The Miniaturist - Jessie Burton

Synopsis

On a brisk autumn day in 1686, eighteen-year-old Nella Oortman arrives in Amsterdam to begin a new life as the wife of illustrious merchant trader Johannes Brandt. But her new home, while splendorous, is not welcoming. Johannes is kind yet distant, always locked in his study or at his warehouse office-leaving Nella alone with his sister, the sharp-tongued and forbidding Marin.

But Nella's world changes when Johannes presents her with an extraordinary wedding gift: a cabinet-sized replica of their home. To furnish her gift, Nella engages the services of a miniaturist-an elusive and enigmatic artist whose tiny creations mirror their real-life counterparts in eerie and unexpected ways . . .

Johannes' gift helps Nella to pierce the closed world of the Brandt household. But as she uncovers its unusual secrets, she begins to understand-and fear-the escalating dangers that await them all. In this repressively pious society where gold is worshipped second only to God, to be different is a threat to the moral fabric of society, and not even a man as rich as Johannes is safe. Only one person seems to see the fate that awaits them. Is the miniaturist the key to their salvation . . . or the architect of their destruction?

Enchanting, beautiful, and exquisitely suspenseful, The Miniaturist is a magnificent story of love and obsession, betrayal and retribution, appearance and truth.

~~~~~

Review

It's a little while now since I read this book, but like several other books I've read this year but not yet written about here, I did want to share some reflections on it, so even if this isn't a very long post, I still wanted to try and put some thoughts together, so here we are. 

I really enjoyed reading The Miniaturist. I found it a quite magical, wonderful read, I felt immersed in the world created in the novel and the characters were vividly drawn and memorable. It took me away from my troubles, transported me away overseas to Amsterdam and back in time to the seventeenth century, and I really enjoyed every sitting that I spent reading it, and experiencing the storytelling. This story captured my imagination, and I thought it was a really impressive work for a first novel. 

I loved the historical detail, the atmosphere, the locations, the society and people so vividly evoked, they came to life for me and I was there with them as I read, walking beside Nella, anxious about her husband Johannes, uncertain about his sister Marin, or looking out for the Miniaturist.

The story unfolded beautifully and had me wondering and guessing as I read on, needing to know what was being hidden, where danger lay, and who would be safe. 

And I must give a mention to that special cover design, it is so beautiful, incredibly appealing and a great complement to the story itself. This book is one to treasure and it is a novel I could see myself re-reading one day, I'm sure there are fresh details and nuances that I would notice on a second reading.

The Killer Next Door - Alex Marwood - Guest Book Review

Published by Sphere

Guest book review by Janice Lazell-Wood

Synopsis

No. 23 has a secret. In this bedsit-riddled south London wreck, lorded over by a lecherous landlord, something waits to be discovered. Yet all six residents have something to hide.

In the dead of night, a terrible accident pushes the neighbours into an uneasy alliance. But one of them is a killer, expertly hiding their pastime, all the while closing in on their next victim...

Review

No.23 Beulah Grove is a rotten old house divided into bedsits, and it’s owned by the most revolting of landlords, Roy Preece, a vile and obese creature with no morals or hygiene.  He’s desperate for the sitting tenant of the house to die, so he can sell up, move away and live comfortably on the rent proceeds, but she’s not dying nearly quickly enough, so he hatches a plan to help her on her way, a plan that goes horribly wrong.  A plan that leaves the residents unable to go to the police, for fear of their own secrets being discovered, for they have many secrets amongst them…

Cher is an underage care home runaway, living a dangerous day to day existence, Thomas is lonely, boring and just wants some friends, Hossein is an Iranian asylum seeker, Collette is on the run from some very nasty men after doing a bunk with lots of their money, there’s a mysterious man who keeps himself hidden away, playing his music at all hours and interacting with no-one, and finally, there’s sitting tenant Vesta, the matriarch of the group, a woman approaching 70, who’s lived in the house all her life, with nothing to show for it but dusty ornaments and a tea set that once belonged to her parents.

One of these residents is a murderer and we are given full access to their modus operandi in all its graphic and gory detail.  If you can stomach the novels of Mo Hayder and Val McDermid, you’ll be ok reading this, if not, then be warned, it’s not for the fainthearted.  There are shades of how real life killer Dennis Nilsen disposed of his victims here, as well as great detail on how the Egyptians took care of their dead…  The fact that the novel is set during a heatwave, just cranks up the rancid atmosphere of the house!

For me, this was a page turning psychological thriller, one that was devoured in a day.  I have just one gripe, the ending.  It left a question unanswered, however, don’t let this put you off.  Read, enjoy, and treat yourself to a restorative G&T afterwards, you might just need it!

Thanks to Lindsay for the chance to read and review this novel.  I look forward to reading more by the author, Alex Marwood.

Many thanks to Janice for reading and reviewing this novel for The Little Reader Library!