Forty years ago, Steven Smith found a copy of a famous children’s book, its margins full of strange markings and annotations. He took it to his remedial English teacher, Miss Isles, who became convinced it was the key to solving a puzzle.
That a message in secret code ran through all Edith Twyford’s novels. Then Miss Isles disappeared on a class field trip, and Steven’s memory won’t allow him to remember what happened.
Now, out of prison after a long stretch, Steven decides to investigate the mystery that has haunted him for decades. Was Miss Isles murdered? Was she deluded? Or was she right about the code? And is it still in use today? Desperate to recover his memories and find out what really happened to Miss Isles, Steven revisits the people and places of his childhood.
But it soon becomes clear that Edith Twyford wasn’t just a writer of forgotten children’s stories. The Twyford Code has great power, and he isn’t the only one trying to solve it…
My Review
First of all I’d like to say that this book is a bit marmite – many people will either love it or hate it. I read it in staves with my online bookclub The Pigeonhole and a few people dropped out because of the writing style. It was exhausting to read because 8/10ths of the staves are written in transcripts from audio files recorded on an old iPhone 4. The software used to transcribe the files often picks things up wrongly – eg Miss Isles is transcribed as missiles, Wrexham as wrecks ’em, UCL as you see L, young ‘uns as young guns etc. I did get quite confused initially. But you get used to it and eventually it became second nature.
It all started with a green book found on a bus by fourteen-year-old Steve Smith (who later became known as ex-con Little Smithy). That innocent looking book was one of a series written by banned children’s author Edith Twyford (no prizes for guessing who she’s based on) and so the mystery of the code begins.
The story meanders like a forest stream, twisting and turning and throwing us, the reader, into confusion. What is the meaning of the ‘fish’ symbol? Who are the two men that keep cropping up? Who is Maxine and what happened to Miss Isles, the teacher to whom Steve gave the book? You can guess all you like, but I’ll bet you got most of it wrong. I can’t say much more because the twist is huge and any hint would give it away.
While it was all a bit clever for me and I’m not really into code-breaking (they’d never have employed me at Bletchley Park or GCHQ). I really enjoyed The Twyford Code. It’s definitely a perfect book for an online book club, because the experience was massively enhanced by sharing opinions with my online reading friends. We were chucking theories around like there’s no tomorrow, almost all of them way out.
I think it was on a review somewhere that someone compared it to Richard Osman, but even with his enormous brain I doubt he would have cracked The Twyford Code.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole and my fellow Pigeons for making this such an enjoyable read.
About the Author
Janice Hallett is a former magazine editor, award-winning journalist, and government communications writer. She wrote articles and speeches for, among others, the Cabinet Office, Home Office, and Department for International Development. Her enthusiasm for travel has taken her around the world several times, from Madagascar to the Galapagos, Guatemala to Zimbabwe, Japan, Russia, and South Korea. A playwright and screenwriter, she penned the feminist Shakespearean stage comedy NetherBard and co-wrote the feature film Retreat. The Appeal was her first novel and The Twyford Code is her follow-up.
+ crime fiction, Detective novel, fiction, murder, murder mystery, Nordic noir, review, Scandi noir, secrets, thriller
Bitter Flowers by Gunnar Staalesen
Translated by Don Bartlett
Fresh from rehab, PI Varg Veum faces his most complex investigation yet, when a man is found drowned, a young woman disappears, and the case of a missing child is revived. The classic Nordic Noir series continues…
PI Varg Veum has returned to duty following a stint in rehab, but his new composure and resolution are soon threatened when three complex crimes land on his desk.
#BitterFlowers #GunnarStaalesen @OrendaBooks
#RandomThingsTours @annecater @RandomTTours #nordicnoir #vargveum #blogtour
A man is found dead in an elite swimming pool. A young woman has gone missing. Most chillingly, Veum is asked to investigate the ‘Camilla Case’: an eight-year-old cold case involving the disappearance of a little girl, who was never found.
As the threads of these three apparently unrelated cases come together, against the backdrop of a series of shocking environmental crimes, Veum faces the most challenging, traumatic investigation of his career.
My Review
While this is a great story with an exciting and intricate plot, what stands out for me is the constant stream of unusual metaphors which spring from the brain of our intrepid hero PI Varg Veum. One of my favourites is: ‘On pavements people strolled, in couples or groups, at their ease like lemmings on Valium.’ The list is endless, It could form another whole book called Veum’s Veumisms.
PI Varg Veum has returned to duty following a stint in rehab and just when he is hoping for a new start, his life is thrown into turmoil. He’s been asked by one of his therapists – Lisbeth Finslo – to look after a posh house for the wealthy owners, who are on holiday in Spain. Unfortunately what he finds is a body at the bottom of the swimming pool. As he rushes out of the house, Lisbeth is nowhere to be found.
