November 2024 Reads

A bit below my monthly average, but I thoroughly enjoyed the books I read during November. For some reason it completely escaped my attention that I read both the first and the latest book in the Lady Eleanor Swift series by Verity Bright. It's hard to believe we're getting close to Christmas and the end of the year. Before I do a reading round-up for the year, I've got a few more books to read first. If I posted longer or related reviews, the links can be found below.

A VERY ENGLISH MURDER (Lady Eleanor Swift #1) by Verity Bright (4*)

A fun, somewhat over the top but overall, very amusing and easy to read vanishing-corpse mystery. I’m looking forward to spending more time in early 20^th century England solving mysteries with Lady Eleanor, her butler Clifford, and her English bulldog Gladstone.

 

AGATHA CHRISTIE: A MYSTERIOUS LIFE by Laura Thompson NF (4.5*)

This was more than ‘just’ a description of Christie’s life. This biography also deep dives into her books, her writing, her storytelling powers, as well as the puzzles she created and solved. The author takes links and hints about Agatha’s life from her (mostly Mary Westmacott’s) fiction. All of it sounds plausible but none of it can be taken as fact since they are conclusions drawn by Laura Thompson and not biographical details provided by Christie herself. It is noteworthy that the author uses the word ‘elusive’ with regard to Agatha Christie given that Lucy Worsley titled her biography Agatha Christie: an Elusive Woman. This has been a most enjoyable bedtime read. Sure, at about eight pages per evening it took a looooong time read, but I wasn’t in a hurry. I’m going to miss my nighttime encounters with Agatha Christie.

 

LIAR’S ISLAND (CSI Ally Dymond #3) by T. Orr Munro (3.5*)

Two CSI investigators find themselves stranded on a small island with a tiny group of inhabitants, one of whom may well be a murderer. I enjoyed Liar’s Island and I’d call it a well-plotted and easy-to-read mystery that for me personally could have done with a little more tension and a little less personal backstory. My full review can be found here:  https://helenasheat.blogspot.com/2024/11/liars-island-by-t-orr-munro.html

 

A MIDWINTER MURDER (Lady Eleanor Swift #20) by Verity Bright (4+*)

A delightful new instalment in the Lady Eleanor Swift series. The setting combined with the reclusive Earl who lives there create a wonderful contrast with the charming Christmas atmosphere Eleanor’s staff create in the gamekeeper’s cottage. Just as the mystery is wonderfully balances with the developing romance between Ellie and her Chief Inspector fiancé. My full review can be found here: https://helenasheat.blogspot.com/2024/11/a-midwinter-murder-by-verity-bright.html

 

OUT OF SIGHT (Second Sight #3) by K.C. Wells 4*

Detective Gary Mitchell and psychic Dan Porter tackle their third baffling case while their relationship continues to flourish. What should have been a cold-case investigation almost immediately turns active and takes them far out of their comfort zones in more ways than one. In the background runs the continuing unsolved mystery of Gary’s brother’s murder. Because this story arc stretches over all the books in this series, they should be read in order.

 

EVERYONE IN MY FAMILY HAS KILLED SOMEONE (Ernest Cunningham #1) by Benjamin Stevenson 4.5*

Gripping, well-plotted, and at times funny mystery in which the first-person narrator strictly follows the Ten Commandments of Detective Fiction as established during the Golden Age of Crime Writing. More than once I feared the story was trying to be too clever only for the ending of the story to prove that the plot was indeed that clever. I’m sorry now that I already read Everyone on This Train is a Suspect and Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret earlier this year. Not because they spoiled this book for me but because I’d love to be able to look forward to reading them.

October Reads

October was a solid reading month. I didn't have any star reads and my lowest score was 3 stars. See below for my thoughts on the books I read. The first two come with links to longer reviews on this blog because I was lucky enough to get ARCs through Netgalley.

What was your October like? Did you read any books you'd like to recommend? Please share in the comment section because I'm always on the lookout for new gems.

MISS BEETON’S MURDER AGENCY (Miss Beeton #1) by Josie Lloyd (4-*)

A fast-paced, thrilling mystery, and captivating crime-caper with a few too many wtf moments for me to rate if five stars. If you like your cosy mystery with a large dose of mayhem, a host of larger-than-life characters, a cute little doggo, as well as plenty of action, and you don’t mind suspending disbelief once or twice, you’re going to love Miss Beeton’s Murder Agency.

Longer review: https://helenasheat.blogspot.com/2024/10/miss-beetons-murder-agency-by-josie.html

 

EVERONE THIS CHRISTMAS HAS A SECRET (Ernest Cunningham #3) by Benjamin Stevenson (4.5*)

I found this book all but impossible to put down. Ernest’s chatty narration pulled me along and had my swiping through the pages as fast as I could. The cast of characters was fascinating and the possible motifs for murder kept me guessing until Ernest reveals all in the rather spectacular denouement. Did I pick up on all the clues? No! Did I figure out whodunit? Also, no! But did I thoroughly enjoy myself while reading this book? Absolutely!

