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May 8, 2012

Heart-Shaped Bruise by Tanya Byrne

By bibliomouse

 

Publisher: Headline

ISBN: 978-0755393039

Publication date: 10th May 2012 (hardback)

Of all of the books that I’ve been sent from We Love This Book for review, this is the one that I was most excited about. There had been rumblings on Twitter for a few months before I received it, about a new Y.A./crossover novel which was making people sit up and take notice, and it sounded really interesting. This is it!

Set in the psychiatric ward of young offenders institute, Tanya Byrne’s début, Heart-Shaped Bruise, is a gritty and fascinating look at the need for revenge and redemption, and whether retribution can ever really be worth the sacrifice.

Emily Koll is a 17 year old inmate. The narrative is told through her diary entries, which she then leaves in her room for the next inmate to find. Emily’s diary notes that her case has been in the press for months, with the tabloids jumping on a violent crime committed by a pretty teenager. As we’re not actually privy to these headlines, Emily’s crime remains a mystery until the last few pages. Byrne shows great restraint here, as it would have been easy to make the whole novel about Emily’s violent act. Instead, we get a finely wrought story about a teenager’s fight to come to terms with her history, and her equally fraught battles with her therapist.

Although Emily isn’t necessarily be a likeable character, she is certainly sympathetic, especially when trying to avoid Dr Gilyard’s probing questions about her past.  She’s cynical, ballsy and manipulative, but also sensitive. She’s basically a normal teenager, albeit one with a hidden agenda. She’s also unexpectedly funny, with a black humour that made you chuckle and then immediately look around to see if anyone saw me inappropriately giggling.

Byrne’s writing is both lyrical and gritty, much like Emily herself, and the novel is compulsively readable. I read it in one go, gobbling down the pages, eager to get to the end and find out what had happened, but also scared in case it was an anti-climax. To my great relief, it wasn’t. I’d tried to avoid speculating what was going to happen, and what Emily’s crime actually was, but I wouldn’t have guessed. It is beautifully handled – although the revelation is shocking, it is not sensationalist, which makes it even more affecting.

I was nervous that Byrne would not be able to resist giving Emily a traditional happy ending but she did, and I was so thankful. To have Emily skip off into the sunset would have been both insulting to the reader and the story, as well as unrealistic. I don’t think that I’m ruining the book to say this, as I think that anyone who starts reading the novel will see that Byrne is too honest a writer to take the easy way out.

Heart-Shaped Bruise totally lived up to the hype, and is a fantastic read. Emily is a believable character and, despite her crime, I found myself rooting for her to be able to put it behind her. I’m still thinking about the book, and I finished it a month ago, which I think speaks volumes about the writing. I really can’t wait to see what Byrne comes up with next, so hopefully she won’t keep us waiting too long!

It is published on the 10th May 2012 as an adult title.

4.5/5

This book was provided for review by http://www.welovethisbook.com all views are my own and I was not paid for the review.

2 comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , | posted in British, Detective/Crime, Psychological, Recommended, Relationships, Reviews, YA

April 3, 2012

The Other Child – Charlotte Link

By bibliomouse

Best-selling German author Charlotte Link is back with another tense thriller, this time translated into English. Set in Scarborough, The Other Child is a crime novel that explores the impact of past sins coming to light in the present day.

This is the first of Link’s novels that I’ve read, and I was quite impressed. From the opening chapter, in which a scared young woman makes a gruesome discovery in a barn, it is clear that Link is highly skilled in creating atmosphere within her novels. This mysterious incident is then not mentioned again until well into the story, with the attention focusing instead on the vicious, and seemingly motiveless, murder of a student on her way home from babysitting one night. The police, led by D.I. Valerie Almond, are stumped until another, similar, murder is committed nearby.

