TLC BOOK TOURS REVIEW: The Fury by Shane Gericke

The Fury by Shane Gericke

Series: N/A

Genre: Crime, Thriller & Suspense

ISBN: 9781630150037

Pages: 379

Format: e-ARC

Publisher: Tantor Media Inc (Sept 4, 2015)

Source: Publisher/TLC BOOK TOURS

Rating:

Synopsis:

The Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico washes a cache of doomsday weapons onto a Mexican beach: bombs filled with VX nerve gas mixed with anthrax, invented by the Nazis during World War II and perfected by the United States to use in the Cold War. The bombs soon fall into the wrong hands and create an unstoppable opponent. Only one Chicago Police detective has a chance of preventing those bombs from being used on American soil.

Reeling from the recent murder of her husband as well as allegations of police misconduct, Detective Superstition “Sue” Davis is thrown into an undercover assignment. She must infiltrate the Mexican narcotics cartel responsible for the death of her husband in order to get close to the cartel’s sociopathic enforcer, Jiminez “Jimmy” Garcia.

But when the entire Garcia family is killed in Mexico by a U.S. Special Forces raid gone wrong, Garcia will stop at nothing to get vengeance, including triggering newly acquired bombs on American soil. Superstition’s assignment quickly becomes more dangerous than planned as the threat of a terrorist attack looms closer.

“A fireball of awesome!” —Joshua Corin, award-winning author of Cost of Life

“Tension and turmoil add up to high-stakes suspense as the characters are skillfully played across a global chessboard. Written like a born bard of old, you won’t be disappointed. But be warned, treachery comes from all directions, even those that cannot be seen.”—Steve Berry, New York Times bestselling author of The Patriot Threat

My Thoughts:
Information as to the key points of the storyline are in the synopsis so I won't add any more as I do not want to giveaway any more of the plot line.

Plot wise though there is a lot going on, a heck of a lot from the opening scenes of an offshore platform disaster in the Gulf of Mexico to the trials and tribulations of the sociopathic drugs cartel leader Jimmy Garcia and his family, chiefly his sister; we flash back to WWII and Nazi Germany to witness the development, and then the experimentation of nerve gas agents on human guinea pigs by the Japanese. Then we are brought bang up to date again with Superstition's involvement as an undercover agent.

I didn't have a problem keeping up with the multitude of threads in the story, but I did wonder how Gericke would plausibly mesh them together. There was never a dull moment and Gericke does an fantastic job of keeping the action and tension flowing in perfect symbiosis and tying up those lose threads.

Particularly engrossing are the chapters concerning Suspicion 'Sue', initially of her devastation at losing her husband in a gun battle with drug traffickers and her resilience and sheer gutsy determination to bring the killer to justice. Oh, and in the process saving millions of American lives from an agonising death.

The Fury is gritty, exciting and at times extremely violent. It's a fast, snappy paced thriller, one which I think would make a tremendously entertaining TV series.

I'd definitely recommend The Fury to fans of Lee Child and anyone wanting a cracking good read.

Disclaimer: A complimentary copy of The Fury was provided by TLC BOOK TOURS & Tantor Media Inc in exchange for an honest unbiased review.

About Shane Gericke:

Bestselling novelist Shane Gericke is the author of Torn Apart, which was short-listed for the prestigious Thriller Award and named a Book of the Year by Suspense magazine.

Shane spent twenty-five years as a newspaper editor, most prominently at the Chicago Sun-Times, before jumping into fiction. He lives in the Chicago suburb of Naperville. Visit him at shanegericke.com

Shane Gericke’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:

Friday, August 21st: BookBub – author guest post, “13

Hair-raising Books on the Global War on Terrorism”

Monday, August 24th: Books that Hook

Wednesday, August 26th: Vic’s Media Room

Thursday, August 27th: Life is Story

Monday, August 31st: Dwell in Possibility

Tuesday, September 1st: Mallory Heart Reviews

Tuesday, September 8th: SJ2B House of Books

Wednesday, September 9th: It’s a Mad Mad World

Thursday, September 10th: The World As I See It

Friday, September 11th: From the TBR Pile

Monday, September 14th: Patricia’s Wisdom

Wednesday, September 16th: Thoughts on This ‘n That

Thursday, September 17th: Lilac Reviews

The Hunt by Tim J. Lebbon

The Hunt by Tim J. Lebbon

Series: N/A

Genre: Mystery & Thriller

Pages: 400

Format: e-ARC

ISBN: 9780008122904

Publisher: Harper Collins UK Avon (June 18, 2015)

