uge thanks to Anne Cater of Random Things for the tour invite, and Penguin Random House for the gifted ecopy of 'Rodham' which is out on the 9th of Juuge thanks to Anne Cater of Random Things for the tour invite, and Penguin Random House for the gifted ecopy of 'Rodham' which is out on the 9th of July in ebook, hardcover and audiobook formats.
This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2020, Curtis is one of my favourite writers and Hillary Rodham Clinton one of the most fierce yet enigmatic feminists of our time. My limited knowledge of her public persona is principally based around her and her husband, Bill's, tenure in the Oval Office which, as I was a teenager at the time, seemed immensely exotic. Her equality of purpose with her husband made them such a formidable couple, and this resurfaced as he supported her in her presidential candidacy race in 2016.
Beyond that, I knew next to nothing and do not claim any political expertise, however, the thought experiment of Curtis Sittenfeld re-imagining the life of such a powerhouse public figure if her road had turned left, instead of right had this reader completey intrigued.
By titling it 'Rodham', not only does Curtis in a sense, give Hillary's agency back to her, she makes her the heart, the spine, the nervous system of this entire book. She is her own person rather than a conduit of Bill's, and so even the title had me excited.
Rather than asking , 'Where would Hillary be without Bill?' this posits the question of how successful he would have been without her.
From the very start, Hillary's voice is firm, straight and decisive. She knows who she is, she knows her limitations and she recognises and pushes agianst systems set in place to denegrate and keep women where they belong. She states unemotionally and unequivocably the fact that women are not allowed through many , many doors in 70's American Academic circles. She makes no bones about it, instead she makes waves , slams those doors open and brings other women along with her.
This is illustrated in her refusing to accomodate her Corporation Tax tutor, who used Valentine's Day to ask all the virgins in class to come to the front of the room (his way of getting back at the one day a year women were allowed to speak up, Ladies Day. Can you ever imagine that this was acceptable?)
Hillary was one of only 3 women in the class and as such they refused to engage, and she became, to misquote Tolkien, known as a 'disturber of the peace'.
This is an unromantic romance story, in that whilst their early courtship is beautifully rendered, it is undermined with Hillary's strength of character and lack of expectation when it comes to men. She finds it hard to believe that Bill is interested in her, in fact, it comes as something of a shock that he has been watching her for over a year and knows her reputation on campus . Whether he had her marked out as a perfect political partner, whether he strategically picked her is something which can only be guessed at, but I found it incredibly tender, and so easy to believe.
This is probably one of my favourite quotes from a book littered with moments that make you want to sing for joy at the quality of writing-
''You will encounter boys and men with whom you think you enjoy chemistry. A boy or a man will find you funny and interesting and smart,just as you find him funny and interesting and smart. The pleasure you take in each other's company will be obvious, but, crucially,while this pleasure will make you feel as if you are in love with him,it will not make him feel as if he is in love with you.He might remark on how much he likes talking to you, but there will be girls he wants to kiss and you will not be one of them.''
The book leaps straight into Hillary's time at Yale, she dips in and out of her childhood reminiscences, but she is absolutely there as a young woman poised and determined, on the edge of world domination. Her forward thinking and focus is supported but an unquenchable work ethic and drive.
The rest of the story is split in to two-the relationship she has with Bill and the fallout out of her refusal to marry him.
Cleverly intertwining events, and with research coming from Hillary and Bill's own memoirs, Curtis manages to create something remarkable, timely and deeply moving. All the things for which Hillary should have been celebrated for were used as weapons against her. As a friend's father commented when she ventured forth an opinion on baseball , 'you're awfully opiniated for a girl'.
Yes she was,she knew it and never wavered.
She still is, and for everything that some sectors of society feel that she did wrong, I still feel that she is someone to look up to, for her firm political and social stances, her sheer humanity and strength of character.
