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.