Review : Friends and Liars by Kaela Coble

The Very Pink Notebook wishes a fantastic publication day to

Kaela Coble for Friends and Liars.

Published by Atlantic Books (Corvus)

01 June 2017

Copy : Paperback received from publisher

The Blurb

It has been ten years since Ruby left her hometown behind. Since then she's built a life away from her recovering alcoholic mother and her first love, Murphy. But when Danny, one of her estranged friends from childhood, commits suicide, guilt draws Ruby back into the tumultuous world she escaped all those years ago.

She's dreading the funeral - and with good reason. Danny has left a series of envelopes addressed to his former friends. Inside each envelope is a secret about every person in the group. Ruby's secret is so explosive, she will fight tooth-and-nail to keep it hidden from those she once loved so deeply, even if that means risking everything... 

The Very Pink Notebook Review

Friends and Liars, the debut novel by Kaela Coble, follows the web of lies and deceit woven by a group of childhood friends, Ruby, Murphy, Ally, Emmet and Danny who promised each other they would always be honest.  But when one of the friends suddenly dies, the past is not going to stay buried.  Forced together for the funeral deceased Danny leaves one final act of love or is it hate?  In five letters - each addressed individually to the members of the group (or The Crew as they liked to call themselves) their biggest secret is revealed - but how does Danny know all of these?  And why is he forcing them to face what they have worked so hard to keep hidden?

These are all questions that are investigated throughout the course of the novel.  The reader is mainly given the viewpoint of Ruby to journey with both in 'now' and 'back then'.  Ruby is the one that got away, the one who left and never looked back.  However, the voices of the only other female of the original group Ally, and Steph the girlfriend of one of the boys is also introduced to give a better all round picture.

And that is how this novel seems to work, it starts as a murky picture with lots of unclear edges, and gradually as each secret is slowly revealed you start to build up a full picture of what life was like for the group as they grew up and eventually went their separate ways into adulthood and thus come forth the secret revelations, the fall outs of those and the eventual acceptance that you never really know everything about anyone.

Coble holds the suspense well but gives you enough snippets to keep you engaged and wanting to know more.  The big secrets are Ruby and Murphy's so these of course are the last to be revealed, but you are given hints and indications as to what they might be (some red herrings, some not) from quite early on.  The writing flows nicely with good dialogue and use of environmental description of the small town in which they group up and to which Ruby has had to return to the funeral, in helping to heighten the constant feeling of entrapment finds herself in now she has returned.

What I also liked about this novel was the use of the characters past to help paint the picture as to why things happened.  Sometimes in novels this is used briefly but by the 'now' and 'back then' alternating chapters you get to see whole scenes played out and you need this to really understand why the group were so needy for 'The Crew' to be just that.  They all needed the extra support of one another, but as a teenager, was it all just too close and intense?

I loved that the opening and final chapter is written from the viewpoint of Danny, looking around at the others from his place beyond the grave and I liked his very distinct style, it fits perfectly with his character as is portrayed throughout.  The tone for the start and then the end, I really enjoyed, a very satisfactory ending.

Friends and Liars is an enjoyable read and I would recommend it heartily.  Therefore it receives a Very Pink Notebook rating of :

About the Author

Kaela Coble is a member of the League of Vermont Writers, a voracious reader, and a hopeless addict of bad television and chocolate.  She lives with her husband in Burlington, Vermont, and is a devoted mother to their rescued chuggle, Gus.  Friends and Liars is her first novel.

Review : The Vinyl Detective - Written in Dead Wax by Andrew Cartmel

Published by : Titan Books

10 May 2016

Copy : Paperback - Received from Publisher

The Blurb

He is a record collector — a connoisseur of vinyl, hunting out rare and elusive LPs. His business card describes him as the “Vinyl Detective” and some people take this more literally than others.

Like the beautiful, mysterious woman who wants to pay him a large sum of money to find a priceless lost recording — on behalf of an extremely wealthy (and rather sinister) shadowy client.

Given that he’s just about to run out of cat biscuits, this gets our hero’s full attention. So begins a painful and dangerous odyssey in search of the rarest jazz record of them all…

The Very Pink Notebook Review

Behind the slapstick style jacket of Written in Dead Wax lies an extremely complex plot which Andrew Cartmel delivers with both ease and humour.

I absolutely loved the way this book has been written, it is plain, straight-forward and down to earth.  Even though it has a lot of information about vintage record collecting, all it's quirks and anomalies, it is never once dull, boring or pretentious.  This is all down to the protagonist, the Vinyl Detective himself - an ordinary, run of the mill, cat loving chap - who happens to have an absolute and complete obsession with finding and collecting / selling (depending on how broke he is) - you guessed it - Vinyl.  And not just any vinyl, Jazz, which as it turns out can turn into a rather sinister business.  And it is the Vinyl Detectives plain ordinariness which makes him so endearing to the reader.

