Tour and Review : Follow Me Down by Sherri Smith

The Very Pink Notebook is thrilled to be part of the tour for Sherri Smith's psychological thriller Follow Me Down.  With thanks to Philippa Ward at Titan books for involving me in the tour and for an advance copy of the book.

Published by : Titan Books

21 March 2017

Copy : Paperback - Received from Publisher as part of blog tour

The Blurb

THEY SAY ONLY THE GUILTY RUN

Mia never intended to go home again, but has no choice when her twin brother goes missing.  Back to the people she left behind, the person she used to be, and the secrets she thought she'd buried. 

Her brother Lucas, a popular teacher, has disappeared on the same day as the murdered body of one of his students was pulled from the river.  Trying to wrap her head around the rumors of Lucas's affair with the teenager, and unable to reconcile the media's vicious portrayal of Lucas with her own memories of him, Mia is desperate to find another suspect.

All the while, she wonders, if he's innocent, why did he run?

The Very Pink Notebook Review

If you like gritty psychological thrillers combined with the dynamics of messed up families then this is a book for you.  Follow Me Down is a very dark and twisted tale and when I say twisted I mean it, in every possible sense.

The reader is thrown right into the story from the first page, when protagonist Mia, a Chicago based pharmacist, receives a call from the police alerting her to the fact her twin brother Lucas, popular school teacher who still lives in the small minded town they grew up in, is missing.  However, not only is he missing, he is wanted.

Smith has cleverly filtered the story through the mind of Mia, you are in her head and go on the journey of discovery as solely seen through her eyes.  The problem with her eyes is they are often tainted by abuse of prescription drugs and alcohol - unreliable narrator alert.  Obviously Mia is convinced of her brother's innocence, or is she?  Even as an unreliable narrator, the author manages to pass every conceivable idea through Mia's mind, who tries to weigh up the probability of these things happening.  She then starts piecing together parts of the puzzle that is the situation and finds things and people in the small town are not always what they seem.  Slowly, and a little crazily, she starts to form a picture of what was going on right up to the day the body was discovered and her brother went missing. 

As I said, there are so many twists and turns in this book you can get quite dizzy, but that is brilliant because every possibility is really quite feasible and I had absolutely no clue as to where this ride was going to end, and what a well executed ending it was, with all ends tied up, some of them somewhat messily for the characters.

This novel has a host of unlikeable characters and this may be a little controversial, having seen some other reviews, but I actually didn't dislike Mia at all.  I also loved their narcissistic mother Mimi as well.  In fact, in the end I really felt quite sorry for her.

This book has a complex plot that Sherri Smith has managed to deconstruct and deliver in an easy, fast paced and exciting novel.  I would highly recommend it to psychological thriller lovers that like their work on the dark side.

Follow Me Down receives a highly recommend Very Pink Notebook rating of :

Follow The Tour

About The Author

Sherri Smith spends time with her family and two rescue dogs, and restores vintage furniture that would otherwise be destined for the dump.  She lives in Winnipeg, Canada, where the long, cold winters nurture her dark side.  Follow Me Down is her first thriller.

Review : That Girl From Nowhere by Dorothy Koomson

Published by : Century

9 April 2015

Copy : Paperback - Reviewer purchased

The Blurb

Can you have a future without knowing your past?

Clemency Smittson was adopted as a baby and the only connection she has to her birth mother is a cardboard box hand-decorated with butterflies.  Now an adult, Clem moves to Brighton, where she was born, and meets someone who knows all about the butterfly box and what happened to her birth parents.

As the shocking secrets about her adoption and childhood start to unravel, Clem has to decide if the cost of having contact with her first family is a price too high to pay...

The Very Pink Notebook Review

This is the second Dorothy Koomson book I have read and I was glad to find it was as beautifully written and plotted as the first.  The heart of the story is about family, the one Clemency, our young protagonist, has been gifted with via adoption and the discovery of her biological one.  Within this, the author looks closely at the myriad of relationships one has going on in life. 

For Clemency this is the one with her adoptive family; her mother (that provided, for me, quite a source of light humour in what could have been a very intense book), the memory of the one with her beloved late adoptive father and the stressful one with her adoptive uncle, aunt and cousin who can't seem to look past the colour of her skin which has really affected Clem, because she already feels like 'the girl from nowhere'. 

