Tag: blogtour

#BlogTour #BookReview The Companion by Lesley Thomson @AriesFiction

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The Companion blog tour FINALWelcome to the final day of the blog tour for The Companion by Lesley Thomson. My thanks to Sophie at Ransom PR for inviting me to take part in the tour and to Head of Zeus for my review copy.

The CompanionAbout the Book

James Ritchie was looking forward to a boys’ day out with his son, Wilbur – even if he was a little late picking him up from the home of his ex-wife, Anna. Annoyed by his late arrival, and competing for their son’s attention, Anna leaves the two of them to their day with the promise of a roast dinner when Wilbur returns.

But Anna will never see her family again. That afternoon, James and Wilbur are found dead, the victims of a double stabbing on the beach.

DI Toni Kemp, of Sussex police, must unravel a case which has shocked the county to its core..What she discovers will lead her to Blacklock House, a grand country mansion, long ago converted into flats..Here in the middle of nowhere, where a peacock struts the lawn, and a fountain plays intermittently, seven long-term residents have seen more than they should.

But this is a community who are good at keeping secrets…

Format: Hardback (400 pages)    Publisher: Aries
Publication date: 9th June 2022 Genre: Crime

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My Review

In the Acknowledgments, Lesley Thomson writes that she loves to curl up with a country-house murder mystery and so, following her own advice to her creative writing students that they write the book they’d like to read themselves, she decided to write her own version of a country-house murder mystery.

The book features a diverse cast of characters to whom the reader is introduced in short order, much in the manner of the beginning of an Agatha Christie novel such as Death on the Nile or Murder on the Orient Express. Christie fans will take pleasure in spotting a few subtle references to her novels, such as the choice of Blacklock as the name of the mansion around which much of the action centres. There are also the tried and tested elements of a classic crime novel such as a gathering of all the suspects towards the end of the book (in the library, no less). Given Elly Griffiths’ cover quote describing the book as ‘like the best of Barbara Vine and Agatha Christie’, I also loved that one of the characters (whose first name is Barbara) has a cat named Rendell.

The police procedural elements of the book are very much of the here and now, as are some of the social issues explored in the book: the proliferation of social media, loneliness, drug dependency and the targeting of the elderly and vulnerable.  You didn’t get characters in an Agatha Christie novel posting selfies on Facebook or possessing a burner phone!

When it comes to crafting the plot of a murder mystery the author knows her stuff, laying false trails, slipping in red herrings and generally leading readers up the garden path so that, like me, you’ll probably have suspected just about everyone of being the culprit by the end of the book – even Molly the owl.  I wasn’t completely sure a killer who includes children amongst their victims quite fitted with the kind of crime you associate with an Agatha Christie novel, but then of course we’re in the present day, not the 1920s and 1930s.

The Companion is a neat homage to the classic country-house murder mystery but brought bang up to date.

In three words: Intriguing, clever, absorbing

Try something similar: Snow by John Banville

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Lesley_ThomsonAbout the Author

Lesley Thomson grew up in West London. Her first novel, A Kind of Vanishing, won The People’s Book Prize in 2010. Her second novel, The Detective’s Daughter, was a #1 bestseller and the resulting series has sold over 850,000 copies. Lesley divides her time between Sussex and Gloucestershire. She lives with her partner and her dog.

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#BlogTour #BookReview How To Save a Life by Clare Swatman

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How To Save A LifeI’m delighted to welcome you to the opening day of the blog tour for How To Save a Life by Clare Swatman which is published today. My thanks to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me to take part in the tour and to Boldwood Books for my digital review copy via NetGalley. Do check out the posts by my tour buddies for today, Sheri at My Reading Getaway and Jo at Captured on Film.

How To Save a LifeAbout the Book

One night in December, twenty-two year old Ted Green makes his way to Waterloo Bridge determined to end his life. Lonely, despairing and utterly hopeless, it seems the only choice to make.

That same night in December, Marianne Cooper is running away from a party. Having found her boyfriend in a passionate clinch with someone else, Marianne can’t get away fast enough. But as she makes her way along London’s South Bank, a figure catches her eye on top of the bridge.

Then she sees him, a man ready to jump.

When Marianne saves Ted’s life, this night in December becomes one they’ll never forget, but as Ted watches Marianne leave in a black taxi, all he can think is he should have asked her name.

In a story spanning twenty years, join Ted and Marianne as they navigate life’s twists and turns, joys and heartbreaks, while all the time wondering – will fate ever bring them together again…

Format: Paperback (328 pages)   Publisher: Boldwood Books
Publication date: 8th June 2022 Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Find How To Save A Life on Goodreads

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Hive | Amazon UK
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My Review

In How To Save a Life, the author brings the same warmth, mix of light and dark moments, and gentle exploration of human flaws as she did to her previous book, Before We Grow Old, which I read in January 2022.

The book is told in alternating chapters from the points of view of Marianne and Ted. Sometimes the reader gets to see the same event from their respective point of view, meaning some repetition is inevitable. It also means, at times, the reader can see an event coming.

Of the two characters, it was Ted who I thought had the most depth and whose story I became most invested in.  His traumatic experiences whilst on active service in Kuwait have left psychological wounds, a profound sense of guilt and a feeling that his life lacks any structure or direction. This has manifested itself in a dependence on alcohol. And, as much as Marianne’s actions on Waterloo Bridge on that fateful night saved his life, I thought the steadfastness and loyalty of his friend, Danny, did too.

Although Marianne and Ted’s initial meeting is fleeting, the significance of its circumstances provoke a change of life direction for them both: Marianne pursues a career as a counsellor and Ted studies to become a doctor. It’s significant that both roles entail helping others. Marianne and Ted both find themselves thinking about the other over the course of the years and during that time there are a number of ‘near misses’ in which their paths almost cross. Thinking of the film Casablanca, it’s not so much a case of ‘Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine’ as  ‘Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine… but I happen to have left five minutes ago’.

Despite the passing years, Ted and Marianne have become lodged so deep in each other’s mind that it becomes difficult for any other partner to displace them. I have to say I couldn’t blame those who try for eventually acting they way they do. After all, how can you compete with a fantasy? And I found it quite difficult to forgive some of Marianne’s and Ted’s actions.

Whether you consider the way the book ends the stuff of Hollywood movies, it demonstrates saving a life can occur in many ways and sometimes we don’t just get second chances but perhaps third, even fourth opportunities to get it right.

In three words: Tender, romantic, engaging

Try something similar: One Day in December by Shari Low

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Clare SwatmanAbout the Author

Clare Swatman is the author of three women’s fiction novels, published by Macmillan, which have been translated into over 20 languages. She has been a journalist for over twenty years, writing for Bella and Woman & Home amongst many other magazines. She lives in Hertfordshire.

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