My Top 10 Historical Fiction Books of 2020

The genre I’ve read most this year is – hands down – historical fiction. I love a story set in a vivid and colourful past and am particularly drawn to the Victorian era – although I can be tempted into other time periods occasionally!

For the purposes of my list, I’ve included books set more than 50 years in the past and published this year(ish!)

Affiliate links are provided – thanks for supporting my blog with any purchases (at no extra cost to you).

Without further ado, here are my top 10 historical reads of the year ranked from 10 to 1 *cue ‘Top of the Pops’ theme tune*…

10 – ‘Jeeves and the Leap of Faith’ by Ben Schott

It might not quite hit the spot like an authentic Wodehouse Jeeves and Wooster novel, but it is joyous and funny and well worth a read. Bertie’s antics as an undercover spy in this novel are always entertaining and – luckily – faithful valet Jeeves is never too far away. You can read my original review here.

9 – ‘Midnight at Malabar House’ by Vaseem Khan

This is an excellent murder mystery set in Bombay as 1949 turns into 1950 and heralds a new decade of Indian independence. Inspector Wadia, India’s first female police officer who has been rather side-lined in her career, is called in to investigate a high-profile and politically sensitive killing. This looks to be the first book in a very promising series! You can read my original review here.

8 – ‘V for Victory’ by Lissa Evans

Set in London during World War II, this is the third (and, I think, final) book in Lissa Evans’ excellent series that started with ‘Crooked Heart’ and then ‘Old Baggage’. It weaves together the stories of those caught up in the war and is just packed with charm and a whole host of fascinating characters. You can read my review here.

7 – ‘People of Abandoned Character’ by Clare Whitfield

This is a seriously sinister book! Set in London during the height of the Jack the Ripper murders, the story follows Susannah, a newly-wed nurse who starts to suspect that her husband is involved in the crimes. My review is here.

6 – ‘The Betrayals’ by Bridget Collins

Collins’ second novel (after the brilliant ‘The Binding’) is an absolute treat! It is set in a university sometime in the first half of the twentieth century – my money is on the 1930s – and centres on a mysterious ‘Grand Jeu’ that is played by academics. The book is multi-layered and almost impossible to untangle in order to do it justice in a review. You can read my (attempt at a) review here.

5 – ‘The Graves of Whitechapel’ by Claire Evans

Regular blog visitors will know that I’m quite obsessed with books set in the Victorian era and this is just one example – set in 1882 on the grimy streets of East London, it is an atmospheric and pacey murder mystery. You can read my original review here.

4 – ‘Death in the East’ by Abir Mukherjee

I read this series of books all in the wrong order, but was absolutely blown away by this – the fourth instalment in Mukherjee’s series set in 1920s India (cut with flashback scenes in the Whitechapel of 1905). This is absolutely excellent historical crime fiction and I cannot wait to see what Captain Sam Wyndham and his Sergeant, Surrender-Not Banerjee, do next! My review is here.

3 – ‘The Devil and the Dark Water’ by Stuart Turton

Another historical crime novel, this time set on a ship sailing from the Dutch East Indies to Amsterdam in 1634. The voyage seems cursed from the start after a mysterious event at the docks and the strange collection of ship-mates have an eventful trip ahead of them! My review is here.

2 – ‘The Quickening’ by Rhiannon Ward

I absolutely loved this spooky, gothic tale! Set in 1925, it tells the story of a pregnant woman who takes a photography commission at the creepy Clewer Hall in order to make ends meet. As she works, she begins to uncover a story surrounding a seance that was held at the Hall in 1896 – an event that has had lasting repercussions. You can read my review here.

Also, at the point I wrote this, this book is 99p on Kindle – definitely worth snapping up now!

1 – ‘The Miseducation of Evie Epworth’ by Matson Taylor

Only just squeaking into my historical list by a few years, this is a glorious coming-of-age novel set in 1960s Yorkshire. I fell in love with sixteen year-old Evie and her quaintly naïve telling of her story. It is funny and charming and copies may well be gifted by me quite a few times this Christmas! You can read my original review here.