Then of course there is the building of a relationship with her newly discovered birth family, the parents, siblings and grand-mother and all the highs and lows it brings.  Add to this a complicated love-life, including a secret marriage and you have quite an emotional web to untangle. 

Of course, families are notorious for causing the most happiness, but equally can cause the most pain and Clemency soon discovers all families have secrets and her entry into her biological world soon presents her with mysteries to solve and dilemma's to challenge her, particularly as Clemency is a people-pleaser, and she slowly finds herself isolated in who she can talk to about anything which make already complex situations even more complicated.

I found this book very well written and easy to read with a host of colourful and interesting characters.  I also liked the reference to Clemency's childhood, which took me back to my own with a nostalgic recall of longing for pink roller skates or the most up-to-date Girls World.  I also loved the way Koomson made Clemency, almost fanatical, about photographs - proof that she was really with people and in places - proof she does exist.  I thought that was very touching.  

It did take a while to complete as it was quite lengthy.  On occasion I felt a little too much detail was given than strictly necessary, but this would be my only mildly negative comment on the book as a whole.

As such I give this book a well rounded :

  







Review : Distress Signals by Catherine Ryan Howard

Published by : Atlantic Books / Corvus

5 May 2016

Copy : Received from publisher for honest review

 

DID SHE LEAVE OR WAS SHE TAKEN?

 

The Blurb

 

The day Adam Dunne's girlfriend, Sarah, fails to return from a Barcelona business trip, his perfect life begins to fall apart.  Days later, the arrival of her passport and a note that reads 'I'm sorry - S' sets off real alarm bells.  He vows to do whatever it takes to find her.

 

Adam is puzzled when he connects Sarah to a cruise ship called the Celebrate - and to a women, Estelle, who disappeared from the same ship in eerily similar circumstances almost exactly a year before.  To get the answers, Adam must confront some difficult truths about his relationship with Sarah.  He must do things of which he never thought capable.  And he must try to outwit a predator who seems to have found the perfect hunting ground...

 

The Very Pink Notebook Review

 

Catherine Ryan Howard has produced a brilliant, clever and gripping psychological thriller in Distress Signals with a high body count, wealth of unreliable characters and clever use of maritime law to muddy the investigative process to such a level I am pretty sure I will never be boarding a cruise ship in my lifetime. 

 

Hooked from the very first page, where our narrator, Adam, is plunged into the dark depths of the sea I found myself needing to continue to read and discover.  I loved the way this novel was written, mostly in the first person voice of Adam, the long term boyfriend of the missing Sarah but punctuated with the third person narrative, almost as a completely separate story, of both Corrine and Romain.  I knew the three would eventually come together but until they did I could only guess as to how.  All three viewpoints were intriguing and at times heart-wrenching - particularly those of Romain and Corrine.

 

Although there are quite a lot of characters within the story it never got confusing, and they all had a hint of the unreliable in them so I was never quite sure who I should be trusting - is Rose really 'telling all' given she is Sarah's best friend and not Adam's, or does Adam's best friend Moorsey have an ulterior motive given he has recently started dating Rose and everyone says how alike she is to Sarah?  Then of course there is the mysterious Ethan and the staff at the cruise company who are clearly lying... let's just say my detective skills were sent in all sorts of directions and I didn't work out what the end result was going to be which made the finale all the better.

 

Beautifully paced and with a fascinating suggestion of the darker underworld of the cruise industry, Distress Signals is a compelling read that not only looks at the 'who done it' but also the 'why'.

 

A must read and therefore I give it ...

 

Tomorrow - Distress Signals author Catherine Ryan Howard shares a guest post with The Very Pink Notebook.

  

 

 

Review - The Lie by C. L. Taylor

 

Published by : Harper Collins UK

24 April 2015

Copy : Paperback - Reviewer purchased

 

 

The Blurb

 

I know your name's not really Jane Hughes...

 

Jane Hughes has a loving partner, a job in an animal sanctuary and a tiny cottage in rural Wales.  She's happier than she's ever been but her life is a lie.  Jane Hughes does not really exist. 

 

Five years earlier Jane and her then best friends went on holiday but what should have been the trip of a lifetime rapidly descended into a nightmare that claimed the lives of two of the women.

 

Jane has tried to put the past behind her but someone knows the truth about what happened.  Someone who won't stop until they've destroyed Jane and everything she loves...

