Book Review: THE PAPER PALACE by Miranda Cowley Heller

 

Title: THE PAPER PALACE

Author:  Miranda Cowley Heller

Read: August 2024

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 all the stars!

 

Book Description (Goodreads):

 

It is a perfect July morning, and Elle, a fifty-year-old happily married mother of three, awakens at "The Paper Palace"—the family summer place which she has visited every summer of her life. But this morning is different: last night Elle and her oldest friend Jonas crept out the back door into the darkness and had sex with each other for the first time, all while their spouses chatted away inside.

Now, over the next twenty-four hours, Elle will have to decide between the life she has made with her genuinely beloved husband, Peter, and the life she always imagined she would have had with her childhood love, Jonas, if a tragic event hadn't forever changed the course of their lives.

As Heller colors in the experiences that have led Elle to this day, we arrive at her ultimate decision with all its complexity. Tender yet devastating, The Paper Palace considers the tensions between desire and dignity, the legacies of abuse, and the crimes and misdemeanors of families.

My musings:

 

THE PAPER PALACE is a complex story about love in its many shapes and sizes: the sweet first love of youth, the enduring love of a happy marriage, the forbidden love between two people who have lost each other along the way and give in to the “what-could-have-been”. Taking place over the course of just 24-hours, the story explores what makes Elle, a fifty-something mother of three, cheat on her husband with her childhood sweetheart during a summer holiday in their family’s summer house. Don’t judge her to harshly, because by the end of the book you will understand the complex circumstances leading up to this fateful night.

I’m no longer sure what brought THE PAPER PALACE to my attention because I delved into it blindly without knowing anything about it, but I am so happy that it crossed my path – it was definitely one of my favourite books for 2024. Miranda Cowley Heller has a way of writing that brought the story and its characters to life for me, until I could picture it all as clearly as if I had lived in their midst.  If you usually shy away from romance, don’t dismiss this book quite yet, because this certainly wasn’t a happily-ever-after love story. Even the idyllic setting hinted of a darkness lurking, which wasn’t revealed until much later in the book and shook me to the core, as was intended. However, I love stories about family dynamics and dark secrets, and here the author’s keen observations about human nature offered a complex, well-told tale that kept me enthralled from beginning to end. 

Erin Kelly has a new book out - woohoo! THE HOUSE OF MIRRORS

I was super excited to hear Erin Kelly has just released her latest novel, THE HOUSE OF MIRRORS, which follows on from her earlier novel THE POISON TREE. Whilst it could potentially be read as a standalone, I thoroughly recommend reading them in order to get the most out of Kelly’s excellent character development. I will therefore give you a quick recap of both:

THE POISON TREE by Erin Kelly

Sometimes I really crave a slow-burning, character study of family secrets and relationships, and Erin Kelly does this so well! Whilst HE SAID / SHE SAID remains my all-time favourite by this author, I really enjoyed her portrayal of the friendships in THE POISON TREE.

One thing I love about Erin Kelly’s writing is the languid way in which she builds her spider’s web of growing tension that gradually entangles the reader and holds them in its spell. Just as Karen, the straight-A student and only child of conservative parents gradually falls under the spell of the bohemian Capel siblings and their rambling, tumble down English mansion. I could easily picture straight and slightly awkward Karen being bewitched by the outgoing siblings whose free and easy lifestyle must feel totally alien and enchanting to her. Biba Capel is the sort of character who blazes into people’s lives like a bright comet of destruction, dazzling them with her light but in the end only leaving smoking ruins behind. Rex, who is more subdued and stable than his sister, holds his own allure as the brooding, overprotective male counterpart to his vivacious sibling.

Despite the slow build-up, Kelly makes it very clear that nothing good can come from these dynamics. And whilst I did predict a major part of the “twist” (I read A LOT of these mysteries), I was still invested to watch the slow descend into disaster as both Karen and Rex act as if remote-controlled by Biba’s destructive hand. I love a good character study, and the way poor Karen gets drawn into the Capel siblings’ world was well executed. I related to some of Karen’s fascination with the Capel’s lives – “straight A student falls for more exciting personalities” is a theme that really does play out in real life. A wonderful premise for a novel that is part character study and part domestic thriller and will undoubtedly stun some readers with its twist.

