Book Review: The People at Number Nine by Felicity Everett

The Blurb

Meet the new neighbours. Whose side are you on?

Have you met the People at Number 9?

Sara and Neil have new neighbours in their street. Glamorous and chaotic, Gav and Lou make Sara’s life seem dull. As the two couples become friends, sharing suppers, red wine and childcare, it seems a perfect couples-match. But the more Sara sees of Gav and Lou, the more she longs to change her own life. But those changes will come at a price.

My Review

Thank you to the publisher, HQ, for the review copy.

Sex, lust, envy, secrets and lies - this book has it all. 

Go on, admit it. When someone new moves in close by, you're curious, aren't you? What kind of people are they? Are they my kind of people? Am I their kind of people? Do I want to be their kind of people...?

It's quite possible we've encountered people like Gav and Lou ourselves. Families who seem perfect on the outside; but at odds with society, slightly bohemian in the way they don't give a fig about how they should behave. You might envy them, like Sara and Neil.

Sara is bored with life in the suburbs, then excited beyond belief when she befriends her new neighbours, eschewing regular friendships in favour of wanting to be their new best friend. Even husband Neil finds himself drawn into their lives.

It's a satirical look at society, marriage and friendships going askew. I found it hard to find much sympathy with any of the characters, apart from perhaps the long-suffering children. Sara is shallow and sycophantic; Lou and Gav love themselves far too much and even Neil grates after a while. As for being on anyone's 'side' - I disliked them all! 

Why would Lou and Gav be so anxious to be friends with Sara and Neil? They're wittier, more attractive (apparently) than them, so is it some kind of power play? It certainly seems that way.

This book got under my skin, in a rather uncomfortable way as opposed to winning me over. There's not much in the way of redemption. It's more of a snapshot, like a peeping Tom, peering through the window at suburban life. I can't say I particularly enjoyed the book, it was more of a tawdry compulsion.

You can buy The People at Number Nine here. 

Book Review: Obsession by Amanda Robson

One evening, a wife asks her husband a question: who else would you go for, if you could?

It is a simple question – a little game – that will destroy her life.

Carly and Rob are a perfect couple. They share happy lives with their children and their close friends Craig and Jenny. They’re lucky. But beneath the surface, no relationship is simple: can another woman’s husband and another man’s wife ever just be good friends?

Little by little, Carly’s question sends her life spiralling out of control, as she begins to doubt everything she thought was true. Who can she trust? The man she has promised to stick by forever, or the best friend she has known for years? And is Carly being entirely honest with either of them?

Obsession is a dark, twisting thriller about how quickly our lives can fall apart when we act on our desires.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, Avon, for the ARC.

I read a lot of books - too many perhaps, when I should be writing my own. I've been lucky this year so far; most have been great, the occasional one was not, and then last night, one absolutely blew my socks off.

Obsession is compelling, horrifying, disturbing, gripping...

The story is told in turns by each of the four main characters, husband and wife Rob and Carly, and the other couple Jenni and Craig. Each of them is narrating the tale to one of the others, and it is thoroughly enthralling. 

I don't want to give any more of the plot away; because I think each reader should be as shocked as I was. Never before have I been so betrayed by characters in a book. They play with my emotions - at first I detested the seemingly brash, selfish Carly, but later found myself wavering between sympathy and revulsion, an unsettling mixture felt for each of the characters as they seek to disarm and deceive us. I simply did not know who to trust.

The story gets bigger and more terrifying, the characters becoming more and more awful and their actions even worse. Honestly, this book wrong-footed me so many times, I had to read it in almost one sitting (I had to stop at 2am then carried on again at 8am!).

I've heard it said that for a book to be successful, you have to fall in love with at least one of the characters. Well, Obsession smashes the mould.

Obsession is published on Kindle on 4th May and in paperback on 1st June by Avon and you can pre-order either from Amazon or other retailers.

Book Review: The Cows by Dawn O'Porter

COW [n.]
/kaʊ/
A piece of meat; born to breed; past its sell-by-date; one of the herd.

Women don’t have to fall into a stereotype.

Tara, Cam and Stella are strangers living their own lives as best they can – though when society’s screaming you should live life one way, it can be hard to like what you see in the mirror.

