Book Review: THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN BY PAULA HAWKINS

My Thoughts on this 'must read' page-turner debut ......


THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN
BY
PAULA HAWKINS


Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning. Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their deck. She's even started to feel like she knows them. "Jess and Jason," she calls them. Their life - as she sees it - is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost.

And then she sees something shocking. It's only a minute until the train moves on, but it's enough. Now everything's changed. Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel offers what she knows to the police, and becomes inextricably entwined in what happens next, as well as in the lives of everyone involved. Has she done more harm than good?

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It's hard to believe that this is a debut novel, with assured writing, a unique plot and incredibly well-drawn characters that take on a life of their own.

I found this a little slow going to start with while the author developed each character, three very different and distinct female voices.  Once I'd got used to the writing style and the confusing going back and forth in time narrative, I was hooked!

The main narrator, Rachel, is lonely, unhappy, obsessive about her ex-husband, drinks too much and has blackouts, "I have lost control over everything, even the places in my head."  She is a liar, though she doesn't know why she lies, the police think she's mentally unstable and don't listen to her.  Not surprising!

I can see why this has been such a popular read recently, I was constantly changing my mind as to which way it was going to go, wondering how believable a narrator Rachel really is.  The three various narrations gave me a different perspective on events and I kept wondering who can I trust?!

The author drags out the story tantalisingly slowly, the tension building, this is a compulsive page turner of a book.

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About the Author

Paula Hawkins worked as a journalist for fifteen years before turning her hand to fiction.

Born and brought up in Zimbabwe, Paula moved to London in 1989 and has lived there ever since. The Girl on the Train is her first thriller.

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Available from Amazon UK - Amazon US - BookDepository

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

MURDER OUT OF TUNE BY LESLEY COOKMAN - BOOK REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

MURDER OUT OF TUNE

BY

LESLEY COOKMAN

A Libby Sarjeant Murder Mystery

Cozy Mystery - 270 pages

Publisher - Accent Press (30 Sept 2014)

The fourteenth book in the Libby Sarjeant series of British murder mysteries which features a retired actress as the female sleuth and are based in the picturesque village of Steeple Martin.

A member of a local ukulele group is found dead in Steeple Martin’s churchyard. Libby’s first reaction is relief that the victim isn’t anyone she knows. She and the usual suspects have other things to occupy them as they are gearing up for a Christmas concert and pantomime in the Oast Theatre but when Libby’s cousin gets romantically involved with a man in whom the police are taking an interest, she can’t help asking a few questions – and getting into trouble…

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This is the first book I've read in this popular and long-running series which features middle aged Libby Sarjeant, who is very nosy and can't help getting involved in discovering who would murder a very quiet and unassuming local man.

My first thought is that there were so many characters in the series but, luckily, there is a very handy who's who guide in the front of the book, which I needed to refer back to several times during my read!

However, once I'd got used to the very narrative driven story I was soon engrossed in this mystery and was eager to find out the culprit, as there were so many red herrings, and suspects that I didn't have a clue who the murderer was.

A very enjoyable read, there were several mentions to past murders, but I didn't feel that I was missing out by not reading those.

Some of the local village names had me tittering, such as Shott, Itching and Bishop's Bottom!  These names are typical of some of the smaller towns in England.

From ex-rock stars to local battleaxes, there were lots of quirky characters, some endearing, some nasty, all of which made this an entertaining mystery.

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About This Author

A former actor, model and freelance journalist, Lesley Cookman lives on the Kent coast in the UK, has four musicians as children, two small grandchildren and two cats, Lady Godiva and Gloria. All 14 of her Libby Sarjeant books have reached number one in their genre charts on Amazon UK.

http://www.lesleycookman.co.uk/
http://lesleycookman.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/news
https://www.facebook.com/SteepleMartinMysteries?fref=ts
Twitter@LesleyCookman

Purchase Links
Amazon B&N Book Depository

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I am giving away one ebook copy of Murder out of Tune on my stop!  If you would like the chance to be in the draw please enter the PromoSimple giveaway below (it's very similar to Rafflecopter!)

Open Worldwide - I'll draw out one winner's name and will email them soon after the draw ends

Book Review: THE CURVY GIRLS CLUB BY MICHELE GORMAN

My Thoughts on this witty and weighty issue .........


THE CURVY GIRLS CLUB
BY
MICHELE GORMAN


Published:  15 Jan 2015

Pixie, Ellie, Katie and Jane have been best friends since meeting at Slimming Zone. Tired of being judged by the number of calories they consume, they decide to form a different kind of club. The fun evenings they spend together, not worrying about their size, make them happier than they’ve been for years.
 

