The Light Between Oceans - M L Steadman

Note, this is my second favorite book I have read this year. A deep and rich narrative following Tom and Izzy, a married couple who live on the desolate isle of Janus, where Tom is the Keeper of the Lighthouse. However the picturesque life on Janus is marred by several things, isolation, back breaking work and Izzy's devastating miscarriages. 

After a heartbreaking still birth, as Izzy buries the body of her baby, she hears another baby cry. Desperately racing to find the child she and Tom discover a baby girl in a wrecked boat, laying beside the body of her dead father, as Tom deals with the wreckage Izzy scoops the baby up into the house and forms a plan that will change the rest of their lives.

Convincing Tom not to report what has happened and to keep the child as their own, they name her Lucy and begin the start of a wonderful life together.

However, as the truth begins to haunt them and their life balances on an edge, Tom is faced with a difficult decision and his choice is heartbreaking to read.

This book is so beautiful, so haunting and by the end it had me in tears. Tom and Izzy are complete opposites and yet you remain torn between the both of them and their actions from start to finish. 

5 out of 5. A stunning and moving read.       

The Widow - Fiona Burton

Another crime, another missing child, this time a thriller being compared to The Girl on The Train. Here's the scoop, The Widow is bloody weird. Literally the character of The Widow, Jean Taylor, i found to be more unsettling than that of her dead husband who was accused of the kidnap and murder of a young child. 

Throughout Jeans narrative we discover she is a woman who was easily manipulated by her creepy and insidious husband and as a persistent reporter pushes into Jeans life, literally, she finds herself again being manipulated, however as more and more of Jeans story is revealed and we discover just how much she knew about what her late husband was up to, we realize that Jean is not the naive pushover she has painted herself to be. 

It is a carefully crafted novel, focused on a harrowing case and told by a protagonist you never quite understand with excepts from the police officers involved and the reporter desperate to cover the story. 

It also explores some serious questions about how the media is handled in these kinds of real life cases, the desperate and devastated mother who becomes the newspapers golden girl, the mistakes made by the parents which the media glosses over and the difficulty in solving a crime and handling a case with the impact of social media. 

4 out of 5 for me, dark, chilling and misleading. 

Turbo Twenty Three - Janet Evanovich.

Evanovich no longer gives a shit if you want more Stephanie Plum, she is pumping them out regardless and because I love all things Plum, I keep on reading. In the midst of hunting down yet another dumbass criminal, Larry Virgil, Stephanie, true to form, happens across yet another dead body, not just any body, a body covered in ice-cream, stuffed in the back of a truck. 

Luckily this murder is linked to love interest number 1 Ranger and his security firm and this means that Stephanie gets to climb aboard the Rangeman team and go undercover, in an ice cream factory. Love interest number 2 is hanging around aswell. 

The problem is that in the world of Plum, there is never any character development, Stephanie is still torn between two men and playing them both, Sidekick Lula is still doin' Lula, sassy and big. Office manager is still Connie. Grandma Mazur is still getting herself into all kinds of hilarious drama in a variety of not age appropriate attire and Stephanie's Mom is still ironing and reaching for the cabinet. Again i'll keep reading Plum, with the dream that maybe one day, Evanovich will actually force Stephanie into making some big choices. Another 3 stars, its an easy fun read but I don't think Evanovich will ever recapture the early brilliance of Plum and surely she is running out of T words at this point right? 

The Couple Next Door - Shari Lapena

I was so excited to crack this book open,  I love crime, I love a thriller, I love to torture myself with books about missing children because it is my worst nightmare. But this book was not what I expected. 

Firstly because I didn't like or sympathize with the protagonists, May, the mother, was weak and pathetic, fumbling around trying to solve the mystery and missing so many important factors and Nico, the father, was selfish and sleazy. 