 

 

The Very Pink Notebook Review

 

 

The concept behind this novel is brilliant and I was looking forward to reading it.  I have to say, it is a very creepy and dark plot, maybe a little too dark for me, but that aside, it certainly had me thinking about it for days afterwards and I couldn't put it down when I was reading it - even if it was with one wary eye!

 

If you don't mind quite graphic, dark underbellies of worlds then this book is for you.  It will make you feel uncomfortable.  I, personally, didn't actually like any of the characters and found it a little hard to understand how the four friends, of whom the bulk of the story is set around, would actually be friends.  They are all very damaged, but this probably was the draw of friendship between them.  It ultimately turns out to be the demise as well.

 

The plot is thrashed out in both past and present tense, which I quite enjoyed.  I don't think I could have taken the intensity of it happening in present tense, so to get a break from what happened on 'the holiday' was always welcome.  I felt the first two thirds of the book were better than the final third when it all seemed to become a bit rushed.  I especially felt this with regard to the ending.  For me, it didn't tie up all of the unanswered questions quite enough.

 

That aside, for the bulk of the book I was gripped and it is certainly worth a read, particularly if you like the darker, grittier type of psychological thriller and as such I give it a very worthy : 

 

 



Review - The Ice Twins by S. K. Tremayne

 

Publisher - Harper Collins

29 January 2015

Copy : Paperback - Reviewer purchased

 

The Blurb

 

I AM KIRSTIE   I AM LYDIA

I LIVED             I DIED

OR DID I?

 

After one of their identical twin daughters, Lydia, dies in an accident, Angus and Sarah Moorcroft move to a remote Scottish island, hoping to mend their shattered lives.  But when their surviving child, Kirstie, claims they have mistaken her identity - that she, in fact, is Lydia - their world comes crashing back down.

 

They know one of their daughters died.  But can they be sure which one?

 

 

The Very Pink Notebook Review

 

This is a wonderfully written, gripping psychological thriller that I would highly recommend. 

 

The Ice Twins, are the two monozygotic identical twin daughters of Sarah and Angus Moorcroft.  Both born with blonde hair and ice blue eyes on the coldest day of the year, the book gets its title from the description the twins grandfather bestows on them - I like when a book title has a direct explanation in the story. 

 

The thing that grabbed me first of all, was how clear the characters were drawn from the very first page.  Written in first person narrative, you are placed inside the head of Sarah, the grieving and shattered mother.  She lives in a fragile, confused state of mind - a women who has seen the broken, lifeless body of her own daughter, held her and watched her die.  Her favourite daughter.  Her mind fractures from one thing to another just trying to get through each day, all the while living with a husband who can barely contain his contempt for her and trying to be a mother to the remaining twin.  The one left behind.  The non-favourite daughter, Kirstie. 

 

Angus, the devastated father, shows his temper is always bubbling beneath the surface and ready to explode at any moment from the outset, something which is not lost on Sarah and contributes to her own edginess greatly.  The reader understands the marriage is fragile, but after what they have been through it is no surprise, however we glean snippets of information throughout the novel that indicate neither partner has been, or is being, completely honest and you start to wonder how deep down the deceit actually goes.  It is quickly established that we do not have reliable narrators with us on this journey.

 

We are quickly whisked from the opening location of London, to the remote Scottish isles.  The imagery and passion with which this location, in which the bulk of the novel is set, is written does not falter throughout and I was thrilled to have actual photographs punctuated throughout the novel - some of them making the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, so eerie some of the plot got.  It was a perfect location to walk hand in hand with the story though.  An island on which they need to rebuild the derelict old house - the place they believe they can equally rebuild a new life, to being the most isolated and wildly desolate and torrid place, which is where they find, in reality, they are in their lives.  Is the task at hand just too big to make work?



 

The twists and turns this story takes are plentiful and each one explained to seem quite plausible.  Not once did I get a sniff of where it was going next and in the end I stopped trying to guess.  I completely flip-flopped from believing they had identified the wrong twin, to not, and found the ways they tried to find out the truth provided a fascinating insight into the unique world of identical twins. 

 

I thought the pacing of the novel was excellent, it opens in the thick of the families emotional distress and we are taken on their journey of recovery, while being given injections frequently of what happened, to bring us to this point.

 

For me, I liked the mixture in the writing.  From the 'theory' of identical twins by the child psychologist, the raw emotion of Sarah and Angus, the general sadness of everyone the tragedy touched and the hints at the supernatural that never failed to send a little shiver up my spine.

