Category: Contemporary

‘The Love Hypothesis’ – Ali Hazlewood

After something of a thriller glut, this romance was just what was needed.
The love story of Adam and Olive takes time to get going, but I loved their interactions and that sense of knowing where things were likely to end up even if they didn’t.

Set in the world of academia, which definitely seems more ruthless than you might expect, we first meet Olive when she’s trying to interview for a PHD program. Financial constraints lead to her wearing old contact lenses and a strange meeting in a bathroom…of course, we assume this meeting to be important though the story picks up years later.

As a post graduate student at Stamford Olivia is used to feeling uncertain of herself. Our whole story hinges on a bizarre incident where she asks to kiss a random man she finds in the corridor one night, in order to convince her best friend that it would be okay to go on a date with someone she once dated. Can think of so many other ways to deal with that issue, but where would the fun be in that?

Of course, the random man is none other than Dr Adam Carson…grade A asshole, the man everyone fears and who reduces everyone to tears. Bizarrely, Adam seems amused by Olivia’s request (naturally, he’s the man from the initial bathroom incident) and then they agree to a period of fake-dating to maintain this illusion.

From their initial awkward meetings it’s clear they have a cute way of interacting. Neither wants to admit their feelings for the other, and there’s more than one or two ‘close’ moments where we think we might get somewhere. For a romance this was surprisingly chaste in approach, but I found myself enjoying the way their relationship developed. There was a lack of detail about some things we take for granted, but with a feel-good vibe like this it was easy to overlook.

 

‘I Know You’ – Claire McGowan

I Know You was one of those thrillers that had me second-guessing what, exactly, had happened and wondering what trick up the proverbial sleeve would be pulled out before the end. It is gripping, and while you know you’re not being told everything it’s not clear why this is until the very end.

Our main character is Rachel, a woman who stumbles across a dead body while walking her dog. Rather than call the police, she runs home and tries to ignore it. Suspicious? Certainly it seems so when we learn the body is that of her partner’s ex-wife. Less so when we learn that Rachel was, for five years, kept on Death Row for the murder of three of the family she acted as nanny to. She was cleared, but the fear of being accused of a crime you didn’t commit causes scars.

Of course, the details of each case are important. I found myself more intrigued by her past, and what led her to be in this situation. From start to finish, the pace is quite relentless. I was never sure of the extent to which we could trust Rachel, and the way the book was resolved felt quite unlikely. However, it was a great escape read.

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this prior to publication.

 

‘The Herd’ – Emily Edwards

The Herd will, I’m fairly sure, find its way to many a book club and the ensuing discussion will no doubt be interesting. It’s a timely release, focusing on the issue of vaccination and to what extent our responsibility is personal or social.

The book opens with us knowing that a group of former friends are facing each other in court. Of course we want to know why and what chain of events led to this particular scenario.

Elizabeth and Bry are our primary focus. Two very different mothers, with different views on vaccination. With a daughter prone to febrile convulsions, Elizabeth is understandably nervous about people not vaccinating their children. Her best friend has lived for years with the understanding that her brother’s autism was caused by vaccination. She has opted not to.

What transpires is one of those horribly unlucky events. A measles outbreak occurs, many in the community are ill but Elizabeth’s daughter ends up blind. She wants revenge on the ones she blames-the parents who would not vaccinate their daughter.

The book took a while to get going but the establishment of the characters was engaging. By the time we got to the court scene it seemed that we’d be waiting for some kind of twist. When it came I found myself a little irritated because it seemed so at odds with what we’d been told throughout and made a mockery of the situation.

 

‘You’ve Reached Sam’ – Dustin Thao

You’ve Reached Sam is a book that will impact some people hugely, and even if you don’t find yourself a blubbery mess once it’s over then you will at least recognise how valuable this is to get people thinking about death and how we deal with it.

Julie is our main character and we learn that she has become something of a recluse since the death of her boyfriend, Sam. It frustrated me that for a character who plays such a pivotal role we know so little about him, but it was clear that he’d left his mark on the world somehow.

For reasons we never have explained, Julie finds herself able to talk to Sam on her mobile. There appear to be strict rules to follow, but these conversations allow Julie to say the things to Sam that she never had the opportunity to in life.
Only she can’t tell anyone what she’s doing or it will break their connection.