If you’re looking for a captivating, well-plotted and faultlessly executed mystery this Christmas, you are probably looking for Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret.

Longer review: https://helenasheat.blogspot.com/2024/10/everyone-this-christmas-has-secret-by.html

 

ONE OF US IS DEAD (Roy Grace #21) by Peter James (3*)

Rufus Rorke was supposed to have died two years ago but is recognised, alive and well by a man he used to be friends with. At the same time the police, led by Detective Superintendent Roy Grace are investigating a number of suspicious deaths. It isn’t long before the police's attention is focussed on Rufus. But how do you catch a man who has successfully lived undercover for years?

This is a well-written story with a fascinating plot. I was disappointed that it wasn’t a real mystery or thriller, though. This is not a whodunnit but a ‘how-do-we-catch-him’ sorta story and I kept on waiting for a twist in the tale that never happened.

 

MY BROTHER’S HUSBAND (My Brother’s Husband #1) by Gengoroh Tagame (4*)

I’m copying the original blurb here since I can’t put it better myself:

Yaichi is a work-at-home suburban dad in contemporary Tokyo; formerly married to Natsuki, father to their young daughter, Kana. Their lives suddenly change with the arrival at their doorstep of a hulking, affable Canadian named Mike Flanagan, who declares himself the widower of Yaichi's estranged gay twin, Ryoji. Mike is on a quest to explore Ryoji's past, and the family reluctantly but dutifully takes him in. What follows is an unprecedented and heartbreaking look at the state of a largely still-closeted Japanese gay culture: how it's been affected by the West, and how the next generation can change the preconceptions about it and prejudices against it.

I’m not sure how much I like reading Mangas but even turning the pages from back to front didn’t diminish how much I enjoyed this touching story.

 

AUTUMN CHILLS by Agatha Christie (4.5*)

A collection of 12 short stories featuring Hercule Poirot (4 stories), Miss Marple (2 stories), Harley Quin (2 stories), Parker Pyne (1 story), Tommy & Tuppence (1 story). Two of the stories were stand-alone and one of them (While the Light Lasts) wasn’t actually a mystery. While I enjoyed some stories more than others, all of them were a delight to read.

 

YOU ARE HERE by David Nicholls (4+)

Michael and Marnie have both retreated from the world after their marriages failed. Now they both find themselves on a coast to coast walk and with every passing kilometre they find themselves coming out of their self-imposed shells and getting closer to each other. A well-written and intriguing read about second chances taking them.

 

DEATH OF A BOOKSELLER by Alice Slater (3.5*)

A story about obsession that makes for an obsessive read despite the fact that I’m not sure how much I actually liked the main characters or the story itself. The book makes the reader wonder about the popularity of true crime books, podcasts, and television shows. How healthy is that fascination and how does that public interest affect those who have to live with the consequences of murder? The book’s ending was a bit too ambiguous for my liking too. Just as the title is a little misleading.

The Cracked Mirror by Chris Brookmyre

 

400 pages

Publisher: Little Brown Group UK

Publishing date: July 18, 2024

 

Blurb

            FORGET WHAT YOU THINK YOU KNOW

THIS IS NOT THAT CRIME NOVEL

You know Penny Coyne. The little old lady who has solved multiple murders in her otherwise sleepy village, despite bumbling local police. A razor-sharp mind in a twinset and tweed.

You know Johnny Hawke. Hard-bitten LAPD homicide detective. Always in trouble with his captain, always losing partners, but always battling for the truth, whatever it takes.

Against all the odds, against the usual story, their worlds are about to collide. It starts with a dead writer and a mysterious wedding invitation. It will end with a rabbit hole that goes so deep, Johnny and Penny might come to question not just whodunnit, but whether they want to know the answer.

A cross-genre hybrid of Agatha Christie and Michael Connelly, The Cracked Mirror is the most imaginative and entertaining crime novel of the year, a genre-splicing rollercoaster with a poignantly emotional heart.

 

Review

Unique, original, and unlike anything I’ve read before are statements that get overused in reviews. However, for me they truly apply to The Cracked Mirror. There are plenty of twists and turns in this book but 85% into the story I gasped because I didn’t see that particular twist coming.

But, let’s start at the beginning.

It would be both right and wrong to say that The Mirror Cracked has two main characters because this book starts off with two different stories with different titles, different ways of numbering them, and written in different tenses. Penny Coyne is the main character in one story. She’s a lady in her 80s who lives in a picturesque Scottish village where she has solved numerous crimes. Johnny Hawke, the main character in the second story, is an LAPD police officer with a reputation for getting his partners killed. These two characters have nothing in common and should never have met except that they both end up at the same wedding.