So now we have both a dead man and a missing woman. And if that is not enough, he is asked to investigate the ‘Camilla Case’ – an eight-year-old cold case involving the disappearance of a little girl, who was never found.
Seemingly unrelated, a successful company called A/S Norlon has been singled out by environmental group Greenearth as an example of a company that is damaging the environment by dumping toxic waste. It has become the focus of a not-yet violent protest and has split the family ie Harald Schroder-Olsen and his son Trygve and other son Odin. They also have a sister Siv, who following a tragic accident, has the mental capacity of a five-year-old at 26. I’ll leave it there as the company history is too complicated to try and describe in detail.
Bitter Flowers is a very sophisticated crime thriller with a cast of well-drawn characters, that will keep you reading into the night. Just be aware, however, that at times you will really need to concentrate and sometimes have to re-read some passages to keep track of what is going on. As Veum begins to link the crimes and the people involved, the action ramps up into an explosive final few chapters which will leave you gasping, including some very unexpected twists. This is Nordic Noir at its very best.
Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours.
About the Author
One of the fathers of Nordic Noir, Gunnar Staalesen was born in Bergen, Norway, in 1947. He made his debut at the age of twenty-two with Seasons of Innocence and in 1977 he published the first book in the Varg Veum series. He is the author of over twenty titles, which have been published in twenty-four countries and sold over four million copies. Twelve film adaptations of his Varg Veum crime novels have appeared since 2007, starring the popular Norwegian actor Trond Espen Seim. Staalesen has won three Golden Pistols (including the Prize of Honour); Where Roses Never Die won the 2017 Petrona Award for Nordic Crime Fiction, and Big Sister was shortlisted in 2019. He lives with his wife in Bergen.
Orenda Books is a small independent publishing company specialising in literary fiction with a heavy emphasis on crime/thrillers, and approximately half the list in translation. They’ve been twice shortlisted for the Nick Robinson Best Newcomer Award at the IPG awards, and publisher and owner Karen Sullivan was a Bookseller Rising Star in 2016. In 2018, they were awarded a prestigious Creative Europe grant for their translated books programme. Three authors, including Agnes Ravatn, Matt Wesolowski and Amanda Jennings have been WHSmith Fresh Talent picks, and Ravatn’s The Bird Tribunal was shortlisted for the Dublin Literary Award, won an English PEN Translation Award, and adapted for BBC Radio Four ’s Book at Bedtime. Six titles have been short- or long-listed for the CWA Daggers. Launched in 2014 with a mission to bring more international literature to the UK market, Orenda Books publishes a host of debuts, many of which have gone on to sell millions worldwide, and looks for fresh, exciting new voices that push the genre in new directions. Bestselling authors include Ragnar Jonasson, Antti Tuomainen, Gunnar Staalesen, Michael J. Malone, Kjell Ola Dahl, Louise Beech, Johana Gustawsson, Lilja Sigurðardóttir and Sarah Stovell.
+ Cornwall, family, fiction, Gothic mystery, Historical fiction, literature, loss, love, marriage, mystery, review, secrets, World War One
The Key in the Lock by Beth Underdown
I still dream, every night, of Polneath on fire. Smoke unfurling out of an upper window and a hectic orange light cascading across the terrace.
By day, Ivy Boscawen mourns the loss of her son Tim in the Great War. But by night she mourns another boy – one whose death decades ago haunts her still.
For Ivy is sure that there is more to what happened all those years ago: the fire at the Great House, and the terrible events that came after. A truth she must uncover, if she is ever to be free.
Brimming with secrets, this lyrical haunting historical thriller is perfect for fans of Elizabeth Macneal, Sarah Waters and Diane Setterfield.
My Review
The Key in the Lock is set in two time frames – the first in 1888, the year of the fire at Polneath when seven-year-old William died, and the second in 1918 when Ivy is mourning the loss of her son Tim in the Great War. How did Tim die and why is she unable to discover the truth? The telegram simply says: KILLED rather than KILLED IN ACTION or DIED OF HIS WOUNDS. What is the significance, if any?
In 1888, there was a fire at the Great House, the home of Edward Tremain and his drunken bully of a father. Edward’s wife had died earlier and Edward was left to care for his son William. But it was poor William who died that night, hiding under the bed, in the room of housemaid Agnes. But what was he doing there? And who set the fire?
Both time periods are written from Ivy’s first person point of view, but because we hear from her as a mature woman of almost 50 years old in 1918, I found her very naive in 1888, and often forgot how young she was – only 18 or 19. She is easily led by others less scrupulous.
