March Madness

March madness for me has included revisions on next year’s new publication – this now has a name – hurrah! From Venice With Love…

It has involved writing some articles and short stories – most of these will be published in June to cleverly coincide with the paperback edition of The Lemon Tree Hotel, but one exception was a 4 page spread in YOU magazine in Mail on Sunday a couple of weekends ago about a fifties gap year in a camper-van that I took with my husband Grey (who wasn’t my husband then, so it wasn’t all bad). It just shows that everything can be material – even 10 years later! And it surprised me how much I enjoyed re-visiting this experience 🙂

But my main March mission was researching for a new book… The book is going to be set in Seville, I’ve worked out a storyline but I haven’t started writing it yet (see above ;)). So, we went to Seville to visit the city – which is beautiful – to a nearby organic orange farm called Huerta Ave Maria, to Cordoba, Cadiz, Mazagon and Donana national Park. Yes, it was pretty full on. And HOT, let me tell you.

My main character Holly will be buying organic oranges from the lovely people at the Farm and importing them to Dorset where she will be using them to make Seville Orange marmalade. She will also be buying in neroli fragrances and soaps (fun research!) and orange wine (even more fun research). There are over 40,000 bitter orange trees in Seville and right now many of them are out in flower. The scent is heavenly.

I hope I’ll be able to get some of that heavenly scent into my book when I come to write it. Working title: The Bitter Oranges of Seville.

Head down then…

The Books I Read this Winter (so far…)

I have clearly been far too busy reading and writing to keep up with this blog… (!) So with all this talk of Christmas going on, it seems only fair to share some of the latest reading goodies devoured here during the past few months.

I have clearly been far too busy reading and writing to keep up with this blog… (!) So with all this talk of Christmas going on, it seems only fair to share some of the latest reading goodies devoured here during the past few months.

Starlight on Palace Pier by Tracy Corbett

Tracy’s latest novel is set in Brighton, close to my old stomping ground and this vibrant city certainly comes to life in ‘Starlight’.

After an injury de-rails her dream of becoming a professional dancer, Becca Roberts heads home to Brighton in search of a fresh start and finds herself the position of dance teacher at the run-down and crumbling Starlight Playhouse. On the plus side, her cousin Jodie has recently obtained a managerial post so they can work together, on the minus side (apart from the condition of the place and the sad lack of clients) the playhouse is owned by the mother of her old flame Tom. He won’t be around because he is a London lawyer and high flier… Or will he? It seems that Becca underestimated the challenges that she will have to face at the Starlight Playhouse.

Add in some slapstick and a thought-provoking subject or two, some irrepressible characters and the fact that the course of true love will never run smooth and there you have it. This is another hugely enjoyable read from Tracy Corbett. In Tracy’s books you can guarantee a healthy dose of humour and escapism. The characters are warm and funny, the dialogue sparkles and you know that romance is never far away. This novel is heart-warming and inspiring – a perfect antidote to a rainy day.

 

When I Find You by Emma Curtis

An unusual premis for this one, which was rather far-fetched at times – but equally refreshing and original.

Laura Macguire works in advertising and suffers from ‘face-blindness’ (prosopagnosia). She has strategies for coping with this condition at work and in her private life, but it also leads to difficult situations – none worse than when she leaves the office Christmas party with the wrong man, spends the night with him and in the morning after he has left has no idea of his identity.

So begins a complex domestic noir which explores the issues of sexual consent and human identity. Although I said: “Really?” to the novel/author on more than one occasion, it never failed to be totally gripping. Laura’s quest to find out who tricked and therefore raped her holds the story together, but a sub-plot cleverly interweaves with this until the two stories merge. I confess that I guessed both twists but I still think they were cleverly done and it didn’t spoil my enjoyment of this excellent novel.

 

Temptation to be Happy by Lorenzo Marone

I loved this. The narrator is 72 year-old Cesare Annunziata who considers himself a sociopath and who lives alone in an apartment block in Naples. His adult children Sveva (fierce and unhappily married) and his son Dante (gay and runs an art gallery) live nearby and he has several neighbours with whom he interacts, including The Cat Lady who lives opposite and a young couple nearby. He also has a ‘lady friend’ Rossana, who is a prostitute. The story centres around these (often hilarious) interactions and Cesare’s regrets and observations on his life to date.

Added to this mix of wit, philosophy and wistfulness is another darker story. Cesare discovers that his neighbour Emma is being physically abused by her violent husband. Cesare must break all the rules of a lifetime of not interfering or getting involved with other peoples’ lives in order to help her. But will this be enough? And what about his children and grandson? Can he break down the barriers to which he has always adhered  and become close to them at last?