When an extraordinary event ties invisible bonds of friendship between them, one woman’s catastrophe becomes another’s inspiration, and a life lesson to all.
Sometimes it’s ok not to follow the herd.

The Cows is a powerful novel about three women – judging each other, but also themselves. In all the noise of modern life, they need to find their own voice.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, HarperCollins, for the ARC. All opinions are my own - I don't follow the herd.

The three women in this novel are very different to each other; Tara is a single mother, determined to balance caring for her child with carving an outstanding role within a male-dominated industry; Cam is a successful blogger, who finds herself vigorously defending a woman's right not to have a child; and Stella, who has always lived in the shadow of her twin and cannot escape it even after her death.

It's a sassy, sharply, written novel with predicaments every woman can probably identify with in some way or another. OK so most women wouldn't dream of doing what poor Tara is caught doing, but the repercussions should fill everyone with fear and dread that social media has such power in our lives.

Stella is grieving for her sister and mother, who died within months of each other from ovarian cancer and breast cancer. Stella needs a hysterectomy and mastectomy after discovering she has the same deviant genes. Her eggs, and therefore her chances of becoming a mother, are on borrowed time.

Cam is the opposite - she rejects the very idea of motherhood and relationships, but her views aren't popular with everyone.

These three women are brought together under the strangest of circumstances in a story which will have you laughing, crying, and raising your fist and yelling 'Hell Yes!' Or maybe that's just me...

The Cows was published on 6th April and can be bought from Amazon or other retailers.

Dawn O'Porter is a broadcaster, novelist and print journalist who lives in London with her husband Chris, cat Lilu and dog Potato. She has made thirteen documentaries about all sorts of things including polygamy, childbirth, geishas, body image, breast cancer and even the movie DIRTY DANCING.

Dawn has written for various UK newspapers and magazines including GRAZIA and STYLIST. Her first novel PAPER AEROPLANES was published by Hot Key Books in 2013. Although Dawn lives in London she spends a lot of time in LA and travels a lot. You may have seen her dragging two huge pink suitcases with broken wheels and a Siamese cat (Lilu) in a box through international airports. At some point she plans to get new suitcases - the cat, however, has a few years left in her yet. Follow Dawn at www.dawnoporter.co.uk or on Twitter: @hotpatooties

Blog Tour: The People at Number 9 by Felicity Everett

Meet the new neighbours. Whose side are you on?

When Gav and Lou move into the house next door, Sara spends days plucking up courage to say hello. The neighbours are glamorous, chaotic and just a little eccentric. They make the rest of Sara’s street seem dull by comparison.

When the hand of friendship is extended, Sara is delighted and flattered. Incredibly, Gav and Lou seem to see something in Sara and Neil that they admire too. In no time at all, the two couples are soulmates, sharing suppers, bottles of red wine and childcare, laughing and trading stories and secrets late into the night in one another’s houses.

And the more time Sara spends with Gav and Lou, the more she longs to make changes in her own life. But those changes will come at a price. Soon Gav and Lou will be asking things they’ve no right to ask of their neighbours, with shattering consequences for all of them…

Have you met The People at Number 9? A dark and delicious novel about envy, longing and betrayal in the suburbs…

I'll be reviewing The People at Number 9 soon; in the meantime, I welcome the author, Felicity Everett, to the blog.

Guest Post: Where I find Inspiration - Felicity Everett

Inspiration is a slippery concept. I suppose if you look at my books, the answer to the question where does it come from, would seem to be my life. My first novel The Story of Us, is about five women, who meet at university in the 1980s, and about what becomes of them over the next two decades (I went to university in the 1980s, where I met some awe inspiring women, some of whom went on to great things, but not all…). My new novel, The People at Number 9 is about a couple who live a humdrum life in a London suburb, then meet some exciting new people who inspire them to make changes to their lives which they come to regret. I too lived a humdrum life in a London suburb. I also met some cool new people who made me see things differently. Fortunately I didn’t remake my life in their image, or come a cropper like the characters in my book, but the inspiration for the book was on my doorstep. The novel I am working on at the moment is a gothic psychodrama about a menopausal woman in a bad marriage who moves to the country and loses her mind. And yes, I am a woman of a certain age and I have just moved to the countryside. My marriage, I’ll have you know, is in very good shape! 