As a fictionalised biography of one of history's most formidable women, I finished this novel with a tinge of regret for the first female president that we should have had. And it has made me want to read 'What Happened?' by Hillary Rodham-Clinton. To see how close her written voice is to this account. And to forever wonder if Hillary herself has read 'Rodham' and what she thinks about it....more
I have to confess to still working my way through the Helen Grace novels, they can be read as standalones, whereas I have been picking them up as and I have to confess to still working my way through the Helen Grace novels, they can be read as standalones, whereas I have been picking them up as and where I can. There are characters in the 'All Fall Down' which relate to an earlier case of Helen's, so readers more familiar than I am might recognise names from other books, but it does not detract in any way from this story. This is what I love about MJ's books-he makes you want to read his other ones by giving small, teaser-y details of other cases without being overly expositional. He draws quick pencil sketches of the principle characters such as Helen, Charlie(fellow police officer about to go on maternity leave)and Emma(trouble making reporter) which leave you wanting to know more .
This case, as previously mentioned, harks back to an earlier one where 5 teens were kidnapped, held hostage and only 4 escaped. The killer, who had previously attempted to abduct 2 young girls, managed to avoid capture, and his belonging were found at the seaside, some miles away, giving the impression he had committed suicide.
So there is a potential bogeyman who has haunted the police, and intrepid journalist Emma, and one of the survivors, Martyna, who wrote a book about the experience. Another, Justin, has managed to put this behind him and nearly a decade later has a successful business and relationship. Until he gets stuck in a life at work, and in the middle of the panic, receives a phone call telling him he has an hour to live.
The suspense filled, short chapters leap back and forth between Helen, Charlie, Justin(in the beginning) and extracts of Martyna's book. M is fab at leaving cliffhanger endings which urge you to read on, you are convinced Justin is going to die in the lift over the next hour and then BAM! You are riding alongside Helen and her co-worker/friend with benefits Joseph on her Kawasaki motorbike. Breathe. And then back to Justin and you think, phew, he got out of the lift, must have been a practical joke. But then, he never actually gets home...
As Helen goes about tracking down the other survivors of the kidnapping, with a killer lurking in the background, there is a neat counterpoint to her 'not sure whether to commit to Joseph' storyline in Charlie's impending second baby. As the third part of the triangle, Emma, ace reporter is one of those characters whose tenacity and doggedness is either going to endear you to her or make her annoying(depending on if she is interviewing you or not!)
The constantly changing narrators make the pace snappy, other readers may find that they aren't left alone with them enough to get to know them, but personally I found it drove the plot forward and made it an easy read-this is hopefully coming across as a compliment as I find some crime novels tend to over fill short chapters and somehow slow down the pace.
Helen is hunting a killer who is working to a schedule-she has to stop them before they take all of the survivors and finish a job started 8 years previously.
A cracking thriller which will please fans of Helen Grace and have been eagerly waiting for her to return,I can recommend picking up a copy of this at your nearest bookshop or downloading it to your Kindle....more
I have to confess to still working my way through the Helen Grace novels, they can be read as standalones, whereas I have been picking them up as and I have to confess to still working my way through the Helen Grace novels, they can be read as standalones, whereas I have been picking them up as and where I can. There are characters in the 'All Fall Down' which relate to an earlier case of Helen's, so readers more familiar than I am might recognise names from other books, but it does not detract in any way from this story. This is what I love about MJ's books-he makes you want to read his other ones by giving small, teaser-y details of other cases without being overly expositional. He draws quick pencil sketches of the principle characters such as Helen, Charlie(fellow police officer about to go on maternity leave)and Emma(trouble making reporter) which leave you wanting to know more .
This case, as previously mentioned, harks back to an earlier one where 5 teens were kidnapped, held hostage and only 4 escaped. The killer, who had previously attempted to abduct 2 young girls, managed to avoid capture, and his belonging were found at the seaside, some miles away, giving the impression he had committed suicide.
