Review : What My Body Remembers by Agnete Friis

Published by : Soho Press, Inc. 

17 May 2017

Copy : Paperback - Received from publisher

The Blurb

Ella Nygaard, 27, has been a ward of the state since she was seven years old, the night her father murdered her mother. She doesn't remember anything about that night or her childhood before it but her body remembers. The PTSD-induced panic attacks she now suffers incapacitate her for hours sometimes days at a time and leave her physically and mentally drained.

After one particularly bad episode lands Ella in a psych ward, she discovers her son, Alex, has been taken from her by the state and placed with a foster family. Driven by desperation, Ella kidnaps Alex and flees to the seaside town in northern Denmark where she was born. Her grandmothers abandoned house is in grave disrepair, but she can live there for free until she can figure out how to convince social services that despite everything, she is the best parent for her child.

But being back in the small town forces Ella to confront the demons of her childhood the monsters her memory has tried so hard to obscure. What really happened that night her mother died? Was her grandmother right was Ella's father unjustly convicted? What other secrets were her parents hiding from each other? If Ella can start to remember, maybe her scars will begin to heal or maybe the truth will put her in even greater danger.  

The Very Pink Notebook Review

The opening to this book was a little different to what I was expecting.  Usually you are given an explosive event or shocking revelation, but this opens with a very simple and frank conversation between two neighbours.  Two females.  It is muted, matter of fact and so completely puts you straight into the tone of the book it is very clever.

So, what is the tone of the book?  Well, to be honest, it is pretty bleak.  Written in first person narrative by protagonist Ella, the reader quickly ascertains that Ella and her son Alex live a pretty poor life, both financially and in quality.  Both Ella and Alex suffer from mental health issues, something Ella fights the state about with vengeance.  Ella's general outlook on life and other people is negative, she trusts in very little, but that is hardly surprising given the traumatic and fragmented up bringing she has endured.  When she moves back to where she grew up, she meets people from her past who seem to know more about her than she does; Thomas, her old school friend who obviously hasn't lost the flame he held for her, Baek-Nielson her grandmothers friend, Barbara who swears she will help her no matter how much she protests.  The author presents them well, I was not sure who could be trusted...

Throughout we are taken on Ella's, reluctant, journey of discovery about what really happened in her childhood, particularly the night her mother died.  What I liked was there was no sudden changes in Ella's attitude, she didn't suddenly become an optimistic fighter, or into money.  She is forced to deal with her own past so that it doesn't affect her son's future, but even so, she does it all seriously dragging her feet and with limited means.

In between the current day scenes with Ella, we are taken back to 1994, the year her father allegedly killed her mother.  Told from the viewpoint of both her father, Helgi, and mother, Anna, the reader learns the couple both had secrets and issues over the course of that year.  Using the three viewpoints the plot comes together well and at a steady pace.  Although I did put two and two together, it did not spoil the book for me and I enjoyed the way the author weaved and pulled all the ends together. 

I loved the characters, they were very real and most importantly relevant to the plot.  At first, I did wonder whether some of the language used was a little too much, but actually considering it now, as I review the novel in it's entirety, no it wasn't.  The book is set to the theme of hardship and with that comes gritty realities that sometimes only profanity can truly help describe.  Although some of the characters and language may seem harsh, the overall emotion I got from them was actually compassion, I particularly thought this of Rosa.

What My Body Remembers, for me, was a different kettle of fish to what I was expecting.  It is written through emotion rather than action.  It's themes ran strong and true from beginning right to end and the characters are really well developed and interesting.

What My Body Remembers receives a Very Pink Notebook Rating of :

 

One Year Blog Anniversary

The Very Pink Notebook is today celebrating one year of reviewing, and what a debut year it has been.  I have been fortunate enough to have been able to find the time to read and subsequently review some absolutely stunning books from debut to long time, well established authors, from light-hearted romance to deep dark psychological thrillers.  Each and every one has been a pleasure.

The most heartening thing for me however, has been finding such a wonderful community, not only in other book bloggers, but from the authors themselves, agents and publishers.  I feel very privileged to have been given the chance to participate in blog tours and early reviews, sometimes finding my quotes in the finished books themselves, which is just thrilling for me.

