Sunday 17 November 2019

Book Review: The Family by Louise Jensen

Once you're in, they'll never let you leave.

My next book review is one I'm super-excited to share, because it's official: I've found another favourite author. Should we have a ceremony? I met the lovely Louise Jensen at a Waterstones event in Milton Keynes (you may have seen me banging on about it) and when I heard her speak about her work, I knew I had to buy the book (we don't speak of the book-buying ban). I walked away with a shiny new signed book, knowing it was going to shoot to the top of my teetering TBR pile. And shoot to the top it did.


The Family is a thrilling page-turner, drenched in a dark sense of unease that builds and builds until it's all you can think about. The story follows three characters. Laura, a young mother who has just lost everything, including her husband, her home and her business. Tilly, her teenage daughter who is struggling to cope with the loss of her dad. And Alex, the owner of the retreat (cult!) that Laura and Tilly find themselves hopelessly trapped in.

The Family explores the intricacies of the mother-daughter relationship under extreme stress through short chapters that flit between each character, showing you both sides of the relationship, their different reactions and how they interpret things differently. How they perceive each other. Sometimes we see things through Alex's perspective, which adds mystery to the drama as it unfolds, layer by layer. Each chapter ends with its own little cliffhanger, which leaves you hungry for one more chapter.

When the story ends, when all those loose threads have woven themselves together to present to you a twist I doubt you'll see coming, you'll close that book and find you can think of little else for hours afterwards. Days.

The Family is a stunningly-written piece of thriller fiction, dark and disturbing yet with shimmering beauty in every sentence. You'll savour every word and enjoy the language as much as you enjoy the story. It's the kind of prose you want to roll around your mouth and taste every element of it.


I called Louise a sleep-thief on Twitter. 

I meant it.

Get this on your Christmas list, and if any of my friends or family are reading this blog post, I'd like Louise's entire book collection please...

Let me know your thoughts in the comments or tweet me!

#WelcomeToTheFamily

Roxie Key

@RoxieAdelleKey

Sunday 10 November 2019

An Evening with Cally Taylor, Lucy Foley and Olivia Kiernan

If you saw my recent blog post about the Thriller event at Waterstones Milton Keynes, you can probably take a wild stab at just how excited I was (hint: VERY) when I found out about the Crime and Wine night at Waterstones Oxford, with Cally Taylor, Lucy Foley and Olivia Kiernan, a trio of criminally excellent authors. I'm already a big Cally Taylor fan, and I'm always excited to discover new crime and thriller authors. It's the reason I keep running out of money.


Olivia led the discussion with tonnes of insightful questions for Cally and Lucy, discussing their highly-acclaimed books Sleep and The Hunting Party. I wrote way too many notes to share them all, but here are my highlights.

Both of these books were set in the beautiful but remote Scottish Highlands, and involve the characters being trapped there due to extreme weather. There's something about being trapped somewhere that gives a book that Agatha Christie edge. Nowadays, the challenge is to find a setting with zero phone signal!

When asked what comes first, for Lucy it is the characters, with the setting being the spark that lights the touch paper.
"In the event of heavy snowfall, you may find you aren't able to leave the estate." 
The words that inspired the premise for The Hunting Party. Unintentionally chilling...


And where do ideas typically form? In the shower, apparently. Cally doesn't always plan out the twists straight away, and once added a plot twist during a round of edits... and yes, it came to her in the shower. Writing tip: take lots of showers!

When asked about becoming an "overnight success", Cally says it only took 10 years to achieve that (eek!), and advises it takes 10 books to make a career. I'd like to share with you Cally's bucket list because I think I'll be adding these to my own...

1. Become a Richard and Judy book club read
2. Have posters on the London Underground
3. Release a hardback book

... all of which were achieved in 2019. What a woman!

Here's a little more about these inspiring women.
Cally Taylor is the Sunday Times bestselling author of 6 psychological thrillers including Sleep, which I reviewed here.
Lucy Foley's first crime novel, The Hunting Party, was a Sunday Times bestseller and her second, The Guest List, lands February 2020.
Olivia Kiernan's second novel in her series, The Killer in Me, was published in April (and I cannot wait to read it!).


The Crime and Wine night was well worth the drive from sunny Northampton, and I came away with three gorgeous signed books that I'm having as a little early Christmas present to myself.