So there is a potential bogeyman who has haunted the police, and intrepid journalist Emma, and one of the survivors, Martyna, who wrote a book about the experience. Another, Justin, has managed to put this behind him and nearly a decade later has a successful business and relationship. Until he gets stuck in a life at work, and in the middle of the panic, receives a phone call telling him he has an hour to live.
The suspense filled, short chapters leap back and forth between Helen, Charlie, Justin(in the beginning) and extracts of Martyna's book. M is fab at leaving cliffhanger endings which urge you to read on, you are convinced Justin is going to die in the lift over the next hour and then BAM! You are riding alongside Helen and her co-worker/friend with benefits Joseph on her Kawasaki motorbike. Breathe. And then back to Justin and you think, phew, he got out of the lift, must have been a practical joke. But then, he never actually gets home...
As Helen goes about tracking down the other survivors of the kidnapping, with a killer lurking in the background, there is a neat counterpoint to her 'not sure whether to commit to Joseph' storyline in Charlie's impending second baby. As the third part of the triangle, Emma, ace reporter is one of those characters whose tenacity and doggedness is either going to endear you to her or make her annoying(depending on if she is interviewing you or not!)
The constantly changing narrators make the pace snappy, other readers may find that they aren't left alone with them enough to get to know them, but personally I found it drove the plot forward and made it an easy read-this is hopefully coming across as a compliment as I find some crime novels tend to over fill short chapters and somehow slow down the pace.
Helen is hunting a killer who is working to a schedule-she has to stop them before they take all of the survivors and finish a job started 8 years previously.
A cracking thriller which will please fans of Helen Grace and have been eagerly waiting for her to return,I can recommend picking up a copy of this at your nearest bookshop or downloading it to your Kindle....more
HUGE thanks are due to the lovely Antonia Whitton of Headline Books who kindly asked me to share my thoughts on 'The July Girls' which is out now in pHUGE thanks are due to the lovely Antonia Whitton of Headline Books who kindly asked me to share my thoughts on 'The July Girls' which is out now in paperback as well as ebook formats, and the awesome Jenni Leech who kindly sent me my gifted review copy.
Reading this was a no brainer after the spine chilling 'The Tall Man', which I devoured overnight.
In contrast, this book really is a perfect summer read-again it looks at the fall from innocence that all teens go through when they become aware that the important people in their lives have feet of clay. And that urban myths are even scarier in the light of day when you realise that the monster you seek wears a human face....
This story is Addie's , her narration spans her early teens to grownup years, her perspective and first hand narration bringing the reader in close to the action. You see through her eyes the devastation of the London bombings, the doubt in her mind about her father being the Magpie killer (who abducts and kills one woman every July) and how she substitutes her mother figure needs onto her older sister, Jessie.
As their roles grow and change, Jessie is thrust into being responsible way before she is able to comprehend the consequences of her actions, and as such, Addie gets to be the child that Jessie was not. Her memories of her mother are only good ones, she constructs a fantasy about her missing parent that Jessie and her dad do not disabuse her of. As a result, Addie has the best childhood that a grieving father and older sister can give her.There are snatched moments of joy, such as left over ice cream from the parlour where Jessie works are threaded through the story like gold weaved through sackcloth.
And underlying it all,the heat of the season,escalating fear combined with the oppressive nature of city life, all of which are so well realised and are contributing factors to the claustrophobic nature of the story. Each July brings the weight of expectation that the Magpie will strike again-the fear and opportunity to catch him weighing heavy on the policeman who has dedicated himself to solving this case.
Underneath the traditional hunt for who the killer is, lays the theme of poverty, want, and theft . The poverty that this little family live in is contrasted with being in one of the richest cities in the world, Addie and Jessie's father driving people around, like a chauffeur to other people's biggr, better lives. Jessie and her stolen childhood, working and taking care of first her sister then the bereaved husband and daughter of one of the Magpie's victims. And then there is Addie-her life overshadowed by her missing mother, her suspicions about her father and the realisation that Jessie won't always be there to look after her.