But the club doesn’t stop real life from getting in the way and together the girls have to address some much bigger issues than just their weight…

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Spoken by Kate who has been attending Slimming Zone for several years, she works cold calling by selling nutritional supplements but feels she's undervalued at work, possibly due to her size she thinks.

Together with the friends she's met at the slimming club, they decide that instead of going to the club they would all go out together and have different experiences such as going to the theatre, trying salsa dancing, wine tasting to name but a few.

As the club grows, so does their confidence.

I enjoyed reading this story of the Curvy Girls Club, I liked the fact that they all had their flaws, though some of them could be quite nasty to each other!

The pace of the writing was quick, with some funny moments interspersed with the more serious issues, with romance, health problems, unexpected twists and petty jealousies I feel this is one to recommend, whatever your size!

Available to buy from Amazon UK - Amazon US - BookDepository

I received an ebook copy from Notting Hill Press in exchange for an honest review.

 

Book Review: THE STRINGS OF MURDER BY OSCAR DE MURIEL

My Thoughts on this tale of murder, mayhem and music ........


THE STRINGS OF MURDER
BY
OSCAR DE MURIEL


Published:  Penguin:  12 Feb 2015
Pages:  406  (Paperback Advance Reading Copy)


Jonathan Creek meets Jonathan Strange in this blistering crime debut set in Victorian Edinburgh.

Edinburgh, 1888.  A violinist is murdered in his home.  The dead virtuoso's maid swears she heard three musicians playing in the night.  But with only one body in the locked practice room - and no way in or out - the case seems to be an impossible puzzle.

Fearing a national panic over another Ripper, Scotland Yard sends Inspector Frey to investigate under the cover of a fake department specializing in the occult.  However, Frey's new boss, Detective 'Nine-Nails' McGray, actually believes in such supernatural nonsense.
McGray's tragic past has driven him to superstition, but even Frey must admit that this case seems beyond reason.  And once sometimes loses all reason, who knows what they will lose next .......

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The Strings of Murder is the first book in a new series following Inspector Frey and Detective McGray as they investigate crimes around Victorian Britain and if this tale is typical of them I will be adding them to my wish list!

Told in the first person by Inspector Ian Frey, who we learn has in the past started and abandoned both medicine at Oxford University and Law at Cambridge University but when he recently uncovers an infamous murderer in London he feels he has found his forte in the CID.

A mark on the wall, the contents of a wallet, a lock of hair ..... a glove carelessly left behind ... those tiny details of everyday life, things that the ordinary man would never normally ponder on, were our tools, and most of the time sufficient to allow us to draw a full picture of victims and aggressors.....in short, their innermost darkest secrets were at hand if one knew just how to read the world around.  

How thrilling, how fascinating that game was.  Finally, I'd found my place.  Proved my value.

But, a new man at the head of Scotland Yard sends Frey to Edinburgh as they fear another Jack the Ripper in Scotland.  He meets Detective Adolphus McGray and, to say they don't meet eye to eye is an understatement!  Frey thinks McGray's an idiot and McGray thinks he's a soft Southerner and proceeds to call him a lassie from then on.

Of course, they work well together, even though they are such opposite characters, to try and discover the perpetrator of several puzzling and gruesome murders, their exchanges were funny some of the time and some of McGray's contacts were dodgy most of the time.  With twists aplenty and a good strong plot featuring the occult, devil worship, a clairvoyant and an impossible puzzle, I really enjoyed this mystery and was constantly changing my mind as to who the murderer was.  I also loved the atmosphere of horror that the author conjured up.

I thought the book cover was perfect - it sums up the story very accurately to me.

This is Oscar de Muriel's debut book and he can be found at these places - his website - Facebook - Twitter

His book can be bought at these places - Amazon UK - Amazon US - BookDepository

I received an advance reading copy from Real Readers in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: DYING FOR CHRISTMAS BY TAMMY COHEN

My Thoughts on this brilliant and chilling psychological thriller ......


DYING FOR CHRISTMAS
BY
TAMMY COHEN


Published:  20 Nov 2014


I am missing. Held captive by a blue-eyed stranger. To mark the twelve days of Christmas, he gives me a gift every day, each more horrible than the last. The twelfth day is getting closer. After that, there'll be no more Christmas cheer for me. No mince pies, no carols. No way out .

But I have a secret. No-one has guessed it. Will you?

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The book opens on Christmas Eve in a department store cafe on Oxford Street, narrated by Jessica, she begins to tell us how a stranger approaches her, he sits down, they get chatting and she then makes the worst decision of her life to go back to his flat with him.....this sets up the shocking events of the next 12 days of Christmas.

