You know, in a warped, conniving, murderous way I’d say this novel is a story about friendship. Nina and Lachlan are grifters who scope out mansions of the rich and steal “only what won’t be missed”. It’s a profession Nina comes by naturally seeing how she was raised by a mother who earned a living under “questionable “ means. Now her mother is battling cancer, and the bills are adding up Nina decides to embark upon the heist of a lifetime. But this time she will have to revisit her past. She knows where to find the money she needs… in a safe in Stonehaven, a place that possesses a plethora of childhood memories
Our other narrator is Vanessa, the new mistress of Stonehaven. Upon the death of her father, the social media sensation, Vanessa decides to return to the family estate, a place that holds emotional childhood memories as well.
Nina and Vanessa’s lives will indeed collide, resulting in the unearthing of decades-old secrets, betrayal and murder.
This was such a great weekend read. The writing and plot sucked me in immediately, and I admit to staying awake until the end. There were some lovely plot twists and turns that kept me interested until the final page.

I was lucky enough to get a free galley copy of Pretty Things from Random House. You’ll be able to get your hands on a copy in April!

From Mansions to Madness

Remember my review of The Poisoned Thread from a few months ago? Well, since then, I have had the pleasure of reading two more of Laura Purcell’s novels. Let’s start with The Silent Companions, the first of her novels. Purcell portrays her protagonist, Elsie, as an unreliable narrator. I mean let’s face it, the story begins with our heroine in an asylum having committed some sort of heinous crime where she is disfigured. She doesn’t talk and she doesn’t sleep but what she may be open to doing with the encouragement of her doctor is to write. The doctor’s hope is that she will write her “story” so that he knows the truth behind her “crime” and therefore can try to effectively “treat her”. Told in flashbacks, we learn that our narrator suffered heartache early in her marriage when her husband dies unexpectedly. She, along with her companion (her husband’s cousin) make the trek to her husband’s estate The Bridge which she now, of course, has inherited. It is an isolated place where she is met with hostile looks from the help because they feel she is complicit in their “master’s death. Lonely, pregnant and creeped out by this more, our narrator is suspicious of all of those around her. Her only ally is her companion. Weird events begin to occur, where we, as readers question their authenticity. Are they real, or are they figments of her paranoid brain? Luckily she has her companion with her to validate what she sees. The estate has a past, however, one that is tempered with the hatred and murder. Through all of this, life-sized wooden figures, carved decades ago stand as silent witnesses to her descent into madness. Are they genuinely silent, or are they the cause of her fevered brain and paranoia? Our heroine is also haunted by her past, where murder and madness exist.

To add to my list of novels written by Purcell, I ordered Bone China through Amazon. It must not be sold in North America yet because it was sent to me from Madrid! It arrived beautifully bound in hardcover. Bone China possesses two storylines. One storyline takes place in the past when Louise Pincroft moves with her father to a mansion (Morvoren House) built along the ravaged coast. She accompanies her father so she can to help him conduct medical experiments on criminals who are dying of consumption. The second storyline takes place 4 decades later. It includes our protagonist Hester who has arrived at Morvoren House to take care of an ageing Louise who, well, who seems to be downright batty truth be told. Both women possess tragic histories that have come to haunt them in the present. Both women also have secrets, secrets that motivate them to behave and make choices that are anything but rational.

Laura Purcell is a master at creating an atmosphere. All three of her novels reveal settings so vivid I could be sitting in a movie theatre experience it all on the big screen. This author is my favourite writer of the “Victorian Gothic” of the moment.

 

Cartier’s Hope by M.J. Rose

This certainly isn’t the first time I’ve read M.J. Rose and it definitely won’t be my last. Her novels always present opportunities for escaping the mundanity of our everyday lives. With history, mystery and romance Cartier’s Hope doesn’t disappoint.

It’s New York in 1910 where we met Vera Garland, a woman of exceptional means having being raised in New York’s elite society. This socialite, however, has a secret that only her family knows; Vera Garland has an alter ego in that manifest as Vee Swan. “Vee” is a dynamic, feisty reporter who puts safety (and true identity) at risk in order to get “the story”. Vee is determined to expose the injustices that exist in New York at the beginning of the century especially if they include the rights of women and children. One of these stories is uncovering the true history of the Hope diamond. The Hope diamond is both desired and feared and Vera has to live her own truth in order to bring the story to “Vee”. During her quest for the truth, Vera suffers loss, physical pain and a broken heart. Through it all, however, Vera Stays determined to maintain her independence during a time in history when an independent woman is something to be feared. I found myself wanting to be Vera’s friend!