Lorenzo Marone shows us in this novel that it is never to late to heal our relationships with our nearest and dearest and that we should do all we can to be happy. Highly recommended.

 

He Said/She Said by Erin Kelly

Definitely my kind of book, this is a slow building psychological thriller with some excellent twists and turns. Reading a few reviews, I’m surprised that so many people don’t enjoy the alternating point of view – I really like this narrative device and find it gives me much more of an overall feel of the world being written about, as well as adding intrigue and variety.

On to the book. The text is divided up into parts that correlate to the stages of a total eclipse of the sun. I suppose this acts as a metaphor and the information given was vaguely interesting, but for me it served only to develop the character of Kit. In the end it explains a lot. In 1999, Kit and girlfriend Laura attend an eclipse festival in Cornwall where Laura witnesses a rape. She goes on to befriend the victim, Beth. After testifying at Beth’s trial, Laura and Kit think that it is all over. However, Beth won’t leave them alone. She finds out where they live and stays with them for a while, thoroughly insinuating herself into their lives and making them question whether she was a victim at all. To escape from Beth and the rapist who also seems to be pursuing them, Kit and Laura go off grid, even changing their names in an effort to escape the past.

But of course, you never can (at least in fiction). And as always there is more to the past than we were led to believe. The twist – when it eventually comes – is thoroughly convincing, although also rather depressing. I really enjoyed this book and couldn’t put it down – the slow-burning tension is palpable. It’s clever – but not nice.

 

Without a Word by Kate McQuaile

The story begins well and at a fast pace. Orla and Lillian are chatting on Skype, the doorbell goes, Lillian goes to answer it… and never comes back. It’s a great set up for what is to come, is original and presents the mystery that dominates the story. What happened to Lillian – and is she alive or dead?

Fast forward 10 years and Ned the original detective is re-opening the investigation following a spate of poison pen letters. There is a lot of information about his personal life given – presumably to set up a sub-plot of his relationship with his ex-wife and kids – but this felt a bit overdone to me. Ned just wasn’t interesting enough to warrant so much space. However, the main mystery continues to hold the interest although the characters do seem to behave rather strangely at times.

I really enjoyed McQualie’s writing style which was fluent, readable and nicely conversational. And the tension remained at a good simmer. But unfortunately, I did guess the twists – mainly because there were so few alternatives on offer and other characters’ actions gave too many clues away. Nevertheless, I would still recommend this book and will be reading more by this talented author.

 

The Rest of Me by Katie Marsh

This is my first Katie Marsh read and I found it totally immersing. She is very good at writing about emotions and family life, and what the novel lacks in plot and twists it certainly makes up for in emotional content.

The main narrator is Alex – mother of Jenna and Izzy and wife of Sam. The story opens with Alex donating a kidney to Sam but this incredible act turns out to have consequences she never dreamed of. Instead of bringing them closer together, the family seem to be drifting further apart. Alex’s recovery is slow and painful and she finds that she can no longer be the controlled and organised ‘Supermum’ that she has always been up to this point. Moreover, the current situation is bringing back painful ghosts from the past that she has never fully acknowledged. It is difficult to witness this family unravelling.  Problems pile on top of one another and it seems to be harder than ever for them to reach out to each other and tell the truth about how they feel.

The family relationships and characters are very well drawn in this book and the issues feel recognisable and authentic. Izzy’s voice is convincing – her passion for football, her love for her family, her desperation when things go wrong – all these are handled with great sensitivity. The novel is well-written and – eventually – uplifting. Put simply, it just feels so real…

 

Fatal Inheritance by Rachel Rhys

Ah. This is definitely my kind of story. I was drawn in by recommendations and by that fab cover – so decadent, so alluring… The main character is Eve, married to dull Clifford, trapped in a loveless marriage post-war living a pretty much joyless life where everything (including love) is still rationed. Enter a mysterious letter… Eve has an inheritance and she must go to the South of France to discover the nature of it and the reasons behind it.

This mystery holds the story together well, particularly because it avoids the predictable and the obvious. But the main joy of the book for me was the character of Eve and how she responds when she is thrown into an entirely different life on the French Riviera; a life of pleasure-seeking, sunshine and glamour which is a million miles away from her own experience in England. There is a sense of her becoming her own person at last as she expands her horizons and learns some important lessons about the present and the past – both of which impact on her future.