Dominic Lacey, the stranger, holds her prisoner in his flat where she is subject to acts of cruelty and mind games, and is given a beautifully wrapped but utterly creepy present every day.  Every time he gives her the gift she is told the story behind it, often chilling, and she dreads each one, not knowing what to expect.

Both Dominic and Jessica are outsiders in life, even her own brothers called her weird and last Christmas Jessica's parents bought her six sessions with a therapist!

Interspersed with Jessica's captivity, there is the story of Kim, the police officer assigned to the case of looking for the missing woman who has her own domestic problems.

I knew that Jessica had a secret, as the blurb tells us, but what it is is not revealed until part two where the story takes us in a whole different and totally unexpected direction. Brilliant!  

This story had shocks, twists, secrets, revenge, all wonderfully written and I was hooked from beginning to end.  Dominic was your worst nightmare, he was a frightening figure, taking pleasure in Jessica's pain, sometimes I found it difficult to read but I couldn't stop, I just had to keep reading to find out how it all would all end for Jessica.

To say much more about the plot would spoil it, and I want readers to be as surprised as I was.  Yes, some of the story I did find a tad unbelievable, but, overall, for me, in the end that didn't matter.  This was a gripping, psychological thriller that kept me turning the pages.

Tammy Cohen is a writer that I shall be looking out for in the future.

My thanks to NetGalley for this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

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 Available from Amazon UK - Amazon US - Book Depository

 About the Author

Tammy Cohen (who was previously published under her formal name Tamar Cohen) is a freelance journalist. A late starter to fiction - and to other things besides - she has now written four novels:The Mistress's Revenge, The War of the Wives, Someone Else's Wedding, and The Broken. Now embarking on psychological suspense, Dying for Christmas, her Christmas chiller, is just published to wide acclaim. She lives in North London with her partner and three (nearly) grown children, plus one very badly behaved dog. Follow her on Twitter @MsTamarCohen

Book Review: THE FRENCH FOR CHRISTMAS BY FIONA VALPY

My Thoughts on this moving and magical story ......

THE FRENCH FOR CHRISTMAS
BY
FIONA VALPY


Published:  3 October 2014
Publisher:  Bookouture

Evie used to LOVE Christmas, but this year she can’t wait for the tinsel and presents to be a distant memory.

When her best friends offer the use of their cottage in the beautiful French countryside, Evie jumps at the chance. With her soon-to-be-ex-husband, celebrity chef Will Brooke, plastered over the news with his latest ‘love interest’, leaving the country seems like the perfect plan.

Armed with her French grandmother’s tattered notebook of recipes, Evie is determined to ignore Christmas altogether and bake herself back to happiness.

And when Evie meets her next-door neighbour – the très gorgeous doctor Didier she finds a very willing taste-tester. But is it possible that he could be interested in more than just her Tarte Tatin?

With snow falling, a special Réveillon dinner and a little Christmas magic in the air, could Didier even be the one to thaw Evie’s heart? Or will a visit from the ghost of Christmas past change everything?

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Evie is not looking forward to Christmas this year.  In the last twelve months she has lost her baby, her husband and her cooking mojo.  She can't face the fun and glitz of Christmas so she decides to get away, to France for peace, quiet and some healing space.  She's an American with Irish and French roots.

At first in the countryside there is no rural tranquillity with a crowing rooster, screeching owl, barking dog and a midnight mechanic for a neighbour!  But when Evie browses the local market with the wonderful sights and smells she gradually begins to feel inspired to start cooking again.....and start healing.

I feel cocooned here, far enough away, at last, from London with its constant reminders of failure and disappointment and loss; far enough away from my family in Boston to allow them the space to stop worrying about me and enjoy their lives, unimpeded by the weight of my sorrow; far enough from the magazine articles and the TV programmes and, at last, far enough away from Christmas itself.

She meets her neighbours, including the dishy local locum doctor, a Bradley Cooper lookalike....and her heart starts to heal as well as her culinary skills.

The writing is so rich and vivid, I especially enjoyed the parts where Evie is reminiscing about her childhood memories such as skating on the lake in the middle of winter with her sister and her mother.

If you love French cooking, there are lots of delicious recipes dotted throughout the book.  If you love the French countryside, there are some lovely descriptions of the village setting.  This is the sort of book that's perfect for losing yourself in during the long winter nights, it's like a cosy jumper to wrap around yourself keeping you snug and warm.  I loved it!

