Karen McManus Archives - The Quick and the Read

Book Review: ‘Marple’ by Agatha Christie and others…

Thanks to NetGalley for granting me access to this book, one of the most highly anticipated books of the year for me, a keen Agatha Christie fan!

Blog Tour: ‘You’ll Be The Death Of Me’ by Karen McManus

Having read ‘The Cousins’, I was very pleased to get my hands on the latest YA thriller by Karen McManus, ‘You’ll Be The Death of Me’. Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin for my copy of the book in exchange for an honest review, and ‘The Write Reads’ for inviting me on the blog tour.

November 2021 Wrap-Up and December TBR

This has not been a great reading month for me – I was taking part in NetGalley November and had so many plans to zip through lots of lovely ARCs (including some that have been on my shelf for far too long).

The reality was work, work, work with a side order of insomnia! I managed to read 6 books this month, which isn’t many for me at all. Still, I’m on 121/100 on my GoodReads Challenge so this is a blip in an otherwise great year.

Blog Tour: ‘The Cousins’ by Karen McManus

Hi and welcome to my stop on the blog tour for The Write Reads. This YA thriller is to be published on 3rd December, 2020 by Penguin.

My Review

I’d not read any books by Karen McManus before this one, but I know they are hugely popular (even with my own son) so I thought I would give this one a try. Huge thanks to Dave at The Write Reads, Penguin Books and Karen McManus for giving me the opportunity to join this blog tour and a free copy of the book for review.

This is the story of three eighteen-year-old cousins who don’t know each other when the book begins – they come from different branches of an estranged family, the Storys. However, they all get an invitation to go to spend the summer working at their grandmother’s holiday resort on a beautiful East Coast island. This in itself is mysterious, as their grandmother disinherited all her children (the cousins’ parents) by letter years before. The letter simply said ‘You know what you did’, something none of the siblings claim to understand.

Arriving on the island, the it soon becomes apparent that the three cousins are not especially welcome and that there are family secrets to uncover…

The story is told from the perspective of the three cousins in turn – Milly, Aubrey and Jonah – with some flashbacks when we also hear the voices of the parents during their time at Gull Cove Island in the 1990s (when they are a similar age to their children in the present day). This is a clever way of revealing information gradually as the different perspectives gradually come together to reveal the full picture.

I definitely found it easier to connect to some of the characters more than others. In particular, I liked the character of Aubrey who seemed the most relatable of the three main voices – she had several of her own problems to work through as well as dealing with the family issues surrounding her grandmother. She seemed a much more developed character than either Milly or Jonah, both of whom were interesting but not quite as engaging for me.

The plot is cleverly woven so that the reader is kept guessing throughout – there were several twists along the way that I could never have predicted! The plot moved at a good pace and kept me reading as I wanted to find out the secrets behind the Story family and it is fair to say I was not disappointed.

One of the things I liked most about the book was the portrait of a small American community – there was a real sense of the history of the resort with various generations of families and their entwined lives and hidden secrets. This was evident not only in the Storys themselves but also with Kayla’s family and the Baxters. I really felt that the narrative was rooted in a complex and interesting tangle of multi-generational characters.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a thriller with plenty of twists and turns. It would probably be best for older teens and adults as there is some swearing and mature themes. This is one that lulls you in with a false sense of security before winding an intricate and engaging plot – you won’t want to put it down.

November Wrap-Up and December TBR

Another month end – and thank goodness! We are one step nearer to Christmas and (more importantly) 2020 being over. This month has lasted approximately 9000 years so I am glad it is done.

I’m posting this a bit early as I have a blog tour lined up for the end of the month.

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What I read in November

Considering that November felt eternal, I only managed to read 9 books! However, this puts me on 109/100 for my Goodreads challenge so that’s fine by me.

I started this month with a NetGalley ARC that I was really looking forward to – Cara Hunter’s ‘The Whole Truth’. This is the fifth instalment in the excellent DI Fawley series of police procedurals and is due for publication on 25th February, 2021. The story starts with a sexual harassment allegation and then gets much darker and more twisty. I don’t think it is the best in the series but it is very engaging – I really like the police team and they are really relatable and real. My review will follow nearer publication.

Then I read ‘The Wrong Sort to Die’ by Paula Harmon for a blog tour. This is a very enjoyable historical mystery featuring a great female lead – Dr Margaret Demeray, a pathologist working in pre-World War I London. You can read my review here.

