The State We're In by Adele Parks

"THE STATE WE'RE IN is the stunning, emotionally powerful new novel from Sunday Times bestselling author Adele Parks."

review by Maryom

Jo and Dean meet on plane from London to Chicago. Could it be love at first sight? Well, it certainly doesn't appear that way. Dean is tired and depressed, returning home after visiting his estranged father who is dying in a London hospital. Jo has decided that at 35, after one too many mornings of waking up with yet another unsuitable man, that her only chance of happiness is to fly to Chicago and break up a wedding and steal her ex-fiancé back! Neither seem in the right place to be starting a new relationship yet by the time they reach Chicago everything has changed....
Meanwhile, back in London, things are also changing. Dean's father starts to face the idea that maybe life wasn't just about him and having fun, and Jo's mother decides enough is enough and, after nearly 40 years of seemingly blissful marriage, it's time to leave her husband.

The State We're In is a wonderful engrossing read - the sort that I can completely lose myself in. I wanted to know the answer to so many questions that I could barely put it down and quite rattled my way through.
How to describe it without giving away too much is a bit of a challenge though; it's a family drama played out over two generations; it's about falling in love, living a lie, the meaning of family and the sacrifices a woman might make for the sake of her children.
It's the kind of book that too often attracts the 'women's fiction' tag, but it's a perceptive insight into family life, both idyllic and dreadful, and the individuals that are part of it. The characters are all people that you can believe in whether it's the ever optimistic Jo with her long line of one night stands - each one a potential prince to rescue her from spinsterhood but each turning into a frog come the cold light of morning - or Dean's irresponsible dad, only ever concerned with his own pleasure and happiness, and totally disregarding the needs of others.

...and the ending? It's an absolute stunner!

Maryom's review - 5 stars
Publisher - Headline
Genre - Adult


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The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith

Review by The Mole

Mma Ramotswe has inherited some money from her father to set up her own business - a shop or something... but instead she chooses to set up the first detective agency in Botswana with a lady detective. With her little white van, office in town and her secretary the cases slowly start to trickle in.

This is hardly a new book, but has been republished under the banner of "A collection of 18 titles that celebrate Abacus's 40 year history of publishing influential, unique and trailblazing books that have shaped the reading landscape." and many of the titles involved are landmarks in UK fiction, as is this one.

I have come to this book knowing that Maryom loved it but I had never picked it up before. I was very surprised by what I found  too. Maryom reads a lot of crime; some very sinister and gory; some very clever; most with a level of whodunnit - but here I found what she described as "cosy crime" and it fits the description of the book "cosily". But what is not to be loved about it? Mma Ramotswe, her father, her little white van, J.L.B. Matekoni - there is nothing about this book that you won't fall in love with. And the writing... the author, when talking about Mma Ramotswe says something like (sorry I can't find the quote) 'she wasn't tall but she was blessed with a large girth' - how can you not love it?

Some of the cases she goes on I found myself solving before she left the office but that didn't bother me at all and in fact added to the enjoyment of the book - and that is a little unusual! If you want gore and tension then try the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency - you won't get it but you will feel a whole lot better after reading it!

I shall certainly be on the prowl for more from the detective agency in the future.

Abacus 40th Anniversary editions

Publisher - Abacus
Genre - Adult Crime

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Aldo Moon and the Ghost at Gravewood Hall by Alex Woolf

review by Maryom

Aldo Moon is an orphan, brought up in the London Foundling Hospital then adopted by the wealthy Carter family. They soon discover he has an unusual talent. Picking up 'ripples in the ether', he can sense things that others can't; sometimes he can predict an unexpected knock at the door or see an image of something that occurred in the past or is happening at that moment somewhere else.
When a friend of the family believes she has ghosts disturbing the peace of her house, Aldo is asked to investigate. Accompanied by his adoptive brother Nathan and his cousin Lily, he uncovers dark deeds and secrets hidden at Gravewood Hall.

Set in Victorian England, this book is a supernatural whodunnit  - a sort of cross between Sherlock Holmes and Ghostbusters. There are strange noises emanating from the cellar and the ghostly figure of a woman haunting the house and gardens but overall the feel is more of a detective novel than a terrifying ghost story. 
The trio of friends make an interesting investigative team - Aldo brings his supernatural intuition to bear on solving the mystery, Nathan is the 'muscle' and Lily the sceptical scientist.

