Novels Now

Afraid by Jack Kilbourn

Pages: 346 pages
First Published: Apr. 1, 2009
Genre: horror
Rating: 3/5

First sentence:

The hunter’s moon, a shade of orange so dark it appeared to be filled with blood, hung fat and low over the mirror surface of Big Lake McDonald.

Acquired: Received a review copy from Library Thing’s Early Review Program.

Reason for Reading: The plot intrigued me.

Summary: A small town in Wisconsin which has so far only needed a sheriff and a drunk tank to keep the peace is going to find itself sorely lacking in defences. A helicopter crashes into the backwoods and unleashes a terrible horror that absolutely no one in town is safe from. It unrelentlessly attacks in the method it knows best: Isolate, terrorize, annihilate. The town is cut off from the rest of civilization but a few find out that the terror does have a purpose and they try, against all odds, to fight back.

Comments: This book is all action. Right from page one to the end terror and horror continue non-stop with lots of blood, gore and page-turning excitement. This is the type of horror that uses science for its basis making the possibility of its reality not entirely beyond reason. The book also plays upon modern society’s fear of terrorism, creating quite a heart thumping reading. The actions of our heroes are a bit over-the-top at times and the characters are two-dimensional with little depth or the ability to capture the reader’s emotion. But in all reality this book doesn’t try to be anything it isn’t. It is simply a non-stop horror story which is worth the ride if you enjoy that sort of thing. This would make a good beach or plane read. I would read another book by the author.

The Weight of Heaven by Thrity Umrigar
Harper Collins, 2009
Fiction; 365 pgs

Book Source: I bought a copy of the book at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books in April of 2009.

The subliminal mind has many dark, unhappy corners, after all. Imagine something loosening itself from one of those corners. Let’s call it a – a germ. And let’s say conditions prove right for that germ to develop  – to grow, like a child in the womb. What would this little stranger grow into? A sort of shadow-self perhaps: a Caliban, a Mr. Hyde. A creature motivated by all the nasty impulses and hungers the conscious mind had hoped to keep hidden away: things like envy, and malice, and frustration… - from The Little Stranger, pages 353-354 -

In a small English village in Warwickshire sits a Georgian home called Hundreds Hall. It was once an elegant mansion with beautiful grounds and many servants to keep its rooms flawless. But the war has taken its toll on the people and economy of England, and Hundreds Hall is now in decline with crumbling masonry, weed-choked gardens and leaky ceilings. Dr. Faraday, the local physician, had visited the mansion as a child and his mother was once a maid there, so he is shocked at what the once beautiful home has become when he is called out to see an ailing servant girl. He quickly befriends those still living at Hundreds Hall: the elderly Mrs. Ayres and her two adult children… Roderick (who is crippled from the war), and Caroline. Within a short period of time, strange things begin to happen – scorch marks appear on the walls, the telephone rings in the middle of the night and then goes dead, and the family dog acts out of character. Are these events caused by a ghost, as Betty the young servant girl believes, or something far more sinister?

Sarah Waters’ newest novel is Gothic in style. Set in post-war England sometime in the the late 1940s and narrated by a questionable narrator (Dr. Faraday), the story unfolds slowly at first but then picks up about mid-way through the book. Waters takes her time to carefully develop her characters and introduces the theme of class differences early on when it becomes evident that Dr. Faraday has never relinquished his dismay at being the son of a maid, and the Ayreses (despite their current bleak economic situation) will always consider themselves a family of means.

As in all good Gothic novels, Hundreds Hall becomes a character in the book. The descriptions of the house’s decline, its dark and gloomy halls and closed off rooms with peeling or mildewed wallpaper, seems to be a metaphor for the economic decline of the times. Beneath its crumbling exterior, the house also holds family secrets and tragedy.

Waters gives clues as to the malevolent presence in the house, but it is not until the end that I was certain of its origins…and then I was thrilled by Waters’ deft manipulation of her story. As with all of her work, Waters’ writing is sophisticated and satisfying, and filled with descriptions which capture the historical time of the story.

My only complaint, and it is a small one, was the slow pace at the beginning of the book. Waters takes her time to set the stage and introduce her characters, and at times I grew impatient for some action. Once events start to happen, however, the pace picks up. I found myself reading straight through the last 150 pages with barely a break.

Readers who have liked Waters’ previous books and who like a good Gothic mystery, will most likely find The Little Stranger an enjoyable, albeit disturbing, read.

Innocent War by Susan Violante
Nino Series No. 1

Pages: 183
First Published: Apr. 17, 2009
Rating: 3.5/5

First sentence:

“Nino, wake up! You’re going to be late,” hollered Papa from the hallway outside of my room.

Acquired: I received a review copy from the book’s publicist.

Reason for Reading: The plot and point of view intrigued me.