Header photo by Emmanuel Phaeton on Unsplash.

My Top 10 Non-Fiction Books of 2020

I read a lot of non-fiction books this year – regular visitors to the blog will know that I love history, popular culture, books about books, feminism and biography in particular.

So while I cannot possibly say I’ve read a huge variety of the fabulous non-fiction books published this year, I have found some real gems. In true ‘Top of the Pops’ style (yes, I am of that vintage!), here’s my countdown of the best in 2020’s non-fiction books from number 10 to 1…

Affiliate links are included – thank you for supporting my blog with any purchases (at no extra cost to you).

10 – ‘The Gran Tour: Travels with my Elders’ by Ben Aitken

If someone had told me that one of my favourite books of the year would be about a young man going on Shearings coach tours, I’m not sure I’d have believed you! Still, this is a witty, warm and wise story about Aitken’s travels with the older generation and is more focused on interesting people-watching than any real travel narrative. You can read my full review here.

I also read Aitken’s ‘A Chip Shop in Poznan’, an engaging tale of his year in Poland just as Brexit-fever took hold of Britain.

9 – ‘Practically Perfect: Life Lessons from Mary Poppins’ by Katy Brand

Having been raised on the glorious 1964 film of ‘Mary Poppins’, this book was a fabulously comfortable and engaging read. Brand is clearly a Poppins-obsessive and it is something I both recognise and respect! This book is packed with nostalgia, interesting facts and witty analysis. You can read my review here.

If this one floats your boat, Brand’s book about Dirty Dancing is also well worth a read (‘I Carried a Watermelon’).

8 – ‘Essex Girls: For Profane and Opinionated Women Everywhere’ by Sarah Perry

This is a brilliant re-evaluation of the stereotype of the Essex girl and a celebration of ‘profane and opinionated women’ through history. As a Southend-born and long-term Chelmsford resident, this one struck a chord with me. You can read my full review here.

7 – ‘This is Shakespeare’ by Emma Smith

I love a book about Shakespeare and I’ve read a lot! What I loved about this one was the fact that it contained so many new things that I hadn’t really thought about before, even for the plays that I consider that I know really well. You can read my review here.

If this is your thing, I can also recommend Kathryn Harkup’s ‘Death by Shakespeare’, a fascinating look at the deaths in Shakespeare from a scientific perspective. Dark but absolutely engrossing! (review here)

6 – ‘How Love Actually Ruined Christmas (or Colourful Narcotics)’ by Gary Raymond

A late entry into my favourites list but this one is hilarious! I am really not a fan of the film ‘Love Actually’ at all and I really enjoyed Raymond’s scene-by-scene evisceration of it. Thoughtfully-written and genuinely enlightening…and did I mention very, very funny?! You can read my full review here.

5 – ‘Dead Famous: An Unexpected History of Celebrity from Bronze Age to Silver Screen’ by Greg Jenner

This is a thoroughly enjoyable jaunt through the culture of celebrity. Jenner, who was historian for the BBC’s excellent ‘Horrible Histories’ TV series, is an engaging guide and brings together stories that are funny, interesting and also occasionally tragic. You can read my review here.

If you like the look of this, I can also recommend Jenner’s first book, ‘A Million Years in A Day’, a book focusing on the history of the things we do every day.

4 – ‘Difficult Women: A History of Feminism in 11 Fights’ by Helen Lewis

This is a history of feminism, but with a difference – it focused on the lesser-known figures and events so that it really feels fresh and engaging. You can read my full review here.

3 – ‘A Curious History of Sex’ by Kate Lister

I supported this book on the crowd-funded publishing site, Unbound, after following Dr Kate Lister on Twitter for a while. Her take on social (sexual) history is funny, feminist and always interesting. The book itself is eye-opening and fascinating, plus Lister donated a proportion of her profits to a sex worker charity. You can read my full review here.