There’s a third story headed Private Investigations followed by a place name. The PI in question is Dan Rattigan. These sections are short, and it doesn’t become clear how Dan is connected to Penny and Johnny’s stories until the end of the book.

That’s all I’m going to say about the story in this book. I hate spoilers in general, but it would be a crime (pun intended) to give anything away here.

Apart from apparently investigating the same mystery, Penny and Johnny don’t appear to have anything in common. It was only when I neared the end of the story that I realised there were other similarities between them. Once Johnny and Penny start cooperating the story is neither particularly cosy nor overly hard-boiled. Johnny adjusts to Penny’s sensibilities while Penny learns to accept that her cosy way of solving mysteries doesn’t always work.

“Penny felt unmoored. In her world, the police did not lie like this.”

This book takes you on a wild rollercoaster ride. Nothing is what it appears to be, and twists and turns keep the reader on their toes. Looking back now, a few days after finishing the book, I want to say that this story shouldn’t have worked but it somehow pulls off what are multiple shocking surprises without this reader rolling her eyes. Also in retrospect, I realised the author played fair with the reader. There were clues as to what was actually happening laced throughout the story. I just didn’t recognise them for what they were until the story spelled it out for me. And just when I thought I had all the answers the story ended and I realised that maybe, just maybe I didn’t. And that that is exactly as it should be.

I’m not sure if this book is ‘the most imaginative and entertaining crime novel of the year, but it is most certainly in the running for that honour. For me, it is a title to add to my very short list of extra-special books because, as I said at the start of my review, this book deserves to be called unique, original, and unlike anything I’ve read before.

The Examiner by Janice Hallett

416 pages

Publisher: Viper

Release Date: August 29, 2024

 

Blurb

 Six Students. One Murder. Your Time Starts Now...

The students of Royal Hastings University's new Multimedia Art course have been trouble from day one. Acclaimed artist Alyson wants the department to revolve around her. Ludya struggles to balance her family and the workload. Jonathan has management experience but zero talent for art. Lovely Patrick can barely operate his mobile phone, let alone professional design software. Meanwhile blustering Cameron tries to juggle the course with his job in the City and does neither very well. Then there's Jem. A gifted young sculptor, she's a promising student... but cross her at your peril.

The year-long course is blighted by accusations of theft, students setting fire to one another's artwork, a rumoured extra-marital affair and a disastrous road trip. But finally they are given their last assignment: to build an interactive art installation for a local manufacturer. With six students who have nothing in common except their clashing personal agendas, what could possibly go wrong?

The answer is: murder. When the external examiner arrives to assess the students' essays and coursework, he becomes convinced that a student was killed on the course and that the others covered it up. But is he right? And if so, who is dead, why were they killed, and who is the murderer? Only a close examination of the evidence will reveal the truth. Your time starts now...

Review

WOW!!!

Where do I start?

This is the fifth book by Janice Hallett I’ve read, so I had a pretty good idea what to expect but WOW, the author managed to exceed my very high expectations with this well-plotted and intriguing story. It made for compulsive reading from the start with the tension initially building gradually until, by the time I reached the last quarter, the story suddenly exploded and rushed forward with shocking revelation after shocking revelation. And just when I thought I had all the answers, Hallett had another trick up her sleeve; one that will have me thinking and wondering about this book for some time to come.

Like Hallett’s previous books, the story is told in email messages, texts, and essays as the narrative follows a diverse group of students in an art master’s programme where nothing and nobody is as it appears to be at first glance. Also as in her previous books, we have a small cast of main characters. There is Gela who needs students for her new master’s programme before her funding is cut. She ends up with a hand-picked group of six students who couldn’t be more diverse. From the very first day the students are nothing but trouble, but it isn’t until Ben Sketcher, the external examiner who has access to all the communications between the university and the participants, starts asking questions that it becomes clear exactly how worrying the situation is. Ben is convinced one of the course participants is in serious danger or possibly, already dead. From the start there are growing tensions between the course participants. Messages between the participants individually or between Gela and one or another of the students imply that there’s stuff going on behind the scenes the others, and therefore the reader, aren’t aware of.

Although I took pages worth of notes while reading this story, I don’t want to say anything else about what happens for fear of spoiling it for other readers. Suffice to say that nobody in this story is who they appear to be. Much to my delight I was able to answer one or two questions before the author spelled the answer out, but I have no idea if that was Hallett’s intention or if I’m getting better at solving some of the mysteries in her story. What’s more, finding those answers only threw up new questions because the full mystery wasn’t unravelled until the very end. As it should be.

The writing in this book is excellent. All the main characters have their own, distinctive voices and I was impressed with how the art the candidates create comes to life on the page and becomes visible to the reader. This story hooked me from the start and never released its grip. Just when things appeared to become a little clearer everything turned more obscure. The format means the reader doesn’t get all the information, only that which the characters want you to know, and that meant I was kept guessing for the longest time. Every time I thought I had a grip on what was really going on, something happened to make me rethink everything I thought I knew.