Summary: The author received five cassette tapes from her father recording his life story and she has started to turn them into a fictionalized biography of her father’s life with this first volume covering young Nino’s life from age 10 to 15, years 1940 to 1945. Nino is born in Italy but soon moves with his family to Tripoli in the Italian Colony of Libya. His father is a construction worker and the Italians in the Colony are indoctrinated by Mussolini via the radio and propaganda, children must attend weekly youth meetings. But these people are far removed from Europe, they have no proper understanding of the war, nor how it affects them until the day the radio announces that Italy is at war with France and Britain and simultaneously the town of Tripoli is attacked by French bombers, leaving dead, injured and rubble behind them. This then is the story of an Italian family living in Libya trying to survive in the war torn country told through the eyes of a child.

Comments: Before commenting on the story I must quickly say this first. The book is self-published (not necessarily a bad thing) but really needs editing. There are some typos, many awkward sentences and quite a number of grammatical errors, such as the one that annoyed me the most: the use of the word “on” instead of “in” throughout the book and quite often the reverse as well. ‘Nuff said.

The story itself was delightful. Nino and his mother Maria are wonderful, full characters with many layers. This is a very unusual point of view for a World War II story and I really appreciated experiencing it, especially knowing that it is based on fact. The Italians in Libya have no idea why they are suddenly being bombed, then the Italian and Nazi soldiers arrive. The Nazi’s immediately intimidate the people and Nino and his family watch in horror as Sarah, their Jewish babysitter’s, family is taken away in the night. Having made a prior promise to the mother, Sarah has become their cousin, Rita, from Naples as they keep her in their house. Told through a child’s eyes we see the horror, the hardships, the death of war but as a child we also see the adventures a boy can have, the escapades and ideas he comes up with that sometimes benefit the family and sometimes get him in trouble. He is an innocent child living the life he has been given and yet this is also a coming of age story as the boy becomes a man and can discern the truth behind what he sees. As a little boy he sees the Italian soldiers as heroes but when he sees up close and personal on a train how a soldier abuses a man, Nino knows he never wants to be a soldier.

A delightful read which can be harrowing and humourous, heart-wrenching and heart-warming.

BoneMan’s Daughters by Ted Dekker

Pages: 401 pgs.
First Published: Apr. 14, 2009
Genre: thriller, christian fiction?
Rating: 5/5

First sentence:

The day that Ryan Evans’ world forever changed began as any other day he’d spent in the hot desert might have done.

Reason for Reading: The publisher’s description of this serial killer thriller was right up my alley.

Summary: The BoneMan kidnapped and brutally murdered six girl’s by breaking every single bone in their body. He was arrested and sent to prison but there was always a feeling by some that the wrong man had been convicted. Two years later on a technicality the prisoner is released and at the same time Ryan Evans, Intelligence Officer, returns home from a gruelling POW capture in the desert. The murder’s start again and when Ryan’s own estranged daughter is kidnapped the FBI start seeing all evidence pointing towards Ryan himself but Ryan has received a message from the real BoneMan and Ryan must do what he says to save his daughter’s life.

Comments: All I can say is wow, wow, WOW! An amazing serial killer thriller. I loved it! A page-turner with gruesome details that never quite goes over into goriness used by some other authors. The back of the book tells me this is Ted Dekker’s 23rd book and I ask myself “Why am I only reading him now?” In fact, I’d never heard of him before this book came out. I feel like I’ve just discovered a treasure chest, if Dekker’s other work is anywhere near as engrossing as this one is I’ve got a lot of reading ahead of me!

The story is fast-paced and never lets up, some of the scenes are a little beyond believability but I chalked it up to an Intelligence Officer being overly intelligent and perhaps overly lucky. There’s no sense picking apart a thriller like this when you are on a wild ride of tension. Ryan’s character is fully fleshed out and we come to understand and feel for him. The secondary characters are less realized though they do not play emotionally integral parts to the plot. The bad guy is bad, pure evil, and this is one thing I particularly like in thrillers. There are no grey areas as to who is evil. The fight of good vs evil is very clear, as in a Dean Koontz novel.

And mentioning Dean Koontz, I’d like to comment on the Christian Fiction aspect of this novel. Never having read anything else by Dekker I can’t comment on him yet, as an author, but on this book alone, if that tag bothers you, don’t let it. Likening this book to Christian Fiction would be the same as likening Dean Koontz to Catholic Fiction. (Koontz is Catholic and his books contain many Catholic themes, if you know to look for them) There is a Biblical theme behind the killer’s motive (very common in thrillers) and the main character believes in God, thus there are some Christian elements/quotes in the story. Of course, I am a Christian and none of this stood out to me but I had no idea I was reading Christian Fiction until I looked up the amazon link and saw all the CF tags and checked out his other books and found that he was a popular CF author!

A fabulous book, thriller readers should not miss out on this one, and you can be sure you will be seeing more Ted Dekker reviews from me in the future.

