Time of Death by Mark Billingham

Description from Goodreads:

“The astonishing thirteenth Tom Thorne novel is a story of kidnapping, the tabloid press, and a frightening case of mistaken identity.

Tom Thorne is on holiday with his girlfriend DS Helen Weeks, when two girls are abducted in Helen’s home town. When a body is discovered and a man is arrested, Helen recognizes the suspect’s wife as an old school-friend and returns home for the first time in twenty-five years to lend her support. As his partner faces up to a past she has tried desperately to forget and a media storm engulfs the town, Thorne becomes convinced that, despite overwhelming evidence of his guilt, the police have got the wrong man. There is still an extremely clever and killer on the loose and a missing girl who Thorne believes might still be alive.”

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I am a massive fan of Mark Billingham and I absolutely love his character - Tom Thorne - neither have ever disappointed me and, after reading this, they still haven’t. This book is ace as are all previous 12 novels. I am usually one of the first to the bookshop when a new one comes out but this time I was lucky enough to have been sent an eBook copy via NetGalley and I want to thank the publisher, Grove Atlantic, for this in return for an unbiased review.

I won’t go into any details about the storyline as the description above says it all but I will say that it is captivating, thrilling, absorbing, exciting and all the other superlatives that you normally use to describe a brilliant read.

This book deals with some pretty despicable crimes but does so in a way that is not sensationalised or gratuitous but rather in a thought-provoking and sensitive manner. Now don’t get me wrong, this book isn't all about the heinous crimes, there are some laugh-out-loud moments to lighten the mood particularly when the unorthodox pathologist Phil Hendricks appears from London to lend a hand. He is like a breath of fresh air and his relationship with Thorne is just fantastic and so natural as is Thorne’s budding relationship with Helen.

The story moves at great pace with an easy to read style of writing which makes this book difficult to put down. There are twists and turns aplenty and just when you go “aha, I know who did it”, Mr Billingham goes and throws a spanner in the works again … you know it’s coming but are still surprised when it does.

This may be the 13th instalment in the Tom Thorne series and you might think that Mr Billingham couldn't think of new and innovative scrapes, crisis, crimes and miscreants for Tom Thorne to get involved with and in but he seems to be able to manage it with ease and still he makes it feel fresh and new. You can get away with reading this as a standalone but I would highly recommend reading the others as Thorne will quickly become an old friend who you love to get reacquainted with with each new book.

Would I recommend this to anyone else? Hell yes - go and buy it now :)

Before I Go To Sleep by S J Watson

Description from Goodreads:

“Memories define us.

So what if you lost yours every time you went to sleep?

Your name, your identity, your past, even the people you love—all forgotten overnight.

And the one person you trust may only be telling you half the story.

Welcome to Christine's life.”

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I started this book with high expectations given all the hype that has preceded it and, overall, I wasn't disappointed and I want to thank Netgalley and the publisher, Random House UK/Transworld Publishing, for my copy in return for an unbiased review.

The story centres around and is told by the main character, Christine. I won’t bore you with a detailed outline of the story as this has already been done by others and the description sets it out in a nutshell. 

The overall concept of the story is interesting and engaging. I have seen a few reviews that criticise the author for not being accurate in respect of the type of amnesia or the plausibility and inconsistencies of the story but I found it compulsive and captivating. Is this likely to happen in real life … probably not; are there parts of the book that just happen to fall conveniently into place … yes … but did it keep me reading and going back for more …. yes it did.

The pace and style of writing made it easy to read and I felt the author captured Christine’s absolute fear and confusion every morning on waking and the trials and tribulations she went through to find out what happened to her extremely well. I went along for the ride and enjoyed trying to work things out in tandem with Christine. The penny dropped for me quite quickly but this didn't ruin the ending which was full of action and tension and I liked seeing how the story unfolded for Christine.

The characters are interesting and complex but I did find them a little bit lacking in brain cells at times and not reacting in a way that I would expect. I would like to give some examples here but I don’t want to give away any spoilers to those that are yet to read this book, I will just let you find them yourselves.

I admit that this book isn't the best psychological thriller/mystery that I have read but I was still entertained and I would recommend it to anyone who likes reading these types of books but don’t expect anything too scary or dark.

Surviving The Angel of Death: The Story of a Mengele Twin in Auschwitz by Eva Mozes Kor & Lisa Rojany Buccieri

 

Description from Goodreads:

“Eva Mozes Kor was 10 years old when she arrived in Auschwitz. While her parents and two older sisters were taken to the gas chambers, she and her twin, Miriam, were herded into the care of the man known as the Angel of Death, Dr. Josef Mengele. Mengele's twins were granted the privileges of keeping their own clothes and hair, but they were also subjected to sadistic medical experiments and forced to fight daily for their own survival, as most of the twins died as a result of the experiments or from the disease and hunger pervasive in the camp. In a narrative told with emotion and restraint, readers will learn of a child's endurance and survival in the face of truly extraordinary evil.

