooms and he surreptitiously checks his reflection in the wired glass of a door as he passes it. DI Cheyne's a bit older than he usually goes for, but she's a good-looking woman. Slightly hard faced, but a life in the MET doesn't make for a lot of childlike innocence. Women who understand your unorthodox working hours are few and far between; attractive ones even fewer.
Book Description:
No. 23 has a secret. In
this gloomy, bedsit-riddled South London wreck, lorded over by a
lecherous landlord, a horrifying collection quietly waits to be
discovered. Yet all six residents have something to hide.
Collette
is on the run from her ex-boss; Cher is an underage children's home
escapee; lonely Thomas tries to make friends with his neighbours; while a
gorgeous Iranian asylum seeker and a 'quiet man' nobody sees try to
keep themselves hidden. And there for them all is Vesta, a woman who
knows everything that goes on in the house - or thought she did.
Then
in the dead of night, a terrible accident pushes the six into an uneasy
alliance. But one of them is a killer, expertly hiding their pastime,
all the while closing in on their next victim...
Thursday, 6 February 2014
The Shock Of The Fall by Nathan Filer
Matthew Homes is a nineteen year old with schizophrenia and The Shock Of The Fall is narrated by him; his Nanny Noo gives him a typewriter so he decides to tell his story. His mental health issues started after the death of his brother Simon and have gradually got worse. Simon died when he was twelve and Matthew only nine, and ever since he has blamed himself.
The book moves back and forth and covers lots of time periods from before the tragic event to the present day, but is never confusing. It perfectly gets across Matthew's state of mind and we also get an insight into how all of the family coped with their grief; I loved all of the characters.
There were moments when I had tears in my eyes but I never found it depressing. Also considering the subject matter it is quite an easy read; I picked it up just to make a start and was almost half way through before I put it down again. This would be an impressive novel for any author and is even more so considering it is Nathan Filer's debut. So often I'm told or hear good things about a book only to be disappointed, that certainly wasn't the case with this one.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Book Description:
I’ll tell you what
happened because it will be a good way to introduce my brother. His
name’s Simon. I think you’re going to like him. I really do. But in a
couple of pages he’ll be dead. And he was never the same after that.’
There are books you can’t stop reading, which keep you up all night.
There are books which let us into the hidden parts of life and make them vividly real.
There are books which, because of the sheer skill with which every word is chosen, linger in your mind for days.
The Shock of the Fall is all of these books.
The
Shock of the Fall is an extraordinary portrait of one man’s descent
into mental illness. It is a brave and groundbreaking novel from one of
the most exciting new voices in fiction.
Wednesday, 5 February 2014
Waiting On Wednesday (Carnival Of Shadows)
Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases we can't wait to be published.
This week mine is Carnival Of Shadows by R.J. Ellory.
Book Description:
Kansas, 1959. A travelling carnival appears overnight in the small town of Seneca Falls, intriguing the townsfolk with acts of inexplicable magic and illusion. But when a man's body is discovered beneath the carousel, with no clue as to his identity, FBI Special Agent Michal Travis is sent to investigate.
Led by the elusive Edgar Doyle, the carnival folk range from the enigmatic to the bizarre, but none of them will give Travis a straight answer to his questions. With each new turn of the investigation, Doyle and his companions challenge Travis's once unshakeable faith in solid facts and hard evidence.
As the consequences of what has happened become ever more disturbing, Travis struggles to open his mind to a truth that defies comprehension. Will he be able to convince himself that things are not what they seem? Or will he finally reconcile himself to a new reality - one that threatens to undermine everything in which he has ever placed his trust?
Published: 22nd May 2014 by Orion
Tuesday, 4 February 2014
The Examined Life by Stephen Grosz
Stephen Grosz is a psychoanalyst and this book looks at some of the cases he has dealt with over the years. I'm not a big fan of non fiction but had heard lots of good things about The Examined Life so borrowed a copy from the library. To start with I found it quite interesting and was pleased that he didn't use complex psychological speak to get his point across. As the book progressed though the short chapters started to annoy me, maybe he can't reveal everything about each case because of confidentially (he does use false names) but I found the lack of detail and information annoying. I wanted to know more about these people and what happened to them.
It's ok and probably worth reading if this kind of thing interests you but it wasn't as in depth or eye opening as I was hoping it to be, after all the 5 star/best book I've ever read reviews I was expecting a lot more.
Rating: 2 out of 5
Monday, 3 February 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.
This week I read:
The Martian by Andy Weir
Someone Else's Skin by Sarah Hilary
I'm currently reading:
The Examined Life by Stephen Grosz
I don't normally read non fiction but have heard a lot about this so though I'd give it a go.
Not sure what I'll read next but it will be one of my own, got quite a lot going on and to think about at the moment so want to avoid having to decide what to say in a review about an ARC. Just try and relax and enjoy a book with no pressure of what I think or need to say about it if that makes sense.
Saturday, 1 February 2014
Someone Else's Skin by Sarah Hilary
Detective Inspector Marnie Rome and Detective Sergeant Noah Jake are investigating a crime and visiting a women's refuge to interview one of the residents. What they discover when they arrive is a man lying seriously injured on the floor, he's been stabbed and is the husband of one of the women. Suddenly Marnie and Noah are in charge of a complex investigation and one that soon spirals out of control.
As well as a couple of storylines concerning the refuge there is also one from Marnie's past when she suffered a devastating loss to a violent act. Despite it being very well written, I found all the different parts of the story made it a little difficult for me to get into the book properly to begin with and I wasn't sure where it was all going. Around half way through though the story accelerated and became much more interesting for me. The book has plenty of short chapters to keep you reading as well as twists and turns. I thought I was being very clever having worked one of them out only to be surprised again.
This is the authors first novel and it is an impressive debut. Despite my early reservations I did like the characters of Marnie and Noah and I'm hoping that this will be the start of a series, I would like to discover more about the pair of them.
I received a copy of this from Netgalley in return for an honest review.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Publication date: 27th February 2014 by Headline
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