Caged Little Birds by Lucy Banks

 

Caged Little Birds by Lucy Banks.

Published 15th September 2022 by Sandstone Press.

From the cover of the book:

The public think Ava’s a monster. Ava thinks she’s blameless.

In prison, they called her Butcher Bird – but Ava’s not in prison any more. Released after 25 years to a new identity and a new home, Ava finally has the quiet life she’s always wanted.

But someone knows who she is. The lies she’s told are about to unravel.

***********

Ava is newly released from prison, after receiving a life sentence for a crime serious enough to mean she must now live under a new identity to protect her - even though she believes herself to be innocent of the sins laid at her door.

But settling into life on the outside as Robin Smith is proving to be harder than she thought. Although she longs for a quiet life, the tedious conditions placed on her as part of her release make it necessary for her to live far away from the peace and isolation of the Scottish Islands that she loves, and Ava is not cut out to rub along well with others.

At first Ava tries her best to become what is expected of her new alter-ego Robin, but then someone discovers who she really is, and wants  revenge for the crimes they believe she has not been punished for. As her paranoia overwhelms her, the web of lies she has created to hide her true nature starts to unravel. Is Ava really the monster that her fellow inmates dubbed The Butcher Bird, or is she just misunderstood?

Caged Little Birds is a wonderfully dark and twisty tale that offers so much to delve into around the best way to deal with offenders who have received long sentences for very serious crimes - all tied up in unsettling story that, despite becoming increasingly disturbing as it unfurls, is impossible to look away from for a second.

It is hard to convey quite how many really knotty themes Lucy Banks touches on this this incredible book, but I will start by looking at the woman who consumes your attention from the first page to the last - Ava. Her first person narrative flips back and forth between her childhood, her life before prison, her experiences during her sentence, and what is happening in the present now she has been released. We only ever see the world through her eyes, and her account is fractured, becoming less lucid as her paranoia takes over, especially as she succumbs to over use of sleeping tablets and hits the bottle hard, so it takes a while to piece together the truth about her crimes. Everything is coloured by her conviction that whatever she has done in her life has been justified, by her need for male approval, and by the problem she has relating well to women, but as her tale unfurls you become more and more convinced that her version of events is highly unreliable on all fronts - especially given how circumstances spiral horribly out of control.

It sounds like it might be easy to paint Ava as the monster she has been branded as, but Banks very cleverly manipulates your perception throughout the story, making you second guess yourself. Even though you come to see that Ava's account of events is badly skewed, sifting through her ravings you get the impression that the things that have happened to her are likely to have had some part in shaping the person she has become. Or have they? You are never quite sure if she is telling the truth at any point along the way, which makes it doubly delicious. Is Ava the Butcher Bird after all despite her belief that she is blameless? Is there some good in her? Was she born evil, or made that way? Banks leaves it open for you to decide in the end, which I really enjoyed.

But this is not just a tale about a character we would probably not want to be living next door to. Among the gripping spiral into chaos, Banks asks some very meaty questions, and these leave you with a head that is absolutely buzzing when you reach the end of the story. What is the best way for society to deal with the perpetrators of the most serious crimes when they are eventually released from prison? Can they ever settle into normal lives when they have been completely institutionalised? Does prison offer a chance to rehabilitate offenders like Ava? Indeed, can someone who never acknowledges their guilt even be rehabilitated? And my personal favourite, given my own background in psychology, how much of an impact does it have on someone to be given a whole new identity that they have no concept of how to live up to? Lots to delve into here!

There are no easy answers to any of these questions, whatever the rights and wrongs of the matter, but what Banks does highlight beautifully is that there certainly are failings in the way long incarcerated offenders are integrated back into the world, that do not protect them, or the public, from harm. Ava's probation officer is clearly stretched far beyond her capacity to do her job at a competent level, and the same goes for the basic level of psychological support she is given too. 

This is a book that will put you in a spin, which is highly impressive for a work of under 250 pages. Ava is a character you will love to hate: arrogant, manipulative, cunning, and convinced that she is smarter that everyone else, but she is oh so compelling at the same time. Ava's mind is an uncomfortable place to be, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book. This is the perfect choice for book clubs, because there is so much to talk about too!

Caged Little Birds is available to buy now in paperback, ebook and audio formats. 

Thank you to Sandstone Press for ending me a prof of this book in return for an honest review.

About the author:

Originally from Hertfordshire, Lucy Banks moved to Devon, where she promptly fell in love with the landscape and lifestyle. Author of the Dr Ribero’s Agency of the Supernatural series, and winner of several literary awards and competitions, she lives with her husband, two children, and extremely boisterous cat.

Finer Things by David Wharton

 

Finer Things by David Wharton.

Published 27th June 2019 by Sandstone Press.

From the cover of the book:

London: 1963. The lives of a professional shoplifter and a young art student collide.

Delia must atone for a terrible mistake; Tess is desperate to be a real artist. With the threat of the criminal underworld encroaching, only their friendship can save them from disaster.

**********

The 1960s are starting to swing! For some this is a time to strike out on new adventures, but for others it is not so easy to break away from the gloom and austerity that has overshadowed the post-war years.

For Delia, a professional shoplifter or 'hoister' to those in the trade, things are very much as they have ever been since she was welcomed into Stella's gang just after the war. She is used to living life on the edge, and trusting her instincts to keep her out of harm's way, but she is under no illusion that her world could come crashing down at any moment.

For the young, naive Tess, this is her chance to break away from her northern roots and make it as an artist. Her exciting new life as an art student in London is proving to be something of an eye-opener, and she cannot seem to help herself from being drawn to living dangerously.

When Delia's good fortune comes to an end, and power struggles in the criminal underworld find her contemplating a different kind of life, fate throws her and Tess together in a most unexpected way. An unlikely friendship develops between them - one that proves to save them both from disaster.

The blurb for this novel is surprisingly spare, giving little away about the evocative delights that lie within its pages. As the narratives of Delia and Tess swap back and forth, weaving their separate stories and then colliding together, Wharton does a truly impressive job of vividly bringing alive the early 1960s, and his choice of characters is perfect to examine the huge social and political changes going on at this time.

Delia's story immerses you in the lives of those living on the fringes - the ones who find themselves caught up on a path that takes them off the straight and narrow in order to survive. Through her, you are introduced to hard life of those growing up in the rubble and desolation of the post-war East End of London, and the power of the criminal underworld. Delia has had to grow up be tough in this world, and she takes pride in being the best 'hoister' in Stella's gang, but as the story progresses you begin to see that there is so much more to her character. Underneath the cool, calm exterior Delia cares very deeply about some things, and when a job goes horribly wrong her vulnerability is exposed. Delia was my favourite character in this tale. She is smart, full of insight, and acutely aware of the unpredictable nature of the life she lives. The moments when she considers the 'path not taken' are especially poignant. My own father was born and bred in the East End of this era, and he often talked about the people, the social, political and physical landscape of this part of London - hinting at the power of the gangs at this time, and the awareness of all that perceived infractions could impact their lives. This really connected me to Delia's story, and I was so impressed with the way Wharton brings such an authentic feel of time and place when he writes about the life she leads. 