 

The very last page made me cry.  And I wasn't expecting that.  I wasn't expecting such a fantastic ending actually, but for me it was perfect and I can ask for nothing more in a book than that.  So, for that reason The Ice Twins get a thoroughly well deserved ...

 

 

 

 

 



Review - The Widow by Fiona Barton

Publisher : Bantam Press

14 January 2016

Copy : Hardback - Reviewer purchased

 

The Blurb

 

Jean Taylor’s life was blissfully ordinary. Nice house, nice husband. Glen was all she’d ever wanted: her Prince Charming.

Until he became that man accused, that monster on the front page. Jean was married to a man everyone thought capable of unimaginable evil.

But now Glen is dead and she’s alone for the first time, free to tell her story on her own terms.

Jean Taylor is going to tell us what she knows.

The Very Pink Notebook Review

This novel has a very strong concept - a happily married couple find life changes beyond all recognition when The Husband, Glen, is accused of the abduction of a little girl, but then Glen dies when he gets hit by a bus and the world wants to know what The Widow, Jean, really knows - and by the world I mean The Reader, of course.

 

The author manages the plot, and develops the suspense of the novel by writing in alternating narrators - all of them extremely unreliable.  The Widow, The Reporter, The Detective, The Mother (of the abducted child) among others, so I was constantly wondering who the hell could be believed.  They were all punctuated with faults and I have to say, my own personal view was, I didn't particularly like any of them, but I think this helped with the general overall whole uncomfortable theme of the book - I don't think a 'nice' character would have served the book well at all.

 

I was never sure what to make of Jean, her thoughts seem scattered and irregular, sometimes she seemed naïve and passive, the product of marrying too young to an over-bearing control freak, but other comments or thoughts seemed to indicate she wasn't as innocent to life as she would have appearances make her.  My one negative thought on the book here, is with regard to the age Jean was pitched at.  She is supposed to be in her forties, but my immediate feeling about her was she was from a much older generation.  Like a house-wife in the 1940's era.  I couldn't get the image out of my head of a dowdy, retired, cardigan / slipper wearing women at the point we find her in this story - if she had been I could have found some of her naivety with regard to some of the issues within the plot much more plausible then.  However, as the story progressed I could see glimpses of why she might be so flip-flopped on her thoughts - prolonged pressure and trauma can do strange things to the mind...

 

Personally I liked how the story pieced-together through both varying narrators and alternating time periods, I thought it was quite clear and didn't ever have to go back and re-read.  I was expecting the pace of the story to be a little faster than what it was, but overall this didn't spoil my enjoyment of the book.  The chapters are quite short and because they varied from narrator to narrator this stopped any chance of it becoming boring.  It was a refreshing way to read a dark thriller, not in the intense place of the head of the main characters, but from the view of those on side-lines.  Those left trying to make sense of it all in the aftermath.

 

One clever thing about the novel is all the characters are quite obsessive about something or another.  It seemed to be a recurring theme throughout and ultimately depicts the darker side of what can happen when obsession takes over and how easily people can be fooled into justifying, unjustifiable actions.

 

When I finished this book I wasn't quite sure how I felt about it.  It wasn't the 'who done it?' I thought it was going to be, it is a dark topic matter, for me there was no likable characters and the ending left me feeling like I wanted to throttle someone, but, it kept me thinking for days and I realised - that is a sign of a good book.  My advice to people who read this book is be prepared for it not to be quite what you think it is going to be. 

 

The Widow, therefore receives ... four pink notebooks :



Review : The Trouble with Goats and Sheep by Joanna Cannon

 Summer 1976

 

 

 

Published by : Harper Collins

28 January 2016

Copy : Hardback - Reviewer purchased

 

The Blurb

 

Summer 1976

 

Mrs Creasy is missing and The Avenue is alive with whispers.  As the summer shimmers endlessly on, ten-year-olds Grace and Tilly decide to take matters into their own hands.

 

But as doors and mouths begin to open and the cul-de-sac starts giving up its secrets, the amateur detectives will find more than they could have imagined...

 

Beware of straying from the flock for fear you'll be left out in the cold.