2 – ‘More Than A Woman’ by Caitlin Moran

Moran’s books are always worth a read, but this take on what it means to be a middle-aged woman is brilliant. She is funny and confessional, relatable and quick with her razor-sharp observations. My review can be read here.

Moran’s earlier book, ‘How to be a Woman’, about being a younger woman, is also eminently readable:

1 – ‘A Tomb With a View’ by Peter Ross

OK, so a book ostensibly about graveyards and death might be a bit of an odd choice for my non-fiction book of the year, but hear me out! This is the book that I have talked about to people more than any other this year and it is an absolute treasure.

More than anything, it celebrates life and the people associated with graveyards and burial grounds and ossuaries: the historians, the mourners and the grave-tenders and those who carry out burial rites, as well as the departed. It is strangely comforting and absolutely compelling. Although sometimes sad, it isn’t depressing at all.

This is a brilliant book and one I strongly recommend. You can read my full review here.

Header photo by Rahul Pandit from Burst.

WWW Wednesday – 16th December, 2020


WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Taking on a World of Words. Anyone can take part and it is a great way of sharing what you have just finished reading, what you are currently reading and what is next on the TBR.

Affiliate links are provided for books – thanks for supporting my blog with any purchases (at no extra cost to you!)

What have you recently finished reading?

I’ve finished my *TOP SECRET* book for the BBNYA judging panel. Results will be out soon so I’ll be able to talk about it soon.

I’ve also finished ‘The Inverts’ by Crystal Jeans, a 1920s-set tale of two childhood friends, Bart and Bettina, who marry to hide their same-sex love interests from society. It’s bold and brash and I really enjoyed it, although some of the sensibilities felt very modern rather than authentically of the period. Still, it’s a lively read and one I’ll review fully nearer to publication date in April 2021.

I was also lucky enough to be granted access by NetGalley to Brian Bilston’s new poetry collection, ‘Alexa, what is there to know about love?’ Regular Twitter users will have probably come across Bilston’s witty and extremely clever poetry by now and this book is as lovely as I expected. The wordplay is sharp and I loved the mind-bogglingly varied inspirations for the poems; there aren’t many poets who can veer from Cleopatra to Google or Wordsworth to Mills and Boon with so much panache! A full review will follow nearer the publication date in January 2021.

What are you reading now?

As we near the end of term, I’m not reading so much because I fall asleep as soon as I pick up a book. Audiobooks are proving my salvation – I’m still listening to Sandi Toksvig’s reading of her ‘Toksvig’s Almanac 2021’ and I’ve moved on to ‘The Hitch-hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’ by Douglas Adams (read by Stephen Fry) with the kids. Aside from a few saucy references I’d forgotten in the latter (funny but probably not wholly child-friendly), all is good.

What do you think you will read next?

I still have no real clue what I’ll read next – I decide totally on mood which is why ‘The Inverts’ was picked up this week even though it was a way down the TBR.

I do want to clear some of my NetGalley shelf before Christmas (when – no doubt – more books will arrive!) so I’m eyeing up ‘Dangerous Women’ by Hope Adams, ‘Hyde’ by Craig Russell and ‘The Best Things’ by Mel Giedroyc. But we shall see…

With thanks to NetGalley for keeping me in books – all the mentioned books are from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, with the exception of ‘The Hitch-hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’ which I bought from the always-excellent Audible service.

Header photo with thanks to Andreea Radu for sharing their work on Unsplash.

Books That Matter – December 2020 Subscription Box

The December 2020 Books That Matter feminist subscription box has arrived! Warning – spoilers ahead for those of you waiting on your delivery.

The Box

The December box is themed ‘We glow through what we go through’ – nope, I’m not entirely sure what that really means either!

As usual, it is beautifully wrapped in pink tissue paper and features a range of gifts and a book of the month. This month’s contents are:

  • The book – ‘Delayed Rays of a Star’ by Amanda Lee Koe
  • A ‘Goodbye 2020, Hello 2021’ reflective journal
  • A metal keyring
  • A Teapigs uplifting tea bag
  • Joe and Seph’s Salted Caramel popcorn
  • Bookmark
  • ‘We glow through what we go through’ booklet

My Review

The book this month is one that I haven’t heard of, but it looks absolutely brilliant. I love the idea of the 1930s setting and the focus on the women involved in the film industry.

