Santa Montefiore:The Beekeepers Daughter

Multi-generational feel-good love story

This is multigenerational feel-good love story over two generations. Grace Valentine grows up in England in the late 1930's living on the beautiful estate of the Marquess and Marchioness of Penselwood. She has a crush on the son of the Lord but knows her place in society as the daughter of the Lord's beekeeper. The onset of WWII turns her life around but she never forgets her first love.

Moving forward to the 1970's Grace is living in a small community in the US which is shocked when her daughter Trixie spends a weekend with her aspiring rock-star lover. Grace soon finds that Trixie's situation with an unsuitable man has similarities to her situation at the same age. It is a frequently very touching story of a mother and daughter both searching for love and happiness in a similar way who are unaware of the secrets that bind them. To solve them they must confront the current and the past, and unravel the lies told long ago.

I have always loved Santa Montefiore's easy reading page-turning style, great characters and servings of romance. This is probably her best book which I strongly recommend to anyone who likes these kind of books.

My thanks to The Reading Room and the publisher for a copy of this book.

This review was written by MonicaD.

Barry Lancet: Japantown: A Thriller (A Jim Brodie Novel)

Didn't fulfill early promise as a great début thriller  
Barry Lancet's début novel started with great promise of being a thriller that bridged the cultural gap between Japanese and American life. Unfortunately as the plot developed it became another overblown major conspiracy thriller where the hero and a few helpers took on well-organised baddies and managed to defeat them almost singlehanded.

Jim Brodie was born in Japan to American parents. He went to Japanese schools and integrated the Japanese society as well as any Gaijin (foreigner) is allowed and has a great expertise in Japanese culture, history, and martial arts. He shares his time as a dealer in Japanese art and antiques in San Francisco with running his late father's Tokyo-based private investigation firm.

When five members of  a rich and powerful Japanese family are gunned down assassination-style at a pedestrian mall in San Francisco's Japantown, Lieutenant Frank Renna from the SFPD asks for Brodie's help in deciphering a single Japanese Kanji character (a complex logographic which is part of the most complex Japanese writing system) left on a scrap of paper at the scene. What is chilling to Jim is that he had seen the same obscure and unidentifiable Kanji at the scene of a fire which destroyed the life of his wife Meiko.

Having lived 2 years as a true Gaijin in Tokyo, working and living with the Japanese I was fascinated by Lancet's fantastic perception of Japanese life, traditions and society from growing up in Japan in a similar way to fictional Brodie. I got lost when Brodie discovered that the Kanji led him to the ruthless and powerful Soga clan, the product of an ancient conspiracy (akin to the scope of the Da Vinci Code) that had its violent tentacles entangled around the most influential parts of Japanese business and government. I got further lost when Brodie and his PI firm took on the powerful Saga almost singlehanded.

What started out looking like an outstanding début thriller ended up as an almost unbelievable David and Goliath story. Despite this, because Lancet is undoubtedly a very talented author with an amazing understanding of Japanese life, I look forward to reading his next book, TOKYO KILL to see if he fulfills the promise shown in the first part of this book.

Fiona Palmer: The Sunnyvale Gilrs

A journey across the years
There are three Sunnyvale "girls". Maggie, the grandmother who grew up on the property during the war, Toni her daughter and her granddaughter Flick. Years ago they all moved from the old house, built by a couple of Italian prisoners of war, to a larger house built by their late grandfather.

One day Toni is clearing out and renovating the old house when she finds a box of old unopened letters under a loose board. They are all addressed to her mother, sent from Italy and have never been opened - Maggie's mother had kept them from her. The first letter starts "Bella Maggie" and ends "I made a promise. I will come back to Australia so we can be together. Ti amo, Rocco".

This was an easy read as the family starts to unravel what happened and Toni and Flick go to Italy seeking answers which will have an impact on the lives of all of the Sunnyvale girls and Maggie in particular.

This review was posted by MonicaD. Thanks to The Reading Room and the publisher for a copy of this book.

Deanna Raybourn: Silent in the Moor (Lady Julia Grey Novel)

I won't be reading any "Moor"

This is the third in the Lady Julia Grey series - I read it for two reasons, firstly because it was a heavily discounted e-book, and having read #1 and #2 I wanted to finally see a passionate relationship develop between Julia and Brisbane.

I had to wait through to the end for the latter to happen and it really was an anti-climax. In between Brisbane was even more enigmatic and elusive and any lady in their right mind would have walked away a long time ago.

This time Deanna Raybourn takes us to the most remote parts of the Yorkshire moors where Brisbane has surprisingly bought a run-down house from a family with aspirations to royal blood going down the ages. Not only is the house run-down but a strange mix of survivors of the original impoverished, and run-down family are still living in the house.