Source: Publisher/Netgalley

Rating:

Synopsis:

Rose is the one that got away. She was the prey in a human trophy hunt organised by an elite secret organisation for super-rich clients seeking a unique thrill. She paid a terrible price. Every moment since she has been planning her revenge ...And now her day has come. Chris returns from his morning run to find his wife and children missing and a stranger in his kitchen. He's told to run. If he's caught and killed, his family go free. If he escapes, they die. Rose is the only one who can help him, but Rose only has her sights on one conclusion. For her, Chris is bait. But The Trail have not forgotten the woman who tried to outwit them. The Trail want Rose. The hunters want Chris's corpse. Rose wants revenge, and Christ just wants his family back. The hunt is on ...

'A great thriller ...breathless all the way.' LEE CHILD 

My Thoughts:

I took Tim J. Lebbon's The Hunt on a canal boat family holiday for a bit of a read at bedtime after a hard days work on the river banks.

I had good intentions of thoroughly pulling my weight along with the rest of the family; hubby, daughter (age 14), son (16) & Buffer the dog (age 2). However I failed at the outset, I was glued to the book from the first page. I could not be prised away from it. Poor old hubby was left to skipper the boat the whole time as I was engrossed in The Hunt.  It was that good, truly I do not exaggerate. I ignored the desperate pleas of 'everyone quick, I need help' shouts as we neared locks and any other hazardous encounter.  Did they not understand that Chris and Rose were all I cared about ?

Due to circumstances beyond my control, my family needing sustenance and vital fluids, I had to do the right thing and provide for them.  So I pulled out the ration packs and advised them to boil the bags in water before consuming to ensure they were ready to continue their marathon steering of the boat and leave me to resume my endurance of The Hunt.

Finally after being held captive for two days, The Hunt came to its explosive finale and I was free to rejoin my family and enjoy our holiday.

Told from the viewpoints of Chris, Gemma his daughter and Rose, The Hunt was a pure 'edge of your seat', 'roller coaster ride'. I loved that it was set predominanly in the rugged wilds of Snowdonia in Wales, and had a totally believable female 'kick ass' protagonist.

This doesn't mean that it was without its flaws, chiefly the lack of real depth of character development of Chris' family, but this was such a minor issue and was outweighed by the more fuller bodied characterisations of Chris and Rose, and Rose's relationship with Holt, that I forgave them.

The character depiction of Rose is outstanding. Rose is the force to be reckoned with and will take no prisoners whilst implementing her murderous plan of action to wreak vengeance on The Trail. She is strong, she has to be.  She has prepared herself mentally and physically for a long time and will let nothing get in her way to achieve her goal. Totally unpredictable, she is surviving on pure hatred and driven in her sole purpose of avenging the slaughter of her family.

We really get to know Rose through flashbacks and feel her agonising despair at the discovery of her family's fate after she managed to escape being hunted. It is Chris who questions the necessity for such extreme violence making him the weaker of the two in their race to ... what, survive ? ... and what will be the consequences ... to lose his family ?

Rose is someone you'd feel desperately for but because she has lost everything meaningful to her she has absolutely nothing to lose making her unpredictable and highly dangerous.  As much as I was on her side and wanted her to kill the members of The Trail I did have some concerns whether she could be trusted to help Chris outrun the hunters and escape The Trail. Also what if she did kill The Trail members who had come to be her driving force for living. What would be left for her to live for ?

At times I felt there were similarities to Richard Bachman's The Running Man, and Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games. The Hunt was far superior to the former and definitely The Hunger Games for Gown ups!

Never a dull moment, I was exhausted just reading it.

The Hunt is Tim J. Lebbon's first thriller, please don't let it be the last !

Disclaimer: A complimentary copy of The Hunt by Tim J. Lebbon  was provided by Harper Collins UK Avon via Netgalley in exchange for an honest unbiased review.