The book also includes an epilogue on Eva's recovery from this experience and her remarkable decision to publicly forgive the Nazis. Through her museum and her lectures, she has dedicated her life to giving testimony on the Holocaust, providing a message of hope for people who have suffered, and working toward goals of forgiveness, peace, and the elimination of hatred and prejudice in the world.”

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Many of us will have seen the photographs and moving images of those 2 little girls at the head of a line of survivors walking out of Auschwitz and many of us, me included, would have asked ourselves "I wonder who they are, where they came from, how they survived that nightmare and where are they now?"; this book sheds light on all those questions and introduces you to a very brave little girl.

"At Auschwitz dying was so easy. Surviving was a full-time job."

The words that came into my head as I was reading this book was how amazing, brave and inspirational Eva was and still is. For a 10 year old to have that level of insight and an unbelievably strong will to survive is humbling. You can feel the pain, the fear but also the love coming through the words and pages. Her descriptions of the horrors she, her twin sister and the others interred in that godforsaken place were told in a non-sensationalised way and without the usual shocking, graphic details. In some ways, this made it more upsetting - it was told from the eyes of a child and those eyes should never have seen the things that she saw.

Eva was careful to ensure that she make it known that in amongst all that evil, there were people who risked their lives for others - the supervisor who gave food in the infirmary and shared her birthday cake and the barracks full of Jewish women who kept a child hidden during their entire stay - just two instances. These acts of extreme bravery and selflessness provide hope that there is still some humanity.

I don’t know if I could ever forgive anyone who systematically murdered someone in my family let alone everyone in my family but Eva is obviously made of something else and her quote:

"Anger and hate are seeds that germinate war. Forgiveness is a seed for peace. It is the ultimate act of self-healing”

tells you all you need to know about her inner strength and the type of person she is.

Eva is an inspiration and her message of hope should be a mantra for us all:

"The life lessons I have learned through all my pain and everything I have been through and survived:

1. Never ever give up on yourself or your dreams, for everything good in life is possible.

2. Judge people on their actions and the content of their character.

3. Forgive your worst enemy and forgive everyone who has hurt you— it will heal your soul and set you free"

This book is designed for Young Adults but, to be honest, I think anyone of any age could read this and should read this.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher, Tanglewood, for providing me with a copy in return for an honest review.

Crash & Burn by Lisa Gardner

Description from Goodreads:

"My name is Nicky Frank.

I'm in hospital after crashing my car. I am afraid. The only thing that I can think about is Vero. I know I have to save her but why couldn't I find her? She's just a little girl.

The man standing in my hospital room tells me we are married but there is no Vero. That six months ago I suffered a traumatic brain injury which caused changes to my personality. I have dramatic mood swings, an inability to concentrate and large gaps in my memory. I'm much easier to anger these days. And I drink. All of which he says explains the car accident and my confusion.

Now a Sergeant Wyatt Foster is investigating. He has questions about the car accident. He has concerns about my husband. And he's worried about a missing girl.

He would like to know what happened to me. So would I.

My name is Nicky Frank. This is my life.

Watch me crash and burn."

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I have read a few of Lisa Gardner’s books and have enjoyed them all but this was something different and equally as good. This is the third story in the Tessa Leoni series but you definitely don’t have to have read the previous books in the series to enjoy this and it can be read as a standalone. I would however like to add a caveat to this as I do believe it would be beneficial to read the other books in order to get an insight into Tessa as Lisa touches on this in this book and I did feel I was missing out on something from previous stories but, as this book doesn't focus on Tessa that much, it didn't detract from my enjoyment of the story.

This book centres around Nicky and delves into her fractured mind, her unreliable memories, disturbing past and her relationship with her husband, Thomas. In the beginning, there are so many questions and you never really know if what Nicky is thinking is real or not but gradually clues are drip-fed and you start to put 2 and 2 together but sometimes you make 5! Enter Police Sergeant Wyatt and Private Investigator Leoni who struggle to piece things together and try to discover just what the heck is going on but it becomes clear that Nicky has a traumatic history and a history that, unfortunately, is only too real and is happening to someone today.

The pace of the story is excellent with twists and turns thrown in on a regular basis and it doesn't let up right to the breath-taking conclusion. It is told mainly from the point of view of Nicky and, I think, it captures her confusion and fear extremely well. It is also told from Wyatt’s perspective and he is the calm and measured voice of the book. All of the characters are complex, interesting and believable.

Lisa Gardner tackles a difficult subject in Crash & Burn with sensitivity and respect and does not glorify it or go into graphic detail which I applaud and I recommend it for anyone who enjoys a fast-paced, psychological thriller that has you not knowing whether you are coming or going.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, Headline, for the copy in return for an honest and unbiased review.