The journal isn’t one that I’d really use, but my daughter will so that is fine. It is beautifully produced and has lots of prompts for reflection. It is excellent quality, but just not really my thing.

The bookmark and keyring are lovely and will be used. The keyring in particular is lovely quality – made of a heavy metal and featuring the box theme.

The Teapigs tea is nice, although one tea bag feels a bit mean!

I really couldn’t get on with the popcorn – I’m not a fan of mixed sweet and savoury flavours – and I couldn’t even palm it off on my children, so this one isn’t a winner.

The booklet, produced by ‘Books That Matter’ and giving a bit of background information to the book and gifts featured in the box, is fine – it was interesting to flick through it but it is only a few pages.

The Verdict

I really love the book choice this month and it is something that I am interested in reading. However, the gifts don’t all hit the spot this time round which is a shame – but very much down to my personal preferences.

Overall, I still think this is worth the £20 a month (including postage) and it does feel like a treat every month.

Blog Tour: ‘Banking on Murder’ by J D Whitelaw

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for ‘Banking on Murder’ by J D Whitelaw. This cosy mystery story was published by Red Dog Press on 3rd December (who have also organised the blog tour).

With thanks to Red Dog Press and the author for my copy of the book for review – as always, opinions are entirely my own.

From the Publisher:

Martha Parker runs a small private detective agency in Glasgow with her two sisters, Helen and Geri. They specialise in catching cheating partners and those playing away from home.

The Parkers are hired by the reclusive wife of a wealthy banker she suspects is breaking their vows, but when he shows up murdered, it’s up to Martha, Helen and Geri to prove the wife’s innocence in their most dangerous case yet.

Buy Links: 

https://www.reddogpress.co.uk/product-page/banking-on-murder

Amazon

mybook.to/BankingOnMurder

My Review:

I jumped at the chance to read this cosy mystery story, the first in a new series to feature the Parker sisters as detectives and set in modern-day Glasgow.

In this novel, the detective agency run by Martha Parker and her two sisters is called upon to investigate the infidelity of a wealthy banker – his wife, who is both reclusive and slightly unstable, is sure that he is cheating but wants to know who with. As the trio begin to investigate, they realise they may have taken on more than they can cope with – especially when the banker is murdered and they are suspected of being involved by the formidable police detective in charge of the investigation.

What appealed to me about this book was the notion of sisters working together as detectives – the relationship between the three women, for me, was the strength of the book and I really enjoyed the slightly spiky sisterly teasing that comes with the sibling bond.

Of the three sisters, Martha is the eldest and the main focus of the novel. She is forty and has a family of her own (although we don’t see them much). Next is Helen who is 30 and the academic of the family, and then there is Geri, in her early 20s and the slightly loose cannon.

The sisters are so different and have been well-developed in their own rights so that the reader engages with them as individuals. I particularly liked Martha, slightly baffled to be middle-aged and trying to be the responsible one (but maybe my preference is linked to my own age!) The scenes with the sisters bickering about various things were my favourites – from Geri’s social life, Helen’s party faux pas and Martha’s dress sense, no topic was out of bounds and this felt absolutely relatable to my own family! This also added a humour to the story which I really liked.

The story is well plotted and engaging. While I never felt that there was any true peril, there are some tense bits and it certainly kept me interested throughout – more so because of the detectives than because of the murder victim or his wife, both of whom seemed pretty unpleasant.

The backdrop of the city of Glasgow was an interesting and appealing choice – especially the wealth of the banking area and the penthouse apartments contrasting with the less salubrious areas of the city.

I’d recommend this to anyone who likes cosy crime with appealing leads. As the Parker sisters bicker and banter their way through the investigation, you will be sure to keep turning the pages.