'The July Girls' works on so many levels-it is the kind of book that you race through because you want that happy ending for these girls, you want them to escape this unscathed. And then, when you turn the last page, you kick yourself for not making it last longer.
The disposability and fragility of the life of young women is laid bare in the stories of the missing-they become synonymous with their killers moniker rather than existing in their own rights.The Magpie doesn't just steal their lives, he steals their identity and their family's peace of mind . He steals Jessie and Addie's childhoods by always being there, in the shadows. The contrast to the killer is policeman DS Jones who fulfils the parental role in watching out for the girls whilst also using them as bait to catch a killer.
Heartbreaking, suspense filled prose has never been so good.
This is the perfect summer read, I would recommend it to those who enjoy CJ Tudor and Alex North...more
This read is spooky and atmospheric with several different strands of narrative going on simultaneously. The abandoned asylum, the murdered elderly womThis read is spooky and atmospheric with several different strands of narrative going on simultaneously. The abandoned asylum, the murdered elderly woman and the missing urban explorer, all intermingle with the personal life of detective Lew Kirby, in his first outing. Over arching the mystery of how a dead woman ended up in such a specific ward of Blackheath is the relationship between parents and children and how no matter the depth you try to bury secrets, eventually, something will work it's way to the surface. Keats ward was the Narcosis ward where the dr who ran Blackheath conducted immoral and illegal experiements on those who were sectioned there, often denying sleep from his patients for weeks and months at a time. But what connection does the dead woman have to these experiments? Who is the ex-patient living in the grounds who has managed to thwart every attempt at being evicted, and what exactly is in his 'collection'? What is 'the Bone Jar'? Creepy, eerie and bound to deprive you of sleep, this is an engrossing mystery which really amplifies the appeal-and danger-of urban exploration . ...more
MW Craven has created a fresh labyrinth, dropped Tilly and Poe smack in the middle and set a Minotaur loose to track down. The ArHe has done it again!
MW Craven has created a fresh labyrinth, dropped Tilly and Poe smack in the middle and set a Minotaur loose to track down. The Ariadne's thread of this tale belongs to their boss, Stephanie Flynn, weighed down -literally and metaphorically by the latter stages of pregnancy-and Tilly's Mole People. This is the name given to the self confessed computer nerds whose hacking and surveillance skills are second to none and are central to cracking the identity of this book's protagonist, The Curator.
If you have read the other books preceding this-and if not, why not?get to it!-the you will be aware that Craven's openers pull no punches. He leaves you, the quailing reader, under no assumptions that these are the good guys and these are not. That is not to say there is a loss of subtlety and nuance in his books, he has simply created characters with very clear moral compasses so when they get their men/women, they are making this world a safer place-Poe is, in my humble opinion, the British Harry Bosch whereas Matilda 'Tilly' Bradshaw is entirely her own creation and I bloody love her to bits-please don't break her!
The eponymous Curator is so called due to his/her ability to manipulate others to do their bidding-the name comes from a FBI agent who could be the US Poe counterpart in investigative work . The story begins with the discovery of three sets of fingers turning up in random, seemingly inexplicable -almost impossible-places at Christmas time, belonging to 3 seemingly unconnectable people.
One dead body, a kite stuck in a tree later, Poe and Tilly realised that they are dealing with the most difficult and challenging cases of their careers thus far. A dazzling display of technology which even luddites like myself can follow-trust, me, this week I fixed a plug with sellotape and argued point blank with my other half that just because smoke is coming out of a blender, doesn't mean it might not come back to life if we just gave it a break-blows you away with being deceptively simple at the same time as being supremely clever.
The narrative has twists which could give you nosebleeds, and you genuinely feel that you are racing alongside Poe and his team as they rush to crack the code of what the Curator's endgame is.
