Monday 6 March 2023

From my TBR pile straight onto my favourites list

 






THE SKELETON KEY by Erin Kelly

 

Erin Kelly has done it again- this was a solid 5 star read for me! What a well plotted, complex novel. Sometimes delving into a novel blind is the best way, but I admit that after the first chapter I nearly DNF’d the book, thinking it was some dystopian story about a weird bone hunting society. Luckily I had full trust that Kelly would not disappoint me (she never has in the past) and was soon totally hooked.

 

It's very difficult to review such a multi-layered, well-plotted mystery without giving anything away, Let’s just say that it’s a story about fame, greed and family secrets. A LOT of dark family secrets. As an added bonus, the book also contained two of my favourite themes: a story based on an old legend, plus a “book within a book”.

 

Whilst the story started out revolving around Frank Churcher’s famous book The Golden Bones, which has led to his fame and wealth but also to the formation of a worldwide fan base of “bone hunters” who have put his own daughter at risk (you will have to read it to find out why), it soon became more character driven, exploring the intertwined relationships of the Churcher and Lally families. As dark secrets were revealed, and family dynamics became more and more dysfunctional, my fascination with these characters made me loath to put the book down. There were quite a few “aha!” moments when pieces of the puzzle fell into place and revealed cleverly plotted twists. Kelly is a talented writer who not only knows how to utterly enthral her readers, but also to weave magic into the multiple threads that form her stories.

 

Whilst the story is mainly being told by Eleanor, the daughter of author Frank Churcher, we get small glimpses into the past and through different eyes, which reveal those pieces of the puzzle we may not have anticipated. Each character is fundamentally flawed, which made them more compelling, and some truly unforgettable in all their dysfunctional glory. I can’t say much more without giving things away, so I will leave it at this: do yourself a favour and pick up this clever mystery today to find out for yourself why I couldn’t put it down. Another brilliant piece of writing by the talented Mrs Kelly.





SALT AND SKIN by Eliza Henry-Jones

 

I picked up SALT AND SKIN from a book exchange, so I did not know what to expect or even what the book was all about, but I knew that I had enjoyed the author’s previous books. Again, Henry-Jones rewarded me with beautiful soulful writing full of longing and emotion and that slight otherworldly touch that gave it an almost dreamlike quality.

 

Set on a small island off the coast of Scotland, SALT AND SKIN follows the lives of Luna and her two teenage children, Darcy and Min, as they are trying to make a new start after a tragedy back in Australia. Weaving together history, folklore and a touch of magical realism, the tale soon drew me into the small island community and made me want to find out all its secrets.

 

SALT AND SKIN is an exquisitely written, character driven novel that explores the aftereffects of trauma and grief, and the faint blossoming of new hope. Wistful and dreamlike, it weaves together different elements to create a tale that both haunted me and kept me enchanted. Whilst there are loose links to the island’s witch trials, this is very much a contemporary novel exploring the hold that the past and folklore still has on everyday life, especially in wild and remote places. I really enjoyed this book and its characters and as sad when it ended and I knew I would not find out more about their lives. I can’t wait to read more from this author in future.


🌟🌟🌟🌟



THE LIES I TELL by Julie Clarke

 

“The difference between justice and revenge comes down to who’s telling the story.” Be assured that there’s a bit of both in Clarke’s latest novel, which ticked all the boxes of a good thriller for me (as did her last novel THE LAST FLIGHT).

 

Meg is the type of character I love in a mystery: she may be flawed and often follows her own moral code, but she is a strong, kick-ass woman you cannot help but cheer on all along the way. Now here’s someone who is brave enough to act out every wronged person’s fantasy: a strong woman who will not stay a victim for long, who instead will take matters into her own hands and serve out her own flavour of justice. If you are tired of meek and whiny victim-mentality characters waiting to be saved, then this one is definitely for you! Meg spends very little time wallowing in self-pity despite the injustice done to her. Instead, she acts. And here is one very clever woman you do not want to mess with!

 

As you can tell, I loved the character of Meg, who really drove this story for me and made me anxious to find out how it would all turn out. Like THE LAST FLIGHT, Clarke presents us with a well-plotted, compulsive story that kept me reading late into the night to find out the answers. The way Meg outwitted her components was a pleasure to watch – and a lot of nail-biting as the story neared a tense finale. Kat, the second POV, even though not quite as compelling as Meg, gave the story a unique second perspective and insights we may otherwise not have gained – another clever tool used by the author to ratchet up tension.

 

THE LIES I TELL is a clever revenge thriller that will definitely make my favourites list this year. Featuring strong female protagonists and a tense cat-and-mouse game of clever minds pitched against one another, I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a well plotted and extremely compulsive read.


🌟🌟🌟🌟1/2

 


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