The main protagonists are part of a cleverly-connected web, at the heart of which are Fiona and Chad, elderly friends who have known each other since childhood. When emails that Fiona has written to Chad about events in their past come to light, there are suddenly strong possible motives for the murder. These emails are shown to the reader, but in small sections at a time, allowing the tension to build steadily. I read it with a lengthening list of questions, always a good sign in a thriller: are the murders linked to Fiona’s evacuation from London during the 2nd World War? What lurks behind that barn door? What part do the slightly creepy paying guests at the farm play?

The other characters are a bit of a mixed bag. Colin and Jennifer Brankley, the paying guests who have been staying at the farm for years, have their own backstory, which is somewhat tenuously connected to one of the victims, and are suitably creepy at times. Chad’s daughter, Gwen, is a quiet mouse whose relationship with a smooth talking underachiever is a source of scepticism for everyone, who think that he is only with her for the farm. Leslie, Fiona’s grand-daughter, is a doctor in London but escapes to Scarborough, back to the grandmother who brought her up. This time she is running away from a failed marriage, but doesn’t find the refuge that she was searching for, as Fiona clearly has problems of her own.

Link writes compellingly and is very readable. I would have liked some more of Valerie Almond, who promised to be an interesting character but who is not given much ‘screen time’, which is a shame. Some of the links between the crimes are a little unlikely, but overall it is tightly plotted, and the ending is nicely paced. The Other Child is a good, solid thriller which, whilst not a book to keep you reading into the small hours, is perfect for a holiday.

3/5

This book was provided for review purposes by www.welovethisbook.com.

1 comment   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in Detective/Crime, Relationships, Reviews

March 30, 2012

Every Vow You Break – Julia Crouch

By bibliomouse

Following the success of Cuckoo, Julia Crouch has written another psychological thriller that is sure to be equally well-received. Crouch is one of those writers who have the kind of writing style which make her books recognisable without them being ‘samey’, much in the same way as Sophie Hannah, a writer whose work I love (and must review at some point!).

When the Wayland family decamp to upstate New York for the summer to allow Marcus to perform in a community production of Macbeth, Lara and her kids – Olly, Bella and Jack – don’t know what to expect. What they get is a dirty and dusty house in a tiny town, with only a library and a pool for excitement, excepting the theatre, which is much smaller than they were led to believe. They are met by theatre company’s director, James and his wife Betty, who have arranged a surprise for the family, one which Lara in particular isn’t expecting. Stephen Molloy, one of Marcus’ old friends, now a Hollywood star, is in the area, recovering from a breakdown caused by a stalker in LA. He and Lara were also once in love, having an affair not long after Lara’s marriage to Marcus. The meeting at James and Betty’s reawakens feelings which Lara thought that she had hidden away forever, and throws her attempts at rekindling her marriage into total disarray. Soon Stephen and Lara are getting increasingly close again, but Lara is playing with fire and doesn’t seem to realise that she could get burnt…

In addition to Lara and Stephen’s story, there is a subplot involving Lara and Marcus’ eldest children, Bella and Olly. They are 16 year old twins who, at first, seem to have normal teenaged-sibling relationship, bickering and teasing. However, it is soon implied that there is more to it than that. Bella is obviously scared of Olly, and he frequently threatens her with something. When you find out what that something is, the book takes a more sinister turn.

There is a real sense of impending danger swirling around the novel. From the strange woman who seems to be following Lara, trying to run her over and making gestures, and the louts that Olly finds to hang out with, to the discoveries that Lara makes within the house, no chapter goes by without Crouch ratcheting up the tension, which goes some way to explain the slow pace of the first half of the novel.

Crouch has a skill for writing about place. In Cuckoo this was shown in the vivid descriptions of the West Country countryside, and in this novel it is the evocation of the hot New York summer. The filthy rental house, dusty deserted streets and the close, overheated atmosphere of the small town are well-matched to the slowly building tension and the boredom of  seemingly endless days, and  Stephen’s mansion in the woods offers a refuge from both the grimy heat and her failing relationship for Lara.