The Color of Earth by Kim Dong Hwa, translated by Lauren Na
The Story of Life on the Golden Fields Vol. 1

Pages: 319 pgs.
Ages: 16+
First Published: (Apr. 2009 Eng. trans) (2003 orig. Korean)
Genre: YA, realistic fiction, manga
Rating: 4.5/5

First sentence:

“Golly! Them beetles are matin’.”

Reason for Reading: Cybils nominee.

Summary: This is the story of two women, one a little and the other her young widowed mother. The story focuses on the little girl and her awakening identity as a woman, and also as a side story is her mother who finds love again for the first time since her husband’s death. As the back of my book says “first love and second chances.”

Comments: This first book in a trilogy follows the little girl from the age of about six to fourteen. It takes place in a small Korean village in a time period unknown, with the only clue to placing it somewhere in the 20th century being a steam or coal engine train. Now, I’ll start off by saying this is not the type of book I would normally read *at all*. I am much too conservative to even want to read a book that has the words “s*xual awakening” on the front flap but doing my job as a Cybils panelist I reluctantly set down to give the book a chance.

I can’t quite know how to say just how beautiful a story this was. A little girl’s curiosity about her body, the difference between boys and girls, grown-up things she over hears and how she goes straight to her mother with her questions and confusion is a tender love story in itself. The mother/daughter relationship presented here is truly touching and really the backbone of this volume. For those wanting a plot there really isn’t any. We are touched by the maternal relationship and watch as each of them separately experiences womanhood. The little girl’s experiences of finding our about her body, how it’s different than a boys, her first period and her first crush on a boy, who is studying to be a monk, are all respectfully portrayed. The mother, who is young and beautiful, suddenly finds that love for a man can touch her heart again when she falls in love with a traveling artist who keeps returning to visit her. There are a couple of incidents in the book that I could have done without but for the most part the material is presented in a decent way, making for a truly touching story.

I also really enjoyed the artwork. The is the first time I’ve read Korean manga which is called manhwa. I’m not a huge fan of manga artwork as I hate the horrible fake over expressive faces and how all the men look like girls. But this book was not drawn that way at all, aside from the occasional great big mouth to show extreme emotions all the artwork is very realistic and the detailed background scenery in many frames is lovely. The men aslo look like men. I wonder if this is typical of Korean manhwa or just this particular artist’s style.

I’ve fallen for Ewha, the little girl, and I’ll be reading the next book for sure. Though I won’t commit any further as I’ll have to see if the story remains within my boundaries as she gets older. This book, The Color of Earth, is not going to be for everyone but if the topic interests you and you are comfortable with the subject matter then I hope you find the story as touching as I did. I’ll end with a lovely little quote the girl says to herself near the end of the book:

Because I asked something I shouldn’t have asked. I heard what I shouldn’t have heard. And because I went where I shouldn’t have gone, I saw what I shouldn’t have seen. How will my young heart cope with all that I’ve heard and seen?

Philosophical nothings. Yet somehow, exchanging the small terrors and joys of parenthood with Dr. Peter Kendrick did not seem like nothing. Maybe it was the gulf between their lives which, perversely, made connection seem possible. Maybe it was something else: just Peter. Either way, she had no sensible basis for believing he might phone. But she found herself dearly hoping that he would. - from Crossed Wires, page 154 -

Mina, a single mother, lives in Sheffield and works at an auto call center processing insurance information. One ordinary day she gets a call from Peter Kendrick, a Cambridge professor, who needs to report an auto accident…and something happens during the call – a connection is made. Soft spoken Peter, who laughs self-consciously, draws Mina to him in a way she cannot explain. When she later snoops into his policy and discovers he is a widower, she finds an excuse to contact him at his home after work hours. As Peter and Mina tentatively reach out to each other they discover that despite their obvious differences (not the least is where they reside), they have much more in common…most importantly that they are both parents struggling to raise their children alone.

Crossed Wires is a delightful and charming novel which caught me up in its pages very quickly. Although the story is a simple one (two people meet accidentally and develop a relationship which starts initially over the phone wires), there is a deeper meaning which radiates from the book…that of  biases and expectations impacting our impressions of others. Not only do Mina and Peter develop impressions (sight unseen) of each other which lead to some misunderstandings, but other characters also fall victim to bias and prejudice. There is a poor Irish couple referred to as “travelers” (ie: gypsies) who find it difficult to settle into Cambridge with their family because of the ignorance of their neighbors; and Mina’s ten year old daughter Sal is isolated because she is different from other children. Mina’s wayward sister is quickly judged by her family when her behavior is misinterpreted. This unexpected theme elevated this novel past a simple romantic comedy. Who among us has never been misunderstood or judged because of another’s ignorance, prejudice, or bias? How many times have relationships broken down because expectations overshadowed reality?

Crossed Wires is a character driven novel about ordinary people living their lives and muddling through; it is about connections with others and how those connections can unravel through mishaps and misunderstandings; and it is about finding someone special to share one’s life with.

