Book Review: A Cold Season by Matthew Hooper

A Cold Season is the searing debut novel from Australian author Matthew Hooper. It is a heart-rending story of loss and grief set during a freezing post WWI winter in a small house in the foothills of Mt Kosciusko.

 

The narrator is 14 year-old Beth as she retells what happened the year her 17 year-old brother Sam went missing. Sam was trekking the hills above their property when a storm came through and trapped him on the mountain. Their father, Owens, leaves to find him and also becomes trapped in the winter storm.

 

As they wait for Sam and Owens to return Beth's mother Grace, convinced they will never return, finds solace in the local outlaw, Wallace.

Her burden of grief turns to anger and she blocks out Beth's brother Sasha and lashes out at Beth. 

 

Matthew Hooper never lets the reader forget how bitterly cold and harsh the climate is.

 

"I felt colder, like my clothes was not working and the mountain's cold was right inside me, making me shiver and shake and rub my knees."

The use of prose that are both lyrical and illiterate portray an uneducated narrator as Beth tells the story in her own words.

"But mostly we was thinking about Owens and Sam, ........ and we was both filled to the brim with upset and worry what sat in our stomachs like heavy stones submerged in dark sorrow-water what filled us up."

A Cold Season is a deeply felt story about how grief is managed in different ways. It is a story filled with sorrow and love and hate, and a sadness that is all consuming.

 I'd love to see it on the big screen one day.

 

My rating 5 / 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

If I could give it more stars I would!

 

Publisher: Transit Lounge

Publication date: 1st October 2024

Genre: Fiction

Pages: 224

RRP: AU$32.99 (paperback)

Source: Courtesy of the publisher via Quikmark Media

 

 

Book Review: Look at Me by Mareike Krügel

 I read Look at Me by Mareike Krügel for the Dymocks Reading Challenge prompt: a translated book. Originally published in German and impeccably translated into English by Imogen Taylor, I felt it still lost some of the humour in the translation.

 

Kat has an old friend coming to visit but first she needs to get through the day alone, again, as her husband is away with  work.

Look at Me plays out over one extremely hectic day in Kat's life as one thing after another goes wrong and she tries to be everything to everyone, whilst at the back of her mind is the lump she found in her breast and the thought of her own mortality.

 

Look at Me is filled with a quirky cast of characters including 11 year-old Helli, recently diagnosed with ADHD, and Heinz and Theo, Kat's transgender neighbours.

Kat calmly deals with one drama after another as she contemplates her life so far.

 

There is humour, most of it dark, mixed with sadness and the chaos of life with children's needs, work phone calls, appliance malfunctions, husband's texts and neighbours' dilemmas.

 

Look at Me is a story about the messiness of life. Mothers will empathise with Kat as she feels unappreciated but also indispensable. 

 

My rating 4 / 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

Publisher: Text Publishing

Publication date: 26th February 2018

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Pages: 288 (paperback)

Source: Own copy

 

This also qualifies for my MountTBR challenge. 

 

 

Book Review: The Paris Mystery by Kirsty Manning

The Paris Mystery is a cosy crime novel set in 1930's Paris, on the cusp of WWII. It is the first book in Kirsty Manning's Charlotte 'Charlie' James series.

 

Journalist Charlie James leaves Australia for a position at The Times Paris. She purposefully calls herself Charlie to circumvent preconceived notions of women in journalism.

Charlie is sent to cover a ball held by socialites Lord & Lady Ashworth. When a prominent Parisian is found murdered in the grounds of the ball, Charlie seizes the opportunity to interview attendees hoping this will be the scoop that will prove to her boss that she can do this job.

 

The Paris Mystery is an enthralling mystery. I had no idea who had murdered the victim and as Charlie, together with the police, interview each person we find that many people disliked the man enough to kill him.

 

An eclectic group of characters are introduced from many different countries that make up the Parisian community.

 

Kirsty Manning lusciously describes the beautiful gowns worn by Charlie and her friend Violet and evokes the sense of a flamboyant Paris before the hardships of war. The food, clothes and extravagant balls are all enchantingly described to bring the setting alive. 

 

As The Paris Mystery is the first in a series the pace is slow as the reader gets to know Charlie and the circumstances that led her to Paris.

 

Kirsty Manning takes her readers to 1930's Paris, to a world of luscious gowns, extravagant balls, illicit affairs, blackmail, murder and spirited females.

 

My rating 3 / 5   ⭐⭐⭐

Publisher: Allen & Unwin

Publication date: 30th August 2022

Series: Charlotte 'Charlie' James #1

Pages: 320

Source: Own copy

 

Book Review: Murder of a Suffragette by Marty Wingate

I enjoyed this cosy murder mystery set in the 1920’s and around a meeting of suffragettes.

The murder is discovered quite early in the book and as the investigation unfolds the mystery builds. Our protagonist Mabel Canning calls in her friends from the London Ladies Murder Club. Murder of a Suffragette is book 4 in a series but I didn’t feel like I had missed anything by not reading the previous books.

 

Murder of a Suffragette is a slow burn, character driven story. A nice easy read to sit down in a comfy seat with a cup of tea.