The story follows Nico and May as they attend a dinner party hosted by the most horrible people in the world, their next door neighbors. They leave baby Cora in bed at home, taking turns to check in on her, when they return home later, their front door is open and Cora has gone. 

This story-line will take you places you never imagined, its a real (sometimes mental) journey. It leaves you however, with one question. Who the hell does the title refer too? May and Nico or the worst neighbors ever next door?

3 stars for me, its a good formula, but not one of my favorite goes at it. 

Little Girl Gone - Alexandra Burt.

So when I googled this book it turns out it has also been published as "Remember Mia" which is slightly confusing however, this book immediately drew me in, because as a parent, there is no torture like a well fleshed out and terrifying tale of a child going missing. It is yet another book that is drawing Gone Girl comparisons, but does it live up to them? 

It follows Estelle, mother to Mia, whose marriage is falling apart and on top of that, she isn't blossoming into motherhood. Estelle wakes up in hospital and slowly she remembers that her daughter Mia is missing, as she journeys into her memory trying to unravel the mystery she remembers several basic details. Mia was missing before Estelle was injured, but instead of phoning the police, Estelle tried to find her alone. With everything else a blur and no trace of Mia anywhere, Estelle is sent to a memory specialist, to try and retrieve the truth, did she hurt Mia? Or did someone else?

Its a good story, one of the better "missing child" ones, but you really have to focus, Estelle's narrative is sloppy and confused and when she discovers the truth there is no feeling of satisfaction. 

Its a 4 out of 5 for me, gripping? yes. Gone Girl? no. 

Raylan - Elmore Leonard

If you haven't yet watched Justified, then you absolutely should. Its one of the best TV shows I have ever seen, a real masterpiece that spawned some truly brilliant characters. If you have then pick up this book (or even if you haven't) and read the story from the man who created Raylan Givens and Boyd Crowder. Elmore Leonard, King of the Western novel and sadly, now deceased. 

This novel, written after show had begun to air, means the resurrection of the infamous Boyd Crowder, whom Leonard had killed off previously.

He has switched it up from the series and from his first Raylan work Fire in the Hole, drawing elements from both into a gritty, well fleshed out and fascinating story with a lot of elements weaving together, Raylan is as sassy as ever, Boyd as eloquent and dangerous and a band of supporting cast who are hilarious and compelling. 

I finished this within a night, maybe because I love the world of Raylan and Boyd, or equally as likely because Leonard is an incredibly strong writer. 

5 stars. If you haven't met Boyd Crowder on page or screen, then you are really missing out. 

Elizabeth is Missing - Emma Healey

I'm going to preface this one by saying that this is the best book I have read this year and it was completely unexpected. It follows Maud, an elderly woman suffering from dementia, who forgets everything, she forgets what to buy at the shop, she forgets who her daughter is but she remembers some things, she remembers that her friend Elizabeth is missing and she remembers that her sister disappeared one day when she was younger.

The story that follows jumps between Maud's two narratives, the first is present day where Maud desperately tries to find her friend Elizabeth and leaves herself a stream of notes reminding her that she is missing. The second follows young Maud, as a teenager, with her parents and sister Sukey and the aftermath of Sukey's disappearance.

Its hard to put this book into a category or even a word, crime? heartbreak? haunting? It covers all the bases. I don't want to give anything away because it is so stunning upon first read. 

A truly beautiful yet sad debut from Emma Healey. Easily five stars. 

After You - Jojo Moyes

Much like Harry Potter, there are some stories that should just end on their original brilliance and Me Before You was, personally, i think, one of them. The image of Lou Clark strolling through Paris, just living was enough for me. I didn't need to know happened next, but Moyes wrote it so i read it, and depressingly i didn't love it anywhere near as much.

When we remeet Lou, she has traveled a bit and finally settled herself in London, distanced from her family, with no friends and a job in an airport bar she hates, she is back to the rut Will tried desperately to pull her from, however, she seems like a very different Lou, shes lost some of her sparkle and her warmth, it felt a little bit like a new character had stepped into an old story. 