Tess is not quite so easy to sympathise with, as her brash and unsophisticated nature carries with it the selfish arrogance of youth - the stage of life hindsight often makes us cringe about in our later years. Her single-minded eagerness to gain the experience she feels required of her as a 'real' artist does not always make her the most sensitive of friends. This is the side of the 1960s where change is coming, but first she has to have her eyes opened to many issues she has not considered before. Tess' awakening on many fronts explores the stirrings of someone developing a political and social conscience, especially around the beginnings of the anti-Apartheid movement, illegal homosexuality, abortion and birth control, as she learns more about the world around her. I also really enjoyed the way Wharton uses Tess' side of the story to beautifully look at the gulf that can develop between parents and their off-spring when the lives they find themselves living have so little in common.

I absolutely loved this novel. It has style. pace and real emotional depth, all tied up in the kind of story that holds you fast from the first page to the last. The way the relationship develops between Delia and Tess is really something special, as they both find a way to move forward in ways they could never have imagined before they met. I am really not ready to let these characters go, which is the highest compliment I can pay to the work of an author. 

 Finer Things is available to buy now in paperback and ebook formats.

As a little extra treat, it is my great pleasure to bring you a  letter from the editor of this novel, explaining what drew her to it and why she thinks it is so brilliant. I have to agree with her on every point!

Dear Reader

 Finer Things drew me in from the first page of the first draft. Set in the London of the swinging sixties, Finer Things is the story of a friendship between two very different women: a professional shoplifter and an art student. The unusual protagonists and the vivid setting kept the pages turning and I’m delighted that the book is now out in the world!

The heart of the book is the relationship between Delia and Tess. ‘Hoister’ Delia is a tough woman, surviving on the edge of society and always a little afraid that her world could come crashing down at any moment. A pragmatist focused on her own survival, she’s haunted by the injuries inflicted on a young thief she couldn’t protect. She’s a crook but she’s vulnerable and my heart was in my mouth every time it looked as though the law – or the criminal gangs – might get her in their clutches.

 Art student Tess is often less sympathetic; having been raised in a Northern city, she’s keen to make her mark on London and cares most about herself. Her freedom and advancement comes at the expense of her family and friends. She’s immediately recognisable as someone young and self-absorbed and drawn to danger and excitement. While Delia tries to avoid the danger of her world, Tess – who has much less sense of what it’s really like – is drawn in.

 As the two women’s lives becoming increasingly intertwined, the drama is heightened by the realistic depiction of the 1960s. Wharton evokes all its grit and glamour and pain magnificently. Apartheid, illegal homosexuality and issues of birth control are all explored in this cliché-smashing feminist work.

 I really hope you love it as much as I do.

 With best wishes,

 Kay Farrell

Assistant Publisher
Sandstone Press Ltd

About the author:

David Wharton grew up in Northumberland and lives in Leicester, where he has worked in education for many years. He now divides his time between writing fiction and training English teachers. Finer Things is his first novel.

Vera Kelly Lost And Found (Vera Kelly Book Three) by Rosalie Knecht

 

Vera Kelly Lost and Found (Vera Kelly Book Three) by Rosalie Knecht.

Published 15th September 2022 by Verve Books.

From the cover of the book:

It's spring 1971 and Vera Kelly and her girlfriend, Max, leave their cozy Brooklyn apartment for an emergency visit to Max's estranged family in Los Angeles. Max's parents are divorcing - her father is already engaged to a much younger woman and under the sway of an occultist charlatan; her mother has left their estate in a hurry with no indication of return. Max, who hasn't seen her family since they threw her out at the age of twenty-one, prepares for the trip with equal parts dread and anger.

Upon arriving, Vera is shocked by the size and extravagance of the Comstock estate - the sprawling, manicured landscape; expansive and ornate buildings; and garages full of luxury cars reveal a privileged upbringing that, up until this point, Max had only hinted at - while Max attempts to navigate her father, who is hostile and controlling, and the occultist, St. James, who is charming but appears to be siphoning family money. Tensions boil over at dinner when Max threatens to alert her mother - and her mother's lawyers - to St. James and her father's plans using marital assets. The next morning, when Vera wakes up, Max is gone.

In Vera Kelly Lost and Found, Rosalie Knecht gives Vera her highest-stakes case yet, as Vera quickly puts her private detective skills to good use and tracks a trail of breadcrumbs across southern California to find her missing girlfriend. She travels first to a film set in Santa Ynez and, ultimately, to a most unlikely destination where Vera has to decide how much she is willing to commit to save the woman she loves.

***********

It is 1971 and Vera Kelly finally seems to have settled down to domestic harmony. She and her girlfriend Max Comstock are living happily together in Vera's Brooklyn home, enjoying the company of their wide circle of friends, and campaigning on the fringes of the growing Gay Rights Movement.

Then Max receives a letter from the sister she has not seen for years, and it throws their relationship into unknown territory. Max's parents are about to get divorced, and her father has moved his much younger girlfriend into the family home - in the company of a sinister, svengali-type con man called St James. Max's sister is worried about what this means for their mother. The only way for Max to find out what is going on in her estranged family in Los Angeles is to make a very reluctant trip back to California - something she vowed she would never do.

Max has always been reticent about sharing the details of her past, and although Vera knows she comes from wealthy stock, she is shocked to discover the sheer scale of the Comstock's wealth when they arrive at the family estate in Bel Air. The atmosphere between Max and her boorish father is tense from the word go, especially as they have not seen each other since the ugly scenes that led to Max being cut-off at twenty-one, when it was discovered that she was a lesbian. 

The tension explodes into a blistering argument over an excruciatingly awkward dinner, when Max confronts her father about his bizarre behaviour and the way he is being taken advantage of. Max and Vera realise it was a mistake to come here, and agree to return home to Brooklyn the next day. However, when Vera wakes up in the morning Max has disappeared, and her family are behaving very strangely. Something is not right about this, and Vera must put her detective skills to the test to find her missing girlfriend.

Vera Kelly Lost and Found is the third and final instalment in the wonderful Vera Kelly trilogy. This time Vera must use all the many talents she has developed over the course of her adventures as a CIA operative and private detective, in her most important mission yet, as she tries to find out what has happened to the love of her life at the hands of her despicable father and his unsettling friends.

Vera's quest takes her to some surreal and perilous places as she hunts for clues to Max's whereabouts, making it a mix of darkly comic road-trip caper, and slick noir crime mystery - including an extremely odd encounter with a drugged-up film crew at the Comstock family ranch, which Knecht uses to weave the most delicious hippy cult vibes around St James' part of the story. The shadow of the influence of Max's wealthy family looms over Vera's every move, which keeps the tense story-line absolutely gripping, but Vera is no stranger to dangerous situations, and she draws on every ounce of her ingenuity and unconventional past experiences to see things through to the bitter-sweet end. The fear of spoilers prevents me from revealing where Vera's search takes her, but I can say that Knecht has her risking everything to complete her quest, including her own sanity - and she receives help from someone who will be familiar to readers of her previous adventure in the Dominican Republic, Vera Kelly is not a Mystery.

