His Father's Son - Tony Black

Joey Driscol went to Australia to make a new life for himself and his wife Shauna, trying to leave behind their problems in their homeland of Ireland. They've got a lovely young son now, Marti. However, we soon discover that their life is far from joyful and they are both still weighed down in their own ways by the memories and events in the past, with little communication between them, the happiness all but gone from their relationship. This uneasy situation culminates in Shauna taking Marti away one day, leaving Joey without the best thing in his life, his son. When he discovers where they have gone - back to Ireland - it's an enormous challenge for him to return there and meet again the family he hasn't seen for years, but one he has to face if he is going to see Marti and Shauna again.

This was a compelling, at times very sad story that is full of raw emotion, difficult relationships, fierce love and the highs and lows of life. The author writes movingly about what matters in life, and about how people can carry hurt from the past with them for many years without really facing it, trying to protect themselves and paper over the cracks but becoming susceptible to pain and depression as the worries and ghosts persist inside. The depth of love Joey feels for his dear son Marti, and the strain of having to revisit the past, is strongly evoked, and I felt for them all as I read. The characters were very well drawn and came powerfully to life, most of all Joey and Marti, and also Shauna who is battling the Black Dog. I think I would have liked to have known even more about her; having said that I felt that the focus of the story was right, with Joey and Marti's experiences foremost, and Shauna's thoughts seen through extracts from her diary, read by Joey. We learn of how each of them feels about, and views, the situation, the contrast in their perceptions, and the experiences of all three of them are important to the story. I could feel the awful pain when Joey realised Marti had gone and what he must do, and I could feel the anxiety and confusion as Marti tried to get to grips with his new surroundings in Ireland. I felt I knew Joey most of all though, the things that brought him immense happiness and the things that were a source of great sadness. 

I became involved in the book and willed things to go well for them, for this little family of three. The sense of place in both settings of Australia and Ireland felt real to me, and the use of vernacular language at times added to the authenticity of the characters. There is an element of mystery to the tale too; what happened in the past and what will happen in the future?

His Father's Son is beautifully written; a thoughtful and poignant read with an immense honesty about the writing. I felt the author wrote with a deep understanding of individuals and of family relationships and the story held many truths about how dark times in the past can haunt us and threaten our present, and the strength it requires in order to face that past.  Despite the intense, emotional nature of the story overall, there are light touches too and there is humour and innocence. A powerful, moving book.

Source: proof copy, many thanks
Publisher: Black and White
Author links: twitter @tonyblackuk | website
Other reviews: Liz Loves Books | Random Things |

Quick reviews - The Husband's Secret, The Cry, Trust Your Eyes, Cambridge Blue, Until You're Mine

My thoughts on several novels I've read recently, this time in the form of some quick reviews. 

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The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty

Set in a small town in Australia, the story is told over a few days, and it begins with the accidental discovery by Cecilia of an old envelope in the attic, which states on the front 'to be opened only in the event of my death'. She recognises the handwriting as her husband's. Ultimately unable to resist her curiosity, she reads the letter, and is then left with an awful dilemma, because his words reveal something very serious. She is confronted with a decision; to stay silent and protect her husband and their three children, or to reveal John-Paul's secret and carrying a heavy burden alone. But don't think that this is all there is to the story; there is so much more. 

The interweaving of the three tales of the three fascinating, well-drawn main female characters Tess, Rachel and Cecilia, was very cleverly done. I loved this book, I found it an absolutely cracking read, an absorbing story that I couldn't wait to get back to - I became thoroughly immersed in the development of the plot and I didn't want to be parted from this book! I thought the characters were superbly portrayed, I engaged with them and loved how the author depicted the evolving relationships between them. One of the things I thought the author did really well was portray humour in the most serious of situations, just as can happen in life. Some of the incidents and encounters were so well-observed. I think the only small negative note really for me was that there seemed to be a number of errors (I read a finished brand new paperback copy that I bought) which was a shame. 

The Husband's Secret was a captivating, compelling read and Liane Moriarty is definitely an author whose books I will eagerly watch out for in future.

Source - I bought this book.
Published by Penguin
Other reviews: Bookmagnet | 

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The Cry by Helen Fitzgerald

Set predominantly in Australia, this is a compelling story which I read very fast; it was one of those books that I was loathe to put down. It begins with a scene at the airport, and a flight to Melbourne. Joanna and her partner Alistair are travelling with their baby, and straight from the off, the situations, the prose and the dialogue all draw the reader in, from the difficulties that Joanna faces on the flight, with the baby being so unsettled, to the contrast in others' reactions to her and to her partner. I felt for her so much. 

