Book Review: Lies Sleeping by Ben Aaronovitch

A great follow up to The Hanging Tree, Lies Sleeping continues to follow Peter Grant and his search to hunt down and thwart the plans of The Faceless Man and his apprentice while getting himself mixed up in the demi-monde world, which this time involves bells, along the way. 

As I said when reviewing The Hanging Tree, I’ve found these novels to get better and better as they progress as the world is now so well established, and the characters are all charismatic and varied. In particular, this wouldn’t work if Peter himself wasn’t so damn likeable. He’s flawed - always trying to be the ‘do gooder’, likes the sound of his own voice, far too inquisitive to the point of verging on annoying...yet he’s down to earth, the every man of the Folly to counterbalance the extremes that are Nightingale and his associates. It helps that I’m also extremely fond of Beverley too. Goddess, girlfriend, and maybe more? I love all the Rivers, although we seem to see Tyburn and Bev the most, and the introduction of Walbrook here added another layer to their mythology. 

The world building and mythology is convoluted, and the writing style at times can get overly bogged down in descriptions and facts about London/buildings/literally anything. But I’ve come to expect this now of Aaronovitch, and there’s a certain charm in it that I find quite endearing. Yes, it can get complicated trying to decipher who or what various members of the demi-monde are, and what magic is, but we’re seven books in now and I feel like I have a good outline of this world and the creatures who inhabit it. We’re learning along with Peter, and it’s a fun ride. 

This expanded on the plot from The Hanging Tree well, delving deeper into the ultimate plan of The Faceless Man. I would have liked to have seen a bit more of his world and his weird cat creatures and pale ladies and how/why they’re working for him - but this small mystery that remains only adds to his air of menace.

I really hope there isn’t a long wait before the next installment, because the fast pace of this coupled with an exciting ending has just left me wanting more.

Book Review: Perfect Remains by Helen Fields

I’m very hit and miss when it comes to crime novels, but this had some good Goodreads reviews so I thought I’d give it a go. It follows the typical pattern of killer on the loose being tracked by troubled detectives as they rush to uncover the clever mastermind before he can kill again. I suppose the main ‘twist’, or difference, is that the killer hasn’t actually killed the woman he’s supposedly taken (not a spoiler - you find this out in the first chapter). He’s just set it up in the belief he’s one step ahead of the police.

The plot is pretty good. It’s reasonably fast paced and doesn’t diverge too much from the main storyline. We learn enough about the killings and crime scenes, from both the police and killer’s perspectives, to keep me interested right until the end and the interweaving between the killer initially setting up these crime scenes and the police falling into his traps was well done. I found I got a great deal of satisfaction from seeing the police finally discovering the truth, and the race against time to pin him down.

This definitely felt more like a psychological, character driven story rather than the traditional ‘whodunnit’. A lot of the story centres around the various character interactions and their relationships rather than the crimes themselves, which at times made for an interesting insight. D.I. Callanach, our French-Scottish protagonist, is hard to like at first. He’s standoffish and curt, snapping at his officers and making no friends in his new job. It made it hard for me to warm to him, and at first I really struggled to connect with the story. However as his backstory is addressed, we get a better understanding of why he is the way he is, and this made it easier to build a connection with the character. In comparison, I found Ava immediately likeable. She’s intelligent, but not in an obvious over the top way, and is passionate about her work. I enjoyed her sub story (although I admit I didn’t really see what the point of it was in terms of adding anything to the overall plot other than expanding her role in the novel). I also participate enjoyed their dynamics and interactions together, which I feel has been set up subtly to suggest more than merely a working relationship in future novels. The secondary characters are also reasonably well developed, and again I enjoyed their various interactions with both Luc and Ava.

The antagonist killer is suitably arrogant and creepy. There’s a sense of foreboding that seems to follow him around, even when he’s not actively killing or stalking, that permeates all of his interactions with people. I don’t think I’ll be able to smell moth balls again. I did feel we didn’t get as good a backstory as our protagonists to really fully explore his reasons behind all of his actions, and felt the plot could have gone further with the aftermath of his deeds. However, overall I thought he was a good foil for Ava and Luc.