All in all, THE POISON TREE should probably be avoided by readers who don’t enjoy a slow-burning mystery, because their attention may wane in the first half, when the interpersonal dynamics are being set up. However, lovers of a good character study will appreciate the way Kelly builds her characters’ relationships that ultimately lead to disaster. I felt like I was watching a train chugga-chugg towards the abyss, unable to stop it as it built momentum with its unsuspecting passengers still dazzled by Biba’s light. A well-written story simmering with an undercurrent of tension and menace. 

 

THE HOUSE OF MIRRORS by Erin Kelly

 

There is a good reason why Erin Kelly is one of my favourite authors, and her latest novel proves the point very well. I was excited to find out that in HOUSE OF MIRRORS we were going to continue the story of THE POISON TREE and find out what happened after that fateful ending. Once again, Kelly excelled in character development and dark family secrets and has delivered the most intriguing family saga that kept me enthralled from beginning to end.

 

Karen and Rex are now middle aged and have a grown-up daughter, Alice, who is as much a free spirit as her parents were at her age – and isn’t that usually a parent’s worst nightmare? She is engaged to climate activist Gabe, a man whose sheer presence annoys Karen and who she suspects of being controlling and emotionally abusive to her daughter. Alice, in the meantime, is intrigued by her family’s dark legacy, especially her aunt Biba’s fate. As usual, each of the book’s character has their own agenda, making for some surprising plot twists that kept me on my toes.

 

Whilst HOUSE OF MIRRORS follows on from THE POISON TREE, it could potentially be read as a standalone – though I thoroughly recommend reading them in order to get the most out of Kelly’s excellent character development. I loved delving into the Capel family’s secrets and dysfunctional dynamics, a fun escape from my own everyday life. Kelly seems to excel with everything she writes, and again, her latest book was a winner for me!

Missing persons and dark family secrets: three intriguing mysteries from authors new to me

 

KNIFE RIVER by Justine Champine

 

The loss of a parent is always a terrible thing, but for Jess and her sister Liz the grief is compounded by uncertainty. On one hand they agree that their mother would never have just walked out on them when they were teenagers, on the other hand there has never been a body to bury or the chance to put their questions to rest. Whilst Liz has remained at home in their small country town, waiting for their mother to reappear and living the life of a recluse, Jess has jumped from relationship to relationship to fill the hole in her heart her mother has left behind. It almost comes as a relief when some bones are uncovered in a nearby forest. Perhaps the sisters will finally get some answers …

 

Champine does a great job in exploring the different manifestations of grief, right down to the sense of betrayal when a parent leaves us behind, no matter of the circumstances.  KNIFE RIVER is slow and character driven, full of emotions and atmosphere and the musings of two young women whose lives have been shaped by a terrible loss. Having experienced the death of a parent at a young age myself, there was a lot that resonated for me and validated some of my own experiences, especially the different ways the sisters act out their grief. I found both Jess and Liz believable and relatable, which made KNIFE RIVER a positive reading experience, despite its rather glum subject matter. And whilst unravelling the mystery seemed almost an afterthought, I was blown away by the final reveal, which came as a shock to say the least. No, KNIFE RIVER is not an uplifting book, but it is full of emotional weight and insight into the different manifestations of grief, which I found strangely cathartic. There was a lot of food for thought here, which made me think about the book long after I had finished reading.

 

 

THE RETURN OF ELLIE BLACK by Emiko Jean

 

Books about abduction and being held captive don’t always work well for me, so I was a bit hesitant when I first came across the premise of THE RETURN OF ELLIE BLACK. However, it came highly recommended from other readers with similar tastes to mine, so I decided to give it a go – and I’m glad I did! Not only did this book turn into a highly suspenseful mystery, but it also served me up a twist I definitely did not see coming.

 

I loved Detective Chelsey Calhoun’s character. Adopted at birth, her Asian background has always made her stand out in their small community, which perhaps has made her more determined to solve cases where others may have given up long ago. Chelsey also has a deeply personal reason to succeed in her career – not only does she want to make her beloved late father proud, but she also carries the legacy of her sister’s tragic death at the hands of her boyfriend when Chelsea was a child. When Ellie Black reappears in the woods after a two year absence, Chelsea is surprised at the girl’s reluctance to help police catch her abductor.

 

THE RETURN OF ELLIE BLACK features many themes I love in a mystery. The small-town setting, family secrets and loyalties, and tragedies that shape people’s future all made for well-rounded, intriguing characters here. I was extremely happy to be led in a completely different direction from your average abduction story and really enjoyed the unravelling of this clever mystery. If you like reading mysteries that break the mould and defy stereotypes, then this one is definitely for you!

