Book Review: THE TRICKY ART OF FORGIVENESS by Meredith Jaffe

 

Title: THE TRICKY ART OF FORGIVENESS

Author:  Meredith Jaffe

Publisher:  Harper Collins Australia

Read: April 2022

Expected publication:  out now

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

 

Book Description:

 

Diana Forsyth is in the midst of planning the Big Party, a combined celebration of her husband Will's 60th and their 30th wedding anniversary. The whole family is flying in and unbeknownst to Will, Diana is planning a Big Surprise.

But then she finds a torn scrap of paper hidden inside the folds of one of his cashmere sweaters, with the words, I forgive you. And all of a sudden, Diana realises she's not the only one keeping Big Secrets.

As empty nesters who have just downsized from the family home, she and Will are supposed to be embracing a new promise of glorious freedom - not revisiting a past that Diana has worked very hard to leave behind.

A witty, poignant and insightful exploration of marriage: the choices we make - or don't make, the resentments we hold, the lies we tell and what forgiveness really means.

My musings:

 

I've always enjoyed how Jaffe explores the depths of relationships, so was immediately intrigued by the premise of a woman who discovers a mysterious note among her husband's things. The best thing about novels centring on everyday life is that you can put yourself in your characters' shoes and ask: "What would I do in that same situation?" It's perhaps a sign that the relationship is not going so well that Diane feels she can't discuss the note with her husband of thirty years, but instead lets doubts and suspicions overwhelm her. It probably also doesn't help that her husband Will is absent for most of the book, so we only get to hear from Diana’s' perspective, as she relives the highs and lows of their marriage. I usually enjoy a slow-burning, character driven story, so savoured the slow unveiling of secrets, which lay at the heart of the marriage crisis. Being set in Australia, the book was relatable to our time, even though perhaps more to the middle aged rather than the younger reader.

 

As usual, Jaffe writes with insight and heart as she compares a marriage to a landscape, with all its highs and lows, valleys and peaks. I found Diana relatable and easy to warm to, and her dilemma seemed believable. THE TRICKY ART OF FORGIVENESS contains many themes which will resonate with a variety of readers, such as grief, guilt, forgiveness, regrets, the empty nest syndrome and how the choices we make will steer our lives along one particular path. A book full of heart that prompted reflection.

 

 

 

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

Book Review: THIS PLACE OF WONDER by Barbara O'Neal

 

Title: THIS PLACE OF WONDER

Author:  Barbara O’Neal

Publisher:  Lake Union Publishing

Read: April 2022

Expected publication: 19 July 2022

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟

 

Book Description:

 

In the wake of a personal tragedy, four women face the past, their futures, and each other in a novel of broken ties and healing by the Amazon Charts bestselling author of When We Believed in Mermaids.

When famed chef Augustus Beauvais dies, he leaves behind a celebrated reputation―and four women grappling with loss, anger, pain, and the question of how the world will turn without him…

Meadow, the ex-wife with whom Augustus built an empire―and a family―still holds a place for him in her heart, even as she continues to struggle with his infidelities, which ended their twenty-year marriage. More unforgiving is Maya, his estranged daughter, who’s recently out of rehab but finally ready to reclaim her life. Norah, his latest girlfriend, sidelined her own career for unexpected love and a life of luxury, both of which are now gone with Augustus. And then there’s Rory, Meadow’s daughter, the voice of calm and reason in a chorus of discontent.

As Meadow, Maya, Norah, and Rory are flung together by tragedy, grief, and secrets yet to be revealed, they must accept―or turn away from―the legacy of great intentions and bad decisions Augustus left them. And when the circumstances around his death are called into question, their conflicted feelings become even more complicated. But moving forward is the only choice they have, and to do so, they’ll need to rely on family, friendship, and inner strength.

Set on the stunning, rugged California coastline, This Place of Wonder is an emotional, lush, and empowering story of four women finding their way in a changed world―and what a wondrous journey it will be.

My musings:

 

I really enjoyed Barbara O'Neal's previous book, WHEN WE BELIEVED IN MERMAIDS, and was very excited to have the opportunity to read her new novel. O'Neal is a master of atmospheric settings - once again we are taken to a house on the rugged Californian coast that makes for a fantastic backdrop. Famous chef Augustus Beauvais has died suddenly, leaving behind Meadow, his ex-wife, his daughter Maya, stepdaughter Rory and mistress Norah. As each of these women have to come to terms with their grief, their relationships are slowly being unveiled, revealing complex histories rooted in tragedy and pain.