I really enjoyed reading this book. With its easy prose, quick plot and elements of history, it made for a perfect weekend read. 

You can buy Cartier’s Hope first week of December!

 

The last time my Book Club (lovingly named “Authora Bookealis) met we discussed the novel Unbury Carol by Josh Malerman. We had purposely picked this book for October because of Halloween, and if Unbury Carol was going to be even remotely as frightening as Malerman’s Bird Box, then it would be a novel aptly picked. (Bird Box is the only novel that has ever given me nightmares!) . Unbury Carol, however, turned out to be something different altogether. So it was a crime story, a western, and a romance with elements of magical realism and a dash of horror.

Our protagonist Carol visits “Howltown” when she dies. And she visits Howltown often, especially when she is under undue stress. While in Howltown Carol can hear the goings-on outside this reality and unfortunately  “she never misheard anything in Howltown. The opposite in fact. For as long as Carol could remember, the things she’d heard as she fell were beyond even the truth of the words themselves. There was the truth of the person behind them.” (pg 23) In this particular visit, Carol learns the violent truth surrounding her husband. Can Carol escape from her purgatory before being buried alive?  Or will she return finding herself in a coffin buried deep within the ground?

Some of my favourite characters? “Rot” is seen as a character, not the corporeal form but an entity that is always “there” in the corner, threatening, reminding others of their mortality.  Rot is a haunting character, but not as menacing as the Smoke. A literary trope of evil incarnate. Smoke, in my opinion, is deserving of a novel all of his own. I would have loved to have learned more of his backstory and motivation.

 I appreciate Malerman’s writing. In both Bird Box and Unbury Carol, he takes a nightmarish concept and uses strong female characters to stoically accept, strategize and conquer an evil force, be it supernatural or human.

 

 

“Creatures” by Crissy Van Meter

Ok, it’s taken me longer than I thought to write this review. Partly because I had to stop and start and re-read a good portion of it because, well because of life, and partly it is the type of novel I needed to read carefully because I REALLY LOVED it. There were so many layers in time, in style, in character development. I wish I had this novel in hard copy so it would have been easier for me to flip back and forth to reread parts, confirm interpretations, link events etc. This novel, at times, reads like a  fairytale complete with villains and heroes and fantastical ocean creatures. In this instance, however, our protagonist, Evie, is in no need of a handsome prince be it her husband or her father, to save her. No, in fact, she can save herself, thank you very much, be it from a deadly storm coming in over the ocean and wreaking havoc on the island, or from a group of men who know she is carrying the best weed (Winter Wonderland) on the island, in her backpack as she makes her way home 

I can’t wait to see what this book looks like when published. I am intrigued by the way it is organized. Parts read like poetry, parts read like a short-answer exam, parts that read almost as a journal, and parts that are told from an adult Evie before and after her wedding day.

Our protagonist Evie, has to pretty much raise herself. Not quite an orphan because both her parents actually “exist” albeit in varying degrees. Evie’s parents are either literally absent or absent due to the ingestion of substances, controlled and otherwise. Honestly, I was more worried about Evie’s broken friend Rook who seems to be on a road of self-destruction. I’d like to know more about her back story. What is she motivated to do what she does? Why does she seem to have a death wish of sorts? What is it about Evie that she is so attracted to? Is it Evie’s strength and good nature that seems to sustain her no matter the circumstance?

The story is also about the failure of a father trying to convince his daughter/or himself that they are fortunate to live such an adventure (as being homeless and selling drugs for food) because facing reality would be devastating. Why is it always daughters who have to stay behind and keep their fractured fathers together long enough to see themselves into adulthood?

I would seriously consider using this novel in a high school English class. Not only is it a strong study in character and theme, but it is also a great example of HOW a novel can be written. Often we encourage our students to read “mentor texts” so that they can see first hand how impactful creativity in storytelling can be. There are so many beautiful phrases that can generate reflection in their profundity.