 

 

HOME IS WHERE THE BODIES ARE by Jeneva Rose

 

Losing a parent is difficult enough, but when you find out a deep dark family secret when sorting out your mother’s things, it can complicate things even further. In HOME IS WHERE THE BODIES ARE, three estranged siblings meet in their old family home to put their mother to rest. Beth, the oldest, is the one who looked after her sick mother and held her hand as she passed. Admittedly, she feels resentful of her successful brother Michael and her drug addicted sister Nicole, who have left the difficult work of caring for their mother to her. There are a lot of complicated dynamics between the three siblings who over the years have become estranged, each wrapped up in his and her own lives and problems. Sorting out the estate was never going to be an easy task, with so many different emotions and agendas at play. It all takes a sinister turn when the three siblings sit down to watch an old family movie on the DHS player – the summer of 1999, an innocent time in all their memories. The recording shows their parents next to the body of a neighbour’s child, who went missing around that time. Then the tape goes blank. Gobsmacked, the siblings can’t agree on where to go from here. Show the tape to authorities to reopen the missing persons case, but potentially face their parents being accused of murder? Forget that they ever saw the tape? Try and investigate on their own?

 

HOME IS WHERE THE BODIES ARE explores a unique and troubling dilemma, enhanced by the dynamics between the very different three siblings. As we get to know each of them a bit better and understand what drives their decisions, the mystery takes an even more complex turn. I loved the way the author slowly unravelled this very dark family mystery, bringing each character into their own. This was like slowly peeling away the layers of an onion, exposing the rotten core inside. Is anything the siblings have accepted as truth about their childhood really a lie? Each of them have slightly different memories of that time, which is fascinating and adds depth to the story. Admittedly, the ending didn’t come as a surprise to me, but I read a lot of mysteries. This did not take away my reading enjoyment, however, and I appreciated how the author wrapped up the loose threads at the end. An intriguing character study wrapped in the burrito of an old missing person’s case.

 

Book Review: DAUGHTER OF MINE by Megan Miranda

 

Title: DAUGHTER OF MINE

Author:  Megan Miranda

Read: April 2024

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟1/2

 

Book Description:

 

When Hazel Sharp, daughter of Mirror Lake’s longtime local detective, unexpectedly inherits her childhood home, she’s warily drawn back to the town—and people—she left behind almost a decade earlier. But Hazel’s not the only relic of the past to return: a drought has descended on the region, and as the water level in the lake drops, long-hidden secrets begin to emerge…including evidence that may help finally explain the mystery of her mother’s disappearance.

My musings:

 

I love Megan Miranda’s books – she is the queen of the atmospheric, character driven slow-burn, with intriguing interpersonal dynamics between her characters, which add an extra layer to her mysteries. As with many of her other books, DAUGHTER OF MINE started off as a slow simmer, setting the scene, but it didn’t take long for the tension to build.

 

After the death of Mirror Lake’s beloved local detective, Perry Holt, his daughter Hazel returns home to join her two brothers and attend his memorial service. The town has been in the grip of a severe drought, which has caused the lake’s level to drop to an all-time low, revealing all kinds of sunken treasures in its depth. Hazel arrives just in time to see an old car being pulled from the mud, setting her sense on high alert. After her mother left the family home never to be seen again when Hazel was fourteen, she is afraid that the car might be somehow related to her disappearance. But there is another surprise in store for Hazel when she finds out that she is the sole heir to her father’s estate. She is convinced that her father is trying to send her a message from beyond the grave – but how can she find out what he was trying to warn her about?

 

As with all of Miranda’s novel, DAUGHTER OF MINE was cleverly constructed, with many red herrings and an underlying sense of danger and menace that had my hairs standing on edge as I was trying to work out the mystery. I love books where the reader finds out clues at the same time as the main character, with the great unknown creating a sinister foreshadowing. Together with Miranda’s hallmark atmospheric setting, all of these elements worked perfectly together to keep me on the edge of my seat the whole time, especially as the body count in the small town was beginning to mount.

 

If you love a good slow-burn with a small town setting and atmospheric nature backdrop, then you can’t go past Megan Miranda’s books. Every time I read her latest novel, I am wondering which is my favourite – and DAUGHTER OF MINE is a definite contender (though I think that THE ONLY SURVIVORS is still number 1 on my list). 

Book Review: HAS ANYONE SEEN CHARLOTTE SALTER? by Nicci French

 

Title: HAS ANYONE SEEN CHARLOTTE SALTER?