 

Told through the POVs of three of the women, we slowly get to explore how each of them related to Augustus, as well as the man himself, seen from many different angles. O'Neal does a great job in exploring how one and the same person can be perceived so differently, depending on the viewer. Whilst Meadow, who has known Augustus the longest, still considers him her soul mate, despite his infidelities and their messy split, his daughter Maya has never forgiven him. For Norah, Augustus is a generous saviour from a lonely and sad childhood in multiple foster homes, and Rory adores him as a lovable and generous grandfather to her children. O'Neal tries to introduce an element of mystery into the story when Augustus' death is being questioned by police, though I never really felt this aspect convincing enough to keep me yearning for answers.

 

Whilst I particularly enjoyed exploring the sister relationship between Rory and Maya, I admit that the story ended up dragging a little bit for me. Even though Maya's struggle with addiction was portrayed in an insightful manner, the constant references to AA and her relationship with alcohol bogged the story down for me. I didn't warm to any of the characters, especially Augustus, who came across as selfish and ruthless rather than the enigmatic character he was portrayed to be. Also, I would have loved to hear from the POV of Rory, the only character who doesn't get a voice. 

 

 

Summary:

THIS PLACE OF WONDER will appeal to readers who like a slow burning, character driven story exploring topics such as relationships, addiction, infidelity and grief. Personally, I found it a little slow and thought that in this case the multiple POVs were a bit repetitive, though it certainly prompted reflection and kept me interested until the end.

 

 

 

 

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

Book Review: THE RABBIT FACTOR by Antti Tuomainen

 

Title: THE RABBIT FACTOR

Author:  Antti Tuomainen

Publisher:  Orenda Books

Read: April 2022

Expected publication: 1 May 2022

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

 

Book Description:

 

What makes life perfect? Insurance mathematician Henri Koskinen knows the answer because he calculates everything down to the very last decimal.

And then, for the first time, Henri is faced with the incalculable. After suddenly losing his job, Henri inherits an adventure park from his brother – its peculiar employees and troubling financial problems included. The worst of the financial issues appear to originate from big loans taken from criminal quarters … and some dangerous men are very keen to get their money back.

But what Henri really can’t compute is love. In the adventure park, Henri crosses paths with Laura, an artist with a chequered past, and a joie de vivre and erratic lifestyle that bewilders him. As the criminals go to extreme lengths to collect their debts and as Henri's relationship with Laura deepens, he finds himself faced with situations and emotions that simply cannot be pinned down on his spreadsheets…

Warmly funny, rich with quirky characters and absurd situations, The Rabbit Factor is a triumph of a dark thriller, its tension matched only by its ability to make us rejoice in the beauty and random nature of life.

 

My musings:

 

If I’d had any concerns that a book about an adventure park starring a giant plastic rabbit would not be my thing, then these were rapidly dispelled as Antti Tuomainen’s quirky protagonist and black humour soon drew me into the story and kept me enthralled. THE RABBIT FACTOR reads like a mix between Nordic noir and dark comedy, and I really enjoyed the unusual blend of genres.

Mathematician Henri Koskinen seems like an unlikely character to inherit an adventure park, but this is by far not the most absurd situation he is about to encounter, nor the last. Despite his best intentions and careful planning, he soon finds himself on the wrong side of a group of criminals who intend on collecting a debt and will stop at nothing to get what is owed to them. With an atmospheric setting in a Finnish adventure park, there is nothing ordinary or predictable about this novel, and it was like a breath of fresh air in the sea of same-old murder mysteries that are flooding the market. 

 

Tuomainen has mastered the art of transcending the dark and gloomy atmosphere Nordic thrillers are renowned for, whilst keeping up an air of intrigue and suspense. It even got my heart rate up a few times as Henri stumbled headlong into disaster! Supported by a rich cast of characters as unusual and quirky as Henri himself, THE RABBIT FACTOR both surprised and delighted me with its originality. I loved the way Henri tried to apply logic to even the most absurd situations, which made for some interesting encounters.

 

Summary:

 

All in all ,THE RABBIT FACTOR was a delightful mix of nordic noir and dark comedy which will appeal to readers who are looking for mysteries that stand out from the rest. Quirky and original, it is difficult to pigeonhole it in any particular genre, though the mystery element definitely lies at its core. For those readers who like a bit of action or a hint of romance, it caters for all of you as well. I am surprised that I haven't read any other novels by this author before, but will certainly look up all his backlist now.

 

 

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

Books from my TBR pile - mini reviews #2

 

WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN by Wendy James

 

For me, the strength of a domestic thriller lies in the ordinariness of its characters. The more these people resemble the humdrum existence of the ordinary citizen – in this case the stay at home mum who is satisfied with cleaning the house, look after her children and put dinner on the table for her husband – the more sinister the plot appears. If this can happen to any boring, ordinary, tax-paying citizen, this could happen to any of us! Let’s also make it clear that James’ novel is set in the 90’s, a time before you could jump on social media and the internet and find out everything about everyone else, and the premise will appear a lot more believable.