Next up was ‘How Love Actually Ruined Christmas (or Colourful Narcotics)’ by Gary Raymond for another blog tour. It’s basically a jaunt through – scene-by-scene – the 2003 film ‘Love Actually’ and all the reasons why it is so bad. Fans of the film won’t appreciate it all, but I loved it! This book made me laugh so much – my review is here.

Then I read ‘The Cousins’ by Karen M McManus for yet another blog tour – this one is up Monday. I don’t read a lot of YA books but I did enjoy this story of family secrets in a wealthy tourist spot in America. Check out my blog on Monday for my full review.

Then another blog tour book – ‘The Watchful Neighbour’ by Debbie Viggiano. This is a psychological thriller about a woman who worries that her Neighbourhood Watch man is just a little too watchful. It is tense and surprising – my review will follow in December.

It does seem that I’ve read a lot of blog tour books this month – the next was ‘Banking on Murder’ by J D Whitelaw, a cosy crime novel with a trio of sisters as investigators. I really loved the interaction between the three women – the review will follow in December.

After all the blog tour books, I returned to my huge NetGalley backlog and read ‘The Split’ by Laura Kay. This is a lovely, uplifting and funny read about how Ally puts her life back together after she is dumped by her girlfriend. Family, friends and running prove her salvation, even though she has a similar feeling about running as me (clue: not positive)! This is due to be published in March 2021 and my full review will appear nearer this date.

Another NetGalley read was ‘The Shape of Darkness’ by Laura Purcell. I was really looking forward to this historical Gothic novel which promised spookiness, murder and spiritualism – and absolutely delivered. This is due to be published in January 2021 so my review will be up then, but if you loved Purcell’s previous books then there is plenty to love here too.

Finally, the lovely people at The Write Reads and I finally finished our readalong of ‘Rebecca’ by Daphne du Maurier. Having given up on this book on at least two previous occasions, I’m really glad I stuck with it – turns out it gets really good! Who knew?! I’ve loved reading with these lovely bloggers and their wild speculation, hilarious observations and brilliant (and sometimes odd!) ideas have been an absolute joy. My review will be up next week.

December TBR

After a month or two of being totally overwhelmed by the amount of books I have in the pile to read, I’ve narrowed it down to ones I want to read soon:

‘Lie Beside Me’ by Gytha Lodge – a NetGalley ARC and the latest in the DCI Jonah Sheens series.
‘Madam’ by Phoebe Wynne – a proof from the lovely people at Quercus (thank you!) This one looks like a brilliant historical tale in the Gothic vein about a remote boarding school.
‘Dangerous Women’ by Hope Adams – another NetGalley ARC and due to be published in March 2021. I love the early Victorian setting of this one, doubly so as it is on board a ship sailing for the colonies, and it promises to be an engrossing crime story.
‘Hyde’ by Craig Russell – set in Victorian Edinburgh and by an author I really rate. This is another NetGalley ARC and is due for publication in February 2021.
‘The Last House on Needless Street’ by Catriona Ward – I’ve seen some brilliant advance reviews for this one, a serial killer thriller, and cannot wait!

Who knows what I’ll actually end up reading, but that’s my best guess right now!

Hope you had a fabulous reading month in November and I look forward to reading your wrap-up posts and TBRs.

Header photo with thanks to Sincerely Media for sharing their work on Unsplash.

WWW Wednesday: 11th November, 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/pre-orders – thanks for supporting my blog with any purchases (at no extra cost to you!)

What have you recently finished reading?

I have finished reading ‘The Wrong Sort to Die’ by Paula Harmon, a historical mystery novel that is for a blog tour with Damp Pebbles. It’s an engaging story about a pioneering female pathologist in Edwardian London. My review will be on the blog tour next week.

Then I read ‘The Cousins’ by Karen McManus, a YA thriller, for a blog tour at the end of November with The Write Reads. This one is a twisty story of family lies and long-buried secrets in a small island community on Gull Cove Island in America.

Another blog tour book also turned up this week and I devoured it in one sitting! ‘How Love Actually Ruined Christmas (or Colourful Narcotics)’ by Gary Raymond is a hilarious skewering of the 2003 Richard Curtis film, ‘Love Actually’. It made me laugh so much and nod in agreement. My (extremely gushing) review will be on the blog later in the month as part of the Damp Pebbles tour.

What are you reading now?

I’ve joined a reading group on Twitter in order to (hopefully) knock through some of the NetGalley backlog – this was set up by the lovely Emandherbooks and is a supportive group of bloggers working on #NetGalleyNovember2020.