Aimed at older children and young teens, the Ghost at Gravewood Hall is the first adventure for Aldo Moon and there'll be more to come.

Maryom's review - 4.5 stars
Publisher - Scribo Books
Genre - Children's, ghost stories, detective stories, 11+

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The Drowning by Rachel Ward

Review by The Mole

Carl awakes to a nightmare. He sees someone being zipped into a sleeping bag and tries to speak - but he can't. They carry on zipping over the person's face and he wants to scream that they won't be able to breathe. He is terrified they will do that to him and he can't tell them he's alive! They don't but they lift both of them into an ambulance. A girl gets in, looks at him and screams. That's the last he remembers. It's the only thing he remembers and when he is sent home from hospital it is with a woman that he is told is his mother but he has no idea if that's true and she is sad, angry and afraid. He is told that the dead boy was his brother and that they were both, along with the girl, in a lake when he died. What happened and who killed him? The girl? Was it him? In dribs and drabs the memories hit him like electric shocks and the doubts increase. What kind of a boy is he? He has no idea and dreads finding out.

This is one of those reviews that is so easy to give spoilers as much of the plot hinges around characters and their personality. Rob, Carl's dead brother, seems to be trying to kill both Carl and Neisha, the girl from the ambulance, and tense action follows tense action. Carl battles with Rob as Carl tries to protect Neisha, who believes Rob is a stress induced hallucination. Through the most part of the story I was convinced Rob was entirely in Carl's imagination but towards the end we are led to believe that maybe there is more to Rob. Rob was not a nice character and I found I couldn't 'believe' in him because I have never known anyone who could be quite that evil and manipulative. And Carl... could an incident like this really change someone's personality so drastically? Or has he changed? And Neisha... was she so changed or was it Rob's manipulation that makes it seem so? The ending... I will admit that I very much anticipated a happy ending because the story had an underlying 'feel good' factor to it. I was wrong - and I was disappointed to be wrong but life isn't all happy endings is it?

A very thought provoking read as you encounter what it may be like to suffer total memory loss and also reflect on what people around you might be like if the influence of others was removed.

I really enjoyed this read - despite the ending!

Publisher - Chicken House
Genre - YA Thriller

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The Silent Wife by A.S.A Harrison

review  by Maryom



Jodi and Todd have lived together for over 20 years. They may not have the legal paperwork but are effectively a happily married couple. They have everything they could want - a fabulous apartment with stunning lake views, Todd's built-from-nothing construction business, Jodi's psychotherapy practice, and a dog to replace the children they never had. And if Todd 'wanders' once in a while? Well, this is something Jodi's learned to ignore and live with so long as he always comes home to her.  But Todd's latest affair is turning serious and he's under increasing pressure to leave Jodi. Will she find herself left high and dry? How far will Jodi go to get him back... or get even?

The Silent Wife is an intimate look at the workings of a long term relationship - and its break down. Told from the alternating points of view of Jodi and Todd, the story follows their thoughts and reasoning as they struggle to come to terms with their changed circumstances. Harrison cleverly balances both points of view so that although the reader may veer towards Jodi's standpoint, Todd's version of events is presented with the same level of sympathy. Both of them, though, come over as people more driven by the pressure of outside forces than their own desires. Jodi rather drifts along in her ivory tower not wanting to really involve herself with everyday nitty-gritty. This way she finds it possible to turn a blind eye to her financial position and Todd's affairs; even the drastic action she ultimately decides to take is suggested and carried out by someone else. While, for a man who's built up his own business, Todd seems extraordinarily weak-willed when it comes to personal matters; pushed one way by his girlfriend, pulled the other by his old comfortable life.
It was less of a thriller than I'd expected but none the worse for it.

I don't like to compare book A to book B but the similarities between this and Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn are too hard to ignore. The Silent Wife has better characterisation and a believable plot line firmly rooted in reality; Gone Girl is more of a thriller but with over-the-top extremes of emotions and actions. I definitely preferred The Silent Wife.