 

 

The Very Pink Notebook Review

 

 

I wanted to read this book, as I had the pleasure of being at an event Joanna Cannon was the key note speaker at, in which she outlined her journey of writing it, but I have to say for some reason the title of the book did put me off somewhat.  However, once I did pick it up I found it very enjoyable.  I liked the pacey, short narratives that flip-flopped between ten-year-old Grace and Tilly and the adult residents of The Avenue that help unravel the mysteries and secrets of the cul-de-sac all relating to the unusual disappearance of one of the street's residents, Mrs Creasy.

 

I got a sense of warmth and comfort while I was reading, thanks to the vivid descriptions of ordinary suburban life in Britain 1976, as memories of long hot summer days when you did run around unsupervised and were in and out of neighbours houses as a matter of course were piqued with acute accurateness.

 

I liked the characters of Grace and Tilly, I was pleased to see the bulk of the story was to be seen through the eyes of a child - something different - and for the most part I found their actions and exploration very believable, however sometimes I felt their 'knowingness' was a little too advanced for the age of 10. 

 

As the story unfolds you do get an insight into each of the lives of the residents of The Avenue, The Forbes, Eric Lamb, Thin Brian and his mother, Sheila Dakin and I thought the little glimpses into their histories, none of them glowing or without faults, was cleverly weaved throughout and helped strengthen the main plot - if you have secrets and faults of your own to hide, what better way to deflect it than to champion the highlighting of someone else's peculiarities?  If the finger and attention is on someone else it won't be on you and this seems to be the drive behind almost all the residents of the street - with one resident, Walter Bishop, bearing the brunt of the finger pointing.

 

Although I didn't get the sense of sadness throughout the book, the actual crux of the story is quite overwhelmingly sad.  In 1970's Britain it was not acceptable to be different or to stand out, and if you did you would be persecuted, both opening and subtly.  In order to be seen as a good and upstanding member of the community sometimes people could resort to new lows to make sure they seemed like a good citizen and would pick off the weak. 

 

Margaret Creasy, by being a genuinely good citizen finds out the secrets behind all the doors of The Avenue...

 

...And I suggest you read this book to find out if it is to her detriment...

 

 

This book is well worth a read and as such I give it :





Review : I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh

 

A tragic accident. It all happened so quickly. She couldn’t have prevented it. Could she?

 

Published by : Little Brown

Paperback : 7 May 2015

Copy : Reviewer purchased

 

The Blurb

 

In a split second, Jenna Gray’s world is shattered. Her only hope of moving on is to walk away from everything she knows to start afresh. Desperate to escape her past, Jenna moves to a remote cottage on the Welsh coast, but she is haunted by her fears, her grief and her memories of the cruel November night that changed her life for ever.

 

DI Ray Stevens is tasked with seeking justice for a mother who is living every parent’s worst nightmare. Determined to get to the bottom of the case, it begins to consume him as he puts both his professional and personal life on the line.

As Ray and his team seek to uncover the truth, Jenna, slowly, begins to glimpse the potential for happiness in her future. But her past is about to catch up with her, and the consequences will be devastating . . .



 

Did you love Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train?  Now lose yourself in the twisty, enthralling psychological thriller that everyone is talking about.

 

The Very Pink Notebook Review

 

In answer to the above question, yes, I did love Gone Girl and Girl on the Train so there was no doubt about me purchasing a copy of this book once I had picked it up.  I will say, from the outset, this is one of the best books I have ever read (I completed it in two sittings, no mean feat in my house-hold).  

 

I was fully drawn into the story from the opening paragraph.  The description of the accident, the incident central to all the characters, immediately had me welling up, given I have a five year old son of my own, and from that moment I was hooked, my fingers wanting to turn the page faster than my eyes could read.

 

Absorbed into the life of both Jenna Gray, who is a fragile and emotional shell, and DI Ray Stevens, the practical investigator, I was driven along exactly the way the author wanted me to be, so when the twist in the plot happened I actually exclaimed - out loud - I really did not see it coming.  I connected to both Gray and Stevens, impossible not to with such well developed characters, and was easily transported between lives from the sweeping, lonely, wildness of the remote Welsh coast to bustling Bristol. 

 

The book is written in two distinct halves, both equally as enthralling as the other, with a finale pulling absolutely every last string together.  The first and third person narratives I thought worked brilliantly well.  Being placed in the head of a character can be quite intense, so to change to a third person was sometimes a relief, as was the secondary plots of DI Stevens.  The alternating voices (chapters) helped move the plot along at speed, so much so I often found my breathing rate had increased, and I loved the very clear time milestones weaved into the narrative.