The setting is well-drawn and seductive. Eve is a character with whom it is easy to empathise and the other characters that populate the novel are nothing less than fascinating. Rachel Rhys’s writing style is fluent and engaging and the book is compelling. I loved it. Highly recommended.

The Books I Read this Summer…

What books did you enjoy reading over this lovely summer? Here is my list:

The Almost Wife by Jade Beer

I was lucky enough to have a preview of this heart-warming story back in the spring and I really enjoyed it. It’s all about the weddings of three brides to be – Jessie, Emily and Dolly – and also Helen, the owner of the bridal boutique from whom they are all getting the dresses of their dreams. So far, so romantic… But the title gives you a clue of the emotional content of this novel and the fact that the book holds a few surprises. One young woman does make it up the aisle – but learns an important lesson along the way – one doesn’t make it at all and one becomes an ‘almost-wife’ – you’ll have to read the book to find out why…

I’ve heard that the latest bookselling trend is towards uplifting novels with humour and heart and if so, this novel fits the bill. It is written with great fluency, warmth and good pace; the characters are well drawn and their voices are convincing. This story has plenty of fizz and sparkle – it will draw you in and keep you hooked. It will appeal to those who love fashion and glamour and romance, but it is thought-provoking too. Behind every wedding-dress is a personal story. And as the shout-line says: Sometimes, love just isn’t enough.

The Cliff House by Amanda Jennings

This story – most of which takes place in 1986 – is crammed with suspense and drama. It concerns two families who couldn’t be more different. On the one hand, we have a Cornish, working-class family struggling to make ends meet – the mother Angie, Granfer and Angie’s two teenagers Tamsyn and Jago. Their father Rob, a volunteer for the RNLA, tragically dies at sea while performing a rescue. This loss has affected the family deeply. Jago feels crushingly aware that he has not fulfilled his promise to look after his mother and sister, Angie is desperately lonely as she struggles to cope and Tamsyn has become obsessed with the Cliff House – the place she used to visit in secret with her father.

The other family are the Davenports from Holland Park, for whom the Cliff House is a holiday retreat. Tamsyn likes to spy on them. They are wealthy, stylish and appear to have it all. But naturally they are not as perfect as they seem. Max is a parent who shuts himself up in his study to write rather than deal with his family’s issues, his wife Eleanor is deeply troubled and alcohol dependent and their daughter Edie is rebellious, bored, disillusioned and vulnerable. Tamsyn befriends Edie, her mother works at the Cliff House as a cleaner and pretty soon the two families are enmeshed in a compelling drama. The story of 1986 is framed by an initially obscure present-day timeline which ultimately reveals what happened next.

I loved the descriptions of the Cornish coastline – the author’s passion for this landscape shines through. The relationships are subtly developed, the characters well-drawn and every voice (the story is told from the viewpoints of Tamsyn, Edie, Jago and Angie) is individual and convincing. Best of all is the unrelenting drama of the storyline – the pace is fast, the tension palpable. The Cliff House is a gripping read. Highly recommended.

 

Darling Blue by Tracy Rees

When you start reading a Tracy Rees novel you know you are going to be wrapped in warmth and come out smiling the other side! It is like the best kind of comforting hug – delicious to all the senses…  So it is with Darling Blue.

The story takes place in the glorious 1920s – one of my favourite periods – and the Camberwell family are fortunate enough to live in a ritzy house in Richmond. There are no money worries. What’s more they all love one another – so what could possibly go wrong..?

At Blue Camberwell’s twenty-first birthday party the troubles begin when her father Kenneth rashly offers her hand in marriage to whoever can capture his daughter’s imagination in a letter. Blue is outraged. What century is her father living in? She is a thoroughly modern young woman with ambitions to be a writer – she has neither the time nor the inclination for romance. Or does she?

Meanwhile, we discover that another member of the family is deeply troubled by a tragedy that has occurred. What could it be? Can she recover from the trauma – or will it somehow once more rear its head and rip this perfect family apart?

Enter Delphine, a young woman of a quite different class who is trying to escape her violent husband. The family take her in (of course) but it may not be possible for Delphine to escape her past quite so easily.

I loved this book. Tracy Rees writes with such a natural fluency and this story is full of warm and wonderful characters who will stay in her readers’ hearts. Darling Blue has a charming fairy-tale quality – it is magical and yet it deals with subjects and troubles of the real world. Delightful!

 

The Man I Think I Know by Mike Gayle

This story is about what you find when you think you have lost everything – and it turns out to be quite a lot. It is also about second chances and friendship. James and Danny are from very different backgrounds but they are both very clever, both have attended one of the most prestigious schools in the UK and both were up for the biggest prize of all – though only one of them can win it… This is the point at which the prologue begins and ends.