Slowly, and with the help of her friends, Julie learns to live again. By the end, things are settling back to a new reality but Julie is showing signs of accepting what has happened, learning to value the time she had with Sam and recognising the influence he has had on her life.

I personally found Julie quite irritating at times. Many of Sam’s friends and family were grieving but they rarely factored into her thought process. This is, probably, quite realistic – but it was nice to see there was no hard and fast approach to how someone should be seen to grieve. However, the steps she took allowed her to move gradually closer to accepting her new reality.

 

‘Mayflies’ – Andrew O’Hagan

When we first meet James and Tully they are music-obsessed teens railing against the world. Their group of friends squeeze the life out of every experience, helped by alcohol and whatever they can get their hands on. Their defining moment is a trip to Manchester for a gig at the new G-Mex. We follow them on their weekend as they visit places they’ve heard about and are desperate to experience.

This section of the book was important in order to establish the bond between the group, but particularly between James and Tully.

The friendship between the two is maintained throughout adulthood. They support one another in their attempts to navigate their adult years, and the bond between them is clearly strong.

While I enjoyed this from the perspective of someone who’d visited many of the places mentioned, it didn’t strike me as particularly memorable. I wondered why so much was made of the book…but then came the second part.

Set thirty-one years after their trip to Manchester the two men remain firm friends. James is a writer and Tully a teacher. They are both successful, and in relationships that appear to be good. It also signals the beginning of the end for these two.

When Tully texts James to ask him to call, we know it’s not going to be good. He announces he has cancer, has four months to live and that he wants help to manage the last months of his life. James, out of respect for their friendship, agrees to support him.

What follows was an unsentimental account of one man’s determination to end his life as he lived it…controlling his narrative. There were rather mawkish scenes as each comes to accept what’s happening, but it explored attitudes to death and the extent to which we might influence the lives of others. The final scene had an understated exuberance to it that left me feeling a peace I wasn’t expecting to.

 

‘BFF: A Story about Bullycide’ – Lindsey G.P. Bell

BFF is the kind of story that you read and weep over. The idea that children can be so cruel seems hard to believe if you’ve never experienced bullying, but it always amazes me how some people seem to know exactly which words will cause the most upset. That we can still have situations where children are made to feel so low by their peers that they commit suicide, shows that it’s painfully clear something is very very wrong.

The story begins with Abby moving from California to live in the home her mother grew up in. Though her mother left years earlier, and has since died, Abby knows that her father couldn’t afford to turn down the opportunity to live in a home that is paid for.

Their arrival at their new home immediately emphasises their sense of isolation and discomfort at their new environment. But Abby makes the acquaintance of Hollis on that first day and the girls quickly become friends. Hollis is inventive, caring, thoughtful and incredibly mature. But she is seen as weird by her peers, and as the summer draws to a close and the girls prepare to return to school, it becomes clear that things are going to change.

Abby and Hollis try to weather the storm. They acknowledge their friendship and try their hardest to seek help. Sadly, to no avail. When Hollis’s mum bans her daughter from seeing Abby, the bullying becomes more vicious. Abby tries to seek help. Those involved seem to suffer no consequences. Eventually, things reach a deeply tragic end.

This book spent so much time showing how wonderful Hollis was, and how she touched the lives of those she met, that it seemed all the more brutal to have her life snuffed out so quickly. It made me angry. It made me sad. It made me want to ensure nobody is made to feel so worthless. I can only hope that this book gets in the hands of the right people.

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this in advance of publication in exchange for my honest review.

‘Em & Me’ – Beth Morrey

Delphine Jones is someone who feels as if she’s existing. Stuck in a job she doesn’t particularly like (working in a coffee shop) she does her best for her daughter, but as Em matures it highlights the things Delphine gave up on.

We are slowly introduced to Delphine’s life now, and learn about her as a teenager. We see how both she and her father have somewhat stagnated following the death of mother/wife, and how Delphine found herself abandoning her dreams once she got pregnant.

Potentially a most depressing subject, but there’s a warmth to this which carries you along. We see the importance of choices, and the need to be willing to open yourself to opportunities. There’s a strong cast of characters that aid Delphine in her journey of self-discovery, and though things might all end on a rather rosy note it certainly offers food for thought.