Author:  Nicci French

Read: March 2024

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 all the stars!

 

Book Description:

 

A nerve-tingling and atmospheric thriller from master of suspense Nicci French about two families shattered by tragedy and the secrets that have been waiting decades to be revealed.

 

On the day of Alec Salter’s fiftieth birthday party, just before Christmas 1990, his wife Charlotte vanishes. Most of the small English village of Glensted is at the party for hours before anyone realizes Charlotte is missing. While Alec brushes off her disappearance, their four children—especially fifteen-year-old Etty—grow increasingly anxious as the cold winter hours become days and she doesn’t return. When Charlotte’s coat is found by the river, they fear the worst.

 

Then the body of the Salters’ neighbor, Duncan Ackerley, is found floating in the river by his son Morgan and Etty. The police investigate and conclude that Duncan and Charlotte were having an affair before he killed her and committed suicide.

 

Thirty years later, Morgan Ackerley, a successful documentarian, has returned to Glensted with his older brother Greg to make podcast based on their shared tragedy with the Salters. Alec, stricken with dementia, is entering an elder care facility while Etty helps put his affairs in order. But as the Ackerleys ask to interview the Salters, the entire town gets caught up in the unresolved cases. Allegations are made, secrets are revealed, and a suspicious fire leads to a murder. With the podcast making national news, London sends Detective Inspector Maud O’Connor to Glensted to take over the investigation.

 

My musings:

 

It’s no secret that Nicci French are on my list of favourite writers, and I will snap up anything they write as soon as it comes out. So when I found out that HAS ANYONE SEEN CHARLOTTE SALTER? was available on audio, I settled in for a long and enjoyable read.

 

French are masters of characterisation and keen observers of the human psyche, a trait that made their latest book another 5-star read for me. It started off slowly, setting the scene: 15-year old Etty is the first to become alarmed when her mother fails to turn up for her husband’s 50^th birthday party. My alarm bells rang when everyone around her dismissed her fears as groundless, but when Charlotte Salter failed to appear after a few days, it became obvious that something was badly wrong here. Soon after, the body of the Salters’ neighbour and family friend is found dead in a nearby river. The police, eager to solve both cases, conclude that he must have taken his own life after feeling remorse for killing Charlotte. Case closed.

 

Thirty years later, the Salter children return to the family farm to clear out the house and organise for their father Alec, who is suffering from dementia, to go to a nursing home. Ever since their mother’s disappearance, the Salter children (now adults) have drifted apart, and even now refuse to open up about how Charlotte’s absence has affected them. It’s not until the two sons of the other victim decide to publish a podcast looking closer into the two deaths that they have to confront their past – with unexpected results.

 

HAS ANYONE SEEN CHARLOTTE SALTER? was a psychological thriller of the best kind. From the slow exploration of the two families’ grief and confusion, to the mystery surrounding Charlotte’s disappearance, this character driven tale kept me enthralled from beginning to end. In typical French fashion, nothing was as straight forward as it seemed, and there were plenty of surprises in store as we got a look into the past. I particularly loved how French describe the fallout of Charlotte’s disappearance on all her children, affecting their lives far into adulthood – especially Etty, whose personality has been totally transformed by grief.

 

As with most Nicci French novels, the story here had a deep emotional effect on me, and I still pondered the Salters’ story long after the book had concluded. Having lost my mother at a young age, I particularly related to the effect of grief on a young (and older) Etty.

 

Summary:

 

Lovers of slow burning, character driven mysteries will appreciate the way French unravel this cleverly constructed tale and their insight into the effects of crime on the victims’ families. One of my favourites so far this year!

 

Book Review: TAKE ME APART by Sara Sligar

 

Title: TAKE ME APART

Author:  Sara Sligar

Read:  November 2023

Expected publication: out now

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

 

Book Description:

 

A young archivist's obsession with her subject's mysterious death threatens to destroy her fragile grasp on sanity, in a riveting debut novel of psychological suspense.

My musings:

 

I love it when I come across a new author whose book totally blew me away and TAKE ME APART fell into that category. Both an intriguing and captivating as well as a contemplative and somewhat sad mystery, once I started, I couldn’t tear myself away!