About the Author:

J.D. Whitelaw is an author, journalist and broadcaster. After working on the frontline of Scottish politics, he moved into journalism. Subjects he has covered have varied from breaking news, the arts, culture and sport to fashion, music and even radioactive waste – with everything in between. He’s also a regular reviewer and talking head on shows for the BBC. Banking on Murder is the first of three Parker sister novels. They follow his hugely successful HellCorp series. His debut in 2015 was the critically acclaimed Morbid Relations.

Blog Tour: ‘Foul Play’ card game

Something a bit different on the blog today – a blog tour stop for a new murder mystery card game!

This blog tour has been arranged by Damp Pebbles Blog Tours – with thanks to After Dark for my copy of the game in exchange for an honest review. As always, opinions are entirely my own.

From the Game Creators:

FOUL PLAY

The Murder Mystery Card Game

The Manor House Murder

A game for 2 – 5 players | Age 14 +

£8.95 + p&p

www.foulplaygame.co.uk

Facebook : @afterdarkmystery | Twitter : @afterdarkmurder | Instagram : @afterdarkmurder

Email : info@afterdarkmurder.co.uk

The Game

Welcome to Edwardian England. The Lord of the Manor is dead! The servants are our lead suspects and it’s up to you to unearth the evidence, seek out the suspects and catch the culprit in order to scupper the other sleuths, and win this game of murder!

There’s more than one way to catch a killer though. So what’s it gonna be? Good Cop or Bad Cop? These two game versions come with their own set of rules and tactics to crack the case and finger your suspect, but will you use fair play or FOUL PLAY?

The Game is Afoot! Playing as detective, you’ll need to find the three evidence cards that point to a specific suspect in order to catch a killer in this crazy criminal caper. Will you uncover them in the crime scene? Could the other detectives be willing to collaborate and share their findings? Or will you resort to more tricky tactics, and plunder the proof you need to solve this crime?

History of Foul Play

What’s a Murder Mystery Events Company to do?

With a pandemic sweeping the nation and no sign of being able to perform their confounding criminal cabarets or incredible interactive investigations any time soon, they needed to come up with a plan, another way to provide mystery to the masses (and provide income to keep themselves afloat)!

Well, lockdown does strange things to people, especially actors who can’t go out and perform. So one fateful evening, Ben & Lee Cooper-Muir decided to come up with a whole new way to murder people. Keeping their cards close to their chests they plotted and schemed until Foul Play : The Murder Mystery Card Game was born. So, what to do next? This is where After Dark enters the picture. After all, Ben and Lee were two of the operators of the infamous murder mystery company. Maybe they could collaborate to bring the game to the masses. When Lockdown restrictions were eased a top-secret meeting was held with the other criminal masterminds behind After Dark, Helen Burrows, Sophie Webster & Tom Fisher and a pact was made. The game would be launched and licensed under the After Dark banner.  In true After Dark style, the team burst into action and then began the beta testing, design updates, promotional planning, character changes, proofing, proofing and more proofing until finally all the kinks were ironed out, mysteries solved, and FOUL PLAY came to life!

We hope you enjoy playing it, and although we all hope to be back performing soon, WATCH THIS SPACE! Now we know we can create and produce games we’ve got a lot more fun things planned for the future! 

My Review:

I jumped at the chance to review a murder mystery card game on my blog – my family love a game and Cluedo is a favourite so I hoped we would enjoy this one.

The premise is easy to understand – you either play the ‘good cop’ version where you race to find the culprit, or ‘bad cop’ mode where you try to frame anyone you can!

We played the first go through as a bit of a dummy run but that was all we needed – after this, even my 10 year-old took to the game quickly and had no problems following play. The trickiest bit was working out the playing space with the ‘crime scene’ and other piles of cards. We did find the ‘bad cop’ version a bit easier to follow for the children though as this was more about collecting combinations of cards and so a bit simpler than competing to deduce the single solution in the ‘good cop’ mode.

The game itself isn’t complicated but takes a bit of brain-work and following the cards held by other players – if you lose concentration then you are in for a frustrating time as you chase clues and try to avoid the useless red herrings!