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I received a copy of this ebook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Available from Amazon UK - Amazon.com - Bookouture.com - BookDepository.com

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Fiona Valpy has pledged to donate 10% of any royalties she receives from sales of The French for Christmas to the charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) in support of their work all over the world, providing care and medical aid where it's needed most.  Please visit her website www.fionavalpy.com for more details and updates.  And you can find out more about Medecins Sans Frontieres at www.msf.org. 

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About the Author

Fiona Valpy lives in France, having moved there from the UK in 2007. She left behind a career in Marketing and Public Relations to explore new avenues and now teaches yoga and writes.

Having renovated an old rambling farmhouse with her husband, she has developed new-found skills in cement-mixing and interior decorating, although her preferred pastime by far is wine-tasting.

    

Book Review: TOGETHER FOR CHRISTMAS BY CAROL RIVERS

My Thoughts on this emotional warm-hearted festive story .......


TOGETHER FOR CHRISTMAS
BY
CAROL RIVERS


Publisher:  Simon & Schuster
Published:  23 October 2014
Pages:  438  (Paperback)

August 1914, London. Britain has just declared war on Germany, and the whole country seems to be in uproar. Flora, Hilda and Will, who grew up together in St Boniface orphanage sit in the sunshine in Hyde Park on a rare day off, discussing the impending war and the changes it will bring to their lives. Will means to go off to fight, Hilda hopes to better her current lot in life as a maid at the charitable institute, Hailing House, but Flora is content with her job as assistant to the Isle of Dogs' kindly Doctor Tapper. Taking a vow, they pledge to always be there for each other, come what may.

It soon becomes clear that the war will not be over by Christmas, as so many thought, and the first zeppelin raids bring casualties flooding into the surgery where Flora works. Tragedy strikes in the trenches, too, and Will returns home with physical and mental wounds too deep for Flora to be able to nurse back to health.

In the meantime, Hilda has taken herself away from London to work as a maid at the sumptuous house of Adelphi. But it is not long before she finds herself out of her depth. And the consequences of her choices will lead to a shocking discovery that will change the course of the three orphans lives forever.

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I read Carol Rivers novel A Wartime Christmas last year and really enjoyed it, that was set in the 2nd World War, in Together for Christmas the story starts at the beginning of the 1st World War, and is just as heart-warming and entertaining.

We first meet Flora and Hilda in London's Hyde Park watching in disbelief as excited young men were revelling in the thought of joining the army and going off to war.

"Just look at them silly chaps!' exclaimed Hilda Jones, Flora's best friend. 'You'd think Britain had won the conflict already from the way they're carrying on. And it was only four days ago the prime minister announced we were at war!' 

'And now Mr. Asquith's calling for our boys to volunteer,' said Flora.  She was not for war at all, though watching the rejoicing crowds today it seemed that the rest of the country disagreed with her.

Sensible, kind, thoughtful Flora and flirtatious, impulsive Hilda have been best friends since they were children, brought up in the orphanage.  Both are now sixteen and having to make their own way in the world, Flora as a Doctor's assistant and Hilda who works in the kitchens of a big house though she has ambitions to be a lady's maid.

We see the harrowing effects of the war mainly through Flora's eyes as she and Dr. Tapper do their best to treat the soldiers suffering from shell shock, gas poisoning, dysentery, and the many life-changing injuries they've sustained.

And it's one of these soldiers that becomes smitten with Flora, so there's a nice little romance to lighten the dark subject matter.  

Hilda finds her life in service is challenging and busy, as so many of the men were at war the women had to take on their jobs so the way women's lives were changing is also touched upon, together with how the suffragette movement is gaining momentum.

While Carol Rivers does touch on many of the difficult situations and hardship the people at home were suffering, the novel does not focus too much on the serious aspects, there are many light moments.

The storyline kept me engrossed with characters that I cared about, some surprises, this is a well-written feel good book.

I received a copy of this book from the publishers in exchange for an honest review.

Available to buy from Amazon UK - Amazon US - Book Depository.

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About the Author

The East End of London,UK, is Carol's backdrop to her historical family dramas. She has been published with Simon&Schuster for a decade and has a well established presence on the internet. Her stories spring from the warm-hearted and resourceful people of the East End - the heart of London's docklands. Her writing is simple, but her rough-tough Cockney characters tell it like it is for them, giving a punch to the stomach and leaving the reader in no doubt that her heroines are a force to be reckoned with. Carol is well-known in the UK but is now building a steady readership in the States and welcomes feedback. Carol would especially like to thank all the Amazon reviewers who have gone to the expense and taken the time and trouble to buy, read and report on her books. She reads every one of the reviews and takes great heart and inspiration from all your comments. You can visit webpages, http://www.carolrivers.com to find out more about this author.

You can also follow Carol on twitter @carol_rivers

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