May 22

The Roanoke Girls – Amy Engel

EVERYONE WANTS TO BE A ROANOKE GIRL. BUT YOU WON’T WHEN YOU KNOW THE TRUTH.

The girls of the Roanoke family – beautiful, rich, mysterious – seem to have it all. But there’s a dark truth about them that’s never spoken. Either the girls run away… or they die.

Lane is one of the lucky ones. When she was fifteen, over one long, hot summer at her grandparents’ estate in rural Kansas, she found out what it really means to be a Roanoke girl. Lane ran, far and fast. Until eleven years later, when her cousin Allegra goes missing – and Lane has no choice but to go back.

She is a Roanoke girl.
Is she strong enough to escape a second time?

 

I had received a review copy from the publisher through Netgalley but I also bought a copy of the book and it was the paperback I actually read.

 

I went looking for my review of The Roanoke Girls and discovered I hadn’t written one. But I clearly remember writing a review as I loved this book and I wanted to shout about it – so where’s my review? How very odd. But if that’s odd then brace for The Roanoke Girls, there’s something very, very odd going on in this story and it’s down to Lane to take the reader through her family history and unpick what’s happening at her childhood home.

The Roanoke’s are a rich and highly influential family (old blood) and the daughers of the family conduct themselves with a regal air over the other local kids. Lane’s mother was a Roanoke Girl but she didn’t want to continue to live the life – she left home and raised Lane away from her family, just the two of them. However, at the start of the book we find Lane at a real low point, her mother has died. Lane is still at school and she can’t carry on alone. So the only real option is to return to Roanoke and live with her grandparents. It’s not too bad as her cousin Allegra is there too and the two girls form a strong bond. Sort of.

I say “sort of” as the relationship between Allegra, very much queen of the town, and the unknown quantity of the new-girl being welcomed to the fold does create some tensions between the two. Allegra appears jealous of Lane and yet at the same time acts out like she is much more mature and knowledgable than her cousin. It creates an interesting dynamic which keeps the story bubbling along nicely. Which Allegra will Lane encounter, what secrets is she hiding and what was happening in their large house before Lane arrived to shake up the Roanoke lifestyle?

The Roanoke Girls is very much a story you need to read. The dynamic of the family. The flashbacks to other family members, long since gone, who help flesh out the readers understanding of what happens in this quite wee town. It’s not a story you want to read too much about as the impact of events can only best be enjoyed when you have taken the journey that Amy Engel wants you to take – no shortcuts and no clues, just hear Lane’s story.

This was, quite simply, a terrific read. One where I was barely aware of turning the pages and when I did finally uncover the secret of The Roanoke Girls I wished I hadn’t – that way I could have the joy of reading this all over again without knowing the fate of the characters. It’s not a book I will forget any time soon.

 

The Roanoke Girls is available in paperback, digital and audiobook format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01INGSY0A/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

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January 22

Catching Up: Hall/Tudor/Foley

I won’t bore you with the details but the last few weeks have been a bit manic Chez Grab and I fell behind with my reviews.  I still managed to grab reading time but now I have a bit of catching up to do.

I have taken the executive decision to do some rapid reviews and aim for two or three titles per post. So without further ado here is a flavour of what I have been reading:

 

The Party – Lisa Hall

It was just a party. But it turned into a nightmare.

When Rachel wakes up in a strange room, the morning after a neighbour’s party, she has no memory of what happened the night before. Why did her husband leave her alone at the party? Did they row? Why are Rachel’s arms so bruised? And why are her neighbours and friends so vague about what really happened?

Little by little, Rachel pieces together the devastating events that took place in a friend’s house, at a party where she should have been safe. Everyone remembers what happened that night differently, and everyone has something to hide. But someone knows the truth about what happened to Rachel. And she’s determined to find them.

A story set at New Year but not a party that Rachel will ever forget. She awakes in her friends house with little memory of what occurred the previous night. However Rachel quickly realises that she was raped and cannot identify her attacker.

Lisa Hall builds a cracking, suspense-filled tale around this deeply upsetting incident. Rachel doesn’t know who she can trust and the lack of support she feels she is receiving really isolates her amongst her family and friends.  When Rachel begins to fear she may still be in danger that isolation really hits home.

This was the first Lisa Hall novel I have read but I was well aware of her reputation for writing clever and engaging thrillers.  The Party did not disappoint and I will add my voice to the ranks of bloggers who strongly recommend reading Lisa’s books.

 

Order The Party here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Party-gripping-psychological-thriller-bestseller-ebook/dp/B06W5RT7JD/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1548189986&sr=1-1&keywords=the+party+lisa

 

The Chalk Man – C.J. Tudor

It was only meant to be a game . . .

None of us ever agreed on the exact beginning.

Was it when we started drawing the chalk figures, or when they started to appear on their own?

Was it the terrible accident?

Or when they found the first body?

 

 

 

A delightfully dark debut from CJ Tudor. I have had The Chalk Man in my “TBR” pile for longer than I intended (her second novel is just a few weeks away).