The game cards are well made and the illustrations are appealing – I loved the range of culprits and the way that the clues gradually narrow them down based on their clothes, physical appearance and other items in their pictures.

We played mainly as a 3 – me and my 12 year-old son and 10 year-old daughter. This worked really well and we had a lot of fun stealing clues from each other, collaborating or passing off the dreaded red herrings. The game worked well as a game for 4 too on the occasion we managed to rope in my husband for a round.

The game is suggested for those aged 14+ but my children had no problems picking up the game and there was no unsuitable content – nothing they aren’t already familiar with through Cluedo, anyway. In fact, my daughter won every single game we have played so far which is either incredible luck or more skill than the rest of us have!

I’d recommend this as a fun family card game. It doesn’t take long to learn to play and I think it has plenty of scope for repeated playing – each round would be different and varied. It certainly was a winner with my family and will be a game we play many more times over this Christmas period.

WWW Wednesday – 9th December, 2020


WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Taking on a World of Words. Anyone can take part and it is a great way of sharing what you have just finished reading, what you are currently reading and what is next on the TBR.

Links are provided for books already published – thanks for supporting my blog with any purchases (at no extra cost to you!)

What have you recently finished reading?

I’ve just finished ‘Lie Beside Me’ by Gytha Lodge which was one of the NetGalley 2021 ARCs that I was keen to read. This is a story that opens with a woman waking up next to a dead man she doesn’t recognise…and then follows the police investigation to determine the killer. It’s the latest in the series featuring DCI Sheens and it is another solid and tense police procedural. A review will follow nearer publication date but fans of Lodge’s previous books will not be disappointed.

I’ve also just finished listening to ‘Going Solo’ by Roald Dahl which is read by Dan Stevens. My kids and I loved the audiobook of ‘Boy’, the book before this one, and enjoyed the tales of Dahl’s experiences working for the Shell Company in Africa and flying for the RAF in World War II. This was a nostalgic one for me because I read this book repeatedly as a child. It is darker than I remember and my daughter didn’t love it as much as ‘Boy’ for this reason, but I think it is still a classic.

What are you reading now?

I am reading a *TOP SECRET* book which I’m not allowed to talk about yet because I’m on the BBYNA judging panel which will announce its winners before Christmas.

I’m also working my way through some lighter reads – I’ve started both Claudia Winkelman’s ‘Quite’ and ‘Toksvig’s Almanac 2021’ by Sandi Toksvig (which I bought after seeing her speak about it at a live online event). I felt like I needed a cheery read to get me through to the end of term! I’ve got the Toksvig book on audio too through NetGalley and it is lovely to hear Sandi’s cheery voice narrating.

What do you think you will read next?

I still have a shocking NetGalley backlog but ‘Hyde’ by Craig Russell is up next, as well as ‘Dangerous Women’ by Hope Adams.

The new Katie Fforde book (‘A Wedding in the Country’) is also calling me as a lighter read!

Header photo by Sincerely Media on Unsplash.

Blog Tour: ‘The Watchful Neighbour’ by Debbie Viggiano

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for ‘The Watchful Neighbour’ by Debbie Viggiano. Today is also the publication day of this book so do buy your copy now!

This is a blog tour for Rachel’s Random Resources and I thank Rachel and the author for my copy of the book for review. As always, opinions are my own.

From the Publisher

When Jade Ferguson’s affair with a married man abruptly ends, she’s devastated.

There is no quick fix for a broken heart.  A fresh start is required.

New job. New home. New neighbours.

The residents of Gresham Terrace seem pleasant enough.

Except for one…

An absolutely gripping debut psychological thriller.

Purchase Links

US – https://www.amazon.com/Watchful-Neighbour-absolutely-psychological-thriller-ebook/dp/B08MDL32X4

UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Watchful-Neighbour-absolutely-psychological-thriller-ebook/dp/B08MDL32X4

My Review

I do like a psychological thriller – something creepy and tense that doesn’t end with the main character’s husband being a secret killer! It seemed a no-brainer when I was invited on this tour – no serial killer husbands in sight!