When she falls off the balcony of her flat and meets Lily, the daughter Will didn't know he had, Lou is dragged back into the past and forced to visit ghosts she had left behind, like Wills (now divorced) parents. 

Basically everything is different, her own family seem to have completely changed (how old is Thom now?) Nathan pops in (via Email) Lily is a violent whirlwind that i was torn on whether I actually liked for at least half of the book,

I gave it a 2 and a half stars, I finished it quickly because i wanted to know if Lou would ever get her happily ever after, i liked some of the new characters, but i missed the old brilliance that the previous ones had lost, above all i think, it missed Will, a character hole Lily could never fill. 

Me Before You - Jojo Moyes

This is one of those books that everybody is reading, everybody is talking about, everyone knows about. I didn't, at least not until i watched the film (huge no no for me there, usually, i read the book first!) however once i watched and loved the film i decided i absolutely wanted to read the book.
The book follows Lou Clark, your normal, everyday girl, with a fabulous wardrobe, a life that's not moving anywhere fast, a reliable boyfriend and within the first chapter, she has been sacked from her job of six years.
Desperate to find work in order to help her already stretched family, Lou takes on the role of carer/companion to Will Traynor, a young quadriplegic, with a dark sense of humor who does not want cheerful Lou around.

It's lovely, it is, until the end nothing "big" really happens, things are in the making yes, but there aren't any huge events, but there doesn't need to be, because as we follow Lou and Will you just fall more and more in love with the book itself. Lou is like sunshine, warm, funny, charming, grounded, completely relate-able, Will is deep, complex, some points an arsehole, some points incredibly charming, the supporting characters are all as well weaved and developed, in particular Treena, Lous big sister and Nathan, Wills other Carer.
It is heartbreakingly beautiful, sad but happy, a whirlwind of emotions played out on each page as it slowly burns to the end but one of the best "chick" novels without a doubt and easy to see why it was chosen to be adapted for a film.
I gave it 5 stars because i absolutely adored it from start to finish and intend to read more by Moyes in future!

Harry Potter and The Cursed Child - Jack Thorne & JK Rowling

I love Harry Potter, i've read the books a million times, seen the films, brought the t shirts but i was a little on the fence about the idea of the play. I'm of the opinion that sometimes things should just be left alone in their original brilliance, but i bought it and gave it a go anyway.

Its been a while since i've read anything in the form of a script, which took about ten minutes to adjust too however because Harry Potter and his world are so well known and crafted, its easy to imagine the world around the characters without the description that a book would normally have. 

The story itself was interesting, nothing like the original books obviously, but the fact is that its taken a leap this time, instead of following Harry, Ron and Hermione we now follow Albus Potter and his sidekick and best-friend, Scorpious Malfoy, (very predictable).

My main and only gripe would probably be this, the Ron, Harry and Hermione (and even Draco) that we knew and loved have completely changed, Harry is angry and dark, he lacks compassion. Hermione has lost her spark and Ron has been dumbed down to his film counterpart, completely worthless. It is disappointing to read well loved and fleshed out characters so far removed from their original brilliance. 

That is my only criticism however, it is obvious it would never match the books and to be honest, i think its probably much better on stage, its difficult to gage a script, however it was nice to get another taste of the world of Potter, even if it wasn't necessarily needed. 

4 out of 5 stars for me, i didn't love it the same way i loved JK Rowling's original stories and i would much rather see a prequel. but its an interesting read and i didn't want to stop. 

While My Eyes Were Closed - Linda Green

So I picked this up purely because i was mid house move and every other book i owned was packed away and it was actually a pleasant surprise. There seems to be a lot books around at the minute about parents losing a child either through kidnap/murder, this is one of them, but its good.