The ending is good, and wraps everything up well with no loose endings while building relationships enough to keep me intrigued for future novels. I just wish the start had not been so slow in its character development, or this could easily have been a 4 star read from me. That said, this is a hard genre to get right for me, and this definitely had me more interested than most.

 - 3 stars

Book Review: The Hoarder by Jess Kidd

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

This was a deliciously quirky book about a cantankerous old man called Cathal Flood and his trash filled home,  his carer Maud and the family old mystery surrounding the disappearance of a local school girl and the death of Cathal’s wife.

This is very much a character driven story. Maud, our main protagonist, is perceptive and likeable. She cares about people in such a way that allows them to shine in her presence and bring out the best of their personalities. This is most obviously seen in her interactions with Cathal,  as their power struggle to reclaim Cathal’s delapidated and hostile house turns into something deeper than merely that of a carer and her charge. It’s also mirrored in her relationship with Renata, her eccentric transgender landlady, who exudes a vulnerability that only Maud can penetrate. The three of them together - although Maud is the only one to interact with the others, is powerful and deeply entertaining. All three are full of colour and character, perfectly balanced and developed well.

I also really enjoyed Maud’s interactions with the various saints she can ‘see’, who often follow her around offering illicit advice at the wrong moments - much to her chargrin. The saints presence often provided some much needed light relief to the overall story, and added a quirkiness to the book that surprised me. It’s definitely unique and unusual.

The story itself is also developed well. The mystery surrounding the house and Cathal’s family creeps up on you as an afterthought to the character development, until I was desperate for answers. The drama unfolds slowly, but with a good amount of tension and drama to propel the story to a satisfying ending.p that I didn’t see coming. There’s enough of a mystery here to draw in readers who enjoy a good secret, yet its also different enough to be enjoyed by readers who like to indulge in the paranormal and weird.

The only aspects I didn’t enjoy too much were the paragraphs dedicated to Maud’s backstory relating to her sister’s disappearance and the various dreams. I didn’t think they really added anything to the story, and rather distracted from the main plot. They didn’t really add anything to Maud’s character either, and the conclusion, in comparison to the main story, was rather lacklustre. To me, I could have done without.

That said, I can’t recommend this enough to everyone and I’m already adding Jess Kidd to my authors to look out for in the future.

 - 4 stars

Book Review: The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

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

This is a mastercraft in historical fiction, unlike anything I've read since Agatha Christie.

Evelyn is going to be killed. Again. Every night her murder goes unsolved, the gala party where she dies restarts and Andrew is always too late to save her.

The writing is hugely atmospheric, and sets the scene perfectly. The descriptions are rich and detailed. It's almost like stepping back in time and being with these characters, living (and dying) amongst them. The plot is also quite unique in that the story is told over and over with Andrew taking the role of a different character every night with small hints and clues drip fed throughout, almost like a historical 'Groundhog Day' meets 'Cluedo'. However, the plot can never be taken at face value, as nothing is really as it seems and characters constantly surprised me.

It's not an easy read by any stretch of the imagination - there's twist and mysteries that left me completely baffled and had me desperate to understand what was going on, but that's what makes this such a compelling read. You really want to know what happens, as you try to draw conclusions before Andrew. I found I was especially drawn to Evelyn, and as her story unravels I felt a need to know who killed her.

That said, at times I felt a disconnection with some of the other characters as I was mainly so invested in Andrew and Evelyn, and sometimes it took a while for me to get my head round Andrew as a new person with different mannerisms every night.

Still, I thought this was like a breath of fresh air for the mystery genre. Different and exciting.

The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is available to purchase now from: Amazon

 - 4 stars

Book Review - The Hanging Girl by Eileen Cook

A book with a lot of potential, with plenty of plot twist and turns, that unfortunately left me a little bit lacking.

