Tag: advance review copy

#BookReview The Diplomat’s Wife by Michael Ridpath @CorvusBooks @ReadersFirst1

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The Diplomat's WifeAbout the Book

To love, honour, and betray…

1936: Devastated by the death of her beloved brother Hugh, Emma seeks to keep his memory alive by wholeheartedly embracing his dreams of a communist revolution. But when she marries an ambitious diplomat, she must leave her ideals behind and live within the confines of embassy life in Paris and Nazi Berlin. Then one of Hugh’s old comrades reappears, asking her to report on her philandering husband, and her loyalties are torn.

1979: Emma’s grandson, Phil, dreams of a gap-year tour of Cold War Europe, but is nowhere near being able to fund it. So when his beloved grandmother determines to make one last trip to the places she lived as a young diplomatic wife, and to try to solve a mystery that has haunted her since the war, he jumps at the chance to accompany her.

But their journey takes them to darker, more dangerous places than either of them could ever have imagined…

Format: Paperback (368 pages)           Publisher: Corvus
Publication date: 4th February 2021 Genre: Mystery

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My Review

Phil’s plan to spend the summer of 1979 hitchhiking across Europe with a pal, chatting up girls turns into an incident-filled adventure with his grandmother, Emma. It’s certainly a little more eventful than her description of it as ‘a little trip around Europe to revisit old times’ would suggest. But then Emma is not your conventional grandmother. For the wife of a former diplomat, she’s delightfully un-diplomatic when it comes to expressing her opinions and speaking her mind. As Phil reflects later, “He imagined her as a young diplomat’s wife confounding all who met her, diplomats and spymasters, throughout Europe”.

I enjoyed the dual time structure, switching between 1979 and the 1930s, with Emma gradually revealing to Phil her experiences in Paris and Berlin. I particularly liked the sections in which the reader experiences through Emma’s eye the atmosphere of pre-war Paris – the diplomatic parties, the Embassy politics, rubbing shoulders with artistic and literary luminaries such as Marc Chagall, James Joyce and Gertrude Stein. I also found it fascinating to see the contrast Emma observes between pre-war and post-war Germany, now separated by the Berlin Wall.

For someone supposedly familiar with the novels of John le Carré some of Phil’s actions seemed a little naive, allowing himself to fall into traps that seemed fairly obvious to me. However, at other times, he proved himself quick-witted and resourceful. His steadfast devotion to his grandmother made theirs a touching partnership, even if it emerges she’s not been entirely truthful about her past – or her present, come to that.

For fans of spy thrillers, there are all the features you would expect: coded messages, emergency contact procedures and counter-surveillance measures. And for readers who like a bit of action, there are also some moments of melodrama. The currency of espionage is betrayal, lies, and more lies and there’s plenty of that here. I certainly felt some sympathy for Phil as he wonders just what to believe and who to trust. I confess I was rather more interested in Phil’s and Emma’s journey into her past than I was with the covert mission Phil finds himself entrusted with which definitely ventures into John le Carré territory, recalling the reveal at the end of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.

A search for answers, a quest for justice and a story of love, loss and betrayal, The Diplomat’s Wife combines an eventful road trip across Cold War era Europe with all the ingredients of a wartime espionage thriller.

I received an advance review copy courtesy of Corvus and Readers First.

In three words: Intriguing, dramatic, suspenseful

Try something similar: City of Spies by Mara Timon

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Michael RidpathAbout the Author

Before becoming a writer, Michael Ridpath used to work as a bond trader in the City of London. After writing several financial thrillers, which were published in over 30 languages, he began a crime series featuring the Icelandic detective Magnus Jonson. He has also written five stand-alone thrillers, the latest of which is The Diplomat’s Wife. He lives in London. (Photo credit: Twitter profile)

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#BookReview The Girl at the Back of the Bus by Suzette D. Harrison @Bookouture

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The Girl On The Back of the Bus - Blog Tour

Welcome to today’s stop on the blog tour for The Girl at the Back of the Bus by Suzette D. Harrison. My thanks to Sarah Hardy for inviting me to take part in the tour in the company of so many other wonderful book bloggers, and to Bookouture for my review copy via NetGalley.