One of my favourite things about this series is the way that each book has its own distinct feel, which has kept things fresh and interesting. In each book, Vera has faced very different trials, in very different places, and through it all she has been on the most captivating journey of self-discovery. In this book, we see Vera at her most vulnerable, but also at her strongest, because she is finally sure about what she wants from life. Intriguingly, she also reaches a decision about whether she is ready to show the real Vera to the world without fear, which brings about a very moving development in her own family circumstances.

I find myself rather sad to have reached the final book of this trilogy, as I have come to be extremely fond of Vera. In Vera, Rosalie Knecht has created a bold, brilliant kick-ass protagonist, and set her to work in three absolute page-turning adventures, but she has also done so much more by touching on an abundance of compelling social and political themes. This has been one of my favourite under-the-radar series of the past couple of years, and it really does deserve to be wider known. These books are a treat!

Vera Kelly Lost and Found is available to buy now in paperback, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Verve Books for sending me a paperback copy of this book in return for an honest review, and for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author:

Rosalie Knecht is the author of Who Is Vera Kelly?, Vera Kelly Is Not A Mystery and Relief Map. She is also the translator of César Aira's The Seamstress and the Wind (New Directions). She lives in New Jersey.

My Mother Next Door (Audio Book) by Diane Danvers Simmons

 

My Mother Next Door by Diane Danvers Simmons.

Narrated by Diane Danvers Simmons.

Released 31st May 2022.

From the cover: 

It’s hardly newsworthy when a man walks out on his family. But it’s rather unusual for a mother to walk out, leaving the father to bring up their sixteen-year-old daughter—and downright scandalous for said Irish Catholic mother to move into the house next door to start a new life with a bunch of hot male students at the age of sixty.

No one can accuse Diane Danvers Simmons of telling a familiar story. Instead she offers a wickedly witty, candid, irreverent British coming-of-age story with a fresh take on maternal abandonment. In My Mother Next Door she shares the life lessons learned growing up in the revolutionary 1970s while her narcissistic mother charted her own unfathomable course to independence and freedom.

After living in America for decades and becoming a mother herself, Diane journeys back through the madness of her early years, coming to terms with a comical, painful family history, but also celebrating the strength and humor it has given her to face the absurdity of life. In trying to understand what drove her mother to become the woman next door, Diane discovers new respect, love, and even forgiveness: the root of our humanity.

***********

When Diane Danvers Simmons was sixteen, her life took a dramatic turn. Her feisty 60 year old, Irish-Catholic mother decided it was time to up and leave her husband and daughter, and move into the house next door to live with the group of young male students she rented it to. Diane's family circumstances had always been on the bumpy side, coming as she did from a blended family that regularly felt the wrath of her mother's resentful temper, but this was on all new level of unconventional living - especially for the 1970s.

When Diane was grown, with children of her own, she realised that the only way to make sense of the years of trauma that affected her after her mother's abandonment was to try to find a way to forgive her, and this book is the result.

Part coming of age tale, and part exercise to make sense of her mother's behaviour with the hindsight she has now gained, this is a candid, painful, and often funny account of her family's history. In researching it, she spoke to friends and family to get a picture of the things that had shaped her mother into the difficult woman she knew, and this helped her to gain insight on the past in a way that was not apparent to her as a teenager. The moments when she recounts what she learned about the hardship that her mother experienced during her childhood in Ireland, and the terrible losses inflicted on her during her first marriage are heartbreaking, and they offer a fascinating glimpse of the social history of the times too. 

As a cathartic literary exercise this book has helped Diane to reconcile many of the things that puzzled her about the cold-hearted selfishness that she has always believed her mother showed towards her. As Diane flips back and forth beteeen the past and what she now understands about her mother's life, it is clear that she thinks very differently about her mother's actions, and appreciates the lessons she was trying to teach her about being independent and following her dreams. Some of the leaps Diane makes in her wish to forgive her mother's behaviour, especially the divisive and narcissistic elements of her personality, do require a bit of a stretch to accept. However, there is a lot of sense in the notion that finding a way to cast off bitterness is a good thing if you want to move forward. 

The book is narrated by Diane herself, which I really enjoyed. You can feel the emotion running through her words, and her sense of humour comes through well. There is always much more intimacy and feeling in a story of this kind when the author takes you through the events of their life. I found many of her references to the popular culture of her youth very nostalgic too. I did feel that the story gets a little bogged down in the repetitive 'he said, she saids' during the middle part of the book though, and the overall story would have flowed better if some of the blow-by-blow shouting matches had been described in less detail. 

This was a very interesting listen. It is always enlightening to delve into the complicated family history of others, and I think that in these modern times it is not easy to convey quite how much Diane's family circumstances were unusual for the time. I applaud her ability to take the positives from her journey and leave the negatives behind.

My Mother Next Door is available to buy now in multiple formats.

Thank you to Rachel Hutchings at Books Forward for offering me the chance to listen to this audio book, in return for an honest review.

About the author:

Diane Danvers Simmons is a born-and-raised Brit who moved to America in her late twenties for business and success. After an accomplished career as a senior vice president at Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising and then Omnicom Media in London, New York, and LA, she became a mother. Drawing from her advertising and marketing skills, Chopra center teachings, and life experiences, Diane transitioned her skills into female-empowerment activism through speaking engagements, workshops, writing (published online articles), film, online communities, and mentorship in the USA and globally. Embarking on a personal journey to write My Mother Next Door, she was further inspired to create and host a new podcast series with her millennial daughter called Mothers and Daughters Unfiltered (the title says it all), launched Jan 2020, at www.mothersanddaughtersunfiltered.com.

The Secret Adversary (Tommy and Tuppence Book One) by Agatha Christie

 

The Secret Adversary (Tommy ad Tuppence Book One) by Agatha Christie.

The edition published 1st January 2015 by Harper Collins.

From the cover of the book:

Agatha Christie’s first Tommy & Tuppence book is a thrill-packed novel of international intrigue, murder and suspense.

Tommy and Tuppence, two young people short of money and restless for excitement, embark on a daring business scheme – Young Adventurers Ltd.

Their advertisement says they are ‘willing to do anything, go anywhere’.

But their first assignment, for the sinister Mr Whittington, plunges them into more danger than they ever imagined…

***********

London, 1922: Old friends Tommy Beresford and Prudence "Tuppence" Cowley meet by accident on a London street, after not having seen each other since the Great War. Both are struggling to find work in even in the most boring and menial jobs available to them in these straightened times. Over tea and buns at a Lyons Corner House they decide that the only way left open to them to make some money is to strike out on their own, and so a new business venture The Young Adventurers, Ltd is born - with the advertising slogan ‘willing to do anything, go anywhere’.