Once again, Crouch has written a well-crafted and tense novel. I felt that Bella and Olly’s subplot was a little forced, but it tied in well with the overall narrative at the end. My main criticism is one that I also had about Cuckoo, and that is the denouement feels rushed. Crouch builds the tension and the atmosphere so well throughout the majority of the novel that the ending feels a little anti-climactic, especially the epilogue. I enjoyed this more than Cuckoo, and only the slightly abrupt ending, and irritating epilogue, stops it being a 4 out of 5.
 
 
3.5/5
 
 
This book was provided for review purposes by http://www.welovethisbook.com.

1 comment   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in Psychological, Relationships, Reviews

March 6, 2012

Good in a Crisis – Margaret Overton

By bibliomouse

A moving, witty, hopeful and occasionally frustrating memoir from an American doctor and writer.

 Good in a Crisis, rather than being an autobiography of Overton’s whole life, is a memoir that concentrates on her life after her divorce. Her husband leaves her and her two teenage daughters after cheating for ten years. In a new apartment with her younger daughter and ageing dog, Overton turns to internet dating to rediscover her confidence. Her recollections of the subsequent dates are mostly hilarious, as she finds that there really are quite a few screwballs out there. One does start to wonder why she goes through with some of the dates – she’s an intelligent woman and yet seems, frustratingly, to have next to no self-awareness when it comes to men and dating.
This isn’t just a dating memoir. Overton also writes about how, whilst she was recovering from the divorce, she discovered that she had a brain aneurysm which could have killed her, had it not been for pioneering and risky treatment. Her daughter had a serious accident whilst at college, her mother developed dementia following an operation and a close friend died, all in the space of a few years. Overton’s reaction to these life-changing events was to discover that, whilst as a doctor she knew how to take care of other people, she wasn’t great at taking care of herself. This, she decided, had to change.
 
I did think that Good in a Crisis was a good read. Overton’s writing is full of humour (and swearing), but it is also thoughtful and meditative. When it comes to writing about certain incidents, her style becomes very matter-of-fact. I suspect that this is a coping mechanism, as the events that she is describing are traumatic and obviously still painful, but it jars slightly with the overall tone. However, these somber parts are balanced by sections which made me snort with laughter. A thought-provoking book, but perhaps not as focused as it could be.
 
3/5 
 
EDIT: Overton’s own blog is interesting, especially the post on the Guardian’s choice of excerpt. Apparently I’m as guilty as them for referring to the book as a dating memoir. I do understand why she would say that it is about surviving a near-death experience, but there are a lot of dates… 

This book was provided for review purposes by www.welovethisbook.com.

 
 

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in American, Memoir, Relationships, Reviews

February 27, 2012

Sorry – Zoran Drvenkar

By bibliomouse

 

A taut and well-written, but deeply disturbing and occasionally confusing, thriller by the Croatian German author Zoran Drvenkar.

If you’ve done something wrong and can’t, or won’t, apologise in person, then Sorry is for you. Set up by Kris, Fauke, Wolf and Tamara, Sorry is an agency which apologises on your behalf. Preferring to deal with business matters, such as wrongful dismissal or false accusations, the four friends are understandably unprepared to be contacted by a murderer who wants absolution for his sins. What follows is a tale of child abuse, violence, retribution and delusion, which is fascinating but frequently hard to read, both due to the subject-matter and also the structure. Drvenkar has woven multiple voices into his novel, with first, third and even second person narratives piling upon each other, often in the same chapter. On top of this is ‘The Man Who Wasn’t There’, whose identity, and relevance, is a mystery until near the end. The style does take a little getting used to, but is effective in echoing the confusion caused by the murderer’s actions. The second person narrative is that of the murderer, which pulls the reader into the story immediately, although being addressed as ‘you’, when ‘you’ are nailing someone’s head to a wall in the first chapter is a little unnerving, to say the least.

Exploring the ethics of second-hand apologies and absolution, Sorry is a great novel,  with an original concept and full of tension, but not for the faint-hearted.

