The Storyteller of Auschwitz by Siobhan Curham

Synopsis from Goodreads:

"Auschwitz, 1942. ‘When this is all over, you will be able to tell the world what they did to us.’ The Nazis have already ended so many stories way too soon, but can a person truly die if their story lives on? I have to survive. The world needs to know what’s happening here…

Stumbling through the terrifying wrought iron gates of Auschwitz, Jewish author Etty Weil longs for her apartment overlooking the Seine, where she used to laugh with friends, her shelves full of records and her beloved typewriter by the wide window. Now she looks on in horror as a young girl, Danielle , is ruthlessly torn apart from her sobbing mother. Etty has always longed for the warm embrace of and trapped inside the maze of barbed wire, she takes fourteen-year-old Danielle under her wing and soon comes to cherish her like a sister.

Every evening, Etty tells Danielle stories, building a beautiful world of imagination and hope for Danielle to escape into. Soon, Etty realises that the other women in their cramped hut are listening too. She encourages them to share their lives, to talk about their darling children running around clutching their favourite toys, the love affairs they once had and the beloved family they’ve already lost. Etty must survive this terrible if only to keep her promise to these brave women that their stories will not be forgotten.

But the more hope Etty gives Danielle, the more chances the young girl begins to take with her life, rebelling against the brutal SS guards and forcing Etty to protect her. And one day, Danielle goes too far…"

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Oh my word, I am an emotional wreck after reading this book!

Let's be honest, books about the Holocaust are always difficult to read and although this is a work of fiction, the story is inspired by a mix of real authors from that time and real events that actually happened which are taken from the witness statements from the people who were there and survived that horrendous period.  It has been said before many times but we can never let something like this happen again ... we just can't! 

I fell in love with all the main characters in this book but admit to Solly and Danielle being my favourites apart from Etty of course and became totally immersed in their stories and I am not ashamed to say that I cried on more than one occasion and had to actually put the book down and stop reading as I couldn't read the words for the tears in my eyes but there were also parts that made me smile.

The Storyteller of Auschwitz is a powerful story of hope and friendship, bravery and survival and how powerful stories can be.

Many, many thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of this fantastic book that is a must-read.

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Check out another of Siobhan's books I have reviewed:

The Homemaker by Shari J. Ryan [Audiobook]

 

🎙🎙🎙 Narrated by Stephanie Cannon 🎙🎙🎙

Synopsis from Goodreads:

"I pull back the blanket to take another peek at my beautiful baby boy. My heart flatlines. He isn’t there. “Where is he?” I cry, my whole body trembling. But my husband just shakes his head. “Darling… we don’t have a baby.”

What is he talking about? Stumbling to my feet, I look frantically at the highchair, the playmat in the corner, the sofa. I need to find my little boy.

Limbs like ice, I rush toward the stairs, shouting my son’s name. But my husband grabs my arms and gently reminds me there is no baby here.

I can’t listen. I don’t understand how our child isn’t in our home. I don’t know who could have taken him. I just know I have to find him.

Climbing the stairs two at a time, my hand is already stretching toward the nursery door, but my husband overtakes, blocking my way.

He forces me to face him. I think I can hear the baby mobile over the crib. I can practically smell the newborn smell. But my husband sighs and shakes his head.

He says it again, firmly this time, as a tear tracks down my cheek: “We don’t have a baby.”

I blink rapidly, my breathing ragged. I think he expects me to agree. But I know that my son is real. I can feel his weight in my arms. And I will stop at nothing to get him back…"

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I have read and enjoyed one of Shari's previous books, The Stolen Twins, but this is entirely different but no less enjoyable.

This is a twisty and disturbing thriller that had me hooked from the first to the last word.  Told from the perspectives of three very different women who all live within the same area but whose story is the one to believe?

Written at a good pace, with excellent characters, excellent twists and a fantastic narrator that only adds to the story, this is a great book that I would recommend to others who enjoy this genre.  I do, however, have to say that there were times where I thought it was a little over the top but I just went with it because if you can't suspend reality in fiction, when can you?

My thanks go to Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for enabling me to listen to and share my thoughts of The Homemaker.

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Check out another of Shari's books I have reviewed:

The Girl's Last Cry (Detective Lexi Bennett #2) by Alison Belsham

Synopsis from Goodreads:

"The girl lies on the dark ground, one arm flung out as if she is still looking for someone to help her. But her wide eyes are staring upwards, and Lexi knows that it is too late…

Detective Lexi Bennett is walking through the quiet Canterbury streets when she hears screaming. Rushing towards the sound, she finds the body of a teenage girl lying beneath one of the city’s ancient towers. Lexi looks up at the cold grey stone, and vows that she will find answers. Did the girl jump or fall… or was she pushed?

Olivia ’s distraught parents say their daughter was a talented musician with everything to live for. Lexi’s nephew, Sam , who knew Olivia, tearfully insists that she would never have taken her own life. But when a note is found, Lexi reluctantly wraps up the case.

Then another teenager is found dead on a deserted path beneath a cliff. Lexi is certain there’s a link, especially when she learns that the boy was a musician too. His note uses the same phrases as Olivia’s, and when a second person’s footprints are found at the scene, Lexi realises she is on the track of a master manipulator… and ruthless killer.

With her boss still unconvinced that the deaths are murders, Lexi races to find proof to back up her hunch, and to understand what lies behind these evil attacks on vulnerable children.

And then she gets a call that fills her with dread. Her nephew Sam is missing.

Can Lexi outsmart a truly brutal monster, or will her own family pay the price?"

