With thanks to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for an open and honest review.
The story begins with Chris Brennan being interviewed for the post of teacher/assistant basketball coach. The reader knows straight away that Chris is using a fake identity and fake qualifications.
Chris is particularly interested in three boys who are in his class and members of the Muskateer baseball team. Evan Kostis is is the son of a doctor and star player of the team. Raz Sematov whose father died the year before of cancer and Jordan Larkin who is from a single parent family.
Chris wants one of the boys to be his 'unwitting'. 'His intent is to manipulate the boy, but it is just the means to the end'. The story is told from the POV of Chris and the boys mothers Heather Larkin, Susan Somatov and Mindy Kostis.
This book had so many twists and turns I was dizzy. In step two the reason for Chris being in school was revealed, I did not see it coming. Personally I did not enjoy step 3 because I did not enjoy James Bond helicopter chases. I thought Chris and The Rabbi were intriguing characters and I would like to read another book with them.
I highly recommend this psychological/political thriller. I would of given this book 5 stars but I did not enjoy the action scenes.
Listened to in audio format.
What Alice Forgot was set around Alice from the day of her accident to the day of the Monster Meringue Party when her memory returned.
Before Alice hit her head she was a 39 year old mother of 3 and soon to be divorced. After the accident she thought she was 29 years old, happily married to Nick and pregnant with her first born nicknamed the sultana. The 29 year old Alice was far nicer then the bitter 39 year old Alice. I really felt for young Alice when she was shocked to realise that the older version of Alice is a fitness fanatic, thin, well dressed and a large part of the school community.
Whe she first spoke to Nick she was genuinely upset and confused that the man she loved actually despised her. Also young Alice was close to her older sister Elizabeth but was sad to find other the years their relationship had deteriorated but did not understand why. In between chapters there were diary extracts from Elizabeth to her therapist which gave her opinion of Alice and Elizabeth's fertility problems.
I enjoyed the memory flashbacks that Alice had revealing snippets of the past. I longed to find out what happended to Alice to change her personality. The last 3 chapters made this book for me when you realised that their breakup was not due to one incident but a series of incidents caused by Alice and Nick. It makes you realise there are 2 sides to every story.
I did enjoy What Alice Forgot but not as much as Big Little Lies. The story was too long and sometimes dragged. Unfortunately it did not call me to drop everything to listen. I also thought the blog entries from Alice's unofficial Grandma were unnecessary.
On the whole a decent story with a satisfying ending.
Listened to in audio format.
I have listened to all Susan Hill's Simon Serrailier series so I know the quality of her work. Printers Devils Court is only 1.5 hours long but it has taken me 3 days to listen and I nearly gave up listening.
This book is definitely a slow burner and the story did not start for me until part 3. I think the story really began years later when Hugh returned to London to visit his stepson.
Printer Devils Court was a decent novella, maybe if the story was longer we could of found out more about fellow doctors Walter and Rafe.
Listened to in audio format.
Jon Ronsen is a British Journalist/Documentary maker rather like Louis Theroux.
In Them: Adventures with Extremists Jon investigates the KKK, David Icke and the shadowy Bildeberg group. This was a fascinating book, stamped with Jon's gently mocking style of writing.
We meet the Grand Wizard of the KKK who will not let his members use the N word of wear the hood or robes during meetings. David Icke who was humiliated on the Terry Wigan chat show for claiming the royal family are lizards. The most Interesting was meeting the paranoid conspiracy theorists he meets when trying to enter a bizarre owl ritual.
Jon also spends time with hate cleric Omar Bakri Mohammed. Jon described him as a jolly, convivial man who watched The Lion King everyday with his baby boy.
Chillingly Them was originally published in the UK on 28/06/11 three months before the 09/11 attacks. Since then Omar now lives abroad and is banned from entering the UK.
This was an interesting read but did not do anything to debunk or provide evidence of these conspiracies.
Listened to in audio format.
I loved Enid Blyton as a child and I remember reading the Secret Seven and the Five Findouters with fondness.
The St Clare's Series is based around twins Pat and Isobel O'Sullivan and their friends. I love these books they are so innocent, with the girls enjoying midnight feasts and playing tricks on Mamzelle the French teacher.
The new term begins with some new characters. Claudine, Mamzelle's niece, Eileen whose mother is matron and Right Hon Angela. Claudine is a great addition to the series, although she is Mamzelle's niece she shamelessly copies other girls work and is not above being naughty to get out of games. When the girls have a midnight feast and matron discovers them Claudine locks her in a cupboard. Maybe the books are not so innocent after all, more like a inner city comprehensive.
I appreciate these books are old fashioned, from another century in fact, but the stories are just as relevant today. I highly recommend Enid Blyton to all young bookworms.