That’s what I mean by a slippery concept. I start off with something I know – a situation, a person. I tweak it a little, play a game of ‘what if?’ and it starts to get interesting. Before I know it, I’ve constructed a plot involving suicide and abusive celebrity marriage (The Story of Us); adultery (The People at Number 9) or marital gas-lighting (my new novel, as yet untitled). I’ve tried a few other scenarios – I was keen on the idea of a novel about a twenty-first century commune, but I couldn’t breathe life into it. I kept getting the characters mixed up – a sure sign that my heart wasn’t in it, so eventually I gave up. There’s no objective reason, really why that one should have flopped, and the gothic countryside idea should have grabbed me, as it has. All I know is, when the inspiration comes I don’t look it in the eye, I just crack on and write.

Thank you Felicity!

The People at Number 9 was published by HQ on 6th April, and you can meet them too by buying the book from Amazon and other retailers.  You can follow Felicity on Twitter @Ittymay

Book Review & Author Guest Post: Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney

Today I welcome Alice Feeney onto my blog with a brilliant Guest Post about naming a character. But first, here's my review.

The Blurb:

My name is Amber Reynolds. There are three things you should know about me:
1. I’m in a coma.
2. My husband doesn’t love me anymore.
3. Sometimes I lie.

Unnerving, twisted and utterly compelling, you won’t be able to put this new thriller down. Set to be the most talked about book in 2017, it’s perfect for fans of Behind Closed Doors, The Girl on the Train and The Widow.

My Review:

So, I saw this book on Netgalley, thought the premise was interesting; and started reading. Thank you Netgalley and publishers Harper Collins!

Oh. My. God. This book is quite brilliant, it really is. A psychological thriller that twists and turns and keeps you on your toes, and quite simply, I couldn't put it down.

The story is told from three different angles; Amber in a coma, flashbacks to the events leading up to her hospitalisation, and diary entries from her teenage years. I found these diary entries in particular to be very well written in the voice of a young teen, which contrasted nicely with the thoughts of the comatose adult Amber.

I was intrigued by the story behind Amber's accident, and I was kept guessing right up to the end. Her husband and sister are both regular, attentive visitors, but I never quite trusted either of them.

I loved the way the writer had Amber in a sort of locked-in state; she was able to hear and sense things going on around her, but no one knew as she was unable to communicate in any way. 

It's a really fast-paced story, full of intrigue. It's one of the best books I've read this year.

You can buy the book from Amazon, Waterstones and other retailers.

Author Guest Post - What’s in a name?

"I think about a story for a really long time before I’ll commit to writing it – my stories often spend months simmering away in the background before I begin, and that includes spending a lot of time with potential characters. 

I once heard someone say that they liked to audition their characters before they started to write a new novel, and that’s a really good way to describe it. You spend time with them, listen to their voice and have to decide whether it is a voice that is compelling enough for you to want to write it, and hopefully, later on, compelling enough for others to want to read. 

If I give a character a name, it means I’m really serious about writing them. There were several reasons that Amber was named Amber. Reynolds, her surname, came a few weeks later and felt completely right to me and so I started writing Sometimes I Lie.

I knew the beginning (those opening lines never changed from the very first draft), I knew a lot of the twists and I knew how I wanted the story to end. What I didn’t know, was what was going to happen in my personal life a little while later.

I had written about 20,000 words of the novel when we got the call to say that my niece had been born. It’s my first time being an Aunty, so I was thrilled and we rushed to the hospital. As I stood there, holding this perfect, beautiful child in my arms, with the whole family crammed into the hospital room, her parents announced that they were going to call her Amber. 

I hope that I smiled, but on the inside I felt awful. Amber, the main character in my novel is far from perfect and I immediately felt like I would have to change her name. But I couldn’t – she was already real for me. I then tried to change her behaviour in the book, but it didn’t work and, if anything, the things she did got worse. 

Other things changed during the writing process - new twists emerged and I came up with a new ending, but I could not change my protagonist’s name or who she was. It just wasn’t possible.

