How Much For A Happy Ending – S E Winters

It was only a few photos. We needed the money. No one would have to know…

Growing up on a council estate in Thatcher’s Britain is no simple task. Bullied at school, with a rocky home life and a desire to escape the trappings of working-class life, Sinead discovers boys, recreational drugs and the nineties club scene.

After a string of abusive partners, she struggles as a skint single mum. A chance meeting offers her a new life of glitz and glamour, but it’s not all it seems. Plunged into a world of adult entertainment, Sinead finds herself in the heart of the UK glamour modelling industry, later becoming a dominatrix to make ends meet.

After paying the price of her own self-exploitation, she has the determination to forge a new career as a therapist, with bad decisions galore along the way.

In this autobiographical novel, a now forty-something Winters pulls no punches as she recounts the tales in graphic detail, with down-to-earth wit, refreshing honesty and an unapologetic potty mouth! Hilarious and sometimes heartrendingly uncomfortable, Sinead will make the reader squirm in their seat as she dishes the dirt on the tease and the sleaze of the adult industry.

Love or hate her, she says the things we’ve all probably thought at one time or another.

I received a review copy from the publishers through Netgalley.

Last year I discovered biographies are not just a stream of dry facts or a film by film summary of a starlet’s life. A life is colourful and fascinaing and if that story is well told then an engaging read can follow. I hopped onto Netgalley and for the first time I headed to the biography section. There were several books which just looked to be as dry as the desert sun. Some “celeb” stories for people I had never heard of and in the mix was a title which stood out: How Much For A Happy Ending? It caught the eye and I liked the use of an ironic pun for a title so I had a scan of the blurb and it didn’t sound like it would be boring. I was right, it’s many things but boring isn’t one of them!

From a young age our narrator, Sinead, takes the reader through her early awakening sexuality. Her upbringing in a council estate and her relationship with her seemingly unconventional parents and then her story moves into her relationships with troubling partners. Through the story Sinead’s developing sexual confidence grows and she finds herself turning to various ways to use her body and knowledge to earn a wage. It should be made clear that Sinead isn’t setting out to paint a rosy story of positive life experiences but the humour is often self-deprecating and she keeps a confidence in herself (in the main) to push through challenging situations.

After a few youthful encounters Sinead realises she has the confidence in her body to turn her hand to modeling. She speaks openly about the pressure young women can find themselves put under to offer more than just pictures and also the variety of pictures which could be taken may also shock some readers. Time and time again Sinead finds herself in new and unfamiliar situations and must decide how best to contend with the dilemmas she faces. The night she tried to become a model for tv chat numbers is told with humour but the pressure of the situation for a young woman to face alone is also somewhat concerning.

From photoshoots, to TV appearances (walking naked down the high street) and then to more personal one to one liaisons – while always keeping on the right side of appropriate behaviour – there are shocks, tears and upsetting events. It can be a hard read but the tone is kept light and matter of fact so despite the seriousness of a situation you feel the author is just looking to tell a story rather than use examples of behaviours to seek to change the world. There will be things which will feel inappropriate and some of these are between Sinead and her partner rather than any clients or firms she is working with. We are all different and all have different desires did feel like an approach which is used more than once.

Very much not my normal type of read but it was interesting and even educational (though I am not sure when I may ever need to use some of the knowledge I gained). Possibly not for the more prudish reader, the scenes of a sexual nature are not presented in vivid technicolour but discussed in mature and sensible manner – the book is better for this non-glorification of our desires.

I will be looking to read more biographies over time, perhaps not one quite so eye-opening as this!

How Much For A Happy Ending? is published in paperback and digital format and can be ordered here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09GPSTH6S/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

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January 21

Decades: Compiling the Ultimate Library with Reshma Ruia

On 20 January 2021 the very first Decades selections were shared here at Grab This Book. I would like to welcome everyone to the Decades Year Two – I can hardly believe it. My heartfelt thanks to all the readers and contributors who have made this weekly reading temptation such a joy to be part of.

A very quick recap. The Decades Library is intended to be a collection of the very best books which a reader may wish to browse. Every week a new guest curator joins me and they add new books to the shelves of the Decades Library. When making their selections I ask they follow two simple rules:

1- Pick Any Five Books
2 – You May Only Select One Book Per Decade From Five Consecutive Decades.

Taking us into year two is Reshma Ruia who kindly volunteered to take on challenge of selecting five favourite books and didn’t grumble about my rules being too difficult or randomly flex the rules….Hello to certain Year One curators – you know who you are!

Reshma Ruia is an award winning author and poet. The Sunday Times described her first novel, Something Black in the Lentil Soup, as ‘a gem of straight-faced comedy.’ Her second novel manuscript, A Mouthful of Silence, was shortlisted for the SI Leeds Literary Prize. It will be published as Still Lives in June 2022. Still Lives is a novel about betrayal, belonging and love and is set in Manchester.