However, the book is beautifully written, in lyrical prose, and I know some will find it rather old-fashioned in the manner of books such as The Turn of the Screw and similar prose from a bygone age and be impatient to move on with the action. There is often far too much detail for ‘modern’ readers. I have to admit I am one of them but I still enjoyed it immensely, though it was rather slow at times. A lovely book.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole, the author and my fellow Pigeons for making this such an enjoyable read.
About the Author
Beth Underdown was born in Rochdale. Before becoming an author, she worked as a waitress, a cookbook editorial assistant and for an exam board. She began writing her first novel while studying Creative Writing at the University of Manchester, where she is now a lecturer. In her spare time, Beth enjoys hiking and cake; her comfort reads are Wolf Hall and the ghost stories of MR James. She can be found on Twitter @bethunderdown and Instagram @bethunderdown – go and say hi!
+ childhood, community, family, family drama, fiction, forgiveness, friendship, literature, loss, love, mental health, mental illness, motherhood, photography, review, Scottish Highlands, secrets, sisters, sixties
Little Wing by Freya North
Little Wing is the powerful story of two families over three generations.
In the 1960s, a pregnant 16-year-old is banished to one of the remotest parts of the UK. Years later, Nell and Dougie are both at critical moments in their lives when their paths cross. Between Camden, Colchester and the Outer Hebrides, the three story lines collide when secrets are uncovered and answers sought.
Little Wing is a novel about resilience, forgiveness and the true meaning of family, about finding one’s place in the world and discovering how we all belong somewhere and to someone.
My Review
I’d never read Freya North before, so I had no idea what to expect. Little Wing is quite slow at times so you need to be patient and immerse yourself in the beauty of the isle of Harris, the delightfulness of our heroine Nell, her friendship with Frank and the amazing staff of the Chaffinch Cafe where she works. Settle in gently and allow yourself to become part of both communities.
Nell was brought up by her mum Wendy, who has suffered with her mental health (maybe bipolar?) all her life, but now has dementia and lives in a nursing home. When Nell goes to visit, her mum sometimes calls her Florence, but she doesn’t know why. When she is lucid, Wendy still calls her Nell.
Throughout the book we have flashbacks to the late 1960s, when a pregnant 16-year-old is banished to the Isle of Harris in the Outer Hebrides to have her baby and protect her family from the shame.
In the meantime, Dougie is at a turning point in his life. He is a professional photographer, but makes a living by taking photos of hardware and tools. It’s boring, but lucrative. Where did he lose the ability to see real life through the lens of his camera? He needs to find out and this means returning to his childhood home in Scotland.
We realise that eventually these three separate strands will come together, but how are they connected? Nell knows nothing about her family or her early childhood and is desperate to find out, while there are so many things Dougie would rather forget. But he needs to face his demons in order to move on. Finally, who is the 16-year-old and how does she fit in?
After a slightly confusing start, I grew to love the main characters, and the minor ones too. It’s definitely going to be one of my favourites this year, 2022.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole, the author and my fellow Pigeons for making this such an enjoyable read.
About the Author
Freya North is the author of many bestselling novels which have been translated into numerous languages. She was born in London but lives in rural Hertfordshire, where she writes from a stable in her back garden. A passionate reader since childhood, Freya was originally inspired by Mary Wesley, Rose Tremain and Barbara Trapido – fiction with strong and original characters. To hear about events, competitions and what she’s writing, join Freya on Facebook, Twitter and her website.
+ childhood, family, fashion, female friendship, feminism, fiction, friends, friendship, jealousy, love, marriage, motherhood, murder mystery, Nigeria, obsession, relationships, revenge, review, secrets, sisterhood
Wahala by Nikki May
Ronke, Simi, Boo are three mixed-race friends living in London. They have the gift of two cultures, Nigerian and English, though not all of them choose to see it that way.
Everyday racism has never held them back, but now in their thirties, they question their future. Ronke wants a husband (he must be Nigerian); Boo enjoys (correction: endures) stay-at-home motherhood; while Simi, full of fashion career dreams, rolls her eyes as her boss refers to her urban vibe yet again.
#Wahala @NikkiOMay #RandomThingsTours @annecater @RandomTTours
When Isobel, a lethally glamorous friend from their past arrives in town, she is determined to fix their futures for them.
Cracks in their friendship begin to appear, and it is soon obvious Isobel is not sorting but wrecking. When she is driven to a terrible act, the women are forced to reckon with a crime in their past that may just have repeated itself.
My Review
Wahala (which means trouble) is the story of three, mixed-race, best friends whose lives are disrupted when glamorous Isobel threatens to tear them apart. Because Isobel has an agenda, only none of the women can see it.