Andersonville by Edward M Erdelac Book Review & Giveaway

Andersonville by Edward M Erdelac

Series: N/A

Genre: Historical Fiction, Horror, American Civil War

Pages: 272

Format: e-ARC

Publisher: Hydra (Aug 18, 2015)

Source: TLC BOOK TOURS/Publisher/Netgalley

Rating:

Synopsis

Readers of Stephen King and Joe Hill will devour this bold, terrifying new novel from Edward M. Erdelac. A mysterious man posing as a Union soldier risks everything to enter the Civil War’s deadliest prison—only to find a horror beyond human reckoning.

Georgia, 1864. Camp Sumter, aka Andersonville, has earned a reputation as an open sewer of sadistic cruelty and terror where death may come at any minute. But as the Union prisoners of war pray for escape, cursing the fate that spared them a quicker end, one man makes his way into the camp purposefully.

Barclay Lourdes has a mission—and a secret. But right now his objective is merely to survive the hellish camp. The slightest misstep summons the full fury of the autocratic commander, Captain Wirz, and the brutal Sergeant Turner. Meanwhile, a band of shiftless thieves and criminals known as the “Raiders” preys upon their fellow prisoners. Barclay soon finds that Andersonville is even less welcoming to a black man—especially when that man is not who he claims to be. Little does he imagine that he’s about to encounter supernatural terrors beyond his wildest dreams . . . or nightmares.

Advance praise for Andersonville

“The true story of Andersonville is one of unimaginable horror and human misery. It’s a testament to his unmatched skill as a storyteller that Edward M. Erdelac is not only able to capture that horror but to add another level of supernatural terror and reveal that the darkest evil of all resides in the human soul. Highly recommended to fans of horror and history alike.”—Brett J. Talley, Bram Stoker Award–nominated author of That Which Should Not Be and He Who Walks in Shadow

“Andersonville is a raw, groundbreaking supernatural knuckle-punch. Erdelac absolutely owns Civil War and Wild West horror fiction.”—Weston Ochse, bestselling author of SEAL Team 666.

My Thoughts

Read as part of the TLC Book Tour Aug/Sept 2015

We are introduced to our protagonist Barclay Lourdes as he leaps onto a moving train transporting Union soldiers to the Confederate's prison camp, Camp Sumpter. He assumes the identity of a dead soldier and partners up with fellow prisoner Charlie. Together they attempt to find their place within the camp, quickly adapting to their environment in order to survive in their brutal surroundings where nobody or anything is as it seems.

There's not a lot more to add as the synopsis says enough without giving too much of the plot away so I'll leave it at that.

This is an extremely well written horror novel set in arguably one of the bloodiest times in American history. The true horror is that Camp Sumpter (Andersonville) was indeed a 'hell on earth' and that there can be no overplay of the horror and brutality these men suffered daily in their nightmarish struggle to survive death, madness, disease and starvation.  My initial concerns were that Andersonville was going to evolve into a zombie style farce which in my opinion would belittle the credibility of the plot,  but to my relief this didn't happen.  Instead it took on a supernatural twist involving an occult detective which enhanced the dark menacing atmosphere of the camp and certainly didn't take anything away from the horror of the real Andersonville.

Erdelac's blending of factual and fictional characters together with a supernatural element is well measured without it becoming implausible or laughable.

The intensity builds at a steady pace increasing the atmospheric tension and creating a sense of evil foreboding. I felt concern and fearful for the camps inhabitants.  Although I thought the pacing was a little slow at times Andersonville was a thoroughly compelling and engaging read.  It is a unique piece of alternative history and certainly as good as the best from the likes of Stephen King and Joe Hill. I highly recommend Edward M Erdelac's novel to not only fans of the horror genre, but to anyone interested in the American Civil War with something a little different to their usual read.

Andersonville is currently available in kindle format at £3.47 at Amazon UK and $5.12 Amazon US.  Why not enter the TLC Book Tours Giveaway below for the chance to win a copy of Edward M Erdelac's 'Andersonville' and judge for yourself.

Disclaimer: A complimentary copy of Andersonville was provided by TLC Book Tours via Netgalley in exchange for an honest unbiased review.