I enjoyed The Chalk Man – the story zipped along at cracking pace and happily I was totally wrong in my predictions as to how the story was going to pan out. Through a nice series of then/now narratives I felt that the reader got a comprehensive look at the key characters in the story from their formative years to present day.

The formative years are important as it is in the past that the seeds of horror are sewn. A tragic event at a funfair has lasting consequences for a young girl. A group of young friends are on the cusp of their teen years – they will face fears, family turmoil and experience tragedy before the book draws to a conclusion.

The key character is Ed.  As an adult he is a 40-something single man and he has a few significant character flaws.  As a child Ed was a troubled 12 year old, member of a gang of 5 pals from very different backgrounds.  His parents were causing him embarrassment (and his mother’s job brought unwelcome attention). Also Ed is right on hand at the funfair incident – a day which may shape how Ed’s life will pan out.

The Chalk Man delivered surprises and twists and, as I indicated above, I enjoyed the story as it kept me reading to see how it would pan out.  Well worth picking this one up.

 

Order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Chalk-Man-Sunday-bestseller-chilling-ebook/dp/B06XXSVQ9T/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1548189938&sr=1-1&keywords=the+chalk+man

 

 

The Hunting Party – Lucy Foley

In a remote hunting lodge, deep in the Scottish wilderness, old friends gather for New Year.

The beautiful one
The golden couple
The volatile one
The new parents
The quiet one
The city boy
The outsider

The victim.

Not an accident – a murder among friends.

 

A remote lodge in the Scottish Highlands is the setting for this unusual murder story.

Unusual because the reader learns very early that someone is dead but the identity of the victim (and of the killer) is not revealed until the endgame plays out.  This is clever writing from the author as she has introduced a large cast of characters in which both victim and murderer will be hidden in plain sight for the duration of the story. Readers have to try and work out who will be vulnerable and also the potential aggressors.

Our likely suspects appear to be members of a party of friends who have left the city behind to celebrate New Year in the remotest cabin in The Highlands.  A resident housekeeper and the Gameskeeper are virtually the only locals they will encounter. There are two other guests (who the friends will try to avoid) and just to keep readers in their toes there is a murder investigation being conducted by local police – have our friends placed themselves at the mercy of a murderous stranger?

Of all the books I read over Christmas this one caused me the most frustration. I enjoyed the story, it is a clever premise and the tension is maintained throughout the story. There are clues and red herrings as to the identity of murderer and victim so it should have been a joy to read. Sadly I found all the city friends to be extremely irritating – which I am sure is intentional as their flaws are clearly flagged and they behave in an abhorrent manner for much of the story.

At points I would have been happy for ALL the friends to have been bumped off and my irritation with most of the cast made me reluctant to keep reading. But perseverance was rewarded and the great premise and ongoing thrills won out in the end.

I have seen lots of praise heaped upon The Hunting Party so I have no doubt it will do well.  It is cleverly done and I think would make a great book-group read.

 

Order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07FK6L3T1?pf_rd_p=71cb17e9-f468-4d3f-94d5-a0de44c50a7e&pf_rd_r=HY9JYDZHZ9AJC10APTN1

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October 4

The Toy Thief – D W Gillespie

Jack didn’t know what to call the nameless, skeletal creature that slunk into her house in the dead of night, stealing the very things she loved the most. So she named him The Toy Thief…

There’s something in Jack’s past that she doesn’t want to face, an evil presence that forever changed the trajectory of her family. It all began when The Toy Thief appeared, a being drawn by goodness and innocence, eager to feed on everything Jack holds dear. What began as a mystery spirals out of control when her brother, Andy, is taken away in the night, and Jack must venture into the dark place where the toys go to get him back. But even if she finds him, will he ever be the same?

My thanks to Flame Tree Press for my review copy and to Anne Cater at Random Things for the chance to join the blog tour.

The latter part of 2018 has seen me reading more horror tales than I had anticipated. This is largely due to a wave of fantastic releases from Flame Tree Press – each book I read from their collection leaves me wishing another would not be too far away.

The Toy Thief sports a deliciously creepy cover and was a distinctly eery read.

This is Jack’s story, she is not the Toy Thief from the title but she is very much the star of the piece. Jack lives with her father and older brother – the family are ‘getting by’ but the loss of Jack’s mother (who died while giving birth to Jack) casts a long shadow over the family.

At age of 9 Jack becomes aware of a late night visitor to their home. A creepy encounter which Jack only became aware of due to a missing toy and a video camera accidentally left running.

The quest to find a missing toy and explain understand the images captured on camera will change Jack’s life (and the lives of her family) forever.

D.W. Gillespie gives us a tense take on innocence lost, unwordly terrors and family bonds. Another great find from Flame Tree Press.

 

The Toy Thief releases on October 18th and you can order your copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Toy-Thief-Fiction-Without-Frontiers/dp/1787580474/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1538523279&sr=8-1&keywords=the+toy+thief

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