3.5/5

This book was provided for review purposes by www.welovethisbook.com.

1 comment   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Detective/Crime, Reviews

February 21, 2012

Rocks in the Belly – Jon Bauer

By bibliomouse

Rocks in the Belly is a dark and unsettling debut novel from Jon Bauer.

A story of grief, jealousy and redemption, it is narrated by the same character at two different ages, eight and twenty eight. We never learn his name, but as an adult he goes by Michael, the name of his younger brother who died when he was only a day old. The boy was the only biological child of a couple who a long line of boys whom the boy greatly resented, although none as much as Robert who arrived when the boy was eight years old. Robert quickly became close to his foster mother who, in turn, seemed to her young son to value her new foster child far more than him. Robert was a little older and this age difference means that he gets privileges that add to the feelings of disparity and injustice that are building within the boy, until they come to a climax one sunny afternoon…

Twenty years later the boy returns home a man, to take care of his mother who is suffering from a brain tumour. He struggles with both guilt and frustration as he attempts to communicate with the woman who he feels failed him as a child, but whose love he always craved. She is locked in her mind apart from rare moments of lucidity. One of these comes when her son admits something that she had always suspected, and in that small moment, there is a feeling of redemption for the tortured soul of the small boy who is still trapped within the grown man.

Bauer writes fluently and the novel is compelling despite its bleakness. I can say honestly that it is hard reading- there are some moments of animal torture, and some of the passages detailing how the man treats his ill mother are particularly difficult to get through. However, the portions narrated by the young boy are mostly convincing and, although none of the characters are in any way likeable, it is a well-told tale of a family who never understood each other until it was too late.  I’m glad that I finished it (I almost gave up half-way through as I was so depressed by it), but I never wish to read it again.

2.5/5

This book was provided for review purposes by www.welovethisbook.com.

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Relationships, Reviews

February 4, 2012

Easy Money – Jens Lapidus

By bibliomouse

Easy Money is another book that I was sent by http://www.welovethisbook.com for review, but arrived at the same time as a couple of other violent crime novels. I was feeling a little gore-d out so (with their permission) I asked Mr. Mouse to read and review this one for me. See what he has to say about Sweden’s latest hyped-up crime author:

Easy Money, the first of a trilogy of Swedish crime novels by criminal defence lawyer Jens Lapidus, arrived in English translation last year. The book has sold more than a million copies in Sweden – a nation of nine million people. A Swedish film has already been released, and an American remake is underway. Comparisons with Stieg Larsson are now inevitable for any Scandinavian author published internationally, and Lapidus has not escaped.  Unlike the Larsson books, however, Easy Money has no heroes, no detectives and not much interest in solving mysteries. Instead, Lapidus focuses on the hidden worlds of Stockholm’s organised crime. The plot follows three main characters: a low-level criminal imprisoned on false evidence, a poor student moonlighting as a cab driver to fund a lavish lifestyle, and a Yugoslavian mob enforcer trying to stay in his boss’s affections. Each character is driven by a desire for money and status, but also by more personal quests for revenge, the search for a lost sister, and a custody battle. The cocaine trade draws the three men together, but none of them understands what the others are capable of.

Lapidus’ writing style is clipped and disjointed, full of two-word sentences and slang-heavy dialogue. Court transcripts and police reports are quoted to deliver additional information unknown to the main characters, a clever idea used to good effect. Violence is frequent and extreme. Bulging muscles, workout routines and the minutiae of Stockholm style are described in lavish detail. Fans of underworld novels and “true crime” will not be disappointed in Easy Money. Lapidus delivers a tight plot with tough, ultra-masculine characters, scary villains and gory brawls, supposedly inspired by his encounters with real criminals. There is nothing new here, despite the hype, and the reader is unlikely to learn much about Swedish society, but the right audience will find plenty to enjoy.

This book was provided for review purposes by www.welovethisbook.com

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in Detective/Crime, Reviews, Scandinavian

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