Fiendishly clever, with notes of one of my favourite Agatha Christie novels-nope, not going to say which one as it would give the game away-'The Curator' is everything you'd hope for from MW Craven and more. All the usual ingredients are there-black humour, Poe's affection for Tilly causing you to punch the air when people wrong her, and he steps up, a twisted villain,and his own search for his identity continuing. What I love about the Washington Poe series is the contrats between his personal and professional lives-at work he spends his time restoring the identities of those lost and murdered people, whilst exposing their killers and yet, his own past is a mystery that seems to be further away from exposition the more that he digs.
How many days are there till book 4? I am sure someone out there has set an alarm! Do yourself a favour and go buy the book!...more
This is another one of those rare books where you chuck whatever food you can at your family/delegate meals to someone else as long as you can keeWow,
This is another one of those rare books where you chuck whatever food you can at your family/delegate meals to someone else as long as you can keep one hand free to change pages on your kindle. Food becomes secondary when you are racing through a story as heartbreaking, soul destroying and determinedly plotted as this one.
Heidi and Nina become irretrevably linked in your minds, you make connections between their shared pasts even as Heidi tries to recover the worst thing which ever happened to her. The girls are first introduced as children-Nina’s last moments and Heidi’s first are seared into this reader’s mind as unbelievably tragic and awful. This is because of the lack of details which do not linger on the physical attacks, rather as someone going through this, it’s the small things that are noticed. Like the ash and rain drops, the position of fingers, what can be seen through bandages. It gives the victim a dignity in death, which, as you read on, she never had in life.
Nina, dead, Heidi’s little sister Anna missing, the only witness so badly injured that she has blocked all knowledge from her mind. Her 13 year old self’s defence to the horrific near death experience is to shut down and build walls of protection allowing her to recover.
Years later, as she goes about her business resembling a fully functioning adult yet simulataneously being so far removed from this state as it is possible to be, things begin to resurface.
It starts with a red buckle shoe, and a detective unwilling to let go of a case which has haunted her for 15 years.
From there it takes the darkest of turns, because as Heidi begins to piece together what happened the day Nina died, and turns to the police for help, someone seems to be one step ahead of them. And someone is lurking in the shadows, watching Heidi as the darkest of secrets are dragged out into the sunlight for all to see.
This is a hard read-the topics are so painful, the desperate attempts of a child thrust into adulthood way too soon to search for justice reminds you just how disposable children are when they are at their most vulnerable, And when those who are the ones who should be there to help you are turn out to be worst of all humans, how do you keep your soul in the absence of all hope?
The bravery and fragility of Heidi and Nina is heartbreaking and all too believable, a story echoed in daily headlines of missing children. The missing pieces are not easily slotted together, this is a book to concentrate on, and when the answers eventually come, they are somehow worse than not knowing.
This is so much more than a whodunnit, yes there is a central mystery but it also takes a look into the darkest side of child abuse. The characters are fully fleshed and do not resemble caricatures, the subject is dealt with empathically and sensitively. The victims are the focus , not the criminals. There is nothing straight forward and banal about ‘Monstrous Souls’, it is so well crafted it seems astounding that it is a debut. I loved the main detective, Denise Gilzeen from the moment she was introduced-a Detective Inspector of colour who takes zero nonsense from anyone and always, always remains focussed . She is a breath of fresh air and I genuinely hope she returns.
‘Monstrous Souls’ is currently available as a Kindle Unlimited title so if you have this, I would 100% recommend downloading it. If not, it is 99p so again, please get it if you enjoy a gripping mystery, humanity explored at its worst(and its best) and characters who linger....more
And if you like epic fantasy with an escalating plot, world building and shenanigans of the knife wielding kind, you boil my review down to 3 words-buAnd if you like epic fantasy with an escalating plot, world building and shenanigans of the knife wielding kind, you boil my review down to 3 words-buy the book
This is the first in the Reborn Empire series, and hands up who gets excited when they see the number 1 on the spine of a book?
The cover is fabulous, given a very eastern feel to the novel and immediately telling you there are battles ahead, there are going to be warring faction and dissenting characters, so even before opening it you just know this is going to be a good read. And indeed it is, this is the first Devin Madson book that I have read (so far) and what my take away from it is that she can build incredibly complex worlds, families and feuds which somehow, cleverly feels both modern and archaic, fresh and old all at once.
