Book Review: THE GILDED CAGE by Camilla Lackberg

 

Title:  THE GILDED CAGE

Author:  Camilla Läckberg

Publisher:  HarperCollins Australia

Read: October 2020

Expected publication: out now

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟1/2

 

Book Description:

 

People would kill to have Faye von Essen’s life. She lives in an ultra-swanky apartment in the most exclusive area of Stockholm, she has a gorgeous husband who gives her everything she’s ever wanted, and she has an adorable daughter who lights up her world. Faye’s life is perfect.

So how is it, then, that she now finds herself in a police station?

The truth is that Faye’s life is far from what it seems. The truth is that Faye isn’t even her real name. And now she’s been caught out. There’s no way she’s going to go down without a fight. The only question is – who will escape with their life?

 

My musings:

 

WTH??? What a thoroughly twisted, evil little tale this was! Some of the revelations made me rejoice in the sisterhood, others sent shivers down my spine, and some made me want to have a shower. This book is definitely not for the faint hearted.

 

THE GILDED CAGE was my first book by Camilla Lackberg, but it won’t be my last. With a penchant for dark, Nordic noir, I am wondering why it has taken me so long to pick up her books?

 

The reference to the gilded cage relates to Faye, our main protagonist, as she finds herself trapped living the life of a rich man’s wife – she may have all the money she can possibly want at her disposal, but her marriage is far from healthy. As Faye’s confidence is slowly being eroded by her husband’s emotional abuse, she is also harbouring suspicions that he is cheating on her.

 

If the theme of rich arrogant men trading in their wives for younger models (and making a point of mentioning to their wives that they have become too old, fat and boring to be worthy of their love) makes you wild, then you will have steam coming out of your ears like the Hogwarts Express reading the first half of the book. Do not despair, because vindication is nigh. Although I must say that it is more twisted than sweet, and I felt slightly sullied by each and every character in this book. That doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy the ride though, and it was truly a crazy journey.

 

THE GILDED CAGE is as steamy as it is dark. I soon felt myself swept away by this tale of love, betrayal, revenge and the force of a woman scorned. Lackberg has a unique writing style that fits well with the Nordic noir theme I love, and I am very eager now to read some of her other novels.

 

 

Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins Australia for the free electronic copy of this novel and for giving me the opportunity to provide an honest review.

Book Review: THE MYSTERY OF MRS. CHRISTIE by Marie Benedict

 

Title: THE MYSTERY OF MRS CHRISTIE

Author:  Marie Benedict

Publisher:  Sourcebooks Landmark

Read: October 2020

Expected publication: 12 January 2021

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟1/2

 

 

Book Description:

 

In December 1926, Agatha Christie goes missing.

Investigators find her empty car on the edge of a deep, gloomy pond, the only clues some tire tracks nearby and a fur coat left in the car—strange for a frigid night. Her husband and daughter have no knowledge of her whereabouts, and England unleashes an unprecedented manhunt to find the up-and-coming mystery author. Eleven days later, she reappears, just as mysteriously as she disappeared, claiming amnesia and providing no explanations for her time away.

The puzzle of those missing eleven days has persisted. With her trademark exploration into the shadows of history, acclaimed author Marie Benedict brings us into the world of Agatha Christie, imagining why such a brilliant woman would find herself at the center of such a murky story.

What is real, and what is mystery? What role did her unfaithful husband play, and what was he not telling investigators?

A master storyteller whose clever mind may never be matched, Agatha Christie's untold history offers perhaps her greatest mystery of all.

My musings:

 

Ever since reading Agatha Christie’s autobiography as a teen, after having binge-read my way through all her books, I have been intrigued by the real life mystery surrounding her ten-day disappearance in 1926, a secret she has taken to the grave with her. I was therefore very excited to read Marie Benedict’s interpretation of what could have happened, and I must say that I liked this version very much!

 

The handsome and yet stiff-upper-lip arrogant Archibald Christie did little to endear himself to me in Benedict’s book, and yet the format of the two separate POVs – one told by Agatha and one by Archie – worked very well here. Whilst Agatha recounts her love affair with her handsome husband from the day she met him to the day she vanished, Archie’s timeline starts at the time of Agatha’s disappearance. An air of foreshadowing hangs over his head like a dark stain, and I became increasingly more disenchanted with him as the story progressed.

 

I won’t say much more about the story here, as the facts are well known and Benedict’s interpretation should remain a surprise until you read it, but I can say that I found it very satisfying. There also followed a period of furious googling to read old newspaper articles about Agatha’s disappearance, and look at some old photos from the time, and again it got me wondering ...

