This was very enjoyable; a huge Australian family epic where the reader joins the family throughout each generation beginning with Paddy and Fee and then their children, particularly Meggie, and then Meggie’s children after that. I love books that let you stay with the characters for such a long time and that you get to know really well, and this feels such a treat; pure unadulterated escapism. It was a really involving and enjoyable story. Read the rest of this entry »
This novels details the threat to our world from aliens; beginning by fireballs falling from the sky into the oceans, then ships mysteriously sinking, then strange creatures coming from the ocean and kidnapping people, and finally the rising of our oceans likely to bring about our destruction. This is the battle of aliens to stake claim to our planet, and our attempts to defend it. These occurrences, and the indecision of people on how to act and what to believe and the frustration with the lack of information, are documented by Mike Watson, a journalist. Read the rest of this entry »
This is the story of Teddy’s life; beginning when he was born in Africa to his mother Clara, the discovery that he is not her husband Hugo’s son so therefore not heir to the Ransome fortune, him being then sent away to England and effectively erased from Hugo’s life and separated from his mother. The effect of this separation on Teddy and Clara is understandably huge, and the book then follows Teddy through later life as a husband and father, and a successful but fraudulent solicitor who is eventually discovered as a thief. The book then deals with the consequences of Teddy’s crime, particularly on his family and daughter Crystal. Read the rest of this entry »
This is the story of a family where each member is struggling to cope with a crisis that threatens to break them apart. The crisis is that Isabelle, the young daughter, suddenly stops speaking and the patience and care of her parents and the help of several therapists cannot encourage her to begin speaking again. All of them (including Isabelle, who is equally as frustrated with herself as her parents are with her) are on the edge of despair and the family is beginning to disintegrate. Read the rest of this entry »
I found this to be a book of nonsense! I can see from the quotes of reviews on the sleeve of the book that O’Neill and his books are highly regarded – perhaps something passed me by, but I found the book annoying and ridiculous. It is set in Victorian England and is the story of Evelyn who has the Devil living in her mind with him escaping in her dreams to kill people who have tried to eradicate him. She meets McKnight and Canavan who try to help her and who venture into Hell to evict the Devil. (Just writing that out emphasises how ridiculous it sounds!). Read the rest of this entry »
This is a gentle read to a degree, being set in the 1800s when books weren’t full of blood and guts and there were rules to follow in polite society, but it also has quite a lot of suspense and a great plot. Robert Audley is introduced to his rich uncle’s new wife but discovers that she has a suspicious past, and when one of the witnesses to this past disappears Robert begins to suspect that Lady Audley has something to do with this and sets about to discover what has happened. The book includes blackmail, arson, murder and many more gloriously manipulative and devious plots.
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This book begins in a very dramatic fashion with Alice attempting suicide, and the reader is then led through Alice’s life to discover what has led up to this decision. I found the book (as described on the sleeve) un-put-down-able and couldn’t stop reading it. The tension is built up beautifully as Alice is a likeable character and seems so happy and I found myself envying her, and yet it is obvious that something devastating and terrible has happened to her to make her want to kill herself, and as a reader I found myself racing through the book to find out what this event was.
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Daniel Sempere is taken to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books and allowed to pick out a book that he will be responsible for and take care of; he chooses The Shadow of the Wind by Julian Carax. Daniel is entranced by this book and keen to know more about the author, but constantly faces dead ends in his attempts to learn more about him. As Daniel grows up, Carax’s book and its author seem interwoven with his own life and with his friends and his decisions, as well as being associated with danger and betrayal. Daniel discovers that someone is on a mission to burn every copy of Carax’s books and this person knows Daniel possesses one. All this is set in Barcelona in the aftermath of the Civil War in Spain and the betrayals, danger, power, and ruthlessness that this episode in history is known for. The city of Barcelona is also almost a character in its own right; being historical and beautiful as well as mysterious and secretive and also sometimes intimidating.
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I am full of admiration for the plot of this book, it is so clever and original – ten people are invited to an island and then one by one they are killed off! They are all brought to the island under false pretences and then slowly realise that they have all been tricked, yet all have been selected because they have brought about the death of another person and have been summoned to the island by the killer to be punished.
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I do absolutely adore Agatha Christie books and can read them over and over again, although I think I slightly prefer Miss Marple to Hercule Poirot. This is a Poirot tale, and the story begins with a girl coming to Poirot and asking for his help as she thinks she may have committed a murder, she then changes her mind about seeking help and leaves with no further explanation. Poirot is then trying to discover who the girl is and the circumstances surrounding her ‘confession’ and whether someone has actually died. He is enthusiastically helped along the way by his friend, Ariadne Oliver.
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