This is a story about which little can be revealed in a review if a prospective reader is going to enjoy the discoveries and twists and turns to the fullest. This tense, dark read offers up an awful situation, the plot kept me guessing, it surprised me and it made me question who was genuine, who was lying, what could I believe, what had been fabricated; an excellent and highly addictive thriller. I'll definitely be looking out for Helen Fitzgerald's previous novels, which I have missed up until now.

Source - I bought this book.
Published by Faber and Faber
Other reviews: So Many Books, So Little Time | Reading Matters |

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Trust Your Eyes by Linwood Barclay

I consistently really enjoy this author's novels and I've read nearly all of his books now, including The Accident (click the title to read my review of that one). I certainly trust this author with my reading time, and I feel assured he will deliver a page-turning, suspenseful and satisfying storyline. 

This one was amongst his best so far. Trust Your Eyes is an utter page turner, boasting an exciting, gripping plot. I thought the way the first hints of the crime were uncovered was very clever; Thomas Kilbride has an obsession with maps, spending most of his days travelling the world, virtually, on the website Whirl360, committing to memory the details of each place he explores via his computer. It's whilst he is looking at the streets of New York City one day that he notices something unusual at a window, causing him to bring it to the attention of his brother Ray. Despite his initial uncertainty about what Thomas thinks he has seen, and his temptation just to humour him, as Thomas suffers from schizophrenia, Ray soon comes to understand that the situation could actually be very dangerous indeed. The relationship between the two brothers is handled well; their father, who cared for Thomas, having recently died, Ray has to work out how they will cope going forwards, as well as keep them both safe as things grow increasingly threatening. 

Linwood Barclay skillfully handles the addictive narrative, switching viewpoints from chapter to chapter, and builds up the tension for the reader en route to the thrilling climax. One to read when you have time to get all the way to the end, because you will want to.

Source - passed a copy by a friend (and I also bought a copy!)
Published by Orion
Other reviews: Jaffa Reads Too | Random Things |

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Cambridge Blue by Alison Bruce

This is the first crime novel in what is now a series featuring young, promising detective Gary Goodhew, and set in Cambridge and the surrounding area. It's always interesting to read fiction set in or near to the place where you live, and to be able to recognise some of the sites and streets that are mentioned. I've wanted to make a start on this series for ages now, so I'm glad to have finally got the opening book under my belt. I liked it, overall, in particular the main character Gary, and his closest confidant, his Grandmother, and I've bought the next in the series, curious to discover how the character of this eager, intelligent and at times unconventional detective will develop and interested in how the author's writing and future storylines will evolve.

Source - I bought this book.
Published by Constable and Robinson
Other reviews: Euro Crime |

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Until You're Mine by Samantha Hayes

I liked the narrative structure in this psychological thriller, moving between the three main female characters, Claudia, Zoe and Lorraine, and keeping me interested and intrigued. Claudia is expecting her own longed-for first child, and is step-mother to her partner's twin sons. She works a demanding job as a social worker and her husband works away much of the time in the Navy. She hires Zoe as a nanny, but becomes increasingly suspicious of her actions. Lorraine is a police detective with her own problems, namely a difficult teenage daughter and an adulterous husband, and to add to her stress, she has to work with him on a daily basis; they are looking into some awful crimes against pregnant women. 

The tale develops very well, indeed I found a large part of the storyline very gripping, the author had me wondering who I could trust, which narrator I should doubt, who is being manipulated, if there was an element of paranoia, where the twists would take me, although I was slightly disappointed by the resolution to the story if I'm being honest. I wouldn't recommend reading this one if you are having a baby or perhaps sensitive around that topic. I'd certainly try this author again.

Source - goodreads first reads
Published by Century
Other reviews: Being Anne | Beadyjan's Bookshelf |

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Have you read any of these novels? Which did you enjoy the most? Do any of them take your interest?

Huge thanks, as always, for visiting and reading my posts :-)

Little Exiles - Robert Dinsdale

It's post World War Two England, and we meet young Jon Heather, living with his mother and his older twin sisters in Yorkshire. Jon has never known his father but still holds out a hope that he will return one day soon; Jon imagines his father having adventures overseas. Struggling to cope, and with fading health, his mother takes Jon one day and leaves him at the Chapeltown Boy's Home of the Children's Crusade, in Leeds, where he meets and befriends Peter, who is an older, supportive boy, and George, who is younger and very scared. Jon believes initially that he is only there temporarily, that his mother is coming back for him in a couple of months. Most of the boys have been told their parents are dead. They are watched over by mysterious, menacing men in black gowns, including, one, Judah Reed, who is Australian, and leads them on their voyage further from everything they have known; they are taken on a ship to Australia, with promises of a better life, a good future. When they arrive though, they are divided up and set to work on the land, doing hard strenuous, sometimes grim, work, strictly supervised by the men in black and the cottage mothers, and at times harshly disciplined. Jon is ten when he arrives there.