Their first client, the rather dodgy Mr Whittington, finds them tied up in an adventure that brings rather more than the financial gain they bargained for. Their attempts to trace a missing young woman called Jane Finn, who is in possession of some documents vital to the British government following the sinking of the RMS Lusitania, leads them into danger. Can Tommy and Tuppence save the day... and their own skins?

The Secret Adversary is the first book in the Tommy and Tuppence series by Agatha Christie, and my first one featuring this young couple of thrill-seeking adventurers. I was not too sure about this one to start with, as it begins in a rather left of centre Enid Blyton does Agatha Christie sort of way with the young childhood friends mostly concerned with dreams of adventure, and consuming lashings of tea and buns, but the story gets menacing quite rapidly, and the sinister characters come thick and fast.

There is certainly plenty of adventure on the cards for Tommy and Tuppence as they get to work to find Jane Finn, with shady shenanigans, abductions, false identities, and a mysterious character called Mr Brown who is at the centre of it all. The action is quite reminiscent of the kind of underhand goings on in The Man in the Brown Suit, and the dynamic between Tommy and Tuppence is like that between Bobby and Frankie in Why Didn't They Ask Evans?, with their complimentary styles adding up into something more than the sum of its parts. I absolutely loved both of those stories, so this was a bonus for me.

Surprisingly, for a book that starts out in quite an unsophisticated way, Christie does a sterling job in developing complexity in the story, and the way she misdirects you is delicious. As the threads twist about, you find yourself not knowing who to trust, especially when it comes to the identity of the criminal mastermind Mr Brown, and Christie touches on some quite deep political and social themes among all the daring melodrama. 

I thoroughly enjoyed the whole tale, and the unconventional romance that brings Tommy and Tuppence together at the end is lovely. I cannot wait to read the rest of the them working on more exciting adventures as a married couple.

This book was my September choice for #ReadChristie2022, as a story 'with a female adventurer'. I read the book, and listened to the excellent audio book narrated by Hugh Fraser (aka Captain Hastings). 

The Secret Adversary is available to buy now in multiple formats.

About the author:

Agatha Christie is known throughout the world as the Queen of Crime. Her books have sold over a billion copies in English with another billion in over 70 foreign languages. She is the most widely published author of all time and in any language, outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare. She is the author of 80 crime novels and short story collections, 20 plays, and six novels written under the name of Mary Westmacott.

Every Trick In The Book by Iain Hood

 

Every Trick in the Book by Iain Hood.

Published 14th September 2022 by Renard Press.

From the cover of the book:

‘There’s only control, control of ourselves and others. And you have to decide what part you play in that control.’ 

Cast your eye over the comfortable north London home of a family of high ideals, radical politics and compassionate feelings. Julia, Paul and their two daughters, Olivia and Sophie, look to a better society, one they can effect through ORGAN:EYES, the campaigning group they fundraise for and march with, supporting various good causes. 

But is it all too good to be true? When the surface has been scratched and Paul’s identity comes under the scrutiny of the press, a journey into the heart of the family begins. Who are these characters really? Are any of them the ‘real’ them at all? 

Every Trick in the Book is a genre-deconstructing novel that explodes the police procedural and undercover-cop story with nouveau romanish glee. Hood overturns the stone of our surveillance society to show what really lies beneath.

***********

Meet Julia, Paul and their two daughters Olivia and Sophie, living a comfortable upper middle-class existence in north London. They are a family of high ideals and intellectual pursuits, dedicated to radical politics and positive action. Through their campaign group ORGAN:EYES, they undertake fundraising activities to support various good causes, and partake in regular marches. 

When a young journalist, keen to make a name for herself, begins to dig beneath the glossy surface of this too-good-to-be-true family, she discovers some interesting information that calls into question whether these people are quite what they appear to be, and sets in motion a bizarre series of events.

This is an unconventional novel which defies pigeonholing into a single genre. It contains elements of mystery story, left of centre police procedural, family drama, spy caper, and zany comedy. I am loath to say too much about how this story unfolds, as the magic lies in how Hood constantly keeps you on your toes by dropping reveals that completely flip your perception about what is going on both within this family, and in the world around them. The writing style flows almost organically, changing in style and pace throughout, bringing you full circle and then branching off into into unexpected directions, which is a little disorienting, but this works perfectly with the ground breaking nature of the story. 

The most striking thing about the book, other than its structural and stylistic quirks, is the sheer cleverness of the way Hood explores his themes. This is all about delving beneath the surface to the layers that lie beneath, and along the way he has you mulling over so many aspects of the surveillance society in which we live, of the secrets and lies that often lie under a carefully crafted image, and whether you can every really trust anyone. It is all quite unsettling, in the best possible way.

Hood uses irony and eccentric humour to keep things light among all the darkness, and I found myself chuckling on and off from the smug colour supplement style beginning, all the way through the deliciously ironic twists, to the sharp back and forth of the innermost thoughts of the family once they have been through the unusual storyline Hood has subjected them to. He then ends the piece with a scene that really sends the chills up your spine.

There is such a lot of nostalgia lurking within this story, if you are the right age, with subtle popular culture references to stir your memories. Hood uses the absurd musical world of Captain Beefheart as a central theme in the undercover parts of the tale, which is especially hilarious, and I particularly enjoyed the name drops for Performance, even if my knowledge of the memorable quote in question actually comes via Big Audio Dynamite rather than the film itself.

This is just the kind of book that highlights exactly what a great independent publisher like Renard Press can do, by giving readers the opportunity to enjoy something bold, and genre busting, that really pushes your boundaries. Best enjoyed by unfocusing your mind and letting Hood take you for an out of the ordinary adventure that leaves you with a lot to think about.

Every Trick in the Book is available to buy noe, and can be purchased direct from Renard Press HERE.

Thank you to Renard Press for sending me a proof of this book in return for an honest review, and for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author:

Iain Hood was born in Glasgow and grew up in the seaside town of Ayr. He attended the University of Glasgow and Jordanhill College, and later worked in education in Glasgow and the west country. He attended the University of Manchester after moving to Cambridge, where he continues to live with his wife and daughter. His first novel, This Good Book, was published in 2021.

Lessons by Ian McEwan

 

Lessons by Ian McEwan.

Published 13th September 2022 by Jonathan Cape, Vintage.

From the cover of the book:

While the world is still counting the cost of the Second World War and the Iron Curtain has descended, young Roland Baines's life is turned upside down. Stranded at boarding school, his vulnerability attracts his piano teacher, Miriam Cornell, leaving scars as well as a memory of love that will never fade.

Twenty-five years later, as the radiation from the Chernobyl disaster spreads across Europe, Roland's wife mysteriously vanishes and he is forced to confront the reality of his rootless existence and look for answers in his family history.