In my review of The Appeal I wrote: ‘After having read all three of Janice Hallett’s currently available titles I have to conclude that she is something of a genius when it comes to slow reveals and misdirection while still giving the reader all the information they need to keep up with the investigators.’ The Examiner has only strengthened that opinion. I’m in awe at how Janice Hallett managed to tie everything in this story together and answer (almost) every question the reader might have. One question remains unanswered, though but that perfectly fits the complexity of the story as far as I’m concerned. It also ensures that this is a book I will be thinking about long after I finished reading it.

Related reviews:

The appeal: https://helenasheat.blogspot.com/2023/09/the-appeal-by-janice-hallett.html

The Twyford Code: https://helenasheat.blogspot.com/2023/07/the-twyford-code-by-janice-hallett.html

The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels: https://helenasheat.blogspot.com/2023/06/the-mysterious-case-of-alperton-angels.html

The Christmas Appeal: https://helenasheat.blogspot.com/2023/10/the-christmas-appeal-by-janice-hallett.html 

The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley

 432 pages

Publisher: HarperCollins

Release Date: June 6, 2024

 

Blurb

It’s the opening night of The Manor, and no expense, small or large, has been spared. The infinity pool sparkles; crystal pouches for guests’ healing have been placed in the Seaside Cottages and Woodland Hutches; the “Manor Mule” cocktail (grapefruit, ginger, vodka, and a dash of CBD oil) is being poured with a heavy hand. Everyone is wearing linen.

And yet, just outside the Manor’s immaculately kept grounds, an ancient forest bristles with secrets. The local community resents what they see as the Manor’s intrusion into the local woods and attempts to privatize the beach, and small skirmishes have erupted on the edges of the property between locals and the staff. And the whispers keep coming, about an old piece of pagan folklore—it must be folklore??—the Night Birds, an avenging force that can be called upon to make right wrongs that elude the law. Though surely everything at the Manor has been done above board.

On the Sunday morning of opening weekend, the local police are called. There’s been a fire. A body’s been discovered. Something’s not right with the guests. What happened on the grounds of the Manor the past 36 hours? And who—or what—is the cause?

THE FOUNDER

THE HUSBAND

THE MYSTERY GUEST

THE KITCHEN HELP

Everyone has an agenda. Everyone has a past. But not everyone will survive…The Midnight Feast.

 

Review

I guess it is safe to say that I’m a fan of Lucy Foley’s mystery-thrillers. I thoroughly enjoyed The Hunting Party, The Guest List, and The Paris Apartment. So when I had the opportunity to request a review copy of The Midnight Feast from Netgalley it only took me half a second to click that button. I did not regret that decision.

Just like those three previous titles, The Midnight Feast is a multi-layered and well-plotted mystery in which nobody and nothing is exactly who or what they appear to be.

The story is told through four narrators: the founder of the newly opened luxury resort and organiser of the midnight feast, her husband, a mystery guest, and the kitchen help. These four characters have very distinctive voices as they share their personal perspective on The Manor, past and present.

I rated the book 4.5 rather than 5 stars because too much of the story felt a little over the top to me. From Francesca’s esoteric musings to the total destruction of the Manor I would have preferred a more nuanced approach. On the other hand, I loved the author’s use of folklore and local myths and practices. These gave the story a somewhat magical feeling which only added to the thrill of reading a fast-paced and well-executed mystery. And there’s no denying that the story pulled me in from the start and didn’t release me until I reached the end. An end that kept on surprising me. Just when I thought that surely all the questions had been answered and all the mysteries solved, Lucy Foley managed to surprise me again and again.

Long review short: With The Midnight Feast, Lucy Foley has created yet another breathtaking mystery that only reveals the truth slowly and with a few misdirections along the way.  The past and the present mirror each other as events that remained unresolved 15 years earlier finally come to a head. The use of local myth and folklore only adds to the mystery and the thrillerish vibe. This is a must read for everybody who enjoys a good and fascinating mystery. 

Harlem After Midnight by Louise Hare

#2 Canary Club Mysteries

Publisher: HQ

Pages: 416

Release Date: September 14, 2023

Netgalley

 

Blurb

1936, September 17th, 1am…

In the middle of Harlem, in the dead of night, a woman falls from a second storey window. In her hand, she holds a passport and the name written on it is Lena Aldridge…

Nine days earlier…

Lena arrived in Harlem less than two weeks ago, full of hope for her burgeoning romance with Will Goodman, the handsome musician she met on board the Queen Mary. Will has arranged for Lena to stay with friends of his, and this will give her the chance to find out if their relationship is going anywhere. But there is another reason she's in Harlem – to find out what happened in 1908 to make her father flee to London.

