Maryom's Picks of the Year

 I'm starting with a rather obvious sort of choice; Hilary Mantel's Bring Up The Bodies, the 'sequel' to Wolf Hall and the continuing political machinations of Thomas Cromwell. Not everyone's cup of tea but I loved it!








Next - two very atmospheric and very different novels

Archipelago by Monique Roffey  - a hauntingly beautiful story of loss and recovery set against the backdrop of the Caribbean

 and
The Book of Summers by Emylia Hall  - a wonderful evocation of long, hot Hungarian summers mixed with long hidden family secrets









Two historical novels both asking the question How do you define family - by birth or by upbringing?

Ben Elton's family-history inspired Two Brothers


and ML Stedman's The Light Between Oceans










 Two crime novels;
 The Calling by Neil Cross - spin off from BBC's Luther series; hard-hitting and violent, a story that left me reeling.

and the marginally cosier (though not by much) Vanished by Liza Marklund








                                                    


Three books that I'll rather loosely label as 'local'

David Calcutt's re-telling of the traditional tales of Robin Hood




Steven Dunn's rather too close to home thriller, Deity






and Edward Hogan's The Hunger Trace

For teens, YA and anyone really  - Celia Rees' This Is Not Forgiveness 

 a compelling, disturbing read that I couldn't put down 

For younger readers, the magical Wolf Princess by Cathryn Constable -  a wonderful, enthralling delight of a book set in an abandoned Russian palace in the depths of a snowy forest.

The Calling by Neil Cross

review by Maryom

An extraordinarily brutal double murder leads John Luther on a hunt for a very perverse baby snatcher. At the same time an injured colleague asks him to unofficially help an old man being bullied into leaving his home. In desperation he resorts to increasingly 'unconventional' methods and as his professional life descends into turmoil, his private life follows. 

The Calling is a prequel to the BBC Luther series, filling in the 'story so far' which was hinted at on TV but never expanded. Cross has also worked in a clever link to an incident in his novel, Captured (which I feel very clever to have spotted while wondering if there were links to other novels which I missed) An unusual aspect of the creation of Luther is that the character started out in a screenplay and  was 'fleshed out' by Idris Elba's portrayal, something that Neil Cross refers to in the Acknowledgements. With a few brief descriptive comments here and there, Neil Cross now brings the composite character back to life in print. It doesn't matter though if you've never seen Luther as The Calling works perfectly as a stand alone novel and an introduction to this harrowed, angry detective.

Don't be misled into imagining The Calling is a cosy whodunnit crime novel as you might expect from a Lewis or Midsommer Murders spin off.  It's a VERY violent and brutal story - not at all for the squeamish or easily upset. Not only is there a psychopath out there but he seems to have a network of contacts all as deeply weird as he is. Luther himself is a tormented, emotionally tortured man in whom the violence of the crimes brings out a correspondingly violent response.
A book that left me feeling stunned and emotionally battered. For one thing, I felt Neil Cross managed to portray the victims as real people about whom I cared, rather than mere dead bodies. It is though, without doubt, a gripping, mesmerising book.

Maryom's review - 5 stars

Publisher - Simon & Schuster

Genre - crime, adult fiction, TV tie-in

Buy The Calling from Amazon

Captured by Neil Cross

A Man With Nothing To Lose

review by Maryom

Kenny Drummond has a brain tumour and is given only weeks to live. In this short time he hopes to put things to rights with the world and make amends to the people he feels he has let down over the years. First on the list is his ex-wife and Kenny quickly moves on to easier matters. The next two are easily found but the fourth, Callie Barton, a girl who befriended him at junior school, proves more elusive. A few years earlier she disappeared - her husband was suspected of involvement but cleared by the police - and no trace of her has been found. Kenny believes the husband knows more than he is admitting and determines to find out what.

With nothing to restrain him just how far will a man with no future go to get what he wants? Kenny is not the only one, though, finding himself in this situation, feeling he's running out of time and options, and prepared to resort to any means.

Having spent several weeks eagerly glued to my TV watching Luther, I was curious to read one of Neil Cross's novels, to see how well his scriptwriting skills made the cross-over.

Dialogue remains a strong point, being used to carry the plot forward but I was totally amazed by his ability to conjure up a scene using very few extremely well chosen words - whether a picnic in the park, hiding out in the attic or the pent-up threat as Kenny confronts Callie's husband.

Although there's both violence and bloodshed in the book neither were over-graphic or stomach-churning but at the same time Cross's sparse, restrained prose sent a chill up the spine. It's a totally gripping read - even when you wish you could turn away and not look.

Now confirmed as a Neil Cross fan - off to find more to read.

