Tag: advance review copy

#BookReview The Marsh House by Zoë Somerville @HoZ_Books

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The Marsh HouseAbout the Book

December, 1962. Desperate to salvage something from a disastrous year, Malorie rents a remote house on the Norfolk coast for Christmas. But once there, the strained silence between her and her daughter, Franny, feels louder than ever. Digging for decorations in the attic, she comes across the notebooks of the teenaged Rosemary, who lived in the house years before. Though she knows she needs to focus on the present, Malorie finds herself inexorably drawn into the past…

July, 1930. Rosemary lives in the Marsh House with her austere father, surrounded by unspoken truths and rumours. So when the glamorous Lafferty family move to the village, she succumbs easily to their charm. Dazzled by the beautiful Hilda and her dashing brother, Franklin, Rosemary fails to see the danger that lurks beneath their bright façades…

As Malorie reads on, the boundaries between past and present begin to blur, in this haunting novel about family, obligation and deeply buried secrets.

Format: eARC (352 pages)             Publisher: Head of Zeus
Publication date: 3rd March 2022 Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery

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Hive | Amazon UK
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My Review

Initially the most obvious connection between the two women – Malorie and Rosemary – is the Marsh House of the title, a remote house close to marshland on the North Norfolk coast. By the time Malorie, along with her daughter Franny, arrives there it has become rather rundown and has all the features of an old, neglected building. ‘The house was quiet. Not silent, it was never completely silent: there was a constant undercurrent of creaks and whispers and rustles, as if it were being tossed about on the sea.’

The book features that oft-used narrative device: the secret journal. Although I recognise that discovery of a journal adds an air of mystery, I’m never quite sure about the choice of this over an additional first person narrative, finding it difficult to get past the artificiality of it. However I appreciate this is a reservation others may not share.

Writing from an unspecified place of confinement, Rosemary’s testimony unfolds bit by bit, gradually revealing the events that resulted in her finding herself in that situation. It’s a story of a vulnerable, naive young woman who, lacking the influence of a mother, finds herself taken advantage of in the most despicable way. It also explores the desire by some members of society to conceal things for the sake of appearances, the view of illegitimacy as a sign of moral turpitude or even a disease inherited from a degenerate mother. (Incidentally, I was puzzled by Rosemary’s lack of curiosity and inaction as regards her mother’s situation.)

Malorie becomes obsessed with Rosemary’s story, seeking to find out more about the events described and what happened to Rosemary. It also provides a form of distraction from her more immediate worries. The inhabitants of the village seen strangely unwilling to talk about Rosemary and the past history of Marsh House but eventually Malorie finds the answers she is looking for. She discovers a closer connection than she might have imagined. Although I’m not sure it will come as complete surprise to many readers, the circumstances may well do.

A standout feature of the book is the description of the local landscape, especially the bleak and deserted marshland around Marsh House which give an underlying eerie quality to the story. Being set in winter, with heavy snow blocking the roads and preventing any means of escape, adds to the feeling of claustrophobia.  Additional otherworldy elements contribute to the sense of unease: the deserted (or is it) cottage across the road, the telephone that rings but which only Malorie hears, the shadowy figure she believes she glimpses – ‘the dark shadow she kept seeing… as if there was something out there that was malign, that wanted to hurt them’. I was particularly struck by mention of a sampler hanging on the wall of one of the bedrooms depicting former inhabitants of the house which made me think of the M. R. James’ ghost story ‘The Mezzotint’. But are these things the product of Malorie’s mental turmoil caused by the breakdown of her marriage, her overuse of medication, her feverish imagination or something supernatural? The occasional sections by a third narrator perhaps give a clue.

The Marsh House is described by the publisher’s as ‘part ghost story, part novel of suspense’ and it certainly delivers both those elements. It’s full of atmosphere and an absorbing read.

I received a review copy courtesy of Head of Zeus via NetGalley.

In three words: Atmospheric, intriguing, mysterious

Try something similar: Call of the Curlew by Elizabeth Brooks

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Zoe SomervilleAbout the Author

Zoë is a writer and English teacher. Her debut novel, The Night of the Flood, was published in September 2020 by Head of Zeus. It is inspired by her home county, Norfolk and the devastating flood of the 1950s. Her second novel, The Marsh House is set in the same austere seascape of the Norfolk coast and is about mothers, daughters and ghosts.

Zoë has worked as an English teacher all over the world. This has included teaching English in Hagi, Japan, the Loire Atlantique, France and the Basque Country; several years in comprehensive schools in South London, Bath and Bristol; four years for the Hospital Education Rehabilitation Service in Somerset; and an international school in Washington, D.C. After completing a creative writing MA at Bath Spa University in 2016, she now combines writing and tutoring, and is settled in Bath with her family. (Bio: Author website)

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#BlogTour #BookReview A Night of Flames by Matthew Harffy @AriesFiction

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A Night of Flames - Blog Tour BannerWelcome to today’s stop on the blog tour for A Night of Flames by Matthew Harffy. My thanks to Andrew at Head of Zeus for inviting me to take part in the tour and for my review copy. Before I share my thoughts, let’s see what some of the other book bloggers taking part in the tour have been saying about A Night of Flames:

“Harffy’s narrative is such that the reader finds themselves not only drawn into Hunlaf’s world but posited into the warband itself.” Melisende

“It’s unreal how haunting amazing this book is.. how is it even possible to write something so disturbingly beautiful! There’s so many emotions that pass through you as you read this one and it’s something that will really stay with you.” David at David’s Book Blurg

“I cannot remember the last time I was so terrified reading a work of historical fiction – the way Harffy builds suspense, ramping up to a tense and heart-in-the-mouth climax is impressive in the extreme.” Sue at Brown Flopsy’s Book Burrow

“It is edge-of-the-seat drama that will keep the reader engrossed late into the night. The battles are vicious, the losses devastating and the outcome uncertain – this is Matthew Harffy at his best.” Sharon at History…The Interesting Bits

A Night of FlamesAbout the Book

A wild land. A lethal fanatic. A violent revolt.