Ronke is definitely my favourite character. You could say she’s a bit of a doormat – all her previous boyfriends have walked all over her and her friends Simi and Boo are convinced that her current partner Kayode will do the same. But Ronke adores him and besides, he’s Nigerian, and Ronke wants a Nigerian husband. She’s a great cook, a good friend and she adores children, especially Boo’s daughter and at times you wonder if she loves her more than Boo does.
I’m sorry but I really didn’t like Boo. She has a French husband Didier, who can’t do enough for her, and a gorgeous (if a tad precocious) daughter Sofia who can swear in French, but Boo is never satisfied. She often wishes she’d never got married and had a child. She feels trapped. Her constant sniping was very annoying.
Simi is married to wealthy Martin, who desperately wants a baby, except she doesn’t. That means a lot of lying, but one day she’ll get caught out. Martin is currently working overseas for nine months and they only get together once a month.
Isobel was Simi’s friend at school. Disgustingly rich and ostentatious, her family was the type that could buy themselves out of anything. Unfortunately, the two girls fell out over something to do with their parents and haven’t seen each other since. Until now that is. And that’s when the trouble starts.
Isobel is a total bitch. As the reader we can see it, but they can’t. I was almost screaming at the page ‘don’t tell her your secrets, don’t trust her!’ She’s manipulating all of you.
This is one of those stories you can’t put down. It’s exciting, frustrating, sad, funny, everything you would expect from a great book. But there’s also racism, jealousy, obsession and even murder, all mixed in with Nigerian culture and fantastic recipes for Nigerian food. And it’s not every day you get a murder mystery combined with a recipe book.
Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours, NetGalley for an ARC and to The Pigeonhole and my fellow Pigeons for making this such an enjoyable read.
About the Author
Born in Bristol and raised in Lagos, Nikki May is Nigerian-British. At twenty, she dropped out of medical school, moved to London, and began a career in advertising, going on to run a successful agency. Nikki lives in Dorset with her husband and two standard Schnauzers.
Nikki says: “This is a novel about the power of friendship and the stories we inherit. The inspiration for Wahala came from a long (and loud) lunch with very good friends in a Nigerian restaurant. I wanted to read a book that had people like me in it. The first scene was drafted on the train journey home. The characters became flesh and wouldn’t let me go.”
+ fiction, France, friendship, humour fiction, List, Magical realism, mystery, mythology, novel-in-emails, relationships, review, secrets, sisters, supernatural, twins, whimsical, writers, writers group
My Top 3 Books of 2021
It’s January 1st 2022 and it’s time to reflect on my three favourite books of 2021.
Last year it was hard but not impossible. There were instant standouts. This year I have found it much harder. I have tried to include a mix of genres but I’ve definitely failed. Maybe I should simply call them all slightly ‘whimsical’.
And if that is not where you see yourself as an author, it includes Neil Gaiman, Sarah Addison Allen, Jasper Fforde, Erin Morgenstern, Alice Hoffman and Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, to name but a few.
She Never Told Me About The Ocean by Elisabeth Sharp McKetta
Firstly let me say that I loved this book. Every word, every phrase, every brilliant moment. It has gone to the top of my favourite books of the year.
She Never Told Me About the Ocean is a work of magical realism – I didn’t realise to what extent when I started it. There were touches of the mystical beauty I have only ever found in the books of Alice Hoffman (not so much Practical Magic which is the best known as it was made into a Hollywood film) but in others such as The World That We Knew, Faithful, Blackbird House and she is my favourite writer ever. This is the biggest compliment I could pay any author.
For my full review click here
Still Life by Sarah Winman
Just when you think you’ve found your favourite books of the year so far, another one comes along. That book is Still Life. What a band of lovable, eccentric characters in this marvellous story that sweeps across more than forty years from the second world war to the late 1970s. It looks at love, friendship, class, sexuality, art and culture in a manner that is both hilarious and sad in equal measures. It takes place in London and Florence, Italy and we also have a glimpse into the life of Evelyn much earlier in the twentieth century. She may have been a spy, but now she lectures in Art History.
For my full review click here
The Beloved Girls by Harriet Evans
Another book that’s gone straight to my top books of the year. This book is so unique, amazing, heartfelt, sad and at times quite creepy. It revolves around the annual bee ceremony where the Hunter family and the whole community must follow the path to the old Chapel at Vanes to open the combs and taste the honey.
It all sounds highly risky and even more so this hot summer of 1989. August 31st is the 18th birthday of Joss and his twin sister Kitty and the bees have had to wait an extra two weeks and this had made them crosser than ever. We discover there have been accidents in the past. But it’s an obsession for Charles Hunter and his sister Ros – why is the ceremony so important to them?