From the fall of the Berlin Wall to the Covid pandemic and climate change, Roland sometimes rides with the tide of history but more often struggles against it. Haunted by lost opportunities, he seeks solace through every possible means ­- literature, travel, friendship, drugs, politics, sex and love.

His journey raises important questions. Can we take full charge of the course of our lives without damage to others? How do global events beyond our control shape us and our memories? What role do chance and contingency play in our existence? And what can we learn from the traumas of the past?

***********

Roland Baine is a man all at sea. His wife Alissa has mysteriously left him out of the blue, and he finds himself in sole care of their baby son Lawrence. Exhausted, Roland's sleep-deprived brain forces upon him the memory of the first time he met his piano teacher Miriam at the age of eleven - the woman who later took charge of his sexual awakening at fourteen and shaped the course of his life.

As the years go by the story follows Roland through his trials and tribulations, moving back and forth between the present and his recollections of the past. All the while, major world events play out in the background as he tries to make sense of the hand life has dealt him.

This is a complex novel, not easily summed up in a brief review, and it touches on so much about the intricacies of human relationships, delving into how childhood experiences shape expectation, and what happens when the wrong people get involved with each other. The scope of this novel is really quite breath taking, but McEwan's skill as an accomplished author keeps all the far reaching threads in perfect control. 

As Roland tells the unflinching story of his life, McEwan deftly bleeds the present and the past into each other to show us the significant moments of his and his family's history that are pertinent to the truth he is trying to get to about how and why events play out like they do. In particular, you find Roland going back over the events of his sexual encounters with Miriam, and as he does he gradually comes to realise that rather than being involved in a love affair, he was the victim of calculated abuse. 

On the whole, the characters in this story are quite difficult to like, and they all suffer from self-absorption. Many of them are also victims of control, manipulation, abandonment, and rejection. There is a lot of sadness, bewilderment and frustration in this story, which makes it a difficult read at times, but there is also love, hope, tenderness, and dark humour that pulls you in and keeps you going through the hard-hitting moments. 

My favourite thing about this book is the way McEwan weaves a really intimate story rife with dysfunction against the backdrop of wider historical events. The periodic references to the incredibly powerful episodes of history occurring in the background are used beautifully to echo and enhance what is happening in Roland's story, and in a wider sense to show how they impact on the attitudes of Roland and everyone around him. Each one evokes the perfect atmosphere and emotion, from early events in Roland's life, such as the Cuban Missile Crisis, through to the fall of the Berlin Wall, and right up to the recent Covid pandemic. I also find myself supremely impressed with the way McEwan uses the theme of 'lessons' throughout, asking questions about what we can learn from our own lives, as well as global events. It is all really rather brilliant.

The writing is a joy to consume, and even with the high toll on your emotions, for a book as a smidge under 500 pages the story absolutely flies by. I easily polished off this novel in a couple of days, and thoroughly enjoyed immersing myself in the work of a master wordsmith. This really is something of a literary epic, and is sure to become a modern classic. 

Lessons is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Jonathan Cape for sending me a hardcover copy of this book in return for an honest review, and to Random Things Tours for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author:

Ian McEwan is a critically acclaimed author of short stories and novels for adults, as well as The Daydreamer, a children's novel illustrated by Anthony Browne. His first published work, a collection of short stories, First Love, Last Rites, won the Somerset Maugham Award. His other award-winning novels are The Child in Time, which won the 1987 Whitbread Novel of the Year Award, and Amsterdam, which won the 1998 Booker Prize.

The Hidden Palace (Daughters Of War Book Two) by Dinah Jefferies

 

The Hidden Palace (Daughters of War Book Two) by Dinah Jefferies.

Published 15th September 2022 by Harper Collins.

From the cover of the book:

An island of secrets. A runaway. And a promise…

A rebellious daughter.

1925. Among the ancient honey-coloured walls of the tiny island of Malta, strangers slip into the shadows and anyone can buy a new name. Rosalie Delacroix flees Paris for a dancer’s job in the bohemian clubs deep in its winding streets.

A sister with a secret.

1944. Running from the brutality of war in France, Florence Baudin faces a new life. But her estranged mother makes a desperate request: to find her vanished sister, who went missing years before.

A rift over generations.

Betrayals and secrets, lies and silence hang between the sisters. A faded last letter from Rosalie is Florence’s only clue, the war an immovable barrier – and time is running out…

***********

1944: Florence Baudin arrives in England with Jack, the SOE agent who helped her to escape from the dangers of war-torn France. She settles down in Jack's Devonshire cottage, unsure of their relationship, troubled by the fate of her sisters back in France, and feeling anxious about the reunion that awaits with her mother Claudette.

When she finally meets her mother some uncomfortable truths are confronted. Although their relationship is still very difficult, Florence promises to help her mother tie up some loose ends of her own by going in search of her missing sister Rosalie, who Claudette has not seen since she ran away from home in 1923.

1923: Rosalie Delacroix flees Paris and arrives in Malta to live the life of a dancer in a back-street club, but life here for a single woman is not quite as easy as she thought it would be. Despite the beautiful surroundings, there are dangers that lurk deep in Malta's charming winding streets.

With only a faded letter to go on, Florence and Jack embark on a new adventure among the battered ruins of post-war Malta to find out what happened to Rosalie all those years ago...

The story is told in two timelines through the narrative of Florence from her return to England in 1944, and Rosalie's account of her life from her arrival in Malta in 1923, which flip back and forth until the threads of their stories collide in post-war Mdina.

I have not read the first book in this series, Daughters of War, which tells the tale of Florence and her sisters, and this did make it a little difficult to navigate Florence and Jack's side of the story at times, because so much of what happens here harks back to events in the previous book - so this is one where I do recommend you read book one first to get the most out of the 1943 onwards thread of the novel. However, Rosalie's tale is self-contained, so if you are happy to take the references to Florence and Jack's adventures without the depth of their back story, then you can read this as a standalone.

Florence and Jack's side of the tale mainly paints them as solvers of the mystery of Rosalie's disappearance, making it rather less captivating than Rosalie's, although Jefferies does a good job of using their return from France to explore the attitudes and conditions in England at the end of WWII, and the sections in Sicily when they gradually come to terms with what they mean to each other are enchanting.

For me, it is Rosalie's tale that has most of the romance, intrigue and menace from the way Jefferies immerses you completely in the bustling life of 1920's Malta and beyond. There is such a wonderful feeling of time and place that makes the most of the bohemian vibe around the dancing clubs and back street life of Valetta, and this contrasts beautifully with the ancient atmosphere and traditional attitudes of the older parts of the island. Rosalie herself is an intriguing character, and although she does make questionable decisions along the way, I loved her firebrand personality and determination to fight against injustice towards women, which comes through more and more as the years pass. It was fascinating to read so much detail about a location that held out against the Axis powers so bravely too.