Northumbria, AD 794. Those who rule the seas, rule the land. None know the truth of this more than the Vikings. To compete with the sea-faring, violent raiders, the king of Northumbria orders the construction of his own longships under the command of oath-sworn Norseman, Runolf.

When the Northern sea wolves attack for the second year, the king sends cleric turned warrior, Hunlaf, on a mission across the Whale Road to persuade the king of Rogaland into an alliance. But Runolf and Hunlaf have other plans; old scores to settle, kin to seek out, and a heretical tome to find in the wild lands of the Norse.

Their voyage takes them into the centre of a violent uprising. A slave has broken free of his captors, and, with religious fervour, he is leading his fanatical followers on a rampage – burning all in his path.

Hunlaf must brave the Norse wilderness, and overcome deadly foes to stop this madman. To fail would see too many die…

Format: Hardcover (544 pages)     Publisher: Head of Zeus
Publication date: 3rd March 2022 Genre: Historical Fiction

Find A Night of Flames on Goodreads

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Disclosure: If you buy a book via the above link, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops

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My Review

A Night of Flames is the sequel to A Time For Swords which saw monk Hunlaf forced to take up arms to defend the minster of Werceworthe (modern day Warkworth in Northumberland) from a Viking raid. The book is structured as Hunlaf’s memoir in which he looks back in old age at events in his life. Alongside recounting his many adventures, he reflects on the decisions he has taken and his actions, not all of which had the consequences he wished for.  As he reflects, ‘Many times in my life, my pride has led me into trouble’. And he remains conflicted about having giving up his priestly vows for the life of a warrior, even if the latter seems to be one he was born for. He also confesses to having succumbed to temptation in the past, admitting ‘I have ever been a fool for a pretty face and swaying hips’. Hunlaf – what would Leofstan say!

With support from King Aethelred, Hunlaf and Runolf who, as well as being a fearsome warrior is also a master-shipbuilder, undertake the construction of a huge ship that will withstand a voyage across the Whale Road. The price of Aethelred’s support for the task is that they negotiate a peace treaty and trade agreement with the King of Rogaland whose nickname (which I won’t divulge here) gives a clear idea of the sort of man they’re dealing with. With the ship completed, they gather together a crew made up of fisherman and warriors, some of whom take time to find their sea legs. Their journey is perilous with the ship and its largely untried crew being severely tested by vicious squalls.

However, the hazards they face at sea are nothing compared to what they encounter when they reach Rogaland. The fear of Leofstan, Hunlaf’s mentor, that the content of the book known as The Treasure of Life may be put to dangerous purposes is proved correct.  Its heretical teachings have become embedded in the warped mind of a religious fanatic, a man calling himself Ljósberari, the Lightbringer. In fact what he brings is just the opposite – a reign of terror and unspeakable cruelty. Much of the book is taken up with the quest by Hunlaf and his companions to reach Ljósberari’s encampment.  (The author’s note provides details of the literary and cinematic inspiration for their journey.) The wonderful maps at the beginning of the book make it easy to follow their progress even if you can’t pronounce the names of the places they pass along the way.

As always, comradeship is a strong theme with some of Hunlaf’s companions from the first book returning as well as new characters arriving. Whatever their background and whether lined up in a shieldwall or pulling on the oars in stormy seas, they are a band of brothers each of whom are prepared to risk their own life to save a comrade. Sadly, it’s not always successful. We know Hunlaf will not die – although of course at the time he doesn’t – but his comrades, well that’s a different story.  Much of the tension in the book comes from knowing that not all of those who start out on the journey may make it back. Although as Runolf is fond of saying, ‘Anything is possible’.

At the beginning of the book Hunlaf recalls advice he was once given, ‘Never turn your back on adventure, for your tomorrow will come too soon’.   A Night of Flames has adventure aplenty including  the sort of thrilling action scenes readers have come to expect from the author, depicted in all their bone-crunching, bloody and visceral detail. You really are immersed in the heat of battle or one-on-one combat so you feel every thud of axe or sword upon shield.

The book gives some tantalising glimpses of exploits Hunlaf has yet to tell us about – such as drinking a potent concoction of fermented mare’s milk in the smoke-filled tent of a Kumyk leader – leaving me, and I’m sure many others, desperate for the next volume of the Annals of the life of Hunlaf of Ubbanford.

In his author’s note, Matthew Harffy writes that A Night of Flames ‘is historical fiction with a capital F’. If you ask me, that ‘F’ stands for fabulous.

In three words: Thrilling, action-packed, immersive

Try something similar: Blood Eye by Giles Kristian

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Harffy_MatthewAbout the Author

Matthew Harffy grew up in Northumberland where the rugged terrain, ruined castles and rocky coastline had a huge impact on him. Matthew is the author of Wolf of Wessex and the Bernicia Chronicles series. He now lives in Wiltshire with his wife and their two daughters.

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