For my full review click here
However, there was another standout for me, but it’s not published quite yet. I read it in 2021, so I’m including it as my ‘special mention’. Or I could just call this My Top 4 Books.
The Unravelling by Polly Crosby
‘The sea is made up of unspeakable sadness.’ This is a sentence you will read many times in this extraordinary book.
Tartelin, a young woman who has recently lost her mother, travels to the tiny, remote island of Dohhalund in the middle of the North Sea, to work for Miss Stourbridge. Her job will be to catch butterflies and kill them, so they can be pinned and studied. It’s a strange request and one that Tartelin doesn’t realise will have such a profound effect on her.
For my full review click here
And finally, one of the funniest books of the year:
Work in Progress: The untold story of the Crawley Writers’ Group by Dan Brotzel, Martin Jenkins and Alex Woolf
Hilarious. At a time when the world is in pandemic chaos following Brexit chaos, this book is a beacon of light in the darkness (I hope that is/is not too pretentious). In the spirit of the novel I am going to write in the style of the Crawley Writers Group. If I ever thought about joining a writer’s group I hope/dread that they would all be as mad as this lot.
For my full review click here
This Friday 31st Theatrephonic round up their Christmas series with the perfect piece to end the year.
‘Art History’
For her end of term Art History module, Saskia wants Lisa to examine a work of art in her house or a painting to which she feels a connection. But Lisa is struggling to be objective. The painting she has chosen is the last one her ex-husband gave her. What is the legacy of the work, asks Saskia?
Well, it was painted by a man who’s partner was also …..ing my husband, and anyway, he was a dog painter really and I’m not a dog person.
Stay away from anecdotes Lisa. Context!
In the future we won’t need to know about art history, says Lisa. Post oils, it will be more about foraging and food fermentation.
‘Bye Saskia, I’ve got a sack of cabbages to shred.’
Very clever and very funny. I loved this.
Written by @geraldine.brennan
Directed by @ebraefield
Starring
Geraldine Brennan @geraldine.brennan as Lisa
Zoe Cunningham @zoefcunningham as Saskia
and Michael Luke Walsh as Dad
Music:
Love Explosion by Silent Partner
Produced by Cat on a Piano Productions
The Theatrephonic Theme tune was composed by Jackson Pentland
Performed by
Jackson Pentland
Mollie Fyfe Taylor
Emmeline Braefield
Cat on a Piano Productions produce and edit feature films, sketches and radio plays.
Their latest project is called @Theatrephonic, a podcast of standalone radio plays and short stories performed by professional actors. You can catch Theatrephonic on Spotify and other platforms.
For more information about the Theatrephonic Podcast, go to catonapiano.uk/theatrephonic, Tweet or Instagram @theatrephonic, or visit their Facebook page.
And if you really enjoyed this week’s episode, listen to Theatrephonic’s other plays and short stories and consider becoming a patron by clicking here…
+ community, crime fiction, dark humour, diary, family, fiction, jealousy, journal, marriage, mystery, obsession, review, secrets, thriller
I Know What You’ve Done by Dorothy Koomson
What if all your neighbours’ secrets landed in a diary on your doorstep?
What if the woman who gave it to you was murdered by one of the people in the diary?
What if the police asked if you knew anything? Would you hand over the book of secrets? Or … would you try to find out what everyone had done?
I Know What You’ve Done is the unputdownable thriller from the Queen of the Big Reveal.
My Review
Well this had us all guessing! And getting it wrong over and over. What a corker! Who can we trust? Who do we believe is telling the truth? No-one probably.
The story revolves around a diary left with Rae by her distinctly unfriendly neighbour Priscilla, after she’s been bonked on the head by person or persons unknown. The diary is full of secrets about some of the residents of the street, so who is implicated and who had a motive to try and kill Priscilla, and not just because she’s a snooty cow. And if you were Rae, would you hand the diary over to the police or try and read it first? Well of course you’d hand it over, but this is fiction and there wouldn’t be a story if she did.
I know Brighton has its seedier side (what town doesn’t), but the innocently-named Acacia Villas is a real den of iniquity. All those crims in one tree-lined, residential street. Makes me start wondering about my own neighbours (she says shutting the curtains and hiding the diary).
Rae is fleeing from something that happened in London. She’s married to Clark, whose demented ex, Lilly, is trying to get him back. Bryony is married to Grayson, but he’s vile and we all hate him almost as much as she does. And Dunstan happens to be the Police Officer who arrived on the scene when Priscilla collapsed on Rae’s doorstep. The story unfolds from different characters’ points of view, which makes it more interesting if initially slightly confusing.