It is an introductory volume so there needs to be exposition to create the world of the Kisian Empire, however, instead of reams of pages delving into the backstory of the different societies which comprise this creation, you have 3 very unique, individual rolling narrators through whose eyes you glean this understanding.
Princess Miko, step daughter of the current Emperor, a pawn in a political game whose impending arranged marriage will benefit everyone. Everyone, that is, except Miko who uses her wile and intelligence to try and extricate herself from an unenviable position.
Horse warrior , Rah E'Torin, is the second narrator, as stymied by his code of honour and conduct as Miko, however,unlike her, he chose this life. I love the details in his sections, the beliefs of his people mean that when they draw their swords, they have to taste blood, so they only go into battle when absolutely sure of the outcome of their intentions. They believe that the soul is trapped inside the body when it dies and therefore sever the heads of their enemies, This is gone into in great detail not because it is gore for gore's sake,rather, it comes across as a sacred and necessary ritual. Rah and his fellow warriors are exiled from home, rather like the riders of Rohan, and his responsibilities towards the feeding and wellbeing of his tribe is put to the hardest of tests.
Assassin Cassandra, whose head is inhabited by the voice of another and who can sense and feel the voices of the dead, lurches from assignment ot assignment. Not afraid of using her feminine charms to immobilise and weaken her targets, then employing the element of surprise, Cassandra belongs everywhere and nowhere. Her loyalty is to herself and her need to earn enough money to buy 'Stiff', which sounds like an alcoholic substance and silences the 'She/Her' voice for a short time...her aim is to find a job which will permanently silence them all, and when one lands literally in her lap, she has no hesitation taking it on board. But this is no ordinary job, and before long she realises she is way out of her depth.
Cass was my favourite of the three but all are engaging, very disctinct narrators and I just simply enjoyed the journey they took me on.
How and under what circumstances lead them to cross paths is something I don't want to spoil, the plot is driven forward by having these 3 very distinct narratives which weave so well around each other, that you don't begin to consider skipping pages to get back to your favourite one.
Allegiances, deceipt, murderous plots...all of it against an epic fantasy background is exactly what we need right now. Escapism from reality has rarely been this good.
Weston last saw Alcacia as a child, fleeing a-fictional-Nigerian state deeply entrenched in corruption, deceipt and death.
Death brings him back once mWeston last saw Alcacia as a child, fleeing a-fictional-Nigerian state deeply entrenched in corruption, deceipt and death.
Death brings him back once more, to do his familial duty to the aunt who set him free, who saved for him and his sister to get to London before they could become a part of a system that turns men into killers and women into bargaining chips.
Grumbling from the start that it should have been his sister taking this journey, he does something small,seemingly insignificant and what many of us have been guilty of-he tells a white lie to Church, his old school bully, who shows an inordinate interest in this familiar, yet not, man.
And from such inconsequential starts, promoting himself from store detective to real one, Weston finds himself out of his depth, knee deep in blood and conflict ,waving a private detective card to anyone who will listen. 9 times out of 10 this lands him in mre trouble than it frees him from, but his journey from start to finish is pitch black and broiling over with trouble and cultural conflict.
At the center of his investigation into the death of Papa Busi, the state mandated intermediary between 2 warring factions of civil unrest -the Liberation Front of Alcacia (LFA) and the People's Christian Army (PCA)-Weston's neutrality and London centric sensibilities being seen as a neutral ground. Both sides blame each other, but are prepared to let Weston, with his 'experience' investigate, seemingly beyond the touch of both.
Immediately picking up with the girlfriend he left behind, Nana, Weston has no real comprehension of the situation he has landed himself in-this was supposed to be, ostensibly, a couple of days away from home, maximum.