When I published my first review, The Tea Planter's Wife, exactly one year ago today, I had no idea how much joy I would get from running this blog, fingers crossed, long may it continue. 

So thank you, to everyone who has chatted with me, involved me and retweeted me throughout the last twelve months. 

Review : One Little Mistake by Emma Curtis

Published by : Penguin Random House

23 February 2017

Copy : Paperback - Received from publisher

The Blurb

Vicky Seagrave is blessed: three beautiful children, a successful, doting husband, great friends and a job she loves. She should be perfectly happy.

When she risks everything she holds dear on a whim, there's only person she trusts enough to turn to.

But Vicky is about to learn that one mistake is all it takes; that if you're careless with those you love, you don't deserve to keep them . . .

The Very Pink Notebook Review

The blurb for this book is quite vague so I wasn't at all sure what to expect plot wise from this novel, but boy, it is packed full of story, twists and punchy characters.

Focussing on two women, Vicky and Amber, we follow their journey of consequences following a gargantuan error of judgement on the part of the former.  Vicky then finds herself getting entangled in a thick web of lies and deceit, eventually being left not knowing who she can actually trust.

The writing is very good and the plot is well woven and time-framed, moving along at a steady pace.  We are told the story in both first and third person, dependent on whose viewpoint we are looking at and in between that we are also taken back to the early 1990's, and told the very sad and traumatic history of one of the characters.  Eventually all of these things tie up together at the end for an explosive finale.

The author has done a great job with the characters, they are well developed and, particularly one, complex.  For me an excellent balance of both like and dislike for them has been created and I flip-flopped my sympathy around all over the place.

This is a really good psychological suspense novel from Emma Curtis and I look forward to future reads from her.

One Little Mistake receives a Very Pink Notebook rating of :

One Little Mistake is out in ebook : 23 February 2017 / Paperback 29 June 2017 from all good retailers.

About the Author

Emma Curtis was born in Brighton and brought up in London.  Her fascination with the darker side of domestic life inspired her to write One Little Mistake, her first psychological suspense.  She has two children and lives in Richmond with her husband.

Find her on Twitter : @emmacurtisbooks #OneLittleMistake

Review : 14 Days to Die by A B Whelan

Published by : Motion Capitol

11 January 2016

Copy : Kindle Edition - Reviewer Purchased

The Blurb

Stay-at-home mom Sarah Johnson has the perfect family—a handsome, hardworking husband and two healthy and beautiful children. At least, that’s what she’s been telling herself for years. After the tragedies in her youth, Sarah deemed living a lie easier than dwelling on the past and facing her everyday failures. To avoid any kind of confrontation at home she doesn’t read her husband’s emails or spy on him like most jealous wives do. She wouldn’t jeopardize her comfortable but dull life for anything.

But Sarah’s world is about to crumble around her when she receives a phone call from a man with a heavy foreign accent telling her that her perfect husband has put a price on her head. She is offered two weeks to come up with a counteroffer or die. Why would her model husband Mike want her dead? Hasn’t she been the perfect wife? Or has her karma finally caught up with her—making her pay for her former transgressions? The final countdown begins and now Sarah has to race against time to find out what went wrong in her marriage and find a way out of this nightmare.

So the game of life or death begins. Secrets are unveiled. Emotions are unleashed. Actions are taken. 

The Very Pink Notebook Review

There is no doubting this book had me hooked by the second paragraph of the blurb.  It was one of those occasions where I hurried to finish what I was reading in order to move onto this.  And it did not disappoint.

I loved the style of writing in this book.  It was fast paced, easy to read and just flowed effortlessly, but the thing I liked the most was the dialogue.  Even with some of the best will in the world, dialogue can sound a bit trite but this just wasn't and my favourite interactions were between Sarah and her husband Mike, it had me laughing out loud at times.

There is no stalling with the action, it starts from the first page and covers a two week timescale, in which a lot of the time the reader is with Sarah in her thoughts, as she rushes through every emotion conceivable while the reality of her situation hits home.  Again, although it is a serious plot, Sarah and her attitude and ideas - after all she is just your run of the mill stay-at-home mum - did make for some comedy reading.  However, you are still given the serious side of her and you soon understand that Sarah, although has been the model wife and mother, has not always been a good human being.

