Month: October 2014

Never Go Back by Robert Goddard

Karin, Hampshire Libraries1 Comment

About the book

Harry Barnett thought he had left his military career behind, so he is startled when two figures from his past turn up on his doorstep after fifty years. An old friend has organised the reunion to end all reunions: a weekend in the Scottish castle where the ex-comrades took part in a psychological experiment many years before. They haven’t seen each other since. As they set off on their all-expenses-paid jaunt to Aberdeen, the old friends are in high spirits. But the cheerful atmosphere is quickly shattered by the apparent suicide of one of their party. When a second death occurs, a sense of foreboding descends on the group. It appears that the past is coming back to haunt them, a past that none of them have ever spoken about. Their recollections are all frighteningly different. So what really happened? Then when one of them uncovers an extraordinary secret, he becomes convinced that they will never leave the castle alive…

Reviewed by  J.A.P.As Reading Group:

All enjoyed this book. It was an easy read although at times it was difficult to keep up with all the different character’s nicknames. We all agreed we would like to read another of his books.

Star rating: ***

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Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh

Karin, Hampshire Libraries1 Comment

About the book

At the heart of this epic saga, set just before the Opium Wars, is an old slaving-ship, the Ibis. Its destiny is a tumultuous voyage across the Indian Ocean, its crew a motley array of sailors and stowaways, coolies and convicts. In a time of colonial upheaval, fate has thrown together a truly diverse cast of Indians and Westerners, from a bankrupt Raja to a widowed villager, from an evangelical English opium trader to a mulatto American freedman. As their old family ties are washed away they, like their historical counterparts, come to view themselves as jahaj-bhais or ship-brothers. An unlikely dynasty is born, which will span continents, races and generations. The vast sweep of this historical adventure spans the lush poppy fields of the Ganges, the rolling high seas, and the exotic backstreets of China. But it is the panorama of characters, whose diaspora encapsulates the vexed colonial history of the East itself, which makes Sea of Poppies so breathtakingly alive – a masterpiece from one of the world’s finest novelists.

Reviewed by Morning Tide WI Reading Group:

There was too much use of local patois, too little story about the opium trade, too much description of the ships of that time. A difficult book to read, we were all disappointed (several did not complete the book).

Star rating: *+

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The Killing Place by Tess Gerritsen

Karin, Hampshire Libraries1 Comment
book cover

About the book

HE WATCHES. Something terrible has happened in the snowbound village of Kingdom Come, Wyoming. Twelve eerily identical houses stand dark and abandoned. The people who lived in them appear to have vanished, seemingly into thin air. HE WAITS. Maura Isles is driving through the area with a group of friends when they find themselves trapped in a snowstorm. They stumble into the abandoned village to take shelter. But their nightmare has only just begun. THEY DISAPPEAR
Days later, Jane Rizzoli flies to Wyoming to search for her missing friend. A crashed vehicle has been found with four badly burned bodies still inside. Can one of the corpses be Maura’s? Jane’s hunt for the truth leads her to Kingdom Come. Where the person who was watching Maura now lies waiting for her…

Reviewed by  Literary Lovelies Reading Group:

For a number of us this was our first thriller. We all found it easy to get into and there was action a plenty. Everyone enjoyed it and we wanted to read the previous books in the series though it is not necessary to do that to enjoy this book. Would recommend.

Star rating: ***

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Facing the Light by Adele Geras

Karin, Hampshire Libraries1 Comment
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About the book

An extended family gathers in late August to celebrate the seventy-fifth birthday of its formidable matriarch, Leonora. She is the daughter of the famous Edwardian painter Ethan Walsh, whose paintings are kept at the family home, Willow Court in Wiltshire. At Leonora’s house party will be her daughters, Gwen and Rilla, whom she raised alone after she was widowed in her late twenties; Rilla’s stepdaughter Beth; and Gwen’s husband and three children with their spouses and lovers. One outsider joins the group: Sean Everard, a television director who’s making a documentary about the life and work of Ethan Walsh. All families have their dark side and Leonora’s is no exception. By the time the marquee is dismantled and all the guests have gone their separate ways, two shocking past events have come to light, to rock complacency and change for ever the lives of Leonora and her daughters.

Reviewed by Everton (Lymington) Reading Group:

An easy read with language which neither demanded or extended the reader. Characterisation plausible but rather lacks substance. Could have undertones of depression and definite sibling rivalry and suppressed feeling led to reasonable amount of discussion – could make a light film or serial in woman’s magazine.

Star rating: **

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A Place of Hiding by Elizabeth George

Karin, Hampshire Libraries2 Comments
book cover

About the book

An isolated beach on the island of Guernsey in the English Channel is the scene of the murder of Guy Brouard, one of Guernsey’s wealthiest inhabitants and its main benefactor. Forced as a child to flee the Nazis in Paris, Brouard was engaged in his latest project when he died: a museum in honor of those who resisted the German occupation of the island during World War II. It is from this period of time that his murderer may well have come. But there are others on Guernsey with reason to want Guy Brouard dead: his wives, his business associates, his current mistress, the underprivileged teenagers he mentored—any of whom might have harbored a secret motive for murder. As family and friends gather for the reading of the will, Deborah and Simon St. James find that seemingly everyone on the history-haunted island has something to hide. And behind all the lies and alibis, a killer is lurking. In order to bring this person to justice, the St. James must delve into Guernsey’s dark history—both past and present—and into the troubled psyche of someone who may have exacted retribution for the most unspeakable crime of all.