Maryom's review - 5 stars

Publisher - Simon & Schuster

Genre - Adult Thriller

Maryom's Round Up Of The Year -2010

It's that time of year when everyone starts talking about 'best of the year', so here's my personal round-up to go with all the others out there. Not all of these are newly published this year - just newly read by me - though there's certainly no sense to including favourite re-reads; they belong in a different list altogether. Also, not all of these are books I've reviewed for our blog - some have been reviewed elsewhere, one particularly I know I've only reviewed on Amazon or Waterstones. Enough rambling - where to start? Children's books?

In The Map Of Marvels by David Calcutt, Connor draws a map and finds himself transported into it. The only way home is to follow the adventures the map leads him to. A compelling, Arabian nights type adventure with pirates and shipwrecks, deserts and djinn. It's recommended for older children but is the sort of adventure tale we used to read as bedtime story to our 8 or 9 yr old daughter.





Bree McCready and the Half Heart Locket by Hazel Allan a fantastical adventure story for 9 - 13 yrs. Bree wins the half-heart locket in a raffle and finds herself whisked away with friends Sandy and Honey over the moon rainbow to save the world from evil monster Thalofedril.















The Long Weekend by Savita Kalhan - a wonderful action, suspense novel, maybe mainly for boys. Readers will urge Sam on, cheer at his success, be disheartened as he fails, tremble as he and his friend Lloyd hide from the villain, but hopefully take heed of the message - be sure you know who is offering you a lift home.






Another absolutely stunning fantasy adventure is Mortlock by Jon Mayhew. The wonderful knife-throwing heroine, Josie, is thrown by her guardian's death into a world of danger, excitement and supernatural crows. Not for the squeamish!















Moving onward and upward to teenage fiction


Keren David's debut novel, When I Was Joe, came out at the beginning of the year followed in September by its sequel Almost True. Together they tell the story of Ty, taken into the witness protection programme after a stabbing incident, his problems adapting to his new identity and unknown past.















Wasted by Nicola Morgan - Truly an amazing book that really makes you wonder about the little chances that life turns on. A story about love, fate and the danger of leaving things to chance. I loved this and my daughter, then 12, did too - so one for almost all ages!













Firebrand by Gillian Philip - first in a series following the exploits of Seth MacGregor - wild, unruly Sidhe warrior - an action packed, fast paced fantasy novel capable of surprising to almost the last page, with a cast of real living breathing characters. Published as a YA book but one for all lovers of fantasy regardless of age.













For adults...

Fantasy, myth and politics meet in the Mabinogion Stories series from Seren Books, retelling Welsh myths in modern or even future settings. My favourite has to be The Dreams of Max and Ronnie by Niall Griffiths - turning old stories into up to date political commentary.






I read and loved Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel - a long slow novel exploring the Tudor world and the workings of HenryVIII's court. Probably not a book for everyone, mainly due to it's length.

















If you're looking for something shorter try The Still Point by Amy Sackville. Julia has grown up believing in the stories of her family's long-lost heroic Arctic explorer, Edward Mackley and the devoted life-time wait of his wife. As she sorts through relics in the attic, Julia discovers all is not as she had believed. This story weaves together themes of loss, self-delusion, betrayal and discovery, with alternating threads of heat and cold, idleness and endeavour, creating a wonderful whole.




New publishers Peirene Press specialise in translated fiction - "Thought provoking, well designed, short", as their slogan says. All three of this year's books were wonderful in their own way. My favourite, though only by a small margin, was Portrait of the Mother as a Young Woman by Friedrich Christian Delius. A young, pregnant German woman walks through Rome one day in January 1943 on her way to a musical recital at a church. On her way we share her thoughts, hopes and fears meandering between past, present and future. A whole life in 125 pages!




In a very different vein - two outstandingly creepy novels

Blacklands by Belinda Bauer - a chilling debut thriller. Steven feels that if he can find the body of his murdered uncle Billy the past can be laid to rest and his family become 'normal'. When he realises he won't succeed by digging up random bits of Exmoor, Steven decides to try the more direct approach and write to Avery asking for directions. Reminding the killer of the past may not turn out to be the cleverest of moves though...




Captured by Neil Cross, creator of BBC's Luther. A man with only weeks to live determines to solve the mystery of an ex-girlfriends disappearance - using whatever means and methods he feels are needed. A shortish book, driven forward by dialogue, full of desperation. It was a totally gripping read - even when you wish you could turn away and not look.













And last but most certainly not least, something for everyone - The Ice Bear by Jackie Morris. A gorgeous illustrated book with lyrical words. You may want to buy it for a special child in your life - or you may just want to treat yourself!