Her short stories and poems have appeared in British and International anthologies and magazines and commissioned for BBC Radio 4. Her poetry collection, A Dinner Party in the Home Counties, won the 2019 Debut Word Masala Award. A poem from the collection, Mrs Basu leaves town, will feature in the Edexcel A Level syllabus. Her short story collection, Mrs Pinto Drives to Happiness came out in October 2021. The collection has received praise from Colm Toibin, Irenson Okojie and Catherine Menon among others.

Reshma has a PhD and Masters in Creative Writing from Manchester University (Distinction) as well as a Bachelor, and Masters’ Degree with Distinction from the London School of Economics. She is the co-founder of The Whole Kahani-a writers’ collective of British South Asian writers, fiction editor of Jaggery magazine and book reviewer for Words of Colour. Born in India, brought up in Italy and now living in England, her writing explores the preoccupations of those who possess a multiple sense of belonging.

Website: www.reshmaruia.com

Twitter: @RESHMARUIA

Her books are available on her website, on Amazon, Waterstones, Foyles and Daunt bookshops. Better still, you can order them directly from the publisher.

A Dinner Party in the Home Counties can be ordered on https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dinner-Party-Home-Counties/dp/0956084060/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2E2Y2LM695OBU&keywords=A+Dinner+party+in+the+Home+Counties&qid=1641667365&sprefix=a+dinner+party+in+the+home+counties%2Caps%2C78&sr=8-

Mrs Pinto Drives to Happiness can be ordered from: http://dahlia-books.kong365.com/en-gb/collections/our-books/products/mrs-pinto-drives-to-happiness

Still Lives will be out in June 2022. It can be pre-ordered on: https://renardpress.com/books/still-lives/

DECADES

I was born in a small town in India on the border with Nepal called Motihari; incidentally, George Orwell’s birthplace. I spent my early years in Bihar, then Delhi and moved to Rome, Italy when I was eleven. I have lived, studied and worked in London, Paris and now Manchester. My book choices reflect my peripatetic and multicultural upbringing.

1950s: Mrs Bridge, the debut novel by American author Evan S. Connell, published in 1959. The novel, set between the two world wars is a searing exploration of suburban domesticity and marriage. Written in pared back language with brief chapters that seem like contemporary vignettes, Connell explores the prejudices and strait-laced morals of a middle class Kentucky housewife. Mrs Bridge’s failure to connect with her husband or her children, and her private anguish at not fulfilling her potential are described without judgement. Ten years later Connell published Mr. Bridge (1969), which relates the same story from the point of view of the husband.

“some people go skimming over the years of existence to sink gently into a placid grave, ignorant of life to the last, without ever having been made to see all it may contain..’’

― Evan S. Connell, Mrs. Bridge

1960s: Stoner, written by another American writer, John Williams, sank into relative obscurity before being re-discovered some years back. The novel is set in a small campus town where Stoner, the eponymous main protagonist of the novel, overcomes his rural, impoverished roots to carve an academic career in a mid-league University. Stoner is quietly dignified in the pursuit of his love of literature and rises above the petty squabbling and rivalries of his colleagues. He marries badly, is estranged from his daughter, experiences love briefly in an extra marital affair and dies, unrecognised and yet his life feels like a Greek tragedy. It is a deeply melancholic novel.

“You must remember what you are and what you have chosen to become, and the significance of what you are doing. There are wars and defeats and victories of the human race that are not military and that are not recorded in the annals of history.’’

_ John Williams, Stoner

1970s: One Hundred Years of Solitude published in English in 1970. Written by the Colombian writer Gabriel García Márquez, it is a multi-generational novel about the Buendía family whose trials and tribulations echo the turbulent history of Latin America. The book is set in the mythical town of Macondo. Over the course of a century, Macondo is the scene of natural catastrophes, civil wars, and magical events; it is ultimately destroyed after the last Buendía is born with a pig’s tail, as prophesied by a manuscript that generations of Buendías tried to decipher. The book is an exciting blend of political satire with magic realism, fantasy and comic interludes.

“…time was not passing…it was turning in a circle…”

― Gabriel García Márquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude

1980S: Midnight’s Children written by Salman Rushdie and published in 1981. The book is an allegorical novel set in post-colonial India centring on the inextricably linked fates of those who were born in 1947 within the first hour of independence from Great Britain. Saleem Sinai, the central protagonist, is a character with many unusual powers, especially a psychic connection to all the other children born as he was, at the very moment of modern India’s birth. Saleem’s life is a whirlwind of disasters and triumphs that mirror the course of modern India. The novel experiments with the English language, using Indian idioms and vernacular and combining socio-political critique of India with flashes of absurdist magic realism. It went on to win the Booker Prize in 1981 and the Booker of the Booker subsequently.

“I learned: the first lesson of my life: nobody can face the world with his eyes open all the time.”