The Hanging Girl opens on Skye, a girl who uses her acute observation skills to 'read' her fellow students and give tarot card predictions. Because of this 'gift', she's drawn into an uneasy game with the mysterious Pluto that involves kidnapping one of her school colleagues, the daughter of a Judge running for office. However, the kidnapping doesn't quite go to plan, and we see Skye trying to deal with the aftermath as things start to spin widely out of control as the police start to question her 'gift'.

Unfortunately, I'm somewhat restricted in what I can write in this review without giving too much of the twists away. The plot itself I found rather slow. For a good 60% of the novel, all we see is Skye trying to deal with the kidnapping and the immediately aftermath with 'Pluto', and her inner turmoil regarding the police scrutiny she's placed under. I found the first plot twist clever. I hadn't anticipated it, and found it was a different route for the typical 'mystery' story to go down. However, the further plot twists come a little too late, as so much of the story needs to be wrapped up and concluded in a short space of time. Although the story kept me interested enough for me to continue reading, the ending felt rushed, and a little underwhelming. I felt it would have been better to spread these plot twists throughout the book, to give us time to process them instead of jumping onto the next plot twist so quickly. I also think more of the novel should have been spent on the aftermath of the kidnapping going wrong as apposed to the build up the kidnapping.

I also found myself having to suspend my disbelief with regards to the plot line rather frequently. The police just seem to accept that Skye and her mother have these 'visions' without question, and repeatedly go along with it. I found it hard to believe that a competent police department would involve, or be allowed to involve, an 18 year old girl in a high profile investigation (at one point they mention bringing in the FBI).

I found Skye highly irritating as a main character. She repeatedly lies and lies to the police, digging herself into a deeper hole, yet I felt the author was trying to illicit some sympathy for her when the kidnapping goes wrong. At no point is she really sorry about what happens (she even states that she's not sad about what happens), but rather she's only concerned about herself and what could happen to her. For this reason, I just couldn't find any emotional attachment to Skye. In fact, I wanted her to get her comeuppance.

Skye's mother is probably the worst character however. At first she's merely deeply annoying - calling the media when Skye has her 'visions' which could potentially interfere with the investigation, and milking the media attention for money. However., by the end I thought she may redeem herself by coming across as a loving mother. She didn't.

Skye's relationship with her best friend Drew felt forced. At one point they have an argument about moving to New York, but I felt there wasn't much emotional involvement between the two. At most I felt sorry for Drew having such an awful best friend. She repeatedly tries to open Skye up and make her discuss her problems, but Skye just shoots her down.

Overall, I could see the potential here. The author tries to move away from the typical 'mystery' novel, with a missing girl. The last third of the book was definitely an improvement on the beginning, however I felt it was a bit little too late for it to truly redeem itself.

 - 3 Stars

Book Review - Sweet Dreams by Tricia Sullivan

This book was trippy. Really trippy.

Following a drug trial that went wrong, Charlie can now 'hack' dreams - meaning she can alter what happens during a dream, and mould them into anything she wants. Normally her clients for these kind of services are dull, and want help getting over a childhood phobia or to quit smoking. Until she meets Mel Tan - a harpist with a serial stalker problem. Only, her stalker is in her dreams. And this stalker does not appreciate Charlie stepping on his turf.

I was first drawn to this novel because of the concept. The idea that sleep, something we naturally see as a comfort, or someplace 'safe' is flipped on its head and becomes the very enemy that must be avoided at all cost. I thought this was a very unique idea, and the author does a great job at creating a very unsettling atmosphere throughout the whole novel. The idea that Charlie also suffers from narcolepsy adds an additional layer of tension, especially as it's normally brought on by stress, as I found myself urging Charlie not to fall asleep.

