WIN A COPY OF LOST YOU BY HAYLEN BECK

The very lovely team at Harvill Secker got in touch to tell me about their new publication, Lost You by Haylen Beck. Here's the synopsis to whet your appetite:

When a little boy goes missing, his mother desperately wants to find him . . . before someone else does. Perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell, Shari Lapena and Cara Hunter.

Libby would do anything for her three-year-old son Ethan. And after all they’ve been through, a holiday seems the perfect antidote for them both. Their hotel is peaceful, safe and friendly, yet Libby can’t help feeling that someone is watching her. Watching Ethan. Because, for years, Libby has lived with a secret.
Just days into their holiday, when Libby is starting to relax, Ethan steps into an elevator on his own, and the doors close before Libby can stop them. Moments later, Ethan is gone.
Libby thought she had been through the worst, but her nightmare is only just beginning. And in a desperate hunt for her son, it becomes clear she’s not the only one looking for him.
Who will find him first?

Sounds good doesn't it! Harvill Secker have kindly offered to send a reader of Dot Scribbles a paperback copy of the book so you can enjoy it yourself. This is open to UK residents only, simply leave a comment below and I shall pick a random winner. Entry closes midnight on Thursday 4th July! 

BOOK REVIEW: Freefall by Jessica Barry

Surviving the plane crash is only the beginning for Allison.
The life that she's built herself- her perfect fiance, their world of luxury- has disappeared in the blink of an eye. Now she must run, not only to escape the dark secrets in her past, but to outwit the man who is stalking her every move.
On the other side of the country, Allison's mother is desperate for news of her daughter, who is missing, presumed dead. Maggie refuses to accept that she could have lost her only child and she sets out to discover the truth.
Mother and daughter must fight- for survival and to find their way through a dark web of lies and back to one another, before it's too late...

Publisher: Vintage

Pages: 351

Freefall is Vintage's lead debut thriller for 2019 and I think it's going to be be big! I flew through it in just over a day, it has the feel of a good thriller/adventure story. A relentless pace is set from the beginning and it is packed full of twists and turns.
Allison has survived a plane crash which is pretty terrifying on its own but we soon learn that she is still in grave danger. She knows that someone is after her with the objective to killer her, she must get to a place of safety if she is to survive.
Allison's mother, Maggie has not spoken to her daughter for two years when she hears of the crash. She will not believe that Allison is dead and starts investigating herself.
She is stunned to learn about the person her daughter has become, she is a stranger. Determined to get to the truth, Maggie continues delving into matters, unwittingly putting herself and Allison in danger.
Jessica Barry has written a fantastic debut. The chapters alternate between Allison and Maggie and we build up a picture of what happened in their past to lead them to be estranged. Both women hit their lowest points in this book which was interesting as the author showed them dealing with it in very different ways.
Barry is looking closely at the bond between  mother and daughter; Maggie and Allison's relationship has totally broken down  but that link is still there holding them together.
Freefall keeps you guessing, it was a very satisfying feeling when it all slotted into place. The clues are all there and Jessical Barry ties it all together beautifully at the end.
I want to say that this felt like a good, traditional thriller and I do not mean that in a derogatory way. I felt as though it had all of the perfect elements without trying to hard or relying on a shock-factor and so on.
Freefall is a brilliant debut from Jessica Barry and I hope that she writes many more.

Many thanks to Vintage for sending me a copy of the book to review, Freefall is available now!  

BOOK REVIEW: The Woolgrower's Companion by Joy Rhodes

Australia, 1945. Until now, Kate Dowd has led a sheltered life on Amiens, her family’s sprawling sheep station in northern New South Wales. But with her father succumbing to wounds he’s borne since the Great War, the management of the farm is increasingly falling on Kate’s shoulders.
With only the sheep-rearing book, The Woolgrower’s Companion to guide her- Kate rises to the challenge. However, the arrival of two Italian POW labourers unsettles not only the other workers, but Kate too- especially when she finds herself drawn to the enigmatic Luca Canali.
Then she receives devastating news, the farm is near bankrupt and the bank is set to repossess. Given just eight weeks to pay the debt; Kate is now in a race to save everything she holds dear.

Publisher: Vintage

Pages: 416

The Woolgrower’s Companion is an excellent piece of historical fiction set in the Australian outback in 1945. Kate Dowd’s husband is off fighting in the war, they have just taken on two Italian POW’s and Kate is helping to run the family farm with her ageing father. As if things are not difficult enough, the bank then come knocking on the door and Kate has just weeks to save her family’s livelihood.

I do like historical fiction, but I have to admit that I mainly read those that are set in the UK rather than abroad. The Woolgrower’s Companion was fascinating though and I loved learning about Australia during this tumultuous time. Joy Rhodes looks closely at the plight of the indigenous aborigines which is a subject I know nothing about but I feel that she dealt with it honestly and it added a very interesting aspect to the book.

Kate Dowd is an interesting protagonist, she has been somewhat sheltered so far in life but when the farm is threatened she more than steps up to the plate. I enjoyed the romantic nature of the book but Kate’s transformation was the best part in my opinion. We see her having to muck in with the men and earn their respect and loyalty- no mean feat in the Australian outback. I think she is a shining example of what many women at the time experienced, suddenly being called upon to do far more than was ever expected or allowed of them before.

I can highly recommend The Woolgrower’s Companion, Joy Rhodes delivers a fantastic story with believable and intriguing characters. If you are a fan of historical fiction then do not miss out on this one.