And when you get the ‘final’ twist, there’s another to follow. So just how far would you go to keep your secrets?
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole, the author and my fellow Pigeons for making this such an enjoyable read.
About the Author
“Hello, my name’s Dorothy Koomson and I’ll try to make this bit that’s all about me as interesting as possible.
“I wrote my first novel called There’s A Thin Line Between Love And Hate when I was 13. I used to write a chapter every night then pass it around to my fellow convent school pupils every morning, and they seemed to love it.
“I grew up in London and then grew up again in Leeds when I went to university. I eventually returned to London to study for my masters degree and stayed put for the following years. I took up various temping jobs and eventually got my big break writing, editing and subbing for various women’s magazines and national papers.
“Fiction and storytelling were still a HUGE passion of mine and I continued to write short stories and novels every spare moment that I got. In 2001 I had the idea for The Cupid Effect and my career as a published novelist began. And it’s been fantastic. In 2006, third novel, My Best Friend’s Girl was published. It was incredibly successful – selling nearly 90,000 copies within its first few weeks on sale. Six weeks later, it was selected for the Richard & Judy Summer Reads Book Club and the book went on to sell over 500,000 copies. Oh, there I go again, this is meant to be about me, not my novels.
“Okay, back to me. I recently spent two years living in Sydney Australia, and now I’m back in England. But I can’t say for how long I’ll be in the UK for because I’ve been well and truly bitten by the travel bug.”
+ adventure, child abduction, crime fiction, Detective novel, family, fiction, Freedom, friends, friendship, haunting, Historical fiction, holocaust, Inuit, kidnapping, List, literature, loss, love, Magical realism, murder, nazi germany, poland, police drama, Polish, Psychological fiction, relationships, review, Scotland, Scottish Highlands, secrets, World War Two
My Top 8 Books of 2021 – part four
Here are my favourite eight books of the fourth quarter of 2021. So far this has been a good year for books if for nothing else, so it was a really difficult decision. Please note that there may be books amongst the list that are not published until 2022, but these are books I have read this year and may be ARCs.
The Flight of the Shearwater by Alan Jones
Flight of the Shearwater continues the journey of the Kästners – the relationship between Erich and youngest daughter Antje and their mother Maria and sister Eva declining all the time. This disagreement revolves around the relationship with their lifelong friends and housekeepers – the Nussbaums who happen to be Jewish. While I do understand that Maria and Eva are afraid of repercussions – who can say if any of us would have been brave enough in the face of the SS or the Gestapo – I can’t help feeling that in their case it was more about their standing in society and Maria’s relationship with the Countess and finding Eva a well-connected husband.
For full review click here
A Woman Made of Snow by Elisabeth Gifford
This is one of the most beautifully written books I have read this year. Once again we have two timelines – Caroline, Alasdair and baby Felicity in 1949, being forced to live in Kelly Castle with Alasdair’s opinionated mum Martha, after their cottage in the grounds is flooded, and the mystery of who was Alasdair’s great-grandmother, for whom there is no grave, no pictures and whose name has been removed from the family tree.
For full review click here
The Unravelling by Polly Crosby
‘The sea is made up of unspeakable sadness.’ This is a sentence you will read many times in this extraordinary book.
Tartelin, a young woman who has recently lost her mother, travels to the tiny, remote island of Dohhalund in the middle of the North Sea, to work for Miss Stourbridge. Her job will be to catch butterflies and kill them, so they can be pinned and studied. It’s a strange request and one that Tartelin doesn’t realise will have such a profound effect on her.
For full review click here
The Every by Dave Eggers
Is this the future? One where people are happy to give up their freedoms in exchange for a life without crime, false friendships and anxiety. But there’s a catch. Constant monitoring and surveillance. Scared to say anything in case it tips your algorithms into the negative, and never get cross with your kids, it’s all being recorded. There’s no hiding place because the Every has the technology.
For full review click here
The Soul Catcher by Monica Bhide
This is an author who is not afraid of tragedy. The worst can happen and sometimes it does. But there is also love and joy.
The narrative goes round in a circle of short stories. We begin with Yamini – the Soul Catcher in the title. She uses her supernatural power to heal people – it is her destiny and one from which there is no escape.
For full review click here
Three Little Girls by Jane Badrock
What a crazy roller coaster of a ride. I just loved this book. Fantastic cast of characters – DI Karen Thorpe, tough, clever, untidy, her on-off boyfriend John Steele, head of forensics, Karen’s opposite, tidy and organised. But I especially loved ‘wee’ book shop owner and map-keeper Mr Binks. Who is he and what does he really do? Can we trust him?