About Edward M Erdelac;

Edward M. Erdelac is a member of the Horror Writers Association and the author of six novels (including the acclaimed weird western series Merkabah Rider) and several short stories.

He is an independent filmmaker, award-winning screenwriter, and sometime Star Wars contributor. Born in Indiana, educated in Chicago, he resides in the LA area with his wife and a bona fide slew of children and cats.

RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY LINK

Edward M. Erdelac’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:

Monday, August 17th: Stephanie’s Book Reviews….100 Pages a Day

Tuesday, August 18th: Fourth Street Review

Tuesday, August 18th: Bibliotica

Wednesday, August 19th: The Reader’s Hollow

Wednesday, August 19th: Tynga’s Reviews

Thursday, August 20th: A Book Geek

Monday, August 24th: Bewitched Bookworms

Tuesday, August 25th: Kissin’ Blue Karen

Thursday, August 27th: No More Grumpy Bookseller

Friday, August 28th: Vic’s Media Room

Monday, August 31st: It’s a Mad Mad World

Tuesday, September 1st: SJ2B House of Books

Wednesday, September 2nd: Historical Fiction Obsession

Thursday, September 3rd: Kimberly’s Bookshelf

Friday, September 4th: Jenn’s Bookshelves

Monday, September 7th: From the TBR Pile

TBD: Kari J. Wolfe.

Researching Death Row : Julia Heaberlin

The author of new psychological thriller 'Black-Eyed Susans' Julia Heaberlin, tells 'We Love This Book' a publication of 'The Bookseller' about her research on death row. Click on the link below for more

Julia Heaberlin talks to We Love This Book

Black Eyed Susans by Julia Heaberlin

 Black Eyed Susans by Julia Heaberlin

Genre: Psychological Thriller | Mystery Suspense

Format: e-ARC

Pages: 368 Hardcover

ISBN: 978084177993

Publisher: Ballantine Books

Release Date: August 13, 2015

Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Rating:

Synopsis:

For fans of Laura Lippman and Gillian Flynn comes an electrifying novel of stunning psychological suspense.

I am the star of screaming headlines and campfire ghost stories.
I am one of the four Black-Eyed Susans.
The lucky one.

As a sixteen-year-old, Tessa Cartwright was found in a Texas field, barely alive amid a scattering of bones, with only fragments of memory as to how she got there. Ever since, the press has pursued her as the lone surviving “Black-Eyed Susan,” the nickname given to the murder victims because of the yellow carpet of wildflowers that flourished above their shared grave. Tessa’s testimony about those tragic hours put a man on death row.

Now, almost two decades later, Tessa is an artist and single mother. In the desolate cold of February, she is shocked to discover a freshly planted patch of black-eyed susans—a summertime bloom—just outside her bedroom window. Terrified at the implications—that she sent the wrong man to prison and the real killer remains at large—Tessa turns to the lawyers working to exonerate the man awaiting execution. But the flowers alone are not proof enough, and the forensic investigation of the still-unidentified bones is progressing too slowly. An innocent life hangs in the balance. The legal team appeals to Tessa to undergo hypnosis to retrieve lost memories—and to share the drawings she produced as part of an experimental therapy shortly after her rescue.

What they don’t know is that Tessa and the scared, fragile girl she was have built a  fortress of secrets. As the clock ticks toward the execution, Tessa fears for her sanity, but even more for the safety of her teenaged daughter. Is a serial killer still roaming free, taunting Tessa with a trail of clues? She has no choice but to confront old ghosts and lingering nightmares to finally discover what really happened that night.

Shocking, intense, and utterly original, Black-Eyed Susans is a dazzling psychological thriller, seamlessly weaving past and present in a searing tale of a young woman whose harrowing memories remain in a field of flowers—as a killer makes a chilling return to his garden.

My Thoughts:

Set in 1995 and the present day, suburban Fort Worth, Black-Eyed Susans by Julia Heaberlin is narrated in flashback sequences by Tessie and *Tessa (*as she now calls herself) respectively.

Seventeen year old Tessie is the sole survivor of the 'Black-Eyed Susans' serial killer who left her for dead and buried under a mound of Black-Eyed Susans flowers. Tessie cannot remember anything about the missing 32 hours of her kidnapping or how she ended up being buried alongside the rotting corpse of another victim.