It turns into a hellish nightmare as the casual, everyday violence explodes into some truly shocking scenes of torture, brutality and corruption. Weston is in way over his head and the reader knows this before he does. You sense the crescendo of the plot coming, the crashing of his idylls and sense of self importance like an oncoming hurricane.
There is no attempt at exploitation of culture here, Weston (so cleverly named, reflecting hopes which look West) has grown up in London, but his opportunities have begun, and stalled with his lack of ambition and general apathy.
Within a couple of days of arriving in Alcacia, he has done and seen more than his years in London could ever have prepared him for. His Western-ness is the key to his exploitation, contrasted so neatly with his very identity in Africa which has always been fractured, as has his sister's. Both are known as 'Holloway Babies', children whose cultural and literal birth were damning of the woman who bore them, and caused irreperable damage to their mother.
There is a bitter sweet taste to the fact that this man who straddles two continents is investigating a the death of a man who straddles two armies, and as a reader, you get the growing sensation that this just might cost Weston his sanity at least, his life at worst.
The violence is unflinching, the representation of women cruelly accurate yet not exploitative-I hope that comes across correctly phrased without causing offence, the women in the book are not conduits or lazy representations in any way or shape, they do not fulfil a role of plot devices, they are living, breathing creatures who drive the story forward in a way I found believable and shocking.
The underlying current of the story is , what we call in Wales, 'belonging'. When you see people you know, you tend to say 'Oh I know you, you belong to such-and-such' rather than you are the cousin of whoever. The familial identity is almost tribal in a way , predicated on dubious connections of genetics and marriage, and very hard to shake off -so and so's so and so eradicated by that one word, belonging.
As Weston discovers, you cannot simply stay neutral, lines must be drawn, sides taken and decisions made-the consequences of your actions can be swift and deadly.He , like the other Alcacians the reader comes into contact with, are all making wolf. Very few of the characters are what they appear to be and on top of this there is an narrator whose entire identity is up for grabs. The narrative he creates for himself becomes his reality as his homecoming develops into making a necessary choice to avoid further conflict.
For a relatively small book-259 pages-there is so much story packed into it yet the noir detective story traditions are richly mined and re-intepreted into what I hope will be the first in a series....more
Perfect for fans of CJ Tudor, this debut novel launches itself off the starter blocks and wraps it's fingers around your throat then starts to squeezePerfect for fans of CJ Tudor, this debut novel launches itself off the starter blocks and wraps it's fingers around your throat then starts to squeeze... With more than just a touch of supernatural menace, and a underlying theme of parental repsonisbility gone horribly wrong, 'The Whisper Man' is not, I repeat NOT a book to start at bedtime. Because you will find that just one chapter turns into 3 a.m very quickly and all the normal noises in the house suddenly sound like an intruder. And your partner/pet will not thank you for this. Ahem. The story concerns Tom Kennedy and his son Jake moving back to Featherbreak village after the death of his wife , Rebecca. Jake is a sensitive child with an imaginery friend, a poem about the Whisper Man which Tom cannot fathom him knowing, and a packet of Special Things which he carries with hime everywhere. This makes him a natural target for school bullies and some shockingly poor teaching intereference-this is a grief stricken child who needs support not punishment. Tom and Jake are trying to ease their way into a new normal-however, they have arrived in the midst of an investigation into a missing child. A young boy has vanished with an eerie familiarity to a series of child murders that occurred decades earlier. The killer is behind bars-or is he?-and is visited with dogged determination by detective Pete Willis whose one remaining goal is to find the missing child that Frank Carter, 'The Whisper Man' . This six year old boy haunts Pete and finding him creates a Hannibal Lecter-esque cat and mouse game with echoes of the cruelty displayed by the Moors Murderers. The anguish Pete feels bleeds through the pages. Who or what is 'The Whisper Man'? Is this a copycat crime, and did they get their man the first time around? Filled with scenes of jaw dropping suspense-there is one with a letterbox which left me floored-and a step into the darkest reaches of human depravity, this is an outstanding debut which heralds a major new voice in fiction writing....more
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