Book Review: Life Before (Crime/Mystery) #BRPreview

Life Before

by 

Carmel Reilly

Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Publication Date: 6th May 2019
Pages: 352
Price: $29.99
Format Read: Uncorrected proof copy
Source: Courtesy of the publisher via Better Reading Preview 

 
Lori Spyker is taking her kids to school one unremarkable day when a policeman delivers the news that her brother, Scott Green, has been injured and hospitalised following a hit and run.

Lori hasn't seen Scott in decades. She appears to be his only contact. Should she take responsibility for him? Can she? And, if she does, how will she tell her own family about her hidden history, kept secret for so long?

Twenty years before, when she and Scott were teenagers, their lives and futures, and those of their family, had been torn to shreds. Now, as Lori tries to piece together her brother's present, she is forced to confront their shared past-and the terrible and devastating truth buried there that had driven them so far apart.

 

1993 - Pam and Mick are an everyday couple, married with three teenage children. They live in the small country town of Northam, a close knit community where everyone knows everyone else. However a tragic accident involving Pam’s children will have the community divided and some parents feeling alienated.

2016 – Lori and Jason live in suburban Melbourne (Melbournites will find themselves surrounded by familiar scenes here), they lead ordinary lives bringing up their two young children, in a large city where anonymity is the norm, until a visit from the local police sends Lori’s world into a spin and her past comes crashing in.

Life Before is a compelling mystery. Reilly conveys, through this page-turner, the lengths a person will go to forget a tragic past. Lori completely reinvented herself when she met Jason, blocking out her past, avoiding questions a telling a few white lies. Yet, when Lori starts to let the barriers down people begin to tell her how unhappy and closed off she always seemed.

The storyline of Life Before is gripping as it slowly unfolds with what starts as an ordinary family when one wrong decision, one moment in time, changes their lives forever and leads to a lifetime of regret. The mystery lingers as the reader gets the aftermath of this momentous decision but not the details of that particular day. We are left to wonder what actually happened that night.

Many themes are explored throughout the novel; small town life, nonacceptance of outsiders, parenting teens, facing your past, blood ties and the question: “How responsible is a parent for their child’s actions?”

Both timelines are told in a female point of view; 1993 through Pam and 2016 through Lori, which gave me the feeling that while not actually being women’s fiction it would appeal more to a female readership.

I like that both Pam & Mick and Lori & Jason had good strong supportive relationships and banded together in times of stress. It’s so easy to add extra drama to a story by having a husband and wife against each other and I’m so pleased that Reilly didn’t go down that road.

I would have liked a little more on Scott’s life as we only get a small peek into his home and that left me wanting more.

Life Before is an engrossing family drama that had me captivated from the beginning right through to the shocking end.

My rating 4.5/5    ⭐⭐⭐⭐½

*This review is: 
Part of the Book Lover Book Review Aussie author challenge
& Book #5 in the Australian Women Writers Challenge
 

 Carmel Reilly is one of Australia's busiest educational writers, with over 300 titles to her name. She has written a wide variety of fiction and non-fiction for ages five to teens, with subjects that encompass topics from democracy, global cultures and the solar system to everyday life, adventurous aliens and silly superheros.

Outside of writing for children, she won the 2013 Partners in Crime Short Story Award for her entry Another Life. In 2016 she was awarded a Varuna Residential Fellowship, and was shortlisted for a 2018 Varuna Publisher Introduction Program Fellowship. Life Before is Carmel's first novel for adults. She currently lives in Melbourne. 

 

 

Mailbox Monday - March 11th

Mailbox Monday is a meme started by Marcia of To Be Continued. Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. It now has a permanent home at the Mailbox Monday blog. Head over and check out other books received during the last week. 

We have had a new postman over the last two weeks and I'm not sure if he is that happy with getting off his bike everyday and bringing my parcels to the door.
So, any ideas how to soften up the postie? I used to give my old postie books. Not sure that will work with this one. 

Review Titles:

I Love My Mum Because by Petra James
Publication Date: 26th March 2019

This book is for you and your mum.

Draw, decorate, colour in, count, spot the mum, make a butterfly (or two) and then present the book to your mum for any special occasion: birthday, Xmas, Mother's Day ... or just because.

An interactive picture book to personalise for your mum.

A Lovely and Terrible Thing by Chris Womersley
Publication date: 23rd April 2019

In bestselling author Chris Womersley's first short fiction collection, twenty macabre and deliciously enjoyable tales linked by the trickle of water that runs through them all will keep readers spellbound until their final, unexpected and unsettling twist... 

The Butterfly Room by Lucinda Riley
Publication date: 23rd April 2019


Posy Montague is approaching her seventieth birthday. Still living in her beautiful family home, Admiral House, set in the glorious Suffolk countryside where she spent her childhood catching butterflies with her beloved father,  Posy knows she must make an agonising decision to sell it.