― Salman Rushdie, Midnight’s Children

1990s: Interpreter of Maladies is a collection of nine short stories by the Indian/America author of Jhumpa Lahiri published in 1999. Awarded the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, these short stories explore the diasporic life of the Indian immigrant in America as they negotiate ways to assimilate and belong without letting go of the past. Lahiri writes eloquently about the immigrant experience and about the divide between cultures, examining both the difficulties and joys of assimilation. The title story describes an unlikely rapport between an Indian tour guide and an American born Indian woman who is visiting India as a tourist. Each story is a sensitive exploration of loneliness, isolation and loss, set during the Seventies and Eighties- a period when India and Indians were still regarded as ‘exotic’ by mainstream America.

“Still, there are times I am bewildered by each mile I have travelled, each meal I have eaten, each person I have known, each room in which I have slept. ‘’

― Jhumpa Lahiri, Interpreter of Maladies

I love the sound of Mrs Bridge, particularly in light of the author returning to the story to revisit from a second viewpoint. I’d like to thank Reshma for these brilliant recommendations – discovering new authors, not previously on my radar, has been one of my favourite parts of the Decades Library.

The prospect of someone discovering new books to love keeps this feature running week after week. Before I even publish this post I have achieved my goal – I have made a purchase this morning.

DECADES WILL RETURN

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January 19

Football She Wrote: An Anthology of Women’s Writing on the Game

From the doyenne of football writing Julie Welch’s brilliantly illuminating story of the first women’s international match after a 50-year ban to the madcap tale of two black radio rookies in China… From the trials of covering the soap opera that is Newcastle United to the glamour of establishing Real Madrid TV… From the making of the magnificent Emma Hayes to the equally amazing Mums United FC… FOOTBALL, SHE WROTE is a first: a unique collection of 20 women’s voices on the game they love. Penned by a group of experienced and new writers, and embracing memoirs, profiles, interviews and talking points taking in sexuality, diversity and inclusion, it is an anthology to make you think and feel, laugh and cry.

Contributors: Kehinde Adeogun, Isabelle Barker, Kate Battersby, Alison Bender, Jade Craddock, Hayley Davinson, Molly Hudson, Tracy Light, Renuka Odedra, Fadumo Olow, Katie Mishner, Christina Philippou, Jane Purdon, Ali Rampling, Louise Taylor, Julie Welch, Julia West, Cassie Whittell, Katie Whyatt and Suzanne Wrack.

My thanks to Anne Cater of Random Things Blog Tours for the opportunity to join this tour. I recieved a review copy of Football She Wrote from the publishers.

A football book? The last time I considered reviewing a football book was before the 2016 European Championships. I bought a book about the tournament and thought it may be fun to review it ahead of the competition starting. Half an hour later it was in the recycling and I had left a 1 star explaining why the authors were racist. So it’s not a high bar for Football She Wrote to improve upon!

Fortunately this anthology of articles and stories, all written by women, is both informative and heartwarming.

The book opens with a couple of stories covering the history of women’s football, the struggles for recognition and being taken seriously. The slow emergence of structure and competition and then the prolonged period where it wasn’t permitted. It gives a good background and allows better understanding of the hurdles which would lie ahead – often touched upon in subsequent chapters.

The stories (very) broadly fall into categories: the history, important figures either in the life of the contributor or an important figure in women’s football and then stories about how a contributors became involved in the sport (not necessarily as a player). The stories about how the writers became involved in their favourite sport were very much my favourites.

A couple of highlights; twin sisters travelling to China for the World Cup and offering to be media reporters (with no prior experience). Cassie Whittell’s “Anfield of Dreams” charts her early interest in football, brushes with playing, starting to visit stadiums and the full journey to acceptance within the sport – this one one is worth the cover price!

I wasn’t so fond of stories about individuals. As inspirational and determined as these people have been, I prefer the bigger picture tales.

There are no obvious affiliations with a club or country which I very much appreciated. Too many sport collections dwell on single players or clubs and this puts off readers who root for the underdogs. It’s a nicely balanced collection of articles.

With the average contribution length being around a dozen pages long this is a book you can pick up, set down and revisit at any time. It never felt too heavy or bogged down in detail and the overwhelming feeling was these are writers discussing something they love.

If you’re a football fan and want to hear something a bit different about the players and clubs then you can’t go wrong with Football She Wrote.

Football She Wrote is available in paperback and digital format and you can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Football-She-Wrote-Anthology-Writing/dp/1838030026/ref=sr_1_1?crid=32K2T0PTRN7YO&keywords=football+she+wrote&qid=1642547174&s=books&sprefix=football+she+wrot%2Cstripbooks%2C118&sr=1-1

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January 18

The Twyford Code – Janice Hallett

It’s time to solve the murder of the century…

Forty years ago, Steven Smith found a copy of a famous children’s book by disgraced author Edith Twyford, its margins full of strange markings and annotations. Wanting to know more, he took it to his English teacher Miss Iles, not realising the chain of events that he was setting in motion. Miss Iles became convinced that the book was the key to solving a puzzle, and that a message in secret code ran through all Twyford’s novels. Then Miss Iles disappeared on a class field trip, and Steven has no memory of what happened to her.