Maryom's review - 4.5 stars
Publisher - Headline
Genre - Adult 

Buy The Silent Wife from Amazon

The Silent Wife by A.S.A. Harrison AND Giveaway

review  by Maryom

(See the GIVEAWAY after Maryom's review)

Jodi and Todd have lived together for over 20 years. They may not have the legal paperwork but are effectively a happily married couple. They have everything they could want - a fabulous apartment with stunning lake views, Todd's built-from-nothing construction business, Jodi's psychotherapy practice, and a dog to replace the children they never had. And if Todd 'wanders' once in a while? Well, this is something Jodi's learned to ignore and live with so long as he always comes home to her.  But Todd's latest affair is turning serious and he's under increasing pressure to leave Jodi. Will she find herself left high and dry? How far will Jodi go to get him back... or get even?

The Silent Wife is an intimate look at the workings of a long term relationship - and its break down. Told from the alternating points of view of Jodi and Todd, the story follows their thoughts and reasoning as they struggle to come to terms with their changed circumstances. Harrison cleverly balances both points of view so that although the reader may veer towards Jodi's standpoint, Todd's version of events is presented with the same level of sympathy. Both of them, though, come over as people more driven by the pressure of outside forces than their own desires. Jodi rather drifts along in her ivory tower not wanting to really involve herself with everyday nitty-gritty. This way she finds it possible to turn a blind eye to her financial position and Todd's affairs; even the drastic action she ultimately decides to take is suggested and carried out by someone else. While, for a man who's built up his own business, Todd seems extraordinarily weak-willed when it comes to personal matters; pushed one way by his girlfriend, pulled the other by his old comfortable life.
It was less of a thriller than I'd expected but none the worse for it.

I don't like to compare book A to book B but the similarities between this and Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn are too hard to ignore. The Silent Wife has better characterisation and a believable plot line firmly rooted in reality; Gone Girl is more of a thriller but with over-the-top extremes of emotions and actions. I definitely preferred The Silent Wife.

Maryom's review - 4.5 stars
Publisher - Headline
Genre - Adult 

Buy The Silent Wife from Amazon

***** GIVEAWAY *****

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You can enter once each day on each of the 4 social media sites - the more entries the more chance of being the lucky recipient.

The postal address must be UK and the competition  will close at 23:59 Friday 28th June 2013. The winner will be chosen at random on Saturday 29th. The postal address then needs to be received by 3rd July or a new winner will be selected.

Good Luck!

The Unquiet Grave by Steven Dunne

review by Maryom

DI Damen Brook is back from suspension - but relegated to the Cold Case Unit. In his dismal basement office he reluctantly starts to look into a series of seemingly unrelated murders dating back to the 1960s.  A previous investigation attempted to link these cases but merely led to the ridicule of the detective concerned - could he have been right all along? His new boss Copeland has a personal interest in Brook's investigations - his teenage sister was murdered when he was a child and the solving of her murder has been the driving force behind his life and career. He hopes Brook with a fresh vision can shed light on a case that he's spent so many years working on. Brook soon finds himself drawn into the riddles posed by these events of so long ago and as he unravels the threads, uncovers a web of deceit involving witnesses, suspects and police.
His old DS, John Noble, is working on a current case involving the disappearance of another youngster - and Brook begins to wonder if this too is related.

The Unquiet Grave is amazingly complex and very, very clever. I think this may be one of the cleverest, perhaps THE cleverest, whodunnits that I've read. It's the sort of book with so many storylines up in the air and twisting round each other, that I wonder how the writer keeps track of them all.
It's one of those detective novels where the reader is privy to information unknown to the detective on the case, so I could see pieces of the jigsaw starting to fall into place before Brooks did - not all of them though and there were enough twists and turns and un-tied off ends to keep me reading to the end.

There are more insights into Brook's troubled past - as I only 'met' him in Dunne's last novel Deity I don't know the full ins and outs of his connection with the serial killer known as the Reaper so this gave some tantalising glimpses without, I hope, giving too much away. I think it's getting time that I read the earlier novels, though.

Maryom's review - 5 stars
Publisher - Headline
Genre - Adult Crime Thriller