Rosy Thornton has an easy style of writing and a clear understanding of not only her protagonists, but her minor characters as well. She clearly understands children – and the child characters are not only well-observed, but also lovable. The novel is set in England…and the language of the novel is very British. Given that I reside in the United States, I must admit to some difficulty understanding the descriptions of certain things…and the choice of words for various foods and activities. Despite my ignorance of British vocabulary, I still was able to easily slip into the story of Mina and Peter and enjoy this book. This is a comfort read on many levels – Thornton’s family scenes of parent and child are warm and genuine, and I could imagine the lives being lived behind the doors of the characters’ homes. The story is heartwarming and funny, and although the ending was a bit predictable, it struck just the right note for me.

For those readers looking for a light, yet engaging read, Crossed Wires is one that will satisfy. Thorton has written two previous novels (More Than Love Letters, and Hearts and Minds), both of which I would not hesitate to pick up.

Recommended.

Haunting Bombay by Shilpa Agarwal

Soho, 2009

Rating: (Very Good +)

You can learn more about Shilpa Agarwal and her book Haunting Bombay on her website.

Disclosure:  Review copy provided by the publisher.

Sea Monsters and Other Delicacies by David Sinden, Matthew Morgan & Guy Macdonald

The Awakening by Kelley Armstrong
Darkest Powers, Book Two

Pages: 360
Ages: 14+
First Published: Apr. 28, 2009
Genre: YA, paranormal, fantasy
Rating: 4/5

First sentence:

When the door to my cell clicked open, the first thought that flitted through my doped-up brain was that Liz had changed her mind and come back.

Reason for Reading: Next in the series. I received a review copy from the publisher.

Comments: The story picks up shortly after Book One and without giving much away, I’ll say this book’s main focus is that of the teens being on the run. While all six teens are still in this book, only five of them are a part of the story and if you’ve read Book One it may not be the five your thinking of. As all the teens take part in the plot, two of them in particular become the main characters and the undercurrents of a romance are felt boiling beneath the surface.

As often happens with the second book in a trilogy, The Awakening does have a feeling of being the middle part, filler if you will, awaiting the big climax of Book Three. Oh, I still enjoyed it, very much in fact, but the plot just doesn’t advance very much. Don’t get me wrong, there are still plenty of exciting, tense, and unexpected moments and a couple of reveals along the way. What this book does do though is show a lot of character development. We learn a lot of previously unknown information (secrets even) about each teen and we also get to know each one much more closer. All of the supernaturals, as they call themselves, have personalities which are made up of both likeable and unlikable characteristics making them real people to connect with.

While the plot only slightly advances we do learn a lot of the background of the story, how and why the teens have their powers, and who is after them and why, plus information on their own personal backgrounds. This compiled with the Book One leaves the reader very anxious for the big showdown in Book Three. Having been hit with a cliffhanger ending in The Summoning (which I don’t like), I am happy to say that The Awakening leaves us with a more finite, however brief it may be, ending.

Kelley Armstrong is my new found favourite author and I’ll be going back and starting her adult series for sure now.

Werewolf versus Dragon by David Sinden, Matthew Morgan, Guy Macdonald
Illustrated by Jonny Duddle
An Awfully Beastly Business, Book 1

Pages: 186
Ages: 7-10
First Published: 2008 (UK), Apr. 28, 2009 (NA)
Genre: children, fantasy
Rating: 3.5/5

First sentence:

Ulf watched the radar screen.

Reason for Reading: It simply appealed to me: the cover, the title and the write-up.  I thought it would make a good read-aloud to my 9yo, and it did.

Comments: Ulf lives at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Beasts, more commonly called the RSPCB. It is a large castle-type building and estate somewhere in the UK which houses injured or otherwise in need of care beasts such as trolls, rocs, giants, biganasties, faries, sea serpents, or in Ulf’s case, werewolves. A baby dragon is found shot on the premises as they watch the mother fly away. Next day an Inspector from the department of National and International Criminal Emergencies (NICE) arrives to explain an evil criminal who is gathering beasts for his own dastardly amusement is on the loose. So with the help of Dr. Fielding, Orson the giant and Tiana the fairy they try to find the mother dragon before it is too late.

This is a book for the younger set and I must say I figured out the whole “secret” right from the beginning but my 9 year did not see it coming a mile away and was shocked with the reveal at the end. This is a lot of fun. It’s sort of a twist on the boarding school type of story only this time we basically have a house and grounds that are filled with beasts (not unlike a zoo) instead of other children. A lot of time is spent at the beginning introducing the reader to the RSPCB so we meet many different kinds of beasts and our imagination can tell this is the place to be if you want lots of adventures. A third of the way through the plot picks up full speed and one thing after another happens leaving my son begging for one more chapter practically every day. This isn’t a book with any deep hidden meanings or lessons to learn. It’s simply just plain rollicking good fun about a boy (at least until the full moon comes around) and a bunch of beasts in the middle of a wicked adventure. My 9yo highly recommends it. We have the second book in the series which we will be reading next upon his request.