In this story, Jade Ferguson finds herself down on her luck. Her affair with a married man has got her fired, she had a breakdown and he never even left his wife as he promised (shock!) She finds herself in a little rented house on Gresham Terrace and working in a job she hates to make ends meet.

Jade’s suspicions are raised about a man called Greg Good who is the local Neighbourhood Watch contact and who just happens to be her neighbour. She is sure that he is being a little too watchful over her and hates the fact that he is a key holder for her landlord…

As Jade’s certainty grows that Greg is causing trouble, the other residents of Gresham Terrace can’t seem to see the problem. So is it all in Jade’s mind?

What I liked about this book was the fact that Jade is established as an unreliable narrator from the beginning. She has spent time in a psychiatric unit prior to the events of the novel and the reader is never sure what is her own paranoia and what is real. This continues all the way through the book as strange things happen and the reader is kept in the dark about the truth. This kept me guessing and I liked the fact that I was never sure!

I also liked the fact that the action nearly all takes place within a few homes in Gresham Terrace. This gave the book a claustrophobic feel as Jade and her neighbours navigated their relationships with each other. Indeed, there are few outlets for Jade to discuss her feelings as she is presented as not getting on with her work colleagues and not being close to her family – this made it more tense as the reader constantly questioned what the sane onlooker would make of her behaviour.

The plot itself is clever and constantly twists away from what is expected – all the little things that happen to Jade seem to escalate but might have rational explanations (up to a point). It certainly kept me turning the pages as I was keen to know what happened.

My only quibble was that I guessed some of the ending but I’m not giving any spoilers to explain that further!

I’d recommend this to anyone who enjoys psychological thrillers that feel tense and claustrophobic – this one has a small cast but Viggiano is excellent at making us constantly question our feelings about all of them!

About the Author

Prior to turning her attention to writing, Debbie Viggiano was, for more years than she cares to remember, a legal secretary. She lives with her Italian husband, a rescued pooch from Crete, and a very disgruntled cat. Occasionally her adult children return home bringing her much joy… apart from when they want to raid the fridge or eat her secret stash of chocolate. Tweet @DebbieViggiano or follow her on Facebook!

Social Media Links –

Twitter: @DebbieViggiano

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/debbie.viggiano.5

Instagram: debbieviggiano

‘My Dark Vanessa’ by Kate Elizabeth Russell

This novel – published in March 2020 – is one that I’ve seen a lot of discussion about on book Twitter. With that in mind, I thought I’d revisit my review which was written pre-blog.

Vanessa Wye is 32 years old and working in an upmarket hotel when we first meet her. Gradually, the story of what has brought her to this point in her life is revealed and it’s a shocking and sad story.

As a 15 year old, she became involved with her boarding school teacher, a 45 year old man called Jacob Strane. His relationships with underage girls are being investigated by the school and media and Vanessa is asked for her experiences.

What makes this a very uncomfortable read is that it is narrated in the first person by Vanessa. The grooming and abuse is revealed in graphic detail, but the most shocking element is that Vanessa feels that she is the exception to Strane’s victims, the one he truly loved.

The reader is put in the difficult position of seeing Vanessa and Jacob’s relationship for what it truly is – a predatory older man abusing a schoolgirl – while Vanessa cannot. She defends him while the reader can see that he is an inadequate, manipulative and repulsive man who takes advantage of a vulnerable child.

I cannot say that I enjoyed this (as it is an uncomfortable read), but it was certainly an eye-opener. It made me realise why some victims do not speak out and why some might actually defend their abusers.

Vanessa is a highly believable character and the story follows her thought processes in a way that the reader can understand even as they see how she is being manipulated. The impact of the abuse on Vanessa’s life is evident: at 32, she struggles to maintain relationships and is a drink and drug user.

Although the book isn’t enjoyable in a conventional sense, I am so glad that this story has been told. Too often, abuse victims are portrayed as flirtatious, knowing young women whereas here is a girl whose innocence is destroyed by a person in a position of trust – although she feels responsible for the events, the reader is in no doubt that the blame lies entirely with the adult.