Through therapy sessions Tessie is encouraged to work through her ordeal and remember key information to help identify her abductor and bring him to justice.  She is somewhat coerced into testifying against Terrell Darcy Goodwin the man accused of her abduction who is sentenced and incarcerated on death row awaiting the date of his execution.

One of the most important relationships is between Tessie and her best friend, Lydia. Heaberlin effectively uses scenes from the past and the present to build a gradual piecing together of events and the strange intense but supportive relationship between the girls.

Fast forward seventeen years and Tessie who now prefers to call herself Tessa is the mother of a teenaged daughter. She is still haunted by memories from the past and is unsure that the right man has been convicted.  With the date of Terrell's execution looming ever closer she becomes increasingly more concerned that he may indeed be innocent. If he isn't guilty then the killer is still out there.  A terrifying thought for Tessa who now not only fears for herself but also for her daughter, Charlie.

The characterisation in this thriller is first class. The characters are well-drawn and believable,  easy to picture as real people in totally plausible scenarios.  Julia Heaberlin certainly did a vast amount of research regarding therapy recovery, forensic and DNA investigative detection, and life for inmates on death row making it a fascinating, educated, highly absorbing read that I struggled to put down for any length of time.  Any free moment was spent with my head in this book.

Black-Eyed Susans is Julia Heaberlin's third book, and in my opinion, by far her best. Intense, creepy and atmospheric, Black-Eyed Susans is a intelligent character driven masterpiece excellently paced with some great plot twists which had me guessing right to the very end ... brilliant!

I will not be able to look at the yellow daisies I walk past each day without thinking about Julia Heaberlin's thriller for a very long time.

About The Author:

Julia Heaberlin is an award-winning journalist who has worked for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, The Detroit News and The Dallas Morning News. Before launching her career as an author, she was an assistant managing editor over features sections at large metropolitan newspapers. Many of those sections won national and state journalism awards. The Star-Telegram Life & Arts section was named as one of the Top 10 sections in the country during her tenure. She has edited real-life thriller stories that inform her writing, including a series on the perplexing and tragic murders of random girls and women buried in the desert in Mexico and another on the frightened women of domestic violence. She lives with her husband and son in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, where she is a free-lance writer and is at work on her fourth book.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Disclaimer: A complimentary copy of Black-Eyed Susans was provided by Ballantine Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest unbiased review.

The Lemoncholy of Annie Aster by Scott Wilbanks

The Lemoncholy of Annie Aster by Scott Wilbanks

Genre: Magical Realism, Historical Fantasy, Literary Fiction,
Time Travel, Contemporary

Pages: 400

Format: e-ARC

ISBN: 9781492612469

Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark (Aug 4, 2015)

Source: Publisher/Netgalley

Rating:

Synopsis: 

Annabelle Aster has discovered a curious thing behind her home in San Francisco--a letterbox perched atop a picket fence.  The note inside is blunt—trespass is dealt with at the business end of a shotgun in these parts!—spurring some lively correspondence between the Bay Area orphan and her new neighbor, a feisty widow living in nineteenth-century Kansas.

The source of mischief is an antique door Annie installed at the rear of her house.  The man who made the door—a famed Victorian illusionist—died under mysterious circumstances.

Annie and her new neighbor, with the help of friends and strangers alike, must solve the mystery of what connects them before one of them is convicted of a murder that has yet to happen…and somehow already did.

"Annie wandered past a weather-beaten signpost in the wheat field
where her backyard used to be. "

My Thoughts:
I really wasn't expecting The Lemoncholy of Annie Aster to be as good as it was.  I'd initially requested a review copy based on the gorgeous looking front cover, and intriguing title, but put it on the back burner to read later.  However the publisher asked me if I'd like to take part in a 'book tour' for the title and I said that I would.  I'm so glad the book leaped to the top of the list as I simply loved its charm and innocence from the outset.

The characterisation in The Lemoncholy of Annie Aster is fabulous. The characters are fabulously-drawn, and so vivid they are easy to picture as real people. I found them and the story totally charming and compelling.