 

A few red herrings had me guessing and double guessing who the murderer was. I never did get it right.

 

Murder of a Suffragette is a light read with an engaging mystery, a touch of humour and memorable characters ( especially Gladys the dog). Perfect to escape into for a few hours.

 

My rating: 3 / 5 ⭐⭐⭐ 

Publisher: Bookouture

Publication date: 28th October 2024

Genre: Cosy Mystery

Pages: 331

Source: Courtesy of the publisher via Netgalley

 

 

 

Book Review: Can't Buy Me Love by Jane Lovering

I read Can't Buy Me Love for the #DymocksReadingChallenge and it also qualifies for my TBR challenge.

 

When Willow's grandfather dies she is in line for a substantial inheritance. Then when an old University crush, Luke, arrives in town and asks her out it seems all her dreams are coming true.

 

Not long after Willow and Luke start dating she meets computer geek Cal, her brother's friend. They get on so well and have the same quirky sense of humour but Cal seems to be hiding something and Luke keeps disappearing for days at a time on vague work meetings. Willow finds herself struggling with who she can trust.

Can't Buy Me Love is such a fun story! Jane Lovering has given her readers characters to love and characters to hate.

I liked that she has included a character with a disability and shown them as smart, capable and fun.

 

There are mysteries surrounding both Cal and Luke and the odd misunderstanding, and of course there is going to be one that you hope Willow will end up with. 

 

Can't Buy Me Love is a fun, easy read filled with heart and humour. Recommended for a lazy afternoon's reading. 

 

My rating 4 / 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

 

Publisher: Choc Lit

Publication date: 9th May 2017

Genre: RomCom

Pages: 288

Source: own copy 

Book Review: Head for the Hills by Tricia Stringer

 I'm finding Head for the Hills very hard to review. Whilst I enjoyed the storyline, and it kept me reading and engaged, I didn't enjoy the characters. For me, the story needed at least one character that was fun and cheerful.

 

When a local of Jesserton, a small town in the Adelaide Hills, dies unexpectedly the sale of his land to a large hotel chain divides the community and causes animosity between sisters Margot and Roslyn.

 

Margot is very much against the idea of the hotel and decides to gather the community together to voice their concerns. However as the hotel's sales team start to sweet talk the local business owners' allegiances move, causing conflict in the community. 

The story of the development revolves around a side story of relationships within Margot's own family. Which includes her children, their partners, her sister and sister-in-law.

There were lots of secrets being kept and I felt Roslyn seemed to undermine Margot by not being open with her about the things she was doing. The sisters were close; they lived next door to each other and there was plenty of opportunity to be honest and upfront.

I found all the characters to be very judgy of each other. The adult children came across as entitled and Margot's husband really got my ire up.

There is also a theme of homelessness when Roslyn is coerced into taking in a homeless teen who is escaping an abusive relationship. Amber is angry with the whole world but Roslyn starts to warm to her as she sees that Amber is really trying to make a go at life. This leads to Roslyn looking into what more she can do for the homeless and disadvantaged.

 

I did love the menu chapter headings for the family dinner nights.

Head for the Hills is a story about small towns, progress, homelessness and family. It would make for a great holiday read.

My rating 3 / 5 ⭐⭐⭐

 

Publisher: Harlequin Australia

Publication date: 2nd October 2024 

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Pages: 464

RRP: AU$34.99 (paperback)

Source: Courtesy of the publisher

Books I've read and rated 5 stars by Tricia Stringer

TABLE FOR EIGHT

BIRDS OF A FEATHER
BACK ON TRACK

Also worth a read

KEEPING UP APPEARANCES

 

Book Review: Shadow Lives by Neil A White

Shadow Lives is an unforgettable and moving story. I was completely enamoured with Matt by the end of the book. His growth from a man who only thought of himself to someone who risked his life for a woman he didn't even know was so realistic and well plotted.

 

Addicted to prescription drugs and having an open contempt for authority Matt has no trouble getting himself into, and out of, life or death situations. This makes for a suspenseful and action packed story.

 

Foreign Correspondent Matt Latham is in Ukraine to interview Russian Billionaire philanthropist Arkady Voronin. A bomb goes off as he is about to enter the club in which the interview was to take place, killing his interpreter Katya Formina and causing Matt to end up in hospital with memory loss.

 

Feeling responsible for Katya's death Matt visits her parents and finds out Katya has been searching for her sister who left home two years ago for a modelling job. Matt decides he will find Nadiya and bring her home.

What starts out as an exclusive interview with a Russian Billionaire soon turns into a story of spys, human trafficking, rape, abuse, political intrigue and corruption. 

 

Shadow Lives is at times hard to read, especially the chapters on the trafficked teenage girls.

 

Fans of noir fiction will love this flawed protagonist. Matt Latham is both frustrating and endearing in equal measures.

 

I found Shadow Lives to be gripping, tension filled and highly engaging.

 

My rating 5 / 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

Content: rape, abuse, drug use, suicide. 

Publisher: Echo Publishing

Publication date: 30th July 2024

Genre: Crime / Thriller

Pages: 325

RRP: AU$32.99 (paperback)

Source: Courtesy of the publisher