Now, out of prison after a long stretch, Steven decides to investigate the mystery that has haunted him for decades. Was Miss Iles murdered? Was she deluded? Or was she right about the code? And is it still in use today?

Desperate to recover his memories and find out what really happened to Miss Iles, Steven revisits the people and places of his childhood. But it soon becomes clear that Edith Twyford wasn’t just a writer of forgotten children’s stories. The Twyford Code has great power, and he isn’t the only one trying to solve it…

My thanks to Anne Cater of Random Things Blog Tours for the opportunity to host this leg of the tour. I received a review copy of the book from the publishers through Netgalley.

It’s quite a thought to finish The Twyford Code in mid-January and wonder if ANY book this year will come close to matching the intricate planning and devious distractions which Janice Hallett delivers here.

As a child Steven Smith attended an inner city school where he did not shine. Unable to read, school was just a place he attended and it took him away from what seems a troublesome home life.

But one year he had a teacher (for RE) who really seemed to cut through and make a difference in Steven’s life – Miss Iles. Steven and a cluster of his friends seemed to get more from Miss Iles than any other class they attended. One memorable day Steven found a book on a bus, a children’s story by Edith Twyford. Miss Iles has an immediate reaction- it’s a banned book she tells him.

Twyford’s attitudes are very outdated and unpalatable for a modern readership. Of course for a group of adolescents a banned book is instantly more fascinating. But then the bombshell…Miss Iles tells them of a code hidden within the books.

She takes her small class on a trip to Twyford’s cottage down in the English South-West and on that trip Miss Iles disappeared. The kids got home (Steven cannot recall how) and Miss Iles was never seen again.

Years later Steven is newly out of prison (we discover why through the story) and he is looking to find out exactly what happened to Miss Iles on that trip and more importantly he wants to get to the bottom of The Twyford Code – it’s a puzzle which is the focus on dedicated Internet forums and the prize for solving it seems to vary from wealth, health cures and even secrets of extra-terrestrial life.

Steven has learned how to read while in prison and seems to have a natural aptitude for problem solving. Picking up a copy of one of Twyford’s books he sees messages in the words. A return to her cottage suggests a picture clue remains in her study. The hunt is on – who killed Miss Iles, what’s the treasure for solving the code and who are these mysterious strangers who seem to twart their progress at every turn?

The story is excellent. The codes and puzzles which the author uses through the book must have taken an eternity to properly thread into the narrative. I love clever stories and this is fiendishly well done. But this is a spoiler-free zone so I can’t get into the details of what shone through in terms of clever tricks.

One slight rain-cloud hung over The Twyford Code for me. Steven tells the story through audio recordings. That’s to say he turns on a recorder and we see the transcript of his conversation and the responses from others. It’s an interesting quirk and the software on the old iPhone he is using can sometimes make transcript errors – “Miss Iles” becomes “missiles” for the reader. And there are other instances.

Personally I found this narrative style quite tricky to read and it took some of the enjoyment out of the book. My reading fun became an unusual effort of concentration. The story kept me going to the end though as I did want to see how matters resolved. I suspect many people will have no issue with the narrative style but I think I would have preferred to read this through audiobook.

In brief, a great puzzle adventure which will command your attention.

The Twyford Cods is available in hardback, digital and audiobook format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0984VDLWF/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1

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January 18

Remember My Name – Sam Blake

If she’d turned off her phone, instead of listening in, perhaps no one would have died…

When Cressida Howard catches her entrepreneur husband playing away from home, she hires security expert Brioni O’Brien to get the evidence she needs for a speedy and financially rewarding divorce.

But what Brioni uncovers goes beyond simple infidelity. Because Laurence Howard is also in bed with some very dangerous people. Bribery and blackmail are the least of his worries as someone comes after the women in his life – someone who is out to destroy Laurence and his empire, whatever the cost.

And Cressida and her teenage daughter could soon be collateral damage, if she and Brioni don’t act fast.

My thanks to Anne Cater of Random Things Blog Tours for the opportunity to join this leg of the Remember My Name tour. I received a review copy from the publisher.

This was fun. I sat down with Remember My Name half expecting a domestic noir story about infidelity in suburbia. This was my fault – I focused on the words “playing away from home” in the blurb when the bigger clue was “security expert Brioni”. You see this story does begin with Cressida suspecting her husband of cheating on her but her husband is head of a large online platform and the couple are very successful, thank you very much.

Michael, the possibly cheating husband is spending long hours in the office and neglecting his wife and their teenage daughter. During a phone call Cressida hears Michael seemingly drinking with a woman she doesn’t know (Nina) and the pair don’t seem to be discussing business.

Cressida enlists the support of Brioni. Brioni will dig into Michael’s life and try to find evidence of infidelity so Cressida may have any evidence she needs to pursue a divorce should she need to.