As Florence and Rosalie's stories unfold, Jefferies cleverly echoes engaging themes between them, especially when touching on past trauma, difficult family relationships, and the rights of women. I also really enjoyed the slow-burn suspense as their story-lines come together and head off into heart-warming reconciliation country, while also leaving some threads to hook you into the next Daughters of War book.

If you enjoy evocative stories that use historical timelines well, particularly when it comes to the female characters, then The Hidden Palace is sure to please. 

The Hidden Palace is available to buy now in paperback, ebook, and audio formats.

Thank you to Harper Collins for ending me a proof of this book in return for an honest review, and to Random Things Tours for inviting me to take part in this blog tour.

About the author:

Dinah was born in Malaysia and moved to England at the age of nine.

As a teenager she missed the heat of Malaysia, which left her with a kind of restlessness that led to quite an unusual life. She studied Fashion Design and went to live in Tuscany where she worked as an au-pair for an Italian countess. There was even a time when Dinah lived with a rock band in a ‘hippie’ commune in Suffolk.

Although Dinah and her husband spent five wonderful years living in a small 16th Century village in Northern Andalusia, she's happy to say they now live close to her family in Gloucestershire along with two crazy Maine Coon cats.

All That's Left Unsaid by Tracey Lien

 

All That's Left Unsaid by Tracey Lien.

Published 15th September 2022 by HQ.

From the cover of the book:

They claim they saw nothing. She knows they’re lying.

1996 – Cabramatta, Sydney

‘Just let him go.’

Those are words Ky Tran will forever regret. The words she spoke when her parents called to ask if they should let her younger brother Denny out to celebrate his high school graduation with friends. That night, Denny – optimistic, guileless Denny – is brutally murdered inside a busy restaurant in the Sydney suburb of Cabramatta, a refugee enclave facing violent crime, and an indifferent police force.

Returning home for the funeral, Ky learns that the police are stumped by her brother’s case. Even though several people were present at Denny’s murder, each bystander claims to have seen nothing, and they are all staying silent.

Determined to uncover the truth, Ky tracks down and questions the witnesses herself. But what she learns goes beyond what happened that fateful night. The silence has always been there, threaded through the generations, and Ky begins to expose the complex traumas weighing on those present the night Denny died. As she peels back the layers of the place that shaped her, she must confront more than the reasons her brother is dead. And once those truths have finally been spoken, how can any of them move on?

***********

1996: Cabramatta, Sydney. When Ky Tran's parents ask her if they should allow her younger brother Denny go out with his friends for a meal to celebrate his high school graduation, she could not have foreseen what her simple response of ‘Just let him go.’ would mean for them all. For somehow, during a quiet meal at restaurant in central Cabramatta, Denny is brutally murdered.

When Ky returns home for Denny's funeral, she is crippled by the guilt she feels about her part in putting Denny in the path of danger, but seeing her parents shell-shocked and unable to engage with the reality of this situation drives her to action. The police seem indifferent to the fact that none of the witnesses admit to having seem what happened to Denny, and assume that he was just another victim of the gang and drug problems that plague this Vietnamese enclave of Sydney. 

But Ky is sure her brother was a hard-working boy who would never involve himself in anything illegal... isn't she? Determined to uncover the truth, Ky hunts down the witnesses for herself, convinced that her Vietnamese heritage will be enough to loosen tongues. What she discovers goes way beyond the events of a single night, delving deep into the silence of a community that carries the weight of loss and disaffection with the country that was supposed to be their new home. 

All That's Left Unsaid is a powerful and affecting novel that explores how a shocking incident can set in motion a chain of events that exposes the rawness at the heart of a grieving refugee family, and the wider community in which they live. The story is set during the heroin epidemic that affected Cabramatta in the 1990s, which particularly hit hard upon the young members of the Vietnamese families who had settled there, and begins with the arrival home of a young Vietnamese-Australian woman to attend the funeral of her brutally murdered younger brother.

Ky is carrying with her the guilt of her believed complicity in her brother's death, and is overwhelmed by his loss, but her sorrow is soon transformed into anger by the seeming disinterest of her parents to find out who was responsible, the inability of the police to make headway by design or incompetence, and the inexplicable silence of the people who were present while her brother was beaten to death.

As Ky tracks down the principal witnesses, we hear them talk about the lives they live, the way their family life and heritage has shaped them, and their reasons for keeping what they know to themselves. It is a slow burn story that unfurls ever so gradually, and as we learn the truth about so many aspects of this troubled community, we also begin to understand the part played by the dynamics of Ky's own family, and the significance of a person from their past.

Lien's choice of characters is nothing short of genius. They cut across a range of ages, from the oldest members of the community who remember well the lives they left behind and what they went through to settle in a new country, to the very youngest who are going through the kind of upbringing that Ky and her brother experienced. Lien uses their stories beautifully to make us see the things that have changed over the years, and those which have remained the same, on an intimate level and in a wider sense. I cannot convey quite how brilliantly this works in a brief review, but I am mightily impressed with how she makes you consider every angle of their relationships, the impact of their cultural heritage, and the many contradictions that make up their identities. This is not a book that clumps people together into an amorphous mass that can be easily stereotyped, instead it lays bare their differences.

As debuts go, this is astonishingly good. It combines an unconventional murder mystery with a complex family tale, and offers sharp insight into the pressures from within and without on migrant communities. It is unflinching, bringing you up sharp with tough descriptions of trauma, heartbreak, deprivation, discrimination, and loss, which are difficult to read. But it also has golden moments that make you feel the sincere emotions that flow when the words which have been unsaid for so long are finally spoken, allowing barriers to be overcome. It is spellbinding! 

All That's Left Unsaid is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to HQ for sending me a hardcover copy of this book in return for an honest review, and for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author:

Tracey Lien was born and raised in southwestern Sydney, Australia. She earned her MFA at the University of Kansas and was previously a reporter for the Los Angeles Times. She lives in Brooklyn, New York. ALL THAT'S LEFT UNSAID is her first novel.

The Mensch (Alex Cohen Book Seven) by Leopold Borstinski

 

The Mensch (Alex Cohen Book Seven) by Leopold Borstinski

Published 12th August 2022 by Sobriety Press.

From the cover of the book:

How can a crooked man ever go straight?

Jewish gangster, Alex Cohen settles down in Florida surrounded by his wife and family. But his past life in the criminal underworld stalks his every move and when a bullet whizzes past his ear, he must decide whether to run or fight.

In his desire to go straight, Alex inserts himself in the East Coast porn film industry, only to find that the tentacles of the mob are clasped tight around his life. With the Feds using new laws to hunt down mob bosses, and rats in his own organization all too ready to testify against him, Alex must clean house before the authorities throw him in jail or the mob kills him to stop him ratting them out.

The seventh book in the Alex Cohen series is an historical thriller novel, which reveals the dying embers of Jewish organized crime in America. Leopold Borstinski's crime fiction shines a light on the death of the old-style mob in an explosive finale.