The plot again takes in gypsies and poison but this time Egyptian artifacts and mummies. We also have to put up with the strange animal kingdom of ugly dogs and pet raven that accompany Julia and her sister wherever they go. Of course Julia gets involved in some sleuthing but it is far from compelling reading.

I started reading the Lady Julia Grey series after really enjoying Raybourn's breakout adventure-romance A SPEAR OF SUMMER GRASS and seeing how many reviewers had a hard time coming to grips with the change from their favourite Lady Julia series. This book had the opposite effect on me and I won't be reading any more in this series, despite Brisbane and Julia finally coming together as partners.

R. E. Blake: Less than nothing

Follow your dreams, however hard that may be

From time to time I come across an interesting book that I would not normally read. LESS THAN NOTHING is a coming-of-age YA/NA story about two homeless teenagers facing up to tough times living on the street. Their main connection is that they are talented musicians and singers, surviving by singing for hours on the streets for loose change of passers by.

Sage left the home of her alcoholic mother a few months ago, driven out by the violence of her mother's new husband. Derek has been on the streets longer and has a dark past that he is reluctant to share with anyone. Both of them meet in San Francisco when Derek appears to want to take over Sage's street spot where she sings each day, but reluctantly she agrees to share the spot as their duo makes far more money together.

While Sage lives day to day, Derek has a dream - to win a nationwide singing talent contest. The main problem is that the last audition is in New York only two weeks away. With only a few dollars in their pockets we see Sage and Derek attempting to cross the country to get to New York in time to audition with hundreds of other hopefuls for a spot in the contest.

This is a kind of tender love story as the two very damaged main characters start to connect. It is not the wham-bang eroticism that turns me off so many other contemporary coming-of-age novels. Blake writes this book in the first person as Sage so you experience her youth, immaturity and sensitivities. His writing style is easy reading, but somewhat addictive as he takes us through their experiences, highs and lows and disappointments. The choice of homelessness for a first YA/NA novel is a brave one but it works because Blake doesn't over focus on the dangers which Sage and Derek face to survive.

This is the first YA/NA book by R.E. Blake. I am not in the YA/NA age group (more in the SA group, where S = Senior or Senile) but I think if I can relate to this book then others in the target groups will do so as well.

In the tradition of most trilogies, at the end Blake leaves us in a position where we want to know what happens next. I hope that others will want to read on to find out the answers to several questions that are left unanswered, one of them being "Can true love overcome adversity and a mountain of obstacles keeping them apart?" 

I received an Advanced Reading Copy of this book from the author for my honest review.

Clive Cussler & Russell Blake: Eye of Heaven

The Cussler formula hasn't changed

I haven't read many Clive Cussler books recently. A few years ago in the early Dirk Pitt days he was one of my favourite action authors but I moved on when my reading tastes expanded. I was tempted to read this book firstly to see how the Cussler publishing empire has changed over the years but also to check out his new co-authorship with Russell Blake, one of my favourite authors of no-holds-barred action-packed thrillers. My verdict is that Cussler's comfort food for his many fans is still fresh, spinning tales that have kept them fed for so many years and that Blake's co-authorship appears seamless.

The Fargo series focuses on Sam and Remi Fargo, a golden couple with apparently huge resources who are professional treasure hunters. The beginning of the book has them exploring a 17th Century wreck off the Spanish coast which contains some amazing statues. The Fargos make a long term dangerous enemy of  Janus Benedict, an immensely rich and unscrupulous Englishman when they thwart his plans to make off with the sunken treasures.

The Fargos join an expedition to map glacial shrinkage on Baffin Island and in the process find a Viking longship with its crew perfectly preserved by being frozen in the ice. While a find of an authentic Viking longboat in flawless condition is momentous the discovery of pre-Columbian artifacts that may have come from middle America is even more momentous. This sets the Fargos on a search for evidence that the Vikings may have reached America. Such a search gets the attention of the baddies (led by Benedict of course) who follows every move.

The plot was more realistic than many recent thrillers I have read and the history behind the plot was fascinating and entertaining. I don't know much about co-authorship, other than it allows authors to keep publishing books when they would otherwise have retired (Cussler is now 83). This book has the Cussler touch from the well researched historic plot and the Blake touch with his prolific writing skills. I am sure that Cussler's many fans will lap up this latest joint venture in the Fargo series.

Russell Blake is to be commended with his first venture into co-authorship because once again he has shown that he can write well in so many different environments. His name deserves a much larger font on the eye-catching cover. I did miss some of his signature adrenaline-pumping action so my have to attend a Requiem for the Assassin soon to refuel.

