Ninepins by Rosy Thornton

No peace on the fens
Review by The Mole

Ninepins is a tollhouse on the Cambridgeshire fens and is the home of mother and daughter, Laura and Beth. Beth is 12 and finding new friends in her first year at secondary school, friends that are not as well behaved as they seem. Laura lets 'The Pumphouse', which is a separate building and was once used to pump water from the fens, out to students for a little extra cash, but this year the student pulled out leaving Laura to rent it to Willow - a 17 year old who has been in a care home after being found guilty of arson. With Beth's friends leading her astray, Beth's asthma and Willow then Laura's life is about to be turned totally upside down.

This book is one of those 'hard to classify' types. Never quite a thriller, not quite a mystery, nor a romance. It's more a story of a family that is going through a patch of life that, once traversed, will leave everyone wiser, happier and more settled. That is if they all make it through.

The book deals with some powerful issues and the author does it very well. Beth has an asthma bout - I am avoiding the word 'attack' deliberately - which builds up over several days because of the weather and finally has Laura picking her up from school and rushing her to the doctor to be put on a nebuliser. This was followed by nights sitting up and comforting and watching and left me just a little wondering why nebulisers aren't readily available in the manner of defibrillators? Or even just a little angry maybe, but the writing was powerful enough that I became involved in this.

I did enjoy this book but do find it hard to classify it's 'genre' and think I must opt for the catch-all 'Adult Fiction'. The story moves quickly from incident to incident with no clearly discernible goal until the very end when we are suddenly thrown from one side to the other before finally understanding, and appreciating where we were being taken and it was a journey worth travelling.

Once again - I was entranced by the characters in the book and did enjoy it a lot.

Publisher - Sandstone Press
Genre - Contemporary Adult Fiction

The Tapestry of Love by Rosy Thornton

Love the Tapestry of life
Review by TheMole

Catherine Parkstone is now divorced and her children have grown and have lives of their own. Now it is time for her to do something for herself so she has moved to France and is living in the Cevennes mountains and starting to work as seamstress. She finds, like many incomers to foreign lands, there are rules and traditions of which she was not aware and they are there to fall foul off.

This is a story of life. Maryom giggled a bit and said it's 'chick lit' when I picked it up. So what's wrong if it is? But I would say it's not. I don't often comment on other reviewers comments but I think this is worthy of being looked at this time. The Guardian said 'drawing out the poignancy of ordinary life' and this I find to be about spot on. Another reviewer said 'funny and original' and funny is not a word I would even contemplate. 'Heart warming' is only a part of what it is. Two said 'I loved it' and in that I can whole heartedly agree.

This story is beautiful. It is rich in life and must be reflecting some of the authors experiences because of their... accuracy is the wrong word.... completeness is better.... depth is a big part of it. Several times I felt that 'yes that's exactly how it is!'.

I could use all those clichés of 'emotional roller coaster' and 'compelling read' but this was like those evenings when you have friends round and you keep chatting because you haven't finished exploring the conversation yet.

This is a fantastic read and would really suit anyone who reads romance, chick lit, biographies and so many other genres of books. I have chosen to stop using a 'star' rating but would rate this book as good as any book I have read in any genre. It's on a par with 'The Engine Driver's Manual'!

Publisher - Headline Review

Genre - Romantic Fiction/'Chick Lit'/

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