Lisa Dale is overworked, she has two children, a husband, her dad and brother have reputations, one day when she has five minutes in the park with daughter Ella, she shuts her eyes while they play hide and seek and when she opens them Ella has done more than just hide, she has vanished. 

The book follows Lisa as she assumes the worst, as the case into her daughters disappearance leads to fingers being pointed at everybody she knows and as she slowly loses hope that Ella will ever be found. 

The narrative also follows Ella's kidnapper, who believes Lisa to be an incompetent, useless mother who doesn't deserve Ella and she intends to keep Ella as long as it takes to expose Ella for the fraud she really is. 

There's a lot of layers, a lot of twists and red herrings and Ella's kidnapper has a deeply complex personality. The book itself is a page-turner, it hooks you in, you want to know whether Ella will ever make it home.

4 stars, sharp, brilliant, well written with an excellent finishing twist. 

The Storyteller - Jodi Picoult

Yet another Jodi Picoult, though probably the last for a while. This one was easily my favorite and her best by far but only for the middle. The Storyteller follows Sage, a twenty five year old whose with facial scars from a car accident that killed her mother, she works as a baker by night, has few friends and is in a relationship with a married man that her best friend is deeply against. 

Sage identifies as an atheist, though comes from a Jewish background and her grandmother, Minka is a holocaust survivor, 

Sage meets Josef Weber, first through her grief group and then later, at the bakery she works at and once they establish a friendship Josef divulges a dark secret and asks Sage to do something massive for him. 

If you don't want to know Josefs secret, stop here and skip ahead to the rating if you don't mind, carry on. Josef as it turns out, is a former Nazi who has been hiding in plain sight since the war ended and he wants Sage to forgive him and then kill him. 

This part of the story is mildly intriguing and to be honest, Josef is relatively likable until its revealed that he is a former Nazi however when Picoult switches narrative and we hear the tale of Minka, Sages grandmother, this was a part of the novel i literally couldn't put down, reading until the middle of the night, wanting to hear what happened to her. Its awful, heartbreaking and even though Minka and her story is fiction the fact is that the holocaust happened, the horrors happened and so it is a harrowing read, but one that Picoult has weaved expertly, Minkas voice is beautiful, at times she soars, sometimes she falls, but she is always brave. She is without a doubt the standout of this entire novel and easily, the best character that Picoult has ever created.

I lost myself so entirely in the middle of the novel, in Minka, that when it reverted back to Sage i had actually forgotten she was apart of the story, but I did like the way the story ended eventually, not the sappy romance that was thrown in but the real grit of Sage, Minka, Leo and Josef and the moral questions of the past and the future. 

5 stars for me, purely based on Minkas excerpts. Which could have been a novel itself.

Cop Town - Karin Slaughter

Another Karin Slaughter offering, Cop Town is a total turnaround from her usual writing, even more so than Pretty Girls, set in 1974, it follows Kate Murphy, a new officer on the beat after the death of her husband and Maggie Lawson, whose blood runs blue, an officer for five years following her brother and uncle into the force. 1974 is not an easy time for women in racially charged Atlanta, expected to either be office workers or homemakers the presence of woman on the force is unwelcome to the males who run the show. Maggie and Kate face a constant stream of sexism, are given cases not considered worthy of anybody else’s time and Maggie has to face her uncle, a much higher presence on the force who controls Maggie with his temper and his fists.

A shooter is stalking Atlanta taking out male officers on the force and when Maggie’s brother Jimmy is drawn into the crossfire, Maggie and Kate team up with Gail, a brassy undercover prostitute, to get to the truth, despite the constant obstacles they face. Meanwhile “Fox”, a racist, violent unknown is stalking Kate, desperate to have and then kill her.

I preferred Cop Town to Pretty Girls, as far as Karin’s journey outside of Linton and Trent goes, this novel was absolutely excellent, the time shift was fascinating and whilst the attitudes of the males in the novel were frustrating they were insightful and the strength of Maggie and Kate as characters slightly levelled the playing field, though only very slightly and Maggie’s uncle Terry needed a kick in the balls from start to end.