BOOK REVIEW: The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flannagan

Forever after, there were for them only two sorts of men: the men who were on the line, and the rest of humanity who were not. In the despair of a Japanese POW camp on the Burma Death Railway, surgeon Dorrigo Evans is haunted by his love affair with his uncle's young wife two years earlier. Struggling to save the men under his command from starvation, from cholera, from beatings, he receives a letter that will change his life forever. This is a story about the many forms of love and death, of war and truth, as one man comes of age, prospers, only to discover all that he has lost. 

Publisher: Vintage

Pages: 464

One of my New Year's Resolutions was to get back to reading more of what I wanted to rather than focusing just on the books that I had been sent which were waiting for review. The Narrow Road to the Deep North is a book that my husband had told me about and I just hadn't got round to reading. I am so, so glad that I took the time to read this book, it is one of those that I will not be able to forget. I've always wanted to know more about the Burma Death Railway as my husband's great uncle perished there. It was only after I'd finished the book that I discovered that the author's father had been a POW there. This shocked me a little as I thought it was incredibly brave of Richard Flannagan to write a fictional account of something his father has actually endured. The pressure must have been huge. The Narrow Road to the Deep North won the Booker Prize in 2014 and it is richly deserved. I could not believe how many emotions I went though over the 464 pages of the story.
Dorrigo Evans was a surgeon and prisoner of war on the Burma Death Railway. His job was extremely difficult as he was effectively patching the men up so they could go back out to work; back-breaking soul-destroying labour that would inevitably lead to their death. Dorrigo is also plagued by the guilt and loss he feels over the love affair he had with his uncle's young wife, Amy. The book goes back and forth between Dorrigo as a young man and his relationship with Amy; his horrendous time as a POW and the time after when he has become almost a celebrity, a war hero and survivor whose story everyone wants to hear.
The Narrow Road to the Deep North is about love in its many different forms. It reminded me a little of Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks in the way it mirrors graphic, terrifying descriptions of war with the details of a passionate, consuming love affair. So many men are worn down and emotionally destroyed in the book but the majority cling on to some sort of love; almost to remind them of their humanity. Love for a wife, a sibling, a comrade, it is what keeps them pushing forwards rather than giving up completely.
I was so impressed by the way in which Richard Flannagan dealt with the Japanese characters in this book. It would have been so easy to deliver stereotypical 'bad guys' but he really tried to explore the culture and thoughts behind their actions and treatment of the POW. I wasn't necessarily expecting him to follow these characters after the war but some of these chapters were the most interesting.
The descriptions in this book of the camp and daily horrors make for very uncomfortable reading but they show Richard Flannagan's immense talent. I have found myself thinking about his book so much and this review barely covers how it effected me. It is a book I know that I will re-read again and one I will tell many others about.

Book Review: The Snowman by Jo Nesbo

First of all I am excited as I have hit my target of reading 100 books this year!!! Fan fare etc etc! I hope that you are all okay and  getting ready for Christmas, I'm sorry it's been a little quiet on here of late, we have had a lot of colds (man flu for Mr S) in the Scribbles household but we are all on the mend now and feeling much more festive! 

Here's the idea behind The Snowman which unfortunately is not of the Raymond Briggs variety:

A young man wakes to find his mother missing. Their house is empty but outside in the garden he sees his mother's favourite scarf- wrapped around the neck of a snowman.
As Harry Hole and his team begin their investigation they discover that an alarming number of wives and mothers have gone missing over the years.
When a second woman disappears it seems that Harry's worst suspicions are confirmed: for the first time in his career Harry finds himself confronted with a serial killer operating on his home turf.

I'm not sure if I had too high an expectation of this book as I didn't think it was great. i wanted to read something really gripping where I wouldn't be able to stop turning the pages but this failed to deliver.
I liked the feel of the book which I found to be very similar to Stieg Larsson and Henning Mankell but I didn't feel as though the story ever reached any kind of momentum.
The descriptions of the murders were chilling and I will never look at a snowman in the same way again but the investigation surrounding the murder cases was a little boring in parts.
I did quite like the character of Harry Hole so I may return to this series in the future; I have heard more positive reviews of The Redeemer so that might be one to try.
Have any of you read The Snowman? If you have any good crime/thriller recommendations then do please let me know as I can't seem to find a good one!

Book Review: 26a by Diana Evans

Identical twins Georgi and Bessi live in the loft of 26a Waifer Avenue. It is a place of beanbags, nectarines and secrets, and visitors must always knock before entering. Down below there is not such harmony. Their Nigerian mother puts cayenne pepper on her Yorkshire pudding and has mysterious ways of dealing with homesickness; their father angrily roams the streets of Neasden, prey to the demons of his Derbyshire upbringing. Forced to create their own identities, the Hunter children build a separate universe. Older sister Bel discovers sex, high heels and organic hairdressing, the twins prepare for a flapjack empire and baby sister Kemy learns to moonwalk for Michael Jackson. It is when reality comes knocking that the fantasies of childhood start to give way.

How will Georgia and Bessi cope in a world of separateness and solitude and which of them will be stronger?

I had seen very mixed reviews for 26a so I decided to find out for myself. To be honest, I was pretty disappointed and really struggled to get to the end of it. It's very strange as there are some big plot twists in this book but they just didn't hold my attention.
This may just be me but I was really confused as to what the author was trying to get across with this story. It is part coming-of-age, part living in different countries and part dysfunctional families. Don't get me wrong, these are all very interesting but it was almost as though Diana Evans had tried to deal with too many subjects in a relatively short book.
I'm glad that I tried it but I found 26a disappointing. Have any of you read it, if so what did you think?