***********

Alex Cohen has spent his whole life on the wrong side of the law. Instrumental in many of the criminal activities of Jewish organised crime in the 20th century, it is now time for him to settle into retirement with his wife and family...almost. As Alex finally begins to divest himself of the remaining illegal operations that have sustained his empire, he needs a new income and somehow finds himself a producer for the porn film industry, which although not strictly legal is definitely lucrative. 

But Alex's worries are not yet over. The Feds are on still on the trail of the mobsters that have so far evaded their clutches, and the powers invested in them under the new RICO Act have Alex worried that any links to his past crimes might come back to haunt him and his family. If that was not enough, his so called friends in the Italian mafia see him as threat to their own safety, should he be forced into a corner by the Feds.

It is time for Alex to tie up those loose ends...

Welcome to the final instalment of the Alex Cohen books, which have taken us through Alex's long career as a Jewish mobster from 1915 all the way to the 1970s. Alex is now an old man, and the time has come for him to reluctantly remove himself from the last remaining parts of his criminal operations and settle down to retirement as a respectable business man. It does take him a while here to finally get himself out of his Las Vegas interests, causing him a bit of trouble with his longstanding lieutenants, and his supposedly new business venture turns out to be a bit more in the legal grey area that he intended which is quite amusing.

However, things do seem to be going in the right direction, until once again he finds himself squeezed between the less than friendly attentions of the Feds on one side, and his former mobster pals on the other. His looked forward to retirement will have to be delayed for a while as he goes on the offensive, drawing on the skills which made his name over the years to ensure he and his family are safe. Borstinski uses Alex's unexpected predicament to good effect, with scenes that hark back to Alex's murderous heyday, reminding you exactly how ruthless he can be. 

Unfortunately this is not the only area where Alex falls back into his old ways, as he indulges his old habit of infidelity, which actually made me rather disappointed with him after all his professions of undying love for his ex-wife Sarah in the last couple of books. I have to admit that while all the gun-slinging action was very entertaining here, this rather overshadowed things a bit for me, although I can see why Borstinski used this thread of the overall story to build up the picture of mounting intrigue against Alex and tie it to his past.

There are some nice touches to anchor this book in terms of time and place, many of them well employed to enhance the impression that this is the end of an era. Mentions of the Vietnam War, the Watergate Scandal, and Zionism, are all used very cleverly, and Borstinski makes you aware of the impact of the passage of time with references to Alex's own part in significant historical events during his lifetime.

There is the feel of a bloody reckoning here that I very much enjoyed, rounding things off nicely with a bang, and the threads that have run throughout the series are tied off in a satisfying way. Ultimately, Alex remains true to himself in the end, and there is a pleasing sense of irony to Borstinski's choice of title for Alex's concluding adventure in The Mensch - meaning a person of integrity of honour. Perhaps his honour is more of the nature of that among thieves, but it drives him to the very end.

It has been a real pleasure to follow this series, and I have learned so much about not only the Jewish influence on the history of mobsters in the USA, but about the establishment and development of organised crime over a big portion of the 20th century. If you are looking for an unconventional and completely fascinating look at the subject, then this is definitely a series to add to your reading pile.

The Mensch is available to buy now in paperback and ebook.

Thank you to Leopold Borstinski for sending me an ecopy of this book in return for an honest review, and to Zooloo's Book Tours for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author:

Leopold Borstinski is an independent author whose past careers have included financial journalism, business management of financial software companies, consulting and product sales and marketing, as well as teaching.

There is nothing he likes better so he does as much nothing as he possibly can. He has travelled extensively in Europe and the US and has visited Asia on several occasions. Leopold holds a Philosophy degree and tries not to drop it too often.

He lives near London and is married with one wife, one child and no pets.

Double Or Nothing (A Double 0 Novel) by Kim Sherwood

 

Double or Nothing (A Double 0 Novel) by Kim Sherwood.

Published 1st September 2022 by Harper Collins.

From the cover of the book:

James Bond is missing. 007 has been captured, perhaps even killed, by a sinister private military company. His whereabouts are unknown.

Meet the new generation of spies…

Johanna Harwood, 003. Joseph Dryden, 004. Sid Bashir, 009. Together, they represent the very best and brightest of MI6. Skilled, determined and with a licence to kill, they will do anything to protect their country.

The fate of the world rests in their hands…

Tech billionaire Sir Bertram Paradise claims he can reverse the climate crisis and save the planet. But can he really? The new spies must uncover the truth, because the future of humanity hangs in the balance.

Time is running out.

The start of a brand new trilogy following MI6’s agents with a licence to kill, that blows the world of James Bond wide open!

***********

James Bond is missing, after a mission to find those responsible for the dwindling number of double 0 agents goes horribly wrong. No one knows whether he is alive or dead. At MI6, it is time for the new generation of spies, Johanna Harwood 003, Joseph Dryden 004, and Sid Bashir 009, to step up to the plate.

Billionaire Sir Bertram Paradise claims to have developed the technology to turn back the clock on the climate change crisis, but there is something suspicious about the people he surrounds himself with, and it is up to our new spies to get to the truth about Paradise's motives before disaster strikes. Meanwhile, there is a new enemy in the form of a ruthless, secret military organisation that is determined to wipe out the last of MI6's double 0 agents in the field, and they seem to know all their moves almost before they make them. Is there a mole within MI6 itself, and what will it take to catch them?

Harwood, Dryden and Bashir hold the fate of the World in their hands in 007's absence. They may be the best and the brightest that MI6 has to offer, but are they good enough without the support of their mentor? Time will tell, and it is running out fast...

Double or Nothing is the first book in a new trilogy set in the universe of James Bond, following the exploits of a fresh set of agents with a licence to kill, and it has absolutely everything you could possibly want in a novel designed to both preserve the legend of Ian Fleming's notorious spy, and offer you something new and exciting to get your teeth into.

Rather cleverly, Sherwood keeps Bond ever present in spirit in this novel, even though he is physically absent, by including familiar faces from the past, and threading references to his former missions throughout the story, often in the most delicious little name drops and carefully worded phrases that are a delight to spot. The significance of Bond to many of the characters is also used as a brilliant story device to keep him very much part of the story, particular in his role as mentor, and sometimes more, to our new generation of spies. I really enjoyed how this means that Bond's lessons, advice and ethos on life is kept central to what plays out - his voice remains, even if his body is absent.

The new characters of Harwood, Dryden and Bashir are centre stage as they pit their wits against some cracking new villains in the form of a potentially dodgy billionaire with unknown motives, and a sinister organisation with a charismatic madman at the helm whose intent is definitely not good for their health. It is all so beautifully contrived by Sherwood to weave a story that is flooded to the gills with every exhilarating element from the world of Bond that makes his adventures so gripping. There is some lovely depth in our new breed of agents, that builds them into vivid and engaging characters who, in many ways, atone for some of Bond's less admirable traits, and I got so caught up in their individual stories as the threads twisted, turned and crossed over that I found myself completely absorbed from the 'jump right into the action' beginning to the 'make the hairs stand up on the back of your neck' ending.