As Lena's investigations progress, not only does she realise her father lied to her, but the man she’s falling too fast and too hard for has secrets of his own. And those secrets have put Lena in terrible danger…

 

Review

This book starts almost at the point where Miss Aldridge Regrets ended. For that reason alone, I recommend that you read these books in order. I’m not saying you can’t read this story as a stand-alone, but you’ll get a lot more out of it if you’re familiar with what has happened before. What’s more, events come full circle in Harlem After Midnight.

And while I’m on the subject of how this book starts; I hope you’re ready for a shocker. The first scene of the book features a young woman on a Harlem pavement. She appears to have fallen out of a window and is clutching Lena Aldridge’s passport. What on earth is going on?

Actually, it will take some (reading) time before you discover what happened in that prologue. The timeline of the story moves back nine days, and we join Lena after she has moved in with friends of her lover, Will. Over the next few days, we follow Lena as she tries to find out about her father’s life in New York before he travelled to London. At the same time, she tries to figure out what her future should look like. Does she return to London and her friend Maggie, as she originally planned, or could there be a future for her in America after all…a future with Will?

Slowly, through meeting his family and from stories told by his friends, Lena gets to know Will better and it isn’t long before she realises that Will has a few secrets in his past. Not that she can complain about that. It is not as if she has told him all her secrets either. But, over the nine days, the atmosphere around her goes from friendly and welcoming to fraught and a little hostile, although Lena has no idea why.

Things come to a head on the night of a party with a woman falling from the window of Will’s friends’ apartment and Will being the main suspect.

Since I try to avoid spoilers at all costs, that’s all I’ll say about the mystery. As for the story, it is just as fascinating as the prequel. Except that in this case there is more than one mystery from the start. While most of the story is told from Lena’s perspective and focusses on her stay in New York, other sections are set in 1908 and voiced by her father and one other character who will remain unidentified in this review.

I’m obviously not going to reveal how any of the mysteries in this story are resolved, but I do have thoughts I want to share about those resolutions. For starters, I found the resolution to the mystery of the fallen woman as dubious as the one in Miss Aldridge Regrets. The answer is provided and makes sense but whether or not you’d call it satisfactory depends on your personal opinion. As the word dubious implies, I remain to be convinced. Furthermore, while the reader finds out exactly why Lena’s father left New York for London, it is a little unclear whether or not Lena herself was aware of his ultimate goal. Then again, for her sake, I’m inclined to hope that she didn’t figure it all out.

Having said all of the above, the story did fascinate me. The setting, the characters, and the interactions between them grabbed my attention. The book is very well written, and my reading experience was smooth and enjoyable. While this book may not completely satisfy the mystery purists, I highly recommend it to readers who enjoy a combination of captivating characters, a rich historical setting, and enough intrigue to keep them on their toes.

I wonder if there will be more Lena Aldridge mysteries. While this book could easily be the end of her story, I wouldn’t be sorry if Louise Hare decides to feature her in future books. Reservations or not, Miss Aldridge has gotten under my skin.

 

 

 

 

The Couple at the Table by Sophie Hannah

 

358 pages

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

#11 Culver Valley Crime

Library

 

Blurb

You're on your honeymoon at an exclusive couples-only resort.

You receive a note, warning you to 'Beware of the couple at the table nearest to yours'. At dinner that night, five other couples are sitting close by, but none of their tables is any nearer or further away than any of the others. It's almost as if someone has set the scene in order to make the warning note meaningless. Why would anyone do that?

You have no idea.

You also don't know that you're about to be murdered, or that once you're dead, all the evidence will suggest that no one there that night could possibly have committed the crime.

So who might be trying to warn you? And who might be about to kill you, and seems certain to get away with it?

Review

 

Six couples.

One honeymoon resort.

An impossible murder.

Trust me to start reading a series of mysteries with title #11. I usually go out of my way to avoid starting anywhere other than at the start, but in this case, it didn’t even occur to me to check before bringing the book home and diving into it. After reading and loving Sophie Hannah’s Hercule Poirot novels, I just didn’t think twice when I saw her name on the cover of this fascinating-sounding book.

Is there such a thing as a slow-burn mystery? Slow-burn is a huge trope in romance, but is the term used for the mystery genre too? Because if it is, I think it applies to this book. Although the murder has happened six months previously, I didn’t get any sense of an (ongoing) investigation until about halfway through the book.

The story in this book alternates between July 2019 and January 2020. In July Jane Brinkwood was murdered in an exclusive resort in what appears to be an impossible murder. Six months later, Lucy, one of the other guests at the resort and the ex-wife of Jane’s new husband, contacts the investigating police officer, Simon Waterhouse in the hope of breathing new life into the case, which appears to have stalled.

Simon Waterhouse, much to the disgust of his superior, hasn’t given up on the case at all, mainly because he and his wife and colleague Charlie, were also guests at the resort at the time. However, Lucy’s action sets in motion a chain of events that will, eventually lead to the solution.