An important, well-written but ultimately uncomfortable read.

If you’d like a copy of this book, please use my affiliate link. This generates a small amount of commission for me at no extra cost to you – thank you for supporting my blog!

Header photo with thanks to Element5 Digital for sharing their work on Unsplash.

‘Rebecca’ by Daphne du Maurier

In November, the readalong book for the lovely bunch at The Write Reads was ‘Rebecca’ by Daphne du Maurier, a book we arrived at after a voting process.

I’ll admit, I wasn’t wildly excited to read this one as I had had multiple attempts at it before, never getting beyond the Monte Carlo section at the start of the novel. It seemed too slow and I was profoundly irritated by the narrator. Still, I thought I’d give it another go.

I need to say at this juncture that I probably would have fallen at the same hurdle as before if it hadn’t been for the reading group and their hilarious takes on the events of the novel. Thank you all for keeping me going!

It is virtually impossible to write about a book that people know (and love) so deeply! My own feelings about the novel are actually very mixed, so here’s what I thought:

The Good…

Despite this being a hugely popular book and everyone in the world (seemingly) knowing the story, I had somehow managed to avoid all spoilers. What happened, then, came as an absolute surprise to me! In a good way, I think, as I was expecting endless more Monte Carlo dinners and points of etiquette…which I really wasn’t in the market for. A startling amount of dramatic things happen in the novel which I really didn’t anticipate given my extensive knowledge of the early part of the book and the dinner rituals of wealthy travellers.

For me, one of the strengths of the book was Manderley itself. I loved the fact that the house takes on such an imposing presence in the book and the description is atmospheric. There is a real sense of impending doom even in the exposition about how beautiful Manderley is at the start of the novel and I was intrigued.

I also thought that some of the characters were excellent – Mrs Danvers is chillingly awful, Beatrice is lovely but clueless and I liked the calmness of Frank – in an otherwise crazy cast, Frank acted as the totem of sanity by which all others could be measured! I also liked the bits with a dog, to (mis)quote ‘Shakespeare in Love.

My absolute favourite line in the whole book was ‘I had an uneasy feeling we might be asked to spend the approaching Christmas with Beatrice. Perhaps I could have influenza.’ Hurrah! Du Maurier has a sense of humour, I feel seen and all is well. That feeling didn’t last, but it was a high point for me.

The Bad…

My main issue with the novel was the narrator. The emphasis on her being young and naïve was wearying – I understand why the character was established like this in order to contextualise the later character arc, but it was repetitive and I lost all sympathy for her. She was the ultimate wet blanket at the start…and don’t even get me started on her reactions to Maxim’s ‘news’ later on.

I really don’t want to give spoilers so I’ll be vague – I thought there were some really odd moments all centred round the narrator’s immaturity. Yes, we can blame the narrator’s naivety to some extent, but these made her seem like a small child. The whole costume ball thing was weird, the reaction to the smashed ornament bizarre and she also runs away from visitors.

Actually, re-reading that, I kind of get the visitor thing…

Still, I didn’t find her a particularly sympathetic narrator and it was hard to empathise with her and her strange ideas. One of the weirdest was her obsession with Maxim who – I thought – seemed like a distinctly cold fish. I didn’t see the appeal at all. At any point.

And the Ugly…

Some of the novel is clearly ‘of its time’ and I don’t want to get into the politics of applying our modern sensibilities to history. I think we live and learn and it is sometimes useful to see relics of an earlier time, be shocked, and realise how far we’ve come. Still, the descriptions of Ben were uncomfortable.

So, there we have it. Another classic ticked off the bucket list and an enjoyable experience that probably has more to do with my reading buddies than the book itself. Still, I did quite like it – I’m not sure it would persuade me to read anything else by du Maurier, although I am glad I read this one.

To summarise, a mixed bag of a book for me but Manderley and the twisty plot kept me going, even as I cursed the general feebleness of the narrator.