Writing is honestly the best job in the world and I feel so lucky to be able to do it full time now. Every day is a new journey. Some of the journey is so familiar to you by the time you come to write it, it’s like spending time with an old friend, other parts of the journey are a completely new adventure.

I do hope that if my niece reads Sometimes I Lie one day, she’ll forgive me for using the name Amber. Hopefully she’ll enjoy the book and they won’t have too much in common!"

Thank you Alice!

About the Author

Alice Feeney is a writer and journalist. She spent 16 years at the BBC, where she worked as a Reporter, News Editor, Arts and Entertainment Producer and One O’clock News Producer.

​Alice is a Faber Academy graduate from the class of 2016. She has lived in London and Sydney and has now settled in the Surrey countryside, where she lives with her husband and dog.

Sometimes I Lie is her debut thriller and is being published around the world in 2017.

http://www.alicefeeney.com/ @alicewriterland

Book Review: Watch Me by Angela Clarke

The Blurb

YOU HAVE SIX SECONDS TO READ THIS MESSAGE…

The body of a 15-year-old is found hours after she sends a desperate message to her friends. It looks like suicide, until a second girl disappears.

This time, the message is sent directly to the Metropolitan Police – and an officer’s younger sister is missing.

DS Nasreen Cudmore and journalist Freddie Venton will stop at nothing to find her. But whoever’s behind the notes is playing a deadly game of hide and seek – and the clock is ticking.

YOU HAVE 24 HOURS TO SAVE THE GIRL’S LIFE.

MAKE THEM COUNT.

My Review

Wow - I finished reading this last night and was left breathless. The book felt like an episode of  '24' - tense, dramatic, nail-biting, complete with each chapter counting down to the deadline for saving the sister of a colleague.

Gone is the brash, prickly Freddie Venton of Clarke's first book in the series, Follow Me. Freddie has been reduced to a nervous wreck by the villain, who is now locked up. He has left physical and mental scars on poor Freddie, who has been unable to cope and is living back with her parents. She suffers from panic attacks and anxiety, and the last thing she needs is old friend Nasreen turning up on her doorstep begging for help.

But of course Freddie agrees to help - after all, the case is similar to last time, and Freddie feels partly responsible. 

Nasreen has moved up in the world; she's on a new team, but still has to fight the prejudice of one of her colleagues. The usually by-the-book Nas finds herself discovering an inner strength and resourcefulness, going against the rules to get the job done. After all, she is guilty too. 

Social Media is again the star - or culprit - of this series; showing just how it can influence and damage our lives. The media used this time is Snap Chat; various Snaps are sent to Nas and her team, showing them videos of the poor abducted girl. (I'm guessing for the kidnapper to put a panting doggy filter over the poor victim would have been a bit too sick and twisted here).

The writing is taut, the dialogue natural and the humour as sharp as a blade, and again Angela Clarke has written a story that should strike fear into the hearts of the self-obsessed frenzied society of today.

You don't need to have read Follow Me to read this, but I highly recommend you do because it is a cracking series.

You can buy Watch Me, and it's predecessor Follow Me, from Amazon, Waterstones and other retailers.

About the Author

Angela is an author, playwright, columnist and professional speaker.

Her debut crime thriller Follow Me (Avon, HarperCollins) was named Amazon’s Rising Star Debut of the Month January 2016, long listed for the Crime Writer’s Association Dagger in the Library 2016, and short listed for the Good Reader Page Turner Award 2016. Follow Me has now been optioned by a TV production company. 

The second instalment in the Social Media Murder Series Watch Me (Avon, HarperCollins) is out January 2017. And the third Trust Me (Avon, HarperCollins) is out June 2017. 

Angela’s humorous memoir Confessions of a Fashionista (Ebury, Penguin Random House) is an Amazon Fashion Chart bestseller. 

Her play, The Legacy, enjoyed its first run at The Hope Theatre in June 2015. 

An experienced and entertaining speaker, Angela has given talks, hosted events, and masterclasses for many, including Noirwich Crime Writing Festival, Camp Bestival, Panic! (in partnership with Create, the Barbican, Goldsmiths University and The Guardian), Meet a Mentor (in partnership with the Royal Society of Arts), Northwich Lit Fest, St Albans Lit Fest, BeaconLit, and the London College of Fashion. She also hosted the current affairs radio show Outspoken on Radio Verulam in 2015, and has appeared regularly as a panel guest on BBC 3 Counties, BBC Radio 4, and the BBC World Service, among others.