It's a very sad story based on events that actually happened - forced child migration between Britain and Australia after World War Two, in order to provide inexpensive labour and to further populate this country within the empire. I am glad that the author has chosen to tackle and highlight this important, true episode from history in his fiction here. I knew little about this prior to reading this novel; though this isn't a factual account, it presents us with an idea of what went on that to me felt very real, and because of the sadness and hardship it could be harrowing and I didn't find it an easy read at times, and it's difficult to understand the deception perpetrated by those involved; I believe this was a church based organisation. As Robert Dinsdale writes in his acknowledgements, `though Little Exiles is a work of fiction, the world it presents was frighteningly real...'

The author depicts very well how the boys feel, what happens to them, and how the boys change through the experiences they endure, and the unlikely friendships that are formed under these strange and difficult circumstances. The three boys, Jon, Peter and George, were vividly and roundly drawn, I could imagine little George in his terror, and Peter being strong and trying to help him, reassuring him at one point on the boat that `it's going to be a grand adventure.'

I felt the palpable sense of fear and abandonment that Jon, George, Peter and the others experience knowing that they have been left at the boys home, separated from their families and everything that they have ever known, and then to face the further upheaval of being taken across the world with little idea what will happen to them there. Jon wants to come home. Many were told that their mothers had died. One moment that struck me as particularly poignant was when we learn that some of the smaller boys can't remember when their birthday is, and there's no one they can ask who will know, now. The style of narration is not overly emotional, though - the events speak for themselves - and the writing used seemed fitting for portraying this tale. I might have preferred the story to be slightly shorter, but Little Exiles was an evocative, convincing and very moving read bringing to the fore a part of history that ought to be better known. I think it will certainly linger in my mind.

Published by HarperCollins

The Light Between Oceans - M. L. Stedman

'He's in a place where there's just wind and waves and light, and the intricate machinery that keeps the flame burning and the lantern turning. Always turning, always looking over its shoulder.'

Tom Sherbourne is haunted by traumatic memories of his horrific experiences in World War I. He is one of the men who have returned to Australia, as so many did not. He is not physically scarred, 'but he's scarred all the same, having to live in the same skin as the man who did the things that needed to be done back then.' Now, looking to his future, he becomes a lighthouse keeper. He takes a position on remote Janus Rock, off the coast of South-Western Australia, with Point Partageuse being the nearest community on the mainland. Partageuse is a place where everyone knows everyone else, and where, after the war, 'gradually, once again lives wove together into a practical sort of fabric..', where '..Janus Rock, linked only by the store boat four times a year, dangled off the edge of the cloth like a loose button that might easily plummet to Antarctica.'

He meets local girl Isabel Graysmark whilst he is on the mainland, they correspond with each other when Tom returns to the lighthouse, and they fall in love and marry. For Isabel, the war has instilled a sense of urgency into life: 'If the war had taught her anything, it was to take nothing for granted...life could snatch away the things you treasured, and there was no getting them back.' Moving forward in time to the mid 1920s, we meet them living out on Janus Rock together, with a sadness hanging between them that they have no children, Isabel having suffered miscarriages. When a boat is washed up on the rock, they make a decision that day which will change the rest of their lives, as the couple is torn between love and desperate need, and the truth and reality of their situation.

There are some beautiful descriptions of the places, which made me want to visit the fictional Partageuse. Equally, the remote location of the lighthouse, the effects of the weather, the detail of the daily duties Tom carries out, is all conveyed well, and very convincingly, so that the reader can imagine the routine of their days, sense the isolation of the lighthouse keeper and his wife, and feel the remoteness of life on Janus Rock. The effects of the War on the community in Partageuse are movingly described, reminding us of the involvement of Australia in that conflict.

This is stunning prose and heart-wrenching storytelling for a debut writer. Through the story, the author delivers many truths about life. She highlights the best and worst sides of humans, the amount of courage, the strength of love, the severity of intense pain, the cruelty inflicted by a decision made out of Isabel's desperate longing, the remorse felt. A lovely read, it is also heartbreaking as the story unfolds and the repercussions play out. I was willing all the characters to the 'best' outcome for all of them, somehow. This story really touched me, I felt quite deeply affected by it, and I cried at the end. I loved this book. It's a great debut novel.

Thank you very much to the publisher for sending me a copy of this novel to read and review.

Published on 26th April 2012 by Doubleday, an imprint of Transworld Publishers.