 

THE MYSTERY OF MRS CHRISTIE is a satisfying, fun read that tackles one of the great unsolved mysteries of our time. Whilst there are many theories about what happened to Agatha Christie in the ten days she was “missing”, no one really knows the truth. I take my hat off to Marie Benedict for tackling such a prominent historical mystery and do it justice. Well done!

 

 

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the free electronic copy of this novel and for giving me the opportunity to provide an honest review.

 

Book Review: INVISIBLE GIRL by Lisa Jewell

 

Title: INVISIBLE GIRL

Author:  Lisa Jewell

Read: September 2020

Expected publication: out now

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

 

Book Description:

 

Owen Pick’s life is falling apart.

In his thirties, a virgin, and living in his aunt’s spare bedroom, he has just been suspended from his job as a geography teacher after accusations of sexual misconduct, which he strongly denies. Searching for professional advice online, he is inadvertently sucked into the dark world of incel—involuntary celibate—forums, where he meets the charismatic, mysterious, and sinister Bryn.

Across the street from Owen lives the Fours family, headed by mom Cate, a physiotherapist, and dad Roan, a child psychologist. But the Fours family have a bad feeling about their neighbor Owen. He’s a bit creepy and their teenaged daughter swears he followed her home from the train station one night.

Meanwhile, young Saffyre Maddox spent three years as a patient of Roan Fours. Feeling abandoned when their therapy ends, she searches for other ways to maintain her connection with him, following him in the shadows and learning more than she wanted to know about Roan and his family. Then, on Valentine’s night, Saffyre Maddox disappears—and the last person to see her alive is Owen Pick.

 

What attracted me to this book:

 

I have loved Lisa Jewell’s books ever since reading THE HOUSE WE GREW UP IN (which still remains my favourite book of hers) a decade or so ago, and she has been an auto buy author for me ever since. I particularly love the way she presents us with an insight into the psyche of her well-rounded characters, in a way that makes them come to life on the pages.

My musings:

 

I am happy to say that Jewell has come through for me again with her latest book – here we have her trademark troubled characters, all wrapped up in a multi-layered, suspenseful domestic mystery. The secret lies in the slow simmer of danger as things are trending South in our protagonists’ lives, like a train destined to plunge into the abyss as all brakes have failed. Such is the situation for Owen, a loner in his 30s who is so socially inept and afraid of women that he has never yet had a sexual partner and still lives with his forbidding aunt in a tiny portion of her house. When a spade of sexual attacks occurs in the area, and a young girl disappears, everyone is very eager to point their finger at the “weirdo” living in the neighbourhood.

 

The premise of this one seemed all too real, because we all tend to find scapegoats in the people that don’t quite fit into society. I found it both heartbreaking but also interesting as I challenged my own prejudices and misconceptions. If I was a parent, would I too be afraid of the strange man living next door? Just on account of him being different? As Owen is accused of the crimes and his life slowly unravels, my heart ached for him, even though I admit that I also found him slightly creepy.

 

I did feel at times that the underlying themes were chosen to reflect the current political climate and came a little bit close to preaching a message at times, especially towards the end. However, it did prompt me to reflect, and kept me turning the pages, so I cannot complain!

  

Summary:

 

INVISIBLE GIRL is a slow burning and yet complex mystery that will appeal to readers who appreciate a character driven story that delves into the psyche of different people and explores the way they think and act. Jewell has mastered the art of creating suspense without any of the hard hitting gore and horror of other mysteries, but rather uses our society’s prejudices and biases to raise our hackles. In the end, it’s those preconceived ideas that will prompt reflection as the answers are revealed in a satisfying finale. I really have come to love Jewell’s writing style and can’t wait to read her next novel.

 

 

Book Review: THE SURVIVORS by Jane Harper

 

Title: THE SURVIVORS

Author:  Jane Harper

Publisher: Macmillan Australia 

Read: September 2020

Expected publication: out now

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟1/2

 

Book Description:

 

Kieran Elliott's life changed forever on the day a reckless mistake led to devastating consequences.

The guilt that still haunts him resurfaces during a visit with his young family to the small coastal town he once called home.

Kieran's parents are struggling in a community which is bound, for better or worse, to the sea, that is both a lifeline and a threat. Between them all is his absent brother, Finn.

When a body is discovered on the beach, long-held secrets threaten to emerge. A sunken wreck, a missing girl, and questions that have never washed away...