I really liked the character of Charlie. She desperately wants to be 'normal', and is never perceived as this 'perfect' woman. She has flaws, and she (for the most part) owns them. At times I did find her rather irritatingly naive however. She repeatedly states that she isn't trusting of anyone, yet time and again she lets people into her life (and mind) that you know she shouldn't. Of her friends, I liked O - the cantankerous, rich, anti-brain technology landlady the best. There was something very enigmatic about her character. I loved that in an age of brain telecommunication, she was still using carrier pigeons. I also really liked Roman - one half of the self-titled 'Dream Police', and I appreciated that there was a suitable hint of a love interest rather than full-on romance. I did find however, that a lot of the character development took a backseat in favour of the plot. I would have loved to have had more time with Shandy, Roman etc.

The plot is slow at first, as it tries to establish the futuristic technology and various 'big wig' companies found in the world. There's also a lot time spent trying to explain how dreams 'work', with a lot of detail into R.E.M. and sleep paralysis. While I did appreciate this later on in the novel as the plot progressed, I found it quite difficult to wade through so much information and quite often I ended up very confused as to what all this technology could actually do/was doing to the brain and sleep. I don't mind a world that's well explained, but perhaps this was a case of  information overload. A little, well detailed piece of information goes a long way. For most of the novel I was also a little unsure of the time period. It was only from about mid-way through, with a few suitable popular culture references, that I realised this was a near-future London.

As the plot progresses, the story takes on more of a 'noir'-esque murder mystery rather than a sci-fi novel. Charlie somehow becomes embroiled with the 'Dream Police' and begins to investigate a series of 'dream suicides' that appear to be linked to the stalker that haunts Mel's dreams. Although this took me a little by surprise, as I was expecting a sci-fi novel, it was a nice surprise. The second half of the novel is well-paced, and the action is continuous. I will say however, that towards the end the story does take on another level of weird. The dreams become increasingly trippy, and the conclusion left me a little bewildered - although not entirely unsatisfied.

A decent novel, that I have difficulty categorising. I'd welcome a sequel in this world.

 - 3 stars

Book Review - The Doll House by Phoebe Morgan

The Doll House plays out as a psychological thriller, mixed within a contemporary family drama setting - but I was left feeling unsure as to whether it really 'thrilled' me.

The Doll House follows the lives of two sisters, Ashley and Corinne. Ashley is a married mother of three, with a husband who suddenly seems distant - working late at the office and easily distracted. Is he hiding something? When Ashley starts receiving mysterious phone calls, where the caller never speaks, she becomes deeply paranoid that her supposedly happy family might not be so perfect. Corinne is desperate for a baby after several failed IVF attempts. With one last shot on the horizon, can she finally become the mother she's always wanted to be? When she starts finding pieces from her old family doll house left around her flat and workplace, she starts to feel that something sinister is afoot. Will delving into her past help her uncover a secret best left forgotten?

The narrative for this is split mainly between the two sisters, with a few chapters also told from Dominic's (Corinne's partner) point of view. Interspersed throughout is also a narrative told from an unknown third person (at first a child), mainly as memories from the past. As the story progresses, these segments begin to intertwine with the sister's history, as well as the history of a house we are first introduced to in the first chapter. I thought this was an interesting premise, as it gave us an insight into the sister's minds, but also this unknown character with a very chequered past. I was desperate to know who this person was, and what their relationship was with the other characters in the novel.

The overall plot was ok. I felt that at times, although there was always a small amount of underlying tension, nothing really progressed as rapidly as I would have liked. The doll pieces are only deposited every now and again, and because of this they felt more like a far off threat. They definitely played more of a secondary role to the overall story arc involving Ashley and Corinne's paranoia and family dramas.

I also would have liked to have had more of a background story surrounding Ashley and Corinne. We never really get a feel for their history, or see their childhood from their perspective other than in brief glimpses. As the story progresses, and the past seems to play more of an integral part to the story, I felt this would have been helpful to further understand certain characters motives.