One thing I need to comment on is that the original UK versions were written by “The Beastly Boys”. For North American publication they have changed this to the authors’ actual names (or at least to what appear to be real names) and I think this was a smart publishing decision. I’m fairly certain that I, for one, would have been dubious to the quality of the book had I been given such a fake author’s name and probably would have passed the book over otherwise and missed the treat of reading this series with my 9yo.

The Midwife: A Memoir of Birth, Joy, and Hard Times by Jennifer Worth
Medical History/Memoir
2009 Penguin
Finished on 4/28/09
Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Product Description

An unforgettable story of the joy of motherhood, the bravery of a community, and the hope of one extraordinary woman

At the age of twenty-two, Jennifer Worth leaves her comfortable home to move into a convent and become a midwife in post war London’s East End slums. The colorful characters she meets while delivering babies all over London—from the plucky, warm-hearted nuns with whom she lives to the woman with twenty-four children who can’t speak English to the prostitutes and dockers of the city’s seedier side—illuminate a fascinating time in history. Beautifully written and utterly moving, The Midwife will touch the hearts of anyone who is, and everyone who has, a mother.

About the author

Jennifer Worth trained as a nurse at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading, England. She then moved to London to train as a midwife. She later became a staff nurse at the Royal London Hospital, Whitechapel, and then ward sister at the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital in Euston. Music had always been her passion and in 1973 Jennifer left nursing in order to study music intensively. She gained the Licentiate of the London College of Music in 1974 and was awarded a fellowship ten years later. Mother of two daughters and grandmother of two; Jennifer lives in Hertfordshire with her husband Philip Worth.

I generally don’t read a lot of nonfiction, but I sure do love memoirs, so I was happy to accept a review copy of The Midwife. I had a little bit of difficulty getting started, stumbling a bit through the introduction, but after that it was smooth sailing. The author has an engaging style and I was quickly transported to the streets of East London.

This is one of those books that must cause a bit of confusion for bookstore buyers and merchandisers. The subtitle indicates that it’s a memoir. However, Barnes & Noble has it shelved in the medical history section. I’m not sure it’s either. I think it falls more into the area of British history, as many of the anecdotes have more to do with life in London after World War II than with the art and science of delivering babies. Regardless of its classification, it’s a lovely story of a young woman living amongst a group of kind-hearted nuns, learning the ropes of midwifery.

On the joy of a delivery:

I am about ready to leave. It has been a long day and night, but a profound sense of fulfilment and satisfaction lighten my step and lift my heart. Muriel and baby are both asleep as I creep out of the room. The good people downstairs offer me more tea, which again I decline as gracefully as I can, saying that breakfast will be waiting for me at Nonnatus House. I give instructions to call us if there seems to be any cause for worry, but say that I will be back again around lunch time, and again in the evening.

I entered the house in the rain and the dark. There had been a fever of excitement and anticipation, and the anxiety of a woman in labour, on the brink of bringing forth new life. I leave a calm, sleeping household, with the new soul in the midst, and step out into the morning sunlight.

I cycled through the dark deserted streets, the silent docks, past the locked gates, the empty ports. Now I cycle through bright early morning, the sun just rising over the river, the gates open or opening, men streaming through the streets, calling to each other; engines beginning to sound, the cranes to move; lorries turning in through the huge gates; the sounds of a ship as it moved. A dockyard is not really a glamorous places, but to a young girl with only three hours sleep on twenty-four hours work, after the quiet thrill of a safe delivery of a healthy baby, it is intoxicating. I don’t even feel tired.

From large families (one delivery is of a woman’s 25th child!) to rickets to interracial births to the horrors of the “workhouse,” Worth entertains and enlightens her readers with anecdotes that help balance the story’s grim poverty and hardships with stories imbued with her keen sense of humor:

A convent is essentially a female establishment. However, of necessity, the male of the species cannot be excluded entirely. Fred was the boiler-man and odd-jobber of Nonnatus House. He was typical of the Cockney of his day and age. Stunted growth, short bowed legs, powerful hairy arms, pugnacious, obstinate, resourceful; all these attributes were combined with endless chat and irrepressible good humour. His most striking characteristic was a spectacular squint. One eye was permanently directed north-east, whilst the other roved in a south-westerly direction. If you added to this the single yellow tooth jutting from his upper jaw, which he generally held over his lower lip and sucked, you would not say he was a beautiful specimen of manhood.

I noticed an occasional repetition to some of the stories, making me wonder if each chapter originated as an essay or column, later to be woven together in the form of a book. This is very minor quibble, as it really didn’t distract from my enjoyment of the narrative.