Scraping by on lucky finds of unusual vinyl's and selling them on the net is a far cry from where he finds himself when beautiful, intelligent and sharp-witted Nevada enters his life with the opportunity of a lifetime - unfortunately for him, he finds that because of the opportunity it could possibly be a short lifetime because the more involved he gets in finding the elusive vinyl he is commissioned to track down, the higher the body count becomes... but he is so honest and normal about everything the title of 'hero' is not out of place.

Add to the mix a couple of geeky and typical guy friends, you have a mix perfect for a good injection of humour to punctuate what actually becomes a fairly serious storyline including murder most foul, robberies and sabotage.

Now, when I started reading 'Side One' (clever huh!) I was enjoying it most certainly, but you quickly realise there is going to be far more to this book than merely the hunt and race to find the vinyl, then you reach 'Side Two' and a whole different pace begins.  'Side Two' I read in one sitting - I could not put it down and was pleased that the humour I was enjoying so much did not dissipate.

I liked how complete this book felt, it had a clear beginning, middle and end with all questions getting answers.  I thoroughly enjoyed all the dialogue between the characters and at one point or another I questioned them all, which again demonstrated confident and tight plotting and writing.

I am already looking forward to reading more in the first person eyes of The Vinyl Detective and discovering if Nevada sticks around, if Tinkler still has an obsession for grapes and if the cats manage to survive the 'road to rehab' (see opening chapter of book!)

The Vinyl Detective - Written in Dead Wax by Andrew Cartmel gets a must read Very Pink Notebook rating of :

About the Author

Andrew Cartmel is a novelist and screenwriter.  His work for television includes Midsomer Murders and Torchwood, and a legendary stint as Script Editor on Doctor Who.  He has also written plays for the London Fringe, toured as a stand-up comedian, and is currently co-writing with Ben Aaronovitch a series of comics based on the bestselling Rivers of London books.  He lives in London.

The Vinyl Detective Books

The Vinyl Detective Written in Dead Wax is available NOW.

The Vinyl Detective The Run-Out Groove is out on 9th May 2017.

The Vinyl Detective Victory Disc is out May 2018.

Review : US by David Nicholls

Published by : Hodder

7 May 2015

Copy : Paperback - Reviewer purchased

The Blurb

Douglas Petersen understands his wife's need to 'rediscover herself' now that their son is leaving home.

He just thought they'd be doing their rediscovering together.

So when Connie announces that she will be leaving, too, he resolves to make their last family holiday into the trip of a lifetime: one that will draw the three of them closer, and win the respect of his son. One that will make Connie fall in love with him all over again.

The hotels are booked, the tickets bought, the itinerary planned and printed.

What could possibly go wrong?

The Very Pink Notebook Review

Dare I say, I was not a huge fan of One Day by David Nicholls, so I wasn't sure how I would get on with this novel, but I am glad to say it was very enjoyable.  I laughed out loud frequently at the directness with which the story was delivered by main character, Douglas, sensible scientist. 

Douglas speaks directly to the reader, giving us his version of his life, in what I assume is meant to be an effort at dissecting it for himself, to see where it all went 'wrong' after his wife tells him she thinks she is going to leave him.  I found Douglas a very likeable character and could often see his point of view.  I can't say I found Connie, his wife or Albie, his teenage son as endearing, but then again we were only told the story from the side of Douglas.  Even so, on occasion Douglas freely admits he can, with hindsight see mistakes he made, particularly with regard to his reaction to things during Albie's younger years, so he does indicate that perhaps Connie and Albie did put up with some trying behaviour.

As the family travels around Europe on a Grand Tour of the Art Galleries, the scenes and situations they find themselves in are equally amusing and frustrating.  Douglas has gone to great lengths to try and make the trip perfect, which of course is just a recipe for disaster, especially as he does seem to have issues with control.  Eventually of course he realises he can not control everything, especially when the people he wants to conform are artistic and ever so more free-spirited than he, but is it just too late?

I found the book very easy reading and really enjoyed the short, sharp, snappy chapters.  I also thought the degree of 'then' and 'now' was spot on.  Finding out about how Douglas and Connie had come to be a couple and the history they shared helped pixelate just how they had reached breaking point in their marriage. 

My only negative comment would be sometimes I found a little too much time was spent depicting artwork in the galleries, I felt it a little unnecessary and it didn't add anything to moving the plot along.  Having said that, I thought the descriptiveness of the countries as they were travelled through was wonderful.