Punctuated throughout the novel are snippets of conversations between friends and neighbours in their police interviews, and although entertaining, I am not sure they were particularly needed or added anything to moving the plot forward.  Having said that, it was a way of anchoring in the police element of involvement without having to flesh out long and unnecessary scenes, because this isn't about the police investigation of what happened.

I wasn't quite sure how the ending was going to pan out, it could have ended in many different ways, and I sort of wish this was one of those books where you could choose varying options!  I did enjoy the authors choice for the most part and it tied up all the loose ends.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it.  As such 14 Days to Die receives a Very Pink Notebook rating of :

Review : The Sisters by Claire Douglas

Published by : Harper Collins

13 August 2015

Copy : Paperback - Reviewer purchased

The Blurb

One lied. One died.

When one sister dies, the other must go to desperate lengths to survive. Haunted by her twin sister's death, Abi is making a fresh start in Bath. But when she meets twins Bea and Ben, she is quickly drawn into their privileged and unsettling circle.

When one sister lies, she must protect her secret at all costs. As Abi tries to keep up with the demands of her fickle friends, strange things start to happen - precious letters go missing and threatening messages are left in her room. Is this the work of the beautiful and capricious Bea? Or is Abi willing to go to any lengths to get attention? When the truth outs, will either sister survive?

The Very Pink Notebook Review

I found mixed reviews of The Sisters before reading it so I was interested to see which side of the fence I would fall on, but I have to say it is the positive one.  I flew through this book in two days.  I just could not put it down.

The plot is two-fold, following the lives of two sets of twins (Abi and Lucy, Bea and Ben) who have both experienced tragedy.  When their lives become entangled the plot gets thicker and thicker and with all the main narrators being hugely unreliable it makes you question everything.  I did sort of work out what the big secret was the characters Bea and Ben were trying to keep hidden, but that didn't take away from my enjoyment of the story because I couldn't really work anything else out and had no clue how it was all going to come together at the end.

I wouldn't say any of the characters were particularly likeable, I found them all very selfish and quite shallow, but for me, that worked well.  I didn't see that as a sign of poorly thought out characters, it just made me more wary of them which fed into the psychological thriller element.  I thought they were all capable of being the culprit of the disturbing incidences and all equally of being the victim.

There is a lot going on in this plot, and maybe it could have been scaled back a little as by the end you realise some parts are absolutely as they are laid out right at the start and therefore didn't really need investigating.  Also, sometimes I felt a few of the things that happened were a little too convenient (for example how the two main characters meet).  Having said that, no, it might not happen in real life, but this isn't real life, it is fiction and for the story to work sometimes you need to get over those issues, just read and enjoy as the plot unfolds.

I actually thought the ending for Bea and Ben was the obvious one for them and for Abi it was really good and true to her character, it remained indicative of the trauma she had experienced.

Overall I thought this was a pacey, exciting, well thought out psychological thriller that left no character in the clear.

The Sisters receives a Very Pink Notebook rating of :

  

Guest Post by Megan Miranda - Author of All The Missing Girls : Plotting

The Very Pink Notebook is thrilled to have a guest post from author Megan Miranda on the blog today talking about how she went about plotting for her latest Psychological Thriller -

All The Missing Girls - which is told in reverse...

***

When I tell people that the majority of All the Missing Girls is told in reverse, one of the first questions typically asked is whether I wrote this book in linear order first, reordering it afterward. In hindsight, part of me thinks this would’ve been a more logical way to approach this project, but the truth is that I wrote it primarily in the order it’s read, from Day 15 to Day 1, plotting it out as I went. The reason for this is because I’m someone who comes up with characters, backstories, and themes first, and the plot usually comes later. For me, writing a first draft is often about discovering who my characters are and the nature of their relationships—and then figuring out the decisions they would make as a result.

In All the Missing Girls, I knew the backstory of what had happened ten years earlier first—back when the characters were teenagers and their friend Corinne disappeared, never to be seen again. I knew the pieces that the main character, Nic, was going to be discovering for herself as she dug into the past for answers. So the first thing I did was plot out those moments—both the truths she would uncover and the truths she would reveal herself—creating a skeleton with the backstory. The present story was then created alongside it, mostly as I wrote.