Thanks Waterstones for putting on such a great event!

Roxie Key

@RoxieAdelleKey

Sunday 3 November 2019

Book Review: The House on the Lake by Nuala Ellwood

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy of The House on the Lake by Nuala Ellwood, coming February 2020.

No matter where you run... he's never far behind.


The book follows the story of Lisa, who is on the run from London to Yorkshire with her little boy Joe, and ends up staying in quite possibly the creepiest house in the history of the world. We also follow the story of Grace, a thirteen-year-old who grew up in that very same house several years before with her father. She was completely cut off from the rest of the world and tells us her strange and compelling story through the form of a diary.

The first thing I loved about this book is the presence of the two strong female leads, who are so different to one another, but completely determined to fight back against the men who control them and get what they want and deserve. I found myself desperate to learn what the link was between these two women, and when it was finally revealed, I was shocked. I did not see the plot twist coming. At all.

Despite these amazing female characters, I want to point out is this isn't one of those books where all the men are evil. There are some really positive male characters in the book so please don't be put off by the comment about the controlling men.

The House on the Lake epitomises the phrase "page-turner" and the alternating perspectives coupled with short and snappy chapters was the reason I've lost a LOT of sleep over the past three days. It's creepy. It's chilling. I've never checked my locks so many times as I did last night. The House on the Lake will give you a creeping sense of unease and if you love a thriller, you will not be disappointed.

I was really pleased to find a copy of My Sister's Bones by Nuala on my bookshelf, which has fast-tracked its way very near to the top of my TBR pile. Don't you just love finding a new favourite author?

Pre-order from Waterstones or Amazon today.

Roxie

@RoxieAdelleKey

Friday 1 November 2019

Book Review: The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware

Their dream house will become her worst nightmare.

Guys, we need to talk about Ruth Ware.


After grabbing a copy of The Death of Mrs Westaway on a whim, I was immediately hooked on Ruth's style, in particular the sense of place, and the expert characterisation. It was also something about the sense of unease she delights in pouring into the pages, making both me and the protagonist squirm and hide underneath blankets until the sun comes back up again. I'm hungry for books that make me feel deeply uncomfortable (we can analyse that deep-rooted issue later) and this book delivered a shot of much-needed discomfort directly into my veins. I'm an addict, but at least I'm self-aware.

I started to notice a buzz about Ruth's latest book, The Turn of the Key, all over Twitter and the London underground earlier this year. I knew Ruth was going to be at Capital Crime so I saved buying my copy until then, so I could meet Ruth (oh my god she's so lovely) and get my shiny new copy signed. This was the first book I read as soon as I got home from the festival, after abandoning another book I wasn't enjoying, about halfway through (best decision I've made in months, and I'm not even a little bit sorry).


The first thing that jumped out at me was the format of the book, which is a letter. One, huge 331 pages long letter (front and back) from Rowan, who is writing from prison to a solicitor, explaining what really happened that night and why she needs his help. After a few false starts, the protagonist really gets into her letter and her story, and Rowan's character leaps off the page and waltzes straight into your world.

The premise of the story is that Rowan has accepted a suspiciously well-paid job as a nanny to a wealthy family in a secluded house in the Scottish Highlands. Of course, it's too good to be true, and things start to go wrong the minute the parents walk out of the door. Faced with four strong-willed and impossible children, two boisterous Labradors, a housekeeper who seems to despise her, and a house that's controlled by technology, Rowan is soon riddled with crippling fear.

Who is walking around in the attic late into the night? Where does that locked door in her bedroom lead? Why do these kids hate her so much? We know a kid is going to die, but which one? And how? And why oh why have the family gone through so many nannies?

The Turn of the Key started out a little on the eerie side but gradually increased so far up the scary scale to the point of making my heart race long after putting it down for the night. I drank up page after page and completely lost myself in the story. I learned from reading The Death of Mrs Westaway that Ruth is excellent at creating characters that stick in your mind and The Turn of the Key is no exception. Rowan is an excellently flawed character, an unreliable narrator who delivers the story, its clues and an oh-my-fucking-god plot twists like a pro.

Ruth Ware is firmly on my favourite authors list and I hope she's on yours too... if you enjoy hiding in your house, locking all the doors and avoiding the loft like the plague.

Happy Halloween!

Roxie

@RoxieAdelleKey