 

In 1975, Susan’s sister Karen sets out for her high school formal and never comes home. Now, twenty years later, Susan is married to her high school sweetheart and has two children of her own. Her mother has recently died after a long illness, never fully recovering from her elder daughter’s disappearance. In her will, she leaves the family home to both her daughters, and the family solicitor informs Susan that every effort must be made to locate her missing sister. In the 90’s, this involved placing an advertisement in several prominent papers and weeding out the frauds (remember these ads?). To Susan’s surprise, a woman comes forward claiming to be Karen. Now living under the name Carly, she has knowledge of family matters that convince the family solicitor that she must indeed be Karen, despite an inconclusive DNA test.

 

Initially resistant, Susan eventually welcomes Carly into her home, thrilled to have found her long lost sister. Soon Carly skilfully inserts herself into the family, winning over even Susan’s sceptical husband Ed and the trust of their two children, and moving into the family home.

 

With themes of sisterhood, family and belonging, James presents a tale that is heavy with foreboding and peppered with the seeds of mistrust as the reader follows the family’s journey from here forward. I know that I certainly had my own thoughts about Carly, and witnessing the ensuing chaos was like watching an impending train wreck. Like in her novel THE ACCUSATION (which I loved), James always leaves an element of doubt in all possible scenarios. What if Carly is the real deal? What actually did happen to Karen on that fateful night?

 

Personally, I found parts of the story a little bit lacking or perhaps just too ambiguous to make this premise work to its best effect. Susan was merely an ordinary, nice, trusting person who longed for family (aka her lost sister), and I generally just felt sad for her as she generously let Carly into their fold. As a “thriller” I was missing elements of suspense or the social critique that would make me either resent Susan or Ed for being greedy or middle class snobs (i.e. be on team Carly), or feel a burning hatred for the obvious impostor Carly (i.e. be on team Susan). As it was, I only felt somewhat deflated and was left with more questions than answers (which may have been the author’s intent). That said, I am still thinking about these characters long after I have moved on to another book, so there is definitely something in James writing that always gets under my skin, and I am eagerly awaiting her future novels.

 

 

THE SWIFT AND THE HARRIER by Minette Walters

Ever since reading Walters’ novels about the black death, I have been hooked on her historical fiction books.  In THE SWIFT AND THE HARRIER, Walters once again brings one of England’s past eras to life – this time the 1700s, a time of civil war. As with her previous HF novels, Walters has created an interesting, strong female character to lead the story, young physician Jayne Swift, the daughter of a local squire who is defying all of the rules applied to women at the time. Not only is she intelligent and quick-witted (and not too afraid to show it), but she has also defied convention by teaching herself medicine and choosing the path of physician rather than wife. Whilst this alienates her from most of her peers, she meets her match in William Harrier, who has many guises of his own (from footman to knight and many alter egos in between).

 

Whilst I mostly enjoyed the book, it did stall a few times in overly descriptive and repetitive scenes that could have been edited slightly to move the story along. There were a few times when I desperately longed for something to happen as I trudged through a myriad of characters or battle scenes. Perhaps I should have paid more attention to the history lessons at school, and some of the political details would have fallen into place a bit easier for me.

In summary, set against the backdrop of the English Civil War, THE SWIFT AND THE HARRIER takes us on a delightful journey into the history books, led by an interesting female protagonist. Even though I wasn’t totally convinced that a woman like Jayne truly existed in that male dominated era, I enjoyed the history lesson and the very understated romance that slowly unfolded between herself and one of the male leads. THE SWIFT AND THE HARRIER will appeal to readers who enjoy a character driven, slower paced novel that covers a period in history not often found in other fiction books.

 

 

THE GLASS HOUSE by Eve Chase

 

THE GLASS HOUSE is my third book by Eve Chase, all read in quick succession because I just can't get enough of her stories of dark family secrets and sibling relationships. As with some of her previous books, Chase lets her story play out in two separate storylines running parallel to one another, until they seamlessly come together to reveal the answers we have been seeking. 

 

In the summer of 1971, Jeannie Harrington escapes her controlling husband and her grief by moving her two children and their nanny, "Big Rita", to their country house Foxcote Manor. There, in the depths of the forest, a baby girl is found abandoned and is taken in by the family, despite Rita's misgivings that all is not well in the Harrington household. Fast forward to the present, and we hear about Sylvie, whose mother is in ICU after an accident at home and whose daughter just had some life changing news. I loved the gradual unravelling of threads and exposing of secrets that ultimately brought these different timelines and characters together for a satisfying finale.