I really was unsure as to where the ending would go but I think Nicholls got it bang on and the very last sentence did leave me smiling.

US by David Nicholls receives a Very Pink Notebook rating of :

  

Review : The Mountain in my Shoe by Louise Beech

Published by : Orenda

30 September 2016 (paperback)

Copy : Paperback - Received from publisher for honest review

The Blurb

A missing boy. A missing book. A missing husband. A woman who must find them all to find herself …

On the night Bernadette finally has the courage to tell her domineering husband that she’s leaving, he doesn’t come home. Neither does Conor, the little boy she’s befriended for the past five years. Also missing is his lifebook, the only thing that holds the answers. With the help of Conor’s foster mum, Bernadette must face her own past, her husband’s secrets and a future she never dared imagine in order to find them all.

The Very Pink Notebook Review

The Mountain in my Shoe is a wonderful story focussing on relationships.  The author looks at many different relationships, good and bad in family and friends, all done with great sensitivity. 

The two main characters we meet are (adult) Bernadette and (child) Conor.  A good portion of the story is narrated by Bernadette.  Bernadette is a women who at first seems content and thrives on being a dedicated home-maker, she recalls with nostalgia her early years with her husband, Richard, but this starts alarm bells for the reader, because we can see through her descriptions she is actually living in fear and her husband clearly has a compulsive need to control her.  We discover they have been unable to have children much to both their devastation.  When Bernadette finally decides to leave Richard he fails to come home from work.

It is interesting because apart from in past context, when Bernadette is recalling a memory or when she is sharing with her friend, Anne, we never get to see Bernadette and husband, Richard, in any scenes together which helped to create the growing isolation Bernadette is feeling.  In her search for meaningful relationships Bernadette finds herself as part of a volunteer programme in which she befriends a child in care - Conor.

I loved the character of Conor.  He is eternally optimistic despite his sad and unstructured childhood.  I liked the uncomplicated and childish narration that he presented.  When it is discovered Conor has failed to return from school, the reader is kept in the know about what is going on through Conor's version of events but kept in the dark enough that we are not told until the end if the two disappearances of Richard and Conor are linked. 

The combination of the two narrators keep the pace of the book moving along keenly.  Added to this we also get to read documents from Conor's lifebook, which gives a rich and varied account of Conor's history from various people who have been a part of his life, including his mother.  It was a unique way of building up a portrait of a character and I really enjoyed it.

The author makes good use of the surrounding to represent the characters too.  Bernadette lives in a cold, soul-less, unappealing home, she mentions this many times, and this it transpires is the life she has been living.

Although I wasn't sitting on the edge of my seat with the thriller element, it kept me gripped and engaged enough.  It was the two beautifully developed characters that drew me in - I felt real warmth and affection for them. 

The Mountain in my Shoe receives :

Many thanks to Karen at Orenda for an advance copy of the book

    

 

Review : If I Forget You by T.C.Greene

Published by : Corvus - Atlantic Books Ltd

01 September 2016

Copy - Paperback - Received from Atlantic Books in exchange for honest review

The Blurb

When Margot and Henry meet, they fall deeply in love.  And then they lose each other.

But Henry can't forget Margot and Margot is haunted by her memories of Henry. They live in each other's minds.

Twenty-one years later, they meet, by chance, on a Manhattan street. And that's where their story truly begins...

If I Forget You is a beautiful exploration of what it means to find the person you are destined to be with, but then spend a lifetime apart

The Very Pink Notebook Review

When any book lands on my doorstep and has the beautiful New York skyline on its cover I am always going to be excited to read it.  If I Forget You did not disappoint me.  A story centred solely on the love story of Margot and Henry, it was gentle but not kitsch. 

T. C. Greene has written in present tense, which puts the reader really up close and personal with the two characters and as I read further along I became more and more involved with them, entangled in their rush of emotions.  The story starts in the present day, when a chance encounter between the two stirs up so much emotion in them it just can not be left.  We are then given chapters, interchanging between past and present, from both points of view - which I liked very much - and we discover the delicious history the two have together.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect from the plot.  As I read I thought the book was just going to tell of the love story, a pattern of longing and circumstance, so was quite pleased with the twist in the tale at the end.

I have to say, I loved Henry, but did not care so much for Margot, but I think this is what made it a captivating love story rather than a cringe-worthy one.  I liked that they were flawed characters and the realism that sometimes 'real life' does get in the way of love. 

Beautiful prose paired with exceptional and vivid imagery of New York I thoroughly enjoyed getting embroiled in the world of Henry and Margot, and their love story.

If I Forget You receives a hearty :

With much thanks to Alison at Atlantic Books for a review copy of this book

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 :