 

My musings:

 

Jane Harper is a master at creating a tense, atmospheric setting, and her latest book is no exception. Whilst she has previously taken us to remote outback locations, THE SURVIVORS is set in a small Tasmanian beach town, which is still reeling from the loss of three people in a massive storm ten years ago and has left lasting scars in the community. I loved the wild and beautiful setting, a rugged coast with hidden caves and rip tides and a small community where everyone knows each other’s business – it really made for the most divine setting!

 

Whilst THE SURVIVORS was perhaps not as gritty as Harper’s previous novels and took a little bit longer to grip me, I really enjoyed the slow unravelling of family secrets heavily burdened by past guilt in a community where the loss of lives has left lasting scars. Living in a small beachside community I could relate to a lot of the dynamics described here. And of course if you are looking for some great armchair travel to beautiful Tasmania, it doesn’t get much more atmospheric than this! Even though the mystery itself was not as thrilling as I had expected, and the ending a bit of an anti-climax for me, I still enjoyed the overall experience. Trying to pinpoint what exactly made this novel very different from Harper’s previous books made me reflect that the main character, Kieran, remained a somewhat remote character and one I found difficult to bond with. Not being a detective who was involved in the murder investigation kept him as well as the reader on the periphery of the crime committed at the start of the story, which may have accounted for the slower pace and the lack of gritty details I appreciated in Harper’s previous books. I  recommend it to readers who enjoy a slower, broody mystery revolving around families, the burden of guilt and grief and overcoming past trauma.

 

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Australia for the free electronic copy of this novel and for giving me the opportunity to provide an honest review.

 

Book Review: SORROW AND BLISS by Meg Mason

 

Title: SORROW AND BLISS

Author:  Meg Mason

Publisher:  HarperCollins Australia

Read: September 2020

Expected publication: out now

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟1/2

 

Book Description:

 

This novel is about a woman called Martha. She knows there is something wrong with her but she doesn't know what it is. Her husband Patrick thinks she is fine. He says everyone has something, the thing is just to keep going.

Martha told Patrick before they got married that she didn't want to have children. He said he didn't mind either way because he has loved her since he was fourteen and making her happy is all that matters, although he does not seem able to do it.

By the time Martha finds out what is wrong, it doesn't really matter anymore. It is too late to get the only thing she has ever wanted. Or maybe it will turn out that you can stop loving someone and start again from nothing - if you can find something else to want.

The book is set in London and Oxford. It is sad and funny.

 

What attracted me to this book:

 

I read YOU BE MOTHER, Meg Mason’s previous book, in 2017, and loved it so much that it made its way onto my “all-time-favourites” list. I couldn’t wait to read her latest one!

My musings:

 

Mason writes with so much heart and humour that it is impossible not to get emotionally involved in her stories. Whilst Abi, our main protagonist in YOU BE MOTHER, is a young, inexperienced mother looking for a family to belong to, Martha in SORROW AND BLISS has chosen not to be a mother, for reasons we will gradually get to find out. What both women have in common, however, is their longing to find their place in the world, among other people, and yet finding they never quite fit. Martha has always struggled with people. Mercurial and sensitive, people find themselves drawn to Martha and yet she always seems to ultimately push them away. After her first marriage fails within the first two weeks, she marries Patrick, an old childhood friend, who seems one of the few people unfazed by Martha’s mood swings. The other constant in her life is her sister, Ingrid, who has always stood by Martha and supported her through her darkest times. But there are moments when the darkness threatens to engulf Martha, with no way out. Ultimately, will it make her loose the two people she loves most?

 

Mason writes about mental illness with a sensitivity and insight rarely found in fiction. Martha’s voice is as authentic as it is unique, warts and all, as she honestly reflects on all aspects of her personality, wondering what it is that makes her different from other people. It was interesting to see how getting a diagnosis changed Martha in ways that someone who does not battle an illness will never truly understand. I loved the way Mason allows us a glimpse inside the deepest corners of Martha’s psyche, even if I felt the weight of Martha’s pain pressing down heavily at times. On the other hand, we get quirky, funny, creative Martha whose sharp wit was refreshing and unique.

 

Most of all, I enjoyed Mason’s portrayal of family, and the way the people in Martha’s life reacted to her mental illness. From denial to unquestionable support, in the end family was what held Martha together, and each of their characters was a pleasure to read. 

 

Summary:

 

All in all, SORROW AND BLISS was a warm, insightful book exploring mental illness through the eyes of a woman who has lived it. Sometimes sad, sometimes funny, and always a revelation, the story carried me along in its wake and made me reflect on the different burdens some people carry through life.

 

 

 

Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins Australia for the free electronic copy of this novel and for giving me the opportunity to provide an honest review.