The book's title, I Let You Go, I thought was going to be connected to just one person, but by the end I could see how it was important for several characters, for various reasons and in different ways.

 

Given the complexity of the plot, Clare has managed to write a novel that feels effortless to read through great characters, just the right amount of description, wonderful dialogue and killer twists.

 

I can not recommend this book highly enough and as such have rated it as five pink notebooks :

 

Also to come this week : An evening with Clare Mackintosh and a Giveaway Event!

  

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 



Review : You Sent Me a Letter by Lucy Dawson

 

Published by : Corvus Books

3 March 2016

Copy : Paperback - Received from publisher

 

The Blurb

At 2 a.m. on the morning of her fortieth birthday, Sophie wakes to find an intruder in her bedroom.  The stranger hands Sophie a letter and issues a threat: open the letter at her party that evening, in front of gathered family and friends, at precisely 8 p.m., or those she loves will be in grave danger.

What can the letter possibly contain?

This will be no ordinary party; Sophie is not the only person keeping a secret about the evening ahead.  When the clock strikes eight, the course of several people's lives will be altered forever.

The Very Pink Notebook Review

 

 

This was the first book I have read by Lucy Dawson and most certainly will not be the last.  This novel has the most fantastic opening chapter, if you want a story that hits the ground running you will not be disappointed.  Lucy Dawson manages to continue the fast paced action throughout, which considering the span of time the bulk of the book covers - less than a day - is quite impressive.

 

I was immediately absorbed into protagonist Sophie's mind, and could feel my own stomach tensing with the choices she was faced with.  I could feel her fear and frustrations, the psychic distance being quite close throughout, so it was an intense read but one I could not put down.  I did guess fairly early on who 'the client' was, although twice I did waiver and think 'oh maybe I am wrong...' so although I was proved right in the end, it did not spoil my enjoyment of the book at all. 

 

The plot does not really have any secondary stories running alongside it, but because of the short amount of time it covers it does not need it.  Even though I knew all was not well, I couldn't help but really wish that it was and that all the preparations and lead up for the party could be enjoyable for Sophie.  I got on well with the characters and the relationship between Sophie and her sisters and mother did, quite literally, make me laugh out loud on occasion.  Sophie, I felt, was very relatable, she makes a terrible decision yet I didn't dislike her for it.  However, I could understand why it came back round to haunt her so terribly.

 

This is a gripping psychological thriller, but in the end actually has a very basic, fundamental message; if you make a decision to do something you know is wrong then you must be prepared to live with the consequences.  I thought the ending to this book was fitting and felt content as I closed the back page.

 

Overall I love this book and highly recommend it.  But, be warned : You won't want to put it down!

 

Therefore I give this book.. five pink notebooks

 

 

I was very kindly sent an advance copy of this book by Corvus Books and in turn have provided an honest review.

 

 

 

Review : Try Not to Breathe by Holly Seddon

 

You won't be able to put it down.

Just remember to breathe.

 



Published by : Corvus

7 January 2016

Copy : Hardback - Reviewer purchased

 

The Blurb

 

Alex is sinking. Slowly but surely, she's cut herself off from everything but her one true love drink. Until she's forced to write a piece about a coma ward, where she meets Amy. Amy is lost. When she was fifteen, she was attacked and left for dead in a park not far from her house. Her attacker was never found. Since then, she has drifted in a lonely, timeless place. She's as good as dead, but not even her doctors are sure how much she understands. Alex and Amy grew up in the same suburbs, played the same music, flirted with the same boys. And as Alex begins to investigate the attack, she opens the door to the same danger that has left Amy in a coma...

 

 

The Very Pink Notebook Review

 

 

I found this debut novel from Holly Seddon a thoroughly enjoyable read.  The writing flows easily and on the whole I liked the pacing of the story.  The narration is split (chapter by chapter) between Alex and Amy and the story of 'what happened to Amy' reveals itself in both present and past tense accounts. 

 

I guessed 'who done it' quite early on and from speaking to other friends who have read it, so did they, however, we all agreed that did not spoil the book, as the 'guess who?' element is only part of the plot, rather than the all. 

