This was one of the most bizarre books I’ve read in a while – and I mean it entirely as a compliment!
The novel is set on Atbara Avenue in 1968. It’s a seemingly close-knit community where people know each other’s business and routines, especially the vicar and his interfering wife who watch and discuss the goings-on on the street in often humorous detail. Each chapter has a different focus – a quirky resident, a house, usually a death – and it’s a structure that works brilliantly as we move between distinctly odd vignettes about what goes on behind the closed doors of the road. There’s also tonnes of clever plot points, as bits from earlier stories prove key later on.
When I initially picked this up, I assumed it would be cosy crime. There’s actually not much cosy about Atbara Avenue – but there is a dark humour that runs throughout and some really compelling observations about human nature, whether it’s sibling rivalry, the concealment of secrets or the domestic situations people normalise (such as the bullying parent/adult daughter relationship that opens the novel). Underneath the slightly shabby but genteel surface, Atbara Avenue is an absolute hotbed of crime! It might not be completely believable that all this happens in such close proximity, but each story is engaging and lively in its own right.
I also loved the setting – the 1960s time period allows us to see the contrast in the staid and conservative older generation and the younger characters. It also allows for some gripping murders that probably now would be solved in a trice with CSI and forensics and so on. Instead, there’s a good chunk of the Atbara Avenue murderers who get away with – yup – murder! At least seemingly…
This is an unusual and highly engaging book – there were plenty of twists that surprised me, but I also think I need to read it again to go over some of the more subtle points and links between the stories. If dark humour and a clever narrative is your thing, this is for you!
I received a copy of this book for review from NetGalley – opinions, as always, are my own.
I’m delighted to start the blog tour for ‘The Continental Affair’!
With thanks to Random Things Tours and Bedford Square Publishers for my spot on the tour and copy of the book for review. Opinions, as always, are my own.
From the Publisher:
With gorgeous prose, European glamour, and an expansive wanderlust, Christine Mangan’s ‘The Continental Affair’ is a fast-paced, Agatha Christie-esque caper packed full of romance and suspense.
‘Reads as if Jean Rhys and Patricia Highsmith collaborated on a script for Alfred Hitchcock; it is an elegant, delirious fever dream of a book.’
The Irish Times
Meet Henri and Louise. Two strangers, travelling alone, on the train from Belgrade to Istanbul.
Except this isn’t the first time they have met.
It’s the 1960s, and Louise is running.
From her past in England, from the owners of the money she has stolen―and from Henri, the person who has been sent to collect it.
Across the Continent―from Granada to Paris, from Belgrade to Istanbul―Henri follows. He’s desperate to leave behind his own troubles and the memories of his past life as a gendarme in Algeria.
But Henri soon realises that Louise is no ordinary traveller.
As the train hurtles toward its final destination, Henri and Louise must decide what the future will hold―and whether it involves one another.
Stylish and atmospheric, ‘The Continental Affair’ takes you on an unforgettable journey through the twisty, glamorous world of 1960s Europe.
My Review:
I’d read and enjoyed ‘Tangerine’ by Christine Mangan, so it was a pleasure to be asked to join the blog tour for ‘The Continental Affair’. What’s not to like about a 1960s tale of glamour and mystery and romance playing out across some of Europe’s most gorgeous cities?
The story is told from both Henri’s and Louise’s perspectives, and across a dual timeline. In the ‘Now’ timeline, they are meeting on a train heading across Europe. It seems to be a meeting of strangers forced to share a train compartment, but we soon discover that Henri knows exactly who Louise is – and what she’s up to. The ‘Before’ sections then take us into the back-story so that we discover more about the characters and their motivations. The longer the cat and mouse game goes on, the more the tension rises…
What I really loved about this novel was the sense of place; the detail in the descriptions of the cities is vivid and sumptuous. I particularly loved the focus on the Alhambra, beautiful and serene, where the two first ‘meet’. While the visual description throughout the novel is fabulous, what’s really striking is the fact that the novel is a sensory treat – this is a world where orange blossom and creponne add tantalising smells, thumbs rub against banknotes, local delicacies are tasted and the characters move in and out of the warm golden sunlight and shadows.