 

Why is it that mysteries revolving around family secrets are so irresistible? I guess almost everyone has found an intriguing nameless photo in an old family album at some stage and wondered about the story behind it. Mirand Brand doesn’t only feature in photographs, she is also the artist behind them, with herself as the subject delivering her subtle messages through her art. Like many artists, Miranda is as brilliant as she is troubled, suffering a tragic untimely death when her only son Theo is only eleven years old. A grown man now, Theo has inherited the family home with all its clutter and its secrets. He hires Kate, a former journalist and now archivist to sort through the vast collection of papers and photos and separate the wheat from the chaff. Due to Miranda’s fame, even some of her old photos and notes could bring in a small fortune if sold to collectors. As Kate makes her way through mountains of paperwork, she becomes intrigued – and then obsessed – with Miranda’s tragic life and vows to find out when really led to her death ….

 

Sligar uses a variety of styles to unravel her mystery. Whilst the main perspective is Kate’s voice, we also get to read snippets out of Miranda’s diary, old correspondences, newspaper articles, receipts and other pieces of her life left behind. It was this aspect of the story I found most fascinating, and as I tried to piece together the details of Miranda’s life I myself became a little bit obsessed with learning more about her. Because Theo is less than forthcoming, the mystery took on a sense of urgency and ominous foreboding that would otherwise have been absent, a very clever way to keep the reader engaged.

 

There are many tragic themes that urge reflection, from domestic violence to mental health, the hidden scars we hide from the world, the driving forces behind art and the fine line between brilliance and madness. Miranda was such a fascinating, complex character! I particularly enjoyed the descriptions of Miranda’s art, which isn’t easy to convey with words but which the author pulled off beautifully here. Kate also made a perfect protagonist with just enough secrets of her own to make her story compelling and her character well rounded and enigmatic.

 

I think that labelling TAKE ME APART a thriller may be doing it a bit of a disservice because the story was more slow burning intrigue than action, character rather than plot driven. Yes, there are the questions surrounding Miranda’s death, but it is by far not the driving force here. Rather, we want to get to know Miranda Brand, the real person behind her public profile, which is slowly revealed through debris left from her everyday life. I could have spent many more chapters reading excerpts from her diary or getting glimpses of her art. Readers who are looking for a twisty thriller with murder and mayhem may find themselves disappointed, but anyone who enjoys a beautifully written character study of a troubled mind should grab this book ASAP. I picked it up without any expectations and without even reading the blurb, and was blown away by the story. It’s definitely going on my favourites list this year and I hope we will see a lot more stories from Sara Sligar in future.

Looking for scary Halloween reads? Try Jennifer McMahon, the queen of subtle horror

 

MY DARLING GIRL by Jennifer McMahon

Are you a bit of a Christmas grinch and don’t like the Hallmark-sweet Christmas books that everyone seems to love at that time of year – but still want to join in and choose a seasonal read? Then McMahon’s novel is definitely for you! This book might be set in the time leading up to Christmas, with all the decorations, the food, the festivity, but deep down inside there’s nothing jolly about it. In fact, it’s creepy AF! Buckle up for one scary ride!

 

Since THE DROWNING KIND, I have been looking forward to McMahon’s books when I’m in the mood for a good chill. The thing I love about her writing is the perfect blend between psychological thriller, family drama and subtle horror. Here you won’t find any of the overdone horror tropes that usually are a big turnoff for me. That said, McMahon’s books aren’t any less scary, just more believable. She has mastered the perfection in hiding her chills in life’s ordinary moments, with only brief flashes of teeth visible. At times we may even believe that it’s all in Alison’s head. Is it though? After all, the monsters we should fear most are the ones that hide in plain sight, that make everyone else think that we are the problem.

 

I really loved Alison as a main protagonist. She is a family person through and through, a loving wife and mother who will do anything for her family, even pretend that she loves Christmas just to make them happy. For someone who has had to overcome some terrible childhood trauma, she has done very well to build a good life for herself and her family. This is all being threatened by the news that her mother is dying and wants to reconcile with Alison and spend her final days at their house. Alison agrees, despite her misgivings and the many memories of the abuse she was subjected to as a child. Abuse so terrible that her brother moved to another state and has broken off all contact with his mother. Alison is ready to forgive and forget, for the sake of her two girls, who should get to know their grandmother. This may prove to be a huge mistake …

 

MY DARLING GIRL has definitely made it onto my favourites list for this year. McMahon writes in a way that enabled me to picture the scene and the characters very vividly in my mind, which made the story an immersive – and very chilling – read. Despite the goosebumps I am sad that it is over, so engrossed was I in the tale. The contrast between Christmas cheer and horror was brilliantly done, and I highly recommend this book to anyone who isn’t a fan of ordinary horror tropes but is looking for a scary read with supernatural overtones. I constantly asked myself what I would do in Alison’s place, and my imagined helplessness in the face of this situation scared me even more. A brilliantly executed story, all the stars from me!