 

All in all, THE GLASS HOUSE was a deliciously mysterious story of family secrets against an atmospheric backdrop of the Forest of Dean, which leant the novel an almost fairytale like quality, especially the scenes at Foxcote Manor. Chase is a master at portraying family relationships, especially those between siblings, and once more her book ticked all the boxes for me.

 

 

THE COUPLE AT NO 9 by Claire Douglas

 

THE COUPLE AT NO 9 was my first book by Claire Douglas, but it certainly won't be my last! If you are looking for dark family secrets and a delightful twist, then look no further.

 

Young couple Tom and Saffron have their dreams of converting Saffron's grandmother's old cottage into their dream home shattered when earthworks uncover two skeletons in the garden. Forensics soon identify one of the bodies as that of a man who disappeared thirty years ago. But how was Saffron's grandmother Rose connected to him? Rose has recently moved into a care home and is suffering from Alzheimer's, so her recall of the past is confused and patchy. The more Saffron and her mother Lorna dig into the past, the more convinced they are that events may be connected to one of Rose's lodgers, a mysterious woman called Daphne, who was living in the cottage when Lorna was a baby. There is only one problem: Daphne has also disappeared, and noone remembers what happened to her. Is Daphne the other woman in the grave? And if so, could Rose have killed her?

 

I loved the way Douglas explores the story from the POV of three different generations of women, who are all complex, well rounded characters who intrigued me. As the story unfolded and some of the threads came together, there was drama and tragedy and a mighty twist that completely took me by surprise. With its slow, almost languid start and an explosive finale, THE COUPLE AT NO 9 ticked all the boxes for me and I can't wait to read more from this author in future.

 

 

Book Review: THE MURDER RULE by Dervla McTiernan

 

Title: THE MURDER RULE

Author:  Dervla McTiernan

Publisher:  HarperCollins Publishers Australia

Read: February 2022

Expected publication: 4 May 2022

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟

 

Book Description:

 

First Rule: Make them like you.

Second Rule: Make them need you.

Third Rule: Make them pay.

They think I’m a young, idealistic law student, that I’m passionate about reforming a corrupt and brutal system.

They think I’m working hard to impress them.

They think I’m here to save an innocent man on death row.

They're wrong. I’m going to bury him.

What attracted me to this book:

 

Dervla McTiernan’s Cormac Reilly books are one of my favourite crime series, so I was excited to hear that the author had a new stand-alone book coming out this year. I love a good legal thriller, too, so this sounded like the perfect story for me.

My musings:

 

Hannah Rokeby is a law student with her own agenda – to avenge a great injustice done to her mother before Hannah was born. Ever since she discovered her mother’s diary, Hannah has been determined to bring the perpetrator to justice. The opportunity presents itself when the Innocent Project at the University of Virginia takes on the case of Michael Dandridge, who is in prison for allegedly raping and murdering a young woman. Wrongfully incarcerated, according to the project’s founder, Professor Rob Parekh and Michael himself, who keeps proclaiming his innocence.  With ingenuity and some cunning, Hannah makes certain that she is included in the team investigating the case – but she is following her own agenda.

 

With Hannah’s thirst for revenge disclosed early in the story, I soon became invested to find out more: what, why and how? I’m usually not a great fan of diary entries as POV, but in this case they worked well to give motive to Hannah’s quest. With her background as a lawyer, the author presents us with an intriguing premise that worked well for me for the first ¾ of the book. Sadly, the last ¼ lost a lot of credibility, with many unanswered questions remaining in the end. Whilst I could understand Hannah’s motives (despite the troubled relationship she had with her mother), some of the other characters seemed to be driven by agendas that were never fully explained, and I was left feeling like I had overlooked some crucial bit of information that tied it all together. Whilst the action ramped up nicely in the final chapters, it did so at the expense of believability, both regarding the last courtroom scenes as well as character development of some of the secondary players. This may have all been excused if I had understood the prime motivations, but as I came to the end, I was scratching my head in puzzlement and flicking back to earlier chapters to see what I had missed.

 

 

Summary:

 

It’s difficult to rate a book that initially had me glued to the pages, but left me feeling disappointed with the final reveal. I still love McTiernan’s writing style but feel that the character development here was nowhere as convincing as in her Cormac Reilly series and in some parts appeared stereotypical to me (which Cormac Reilly definitely was not). One of the things I always loved about McTiernan’s previous novels was that they offered something unique in terms of characters and setting, whilst this one seemed a bit like your run of the mill American law enforcement novel. Whilst the concept of THE MURDER RULE was intriguing and it was entertaining enough, it didn’t have the same impact on me as the Cormac Reilly series and I would love to see the author return to her Irish settings or perhaps an Australian one in future.

 

 

 

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