The Midwife is much more than simply a memoir about a young woman’s experiences in her new role as a midwife. It’s a warm, engaging examination of life in a convent, life in London’s post-war slums, and the friendships that grow between the nuns, midwives and mothers-to-be. If you enjoy any sort of medical narrative or historical memoirs (such as Frank McCourt’s Angela’s Ashes), you’ll fall in love with Worth’s richly evocative story. I certainly did.

Be sure to watch this wonderful video (from BookVideos.tv) of Jennifer Worth discussing her memoir. There are some marvelous black and white photographs included throughout the clip.

 

He talked of how journalism had always been what he’d wanted to do since he was a little kid. Of how chasing a story could feel a little like chasing a drug, getting high, moving on to the next one. Of how covering a war had seemed like the ultimate hit. 

“And what do you think now?” she asked. “Is it what you expected?”

Danny shook his head.

“I don’t understand this place,” he said. “I don’t know how people can do the things they have done to each other. I feel there’s nothing that can be done to make this better. I don’t think we’re telling that story.” [pg 179]

The Secret Keeper by Paul Harris

Paul Harris
321 pages

Danny Kellerman is a British journalist. In the year 2000 he is sent on assignment to cover the war in Sierra Leone. He winds up in Freetown where he meets a woman, named Maria Tirado, who changes his life. She is a foreign aid worker who tirelessly helps the orphans and boy soldiers of the bloody conflict. Maria and Danny become romantically involved but Danny leaves Sierra Leone and Maria stays, refusing to leave the children behind. He goes back to London and carries on with his life until four years later when he receives a note from Maria asking him for help. He quickly finds out that he is already too late. Maria has died under suspicious circumstances in a roadside robbery. As he investigates her death Danny uncovers a huge web of secrets. However, as the answers to his questions begin to unfold, Danny finds that telling the truth can carry a heavy cost.

The Secret Keeper is a story that is hard to classify. On one hand it’s a mystery/thriller, on the other it is very enlightening with regard to the political situation and events surrounding war-torn Sierra Leone. While I possess regrettably limited knowledge of the events of the war, the author served as a war correspondent in that area and this book is detailed and reflects his experience.

The mystery/thriller aspect of the story was handled very deftly as well. I don’t like to figure out the ending of a book but sometimes you can just see it so clearly spelled out in black and white that you can’t help but know. Not so with The Secret Keeper. I was kept guessing right up until the end where the truth is revealed.

I found Danny hard to like in the beginning because I felt like he was wallowing a bit in self pity but as you move through the story with him, you begin to realize that he is a man shaped both by the events in Sierra Leone and by his life before.

If you enjoy political intrigue, learning about government and conflict in other countries through the eyes of a journalist or if you just love a good thriller then I can recommend The Secret Keeper without reservation. I would caution that there is war violence . (4.5/5)

Will Somers starts out with a dull life in the country on the family farm. Even his family admits that he doesn’t make a good farmer. That doesn’t leave him with any real options, until an option lands in his lap.

Will is one of the few lucky country children that had an education. He is given to a merchant, Richard Fermer , to work for. He has a good head for numbers and he must do the books and take inventory. He is good at what he does, but it bores him. The one shining light in his new life is Joanna, Master Fermer’s daughter. He knows that it would not be possible to marry her, yet he dreams of a life with her.

One day Master Fermer told Will that he would be going to Court with him to conduct business. He meets King Henry and while the king and other royalty bowl, Will cracks a joke. With that, Henry scoops up Will to be his royal fool.

Will witnesses everything at court. The six wives, Henry’s mood swings, everything. He become King Henry’s companion and confidante and stand by him through it all. However, he still pines for Joanna through the years.

I could go on and on about this wonderful book but I wouldn’t want to give you any spoilers. This book was first published in 1959. It is now being re-published by Source Books and is coming out this month. Though it was out in 1959, I didn’t find it dated by today’s standards.

My only small complaint is that I would have liked it a bit longer. Some of King Henry’s six wives are barely touched upon.

Margaret Campbell Barnes envelopes the reader into the pages of her book. It is a compelling read and captures the period and Will Somers well. This book is hard to put down! Highly recommended!

4.5/5

Dust and Shadow: An Account of the Ripper Killings by Dr. John H. Watson by Lyndsay Faye

Pages: 325
First Published: Apr. 28, 2009
Genre: historical mystery
Rating: 3/5

First sentence:

At first it seemed the Ripper affair had scarred my friend Sherlock Holmes as badly as it had the city of London itself.

Reason for Reading: I always enjoy a good book featuring Holmes but this time I must say it was my pet true crime case Jack the Ripper that pulled me towards this book even more.
Comments: The plot is what you would expect. The real-life Jack the Ripper case has been put into the the fictional London of Sherlock Holmes and in this world Holmes becomes involved in trying to solve the case. The book itself has been approved by the Holmes estate and is very true to Holmesian Canon, including characters and history from previous stories with footnotes to show from whence the references came. The Jack the Ripper information has also been thoroughly researched but is much more vague and not nearly as in-depth. This is much a story of Holmes, first and foremost before it is a story of Jack the Ripper.

