Book Review: Nicola Upson - The Dead of Winter (published in 2020)

 

There's something about whodunnits in wintery isolated settings this year. I've read The Guest List, Snow and One by One is the next book I've planned to read. 

The Dead of Winter also takes place on an isolated location, namely St Michael's Mount in Cornwall in 1938. An exclusive charity event has been planned by the owner of the Mount in order to support displaced Jewish children from Germany. 

The police officer Archie has been invited since he's an old friend of the owner Hilaria St. Aubyn. She has invited a celebrity to attend as well hoping that it would bring about some publicity for the Mount and its cause. Archie in turn invites his two friends Josephine and Marta. 

You might have guessed it. The guests all have their own backstories and as they arrive on their location one by one, they find out that the Mount will be isolated for a few days due to bad weather. They are ready to celebrate Christmas, so they don't mind until one of them ends up dead and the only one who could've done it has to be among them. 

I felt that this book was a little bit short. It's strange to say, but the action and investigation started half way through and it wasn't enough to fully grip me although I found the ending to be satisfying. 

The story is told through the eyes of around eight different characters, which means part of the first half you'll have to guess who was who. Then when the action gets going the novel has ended. 

I like that this novel is in a way based on real life. Josephine Tey is apparently the Agatha Christie of her time, the celebrity is also well-known and St Michael's Mount was in hands of Hilaria St. Aubyn back then. I didn't mind that there are 8 novels about Josephine prior to this one. Sure, I don't know the characters as well as fans of this series will do but I still enjoyed the story. 

All-in-all it's an OK read. The setting didn't feel as isolated or grim as I would've liked it to, and there are a few too many characters for such a short novel. It's an interesting whodunnit though with a few twists and turns I didn't expect. 

Many thanks to the publisher Faber and Netgalley for providing me with a review copy!

3 stars

Statistics:

Date read: October 31, 2020

Date published: November 5, 2020

Publisher: Faber

Format: eBook

Pages: 320

Genre: Historical Fiction

My Number of Books Read by this Author: 1

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Book Review: Sara Foster - The Hidden Hours (published in 2017)

 

There are two things I don't like in thrillers. I don't like an insecure female lead who spends a lot of her time worrying internally and making up stories in her head. I also don't like when the story revolves around a character who consumes too much alcohol especially when it's the key element of the story. 

 

The first 50% of this book was going fully in the direction of my two most hated tropes. Confession time: I was considering putting the novel down, which I hardly ever do especially when I have received a copy from the publisher. 

 

I'm happy I didn't put it down though, because the last 50% of the book is actually pretty good. The suspense continually rises and by the end of it I was really wondering what had happened to Arabella. 

 

This novel is about Arabella Lane who is found dead in the Thames. No one is sure whether she has been pushed or whether she has jumped. It happened on the night of the big Christmas party of her company. Eleanor, our protagonist, was there but doesn't remember a thing because she was drugged/drunk. 

 

Eleanor is our tortured female lead. She escapes her past in Australia, and little by little we find out what has happened to her and her family there by means of alternating chapters. That's how the story is told, through Eleanor's eyes both then in Australia and now in London. There is also a paragraph reserved every chapter for people who have sighted Arabella or who knew her, but I don't really see the significance in terms of storytelling for those ones. 

 

The first 50% of the story Eleanor was in her head a lot. Feeling sorry for herself. For the situation. The usual. However, once the chapters in Australia started picking up speed, I became more and more invested in the story in London as well. I'm happy to report that I think this book ended up being an interested read. It helps that the author presents us with more than a murder mystery, because it also tackles the subject what secrets can do to a family.

 

Many thanks to the publisher Legend Press and Netgalley for providing me with a review copy!

3 stars

Statistics:

Date read: October 18, 2020

Date published: November 2, 2020

Publisher: Legend Press

Format: eBook

Pages: 352

Genre: Mystery/Thriller/Horror

My Number of Books Read by this Author: 1

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Book Review: Tana French - The Searcher (published in 2020)

 

Guys, it has taken me years to get on the Tana French bandwagon. Now that I am on it, I will hold on for dear life because she can write a great thriller! I'm looking forward to all that has passed and all that is yet to come. 