Lee Child: Personal

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Reacher takes on the World
I always promise that I won't read another Jack Reacher series by Lee Child and always break my promise because I want to see what Child has done this time to continue to breath life into this long running series. In PERSONAL Jack Reacher moves on from his nomadic life in the US to face up to a threat to the peace of the world.

PERSONAL starts with a bit of a bang when Reacher arrives in Seattle, reads a discarded Army newspaper left on the bus and sees that one of his senior officers from his Army days wants to talk to him urgently. The first shock to the system is that within a couple of hours Reacher finds himself travelling across the US again, but this time he is the only passenger in a luxurious Army executive jet. At the other end he meets two Generals and a couple of CIA operatives (female and pretty of course) who brief him about an unsuccessful sniper attempt on the life of the French President and they believe that the sniper will target a forthcoming G8 meeting of world leaders. The punchline comes when Reacher is told that the main suspect, a former US sniper recently released from 16 years in jail, is also targeting Reacher because he was the military cop who put him behind bars.

All this sends Reacher on the same jet over to Paris to check out the unsuccesful shot. There he meets heavies from the intelligence services of France, Russia and the UK who are chasing down other top snipers who may have gone rogue. The chase then takes Reacher and Casey Nice, one of the CIA operatives (female and pretty of course) over to the UK, undercover this time, to prevent the assassination of one or more world leaders.

In the course of trying to save the world almost single-handed, Reacher takes on powerful Serbian and British gangsters, takes out more victims in unarmed conflict at one time than ever before, and meets an opponent who is considerably taller, larger and heavier.

The first thing that struck me was Child's decision to write in the first person, cutting out the time honoured introduction to Reacher's size, physique and appearance that must have appealed to Reacher's many female fans. The second thing was that Child decided to go with an over-the-top plot to keep the series alive. IMHO this time he went too far. Probably the best thing in the whole book was the twist in the plot in the last chapter, but then you will need to read the book to find the answer.

No doubt this book will please many of Child's readers who are looking for an escapist read. No doubt many readers will be pleased to know that at the end of the book Reacher is waiting for a bus to resume his nomadic existence. No doubt I will promise myself that I won't read the next in the Reacher series, but no doubt I will also break my promise to see what Child does next to keep the series alive.

Jaye Ford: Already Dead

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Excellent psychological thriller
Aussie author Jaye Ford has written another very clever and riveting psychological suspense thriller that grabbed me from the beginning and kept me enthralled and guessing almost to the very end.

Journalist Miranda Jack has been traumatised by the unexplained hit-and-run death of her investigative journalist husband, Nick, a year ago. Since then the shock has left her unable to continue her career as a promising journalist. In an attempt to move on with her life she is relocating up the coast from Sydney to Newcastle with her young daughter Zoe to stay with her Aunt. Just after shutting up her apartment for the last time she is waiting at traffic lights to turn onto the expressway on-ramp when a man jumps into her car, points a gun at her and forces her to drive at high speed up the motorway.

Miranda (better known as Jax) has to listen to the paranoid rants of Brendan Walsh who claims that he is "already dead", people are chasing him and he can't hide from nano-spiders laying eggs in his brain. He continually looks around and up in the sky see if anyone is following them. At other times Brendan collapses into a shivering mass of stress but still keeps his gun pointed at her. Then there are moments of sanity when he tells Jax a little about his life, and his love for his wife and young son. Jax is stunned when he tells her that he had met her five years before when she had interviewed soldiers and their wives prior to postings to Afghanistan.

Jax frantically looks for ways to escape but Brendan keeps up the pressure, making her drive dangerously to evade unknown and invisible followers. Eventually the chase ends tragically and the police take over. The experience leaves Jax traumatised by the event but she is the kind of person who can't walk away without asking questions about the possibility that Brendan may have had moments of truth. This puts Jax in dangerous situations, which might even get her killed and also directly threaten her family.

The first few chapters of the book about the car-jacking, Brendan's ravings and the "chase" are some of the most nail-biting and action-packed writing I have read for a while. Jaye Ford unfolds an intense psychological drama about a damaged but strong young woman fighting with all her physical, emotional and mental powers to find an answer to the situations that surround her.

This is a top class, action-packed, very human and frequently very moving story which will keep you involved at all times and guessing almost to the end. The book is set in in parts of Sydney and Newcastle that are very familiar to me and are brilliantly described.

There were a few unfinished plot elements that puzzled me but I think they may be seed roots left by the author to grow a sequel about the unexplained death of Nick. I do hope so as Jax is a powerful, complex and wounded character and Jaye Ford is a writer at the top of her form.