THE DROWNING KIND by Jennifer McMahon

It surely reflects a lack of restraint when it comes to spooky books that I devoured THE DROWNING KIND as soon as I received it, even though it’s not being released until April. But I hope that I can redeem myself by singing its praises from the rooftops, because after keeping me up all night frantically reading and burrowing deeper into my doona as the story progressed, it was 5 stars all the way for me! Trigger warning: if you like swimming in dark rivers or lakes, enter at your own risk, because the thing that you thought was a bit of pond weed tickling your leg? It may just send you running for the hills, never to go near the water again!

 

THE DROWNING KIND revolves around water – but not any water. The underground springs near the small town of Brandenburg in Vermont have long been known for their healing power. All the locals know that this gift does not come without a price, and they choose to stay well away from them, but that does not stop desperate people flocking to the water, hoping for a cure or having their wishes granted. In 1929, Ethel, still childless at 37 and desperate for a baby, whispers her wish to the dark waters of the Brandenburg spring.

 

Fast forward to the present. Sisters Lexie and Jax have grown up swimming in their grandparents’ natural pool, dug into the mountainside and fed by a natural spring. They are not afraid of the dark, murky waters, even though one of their aunts drowned in this very pool as a young child. On some of their secret midnight trips, the girls even swear that they could see the shape of a little girl staring at them from the water. Now estranged in their adulthood, Jax has not seen Lexie for over a year, wary of her manic episodes related to her bipolar disorder. She is therefore both shocked and heartbroken when she finds out that Lexie has drowned in the pool during one of her midnight swims. When she travels to the house to sort out her sister’s affairs, she discovers that Lexie had recently become increasingly afraid of the pool. But was it really just a manifestation of her illness, or is there something more sinister afoot?

 

Squish, squish, tap tap, wet footsteps on the pavers – was that a glimpse of something alien in the water? Goodness me, this book was soooo creepy! The constant sense of foreboding and dread kept me turning the pages until late into the night, and all my childhood nightmares about the bodies of drowned victims floating up from the bottom of the lake we used to swim in as kids suddenly seemed all too real.

 

I loved everything about this book. Whilst the timeline in the 1930’s gradually revealed some of the pool’s dark history, Jax in the present is racing against time to solve the puzzle for herself. As the reader, I was trapped in the middle like a deer in the headlights.   

 

In summary, if you love Gothic, spooky stories with supernatural elements that will make your hair stand on end, then look no further. Told in two separate timelines that were equally creepy, the book kept me up all night and then stunned me with a finale so unexpected and shocking that I am still trying to get my head around it. With a constant sense of foreboding, the book gave me the chills the whole time! Very highly recommended. 

Book Review: HAPPINESS FALLS by Angie Kim

 Title: HAPPINESS FALLS

Author:  Angie Kim

Read: September 2023

Expected publication: out now

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

 

Book Description:

  

"We didn't call the police right away." Those are the first words of this extraordinary novel about a biracial Korean-American family in Virginia whose lives are upended when their beloved father and husband goes missing.

Mia, the irreverent, hyperanalytical twenty-year-old daughter, has an explanation for everything--which is why she isn't initially concerned when her father and younger brother Eugene don't return from a walk in a nearby park. They must have lost their phone. Or stopped for an errand somewhere. But by the time Mia's brother runs through the front door bloody and alone, it becomes clear that the father in this tight-knit family is missing and the only witness is Eugene, who has the rare genetic condition Angelman syndrome and cannot speak.

What follows is both a ticking-clock investigation into the whereabouts of a father and an emotionally rich portrait of a family whose most personal secrets just may be at the heart of his disappearance. Full of shocking twists and fascinating questions of love, language, race, and human connection, Happiness Falls is a mystery, a family drama, and a novel of profound philosophical inquiry. With all the powerful storytelling she brought to her award-winning debut Miracle Creek, Angie Kim turns the missing person story into something wholly original, creating an indelible tale of a family who must go to remarkable lengths to truly understand one another.

My musings:

 

I absolutely adored Angie Kim’s debut novel MIRACLE CREEK and couldn’t wait to read her latest book – and it was wonderful!