I was definitely more invested in Ashley's story line over Corinne's. I liked the relationship between Ashley and her children, and the normal struggles she faces as a mother of three. Her paranoia felt natural given her surrounding environment, and I was really invested in her. However, I did feel that most of the tension left Ashley's narrative half way through as her conflict with her husband reaches its natural conclusion. It was my interest in the mysteries surrounding baby Holly and Lucy that kept me reading to the end, and I will say that the climax to her story line was very well done. It was dramatic, suspenseful and shocking. I did not see it coming - which is always a big plus to my very cynical and calculating mind. I'm normally very good at guessing an ending. This time I didn't. Corinne's story, in comparison, felt very flat. I felt that as a character she was very over the top and dramatic, compared to Ashley's more composed nature. I also found the conclusion to her arc was over extremely quickly and felt a little rushed. I found that I wasn't really that bothered about what happened to her.

The premise for this was good, and at times I was really invested in certain characters and their story lines, however in the end it was the consistencies in the narrative that ended up being The Doll House's downfall.

The Doll House is available to purchase from Amazon now.

 - 3 stars

Book Review - Charlotte Says by Alex Bell

Do you like your novels with creepy little dolls and atmospheric settings? Then this is your story.

Charlotte Says is a prequel to the popular Frozen Charlotte novel from 2015. Not having read the previous instalment, I went into this knowing nothing about the storyline or characters, and I can honestly say I don't think it made any difference. This could easily be read as a standalone story.

A historical novel, this is set in 1901, with our main character Jemima excepting a job at an All Girls industrial school in the Isle of Skye following the death of her mother and step father in mysterious circumstances. Soon after her arrival an usual package arrives from Charlotte's former home which contains a number of Frozen Charlotte dolls. As mysterious occurrences start to happen, Jemima starts to suspect that the dolls may be more dangerous than they first appear.

There's instantly a feeling of foreboding and dread that surrounds the school, and the headmistress is as despicable as you would expect her to be. At times this felt almost like a Frances Hodgeson Barnett novel, with the descriptions of down trodden girls, awful maids and slave labour. I found I had a lot of fondness for all of the girls at the school, especially Estella the outcast of the group. This obviously helped a great deal as the novel progressed and they become more deeply entrenched in the dolls 'games' and misfortunes. I cared greatly about what would happen to the girls, and became anxious when they appeared to be in peril.

The introduction of dolls is cleverly done, and really sets the tone for the rest of the novel. It involves the basement lit only by candlelight and giggling. It's creepy, and scary and the author clearly knows how to set a scene and make the reader feel unnerved. This continues as the story develops, as the dolls get more adventurous in the toy room during the night and as they start to explore the dolls house.

As we move deeper into the novel, the story starts to flit between past and present. We see how Jemima came to be at Whiteladies, her former home, and how the accident with her mother occurred. I would have liked to have spent more time with these chapters as they're short, rather than have them interrupt the flow of the present story so much. Having said that, most of the novel is well paced, with plenty of action and no side stories to get distracted by. All of the focus is on the dolls, and the plot progresses quickly, which is great.

The only aspect I didn't particularly warm to in the novel was Jemima's relationship with Henry. Henry seemed a little useless at times, not really acting as any real help in times of distress, and he often came across as a bit wet. He wasn't as strong a character as Jemima and the girls, and his undying love for Jemima seemed a little far fetched considering he hasn't seen her in a number of years.  However, that said their relationship plays more of a secondary role to the plot, so didn't ruin the story for me too much.

The conclusion is satisfying and very open ended, which helps it work as a prequel. I was surprised that this is aimed at a young adult audience however, as some of the final scenes are a bit graphic in their depiction of violence. I would be cautious before letting younger readers read this. For me though, I'm already set to read Frozen Charlotte ready for Halloween season.

 - 4 stars

Book Review - Nascent Shadow by Matthew S. Cox

Brooklyn Amari knows she's different. From making a guys head explode at the tender age of ten, to surviving a house fire at her family home with no explanation, she's known there's something a little strange about herself. During a routine night shift as a firefighter, things take a turn down a mysterious path as Brooklyn comes to learn that there may be more to her abilities than she first thought - and the ability to wield magic can lead to some rather odd promotions at work.