 

For me, I was just as intrigued and interested, if not more, in Alex's character than what happened to Amy.  I would happily read a whole novel about the life of Alex, I wanted to know more about her history - Holly I need a prequel!  I thought the way Alex's alcohol addiction was depicted, so measured and accepted, was sad but quite fascinating.  Alex has lost control of her own life, her health is suffering, she seems incapable of helping herself, yet when she meets Amy, locked in a coma and unable to fight for herself, Alex discovers the determination to try and help Amy which makes you realise maybe Alex hasn't given up after all. 

 

The story looks at the devastation and subsequent aftermath a tragedy will bring.  From how Amy's parents cope, to her boyfriend at the time - Jacob - and his search for closure, and the friends who were left behind, some scratching their head wondering if they ever really knew Amy and some feeling guilty for knowing too much.

 

Overall, I found this book to be well researched, structured and thought-provoking.  Being a teenager in the 90's myself I loved all the nostalgic references to music and trends and the closing chapter moved me no end.  I felt well and truly satisfied as I closed the book, no mean feat!

 

A great debut novel, and I am looking forward to reading more from Holly Seddon.

 

As such, I give this book... four pink notebooks :

 

 

 

 







Review : The Tea Planter's Wife by Dinah Jefferies

Two newlyweds : practically strangers,
deeply in love,
and each hiding a secret from the other...

Published by : Penguin
3 September 2015
Copy : Paperback - reviewer purchased

 

The Blurb

 

Nineteen-year-old Gwendolyn Hooper steps off a steamship in Ceylon eager to begin her new life as a married women.  But the husband who greets her is distant, secretive and brooding.  Laurence is forever away working, leaving his young English bride to explore the vast tea plantation alone.  Wandering into forbidden places, Gwen finds locked doors, trunks filled with dusty dresses, a tiny overgrown grave - clues to a hidden, unspeakable past.

 

Gwen soon falls pregnant and her husband is overjoyed, but in the delivery room she is faced with a terrible choice - one she must hide from Laurence at all costs.  When the time comes to reveal the truth, how will he ever forgive what she has done? 

 

 

The Very Pink Notebook Review

 

The Tea Planter's Wife is the first of Dinah Jefferies books I have read and it will not be the last.  The opening chapter had me intrigued and from the very first page I found the writing so vivid with description I felt transported into the very room in which the scene was set.  This, I found, would continue throughout the entirety of the novel.



 

Set in Ceylon, we are given a beautiful array of colour and smells to indulge in and Jefferies research is second to none. Through elegant storytelling, the reader is swept back to the 1920's and placed inside the head of Gwendolyn, young, newly-wed and very much in love with both her husband, Lawrence, and the idea she has of being a perfect wife and mother.  Over the course of the novel, which stretches over nine years, we watch a naïve and innocent young soul turn into an adult, to the harsh realisation that life very rarely turns out the way we plan it.

 

Witness to much cultural unrest in Ceylon in general and within the tea business they own themselves, Gwen is stubbornly set against many of the attitudes she comes across.  She often takes a stand against the wishes of Nick McGregor, her husbands right hand man, when it comes to the labourers who work on the land.  These incidents, for me, seemed to be markers to indicate Gwen's growing confidence in herself and who she is within the house-hold. 

 

Although the setting and the tea plantation is important to the story, the juicy part of the plot is what happens within the house-hold.  What has gone on in the past - Lawrence's secret - and what goes on once Gwen herself arrives.  Secrets, deeply personal and tragic for both characters, lie bubbling underneath the surface and ultimately prove too big to keep hidden.  I was kept enthralled right up to the very last chapter as the discoveries were made, and deeply moved by how the plot unfolded.

 

Alongside the main story I enjoyed the sub-plots and colourful secondary characters.  I felt each one was well developed and necessary to help the character of Gwen blossom.  From the way cousin Fran helped you understand a little of Gwen's fun side, to the obnoxious nature of her sister in law, Verity, forcing Gwen to 'man up' and the flirty American Caroline who makes no secret of the fact she once believed she should have been the tea planters wife, I found them all quite fascinating.

 

All in all I love this novel.  Although the themes of the story are sad, the setting being so lush and vivid stops it being dark and depressing.  It moves along at a good pace and I found I did not want to put it down.  I didn't want to leave the colourful scenes and intriguing plot and characters (as such I read this book in two days).

 

Dinah Jefferies has skilfully created a wonderful work here and I whole heartedly recommend this book.  As such it receives five pink notebooks :