 

As in her debut, Kim’s latest story focuses on a Korean-American family whose youngest member is neuro-diverse and non-verbal. It is also a mystery of sorts, revolving around the disappearance of a father, but pigeonholing it into that genre would be a mistake, because it is so much more! Mia, the missing man’s highly intelligent, hyper-analytical 20-year old daughter is the first one to notice that something is wrong when her non-verbal brother Eugene comes running back from a walk with their father, visibly distressed and alone. But because he is unable to communicate, it takes the family a while to work out that Mia’s father Adam is missing. As Mia starts looking for clues that may lead to locating her father, she discovers that he has been keeping secrets from his family for a while – but what exactly was he hiding, and will the answers help them find him?

 

There were so many thought-provoking and intriguing themes in this story. Firstly, I had never heard of Angelman Syndrome, Eugene’s rare neurogenetic disorder that makes him unable to verbally communicate. Secondly, I found Adam’s theories about the happiness quotient simply fascinating – it all made so much sense! I had never thought about happiness and disappointment from such an analytical, logical viewpoint before. The little “experiments” Adam undertook to prove his point opened up endless possibilities and scenarios I pondered long after finishing the book, and I am still intrigued.

 

However, at the centre of the story lies family, and the love that binds us and will make us pull together to protect the weaker of the pack. Sometimes this can work against us, as in the case of Eugene, who is closely protected by his parents and siblings to a point where …. sorry, I can’t go there without giving spoilers! Let’s just say that it’s not until Adam tries something different that things drastically change for Eugene.

 

But I digress. Thirdly, there is the immigrant theme that Kim revisits in her latest book. Mia’s mother, a linguist, explains to her daughter how stupid she felt when she first moved to America, because she couldn’t adequately communicate in the foreign language. Whereas she was regarded as highly intelligent in her own country, her inadequacy in verbal fluency in English automatically marked her as dim-witted. How about people who, like her youngest child, are unable to communicate verbally?

 

Mia’s voice isn’t always an easy one to follow – she often comes across as bristly and abrasive, and her flights of thought can be tiring. And yet she makes the perfect protagonist to tell this story. There are footnotes to give us some background and context, and lots of foreshadowing warning us of things to come, but most compelling were Mia’s own interpretations of the clues her father left behind.

 

 Summary:

 

Thought provoking, emotionally charged and beautifully written, HAPPINESS FALLS kept me enthralled from the beginning to its heart-wrenching, powerful finale. And even though I felt completely emotionally wrung out at the end, I was sorry that it ended! Some of the themes will stay with me for a long time to come and I can’t wait to see what Angie Kim will come up with next.

 

Last will and testament - two gripping thrillers featuring inheritance and family secrets

THE WILL by Rebecca Reid

 

There’s nothing better than a juicy story about a tense family reunion, but Reid spices her tale up even more by throwing in the last will and testament of the family’s matriarch, Cecily, which will decide who gets to inherit the family’s estate Roxborough Hall. The Mordaunts have never held with the tradition of bequeathing the estate to the eldest son. Instead, after the death of the latest custodian, the family must gather for supper, when each member will receive a letter telling them whether they are the lucky recipients of the family fortune. It could be anyone, and every single member of the Mordaunt family secretly hopes that it will be them. Some of them will even be prepared to fight for the privilege …

 

I found THE WILL utterly compelling and unputdownable, as the eight Mordaunt siblings and their spouses gather to find out who will be the next custodian of Roxborough Hall. The dynamics between the siblings were fascinating, and it wasn’t long before all the skeletons came dancing out of the family’s closets. Jumping back and forth between the past and the present, we soon get a first-row insight into this family’s complicated past, including those things they had wished would stay forever hidden.

 

Each person is vividly drawn and complex, and there were so many surprises in store that I could not tear myself away until I found out who matriarch Cecily had found worthy to bequeath the old mansion to. The answer was also quite unexpected! Reid writes with insight and a vitality that made this story come to life for me, and I can’t wait to read more from her in future.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 all the stars!

THE HIDDEN LEGACY by G. J. Minett

 

Old family secrets are always fascinating for me, especially when they come packaged with an old, cluttered house that was gifted to the (un)lucky recipient in a will. The premise of snooping through mildewed papers and looking for treasures in dark, hidden crevices has a certain thrill that always draws me in.

