Literary Brooding

Yep, that bloody thing called life has taken over. While still reading, the ability to post up reviews diminished somewhat. So again another posting with a few thoughts on some of the books I have read in the last month or so. Into the Water - Paula Hawkins Hardcover, 388 pages,  Published May 2nd 2017 by Riverhead Books After the highly successful 'Girl on a Train', Paula Hawkins has released her much anticipated second novel 'Into the Water'. The story centre around the death of several women over a number of years but it is the questionable death of Nell Abbott, a single mother to Lena, that brings forth all the dark secrets of the local town. The story is told from the viewpoint of ten characters, yes you read that right, ten characters. It could become a tangled mess but Hawkins is able to navigate the reader through with relative ease. I did find one or two of the voices were not as distinctive as they needed to be especially early on with a couple of th...

The Natural Way of Things – Charlotte Wood Paperback, 320 pages. Published October 1st 2015 by Allen & Unwin A group of ten young women find themselves imprisoned on a dilapidated property in the Australian outback. They have no idea how long they will remain and all are forced to shave their heads and wear strange uniforms. They are lorded over by three employees, two young men their jailers and a woman who plays nurse. Over all of them is the mysterious security company that impacts on all their lives. I have wanted to read this book for some time but as it has won a slew of awards for me that usually does not bode well. I have to say I am kicking myself for not coming to this book so much earlier. It is quite an amazing story and Wood does something extraordinary she makes you the reader, the 11th person in the story.  You find yourself brought into the story as the characters do. You have the same questions as they do. Why are we here, why do we not run, where do ...

Fall (Archer & Bennett #3)  Candice Fox  Paperback, 352 pages Published December 1st 2015 by Random House Australia This is my first foray into the world of Candice Fox and coming in at book three was probably not the smartest idea. This book can be read as a stand alone with no issues at all. Fox is able to bring into the world quickly and you are racing along with the story. However, this is a series where knowing the characters previous interactions will only enrich the story. I will go back and read the other books but I should have done that first! Bad reader. Detectives Frank Bennett and Eden Archer are knee deep in crime and waist deep in personal troubles. Someone is out there killing female joggers, the people are not happy about it and about to take action. For Bennett, he is still struggling to come to terms with the past with his girlfriend Imogen creating tension with his partner Eden. The Amy comes to the fore and shows her skills and potential in s...

The Nest by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney  Kindle Edition, 416 pages Published March 22nd 2016 by The Borough Press Well this is a challenge to review for a number of reasons, the main one that at the conclusion, I had no idea really what the story was about. You start off with a problem, Leo Plumb has been involved in a car accident with a young woman. The ramifications is that the family financial nest is raided to pay for the young woman's medical bills and the rest of the family to put it mildly is pissed that they have lost their inheritance. They want Leo to make good and put the money back. None of this happens. So what does happen? You are introduced to a host of characters, all who have a story to tell. Those characters keep coming and by chapter 17 they are still coming. The problem was that though some of these characters are necessary, none of them drive the story forward and some disappear with no fanfare. The matriarch of the family appears at the beginning, t...

Hidden Killers (Jane Tennison #2) by Lynda La Plante  Paperback, 496 pages, Published October 20th 2016 by Simon & Schuster UK The second book in what would be called the Jane Tennison origin series. Tennison has finally finished her probation and has started working at Bow Street as a Detective Constable. Tennison finds herself attending the scene of what is called an accidental death but she knows something is amiss. What is wrong with the scene Tennison can not clearly identify and she starts to investigate. While trying to start in her new career her days associated with Hackney are not over. A case is about to go before the courts where a man is accused of a series of sexual assaults and a vicious rape that occurred some time ago. Yet, Tennison is not sure that the arrest was above board and suspects that evidence may have been planted. It is in this book that the character of Jane Tennison we know through the books and associated TV series begins to emerge. Ther...

Summer Skin – Kirsty Eagar Paperback, 352 pages Published February 1st 2016 by Allen & Unwin Jessica Gordon is 19, attending Unity University College, coming out of a horrid relationship and is not looking forward to anything but having a good time, hanging with friends and getting through her studies. She is also seeking payback on the guys from Knight’s College for an incident that happened to her friend last year. Meeting a good looking guy from the detested Knight’s College was certainly not in her plans. What happens is a girl meets boy romance that does not fit into the normal conventions of a romance story. There is a lot to like in Eagar’s Summer Skin. The all the characters come with baggage, lots of emotional baggage, it is relatable and very real. What I did like that it was not angst ridden in that Bella/Edward Twilight way where Bella became completely unable to function. No, Jessica remains feisty, true to herself, carries around doubts but is willing to seek s...

Goodwood – Holly Throsby Paperback, 304 pages Published October 1st 2016 by Allen & Unwin A small country town in Australia, two missing people within a week and everyone is walking on eggshells. Told primarily through the eyes of Jean, a teenager in the town, we come to know the characters and secrets of the town. I found myself in two minds about this story. The first half showed a great deal of promise, Jean and her friend Georgia were curious, engaging and certainly knew all the gossip about town. With the disappearance of Rosie, the two teenagers do quite a bit of theorising about what happened and when Bart the butcher also goes missing the two go into overdrive. It is through Jean we meet the characters of the town and they are a group of people you would find in every single Australian country town. Yet by the halfway point of the novel the mystery of the two missing people had been pushed to the background as Jean struggled with her identity. It is the second ...