Brioni finds who Nina is and her alarm bells also ring when she learns about Kate, manager of a company working within Michael’s organisation and someone Michael seems unnecessarily close to. He has been buying Cressida, Nina and Kate expensive gifts. Brioni has suspicious so she hacks the company computer system to dig deeper.

At this stage the story ramps up and Sam Blake treats readers to boardroom drama as Michael’s firm are trying to secure a huge merger with an American firm with a dubious reputation. There are attempts on the lives of some of the key characters, a body is discovered by one of Brioni’s friends and nobody seems able to trust anyone else. It’s gripping and really, really good fun to read.

My perceived domestic drama became a business/tech thriller with high stakes and near death incidents. Wonderful.

The story zips along at a great pace, characters are all fun to follow as each seem to be playing their own game within the plot and the twists and turns the plot took were hugely enjoyable. As I said earlier – this was fun.

Remember My Name is available in digital format, paperback and audiobook too. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0997PD57Y/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

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January 17

Bitter Flowers – Gunnar Staalesen

Fresh from rehab, Norwegian PI Varg Veum faces his most complex investigation yet, when a man is found drowned, a young woman disappears, and the case of a missing child is revived. The classic Nordic Noir series continues…

PI Varg Veum has returned to duty following a stint in rehab, but his new composure and resolution are soon threatened when a challenging assignment arrives on his desk.

A man is found dead in an elite swimming pool and a young woman has gone missing. Most chillingly, Varg Veum is asked to investigate the ‘Camilla Case’: an eight-year-old cold case involving the disappearance of a little girl, who was never found.

As the threads of these apparently unrelated crimes come together, against the backdrop of a series of shocking environmental crimes, Varg Veum faces the most challenging, traumatic investigation of his career.

I am grateful to Anne Cater of Random Things Blog Tours for the opportunity to host a leg of the Bitter Flowers tour. I was provided with a review copy of the book but I read a purchased copy.

Bitter Flowers takes us back to Bergen for another meet up with Private Investigator, Varg Veum. I have now read quite a few of the stories in this series and enjoy Veum’s understated but dogged determination. He he is a sleuth that grinds out results rather than dashing from scene to scene so the cases he investigates feel smarter and multi layered forcing Veum to dig deep and uncover information to progress his case.

In Bitter Flowers we join the story as Varg is being taken to his new job by his physiotherapist. He has been in recovery and slowly returning to full health, the alcohol he had been reliant upon is out of his systems and he wants to keep it that way.

His new role is to run a security check on a luxurious residential property and make the house seem occupied while the owners are in Spain. His physiotherapist has found him this post and she is taking him to the property for the first time. Veum also feels she may be flirting with him, they have been close during his rehab but she made it clear she had a boyfriend.

On arrival, while Veum looks around the large house, he has the feeling they are not alone in the property. Veum isn’t wrong – a body is floating in the indoor swimming pool. He hauls him out but by the time he is out of the water his physiotherapist is gone and a man has called the police. Who made the call? Where did his friend go?

His pursuit of answers leads Veum into the heart of an environmental dispute. The family that own a plant which produces toxic waste are central to his investigation but the family have their own problems, campaigners are mounting angry protests at the chemicals escaping from their factory.

In another surprise twist there also seems to be a connection to a famous cold case. A young child disappeared from her family home in 1979. Over seven years later (this story is set in the late 1980s) the girl has never been found. Now Veum finds himself chatting to her (divorced) parents and is uncovering new evidence.

His interest in multiple cases draws unwelcome attention though and he may not realise it but Veum is putting a target on his back.

Bitter Flowers felt the most accessible of Gunnar Staalesen’s books and I flew through this story in just two days. Translation thanks to Don Bartlett – the hand behind the previous Varg Veum books I have read – who has delivered another beauty with some devastating moments of poetic tragedy.

Lots to love in this series and I think this is my favourite so far.

Bitter Flowers is published by Orenda Books and is available in digital, paperback and audiobook format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B099P8KXZ6/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

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January 15

The Key in the Lock – Beth Underdown

I still dream, every night, of Polneath on fire. Smoke unfurling out of an upper window and a hectic orange light cascading across the terrace.

By day, Ivy Boscawen mourns the loss of her son Tim in the Great War. But by night she mourns another boy – one whose death decades ago haunts her still.

For Ivy is sure that there is more to what happened all those years ago: the fire at the Great House, and the terrible events that came after. A truth she must uncover, if she is ever to be free.

My thanks to Ellie Hudson at Penguin for the opportunity to join the blog tour for The Key in the Lock. I recieved a review copy ahead of publication.

The Key in the Lock is Ivy’s story and it is a story of grief. Grief over the deaths of two boys, thirty years apart and in very different circumstances. But both deaths will have a profound impact upon Ivy and Beth Underdown writes about both in beautiful and haunting prose.