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the chance to spend some time with Delphine and Em.

 

‘Fear No Evil’ – James Patterson

To get to 29 books in a series suggests you’re doing something right…and things appear to be far from over.

This time around Alex Cross is called in to investigate the death of a CIA agent, forced into making a confession of corruption prior to her death. A Mexican cartel – whose leader has been in prison in enforced silence for nearly a year – appears to be behind it. Before we know it, tit-for-tat deaths are a thing and the body count is racking up

While Cross and his best friend Sampson are doing their best to piece things together, we get an update on the family. Some play a peripheral role, but they’ve earned such a place in these books I guess they have to be mentioned. Bree is more involved in these events than she realises as she is involved in an investigation into a wealthy French financier.

Initially, the strands seemed very disparate but the pacing of chapters rattles along, and it doesn’t take much time before we start to see the connections.

By the close of the book, Cross and Sampson are out in the Montana wilderness and being hunted by two interested parties. Tension aplenty…but things work out as we’d hope.

Throughout, there’s the cat and mouse interactions with M. A person or a group? Nobody’s sure…but we get some answers.

 

‘Be Not Far From Me’ – Mindy McGinnis

Mindy McGinnis doesn’t shy away from the topics that many would rather not address. In Be Not Far From Me the mood quickly shifts and it was a lot more graphic than I was expecting. I wouldn’t say that I enjoyed this exactly, but it certainly was a story I was keen to finish as soon as I could and work out what would happen.

Our main character is Ashley Hawkins. Resourceful and more than a little intimidating if I’m being honest, and the qualities that made her so irritating at the beginning stand her in good stead as the book progresses. When she sets off for a party in the woods with her friends, it should be a welcome start to the summer holidays.

Of course, things have a habit of going wrong when groups of teens assemble in the woods for drunken fun…and this couldn’t have gone more wrong if they were trying!

Ashley definitely sees herself as slightly better than her friends in respect of her ability to navigate in the woods. The party starts well, but Ashley is on edge because her boyfriend’s ex has turned up. She looks amazing, and Ashley is feeling uncomfortable. She drinks more than she might otherwise be tempted to. When she wakes in the middle of the night to relieve herself, she is stunned to stumble across her boyfriend and his ex having sex!

Now, this scenario is not going to be one that many will ever have to face. Heaven only knows what someone would do. Certainly, the urge to flee would be high. However, Ashley runs and doesn’t stop…until she falls and passes out.

What follows is the grimmest fourteen days anyone could hope to experience.

While Ashley is trying to survive and find her way back to humanity, we learn a little more about her and her past. This allowed us to gain a little more understanding of her character, and while I admired her resilience and ability to cope in adversity there was a part of me that wished the details were a little less graphic.

By the time we get to the end of the book, things have developed considerably. Ashley certainly grows as a character and while I don’t begrudge her the relatively happy ending I can’t help think it’s highly improbable.

 

‘PAH’ – Orla Owen

I knew nothing about this before starting it, hadn’t heard of the book/author and I had already bought The Lost Thumb (her first book) before finishing on the strength of my reaction.

PAH is a story that explores relationships, and though our main character is not likeable I couldn’t help but feel sympathy for her.

Susan Brown is a nurse, desperate to escape her life. She alludes to a past that caused discomfort and the details we get (slowly) help us to understand some of her behaviours. Certainly guilty of some dubious conduct, there was a steeliness to Susan’s attempts to get a husband that surprised me.

Watching the interactions between Susan and Jeffrey was difficult. Both very needy and struggling with their own issues, it was hard to see a way out of things for them. The casual violence and disregard for others was alarming, and there were so many examples of this.

The third character, Calton, to feature in the novel always felt slightly off-kilter. Orphaned as a teen, he was placed in a difficult situation and it took a while to work out how the paths of these characters would cross. When they did, I feared what might happen.

Owen has created a character that is so clearly suffering the effects of trauma, seemingly destined to continue such behaviours, but one you can’t help but feel sympathy for and understanding of. Dark, at times incredibly uncomfortable but also fascinating. I have to thank the online book club for putting me on to this.