Earlier this year I really enjoyed BLOOD SECRET and commented that Jaye Ford is a world class author of psychological thrillers. ALREADY DEAD  confirms my opinion - it was a great read and is highly recommended to those who like this kind of thriller.

My thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for a copy of this book for review.

Bernard Cornwell: Sharpe's Tiger

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Sharpe in the Tigers' Lair
This is the first book in the remarkable series of 22 impeccably researched historical novels by master storyteller Bernard Cornwell about Richard Sharpe, a foot-soldier in India and in the Napoleonic wars at the end of the 18th Century and beginning of the 19th Century. I have already read a couple of books in the series and have made a resolution to read the rest, in order.

This book introduces Richard Sharpe as an impoverished, illiterate private soldier in the 50,000 strong Indian Army led by General George Harris marching to lay siege to and capture Seringapatam in Southern India to overthrow Tippoo Sultan who had defied British rule for many years. Sharpe is the son of a London prostitute (father unknown), orphaned at three and left to grow up first in a foundling home and then on the streets of London. He joins the army for some form of security but mainly to avoid being imprisoned for thievery.

Sharpe is unlucky to be put under the control of cruel and tyrannical Sergeant Hakeswill who is determined to break Sharpe's brave and cocky outlook. Hawewill taunts Sharpe into a fight which results in a flogging for hitting a senior officer. Sharpe's punishment is cut short when a senior officer gives him a choice, continue the flogging and risk death or pose as a deserter, penetrate Tippoo's city and find a Scottish officer being held prisoner there who has vital information about the city's fortifications. The deal is that if Sharpe succeeds he will become a sergeant but if he fails Tippoo will most likely feed him to his man-eating tigers. We see Sharpe showing the kind of wisdom and bravery that shapes his life in his further career in the Army as he helps the attackers from behind enemy lines.

Cornwell seamlessly blends historical reality, characters and battles with Sharpe's adventures to give us a continuing action-packed history lesson that puts us in the box seat both of the battlefront and also a detailed view of life in the armies of the day. In this book Cornwell describes immense task of moving an army of 50,000 troops and thousands of camp followers (including cooks, wives, merchants and even brothels). The army needs 200,000 cattle, some for food, oxen to carry cannon balls and bullocks to haul wagons and guns, the heaviest needing sixty bullocks apiece. Officers slept in tents, well away from the cattle. The common soldiers had no tents and slept on the ground close to campfires. Pay was a pittance and the main motivation of the common soldier in battle was the spoils of war taken from the fallen and captured towns.

I thoroughly enjoyed this first encounter with Richard Sharpe and look forward to fulfilling my resolution to read the rest of this fantastic series, which I heartily recommend to anyone who likes action-packed and adrenaline pulsing historical fiction.

Glenn Meade:The Last Witness

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If you don't stand up to evil then evil will stand up to you
This is a very chilling story set around a recent era that we should never forget - the brutal ethnic cleansing during the Balkans' civil wars of the early 1990's which involved butchery not seen on a scale since the Jewish holocaust by the Nazi's.

Carla Lane's happy marriage to Jan, a up-and-coming concert pianist, is about to be made happier when her pregnancy is confirmed. But it is cut short on the same day when a pipe bomb explodes when Jan gets into his car after a concert. Traumatised by his death Carla talks to the psychiatrist who treated her as a young girl when she arrived from Bosnia following the death of her parents. She finds that she has almost totally repressed not only the memories of her happy times with her family but also their terrible experiences in one of the Serbian rape and death camps. After reading her Mother's diary which documents their plight in detail, her memories return and she vows to find the fate of her parents and her beloved younger brother and take revenge for what happened.

Her trauma gets worse when she realises that Jan may have been killed by the Bosnian mafia and that the war criminals responsible for her family's suffering are now living the high life in America. Her earlier life as a lawyer and prosecutor cuts in and she sets out to get justice the men who were responsible for such brutality. It soon becomes clear that she may be the only witness to the depravity handed out at the prison camp at "Devil's Hill" in Bosnia.

This is a memorable book, for all the wrong reasons, written by an author at the top of his form. In the Prologue Chapter Glenn Meade lays out the basic theme of the book "Listen when I tell you that if you don't stand up to evil, then evil will stand up to you" and ""Because if the world never learns from the lessons of its history, then it is condemned forever to repeat the sins of the past". These words are especially prophetic with the barbarity that is happening in the Middle East.

Highly recommended for discerning readers who can stand to be reminded of one of the darkest times in recent human history.