The Lemoncholy of Annie Aster is set in two time frames, the present and the early 1900's.  It is a delightful tale about true friendships and finding your place in the world, with magic, time travel, a murder mystery, oh and a romance, or two along the way.  The Lemoncholy of Annie Aster had me reading well into the early hours and I just hated to put it down.

The characters are a mixed band of misfits, from Annie, a throw back to the Victorian era with a dress style and lifestyle to match; her best friend Christian an amnesiac with a severe stutter; Elsbeth the widower in Kansas to whom Annie corresponds via time-travel mailboxes; Cap'n, a street-wise urchin, and the dastardly Mr Culler with his psychotic sidekick Mr Danyer.

Annie, gets more excitement and adventure than she ever dreamed imaginable with her impulse purchase of an antique door she installs as her back door.  A door with magical properties ... a time travel portal passing through Annie's San Franciscan back yard to a wheat field in Kansas from a century before.

With help from her best friend Christian and some lively compatriots they meet along the way, they endeavour to solve the problematic mysteries which present themselves at practically every turn.

As for my favourite character I would find it difficult to choose between Annie, Elsbeth and Christian as they were all equally endearing and compelling in their own right.  I loved them all for their unique and peculiar traits: Annie for her vulnerability but no messing strength of character and drive, Elsbeth for her initial feistiness who then transforms into a caring motherly figure, and Christian for his sensitivity.  He is perhaps the most complex character. Fiercely loyal to his friends he also a loner and lacks confidence in himself and is torn about what he should do regarding his personal relationships. Christian is definitely a character I'd like to know more about.

There are a number of supporting characters and so much going on that I had to, at times, give it my full attention or lose track of the relationships and events occurring due to the complexity of the story line.

The Lemonscholy Life of Annie Aster is a delightful, feel-good, heart-warming tale.  Thoroughly entertaining, and enchanting, it is the perfect Summer read.

I look forward to seeing what Scott Wilbanks comes up with next. Another instalment of Annie Aster perhaps, but whatever it is I'm sure it'll be another gem I'll not want to miss.


Disclaimer: A complimentary copy of The Lemoncholy of Annie Aster was provided by Sourcebooks Landmark via Netgalley in exchange for an honest unbiased review.



Images: Art work used with kind permission of Scott Wilbanks
1. Annie, 2. "Cap'n, before orphanhood", 3. Elsbeth's cabin and wheat-field.

About The Author: Scott Wilbanks graduated summa cum laude from The University of Oklahoma and went on to garner several national titles in the sport of gymnastics.

Scott's husband, Mike, is a New Zealander by birth, and the two split their time between the two countries while Scott is at work on his next standalone novel.

The Girl Who Wasn't There by Ferdinand von Schirach

The Girl Who Wasn't There by Ferdinand von Schirach

Genre: Mystery & Thrillers, Literature, Fiction

Pages: 224

Format: e-ARC

ISBN: 9780349140469

Publisher: Little Brown Book Group UK

Source: Publisher/Netgalley

Waterstones Book of the Month (July 2015)

Rating:

Description:

Sebastian von Eschburg, scion of a wealthy, self-destructive family, survived his disastrous childhood to become a celebrated if controversial artist. He casts a provocative shadow over the Berlin scene; his disturbing photographs and installations show that truth and reality are two distinct things.

When Sebastian is accused of murdering a young woman and the police investigation takes a sinister turn, seasoned lawyer Konrad Biegler agrees to represent him - and hopes to help himself in the process. But Biegler soon learns that nothing about the case, or the suspect, is what it appears. The new thriller from the acclaimed author of The Collini Case, The Girl Who Wasn't There is dark, ingenious and irresistibly gripping.

My Thoughts:

My initial response on completion was that I didn't like the book. I felt uncomfortable with some of the subject matter. The prose in the first half felt clunky, clipped and disjointed. Then the second half felt more coherent and better put together. The two halves felt disconnected; two different books. Overall, 'The Girl Who Wasn't There' was an interesting read but one which at times felt rather arty and pretentious with too much poetic ambiguous embellishment and at times I was either confused or irritated by it.  A rather odd little crime novel !