The first part of the book centres mostly on Lucy and Simon and it isn’t until later that we get introduced to the other guests at the resort. In fact, for the first part of the story, it isn’t clear that most of those guests had reasons to at least dislike Jane. For me, the story didn’t really start to flow until all those other voices came into play too. But as soon as it started flowing, the story washed over me like a tsunami; I was hooked and had to finish the book in one long sitting.

And I liked the ending. The solution to the seemingly impossible crime was plausible. Not only that, but it was also somewhat obvious now that it had been explained to me. And yes, I did want to kick myself for missing one or two clues that were hiding in plain sight. Having said that, while the how and the why were very much a mystery (pun intended) until the very end, I figured out the culprit early on. Discovering I had been right was hugely satisfying.

Overall verdict: A very well-plotted mystery featuring fascinating characters, and a wonderful read. I will be diving into more, none Hercule Poirot, books by Sophie Hannah in the not-too-distant future.

 

 

Miss Aldridge Regrets by Louise Hare

Canary Club Mystery #1

404 pages

Publisher: HarperCollins

Library

 

Blurb

A nightclub singer with more than one secret hastily leaves London on The Queen Mary after her best friend's husband is murdered...only to discover that death has followed her onboard, in this thrilling locked-room mystery.

London, 1936. Lena Aldridge is wondering if life has passed her by. The dazzling theatre career she hoped for hasn’t worked out. Instead, she’s stuck singing in a sticky-floored basement club in Soho, and her married lover has just dumped her.

But Lena has always had a complicated life, one shrouded in mystery as a mixed-race girl passing for white in a city unforgiving of her true racial heritage. She has nothing to look forward to—until a stranger offers her the chance of a lifetime: a starring role on Broadway and a first-class ticket on the Queen Mary bound for New York.

After a murder at the club, the timing couldn’t be better, and Lena jumps at the chance to escape England. But when a fellow passenger is killed in a strikingly familiar way, Lena realizes that her greatest performance won't be for an audience, but for her life.

 

Review

My main reason for bringing this book home from the library, apart from the beautiful cover and the intriguing blurb, was that I had signed up on Netgalley to read and review the sequel. If at all possible, I much prefer to read my mystery series in the right order. While I can’t be sure until I read Harlem After Midnight, I’ve got a feeling that having already met Lena Aldridge when I start that book will stand me in good stead.

Lena Aldridge is a fascinating main character. She was raised by her musician father, who was black, and knows nothing about her mother except that she was white, which means that most of the time, Lena can ‘pass’. When the story starts, Lena’s father has recently died, she has broken up with her married lover, and she’s mostly disillusioned about her life and her job as a singer in a dingy nightclub. The club is owned by her best/only friend’s husband who has just announced that he wishes to divorce Maggie and leave her with nothing. When the husband is murdered in his club while Lena’s on stage, Lena’s life goes from uninspiring to outright frightening. Thankfully, Lena has a way of getting away from the madness because she has been made an amazing offer. An old friend of her father’s wants her to travel to New York to star in a Broadway production. The murder, and Lena’s uncertainty about what the consequences will be mean that she’s only too happy to leave London behind her and try for a new and brighter future on the other side of the Atlantic.

If you’re anything like me, you may wonder why a mostly streetwise woman like Lena would trust a stranger with an offer that sounds too good to be true. I pushed that niggle of doubt aside because being a possible accessory to murder might make most of us jumpy and prone to dodgy decision-making.

The crossing from England to New York should have been a time of rest and relaxation for Lena, but no amount of creature comforts makes up for the shock of having one of her fellow passengers dying in a way that is strikingly similar to the earlier murder in London. And that’s only the start of the violence on board.

I’m not going to say anything else about what happens next, except that if you are expecting a traditional mystery in which the main character investigates what’s going on, this isn’t quite that. While Lena does think about everything that happens, she doesn’t try to get to the bottom of it and the only reason she and the reader find out what did happen and why, is because the guilty party spells it out for her. I have to admit I didn’t see the solution coming, which for me is always a positive in a mystery.

I really liked this story. It gave me a smooth read and featured a fascinating character. Lena captured my interest right from the start. It’s great when the main character is multi-faceted, and boy are there a lot of sides to Lena, and not all of them are what you would call positive character traits. Which is of course what made her relatable and so much fun to read about. Since the story is told in Lena’s voice and from her perspective, we don’t get to know the other characters in this story as well, especially since she only spends a few days with them on the crossing to New York. And I have to say that most of the others felt a bit two-dimensional. Again, this is perfectly understandable given how the story is told, but it did mean I was less invested in what had happened to them or why.