We cut to James and then Danny – the book is written in dual viewpoint – at a later point in their lives. One has suffered ABI – acquired brain injury and is very different from the young man he once was, the other has suffered a deep personal tragedy. Against the odds, they become friends and this book is about that friendship.

Mike Gayle is expert at writing about relationships – and he writes about male friendship with his usual skill and sense of authenticity. His writing is full of humour with a conversational and accessible style, but the content is powerful and moving. Writing about a character with ABI could have become mushy but there’s no chance of that. Gayle must have done some good research – because this character is completely convincing and his life and problems are both detailed and insightful.

If you are looking for a book that is realistic and bitter-sweet, uplifting, romantic and poignant, look no further. Highly recommended.

 

Our house by Louise Candlish

Louise Candlish is one of my favourite authors and I’m delighted to say that ‘Our House’ is another joy. The house in question is special. But who does it actually belong to?

Fi Lawson lives in a desirable suburb of London with her two sons. She and her husband Bram have come to a co-parenting agreement which means that they continue to share the house and also a nearby flat when the other parent is in residence with the boys. This modern arrangement seems to be working out – until Fi comes home one day to find someone else moving into her home. It could be anyone’s worst nightmare. Her own things (and those of her family) have disappeared and the couple moving in are filling the house with their own possessions. What’s going on? Is this for real? Is it a crime? Or is she just going crazy?

All these things and more go through her head and provide the narrative tension that propels the story forward. It’s a wonderful premis. The plot gradually unfolds via a document written by Bram – wherever he may be – presented in parallel with Fi’s own ‘story’ of being a victim of house fraud. I didn’t much like either of the main characters and Fi’s new romance always felt rather staged and unreal, but this didn’t matter as there were so many twists and turns in the story I didn’t have time to worry about it. Well-written and as impossible to put down as any of Louise Candlish’s novels, the story fizzes with psychological drama and intrigue – right up to the final and shocking denouement. Highly recommended.

 

What Lies Within by Annabelle Thorpe

Annabelle Thorpe’s second novel is set in Marrakech and she captures the colours, scents, flavours and moods of Morocco brilliantly in this story of ex-pats making a new life in what is almost another world.

It’s not just a question of culture shock. Freya, Paul and Hamad are three close friends who met in Cambridge. It matters not that Hamad’s wealthy lifestyle is so different from theirs. Their friendship goes much deeper – or so they all thought.

Hamad comes up with a plan designed to delight his stylish French girlfriend Racine, whilst simultaneously helping Paul and Freya get their marriage back on track. He purchases three neighbouring houses that form a run down but glorious riad owned by an old and important Moroccan family, impervious to the bad feeling this will create in the community. He presents these to Racine. Paul will be the architect for the new project while Freya will write a biography of Hamad’s eccentric grandmother Dame Edith who also lives in the city.

But things do not turn out quite as he expected. Paul and Freya’s marriage – already fragile – seems to be in a worse state than ever, while the spirits of the riad (jinns) are increasingly unhappy about what is going on within. Someone has a secret. Someone is lying. Someone is being betrayed.

The story is fast-paced with a good balance of description and action. The characters are flawed and authentic. Morocco is depicted as it is – a maze of unknown pathways to be negotiated, a feast to delight the senses, a land of kindness, fascination, deception and intrigue. Holiday noir indeed. Highly recommended.

 

Gentlemen and Players by Joanne Harris

It is not her most recent novel, but Gentlemen and Players is very cleverly structured and is a good example of why Joanne Harris is one of our most successful novelists writing today.

The story is set in and around a traditional boys’ public school where Latin is still taught by a master wearing a dusty black gown whose authority is unchallenged. The master in question is Roy Straitley, who provides one of the two narrative voices in the book. St Oswald’s is his life. His study at home is crammed with framed photographs of ‘his boys’ over the years and he is simply unable to imagine his life at the school ever coming to an end. But he is coming up to retirement age and changes are on their way. With the beginning of a new school year comes an extended Modern Languages Department which threatens to take over Straitley’s domain, a new head and some new teachers – one of whom is determined to destroy St Oswald’s.

This mystery character provides the other viewpoint of the novel. Through a child’s eyes we see a past where St Oswald’s was forbidden and yet highly desirable territory. We see the development of an obsession. We see a youthful tragedy and we hear the story of what happened next – with plenty of surprises along the way. But who will win this battle – which Harris describes and structures like a game of chess? Who will triumph? You will have to read this fascinating novel to find out.