I’ve read all of Doyle’s Holmes works, though I must say it was a long time ago, but I still felt the genuine tone of the original books come through in Fayes’ writing. While one knows the plot, per say, of the Ripper murders she has added some shady characters and goings on that Sherlock must also unravel along his way to solving the bigger case. Also, while Faye stays true to the main facts of the Ripper case she does deviate away from the facts into fiction to make the story her own (or should I say Holmes’ own). Jack the Ripper purist will not find a plausible solution to the case but then they shouldn’t be expecting one with a fictional detective on the case.

An enjoyable book but one I must say that never really grabbed me tightly. It was a pleasant read that didn’t ever get me excited as to whodunit. Holmes and Watson were portrayed well, and fans will be sure to be pleased, but I just didn’t connect with any of the other characters nor did the plot ever get me turning pages faster than normal. Overall, a pleasant, enjoyable mystery but nothing extraordinary.

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

Pages: 466
First Published: Apr. 30, 2009
Genre: Gothic, historical fiction
Rating: 4/5

First sentence:

I first saw Hundreds Hall when I was ten years old.

Reason for Reading: Sarah Waters had a new book out! Need I say more!

Comments: The Ayres family have lived at Hundreds Hall since the early-mid 1700s and now in post-war times (WWII) there remain three family members, one live-in servant and one half-time servant under its roof. During the war, they did their part for the war effort giving their rooms over to soldiers, their land over to the army for its use, their silver for melting, their furs, woolens, linens, etc for cutting apart and making clothing, handing down clothing they didn’t need for those left without homes after the bombings and now that the war is over they have little left. Mrs. Ayres, in her fifties, not old by any means, seems old as she belongs to a different generation and the children try to keep the facts of their penury from her. Roderick, returns from the war a cripple and after recovering from his wounds tries to keep the dairy farm and the estate running for his mother’s sake even if it kills him. Caroline is called home from the WRENs to nurse her brother through the long recovery from his injuries at his homecoming and then settles down to help with the estate; a robust, active, yet plain woman she is many years past the expected age of marrying yet she still hopes and now she can be found either in the kitchen with the women help or out on the land helping out the dairy farmer. But this is nothing especially special about the Ayres family, this is a situation that a geat many of the landed gentry of England found themselves in post WWII and the only way they managed to survive was to sell off the land piece by agonizing piece.

What makes the Ayres special is Hundreds Hall itself. Naturally without the money, the manpower or the resources it is falling to pieces and slowly crumbling around them. Most rooms have been completely closed off and more and more are closed off each season but that is not it either. Upon the new live-in maid’s arrival she immediately falls ill of a stomach ache and confides in the doctor that something bad is in the house. He tells her she is homesick and not to be silly. The other maid eventually becomes aware of a presence causing trouble in her kitchen. Roderick is found many times bumped and bruised in the night and he claims someone is moving large pieces of furniture in his room. In fact Roddie starts having many unexplained, even dangerous, episodes. Mrs. Ayres is not herself anymore. She has heard voices and seems to be living in the past. Caroline herself is looking at books on Poltergeists and Phantasms in the library. While the Doctor is trying to cope with everyone’s mental state he finds out first hand that there are some things that no matter how much he tries to explain them away reasonably, he knows what he has seen with his own eyes and heard with his own ears and can’t quite shake the feeling. Has an old family madness caught up with them all? Is there a ghost in the house? A poltergeist perhaps? Or maybe, it is that the house itself is evil?

This is something a little different for Waters. I’ve only read Fingersmith myself so far but I’ve read plot summaries of the others and feel confident in saying this is not her usual comfort zone. I loved the time period and the look inside the lives of post war gentry, while the doctor who comes from a poor background adds contrast to the two different ways of life even in hard times. There is a romance between the doctor and one of the female characters that slowly develops during the book and doesn’t really come to a head until near the end of the book but it is an element that keeps the story on a basic plot, the relationship between the two, as all the madness is going on sometimes taking over the plot but always returning to that basic thread; which holds the book together well in my opinion. In fact, it is the ending of this book that infuriated me. It did not end the way I had expected and I was quite shocked with the outcome and actually quite annoyed that things ended up the way they did. I’ve had time to recuperate now, but that is the sign of good characterization, when a book’s characters mean so much to you that you are invested in them and want all to end well for them all. When a book can make you get mad at it, because you are on the charaters’ side that’s when I know I’ve just read a brilliant book.

Sarah Waters is a brilliant storyteller. Right from page one I was dragged into her world and could not escape. I read this book much more quickly than I would another book of the same page length. I took it everywhere with me and could not stop reading. Comparing it to Fingersmith, it didn’t have as many twist and turns and excitement but then it is a different type of book. This is an atmospheric book and a splendidly well-crafted ghost story. Enjoy!