Durning The Great War Ivy’s son, Tim, has signed up and left to fight in France. Ivy was deeply unhappy with his decision, he had been studying at Oxford and she feels his decision was made while he was away from the family home and while she was unable to try to persuade him out of it. It is 1918, there is talk the war is very nearly over and Tim was just slightly too young to sign up – he could have waited and possibly there would not have been any need to head to the front line as the war may end soon. But it wasn’t to be.

While Tim was in the trenches he met his end, never to return home. But the telegram which his parents received informing them of his death stated simply that Tim was “Killed”. Killed. Two missing words are to cause Ivy much additional upset – there is no suggestion of Tim having been killed “in action”. Why, when her son was facing Germans on the front line, does his death notice not tell her he did fighting? As she struggles to understand what may lie behind the shortest and most devastating of messages an incident in her home will change Ivy’s life forever. Things will never be the same but will she get answers to the questions she has?

Understandably devastated at Tim’s death, Ivy is also dwelling on an earlier death. That of young William Tremain who died in a fire at Polneath house in 1888 (thirty years before). William had been trapped inside a room in Polneath which caught alight. His body was found under the bed but he had died before flame and smoke could be quelled enough to make a rescue possible.

Ivy had been nearby and was one of the first on the scene. She naturally became caught up in the subsequent inquest through slow and clever revelation Beth Underdown makes it clear to readers that there is more to William’s death than a tragic accident.

He was found under the bed of one of the staff, she would show kindness to the young boy – something which did not always appear to be the case from the patriach of the family. But the maid, Agnes, who would fuss and care for William wasn’t in her room in Polneath when the fire started nobody is sure where she was. The fire was in her room though and so was William. The child would come to visit her some evenings if he could not sleep. So when the fire took hold it appears William panicked, hid under the bed to escape smoke and flames and tragically lost his life.

Yet as the inquest and narrative continues there are unanswered questions. Why did William not run from the room? Where was Agnes? How did the fire start?

Both deaths occupy much of Ivy’s thoughts and the story switches between 1888 and 1918 as more information is established which helps readers understand what ocurred during both periods. Ivy is the central character to both tales but a deep and fascinating cast will spin in and out of her life and Beth Underdown weaves a rich narrative around them.

A beautifully told story of grief and a search for understanding.

The Key in the Lock is published by and is available in Hardback, Digital and Audiobook format. You can order a copy here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-key-in-the-lock/beth-underdown/9780241503300

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January 14

Decades: Compiling the Ultimate Library with Steve Cavanagh

It was around this time last year the Decades Library was first imagined. You’ve likely heard this before but to welcome new visitors I will explain my Decades Challenge and the ultimate goal.

Something happened which made me ponder the question: Where would you begin if you were asked to assemble a library but had to start with nothing but empty shelves. You have no books. None. Not one. Which books would you add to the library shelves to make sure readers would have nothing but the very best books to choose from?

I quickly realised that I could not possibly answer this question alone so I decided I would ask some guests to help me. Each week I am joined by a booklover (authors, bloggers, publishers and journalists have all lent their time to assist) and I ask them to nomimate some “unmissable” books. To make their selection process slightly more complicated I set two rules which each guest must follow:

1 – Choose Any Five Books
2 – You May Only Select One Book Per Decade From Five Consecutive Decades

And that’s the Decades Challenge. Selecting five favourite books. If you think it’s easy then try to narrow down your own five choices.

All that remains now is for me to pass the Curator’s Hat to my guest. It’s my absolute delight to welcome Steve Cavanagh to the Library.

Steve Cavanagh is a critically acclaimed, Sunday Times best-selling author of the Eddie Flynn series. All of his novels have been nominated for major awards. His third novel, The Liar, won the CWA Gold Dagger for Crime Novel of the year 2018. Thirteen won the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime novel of the year 2019. The Eddie Flynn novels have been translated into 26 languages. His latest book is The Devil’s Advocate.

You can order any of Steve’s books here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Steve-Cavanagh/e/B00OAGCA62?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1642111903&sr=8-1

DECADES

The Real Cool Killers by Chester Himes (1950)

Chester Himes had an extraordinary life of hardship and adversity. I can think of few writers who experienced half of what he had to endure. I am a huge fan of Raymond Chandler, but I think enough people will have read and marveled at Chandler already, and not nearly enough people have read Chester Himes. On his best day, Himes can make words dance. He is one of the very few writers that can turn prose into music. This novel is the second outing in the Coffin Ed and Grave Digger Jones detective series. By all means start with A Rage in Harlem, but I think some of the best prose work is in this one.

The Chill by Ross MacDonald (1964)

Ross MacDonald had his own personal troubles. He poured his heart and his empathy for his fellow human beings into his work, and specifically, his fictional hero PI Lew Archer. Writing a long-running detective series is an incredibly difficult undertaking. I remember Dennis Lehane remarking that writing a series can yield diminishing returns when it comes to the quality of each book, “how many people say the twelfth book in a series is their favourite?” This is a fair point, but some writers beat those odds. The Chill is the eleventh Lew Archer novel, and many people say it’s the best.