And that brings me to my one ‘issue’ with this book. While I enjoyed reading the story whenever I picked the book up, the story never gripped me in such a way that I couldn’t wait to get back to it. There was none of the usual urgency I experience when I’m reading a mystery. Combine that with the fact that both the set-up and the solution, while original, felt a little far-fetched and you’ll understand why I rated it 3.5 stars. Having said that, I am looking forward to reading the sequel, Harlem After Midnight, soon because spending time with Lena Aldridge is unlikely to be boring.

Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent

 

364 pages

Publisher: Sandycove

Publishing Date:

Library

 

Blurb

Sally Diamond cannot understand why what she did was so strange. She was only doing what her father told her to do, to put him out with the rubbish when he died.

Now Sally is the centre of attention, not only from the hungry media and police detectives, but also a sinister voice from a past she cannot remember. As she begins to discover the horrors of her childhood, Sally steps into the world for the first time, making new friends and big decisions, and learning that people don't always mean what they say.

But who is the man observing Sally from the other side of the world? And why does her neighbour seem to be obsessed with her? Sally's trust issues are about to be severely challenged.

 

Review

This book comes with so many endorsements it’s almost scary. It’s obviously seen as a work of genius by a long list of authors, many of whom I love reading. Which means that if I don’t like this story there must be something wrong with me, right?

Well, on the upside, I didn’t dislike Strange Sally Diamond. It is an exquisitely written, fascinating, and compelling story. I’m in awe Liz Nugent’s mastery with words when it comes to portraying Sally and the other major players in this story. And I still haven’t figured out why this was such a smooth read when the subject matter is so very bleak and heartbreaking.

Because that’s the other side of the equation. No matter how much this story captivated me and how brilliantly Liz Nugent drew me into this story, there’s no getting away from the fact that it’s a bleak tale. What is more, there doesn’t appear to be anything resembling resolution, or justice. Even the tiny glimmer of hope provided when the book ends filled me with a renewed sense of horror.

I’m filled with admiration when it comes to characterisation. Sally and Paul are in many ways very similar but at the same time, they are almost exact opposites in every way imaginable. Where Sally takes everything at face value and doesn’t make or accept excuses, Paul manages to find an excuse for everything he does and everything that has happened to him. They each tell their part of the story. Both voices are compelling, and it is almost scary how easy it was to drift along on their words while they described horrific events and circumstances. I distinctly remember having the same reaction after I finished Unravelling Oliver.

To say I’m conflicted about this book doesn’t begin to cover it. As I said, it’s brilliant; faultlessly plotted, gorgeously written, and totally engrossing. I have no doubt I will be thinking about this story and the characters in it for quite some time. It’s just that, no matter how dark a story may be, I don’t like it when the ending of a book leaves me feeling down and hopeless. Because, while a lot happens in this book, I think it’s fair to say that none of the characters in it find resolution.

 

 

The Housekeepers by Alex Hay

  

320 pages

Publisher: Headline Review

Publishing Date: July 6, 2023

NetGalley

 

Blurb

The night of London's grandest ball, a bold group of women downstairs launch a daring revenge heist against Mayfair society in this dazzling historical novel about power, gender, and class.

Mrs. King is no ordinary housekeeper. Born into a world of con artists and thieves, she’s made herself respectable, running the grandest home in Mayfair. The place is packed with treasures, a glittering symbol of wealth and power, but dark secrets lurk in the shadows.

When Mrs. King is suddenly dismissed from her position, she recruits an eclectic group of women to join her in revenge: A black market queen out to settle her scores. An actress desperate for a magnificent part. A seamstress dreaming of a better life. And Mrs. King’s predecessor, with her own desire for vengeance.

Their plan? On the night of the house’s highly anticipated costume ball—set to be the most illustrious of the year—they will rob it of its every possession, right under the noses of the distinguished guests and their elusive heiress host. But there’s one thing Mrs. King wants even more than money: the truth. And she’ll run any risk to get it…

After all, one should never underestimate the women downstairs.

 

Review

I saw this book described as Downton Abbey meets Oceans 11 and that feels about right. What we have here is a clear case of ‘never underestimate the help’. The help has had it with the system and is planning to get their own back in what looks like an intriguing yet probably impossible heist.

The book starts with Mrs. King being fired from her job as a housekeeper in an opulent house on Park Lane, London. Rather than fall into despair or panic, Mrs. King has a plan and in order to execute it she needs help. Enter a varied group of women, some of whom have also worked in The House of de Vries and others who will find themselves working there while they work out the logistics of the planned heist.

And so begins a story that is about a lot more than ‘just’ the 'biggest heist of the century’ taking place during the ‘biggest costumed ball of the century’. In fact, we are halfway through the story before we reach the day of the heist. I’m not getting into what that ‘more’ is. The story shares details in small doses and at a leisurely pace, keeping the reader guessing exactly what is going on, how the various characters relate to each other, and if ‘getting revenge while getting rich quick’ is not the only motivation for Mrs. King and her co-conspirators.