The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths (aka Domenica de Rosa)
A Ruth Galloway Mystery, Book 1

Pages: 301
First Published: Feb. 5 ‘09 UK (Apr. 28, 2009 CAN)(Jan 5, 2010 US)
Genre: mystery
Rating: 4/5

First sentence:

They wait for the tide and set out at first light.

Reason for Reading: Whenever I am reading the summary of a mystery/crime novel and the word forensic is used to describe the main character’s job, you’ve got me at the word. Ruth Galloway is described as a forensic archaeologist and I knew at that point I would be reading the book.

Comments: Ruth Galloway is a year off her 40th birthday, very overweight, not in a relationship and has two cats which everyone assumes are baby substitutes. She gets angry at herself for her occasional bouts of maudlin “what-ifs” because most of the time she is quite happy with her life if others would just stop pestering her. Ten years ago a little girl went missing and Ruth is called in to examine some bones found in the Norfolk salt marshes to determine if they are recent or ancient. The bones turn out to be ancient but strangely enough more ancient bones are found in the town and then another little girl goes missing. Ruth hooks up with the local DCI to assist in identifying bones and artifacts as the killer appears to be leaving letters filled with ancient mythology and archaeological facts that just may be clues pointing to the whereabouts of the missing girls’ bodies.

Written by an already established British author, Domenica de Rosa who writes fiction set mostly in Italy, who has taken on the pseudonym of Elly Griffiths to write this mystery series. It was a quick read, fast-paced and a page-turner. I really enjoyed the setting. The marshes were fascinating as well as a creepy place to have mysterious goings on. There are a number of possible suspects who make it difficult to quickly solve whodunit though I did guess well before the reveal at the end. Ruth is quite the character, very outspoken, hard headed, determined and not interested in fashion at all and yet underneath she is somewhat, though not overly, self-conscious of her weight and bedraggled appearance while longing for something in her life, but is not sure whether that be romantic or maternal.

I enjoyed the book very much. It was a great mystery, with a clever plot. There were some elements to the main characters I could have done without from my conservative point of view, but then that’s just me. I’ll still be looking forward to Ruth’s next mystery and seeing which of the characters return as regulars.

Clara’s War: A young girl’s true story of miraculous survival under the Nazis by Clara Kramer with Stephen Glantz

Pages: 339
First Published: 2008 UK (Apr. 7, 2009 CAN)(April 21, 2009 US)
Genre: memoir, nonfiction, Holocaust
Rating: 5/5

First sentence:

My entire family was camped out on blankets and goosedown bedding in the apple orchard behind Aunt Uchka’s little house.

Reason for Reading: I am always driven to read first hand Holocaust accounts, especially from children’s points of view.

Comments: Young teenager Clara Kramer is living in a small Polish town when WWII starts. The book is her story retold from her memories and from the aid of her diaries kept while hidden during the last 2 years of the war. Starting off in 1939, we get a quick feel for pre-war life, then immediately a Russian protection takeover then quick withdrawal. The Germans soon infiltrate the town and a Jewish Ghetto is set up and the 5,000 Jews in the town are rounded up, sent to the Ghetto, packed onto cattle trains, while others desperately seek hiding places.

Clara’s family along with a group of family and friends ask their Polish maid to
persuade her husband to hide them. This isn’t so hard since he is having a secret affair with her best friend (who happens to be Jewish and part of the group to be hidden). They ask him to requisition one of the families houses, which the Germans gladly give him, as he has some standing in the community, and then the children in the group (because of their size) start to dig a dugout underneath the house. Eventually everyone helps out and the dugout becomes big enough (just) for the 18 people to squeeze into.

Mr. Beck, the man who is hiding them is actually quite well known for his antisemitism and he regularly has Nazi visitors to his house. Later on the Nazi’s impose themselves on his hospitality and at any time there could be 6 or 7 Nazi soldiers or even SS officials sleeping above the hidden Jews. Beck is not who he first appears to be though and as the life of these people unfold both those downstairs and upstairs we learn how humanity can triumph over even the most degradable conditions.

At times a heart-wrenching tale, at others an uplifting tale of survival against all odds. No matter how many books one reads of the Jewish Holocaust, it is always unbelievable that humans could have treated other humans this way. A story of triumph, love and respect that is well worth the read. Also rather a unique tale in that 18 people were hidden by one small family literally right under the feet of the Nazis themselves.

I only wonder as to why no photographs are included, not even an author’s photo of Clara. At first I thought none may have survived but in the final chapter Clara tells us what happened to all persons involved up to the present and she says the photos are all that remain from that time period. It would have been nice to have had faces to go with the names or even at the least a photo of Clara herself at any age.

If you are reading Jewish Holocaust memoirs this is one not to be missed. Read it.