We Have Books

Her Last Secret by Barbara Copperthwaite: Having read, loved and reviewed all of Barbara Copperthwaites previous books I was delighted to accept an invitation to take part in the blog blitz to launch her latest twisty psychological thriller - Her last Secret. If you like convoluted, dark and twisty domestic Noir grip-lit you'll adore this new title. My Review Her last Secret begins at the end and then takes you back in the past to find out who and when and why the terrible event that grabs you and shakes you right at the start, happened. Its set at Christmas so it's topical for this time of year, but this is no glitter and tinsel fairytale. Its the story of a dysfunctional family and their individual flaws and failings, and boy there are loads! Every member of the Thomas family has dark and deep secrets and every one of them is angry and desperate but are any of them desperate enough to commit the atrocity which is being investigated? You bet they are! But which member or frien...

The Roanoke Girls - Amy Engel My review Phew, this is one emotionally exhausting all consuming book. It's harrowing yet gentle, sad yet uplifting, its a contradiction in terms and I loved reading it. It takes the deeply taboo and makes it feel like the norm. It immerses you in a world where nothing is as it should be, surrounds you with folk who live by unacceptable rules and makes you feel at home among them. This is the story of the beautiful, rich and spoilt, daughters and granddaughters of the prosperous Roanoke family, whose wealthy lives out in the boondocks are privileged yet never to be envied. Meet Lane, she's a Roanoke beauty, who's broken away from the luxurious family mansion to make her own way in the world. When she hears of the death of her childhood companion, her beloved cousin Allegra this means she feels obligated to return to Roanoke, the home of her rich grandparents to help her grandfather cope with his loss, for he adored her beloved Allegra too. Lane...

Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine - Gail Honeyman My thoughts This is one of those books which is pretty hard to categorize. It turned out to be not quite what I was expecting - but in a good way. I read a description which called it a laugh out loud comedy and this very nearly put me off! Yes it has some hilarious moments but mainly it is deeply emotional, with some quite dark moments and I was unable to completely put aside the fact that Eleanor is the way she is, as a survivor of something quite dreadful which is a very dark layer to the book. Eleanor is a wonderful quirky character, she never quite fits in, she won't conform, she sees the world differently to most people and behaves in unusual ways, reacting to everyday occurrences with bewilderment and inappropriate attitudes, she is lonely and isolated and in some ways is like an elderly woman in others like a newborn, very innocent and childlike. Her social graces aren't just lacking they are practically non existent. ...

Review - Broken Branches M. Jonathan Lee This is a sinister psychological chiller with an eerie creeping sense of stomach turning unease. I thought it was going to be your traditional "couple buys spooky old house" story but it goes somewhat deeper than that. We certainly have a young family, living in a creepy old cottage known as Cobweb cottage, overlooked for centuries by a huge old tree. Ian and his wife Rachel with their little boy Harry moved into the home owned by Ians family for generations, following a family tragedy. It soon becomes clear that the tragedy which brought them here is not the only bad thing that's happened, but quite where the rot began is yet to be uncovered. Ian and Rachel are barely speaking any more. His work from home is beginning to suffer and his days are structured around waiting for his beloved son's return from nursery and the energy and love he injects into this rather glum and morose household and his rather frantic and disorganised...

My Review Everything but the truth is about relationships and secrets a taut Domestic Noir thriller/ romance. Rachel and Jack are like any young couple, they are very much of the Social media generation, they haven't been together long enough to really deeply know each other inside out, but what they do know is they are in love, they are in it for the long haul, which is just as well as Rachel is expecting Jacks baby. Perhaps they should have waited a while, but Things are what they are and they both very much want this baby, after all they have the rest of their lives to get to know the little quirks of each others lives. But although Rachel is certain that Jacks the man for her to spend the rest of her life with, a judder of deja vu runs through her when, following a glimpse of an email he tries to conceal, she suddenly begins to suspect he may be hiding something from her, after all this has happened to her recently in a previous relationship which crashed when she had cause to ...

My review Secrets We Keep - Faith Hogan I wasn’t sure whether I’d love this book, described as romantic contemporary women’s fiction. Of late I find I’m not always enjoying this genre nearly as much as I did, once upon a time. But I needn’t have worried. Secrets we keep has completely renewed my faith in books written by women, for women, with a lot of heart and a good few twists along the way. This is so much more than Chick-lit it’s a very competent and compelling dual timeline of love and loss and heartache spanning the generations, set in a small seaside town in Ireland called Ballytokeep. It is in Ballytokeep that Kate arrives, world weary, tired after years in her successful job as a top London lawyer, looking for a change of pace, a place to calm her soul and put down roots, a place like Ballytokeep. She comes to stay with elderly distant relative Aunt Iris who, with husband Archie, runs a charming, if slightly faded, guesthouse in this seaside village which charms so many folk ...