As always, 5 stars for Slaughter! 

Pretty Girls - Karin Slaughter

I seriously need to step out of my crime comfort zone but I can’t resist anything written by Karin Slaughter, Pretty Girls is her latest novel and the first where she steps out of her usual style of following the investigators and instead follows the victims. The story is a dark as her other offerings, “snuff porn” and strong violence are prominent throughout, Slaughter likes to tackle gritty crimes and this is absolutely no exception. She also likes to tackle strong women and whilst I’m sad to not have Sara Linton around, characters Claire and Lydia, sisters, are both flawed and tough.  

The story follows Claire, after her husband Paul is murdered in front of her Claire starts to discover that she may not have known him at all and after reuniting with sister Lydia, a former addict who was never supportive of Paul, they become to unravel a web of lies that lead them directly into danger.

Karin’s main change here, apart from following her victims, is that the law enforcement leave a lot to be desired, creepy, rude and completely untrustworthy there’s not a single person that either woman can turn to.

This book is no exception to Karin’s others, it is fantastic and absolutely unputdownable, though it’s not quite as brilliant as her Linton/Trent series, its exactly what you expect from Slaughter, who is always worth 5 stars. 

Thursdays Child - Nicci French

Husband and wife writing team Nicci French have gone back to their Frieda Klein series and produced "Thursdays Child" where therapist Freida Klein is one again wandering around leaving a trail of destruction trying to solve a crime the police aren't very bothered by. 

In my review of their previous novel i wished for a little growth for the character of Freida, i was fed up of her despondent moods and inability to think before she acts. In this there is a little change, Freida seems much stronger and thinks things through a little more before diving in, however, none of this would be possible without her band of supporting characters who are much smarter than the good doctor Klein and much of the time, more likable (Sasha, Reuben, Chloe and of course, Josef). 

Freida is one of those characters that i enjoy following but i'm not sure if i like her, shes very complex but incredibly closed off and I've never met an actual person who would approach things the way she is written to.

Thursdays Child is a big improvement on Waiting for Wednesday, It has the classic grit that I've come to expect from Nicci French but this time, a slight shift in Frieda's character meant you didn't fear for her safety, but instead focused on her intently solving the crime.Yes the ever present and at this point, never ever ever seen Dean Reeves is lurking and his actions do directly affect the plot of Freida's life once again, in a huge way, but he doesn't take over the novel. This novel however did make me quite strongly dislike Freida's on/off love interest Sandy, he lost any redeeming features he had! 

Friday on my Mind, book 5# in the series, is out now so hopefully i'll get to that soon!

I'd give this one a 4 star, its a solid Nicci French novel, but its important to read the first three in the series before you pick this one up!

The Ice Twins - S.K. Tremayne

The Ice Twins by S.K. Tremayne is one of those books that is everywhere at the moment, everybody is reading it and talking about it. Angus and Sarah Moorland are a picture perfect family, good careers, nice London house and two perfect girls, twins. When one night a tragic accident takes one of their girls away, Lydia, leaving Angus and Sarah behind to try and rebuild their lives with Kirstie, their remaining daughter. They move to a remote Scottish Ireland and try to begin again when Kirstie reveals an explosive secret, that she is not Kirstie at all, but is actually Lydia. The couple know they lost one of their twins, but can they be sure which one?

This book is genuinely creepy, with a real Susan Hill vibe, the remote location and the dangerous flatlands and the constant eerie presence of death are a real throw to The Woman in Black. Whilst I didn’t love the characters of Sarah and Angus, both of whom were complete messes and barely able to function, I did love that Kirstie/Lydia’s character was truly macabre, every line of dialogue for her was unsettling. The ending felt slightly rushed, but that is the only criticism I can make and it was still satisfying.

4/5, I definitely recommend this read!