Category: Throwback Thursday

Throwback Thursday: The Somme Legacy by M J Lee

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ThrowbackThursday

Throwback Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by Renee at It’s Book Talk.  It’s designed as an opportunity to share old favourites as well as books that we’ve finally got around to reading that were published over a year ago.  If you decide to take part, please link back to It’s Book Talk.

Today I’m revisiting a book that I reviewed in the early days of my blog: The Somme Legacy by M J Lee, an intriguing genealogical mystery published in January 2017.  In fact, I believe the book’s blog tour was the first I ever took part in when I started blogging.

the-somme-legacy-cover-large-ebookAbout the Book

July 1, 1916. The Somme, France. A British Officer prepares to go over the top on the first day of the Battle of the Somme.

March 28, 2016. Manchester. England. Genealogical investigator Jayne Sinclair, a former police detective, is commissioned by a young teacher to look into the history of his family. The only clues are a medallion with purple, white and green ribbons, and an old drawing of a young woman.  Her quest leads to a secret buried in the trenches of World War One for over 100 years. Who was the real heir to the Lappiter millions? From the author of the best selling, The Irish Inheritance, comes a gripping new book revealing family secrets hidden in the fog of war.

Format: ebook (297 pp.)                       Publisher: 4th Estate
Published: 12th January 2017              Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery

Purchase Links*
Amazon.co.uk ǀ  Amazon.com
*links provided for convenience, not as part of any affiliate programme

Find The Somme Legacy on Goodreads

My Review

The Somme Legacy is the second book in the Jayne Sinclair genealogical mystery series (the first being The Irish Inheritance) but it definitely works well as a stand-alone story.

Jayne takes on what seems an impossible case – not only finding the proof that will allow her client, Mark Russell, to submit a claim on the Lappiter estate but doing so in only seven days. After this, if unclaimed, the estate will pass to the Crown. The key to her client’s case is finding evidence of the marriage between Mark’s great grandfather, Captain David Russell, the eldest son of Lord Lappiter, and Rose Clarke – a marriage that all the records say never took place.  Despite the difficulties and in the face of opposition from Mark’s father, Jayne decides to take on the case.

Jayne is an engaging protagonist with an interesting back story. I particularly liked the relationship between Jayne and her father. You get the sense that she embraces the case as much to give her a sense of purpose again as for financial reward. In fact, Jayne begins to feel a real connection and, perhaps sense of female solidarity, with Rose Clarke.  ‘She was going to find out what happened to Rose Clarke, with or without the help of the Russells. She owed this woman something for all she had suffered in her fight for other women. Even now, over 100 years later, Jayne felt she could still right the wrongs of the past. It was why she did what she did.’

The book alternates between the present day search for evidence and the story of David and Rose from the time of their first meeting in 1913. I thought David and Rose were incredibly well-drawn, believable characters and there was a real sense of authenticity about the scenes set in the past, particularly the details of Rose’s involvement in the suffragette movement. In fact, David and Rose’s story would have made a good book in its own right!   I did feel that the characters (both in the past and present) trying to thwart the Russells’ claim tended a little bit towards the ‘pantomime villain’. Personally, I felt there was sufficient jeopardy created by the looming deadline.

The descriptions of the genealogical sources available and the mechanics of searching historical records had a real sense of authenticity. This story would be perfect for fans of Heir Hunters, Who Do You Think You Are or anyone who has either researched their family history or thought about doing so. Equally, it will appeal to lovers of historical fiction set during the First World War.

This was a very satisfying, entertaining story which resisted the temptation to provide a saccharine ending.  I received an advance reader copy courtesy of the author and Neverland Blog Tours in return for an honest review.

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In three words: Entertaining, well-researched, mystery

Try something similar… The Dream Shelf by Jeff  Russell (click here to read my review)

leeAbout the Author

Martin has spent most of his adult life writing in one form or another. As a University researcher in history, he wrote pages of notes on reams of obscure topics. As a social worker with Vietnamese refugees, he wrote memoranda. And, as the creative director of an advertising agency, he has written print and press ads, TV commercials, short films and innumerable backs of cornflake packets and hotel websites. He has spent 25 years of his life working outside the North of England – in London, Hong Kong, Taipei, Singapore, Bangkok and Shanghai, winning awards from Cannes, One Show, D&AD, New York and London Festivals, and the United Nations. Whilst working in Shanghai, he loved walking through the old quarter of that amazing city, developing the idea behind a series of crime novels featuring Inspector Pyotr Danilov, set in the 1920s and 30s. When he’s not writing, he splits his time between the UK and Asia, taking pleasure in playing with his daughter, practicing downhill ironing, single-handedly solving the problem of the French wine lake and wishing he were George Clooney.