After pulling it apart to find out why I didn't like the book, I actually began to appreciate how clever Ferdinand von Schirach had been in creating this complex novel and that what I disliked was not the book itself but my reaction to particular scenes and subject matter. However on reflection I think they were necessary to tune into the mindset of the character concerned.  I won't divulge what these scenes were as it would spoil the storyline and enjoyment of the read for others.  Everything it seems was intended to offend or provoke some form of reaction or thought response. A rather clever little crime novel !

My main concern for 'The Girl Who Wasn't There' is that readers will give up after the first half perhaps feeling as I did, alienated and disconnected to Sebastian von Eschburg and therefore, not give it the chance it deserves.

The pacing of first half of the book is slow, dark, abstract and disjointed with short, sharp sentences.  It concentrates on Sebastian von Eschburg a ten year old boy who is different to most children his age. He sees the world around him in the form of colours rather than objects.

"He saw what other people saw, but in his mind the colours were different. His nanny’s hands were cyan and amber; his hair, as he saw it, shone violet with a touch of ochre; his father’s skin was a pale greenish blue."

Sebastian lives a lonely, detached existence and after his father's suicide he is sent away to boarding school by his emotionally absent mother where he becomes ever more insular.  It is at boarding school where he finds an outlet and is able to make sense of the world with his new found interest in photography in which he develops a real talent.

The second half of the book focuses on Monika Landau, the prosecutor, and Konrad Biegler, the defence lawyer who Sebastian requests to represent him when he is accused of murder in unusual circumstances.  This half is in total contrast and is faster paced, much more engaging and rewarding and ultimately leads to the (not too unexpected in my case) conclusion.

For me the main weakness in the book is the title itself. Originally entitled 'Tabu' for its German publication it was renamed 'The Girl Who Wasn't There' for its English speaking audience. Interesting and complex a plot as it is, it fell flat at the 'big reveal', and to my mind the former title is more suited due to the provocative themes in the main of the storyline, rather than the latter which focuses on its conclusion.

Not a must read book but certainly an interesting and thought provoking one including themes of violence, the representation of sex and violence as an art form, sex trafficking, and torture.

'The Girl Who Wasn't There' by Ferdinand von Schirach, a defence attorney himself and author of 'The Collini Case' is most definitely not your usual crime thriller and certainly not going to be for everyone but I'd definitely recommend it to those who have read, 'The Collini Case'  and Albert Camus' 'The Stranger' and to those appreciative in the arts particularly art vs pornography and the justice system.

A great choice for book reading groups with plenty of 'food for thought' topics for discussion.

Disclaimer: A complimentary copy of 'The Girl Who Wasn't There' was provided by Liitle Brown via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

NELLY DEAN by Alison Case

Waterstones Purchase Link

Nelly Dean by Alison Case

Genre: Literary Fiction, Historical Fiction

Pages: 480

Format: Hardcopy ARC

ISBN: 9780008123383

Publisher: Harper Collins (13th August 2015)

Source: Publisher/Lovereading.co.uk

Rating: DNF

I had a hard time with this one. I truly wanted to love it but regretfully have to say that it wasn't to my liking.

I have no doubt that Alison Case's debut offering will become a best seller.  So why my lack of enthusiasm?  My first reading of Wuthering Heights was over twenty years ago and I fell in love with Emily Bronte's gothic classic.  Maybe I'm stuck in the past with my 15 year old romanticised memories of the spirited Cathy and the broody Heathcliff running wild together on the Yorkshire moors. Could it be that my memories of this classic have merged and blurred with the memory of Hollywood's 1939 film version with Merle Oberon as Cathy and Laurence Olivier's Heathcliff ? Is a reread of the classic in order or should I leave it and retain my fond memories?

I digress, as the retelling of Wuthering Heights from Nelly's perspective through her written correspondence to Mr Lockwood, Nelly recounts, including less favourable details omitted in her original account, the unfortunate events that befell the families at Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange.  The 194 pages I managed to read felt like a chore and it became apparent that I wouldn't finish the book in time to submit my review in the deadline timeframe. Nor did I have the patience to persevere and had to admit defeat.

Nelly Dean is undoubtably well written. The pace is slow allowing the reader to become fully acquainted with the characters.  However they felt flat and uninteresting to me.  Had I continued with the novel I may have changed my view but I didn't feel connected enough to want to find out.  I may be missing out on a brilliant novel, perhaps timing was wrong, and I may try to read it again sometime.