Then a face appears from the past - Freddie, her first love, who abandoned her and left her heartbroken fifty years ago. Already struggling to cope with problems amongst her grown-up children, Posy is reluctant to trust in Freddie’s renewed affection. And unbeknown to Posy, Freddie - and Admiral House - have a devastating secret to reveal . . .

The Spanish Promise by Karen Swan
Publication date: 26th March 2019

One of Spain's richest men is dying. But as he prepares his estate, his family is shocked to discover he is making plans to give away his wealth to a young woman they have never even heard of. Who is she and what hold does she have over him?

Charlotte Fairfax is asked to travel to the troubled family's home in Spain to get to the bottom of the mysterious bequest. It's the week before her wedding but she is confident she has time - there's only one reason an older man leaves his money to a beautiful young woman, isn't there?

But in Madrid, things don't go to plan when the woman  denies knowing anything about the gift. Is she lying? Looking for clues, Charlotte digs into the prominent family's history and unearths a dark  and shocking past in which two people were torn apart by conflict.

A Life of Her Own by Fiona McCallum
Publication date: 18th March 2019


Alice Hamilton loved being a mature-age student, but now she's finished her university degree she needs to find herself a career. But the job market is tough and it doesn't help that her partner David keeps reminding her about their sizeable mortgage. When she's offered a role in a major real estate agency, she jumps at the opportunity. David is excited by her prospects in the thriving Melbourne housing market, and Alice is pleased that she'll be utilising her exceptional people skills.
But Alice quickly realises all is not as it seems. What is she doing wrong to be so out of sync with her energetic boss, Carmel Gold, agent extraordinaire? Alice is determined to make it work, but how much will it affect her values?
As everything starts to fall apart, a sudden visit home to the country town Alice escaped years ago provides an unexpected opportunity to get some perspective. Surrounded by people who aren't what they seem, or have their own agendas, can Alice learn to ask for what she really wants ... on her own terms?



Won
I won this amazing book on Page by Page book club with Theresa Smith Writes on Facebook.

The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer
Publication date: 26th February 2019

2019 Life changed beyond recognition for Alice when her son, Eddie, was born with autism spectrum disorder. She must do everything to support him, but at what cost to her family? When her cherished grandmother is hospitalised, a hidden box of mementoes reveals a tattered photo of a young man, a tiny leather shoe and a letter. Her grandmother begs Alice to return to Poland to see what became of those she held dearest.

WWII Alina and Tomasz are childhood sweethearts. The night before he leaves for college, Tomasz proposes marriage. But when their village falls to the Nazis, Alina doesn't know if Tomasz is alive or dead.

2019 In Poland, separated from her family, Alice begins to uncover the story her grandmother is so desperate to tell, and discovers a love that bloomed in the winter of 1942. As a painful family history comes to light, will the struggles of the past and present finally reach a heartbreaking resolution?

What am I looking forward to reading? 

I love all things macabre and a little unusual so this week I will be choosing: A Lovely and Terrible Thing. I love the contradiction in the title and I'm hoping it's not too macabre that I will get nightmares but just a little weird and twisted. 

What Books did your postman deliver this week?

Post a link to your Mailbox Monday or simply list your books in the comments below.

 

Book Review: The Ruin of Kings (Fantasy)

The Ruin of Kings

by 

Jenn Lyons

Publisher:  Pan Macmillan 
Imprint: Tor UK
Publication date: 5th February 2019
Pages: 560
RRP: $29.99
Format Read: Uncorrected proof copy
Source: Courtesy of the publisher

 

What if you weren't the hero?
Kihrin grew up on tales of long-lost princes and grand quests - despite being raised in a brothel, making money as a musician and street thief. One day he overreaches by targeting an absent noble's mansion, hunting for jewels. There he witnesses a prince performing a terrifying dark-magic ritual. Kihrin flees but he's marked by a demon and his life will never be the same again.

That night also leads to him being claimed as a lost son of that prince's royal house. But far from living the dream, Kihrin finds himself practically a prisoner, at the mercy of his new family's power plays and ambitions. He must also discover why his murderous father finds Kihrin more valuable alive than dead. Soon Kihrin attempts to escape his relative's dangerous schemes, but finds himself in far deeper waters
.
He becomes tangled in a plot to kill the Emperor, rob the Imperial Vaults, claim a god-slaying sword and free bound demons to wreak havoc across the land. Kihrin also discovers the old tales lied about many things: dragons, demons, gods, prophecies, true love - and the hero always winning. But maybe Kihrin isn't fated to save the empire. He's destined to destroy it.