Due to them, I’ve made excellent in-roads to Laura Purcell’s ‘The Shape of Darkness’ which I am absolutely loving! It’s a historical, spooky, gothic tale involving spiritualism and murder – right up my street! This one will be published in January 2021.

I’m also reading ‘Rebecca’ by Daphne du Maurier with the fabulous bunch at The Write Reads. It’s a book that (I’m ashamed to say) I’ve failed to read on two previous occasions but I’m making progress this time.

I’m still reading ‘Pandora’s Jar’ by Natalie Haynes. I’m enjoying it but can’t seem to make much progress as it is packed with ideas and interesting stuff. I keep having to put it down to digest bits!

Finally, I’m still working my way through the audiobook of Jasper Rees’ ‘Let’s Do It’, the biography of Victoria Wood that is read by so many famous voices. Although I love the narration, I am finding it quite slow going and – coming in at about 21 hours – I have a long way to go. I’m not sure I’m going to make it.

What do you think you will read next?

I’ve just taken on another blog tour for Damp Pebbles as there was a date that needed filling so my next read is ‘The Heat’, a crime novella by Sean O’Leary.

Then it’s back to NetGalley and the brilliant ARCs vying for my attention! Top of the pile at the moment (but always subject to change) are these gems:

‘Hyde’ by Craig Russell – I loved ‘The Devil Aspect’, his previous novel, and cannot wait to immerse myself in Victorian Edinburgh with this one
‘The Dead of Winter’ by Nicola Upson – I love this detective series in which the sleuth is crime writer Josephine Tey and this is the latest
‘Lie Beside Me’ by Gytha Lodge – the latest instalment of another brilliant crime series and the blurb on this one is incredible!
‘Threadneedle’ by Cari Thomas – I’ve seen a lot about this book all over Twitter and it sounds magical
‘Nick’ by Michael Farris Smith – a novel focusing on the narrator of ‘The Great Gatsby’ before the events of that story

As always, thanks for reading and following my blog!

With thanks to the blog tour hosts, publishers, authors and NetGalley for providing me with the books in exchange for honest reviews. The only book not provided for free in this week’s round-up is ‘Rebecca’ by Daphne du Maurier.

Header photo with thanks to Jessica Fadel for sharing their work on Unsplash.

WWW Wednesday: 4th November, 2020

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 finished my audiobook of ‘The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid’ which was written and read by Bill Bryson. I really enjoyed this autobiographical tale of Bryson’s childhood in Des Moines, Iowa, in the 1950s and would recommend it.

Then I read ‘The Devil and the Dark Water’ by Stuart Turton which I LOVED! It’s a dark and twisty tale of murder and mayhem on a ship travelling between the Dutch East Indies and Amsterdam in 1634. My review is here.

Lastly, I read ‘The Whole Truth’, the new DI Fawley book from Cara Hunter which is due out in March 2021. What starts as a he said/she said investigation into a sexual assault becomes something much more deadly for Fawley and his team. Review will follow in the blog nearer to the publication date.

What are you reading now?

I’m reading ‘The Wrong Sort to Die’ by Paula Harmon for a forthcoming blog tour. This is about a female doctor in 1910, a pioneering pathologist and one making her way in a man’s world. It’s also a mystery story so it is keeping me guessing!

I’m still reading ‘Pandora’s Jar’ by Natalie Haynes – I really like it but it has been pushed aside for various blog tour books. I’m currently reading about Helen of Troy and it is very interesting to hear a different perspective to usual as she is normally portrayed quite negatively.

I’ve started listening to the audiobook of ‘Let’s Do It’ by Jasper Rees, the biography of Victoria Wood. It’s engaging so far and interesting to hear about the more private side of Wood, the shy perfectionist, rather than her on-screen persona. The cast reading this are absolutely brilliant so I’m glad I went for the audio version.

What do you think you will read next?

I am about to read ‘The Cousins’ by Karen McManus for a blog tour with The Write Reads. I’m looking forward to this one as it is a standalone mystery about secrets within a family and sounds very tense!

I am also determined to get to the books that are top of my pile on Netgalley – ‘The Shape of Darkness’ by Laura Purcell and ‘Hyde’ by Craig Russell. I’m so looking forward to these two above all others. I’m determined to make a dent in the NetGalley backlog so that will be the focus of the next month or so.

So that’s another WWW Wednesday done! This year is flying by and I’m on the countdown to Christmas now…

Header photo with thanks to Alisa Anton for sharing her work on Unsplash.