Reviewed by Shipton Bellinger WI:

A very mixed reception. A ‘wordy’ book, not one of her best as even admirers admit.

Star rating: **

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The Mysteries of Glass by Sue Gee

Karin, Hampshire Libraries6 Comments
book cover

About the book

It’s the winter of 1860 when Richard Allen, a young curate, travels to a small hamlet outside Hereford to take up his first position. It’s in this quiet place of wind and trees, birds and water that Richard is to fall passionately in love – but he cannot find fulfilment, for his lover is Susannah Beddoes, the wife of the vicar of his new parish. As Richard’s feelings challenge him to his core, he develops a strange relationship with another woman, the solitary and eccentric Edith Clare. Against the backdrop of immense social and industrial change, the consequences of Richard and Susannah’s affair are dramatic as they – as well as Oliver Beddoes – grapple with doubt and what it means to lose faith when the great certainties are in question. And throughout it all, the crossing-keeper’s daughter Alice Birley – an observer of incidents and events she does not fully understand – has her own part to play…

Reviewed by Everton Reading Group:

Enjoyed as a whole by most of the group. Some areas of plot – ice accident – understated. Led to lots of discussion. Painted very clear picture of the countryside and showed empathy for the ‘times’. Some voted as 4 stars

Star rating: ***

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Scandal of the Season by Sophie Gee

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About the book

London, 1711. As the rich, young offspring of the city’s most fashionable families ll their days with masquerade balls and clandestine court-ships, Arabella Fermor and Robert, Lord Petre, lead the pursuit of pleasure. Beautiful and vain, Arabella is a clever coquette with a large circle of beaus. Lord Petre, seventh Baron of Ingatestone, is a man-about-town with his choice of mistresses. Drawn together by an overpowering attraction, the two begin an illicit affair.Alexander Pope, sickly and nearly penniless, is peripheral by birth, yet his uncommon wit and ambition gain him unlikely entrance into high society. Once there, privy to every nuance and drama, he is a ruthless observer. He longs for the success that will cement his place in society; all he needs is one poem grand enough to make his reputation. As the forbidden passion between Arabella and Lord Petre deepens, an intrigue of a darker nature threatens to overtake them. Fortunes change and reputations — even lives — are imperiled. In the aftermath, Pope discovers the idea for a daring poem that will catapult him to fame and fortune.

Reviewed by KYC Reading Group:

Mixed reactions with dislike of the way the romantic episodes were portrayed. Historical research was excellent and some characters were absorbing.

Star rating: ***

The White Family by Maggie Gee

Karin, Hampshire Libraries5 Comments

About the book

Alfred White, a London park-keeper, rules his home with a mixture of ferocity and tenderness that has estranged his three children. But family ties are strong, and when Alfred collapses on duty one day, they rush to be with him.

Reviewed by Shipton Bellinger WI:

Maggie Gee deals sensitively with racism from the perspective of the perpetrators. Beautifully written, the White Family is taken apart and stripped bare. A powerful novel, well worth reading.

Star rating: ***

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The Flood by Maggie Gee

Karin, Hampshire Libraries1 Comment

About the book

President Bliss is handling a tricky situation with customary brio, but after months of ceaseless rain the city is sinking under the floods. The rich are safe on high ground, but the poor are getting damper in their packed tower blocks, and the fanatical ‘Last Days’ sect is recruiting thousands.
When at last the sun breaks through the clouds Lottie heads off to the opera, husband Harold listens to jazz and their ditsy teenage daughter Lola fights capitalism by bunking off school. Shirley takes her twin boys to the zoo. The Government – eager to detract attention from a foreign war it has waged – announces a spectacular City Gala. But not even TV astrologer Davey Lucas can predict the extraordinary climax that ensues.

Reviewed by Whitchurch Book Group:

We enjoyed the discussion – lots to say. However, it is the third book in a trilogy which none of us had realised until the meeting and explained the sketchy details. It would have been good to know.

Star rating: **

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Death of an Ancient King by Laurent Gaude

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About the book

King Tsongor is getting old. Having governed his immense empire peacefully for many years, he prepares to give his lovely daughter Samilia away to her official suitor, the prince of the Lands of Salt. The streets outside the palace are filled with rose petals, and gold cloth hangs from every window. But on the eve of the wedding, a lone, mysterious rider appears instead to claim Samilia’s hand. Within days, two great nations prepare for a senseless conflict over a beautiful woman; and an old, sad King looks on as his world and his family fall apart… Bursting with colour and raw emotion, and embracing grand themes of loyalty, family, honour and war, Death of an Ancient King is like a lost fragment of a Greek tragedy. Told in a simple, hypnotic prose that gathers beauty with every page, this small, prize-winning jewel of a book is impossible to classify, but the richness of its achievement announces the arrival of a major literary talent.

Reviewed by Shipton Bellinger WI:

Probably a book for young adults. For them at least the myths, legends and folk tales drawn on may be new. Well written but bloodthirsty, whilst not really engaging the reader. Give me the “Dark Materials” saga any day.

Rating: 1 Star

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