If you are after intrigue, pace, thrills and spills then these are all here in spades, and at the hands of an author who knows exactly how to use them. I am impressed by the way Sherwood incorporates so many powerful echoes from Bond's past too, while still making this a story that sits well as a contemporary thriller with thoroughly modern protagonists, up-to-date themes, and smart use of state-of-the-art technology. Everything is so cinematic, especially in the way Sherwood uses her glorious locations that I have no doubt it would be fabulous on the big screen - perhaps a direction for the film makers to go while they ponder the future of Bond? My fingers are crossed!

I suspect that this book might not be for everyone among the die-hard original Bond-stories brigade, but for me this does exactly what a new novel in the Bond universe should do, while respecting the immense legacy of Fleming's Bond. I loved every second. I have not read anything this exciting for a long while and I cannot wait to see what Sherwood has up her sleeve for the next instalment.

Double or Nothing is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Harper Collins for sending me a proof of this book in return for an honest review, and to Random Things Tours for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author:

Kim Sherwood is a novelist and a Lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Edinburgh. Her award-winning debut novel Testament was released in 2018, and in 2019, Kim was shortlisted for the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award. A Wild & True Relation, following a crew of smugglers in eighteenth-century Devon, will be published by Virago in 2023. Double or Nothing is the first in a trilogy of Double O novels expanding the James Bond universe.

At the Breakfast Table by Defne Suman

 

At the Breakfast Table by Defne Suman.

Translated by Betsy Gӧksel.

Published 1st September 2022 by Head of Zeus.

From the cover of the book:

Told from four different perspectives, At the Breakfast Table is a story of hidden histories and family secrets, from the author of The Silence of Scheherazade.

Prinkipo Island, Turkey, 2017. In the glow of a late summer morning, family gather for the 100th birthday of the famous artist Sirin Saka. It ought to be a time of fond reminiscence, looking back on a long and fruitful artistic career, on memories spanning almost a century, but also of an era when imperial forces fought over her homeland.

But the deep past is something Sirin has spent a lifetime trying to conceal. Her grandchildren, Nur and Fikret, and great grandchild, Selin, do not know what Sirin is hiding, though they are intimately aware of the secret's psychological consequences. The siblings invite family friend and investigative journalist Burak along to interview Sirin for his weekly column in celebration of her 100th year. They hope he will help unravel the family secrets and persuade her to talk. Sirin's life-long servant, Sadik, is determined to do all he can to protect the artist.

Eventually Sirin begins to express her pain the only way she knows how. She paints the story onto her dining room wall, revealing a history wiped from public consciousness and the cause of her family's anguish that has sat, ruinous, in their subconscious for generations.

***********

Prinkipo Island, Turkey, 2017. A family gather to celebrate the the 100th birthday of famous artist Sirin Saka. In attendance are her granddaughter Nur, Nur's brother Fikret, and Fikret's daughter Celine - and of course, Sirin's life-long servant and friend Sadik, who never leaves her side. They have also invited journalist and family-friend Burak to both share in the quiet celebrations, and record events by interviewing Sirin about her long and eventful life. 

This is a family marked by the weight of things unsaid, and difficult relationships that have been unknowingly fashioned by the secrets that Sirin has kept from them. Almost as soon as the little party gathers, the tension is palpable. Fikret is obsessed with finding out more about his grandmother's family history, and urges Burak to probe her memories for details, but Burak's motives for being there actually relate to his desire to reignite the flame that once burned between him and Nur. Meanwhile, Nur is lonely and reflecting on the gulf that has arisen between her and her absent husband Ufuk as a result of secrets of her own, and young Celine is convinced she is in love with Burak. Sirin herself is mostly consumed by the fog of her memories, and all the while Sadik quietly takes care of them all, observing their actions and keeping what he knows close.

The morning before Sirin's birthday, Fikret goes missing. Over the course of a single day the fall-out of Fikret's disappearance sparks many revelations, and Sirin finally tells the tale of the pain and anguish her family have kept hidden for generations in the only way she knows how - by expressing everything she has kept inside through her artistic talents. 

The story is told through the eyes of Nur, Celine, Burak and Sadik, crafting a many layered story that beautifully combines a family drama full of aching passion, regret and loss, with a sweeping story of that explores how terrible events from history shape the fate of the generations that follow. I am wary of revealing too much here, as so much is laid bare over the course of this tale, but can tell you that Suman works spellbinding magic in the way she spins every single thread of this incredible book, delving into the private thoughts of, and relationships between, the younger characters, while doing the same in parallel with the mystery of Sirin and Sadik's enmeshed past - and all the while dropping clues that eventually force you to confront some of history's worst moments during the fall of the Ottoman Empire. The characters are necessarily complex and it is not easy to like them all, or the behaviours they exhibit. I was not overly fond of Burak, with his arrogant determination to pursue Nur, nor of Celine's immaturity, but they are factors integral to how this story plays out. My favourite of them all was Sadik, with his attention to the needs of everyone around him, especially in the way he protects Sirin, which was very moving.

If you have read Suman's breath-taking English language debut The Silence of Scheherazade then you will already know how she can bring history alive while immersing you in the lives of living-breathing characters that really drive a story. The cast of characters is much smaller and more intimate here, and the feel of the book is rather different in the way it combines contemporary issues with a difficult past, but the scope of the history she touches upon is every bit as fascinating, and emotionally compelling, and something about the contrast between personal dramas that occupy the younger generations and the heart-rending moments that define Sirin and Sadik's story is magical. I loved the way she ties many of the significant episodes of this book to moments around 'the breakfast table', whispers notions of family insanity, and works in a repeated theme of women's talent being overshadowed that is used subtly, but with real impact.

As in The Silence of Scheherazade, this book is translated with impressive skill by Betsy Gӧksel. This is a book in which you experience every intense moment, and at no time do you feel distanced from the characters, their spirit, or the weight of their burdens. There is such poignancy here and it touches you deeply, which is probably the highest praise I can give to the work of a translator. 

This is a powerfully affecting book. It draws you in and gets under your skin, taking you on a journey that stays with you long after your have turned the final page. If you have yet to discover Defne Suman, then you are in for an absolute treat.

At the Breakfast Table is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Head of Zeus for sending me a hardcover copy of this book, in return for an honest review, and to Random Things Tours for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author:

Defne Suman was born in Istanbul and grew up on Prinkipo Island. She gained a Masters in sociology from the Bosphorus University and then worked as a teacher in Thailand and Laos, where she studied Far Eastern philosophy and mystic disciplines. She later continued her studies in Oregon, USA and now lives in Athens with her husband. The Silence of Scheherazade was first published in Turkey and Greece in 2016 and is her English language debut.

About the translator:

Betsy Göksel is an American teacher and translator who has lived in Turkey since the 1960's. Her translations include The Hate Trap by Haluk Şahin as well as several books on art and architecture for the Istanbul Municipality.