Month: November 2019

Book Review: The Guest List by Lucy Foley

Posted on by Libby Price

The Guest List

I have really enjoyed Lucy Foley’s previous work – both her epic historic novels (The Invitation and The Book of Lost and Found), and her last one, which was a crime thriller called The Hunting Party. So when I saw she had a new one out I’m not embarrassed to admit I kind of begged on Twitter for an ARC – and the publisher and Netgalley were kind enough to grant my wish!

Here is the blurb:

“On a remote island, guests gather for the wedding of the year – the marriage of Jules Keegan and Will Slater.

Old friends.
Past grudges.

Happy families.
Hidden jealousies.

Thirteen guests.
One body.

The wedding cake has barely been cut when one of the guests is found dead. And as a storm unleashes its fury on the island, everyone is trapped.
All have a secret. All have a motive.
One guest won’t leave this wedding alive . . .”

From the outset this book had a feel of The Hunting Party – both in terms of content (middle class people in a remote destination) and style (each chapter is told from a different character’s point of view – and it flicks between time periods, so some of it is in the build up to the wedding, and some is from when the body is found).  But it is just as brilliant as Ms Foley’s previous book – so why mess with a format that was a best seller!?

This time the setting is a remote island off the Irish coast which is allegedly haunted – and as with all of the author’s previous work – the geographical descriptions are wonderful, along with the wild weather and both really evoke the feeling of being there.

There are huge twists and turns – and you’re never quite sure who you should be rooting for.  For a long time any of the characters could have been the victim or the killer!  I have to say that Hannah (who was the plus one of the bride’s male BFF) was my favourite character – possibly because she was a mother off the Mum leash for the wedding – something I can totally empathise with – and I also suffer horribly with sea sickness!

Some of the coincidences are a little far fetched – but I guess that often happens in whodunnits like this – and it didn’t spoil the book for me at all.

The chapters build in pace, seemingly getting faster and faster (although perhaps that was just my excited reading?!) – and very cleverly, the final line of a few of the chapters near the end is the same. So smart.

I don’t want to give any spoilers on the victim or the murderer – but it’s good!

As with all of Lucy Foley’s books it’s incredibly well written in terms of language, but also in terms of plot intricacies too, which I really enjoy – I don’t like being spoonfed a storyline.  Well done to Ms Foley – and I suspect a fabulous editor – on ensuring no plot holes in something so complex.

I suspect this will be a big hit on the 2020 bestsellers list – so get in early and pre order a copy now ready for its release!

 

 

Book Review: The Unfinished Symphony of You and Me by Lucy Robinson

Posted on by Libby Price

The Unfinished Symphony of You and Me

My friend Sally (co-incidentally the name of the main character in the book but not the same person!) recommended this very highly, and it had sat on my Kindle for ages – but I finally started reading it a few days ago – and devoured it super quickly (which is always a sign of a good book!)

Here’s the blurb:

“Sally is an incredible singer, but nobody has ever heard her. The thought of singing in public fills her with dread.

But then something happens one summer which changes everything.

No longer able to hide in the shadows, Sally must return home to London to fulfil a promise she cannot break – to share her voice.

But just when she’s ready to start her new life, a beautiful man turns up on Sally’s doorstep with a sheepish smile and a mysterious hand-written message.

How did he find her and why is he here?

Does he hold the truth to what happened back in New York?

And will she still have the courage to step into the spotlight?”

The book jumps between the present day and historic stuff – Sally’s childhood – and then the previous year – but this all flows really well, and just adds to the momentum of the story.

What made me laugh is quite early on you learn about 7 year old Sally’s obsession with opera.  Now, we took our kids – including the then 7 year old – to a ‘Great Opera Hits’ show at the Sydney Opera House on 1 January 2019.  About 30 seconds into the first aria, she asked if she was going to understand any of it – and I had to confess she probably wasn’t going to! It was definitely not the panto at Birmingham Hippodrome!  TBH the kids managed the first song – and the husband and I lasted until half time (sorry, football reference – the interval!)  so none of us got to hear Nessun Dorma. The photo below sums up our 7 year old’s view of opera!  Anyway – I digress……..

I really enjoyed the whole book. You are rooting for Sally throughout.  Her relationships with family / friends / colleagues / teaching staff are all thoroughly explored and are all quite complicated, but written about beautifully.

I was keen to keep reading and therefore finished it in record time.  You desperately want to know what happened in New York last year – and you know it must be really serious – but it’s not obvious what it was until quite late in the book (no spoilers here) which is great.

All of the characters are interesting – and not ‘typical’ – which is refreshing.  I think my favourite was Julian’s Mum – I want to be like her when I grow up!

My only issue with the whole book is late on it’s made obvious Sally’s family are Villa fans (back to football references)  Now, I would suggest (as an Aston Villa fan myself) that people from Stourbridge are much more likely to be West Brom or Wolves fans! But this is a minor transgression that I can forgive I’m sure.

This is a fantastic book – and I will definitely be looking at other books by Lucy Robinson – or Rosie Walsh, which is her real name and who she writes as now (and isn’t a neighbours character!)

 

 

 

 

 

Book Review: The Music Shop by Rachel Joyce

Posted on by Libby Price

 

The Music Shop

The other week I was ‘post checking’ for my parents whilst they were on holiday.  Much like my mother, I can’t let a situation go unexplained – so bear with! I spotted this book in their hallway and asked if I could borrow it.  Mum explained it wasn’t theirs, but my Dad couldn’t read it at the moment because of an eyesight problem he has, and their friends were in no rush to have it back – so it was fine for me to borrow it.  (#neverknowinglyunderexplained)

I’d read previous books by Rachel Joyce – so thought it would be a lovely, pleasant read on holiday.

Here’s the blurb:

“1988. Frank owns a music shop. It is jam-packed with records of every speed, size and genre. Classical, jazz, punk – as long as it’s vinyl he sells it. Day after day Frank finds his customers the music they need.

Then into his life walks Ilse Brauchmann.

Ilse asks Frank to teach her about music. His instinct is to turn and run. And yet he is drawn to this strangely still, mysterious woman with her pea-green coat and her eyes as black as vinyl. But Ilse is not what she seems. And Frank has old wounds that threaten to re-open and a past he will never leave behind …”

I really enjoyed this from start to finish.  As with Rachel Joyce’s previous books, it’s really well written – and a lovely escapist read.  The fact that it talks about music was also great – as I’m a huge fan of lots of genres of music.

Frank is the main character, and his relationship with Ilse is the centrepiece of the story – but there is a whole host of ‘chorus’ parts that are wonderful.  A tattooist, two undertakers, a Polish baker, the Saturday boy, a café waitress – to name but a few.  The interactions between them all are beautifully observed and feel very real – you are rooting for the whole band of them.

Some of it is just lovely, and some is really moving.  I did weep a couple of times – particularly at the end.  Whilst set in 1988 – and then more recently – it does show how the British High Street has changed over the decades too.

The Hallelujah chorus from Handel’s Messiah is fundamental to the story line and is a piece of music I love (randomly, Alexa decided to play it for me the other evening which was lovely!)  I was rehearsal pianist for a production of it way back when I was in sixth form – and because the tenor section were rubbish, I had to bang out their notes – so consequently that is the part I always end up singing along #randomfact

I was not wrong in my expectations, and this is a lovely, escapist, pleasant read – in a world where more of those are needed!