 

The story opens with Kihrin in prison guarded by Talon. Talon asks, I should say forces, Kihrin to tell his story whilst she also narrates her part of Kihrin’s story.

Kihrin’s narration is in first person and starts as a 16 year old Kihrin is being sold in a slave auction. Talin’s is in third person and starts a year earlier with 15 year old Kihrin living with adoptive parents in the slums of the lower circle. He is musician by day and thief by night. The two narrations alternate but I found them easy to follow. There were also footnotes by the author but I skipped those because the printing was so tiny in my uncorrected proof I could hardly read it.

Kihrin is a likeable protagonist. He seemed to have morals in a world that had no morals. He had a sarcastic sense of humour that managed to surface even in the face of overbearing adversity. This slight lean towards humour took the edge off some of the darker moments.

The writing was exceptional and the world building was complex and intricate. There was so much going on in this novel I felt at times that I couldn’t take it all in. There was never a dull moment or a lapse in the action.

I was a bit disappointed that the women were so subservient. I would have liked a few more strong women. The men have little regard for women beyond their pleasurable use. Even the wives were beaten and then healed by other women to cover it up.

The novel is filled with the type of action dark fantasy fans have come to expect; murder, torture, demons, gods, dragons, kings, dark magic, undead, flesh eating shape shifters and allusions to rape and incest all ending with a tantalising cliff hanger.

The Ruin of Kings is a dark fantasy that will grip you with its world building and squeeze the air from your lungs with its unrelenting danger and battles.

Recommended for 18+ years

My rating    4/5   ⭐⭐⭐⭐

 *This review is: 

Book R in the Ginger Mom & Company AtoZ challenge

 

Photo credit: Goodreads

 Jenn Lyons lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband, three cats and a nearly infinite number of opinions on anything from Sumerian mythology to the correct way to make a martini. She is a video game producer by day, and spends her evenings writing science-fiction, fantasy and paranormal mysteries. 

A long-time devotee of storytelling, she traces her geek roots back to playing first edition Dungeons & Dragons in grade school and reading her way from A to Z in the school's library. 

 

 

 

 

Book Review & Giveaway: The Lost Girls (Contemporary Fiction)

The Lost Girls

by 

Jennifer Spence

Publisher: Simon and Schuster Australia
Publication Date: 29th January 2019
Pages: 352
RRP: $29.99
Format Read: Uncorrected proof copy
Source: Courtesy of the publisher

How far would you go to save someone you loved?
 
These are just two of the fateful choices a woman must face in this highly original and hauntingly evocative detective story of love and loss.

At the core of the enigmatic Stella’s story, past and present, is a mystery she is compelled to solve, a beautiful young woman who went missing fifty years ago – and a tragedy much closer to home she must try to prevent.

As Stella unravels the dark secrets of her family's past and her own, it becomes clear that everyone remembers the past differently and the small choices we make every day can change our future irrevocably.

This utterly original, gripping and mind-bending tale will stay with you long after the last page.

The Lost Girls is a contemporary time travel novel, perfect for readers that don’t normally read time travel. It is 2017 and Stella, on her way home from work, alights from the bus to find the streets are different yet familiar. She has arrived at her street only it is 1997.

Spence explores the theme of regrets. What if we could go back in time and change how we lived our life? This idea further expands to ideas of changing the past and what consequences this has on the future. A future that has already taken place! How would our memories, the ones we have made and are firmly imbedded, change?

The narrative is firmly lodged in 1997 with events of 2017 showing as Stella’s thoughts and written notes, which makes for an easier reading experience for those that find jumping back and forward in time difficult to follow.

Although, as with any time travel, you will need to suspend belief, Spence has addressed issues such as accommodation, identity and money in a believable way.

The mention of world events places the story solidly in its era and I loved the descriptions of Sydney trains, ferries and shops. All familiar landmarks for this reader!

There is a fascinating side story of the disappearance of Stella’s Aunt Linda which occurred in 1950. A compelling mystery weaving its way through the story to a startling conclusion.

This is a cleverly plotted page turner. I read it in two days. The story pulls you in and was actually causing me great anxiety. Stella was a wonderful character easily identifiable both as a 43 year old busy mum of teenagers and a 63 year old with a loving husband but some regrets in life.

The ending was superb! I can see why everyone is raving about The Lost Girls.

My Rating  5/5   ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐


*This review is: 
Part of the Book Lover Book Review Aussie author challenge
& Book #4 in the Australian Women Writers Challenge

I have a finished copy of The Lost Girls to giveaway to one lucky reader.

Enter via the Giveaway form below.

Photo credit: Jacalin King

 Jennifer Spence has worked as an English teacher, a scriptwriter of soap operas and a technical writer. She is the author of three children’s books and a crime novel. She lives in Sydney. 

 

This giveaway is now closed and the winner was - pammieS