Ripley’s Game by Patricia Highsmith (1974)

Few authors have had such an impact on the genre as Patricia Highsmith. She was perhaps one of the finest proponents of the psychological thriller. In Strangers On A Train, she used a high concept hook as the engine for the novel and wrote many more standalones. She also wrote a brilliant short series about the killer and conman Tom Ripley. In Ripley’s game, she combines the two elements of her craft. What if you had a terminal illness? What if someone, perhaps with dark motives, came to you and offered a vast sum of money if you killed someone? You family will need that money when you’re gone. What if what began as a psychological game turned into something much more terrifying? A brilliant book, and one that I return to again and again.

The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris (1988)

There’s not much to say about this one other than it’s the book that made me love crime and thrillers. I’d read Sherlock Holmes, and detective comics, but it wasn’t until I was around twelve or thirteen that I read this one. My mum gave it to me. I know some people think Red Dragon is a better thriller, but for me Clarice Starling is an equally brilliant creation as Hannibal. This is the book that started it all for me. If you’ve just seen the movie, then do yourself a favour and read the book.

Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding (1996)

Because life isn’t all detectives and murders, it’s good to have an injection of humour now and again. I think this is one of the great comic novels. Maybe the last great one. It is so brilliantly well written, laugh-out-loud funny and touching and made all the more real by the style and structure. Again, if you’ve only seen the movie – please read the book.

It’s hard to believe it has taken twelve months of Decades selections for Patricia Highsmith make her debut. Five terrific reads and this is what I consider the “perfect” mix of titles – some books I know and love but there are also a couple of new recommendations which I immediately felt I needed to read. A weekly assult on my TBR! My thanks to Steve for taking on the Decades challenge.

DECADES WILL RETURN

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January 11

The Midnight Man – Caroline Mitchell

‘I remember the day I died quite clearly.’

Blackhall Manor has witnessed many dark crimes, long before five teenage girls break in to play the Midnight Game. It was supposed to be a game, but only four girls come home.

Detective Sarah Noble has just returned to the force, and no one knows more about Blackhall Manor than her. Except perhaps Elliott Carter, who is only seven but has seen things in his dreams most adults could never imagine.

It’s a case that will bring them together and shake Sarah to her core. Will she be ready to meet the Midnight Man?

I received a review copy from the publishers via Netgalley.

A police thriller with a delightfully dark edge.

Sarah Noble is returning to work after a period of extended absence. She doesn’t expect an easy ride, given the circumstances which led to her absence, but Sarah does seem surprised at the animosity her colleagues are showing as she returns to duties with the police. Restricted duties and only core hours each day which is going to be a problem as her team are about to be involved in a troubling case which will stretch them and drain their resources.

The root of their problems lies within Blackhall Manor. The infamous old building (now falling to ruin) where one night, years earier, a father gunned down his wife and two children before turning the gun on himself. The building’s reputation now means it holds a fascination for the local school children. There is a “challenge” game they play where a group of kids will try to stay inside Blackhall Manor from midnight to 3.33am and avoid being found by The Midnight Man. If he should catch you then the understanding is that things won’t end well for the unfortunate player.

As we join the story there is a group of five schoolfriends planning their trip to Blackhall Manor. They have received an invitation to play the game and their nervous excitement is infectious as they consider the implications of playing and how they will ensure their parents don’t find out what their plans are.

The Midnight Man game is a great introduction to the story, particularly as readers have already been inside Blackhall Manor. The first pages of the story takes us back to that fateful night when the murders occurred – it’s a harrowing read as we hear events unfolding through the eyes of one of the children. The noise, the panic, the disbelief and incomprehension thrusts the story right into the face of the reader and it’s a powerful way to grab our attention.

In present day the game goes wrong for one of the players. She becomes seperated from her friends and discovers the game is much more real than they expected. Her friends believe she has chickened out and gone home so it is a shock the following day when news of a missing girl begins to circulate.

For Sarah and her colleagues in the police the missing girl is just the start of their problems. The girl comes from a powerful family within the small community and answers are urgently being demanded. As is the assurance the police will return her home safely. But for Sarah, work problems are just the tip of the iceberg. Someone is watching her, threatening her, taunting her and they seem to know all about Sarah – things nobody really should know. But in a small town can you really keep secrets?

The Midnight Man has a plan and he is playing his game but he also knows of Sarah and his plans may involve her too. Lives will be lost, others destroyed and any fragile trust which exists in the community will soon be shattered.

This is a tension packed read and Caroline Mitchell keeps you hooked. There are lots of great characters who feed into the story and each seem to have their own involvement in Sarah’s case but it’s never quite clear who is just quirky and who may have a hidden agenda. Dark, creepy and nicely paced to keep my attention throughout.