Because I was writing the story in reverse, the draft itself was constantly evolving. Every time I’d reach a new day and figure out something new, everything I’d already written would need to change. Because of this, I kept track of the different elements on a spreadsheet, and I kept several lists for myself for each day: one list for what the reader knew at that point, and another list for what the narrator knew at that point. My goal was to walk the line between the two, staying true to both stories.

That was how I constructed the story. But the characters are what brought the plot to life. I find I often need the characters before I can find the story, and then let them develop alongside one another.

About the Author

Megan Miranda is the author of the young adult novels FRACTURE, HYSTERIA, VENGEANCE, and SOULPRINT. Her next young adult novel, THE SAFEST LIES, will be published by Crown BFYR/Random House on May 24th, 2016. Her first novel for adults, ALL THE MISSING GIRLS, is published in the UK in 2017. Megan has a degree in Biology from MIT and currently lives near Charlotte, North Carolina, with her husband and two children.

Tour and Review : All The Missing Girls by Megan Miranda

The Very Pink Notebook is thrilled to be part of Megan Miranda's, All The Missing Girls, blog tour this week.  With much thanks to Katherine at Atlantic Books for involving me in the tour and for a copy of the book.

Published by Corvus

02 February 2017

In Trade Paperback £12.99 and eBook

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

The Blurb

It's been ten years since Nicolette Farrell left her rural hometown after her best friend, Corinne, disappeared without trace. Then a letter from her father arrives - 'I need to talk to you. That girl. I saw that girl.' Has her father's dementia worsened, or has he really seen Corinne? Returning home, Nicolette must finally face what happened on that terrible night all those years ago.

Then, another young woman goes missing, almost to the day of the anniversary of when Corinne vanished. And like ten years ago, the whole town is a suspect.

Told backwards - Day 15 to Day 1 - Nicolette works to unravel the truth, revealing shocking secrets about her friends, her family, and what really happened to Corinne. Like nothing you've ever read before, All the Missing Girls is a brilliantly plotted debut thriller that will leave you breathless.

The Very Pink Notebook Review

I love being asked to be part of a psychological thriller tour especially when the blurb is as enticing as the one for All The Missing Girls.  But it was not only the synopsis for this book that hooked me but the fact that the story was to be told in reverse.

I have to admit, this notion did mess with my head somewhat and for the first few chapters I kept finding myself wanting to go back and read the previous chapter, thinking it would help the current one make more sense.  However, once I told myself to just read, it actually panned out as any novel does, with each chapter revealing the next snippet of information, moving the plot forward, even though we were going backwards.

There are essentially two mysteries in this book and I never quite knew if they were actually going to end up interlinking, or whether they were going to transpire to be completely separate events.  The narrator is Nicolette, best friend of the first missing girl and neighbour of the second.  Returning to her childhood home in the wake of her father's worsening dementia, we are taken on her journey of discovery - that you can never really run away from your past. 

Because we are told the story in reverse, you realise at the end, the discoveries and realisations are all met very early on for the characters, and thereafter they play a game of damage limitation.  This made me realise I didn't actually like any of the characters very much.  Nicolette seems to want to place them all as victims.  Victims of enigmatic, but mean spirited and selfish Corrine.  But by the end you realise, by their subsequent actions, none of them are or ever were victims at all.

This certainly was a book I could not guess or work out which way the plot was going to turn next and I enjoyed how the author kept the two threads of story weaving and then undoing at the same time.  I imagined the two missing girls to be like large gust of winds around the characters in a desert, sweeping around them blurring their vision and confusing them. 

As much as I disliked the characters the author shows a great depth of knowledge about them all within the writing, and I liked that their past and history and back stories were the foundation to where they all found themselves in life.  Something terrible happened when they were young and although some ran away and some stayed, none of them ever moved on.  It was a great way to make the whole atmosphere feel really quite claustrophobic.

In short, All The Missing Girls, is a complex psychological thriller, and although unique in its reverse telling it doesn't actually make it overtly easy to follow.  You do feel you are constantly battling against your own logic of what should be happening.  Having said that, the writing is excellent in its balance of imagery, dialogue and narration and I did enjoy the book.