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Throwback Thursday: The Existence of Pity by Jeannie Zokan

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ThrowbackThursday

Throwback Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by Renee at It’s Book Talk. It’s designed as an opportunity to share old favourites as well as books that we’ve finally got around to reading that were published over a year ago. If you decide to take part, please link back to It’s Book Talk.

Today I’m revisiting a fantastic book I read a while back, The Existence of Pity by Jeannie Zokan.

DEAL ALERT! Great news for those interested in reading the book – for a limited time you can snap up the Kindle edition for the special price of £0.99!

TheExistenceofPityAbout the Book

Growing up in a lush valley in the Andes mountains, sixteen-year-old Josie Wales is mostly isolated from the turbulence brewing in 1976 Colombia. As the daughter of missionaries, Josie feels torn between their beliefs and the need to choose for herself. She soon begins to hide things from her parents, like her new boyfriend, her trips into the city, and her explorations into different religions. Josie eventually discovers her parents’ secrets are far more insidious. When she attempts to unravel the web of lies surrounding her family, each thread stretches to its breaking point. Josie tries to save her family, but what happens if they don’t want to be saved?

Click here to view a selection of photographs Jeannie has taken of places that feature in the book alongside some short excerpts from The Existence of Pity.

To view the book trailer, click here

Format: eBook (240 pp.)                 Publisher: Red Adept Publishing
Published: 14th November 2016   Genre: Contemporary Fiction, YA

Purchase Links*
Amazon.co.uk ǀ Amazon.com
*links provided for convenience, not as part of any affiliate programme

Find The Existence of Pity on Goodreads

My Review

The Existence of Pity is a really interesting coming-of-age story set in the fascinating location of Cali, a city in Colombia.   I loved the insight the novel gives into the culture and landscape of Colombia – in fact, there could have been more of that for me. The picture of the missionary community, largely cut off from the indigenous population, with few contacts with the local people aside from those working as their maids, I found somewhat depressing.  However, I can appreciate that Colombia can be a dangerous place and that there was an element of personal safety considerations in that arrangement. Josie, the central character, is the one member of her family who seems to make an effort to connect with and absorb the atmosphere of the country and its people.

‘Cali was full of smells, each connected to a memory. Some, like the burning of sugar cane, reminded me of good-byes. The smell of the city – with its diesel fuel, cigarettes, and occasional aromas of cologne and bursts of air conditioning – was the smell of excitement and possibilities. The mountains’ mix of cool fresh air, rain, and coffee was sheer beauty. But the best smell, the one I knew even with my eyes closed, was our street. The smoky smell of the corner restaurant lingered among the fragrance of fruit trees, flowers and mown grass.’

Josie’s parents are Baptist missionaries and I did struggle with their certainty that their beliefs are ‘right’ and the people of Colombia need to be persuaded to jettison their own religious beliefs, to ‘see the light’ as it were. So I could really understand and appreciate Josie’s desire to explore other beliefs. I found her parents’ intolerance of her spiritual exploration and their unwillingness to believe her side of events that take place later in the novel quite at odds with their professed Christian spirit. Their hypocrisy, given what we learn as the novel progresses, is quite breathtaking too. And I really hated their treatment of their Colombian maid, Blanca.  I think you can tell from this that the author definitely succeeded in engaging me in the story!

I feel The Existence of Pity would make a perfect YA book as I think readers younger than myself might be able to identify better with Josie’s (to me, superficial) pre-occupations with which boys to date: ‘Tom was a good guy, and I really liked him, but did I like him enough to overlook things like his stupid hat.’ However, I really liked that Josie found a few people, include some Colombians, who were able to support her in a way her parents seemed unable to do.

The description of the book in the blurb – ‘a story of flawed characters told with heart and depth against the beautiful backdrop of Colombia’ – perfectly sums up this engaging, interesting novel.

I received a review copy courtesy of the author and publishers, Red Adept Publishing, in return for an honest and unbiased review.

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In three words: Emotional, coming-of-age, thoughtful

Try something similar…A Reluctant Warrior by Kelly Brooke Nicholls (click here to read my review)

JeannieZokanAbout the Author

Jeannie Zokan grew up in Colombia, South America, where she read almost every book in the American school she attended. Her love of books led her to study Library Science at Baylor University then to attend The George Washington University in DC. When the chance came to head south, she took her motorcycle to Florida’s Gulf Coast to write stories for the local newspaper. She now lives ten minutes from the beach with her husband, two teenage daughters, and three pets, all of whom keep her inspired and just a little frantic. She enjoys aerial yoga, tennis, and holding NICU babies as a volunteer. But there’s always writing. Writing to relive, writing to understand, writing to remember, writing to renew.

Connect with Jeannie

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