The mystery in this book is not ‘whodunnit’. In fact, when the story starts nothing (obvious) has been done and the reader is a witness as the scheme is organised; seeing everything unfold through the eyes and thoughts of the characters. But there definitely are mysteries in this story, and the process of discovering what exactly is going on and why it is happening was fascinating and at times thought-provoking.

This was a well-written and brilliantly plotted story. I knew from early on that there had to be more to the story than the obvious and I loved how slowly but steadily layer after layer lifted to reveal secrets. The heist itself was just the right mix of suspense and over-the-top shenanigans. An original and compelling read!

Yellowface by Rebecca F. Kuang

 

323 pages

Publisher: The Borough Press

Owned / Trade Paperback

 

Blurb

 THIS IS ONE HELL OF A STORY

IT’S JUST NOT HERS TO TELL

Athena Liu is a literary darling and June Hayward is literally nobody.

WHITE LIES

When Athena dies in a freak accident, June steels her unpublished manuscript and publishes it as her own under the ambiguous name Juniper Song.

DARK HUMOUR

But as evidence threatens June’s stolen success, she discovers exactly how far she will go to keep what she thinks she deserves.

DEADLY CONSEQUENCES

What happens next is entirely everyone else’s fault.

 

Review

I’m not sure how I feel about this book. I do know that this is one occasion when I’m rounding my 3.5-star rating down rather than up.

June Hayward and Athena Liu met in college and shared a dream – to write a critically acclaimed bestseller and make it in the literary world. While June’s debut novel didn’t stand out in any way, Athena’s first book shot her straight to the dizzying highs the two young women had been dreaming about. June blames the ‘failure’ of her book on the fact that she’s not interesting enough as a white woman writing a white woman’s story.

When Athena dies in front of her, June gets over the shock quick enough to steal Athena’s just-finished draft. And with that act, and the way she makes up excuses for what she knows is bad behaviour, we know everything we need to know about June’s character – we’re dealing with a selfish opportunist.

From there on, June rewrites Athena’s story and manages to get a publishing contract. She happily agrees to publish her new story under the name Juniper Song and doesn’t object to a somewhat ambiguous author picture either. The book is a huge success, just what June/Juniper has always dreamed about, but it isn’t long before the online reading community starts asking questions. While June/Juniper and her publishing team manage to quell the storm, this is only the start and from that moment forward it is a downhill journey for our thieving author.

There is no doubt that this book is of its time given that it deals with plagiarism, cultural appropriation, and Twitter shitstorms. And all of it is shared with us by an unreliable narrator who lies to us, to the other characters she interacts with, and to herself.

Because the book is told from June/Juniper’s perspective, it is unclear whether the people around her, especially her publishing team, believe what she tells them or simply prefer not to search for the truth. In fact, I’m not sure how aware June herself is of the lies she shares or if she’s buying into the excuses she comes up with. We never really get an explanation as to why June/Juniper pulls the same stunt a second time, given how close she came to losing it all with the first book. We’re also not given a resolution to what’s been happening in the story. When the book ends, all appears to be lost except that June/Juniper turns her downfall into a new opportunity for redemption and future success, be it only in her mind. Or is it?

I guess we’ll never know.

And I guess that’s my main issue with the book. While June/Juniper’s perspective was fascinating in a car crash sort of way, there’s nothing in this story to balance it with. Because we know nothing about those who call her out and attack her on social media, we have no idea about their motivation (beyond outrage over plagiarism). Athena’s mother’s reasons for not wanting to be involved with her daughter’s writing are never explored or explained either. In fact, very little is explored in this book except for June/Juniper’s obsession with making it in the literary world.

Having said all of that, I was impressed with the way Kuang managed to have June/Juniper’s excuses and reasonings almost make sense. The online attacks against June/Juniper felt so familiar that they made me as uncomfortable while reading as they do when I witness them on Twitter in real life. The story clearly indicates how isolating the life of an author can be, and how easy it is for a person to lose perspective when they have nobody around to interact with. And the book definitely provides food for thought about who should write what and why not.

The blurb I found on Goodreads (the version I used above came from the back of my trade paperback) ends with the following paragraph:

What's the harm in a pseudonym? New York Times bestselling sensation Juniper Song is not who she says she is, she didn't write the book she claims she wrote, and she is most certainly not Asian American--in this chilling and hilariously cutting novel from R. F. Kuang.

While it summarizes the book perfectly, I fear I must have missed something because I didn’t find anything about this story hilarious. But that may be a ‘just me’ situation.

To narrow my thoughts down to one paragraph… Yellowface is a well-written and mostly captivating story. I’m just not sure how much I liked it. Between the unreliable and selfish main character, a serious lack of (sympathetic) secondary characters, and an ending that wasn’t really a resolution, I’m struggling to remember that there were large sections of this book I not only liked but admired.