In 2015 Angela was awarded the Young Stationers' Prize for achievement and promise in writing and publishing. She also works for The Literary Consultancy critiquing manuscripts and mentoring. Angela, a sufferer of the debilitating chronic condition Ehlers Danlos III, is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, volunteers with Womentoring, Meet a Mentor and at HM Prisons. She is passionate about bringing marginalised voices into the industry. You can find out more about her at www.AngelaClarke.co.uk

Find out more at: http://angelaclarke.co.uk and Follow Her (see what I did there?) on Twitter @theangelaclarke

Book Review: My Sweet Revenge by Jane Fallon

The Blurb

The bestselling author of Getting Rid of Matthew and Strictly Between Us tells a bitter-sweet tale of high passions, infidelity and revenge. Watch your back . . .

I want to make my husband fall back in love with me.

Let me explain. This isn't an exercise in 1950s wifeydom. I haven't been reading articles in old women's magazines. 'Twenty ways to keep your man'. That couldn't be further from the truth.

I want him to fall back in love with me so that when I tell him to get the hell out of my life he'll care. He won't just think, 'Oh good'.

I want it to hurt.

Paula has had Robert's back since they got together as drama students.

She gave up her dreams so he could make it.

Now he's one of the nation's most popular actors.

And Paula's just discovered he's having an affair.

She's going to remind Robert just what he's sacrificing.

And then she's going to break his heart like he broke hers.

It will be her greatest acting role ever.

Revenge is sweet. 

Isn't it?

My Review

Thanks to Netgalley and Michael Joseph for the advanced review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Lies, deception, jealousy... this book has it all.

Paula decides revenge is a dish best served cold when she discovers her husband's affair with his co-star. She's going to make him fall back in love with her, and then kick him to the kerb.

But that's not as easy as it sounds. How do you go about attracting a man you despise? And there's not much to like about the errant husband Robert, whose ego could Trump the worst man alive. God, this man loves himself.

But then none of the characters are particularly likeable; they are all pretty self-obsessed. At first I felt compassion for Paula, but then I found my sympathy conflicted. I know hell hath no fury and all that, but in trying to stick it out, Paula risks turning into someone bitter and twisted, and perhaps no better than her weasley spouse.

Just like the plot in the book; it twists and turns, and you don't know who to believe or who to root for. Fallon keeps us guessing, as the players outplay each other, and feelings and emotions are manipulated by all concerned. 

That all said, My Sweet Revenge avoids leaving a sour taste thanks to Fallon's sharp humour and witty observations. She drew me into the complex plot, utterly enthralled by the appalling behaviour of these self-indulgent people right to the very satisfying end.

My Sweet Revenge is published on January 12th by Michael Joseph, and is available at Amazon, Waterstones and other retailers.

Book Review: Second Time Around by Colette Caddle

After a freak accident and eight weeks in a coma, Suzie Connors’ family are elated when their adored mother finally wakes up absolutely fine. Except she’s not.

Blissfully unaware of her children’s shock at having to deal with the changes in their mum, Suzie has had a wake-up call and intends to live life to the full, with or without their approval. Then her youngest daughter, Sharon, is faced with some major issues of her own and the one person she would have turned to – her mother – is no longer there for her.

An emotional story about family, second chances and what happens when, in the blink of an eye, life changes forever …

Thank you to Simon and Schuster for my copy of this book.

It's quite a well-known fact that head injury can result in personality changes, and this affects not only the injured person but also those closest to them. The effect of the change in Suzie's behaviour causes shock and upset to her family and friends in different ways. 

Colette describes the horror and torment suffered by a family when a loved one is in hospital very well. That feeling of being in limbo, of not knowing if your loved one will die, or to what extent they will be affected. It is exhausting, both physically and mentally. Then when Suzie does wake up, the torment isn't over by any means as they all have to learn to adjust to the 'new' Suzie.

The story is told from multiple points of view, which shows how each person is affected by Suzie's injury to great effect. 