Nelly Dean is a perfect companion to Bronte's Wuthering Heights, for fans of Jo Baker's Longbourne (of which I'm one),  Jessie Burton's The Miniaturist, and Tracy Chevalier. It would certainly make an excellent book club choice.

Disclaimer: I received an advanced reading copy of the book from the publisher via Lovereading .co.uk for an unbiased review.

I didn't finish reading Nelly Dean and am therefore, only able give my thoughts on the chapters read and do not wish to influence the reader in any way and would like to point out that I am in a minority with my opinions and even though this one wasn't for me I look forward to Alison Case's next offering.

Shelf Inflicted: THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE BY JAMES M. CAIN

Shelf Inflicted: THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE BY JAMES M. CAIN: The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain My rating: 5 of 5 stars ”Stealing a man’s wife, that’s nothing, but stealing his car, tha...

If this review doesn't get you all hot under the collar and clamouring for a copy then I don't know what will. I've no idea why its taken so long for me to get around reading The a Postman Always Rings Twice but I'm certainly moving it from the very bottom of My To Read pile to near the top now.

The Girl From The Garden by Parnaz Faroutan

The Girl From The Garden by Parnaz Faroutan

Genre: Literary Fiction, Women's Lives, Historical Fiction

Pages: 288

Format: e-ARC

ISBN: 9780062442864

Publisher: Ecco (Aug 18, 2015)

Source: Publisher/Edelweiss

Synopsis:

THE GIRL FROM THE GARDEN’s lyrical prose and heartbreaking evocation of female struggle in a forgotten time and place is reminiscent of Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things and Isabel Allende’s The House of the Spirits, but it is not just a novel about women. It is a story of Iran, of a lost cultural moment and identity that flourished before the wars and the reign of the shahs. And it is a story about family—about the things that draw us closer and perhaps inevitably push us apart.

My Thoughts:

The Girl From Garden is the debut masterpiece from Parnaz Faroutan and another one added to my favourite reads this year.  It is a powerful tale of desire, obsession, jealousy, power and vulnerability and ultimately the downfall of a wealthy Persian-Jewish family set in the early twentieth century.

Mahboubeh, the only surviving daughter of the Malacouti family, is an elderly woman who spends her time tending and talking to the plants in her garden. Mahboubeh drifts in and out of the past reliving her memories as a young girl in Iran and it is through her that we hear about a young married couple who are unable to produce an heir to ensure the continuation of the family line; and we bear witness to the tragic events and destructive forces that destroyed the family.

When Asher Malacouti's young wife fails to produce an heir and his brother's new wife becomes pregnant he decides on a course of action that will have disastrous consequences. The disdain and resentment that Asher displays toward his wife, Rakhel, will distort and shape her into a manipulative, vindictive woman.  Rakhel will go to any extremes to maintain her status within the family including the use of spells and help of djinns in this highly superstitious, spirit believing culture.

In a male dominated and strict boundary controlled environment the young women jostle with one another in a struggle to reach the most beneficial status within the unit, sacrificing any chance of true friendship or bond, and is where betrayal, and manipulation are the unending driving force.

The Girl From The Garden is all the more poignant as life for young girls is pretty much the same today as it was then. Little or no alternative exists than to be married very young to produce children, and look after their husband and family, often in oppressive and restrictive marriages, as is the case for Rakhel.

The Girl From The Garden is a beautifully written piece of literature.  Vividly depicting a world rich in detail with beautifully drawn characters who effortlessly come to life and lodge themselves into your mind.

I highly recommend The Girl from the Garden to anyone interested in learning about lives from a different time and culture and would generate lively discussion in book reading groups.

Disclaimer: A complimentary copy of The Girl From The Garden was provided by Ecco via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest unbiased review.

About The Author:

Parnaz Foroutan was born in Iran and spent her early childhood there. She received PEN USA’s Emerging Voices fellowship for this novel, which was inspired by her own family history. She has been named to the Hedgebrook fellowship and residency, and received funding from the Elizabeth George Foundation, among other institutions. She currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband and daughter.