The Girl at the Back of the BusAbout the Book

‘I watched in awe as Miz Rosa stopped those men on the bus with her clear, calm “no” and I thought about that word. What if I said no? What if I refused to follow the path these White folks wanted for us? What if I kept this precious baby?’

Montgomery, Alabama, 1955. On a cold December evening, Mattie Banks packs a suitcase and leaves her family home. Sixteen years old and pregnant, she has already made the mistake that will ruin her life and disgrace her widowed mother. Boarding the 2857 bus, she sits with her case on her lap, hoping that the driver will take her away from disaster. Instead, Mattie witnesses an act of bravery by a woman named Rosa Parks that changes everything. But as Mattie strives to turn her life around, the dangers that first led her to run are never far away. Forging a new life in a harsh world at constant risk of exposure, Mattie will need to fight to keep her baby safe.

Atlanta, Georgia, present day. Ashlee Turner is going home. Her relationship in ruins, her career held back by prejudice, she is returning to the family who have always been her rock. But Ashlee’s home is not the safe haven she remembers. Her beloved grandmother is dying and is determined to share her story before she leaves…

When Ashlee finds a stack of yellowing letters hidden in her Nana’s closet, she can’t help the curiosity that compels her to read them. She uncovers an old secret that could wreak havoc on her already grieving family. As she tries to make sense of what she has learned, Ashlee faces a devastating choice: to protect her loved ones from the revelations or honour her grandmother’s wishes and follow the path to the truth, no matter where it may lead.

Format: eARC (310 pages)                     Publisher: Bookouture
Publication date: 8th February 2021 Genre: Contemporary/Historical Fiction

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My Review

Told in alternating chapters, The Girl at the Back of the Bus depicts how one small but significant act of defiance inspires three generations of black women to take control of their lives and rise above the discrimination they face.

I admired the clever way the author had Ashlee learn her grandmother’s story, initially just catching up on the story we as readers have already been witness too but then learning, alongside the reader, what happened next. It was also fascinating to see the parallels between the challenges faced by Mattie and those by Ashlee, and how Ashlee takes inspiration from what her grandmother had overcome.  As Ashlee reflects, “My having education and economic power that she hadn’t possessed didn’t simplify my options.  We both had decisions… Something in her proactiveness, her bravery, surpassed me, spoke to me, demanded introspection, was sobering”.  In return, Ashlee is able to fulfil her grandmother’s dying wish and carve out a more rewarding future for herself at the same time.

The book is full of strong, determined women. Not just Mattie but her mother, Dorothy, and Ashlee’s mother, Savannah.  As Ashlee comes to recognise she is the product of “indomitable spirits of transcendent women”. And, of course, there is the woman who inspired it all – Rosa Parks. As Mattie observes, “Her sitting gave me courage to stand.”  And what courage Rosa Parks needed given the injustices she and other black people experienced at that time. One of the most fascinating aspects of the book for me was the insight into the daily iniquities, such as the shorter loan period for library books or having to board a bus, pay the driver, then get off and enter by a rear door to sit at the back of the bus.

Although some of the men in the book are distinctly unpleasant characters, I’d like to single out Ashlee’s grandfather and Ashlee’s partner, Brad, as positive role models.  I’m sure I’m not alone in being touched by the tender scenes between Ashlee’s grandmother and grandfather towards the end of the book.  I  also liked the realistic depiction of Ashlee’s and Brad’s very modern day relationship involving the juggling of personal and career aspirations.

The Girl at the Back of the Bus is an enthralling and touching story of how courage and tenacity can overcome injustice and inspire others.     

In three words: Romantic, heart-warming, emotional

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Suzette D HarrisonAbout the Author

Suzette D. Harrison, a native Californian and the middle of three daughters, grew up in a home where reading was required, not requested. Her literary “career” began in junior high school with the publishing of her poetry. While Mrs. Harrison pays homage to Alex Haley, Gloria Naylor, Alice Walker, Langston Hughes and Toni Morrison as legends who inspired her creativity, it was Dr. Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings that unleashed her writing. The award-winning author of Taffy is a wife and mother who holds a culinary degree in Pastry & Baking. Mrs. Harrison is currently cooking up her next novel…in between batches of cupcakes.

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