Suzie has lost her ability to filter her thoughts and what comes out of her mouth, often to quite humorous effect. She is struggling with her memory - who should she trust to tell her the truth about her past? 

Jess feels she has to carry the responsibility of looking after her mother; but she has problems of her own when her love life and work life collide. 

Jess's sister, Sharon, has it tough - her husband cannot connect with their son, Bobby, and now Suzie, who always adored her grandson, makes her thoughts on Sharon's mollycoddling perfectly clear. So clear that Bobby thinks his granny doesn't like him - a heartbreaking thing for any child. But deep down Sharon knows there's more to Bobby's behaviour than naughtiness - she just needs to admit it. Caddle's writing deals with this with a great deal of empathy.

Suzie's son, Noel, has the struggle of uni exams to cope with as well as his mother's erratic behaviour. He can't even confide in his best friend Cal, who is bewildered by Noel's distance.

Cal is my favourite character - he brings a lot of sense to everyone around him, not least Jess and Bobby.

As for the worst character - it has to be a toss-up between Suzie's sister Mandy, a conniving, jealous woman - no one else can believe it when she claims to be a loving sister, helping Suzie; and Jess's lover/boss Louis, who just makes my skin crawl!

Second Time Around is a heart-warming read about second chances, family and friendship. I loved it.

You can buy Second Time Around here (other retailers are available...).

Book Review: Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriaty

Despite their differences, Erika and Clementine have been best friends since they were children. So when Erika needs help, Clementine should be the obvious person to turn to. Or so you'd think.

For Clementine, as a mother of a two desperately trying to practise for the audition of a lifetime, the last thing she needs is Erika asking for something, again.

But the barbecue should be the perfect way to forget their problems for a while. Especially when their hosts, Vid and Tiffany, are only too happy to distract them.

Which is how it all spirals out of control...

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, Michael Joseph, for the ARC.

I was looking forward to reading this after The Husband's Secret, but I have to say I didn't enjoy it as much. I don't like leaving negative reviews, but I found the characters self-absorbed and, frankly, annoying. However, the relationships between the characters - marriage, friendships old and new, and mere acquaintances are interesting if a little over-thought.

The hook of the story - what actually did happen at the BBQ - is drawn out for far too long. In it's favour, the reveal was not what I expected, and it was heartbreaking and edge of the seat stuff. It's just a shame that the effect of this was diluted by taking so long to get there. The story was very slow in parts - I think it's the pace that lets it down.

That all said, I would still read another of this author's books.

You can buy Truly Madly Guilty (and Liane's better books) here (other retailers are available) 

Book Review: Untouchable Things by Tara Guha

For the third time this week he is watching her scream. Watching, not listening.

Rebecca Laurence is centre stage and shining in her role as Ophelia. She pivots, rotating like a ballerina impaled in a musical box, red hair cascading down her back.
Consumed by loss and surrounded by secrets, Rebecca must escape the grip of the Folly to have any chance of saving herself. Meanwhile, one man continues to watch.

Amidst the thundering applause, one man is watching. Rebecca meets the charismatic Seth Gardner, and as attraction grows between them, he invites her to join his Friday Folly, a group of artistic friends. But as Rebecca is drawn into the web of tangled relationships all is not as it appears. The scene is set for the night that will rip the group apart.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC - I'm only a year out *ahem*.

What a strange, captivating book. At first I found it hard to follow, but I persevered and found myself utterly compelled. The story is set in scenes and acts and told in multiple points of view, interspersed with brief questions from police interviews. 

The mysterious Seth is at the centre of the story; an enigmatic, charming man who seemingly collects creative misfits and brings them together in an uneasy mishmash of friendship. Tension pulls throughout the book. I read this with a sense of disquiet. The characters are very well drawn and each one is integral to the plot, having multiple sides that aren't quite so pleasant once we get to know them.

As the story goes on, it becomes more and more sinister, but it is impossible to stop reading. Like some of the group of friends, I was suspicious of Seth, but was still drawn to him, despite not knowing anything about him. It's an intriguing, absorbing read of manipulation and human weakness.

You can buy Untouchable Things here (other retailers are available - I should get paid for advertising Amazon!)