Tag Archive | Net Galley

Whistle by Linwood Barclay

Jun17

Chilling

Whistle by Linwood Barclay is a chilling supernatural tale that consumed me from the start.

This is a departure from Linwood Barclay’s usual style of crime novels but he has created a marvellous and well thought out plotline, showing that he is the master of the very chilling genre.

This is not a book for the faint hearted. It is far better to read it on a bright summer’s day than a cold, dark winter evening.

The action is split into various points of view, over different time periods. It keeps the reader in a state of heightened tension – we think we know what is coming even though the characters are clueless to the power that they have unwittingly unleashed.

Whistle is a tale of evil walking amongst the innocent. Very few realise what is going on until it is far too late.

All the characters were well drawn. There was definitely an air of menace attached to the villain. He was guilty of hubris too, believing he could never be beaten.

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The Home For War Orphans by Jenna Ness

Jun11

A Surprise Gift

The Home For War Orphans by Jenna Ness is a powerful historical debut. It is the first book in The Orphans Of St Agnes series which promises to be fabulous. The ending is perfectly poised for the next book to begin.

The book opens in Paris in 1940 as the Nazis begin to take power. The leader of the orphanage and the remaining orphans flee South in the hope of getting a ship and visas for America. As the reader joins them on their perilous journey, we witness the very best and worst of humanity along the way.

Jenna Ness has perfectly captured the atmosphere as we sense both the bravery and the desperation of all those travelling South.

Within the group there is ‘sibling’ rivalry as well as much love for each other.

The mannerisms of the young girls have been perfectly drawn by the author. We ‘feel’ their conflicting emotions and their bravery.

We witness sacrificial love in action. This is a love that puts others above self.

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A Secret Escape by Sarah Morgan

Jun8

The Sisterhood

A Secret Escape by Sarah Morgan is a perfectly delightful contemporary novel that I adored. This is a book about friendship and love and family.

We see that life can be a complicated affair but family should be faithful and provide a cocoon from life. We drop in on a multi-generational female family who all love and support each other. We see that patterns have a habit of repeating down the generations.

Parenting can be hard, especially when our children are grown up and we cannot ‘fix’ life for them. “It’s the hardest thing about being a parent. You can’t fix everything.” And no matter how old your child is “when your child suffers, you suffer too.”

The love within a family provides a secure base for life. We see that not all families provide a foundation of love. “She envied her friend Milly who never had to earn praise or affection.” Love should be freely given but one mother seems unable to have the capacity to love. Her grown up daughter laments “maybe it’s me…Maybe I’m just the kind of person people leave.” All her life “she was determined to be the child her mother would be proud of, but how?” It does seem that there are just some cold fish in the love department. All her life a character tried to earn her mother’s love. The fault lies with the mother and not the daughter.

In contrast her friend Milly’s family have love in abundance. Their love extends to include all, especially a heart crying out for love. She was “desperate for any evidence that I was worth loving.”

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The Singer Behind The Wire by Shari J Ryan

Jun8

Songs Of Hope

The Singer Behind The Wire by Shari J Ryan is a powerful historical novel that will simultaneously horrify and also break your heart as you witness man’s inhumanity to man.

The action is set in Warsaw during World War II before moving to Auschwitz. We see that there were those who could not stand by and do nothing. When they witnessed the persecution of others, they felt compelled to act, regardless of personal safety.

Life was hard for all, but especially for the Jewish population. We witness the erosion of their liberties until they were squashed behind the ghetto walls – 400,000 in the Warsaw ghetto.

We see that love can still happen – even ‘banned’ love. A young couple meet where they can – even eventually forced to meet in a sewer. “They can force us to behave in a certain way, but they can’t control the way we think.” When minds are free, there is still hope.

Hope is what kept people going. A hope for a better tomorrow – but also aware that today was all they had. “Anything can happen tomorrow, so today is important.”

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