It’s a world – glamorous in an old-fashioned way – that is evoked so vibrantly that it feels like Mangan has dropped us into a movie. Enhancing this is the sense of claustrophobia that Mangan weaves into the novel – although European travel is open to the travellers, their personal situations mean they are trapped in different ways, be it grief, the past, money…
I found that I was more strongly drawn to Henri at the start of the novel – although his situation is morally very dubious, I really felt for his back-story and how he had managed to get into this situation far from his home in Algeria. He seemed a much more human character than the slightly aloof and detached Louise, but this initial impression soon shifted as Louise’s back-story was explored with a key moment outside a Parisian cemetery. I really started to root for her as she – this quite reserved and naive English woman – started to relax into the European way of life and make her own choices.
I did like the fact that the story kept moving between the perspectives and timelines, although it also took a bit of getting used to. I did think it was a bit of a slow-burner – the initial sections were quite slow, but I found myself totally immersed in the story once Louise left Spain with Henri following at a distance.
I’d recommend this to readers who like tense and tightly-wound noir thrillers; there’s a simmering sense of menace within the glamorous and gorgeous locations, a seductive subtext in the interactions between characters, and mysteries and secrets at the heart of the main characters. It’s a heady and appealing mix.
About the Author:
Christine Mangan is the author of the national bestsellers ‘Tangerine’ and ‘Palace of the Drowned’. She has her PhD in English from University College Dublin, with a focus on 18th-century Gothic literature, and an MFA in fiction writing from the University of Southern Maine. She lives in Detroit.
This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2022 so I was delighted to be granted a review copy – thanks to NetGalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.
The story is about a highly gifted Chemist, Elizabeth Zott, who is carrying out important research at the Hastings Research Institute – even though her efforts are often belittled and her work stolen by the men around her. After all, it’s the early 1960s and women can’t expect sexual equality – except Elizabeth Zott absolutely does. Her uncompromising stance gets her into trouble but also attracts the attention of older, Nobel-prize-nominated Calvin Evans. An unconventional relationship ensues – one that leaves Elizabeth with a dog, a daughter, and a hit TV cooking show. Things don’t work out as planned at all, but Elizabeth has the strength to work with whatever is thrown at her.
I love Jilly Cooper – her Rutshire Chronicles were pretty much my constant companions throughout my teens and twenties – and was so pleased to be granted access to read this collection of her journalism. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy in exchange for an honest review.
The book features a selection of Cooper’s journalism covering the period she wrote columns for The Times (roughly from the end of the 1960s to the early 1980s). As expected from Cooper, it features meditations on sex – the raunchy nature of her fiction books is well-known – but also mid-life, family, pets, domesticity, relationships and plenty more. It is also packed with humour – there’s lots of self-deprecation, witty turns of phrase, puns and plenty of Cooper’s ability to see the ridiculous in situations.
I love historical crime and this series ticks all the boxes for me (if we are OK with calling the 1960s ‘historical’!) – this isn’t my first book in this series and so I knew more or less what to expect. I wasn’t disappointed and actually think this is one of the stronger instalments in the series.
I’m always intrigued by a poisoner – not that I probably should admit to this! Indeed, crime fiction – especially Agatha Christie, queen of poisons – has always been my go-to genre, although I don’t usually read much true crime.
With that in mind, I was very excited to win an advance copy of ‘A Passion for Poison’ from Readers First and relished the opportunity to read about a real life poisoner.
Today, I’m excited to be reviewing ‘The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle’ by Matt Cain, a gorgeous story of someone finding their place in the world later on in life. Thanks so much to Rosie Margesson at Headline and Matt Cain for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review – opinions are entirely my own.