I was immediately drawn to the concept of this. The ideas behind the story are great, and not your stereotypical urban fantasy. Brooklyn is more of an antihero, described as a demon - she reminded me of Hellboy, with the matching antipathy for the world. I liked that she never shied away from showing how much she really didn't particularly want to save the world, or anyone really. It was a refreshing change from the usual protagonist in these sorts of novels.

However, I did have major issues with quite a few things in this book. There wasn't enough world building for me. At certain points, particularly in the first half of the novel, various characters describe various 'eccentricities' seen in their world (such as ovens driven by crystals, the classification of magic taught in school etc.) without much explanation. Nothing is greatly developed, and details like this are skimmed over. More time spent explaining the world would have helped to gain a greater understanding of the plot and the type of environment these characters were living in.

The characters themselves, especially Brooklyn, were also lacking in any kind of emotional depth. There are some pretty tense scenes that occur throughout the novel, but it felt like there wasn't much emotion behind them. Everything is described clinically, almost as if it's a third person narrative within a first person role, and also tended to bounce around with a lot of information thrown at us quickly. A pause for breadth, with some description of how the characters were really feeling, would have helped.

Brooklyn also just seems to accept all of her new abilities without question, and displays no emotions, as if she isn't really bothered. I'm sure this is a reflection of her 'laissez faire' personality, but it grated on me personally, and meant that I ended up not really caring either.

The concept for this was good, but fell a little short in execution.

- 3 Stars

Book Review - A Beautiful Poison by Lydia Kang

This is descriptively well written. I particularly enjoyed the sections on medical pathology, and the historical aspects appeared accurate (although I'm by no means an expert in this field). I liked the descriptions on upper class social life during this time, and the brief insight into the medical history of New York. I would have liked more of this, as the research behind it was obviously done with care and thought.

The overall plot is ok. It's your usual run of the mill murder mystery in a historical setting. While attending the engagement party of Allene, socialite Florence is found dead at the bottom of the stairs. Brushed off as an accident, it soon transpires that she has been murdered. As other incidents occur, three old friends - socialite Allene, future medical student Jasper and the beautiful yet fragile Birdie, must unite to identify who is behind the incident. The plot followed the usual pattern of investigation and slow unravelling of information that leads to the discovery of the culprit, with various (predictable) twists and turns along the way. Holly's past was predictably obvious right from the start for example. However, it was the ending that really destroyed this for me. The eventual discovery of the murderer and their motives were just so out of character and unrealistic, especially when compared to their behaviour throughout the novel before hand. It was far fetched, and ultimately I felt a little cheated out of a proper ending as it completely changed the tone of the whole novel.

There's also some kind of weird love triangle aspect interspersed throughout the novel. These three supposedly 'good friends' had no chemistry, and I didn't like Allene or Jasper. Jasper comes across as a know it all, with little to no respect or understanding for his friends. He's more interested in dissecting people than spending time with Birdie and Allene. Allene is completely naive, spoilt and self involved, to the point where several times throughout the novel I wanted to shake her. Her supposed love of Jasper felt really forced, and very unrealistic. The kiss that occurs between them half way through the novel fell flat to me and cringy - although not as uncomfortable as the kiss somehow shared between all three characters at the beginning. This whole aspect of the novel just felt weirdly off and I felt that, basically, all the main characters secretly hated each other rather than care about each other. There was no emotional connection at all. This was seemingly confirmed by the fact that both Jasper and Allene seemed to share a complete ignorance to Birdie's predicaments, which feels so out of character in someone who is suppose to be a genuine friend. In the end I didn't care about either of them.

Birdie was by far the most interesting character, however I felt a lot of her problems were skimmed over to make way for other matters in the books - which was a shame, and on conclusion didn't exactly help the novel explain its reasonings behind the killers motives. I would have liked to have read more about the 'radium girls' in the factory, and a social commentary on the lower classes would have been much more interesting than Allene and her 'uptown' house dramas.

Unfortunately at best I think this could be described as a beautiful mess.

- 3 Stars