For full review click here
The Visitors by Caroline Scott
This is such a beautiful book. Exquisitely written using sensitive, evocative language, we really feel we are there in Cornwall and in the trenches in France during the Great War.
It’s 1923 and Esme has been widowed for seven years. Her husband of only a few months went to war in France but after two years of regular letters, they suddenly stopped. Then one fateful day the letter she dreads arrives and she is informed that he has died.
For full review click here
The Last Checkmate by Gabriella Saab
I often cry at the end of a book, especially if the ending is sad, but I have to admit I cried throughout most of The Last Checkmate. After so many years have past since the holocaust I still struggle with the notion that there are people out there who can do these things to one another. And those who not only believed the killing and torture was OK but that it was actually justified – the destruction of an entire race was justified. But this story is not about the Jews, it’s about one 14-year-old girl who joined the Polish resistance in Warsaw with her ‘friend’ Irena and got caught, and how she survived the horrors of Auschwitz.
For full review click here
+ child abduction, demon, family, fantasy, fiction, haunting, kidnapping, loss, love, mystery, Psychological fiction, review, supernatural, thriller
Mr Jones by Alex Woolf
Ben hears noises in his basement and witnesses weird goings-on in his local park. His eight-year-old daughter Imogen starts receiving messages from someone claiming to be her missing mother. And then there is Mr Jones —the man who haunts the imaginations of the children at Imogen’s school. But they are just stories, surely? Ben soon develops a creeping suspicion that someone is out to kidnap his daughter. Are his fears real or a result of his own stress-induced paranoia?
Alex Woolf’s psychological thriller explores loss, fear and an overwhelming desire to keep those we love safe from harm.
My Review
I desperately wanted to give this five stars for the wonderful writing, the creepiness, the originality etc. Unfortunately the ending was not what I expected or needed and it left me finding my own metaphorical interpretation, otherwise it wouldn’t have worked for me.
The blurb says ‘Alex Woolf’s psychological thriller explores loss, fear and an overwhelming desire to keep those we love safe from harm.‘ In a lot of ways I didn’t need the plot being explained to me or turned into something physical or even metaphysical – I was happy for my imagination to take me there.
As readers I think we need everything tied up at the end in its own little box, but I think Mr Jones goes beyond that. You hear people say – this is so good, all the loose ends were tied up very neatly thanks, but in this case I didn’t want them tied up. I didn’t want an explanation for everything (albeit natural or supernatural). I rather like Shakespeare’s ‘he descended into madness’ for absolutely no apparent reason (you’ll need to read the book for that to make sense). I don’t need to know that the fairies at the bottom of the garden are actually aliens (God help us) – note there are no aliens here (thank goodness) or fairies.
Ben’s wife has disappeared and he appears to find it easier to believe that she was murdered (or at least died) than accept that she walked out on him and his eight-year-old daughter Imogen. Right at the end Ben muses that ‘…maybe she just didn’t love Imogen that much. There is no iron law of the universe, ‘he says’ ‘that a mother has to love her child.’
In the meantime, a totally separate character called Roy is writing a book based on a horrific event that occurred in 2003. But are they in some way connected? And who is Amy and why is she so keen for her son Alex to be Imogen’s best friend?
The bizarre plot and Ben’s memory lapses are very confusing but in a way that makes you want to read more – if I wasn’t reading in ‘staves’ with the Pigeonhole bookclub I’d have devoured the whole lot in a day.
To hell with it. I’m going to give it five stars anyway.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole, the author and my fellow Pigeons for making this such an enjoyable read.
About the Author
Alex Woolf was born in London in 1964. He has worked as a writer and editor for over 20 years and has published over 40 works of fiction and non-fiction, mainly for young adults. His fiction includes the Chronosphere series, a science-fiction trilogy published by Scribo, and Soul Shadows, an interactive e-novel published by Fiction Express, and shortly to be published in print by Capstone. His short fiction has won or been shortlisted for several competitions. He lives in Southgate, North London, with his wife and two children.
Here is a special minisode for you this Friday (Christmas Eve)
‘Sweet Singing in the Choir’
A Christmas Case
It’s our friend DI Arthur Meadowes and his long-suffering wife Deirdre again with another exciting tale of burglary and carol singing.
Deirdre needs to practice her singing but Arthur has a case to crack. How will it all turn out? I love this pair – I hope we see lots more of them in the future.