The Midnight Man is published by Embla Books and is available in digital format, audiobook and paperback. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09BVGYMD3/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2

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January 7

Decades – Compiling the Ultimate Library with D.V. Bishop

Welcome back to my Decades Library. It’s a new year but I am asking my guests to take on the same challenge. Each week someone from the world of books will join me to help me in my quest to assemble the Ultimate Libary. I call it my Decades Library for reasons which shall shortly become clear.

For anyone joining us for the first time – Welcome! Let me explain what the Decades Library is all about. I began this challenge with the simple question: If I was to build a new library (starting with zero books) which books should I add to my library shelves to make sure I had the very best collection of titles available for people to read?

I knew I could not take on this challenge alone so each week I invite a new guest to join me and I ask them to add some of their favourite books to my Decades Library. They have to follow two rules. Got to have rules or chaos ensues.

Rule 1 – Pick Any Five Books.
Rule 2 – You May Only Select One Book Per Decade From Five Consecutive Decades.

I have finally wrestled the Curators Hat back from my last guest, Lisa Gray (thanks for looking after it over the holidays Lisa) and I am delighted to introduce D.V. Bishop who will make the first five selections of 2022.

D.V. Bishop writes the Cesare Aldo historical crime novels set in Renaissance Florence. The first in the series, City of Vengeance, was shortlisted for the 2021 Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize, won the Pitch Perfect contest at the Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing festival, and earned Bishop a Robert Louis Stevenson Fellowship. It was published in paperback on January 6^th, 2022. The second Cesare Aldo novel, The Darkest Sin, comes out March 2022 in hardback, ebook and audiobook – pre-order links here: http://linktr.ee/TheDarkestSin

D.V. Bishop is the pen-name of David Bishop, an award-winning screenwriter and TV dramatist. He has authored audio dramas and tie-in novels for Doctor Who and Judge Dredd. A former editor of iconic British science fiction weekly 2000AD, Bishop has written nearly fifty issues of beloved comics character The Phantom. Bishop co-created the original graphic novel Dani’s Toys with artist Ruairi Coleman which will be launched via a Kickstarter campaign in 2022.

In his copious spare time Bishop leads the MA Creative Writing and the MA Writing Popular Fiction programmes at Edinburgh Napier University in Scotland. A glutton for punishment, he is developing a new global online MA Creative Writing programme focusing on popular genre fiction for 2022.

DECADES

I live in Scotland, but my heart belongs to where I was born and raised: Aotearoa (New Zealand). My contributions to the Ultimate Library all come from NZ, books that deserve to be better known.

1960s: The Scarecrow by Ronald Hugh Morrieson (1963)

‘The same week our fowls were stolen, Daphne Moran had her throat cut.’ That sentence opens The Scarecrow, an early Kiwi Gothic and the first novel by Ronald Hugh Morrieson. He struggled to get published in his lifetime yet all four of his novels were adapted into films. The Scarecrow is funny, creepy, insightful, thrilling, and picaresque in equal measure. It is available on Kindle in the UK.

1970s: Smith’s Dream by C. K. Stead (1971)

Smith’s Dream is a taut, speculative thriller set in a New Zealand where political apathy lets a repressive government take charge. The title character went off the grid after his marriage ended; when he re-emerges, Smith struggles to recognise what his country has become. Hard to find in print, but the 1977 film version Sleeping Dogs with a young Sam Hunt is on UK DVD & Blu-Ray.

1980s: Photo Finish by Ngaio Marsh (1980)

I could hardly make this list without including one of the Golden Age queens of mystery fiction, Ngaio Marsh, after whom NZ’s crime fiction awards are named. Photo Finish is set in a millionaire’s island mansion and features a Maria Callas-esque opera diva being stabbed through the heart with a photo of herself impaled on the dagger. Unsurprisingly, most of Marsh’s work remains in print.

1990s: Once Were Warriors by Alan Duff (1990)

This is a blistering novel about domestic violence and toxic masculinity. Once Were Warriors held a mirror up to aspects of life in New Zealand that few people discussed, forcing readers to face the brutal reality of racism and sexism in the country. There’s an acclaimed film version that won prizes world-wide, but Duff’s debut novel deserves to be read for its unflinching prose and power.

2000s: Overkill by Vanda Symon (2007)

The prologue of this debut is compelling and terrifying in equal measure, setting the stage for a brilliant first novel by Vanda Symon. UK readers discovered how gripping Overkill was when Orenda Books unleashed a new edition in 2018, and it was rightly shortlisted for the CWA New Blood Dagger. But Overkill was first published 2007 in NZ, so it sneaks into my stretch of five decades.

My thanks to David for these marvellous selections. When I invite anyone to take part in the Decades Challenge I always mention that the selections are all very personal choices so to see five New Zealand titles gracing the Library shelves just warms my heart. I have even reviewed one of them for this blog!

David kindly provided a pre-order link for his forthcoming Cesare Aldo thriller The Darkest Sin but the first book in the series, City of Vengeance, released this week in paperback and you can grab a copy here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/city-of-vengeance/d-v-bishop/9781529038798

DECADES WILL RETURN

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