 

Judging by the mixed reviews the best is yet to come for me, especially her Dublin Murder Squad series has been received with a lot of praise. For what it's worth, I'm a newbie to her writing and I really enjoyed The Searcher. 

 

Sure, the most common remark from negative reviews is the pacing and the fact that it's slow to start. I found that to be the case as well, but I didn't mind it. It takes time to build a character from the ground up, especially if the setting is small. 

 

The story is set in a small town in Ireland. The kind of place where everyone knows everyone and one day our protagonist walks in and he's the talk of the town. Cal is an ex-police office from Chicago of all places and he's looking for peace and quiet after a painful divorce. The novel starts with a lot of talk about home renovations, because that's what Cal is focused on when the story kicks off. 

 

However, he doesn't have time to complete it before a local child, Trey, finds him and appeals to him for help. His brother has disappeared and he's hoping Cal can find him. Cal reluctantly agrees, because he feels a restless itch. The fact that something iffy seems to be going on in this small community is impossible for him to ignore. 

 

What I loved most about this novel is that Cal's situation felt really realistic. He's a retired policeman from another country, he doesn't have the means to do investigations the way he did them back in the States. How he deals with this is the strength of the story and the reason why I think the slow build up is OK. I found myself completely absorbed into the story and its setting in rural Ireland. I really wanted to find out what happened to Trey's brother. 

 

I give this book 4.5 stars and I can't wait to read more books by Tana French. 

 

Many thanks to the publisher Penguin General and Netgalley for providing me with a review copy!

Statistics:

Date read: October 15, 2020

Date published: November 5, 2020

Publisher: Penguin UK

Format: eBook

Pages: 320

Genre: Mystery/Thriller/Horror

My Number of Books Read by this Author: 1

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Book Review: Alix E. Harrow - The Once and Future Witches (published in 2020)

 

I didn't know what to expect from this book since I don't often read novels about witches. It's not really a conscious decision, the description usually either doesn't appeal to me or they don't cross my path. 

 

The catch phrase of Alix E. Harrow's The Once and Future Witches spoke to me straightaway. "There's no such things as witches. But there will be."

 

This novel is so much more than "just" a story about witches, let me tell you why. It's set in the past in 1890's Salem. Well, it's set in New Salem because Old Salem has been destroyed when the witch burnings took place in the past. 

 

The story is about the three Eastwood sisters. They were apart for many years because of their painful history, but they meet again in the city. They join the suffragists and start the search for the forgotten words and ways to make the women's movement into the witches' movement. 

 

These words and ways are important because they make Harrow's tale unique in my view. Witches don't really exist. They are actually women scorned who have found the words and ways, and most importantly the will to change their circumstances. Apart from women's rights, this book tackles a whole foray of other issues. At times a bit too obvious for my liking, but most of the times nicely tucked away inside the seems of the storyline. 

 

A story like this needs a strong antagonist. The Eastwoods' adversary is mayor-elect Gideon. He's a man who seems frail from the outside but seems to make shadows move at his will. He's pretty evil. To be honest, I expected a YA story but I don't think it is because it does get a bit dark at times. 

 

I'm really happy I picked this novel up. I could happily rave about different elements of this story for hours such as the fact that the words of magic hidden are hidden in well-known fairy tales. How clever is that?

 

If you're interested in reading a book with multiple layers which tackles interesting subjects and which includes witches a fast-paced story and quite a lot of action. Look no further!

 

Many thanks to Little, Brown Book Group UK and Netgalley for providing me with a review copy!

 

4 stars

Statistics:

Date read: October 7, 2020

Date published: October 15, 2020

Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group UK

Format: eBook

Pages: 528

Genre: Fantasy

My Number of Books Read by this Author: 1

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