Written by Barbara Jennings
Directed by @ebraefield
Starring Helen Fullerton @helenfullertonactor and Jonathan Legg @jondlegg
Music:
Silent Night, performed by Amicantus Choir
Hark! The Herold Angels Sing, performed by Amicantus Choir
Oh Come All Ye Faithful, performed by Amicantus Choir
Lucky patrons got this episode early, on Wednesday. If you fancy getting early episodes as well as bloopers, Q&As and bonus episodes, visit www.patreon.com/theatrephonic
Produced by Cat on a Piano Productions
The Theatrephonic Theme tune was composed by Jackson Pentland
Performed by
Jackson Pentland
Mollie Fyfe Taylor
Emmeline Braefield
Cat on a Piano Productions produce and edit feature films, sketches and radio plays.
Their latest project is called @Theatrephonic, a podcast of standalone radio plays and short stories performed by professional actors. You can catch Theatrephonic on Spotify and other platforms.
For more information about the Theatrephonic Podcast, go to catonapiano.uk/theatrephonic, Tweet or Instagram @theatrephonic, or visit their Facebook page.
And if you really enjoyed this week’s episode, listen to Theatrephonic’s other plays and short stories and consider becoming a patron by clicking here…
+ crime fiction, Detective novel, fiction, murder, police drama, Psychological fiction, psycopath, review, serial killer, thriller
The Murder Mile (Dr. Jo McCready #1) by Lesley Mcevoy
Evil never dies…
Forensic Psychologist, Jo McCready is assisting DCI Callum Ferguson on a murder inquiry, when one of her patients is found brutally murdered.
Jo was the last person to see Martha Scott alive. She was helping Martha unlock a repressed memory. But during the session, Jo unlocked more than she bargained for. An alter personality introduced himself as the reincarnation of Jack the Ripper – and thanked Jo for setting him free to kill again.
As Ferguson’s team race to find Martha’s killer, a series of copycat killings begin, replicating ‘The Autumn of Terror’ in 1888. But if Jack is just a figment of Martha’s damaged mind, who killed her?
As the body count rises, Jo must construct a profile to stop the murderer recreating the terror of the most infamous serial killer of all time.
But not everyone is on Jo’s side. The Police Intelligence Unit have their own profiler, Liz Taylor-Caine, who resents Jo’s involvement as a contributing expert in the case.
Suspicion about Jo’s involvement in the killings increases when someone close to the team becomes one of Jack’s victims.
And as the anniversary of the final and most gruesome of all the killings looms, Jo discovers that the killer has one murder on his mind that is far closer to home…
My Review
OMG I want to see this as a TV series – pleeease. It would be so good. I can even help cast it (as I often do on here). Maybe Keeley Hawes as Jo?
Do you remember the series Whitechapel starring Rupert Penry-Jones? The first series was broadcast in 2009 and was about the search for a modern copycat killer replicating the murders of Jack the Ripper.
In The Murder Mile, the killer actually believes he is ‘Jack’ and that he is on a mission to act out the gruesome crimes committed in 1888 over an area of London that became known as ‘the murder mile’.
But back to the beginning. Forensic Psychologist, Jo McCready is asked by DCI Callum Ferguson, with whom she is/is not having a bit of a fling to help profile the Towpath killer, but this causes ripples in The Police Intelligence Unit as they have their own profiler, Liz Taylor-Caine, who resents Jo’s involvement as a contributing expert in the case. Anyway to cut a long story short, Jo is right and Liz is wrong – more animosity between them.
In the meantime Jo has been visiting a young woman called Martha who is trying to unlock a repressed memory, but when Martha is murdered, we know we have another killer on the loose. And so the story unfolds and the body count rises, each crime being an exact copy of Jack the Ripper’s murders, albeit in another city.
This book was just brilliant. It’s so exciting with so many twists and turns and a wonderful dog called Harvey who we all came to love. Well drawn characters with Jo’s work as a profiler adding more depth to the suspects. I loved it.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole, the author and my fellow Pigeons for making this such an enjoyable read.
About the Author
Lesley McEvoy was born and bred in Yorkshire and has had a passion for writing in one form or another all her life. The writing took a backseat as Lesley developed her career as a Behavioural Analyst / Profiler and Psychotherapist – setting up her own Consultancy business and therapy practice. She has written and presented extensively around the world for over 25 years specialising in behavioural profiling and training, with a wide variety of organisations. The corporate world provided unexpected sources of writing material when, as Lesley said – she found more psychopaths in business than in prison! Lesley’s work in some of the UK’s toughest prisons was where she met people whose lives had been characterised by drugs and violence and whose experiences informed the themes she now writes about. Deciding in 2017 to concentrate on her writing again, Lesley produced her debut novel, The Murder Mile published by Bloodhound Books in May 2019. In December 2019, she was signed by Rogers, Coleridge and White Literary agency in London and is represented by Jon Wood.
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