 

When Ellen Sutherland finds out that she has been gifted an old, picturesque cottage in the Cotswolds in the will of an old lady, Eudora Nash, she is surprised and a little bit sceptical. She has no idea who Eudora Nash was, and how they were related, because Ellen has never even heard the name. Since her mother’s diagnosis of early onset Alzheimer’s, there is no one in the family she can ask, and Eudora’s solicitor also doesn’t have the answers to that particular puzzle. Then follows the arrival of an investigative journalist posing as an old family friend, and a break-in at the cottage, which sets off Ellen’s alarm bells. What secrets lay hidden in the old cottage? And how will she get answers to the many questions she wants to ask?

 

Unlike Ellen, the reader has the advantage of getting a few early clues as to the identity of the mysterious Eudora, though the way the story unrolled through timelines in the past and the present still held plenty of surprises in store. I loved the slow unravelling of clues as Ellen sets out on her quest to find answers, whilst the chapters set in the past held their own morbid fascination. Revolving around a horrific playground killing by a twelve-year-old boy, this was a mystery all of its own, as horrific and shocking as it was thought provoking and moving.

 

Minett writes with the ease of a seasoned writer who knows how to bring his characters to life, and yet I found out that this is a debut novel. I particularly liked the way I was determined to have my loyalties firmly set, and yet had all my beliefs challenged along the way, thinking quite differently about one of the characters towards the end whilst feeling this was no manipulation on Minett’s part, just a gentle nudging to remain open minded. I love novels that challenge our fixed belief systems, and THE HIDDEN LEGACY managed to do just that. I am trying to not give too much away here, so will stay purposely vague, though I would love to discuss many aspects of this novel in a book group, as different emotions and opinions will undoubtedly be triggered in different readers.

 

I’m surprised that this novel hasn’t gotten a lot more hype because it is a solid and very intriguing psychological thriller that kept me enthralled until the very end. I opted for the audio version narrated by Jessica Carroll, whose narration brought each character to life and made for great listening. If you appreciate a dark psychological thriller that is set to challenge your thinking and may give you an ethical dilemma or two, then you can’t go wrong with his book. 

🌟🌟🌟🌟1/2

More inheritance themed books you might like:

5-Star Book Review: THE FAMILY GAME by Catherine Steadman

 

 

Title: The Family Game

Author:  Catherine Steadman

Read: May 2023

Expected publication: out now

My Rating: all the stars! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

 

Book Description:

 

Harry is a novelist on the brink of stardom; Edward, her husband-to-be, is seemingly perfect. In love and freshly engaged, their bliss is interrupted by the reemergence of the Holbecks, Edward's eminent family and the embodiment of American old money. For years, they've dominated headlines and pulled society's strings, and Edward left them all behind to forge his own path. But there are eyes and ears everywhere. It was only a matter of time before they were pulled back in . . .

My musings:

This books was sooooo good! Sinister games are one of my favourite themes in a thriller, and Steadman knows how to spin an evil web containing all the elements that made for a great read.

 

Here we have Harriet (Harry), who has just landed herself the perfect man: handsome, caring and super rich. You know when something looks too good to be true? It usually is. The obvious fly in her ointment is that Edward comes with a family, who are used to getting their own way and won’t take no for an answer. They also like playing games that give the Struwwelpeter  a run for his money. I am not a shrinking violet, having grown up with the legend of Krampus, and the creature itself regularly knocking on our door on the 5^th of December to check for naughty children (I am very good at hiding now). If you have no idea what I am talking about, you need to read this book! To put it in plain English, the Holbecks set their stakes high, and you either win or lose – even if it means life or limb.

 

I loved the whole premise of people playing dangerous games in their old stately mansion in the woods, which added a nice atmospheric touch. I also appreciated how Steadman managed the balance of making her character just damaged enough to give her a dark past, and yet still hold our loyalty. Harriet is a plucky heroine, which set the story off on a trajectory that could only end in disaster.

 

With tensions soon escalating and a permanent sense of foreboding overshadowing the story, I could not tear myself away. The audiobook added even more tension, as it allowed full immersion without distraction, and Steadman made her book proud by narrating it herself and giving life to her rich cast of (dysfunctional) characters.

 

I don’t want to say any more other than to urge you to read it! THE FAMILY GAME is definitely going on this year’s favourite list of thrillers, and I have a massive book hangover right now. Very highly recommended to mystery lovers who enjoy dysfunctional family dynamics, secrets and twists galore. Allow plenty of time when you start this because you may find yourself hooked (my dog still hasn’t forgiven me for the 10km morning hikes with my earbuds in just to listen “a little bit longer”).

 

 

If you like the sound of this premise, then you may also enjoy these other books about sinister games people play: