Bryony Pearce – Little Rumours

Bryony Pearce – Little Rumours

Exton Cross is the perfect small town to go unnoticed. At least that was what Kelly hoped for when she and her son Joe moved there. But when little Mia, a friend of Joe, vanishes from the playground, her past is threatened to be revealed. While Kelly is still worried about what might have happened, Aleema, Mia’s mother, fears for the worst. She never wanted to leave Manchester in the first place, but with her mother-in-law ill, they thought it was the best. And now her daughter is missing. Naomi on the contrast, has always lived there, she knows everything about everybody – at least she thinks so. Even though she is worried about the girl, she is also eager to protect her neighbourhood from foreigners and her lifelong friend who recently moved back will help her.

Bryony Pearce’s psychological thriller incorporates everything I hate about rural or small town life: your neighbours not only eye every step you take and nothing remains private. Gossip is part of everyday life and everybody knows everything about each other. As a newcomer, you will never fit in, the ranks are closed and the locals will speculate and spread rumours without hesitation, especially if you differ. The story is told alternatingly from the three women’s point of view thus illustrating how their “Little Rumours” come to life, are spread and what they do to those they affect.

I totally adored the thriller. First of all, the mystery about the vanished girl is not easy to solve, even though at some point, characters tend to become suspicious, there are several leads all likewise probable. Second, I love to hate those small town characters like Naomi, limited in their world-view they spring at anything unknown and believe themselves right in any respect not perceiving what harm they cause. Third, the female characters could hardly differ more. They are well portrayed, each unique in their struggles and fears and thus, it is easy to follow their line of thoughts. You quickly come to form an opinion about the characters and then, while reading, you have to modify your views since they are more complex than you gave them credit for in the first place.

A suspenseful thriller with some unexpected twists and a modern day witch hunt of the evilest type.

Keiran Goddard – Hourglass

Keiran Goddard – Hourglass

An hourglass is an interesting piece to tell you the time. You can see how much time has passed and how much time is left. The past, the present and the future are shown at the same moment. Yet, you cannot know if the amount of sand that is still in the upper part will actually be there for you, maybe the hourglass is turned before it runs out and thus, the past comes back. The hourglass is concrete, on the one hand; on the other, it is the incorporation of time itself, never-ending and thus, volatile. For humans, life is a race against the clock. The sand is slowly tripping and just by looking in the mirror, we can see that another day, another week, another year has passed without us noticing.

In Kieran Goddard’s debut novel “Hourglass”, a man is pondering about love. The whole novel is a stream of consciousness addressed to the man he loved in the past and whom he will love forever. They only had a brief time together and their love has no future. It is like sand, that cannot be stopped from falling from one glass into the other, it is just running through the narrator’s fingers. He can feel it and yet not stop it from vanishing.

There is not real plot, it is a meditation on life, a yearning for love, the longing for bonding with other people which never works. A dense and focussed narration just like looking through a keyhole and observing an extract of life.

Despite the poetic language and strong dark emotion, the novel did not really touch me. Maybe it was the lack of actual plot that I missed, somehow the text seems to be more like an extended poem rather than a novella.

Erin Bartels – The Girl Who Could Breathe Under Water

Erin Bartels – The Girl Who Could Breathe Under Water

Novelist Kendra Bennan’s first book That Summer, which was based on her childhood experiences at her grandfather’s cabin on Hidden Lake, was a great success. Yet, the writing for the second does not really advance. The reason is an anonymous letter she got accusing her of not having told the truth in her first novel. Yet, she did write what and how she remembered it all. She returns to the cabin in order to find the necessary calm. However, her plan does not really work, her thoughts centre around the anonymous writer and of course around her childhood friend Cami who has been missing for some time. Only Cami’s brother and their parents are there and Andreas, her German translator, who unexpectedly turned up and moves in with her. Weeks full of tension, of things unsaid that now come to the surface and change Kendra’s view on much more than just that summer.

It is the first book that I read by Erin Bartels, an award winning novelist whom, regrettably, I haven’t noticed before. “The Girl Who Could Breathe Under Water” is a kind of coming-of-age story, it is a mystery and it is a reflection on the connection between fact and fiction, on how much of a writer’s experiences can be found in his writing and to what extent they are allowed to exploit their real life for their work – and the people around them who might recognise themselves or be recognised by others.

“I was lying to myself about why I decided to finally return to Hidden Lake. Which makes perfect sense in hindsight. After all, novelists are liars.”

After the disturbing letter which she simply cannot ignore, Kendra returns to the cabin where she spent her summers, the only time she was carefree. Finishing the novel that is due plays a role but much more importantly for her is finding out what happened that summer of which she has disturbing memories she hasn’t ever been able to overcome. By confronting Cami’s brother, she hopes to elucidate the events. Soon, she has to comprehend that reality is a lot more complex and people have much more complicated and contradictory feelings than she had anticipated. That a lot of secrets are also connected to that place does not make it easier to untangle it all.

“ ’Writing is about making sense of the human condition,’ he said. ‘It’s about communicating truth, which is useful and helpful to people on a far more elemental level than a lot of stuff we think of as necessary to life.’ ”

Apart from the questions of what happened that summer, of how different characters remember the events and of what has brought this strange character of the translator – of whose intentions I was suspicious all the time – to that place, the novel is strongest when it comes to the relationship between fact and fiction. I think it is quite natural that creativity avails itself of experiences, yet, to what extent should a writer actively make use of his or her real life? Changing names and places does not always alter people beyond recognition, so don’t they have the right of their own story? Slowly, this issue becomes more and more crucial to the plot.

Wonderfully written, suspenseful not to the extent of a mystery novel but surely to keep you reading, a great read that I thoroughly enjoyed, first and foremost because it made me ponder a lot even after closing it.

Nicole Trope – The Mother’s Fault

Nicole Trope – The Mother’s Fault

Even though Beverly is rather young for a mother, she has done the best in raising her son Riley the past eight years. Partners have been in the picture but whenever they got too close, she withdrew in her cocoon. But now, Ethan does not seem to accept her decision and by sending expensive toys tries to win Riley’s favour. However, Beverly is mistaken, the anonymous presents are from somebody else, somebody who has been searching her and who is watching her now, waiting for the best moment to strike. Somebody who knows her past and above all, the secret she has successfully hidden for years. Finally, her luck seems to come to an end and she is not only threatened to be exposed but also to lose the most precious thing of her life: her son.

Nicole Trope has wonderfully plotted the action in her thriller so that the reader is immediately gripped. By alternating the chapters’ focus, we are presented with different points of view that fuel speculation about who is this unnamed observer, what is this person up to and, first and foremost, what is Beverly hiding? I totally adored hypothesising about these questions, running in the wrong directions while the conflict slowly unfolds and heads towards a climax.

Beverly is a character you are fond of instantly. She is a lot younger than the other mothers and feels inferior not only due to her age but also senses that she needs to do better than the fellow moms to avoid being looked down on. Being a single parent is hard enough, for her, the pressure put on her from the outside makes it even harder. She only wants the best for Riley and is willing to put her personal luck second which is quite a compassionate attitude. That she becomes the focus of a villain seems unfair even though you are aware from the beginning that she, too, has some secrets which might be rather nasty.

A brilliantly crafted psychological thriller with some unexpected turns that kept me riveted from the beginning to the end.

Carissa Ann Lynch – Whisper Island

Carissa Ann Lynch – Whisper Island

Riley, Sammy, Mia and Scarlett are art students at Monroe and working on projects together when one day, Sammy suggests a trip to Whisper Island, Alaska, where they could spend their holidays for free and profit from its remoteness and special surroundings for their artwork. Even though the others are not too keen on spending summer in the cold north, they agree and see it as an adventure. When they are on their way, Sammy announces that her brother Rob would join them, not just does she thus destroy the girls trip, but especially Mia is angry, her best friend should know that after their breakup, the wounds that Rob had caused never really healed. When they finally arrive, it is not just Rob but also his new girlfriend Opal awaiting them in a run-down house. But not only their lodging is a disappointment, also their boat to travel to the next town is out of order and then their whole trip turns into a nightmare when they realise that they are obviously not alone on the island since a murderer is on the loose killing one after the other.

Carissa Ann Lynch has chosen a classic locked-room setting which strongly reminded me of Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None”. Even though the students are not total strangers, they evidently know much less from each other than they thought before their departure. The story is narrated alternatingly from the points of view of the characters thus providing insight in their hidden thoughts and offering the reader, on the hand, clues to what could be behind all this murdering but, on the other hand, also a lot of red herrings which keeps suspense high.

The present events on the island are surely the main focus of the plot, however, the girls’ past, the things they hide from the others – and astonishingly, each of them has quite a story to offer – are much more interesting to unravel. Sammy soon hints at the fact that she did not suggest the trip out of the blue but actually had a good reason to vanish from Memphis and so had her brother. Mia seems to have been in a scandal a couple of years ago which she hopes the others have never heard of but of which the anniversary is close and threatening to make the others a see side of her she prefers to keep hidden. Scarlett struggles with drug abuse and hopes to get sober in the weeks on the island. Riley is new to the group and she is also the one who is quite closed up not giving away too much form herself and her family, so, what does she have to hide?

I liked the atmosphere on the hardly welcoming island which immediately gives you the creeps and fits perfectly to the plot. Speculating about why the six might have been chosen as targets was great fun and finally was revealed and explained. An entertaining and fast-paced mystery following a classic structure.

Kiley Reid – Such a Fun Age

Kiley Reid – Such a Fun Age

Even though she is already 25, Emira Tucker still does not really know which career to follow. Her degree does not really lead to anything and that’s why she is currently doing two jobs: transcribing records and babysitting Briar Chamberlain. Briar’s parents are new to Philadelphia and happy to find somebody to take care of their small daughter. When one Friday evening their house is hit by eggs, Briar’s mother Alix can rely on Emira to leave a friend’s birthday party to come immediately to their home to secure little Briar. When Emira is accused of having kidnapped the girl in the middle of the night, a bystander films how the black babysitter is assaulted. After all is sorted out, Emira only wants to forget about this episode, but it will become a decisive moment in her life.

Sometimes you start a novel and get totally immersed in it and practically read it straight from the beginning to the end. Kiley Reid’s “Such a Fun Age” belongs to this type of story. I got hooked from the first page as she quite casually addresses so many topics worth pondering on while creating suspense and offering also much to laugh about. I am still not sure which perspective the novel should be read under, the feminist or the race or if little Briar with her very special way of making sense of the world is the aspect most worth looking at in depth.

What I liked most was actually to see the vulnerability and lack of confidence that both protagonists share. This is wonderfully transported by the author since she uncovers the gap between the outer image and the feelings from inside. Alix is a highly successful woman who appears to be sure of herself and knowing exactly what she wants and what she is doing. When we enter her thoughts, the picture we get of her is totally different, there is hardly any aspect of her life she doesn’t struggle with. Emira also seems to be content with her jobs, but secretly she envies her friends for their ‘real adult’ jobs and feels like the only one who never actually grew-up. Briar is too young to express true self-awareness, yet, she seems to be aware of the fact that she is different somehow and does not easily bond with others. I really adored her sensuous and intense way of approaching the world surrounding her.

I thoroughly enjoyed the read, especially since it highlights the fact that you can never be too sure that what you see is really how the other person feels.

Wendy Clarke – We Were Sisters

Wendy Clarke – We Were Sisters

Kelly’s childhood was all but easy. Her father was never at home and her mother didn’t care about her at all, her whole focus was on the foster children who came and went off again. When Kelly was eight, she was promised a sister, this time to stay with them forever. Freya, two years her senior, turned out to be a very headstrong and reckless girl who soon took over control and manipulated Kelly’s mum. This is why Kelly was not too sad when she did not return after a stay at a hospital. Yet, a couple of years later, Freya is back, but now, Kelly is older and not the weak girl who puts up with everything anymore. However, all these are stories of the past, by now, Kelly has a loving husband and three wonderful kids. But, when strange things start to happen, Kelly is unsure whether to blame the lack of sleep or if she is reading the signs correctly. Is Freya back? But she saw her die, this cannot be, can it?

Wendy Clarke’s thriller “We were sisters” keeps the reader a long time in the dark. The story is narrated at two periods of time, on the one hand, the adult Kelly who tries to cope with three children and the constant fear that something from the past might endanger her lucky little family; on the other hand, her memories of the past, the disturbed family she grew up in and the encounter with her foster sister Freya. Thus, it takes some time to sort out what happened and to form an idea of what the signs she sees might mean actually. The author, however, has to offer some twists and turns which come quite unexpectedly.

I adore those stories where there is a creepy feeling that there is a threat coming from somewhere without the characters knowing where to look for it. I was really surprised by the ending as it all turns out quite differently from what I had in mind – brilliantly done. Nevertheless, even though it all makes totally sense, I had the impression that it was a bit too much. Also Kelly’s relationship – or rather: non-relationship – with her parents seemed a bit exaggerated to me, just as her feeling of being threatened without a real reason before all the strange things started to happen. Yet, I enjoyed Wendy Clarke’s writing a lot, she certainly knows how to keep you hooked.