All The Missing Girls receives a Very Pink Notebook rating of :

Follow the Tour

All The Missing Girls continues it's blog tour tomorrow with Hannah Reviewing Books.

About the Author

Megan Miranda is the author of the young adult novels FRACTURE, HYSTERIA, VENGEANCE, and SOULPRINT. Her next young adult novel, THE SAFEST LIES, will be published by Crown BFYR/Random House on May 24th, 2016. Her first novel for adults, ALL THE MISSING GIRLS, is published in the UK in 2017. Megan has a degree in Biology from MIT and currently lives near Charlotte, North Carolina, with her husband and two children.

 

COMING SOON : All The Missing Girls by Megan Miranda

The Blurb

It's been ten years since Nicolette Farrell left her rural hometown after her best friend, Corinne, disappeared without trace. Then a letter from her father arrives - 'I need to talk to you. That girl. I saw that girl.' Has her father's dementia worsened, or has he really seen Corinne? Returning home, Nicolette must finally face what happened on that terrible night all those years ago. Then, another young woman goes missing, almost to the day of the anniversary of when Corinne vanished. And like ten years ago, the whole town is a suspect. Told backwards - Day 15 to Day 1 - Nicolette works to unravel the truth, revealing shocking secrets about her friends, her family, and what really happened to Corinne. Like nothing you've ever read before, All the Missing Girls is a brilliantly plotted debut thriller that will leave you breathless.

Tomorrow will see Day 4 of the All The Missing Girls blog tour arrive on The Very Pink Notebook.  Check out my review of the book live!

Blog Tour and Review : Rupture by Ragnar Jonasson

The Very Pink Notebook is thrilled to be part of Ragnar Jonasson's, Rupture, blog tour this week.  With much thanks to Karen at Orenda Books for involving me in the tour and for a copy of the book.

Published by : Orenda Books

24 December (ebook) - 15 February (print)

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

The Blurb

1955. Two young couples move to the uninhabited, isolated fjord of Hedinsfjörður. Their stay ends abruptly when one of the women meets her death in mysterious circumstances. The case is never solved. Fifty years later an old photograph comes to light, and it becomes clear that the couples may not have been alone on the fjord after all…

In nearby Siglufjörður, young policeman Ari Thór tries to piece together what really happened that fateful night, in a town where no one wants to know, where secrets are a way of life. He’s assisted by Ísrún, a news reporter in Reykjavik, who is investigating an increasingly chilling case of her own. Things take a sinister turn when a child goes missing in broad daylight. With a stalker on the loose, and the town of Siglufjörður in quarantine, the past might just come back to haunt them.

Haunting, frightening and complex, Rupture is a dark and atmospheric thriller from one of Iceland’s foremost crime writers.

The Very Pink Notebook Review

This book has been discussed wildly on social media, alongside comments that it is as brilliant as Ragnar Jonasson's previous deliveries.  Well, this is the first of this author's novels I have read and the fact that other reviews are right, it is brilliant, gives a good indication his others will be too. 

This is one of those books that makes you feel like there is not quite enough oxygen in the room.  Jonasson creates a deeply atmospheric, almost claustrophobic environment for his characters.  For Ari Thor, our protagonist, he is living in a town under the threat of a highly contagious killer virus, which is landed it in quarantine.  This means as the local police officer, he has time on his hands and decides to use it to look into an old case of a mysterious death on an isolated fjord.  The case Ari Thor realises, presents itself in similar surroundings to his current one.  Its location is remote, unfriendly, unwelcoming to visitors, a little spooky.  The inhabitants are alone, isolated and fighting a relentless and bitter winter. 

Then we have a second main character and concurrent storyline in Isrun, investigative television journalist, who has her own chilling cases in the present day on the go.  Even so, she still finds time to assist Ari Thor, always wanting to keep police contacts on side and both storylines ultimately hold the same moral point.

Jonasson's vivid imagery of Iceland and his ability to convey this through engaging all of your senses through his flawless, easy and elegant writing is one of the best parts about this book for me. 

Another brilliantly translated Nordic Noir offering from a very clever author.

Ragnor Jonassons 'Rupture' receives a highly recommended Very Pink Notebook Review of :