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I listened to the audiobook of the first in this series and thoroughly enjoyed it so was eager to get my grubby little fingers on this, the second and I definitely wasn't disappointed.  You don't have to have read the first book as I think this works really well as a standalone but I would recommend it as it's a cracker!

Once again, Alison Belsham has constructed a story that is absolutely gripping with bundles of tension, characters that are believable and written at a pace that is perfect.  

Please be warned that this book deals with teenage suicide so if that is a trigger for you, I would move on although I think Alison deals with it sensitively and without any sensationalism.

My thanks go to Bookouture and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of this latest Lexi Bennett investigation and I look forward to the next.

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Read my reviews of other books by Alison Belsham's:

 The Girl's on Chalk Hill (Detective Lexi Bennett #1)

The Embalmer (The Tattoo Thief #3)

Murder by Natural Causes by Helen Erichsen [Audiobook]

🎙🎙🎙 Narrated by Natalie Pela🎙🎙🎙

 

Synopsis from Goodreads:

"A double life with a single purpose, getting away with murder.

Cilla is a 22-year-old contract killer, specialising in the dry a murder interpreted as death by natural causes. Her main client, Vladimir Haugr, is the owner of TGR's bridge club in London. In return for a flat, a retainer and expenses, Cilla does five jobs a year. She occasionally works freelance.

Neither strong, nor beautiful, Cilla isn't your typical female protagonist. In fact, she is so unremarkable as to render her almost invisible, an advantage in her line of work. She has survived because she is clever, stubborn and lucky. But Cilla knows that, statistically, her luck is about to run out. She must find a way to reinvent herself. Soon."

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Overall, a pretty successful audiobook which was, for me anyway, mostly down to the narrator who was excellent and really brought the characters to life.

The book is told entirely from Cilla's point of view and tells the story of how she got to be who she is and the now.  I wouldn't say it is full of action or thrills and spills which, from the synopsis anyway, I did assume would be the case but rather a detailed look into how a child with certain traits  can be shaped and moulded to become a successful killer and the cunning and skills she used when plying her trade and which she is now using to try and change her life.

As I said, it's not full of action and whilst there is some suspense, this mainly comes towards the end and this was, for me, a little disappointing - it's a little too slow and lacking in oomph!  I did however like getting to know Cilla and whilst at first I found her hard to 'like', she did grow on me in the end.

Overall, a little underwhelming and although I did finish it, I was left with a sense of "was that it?".  My thanks go to Bolinda Audio and NetGalley for enabling me to listen to and share my thoughts of Murder by Natural Causes.

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Fear The Silence by Robert Bryndza

Synopsis from Goodreads:

"“Do you believe Will took his own life?”

The question echoed off the white tiles in the hospital’s cold, cavernous morgue, and I studied my husband in peaceful repose. I leaned down and put my forehead against his. Silent tears ran down my cheeks. They felt hot, and he felt so cold. It was five days since his death, and my grief felt heavy, like a vast, dark mass pushing down on me.

When Maggie’s husband, Will, is shot dead in their London home, she thinks he is the victim of a burglary until the police tell her the shocking news that Will was the one who pulled the trigger.

Maggie is consumed with grief and questions. Will wasn’t suicidal and had so much to live for.

After the funeral, Maggie travels to their holiday home on a small Croatian island to escape London. She finds a disturbing letter written by Will, containing clues to a dark secret.

As Maggie puts the pieces together, she discovers Will’s death is connected to someone from his past… Someone who will go to extreme lengths to keep Maggie silent.

Three can keep a secret... If two of them are dead."

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I absolutely love Mr Bryndza's Kate Marshall series but this is his first standalone crime thriller and what an absolute triumph it is.

From the very first lines, I was absolutely hooked right to the very end.  The author certainly knows how to grab you by the short and curlies and not let go!  

With excellent characters, a great setting which added to the atmosphere, a riveting plot that pulled me in and all written at a perfect pace, this book had me on the edge of my seat ... I loved it.

I have no hesitation recommending this to lovers of psychological thrillers.  In fact, I have no hesitation in recommending Robert Bryndza's work as everything I have read by him has been to notch and he is one of my go-to author's where I don't even need to read the blurb to pick it up and know I will enjoy the ride.

Many thanks to the author, Raven Street Publishing and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of Fear The Silence.

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Other books by Robert Bryndza I have read and reviewed:

Nine Elms (Kate Marshall #1)

Shadow Sands (Kate Marshall #2)

Darkness Falls (Kate Marshall #3)

Devil's Way (Kate Marshall #4)

Fatal Witness (Detective Erika Foster #7)

The Bride by John Nicholl

Synopsis from Goodreads:

"She's on trial for murder… Now it’s her turn to tell her story…

The truth is that I loved James with my whole heart. We were soulmates: meant to be together forever. On the morning of our wedding, I had just found out I was carrying his child.

But it’s time to tell my side of the story. It’s time everyone knew what happened on that wedding day, on our honeymoon, and on that fateful last drive together. It’s time everyone found out about the secrets and about the threat that loomed over our marriage. It’s time everyone found out who really killed James.

And I need everyone to believe me. To believe I’m not a killer. Because if they don’t, then my baby won’t just have no father… she’ll have no mother."

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I have enjoyed Mr Nicholl's books before and this was no exception.

Daisy is writing a letter to her unborn child whilst she sits in a jail cell awaiting her trial for murder.  The book is written as a series of letters and provides Daisy's account of how she got to where she is but is she a reliable narrator?

I became very quickly engrossed in Daisy's story; it's full of tension and suspense with me desperately wanting to find out just what the heck happened.  There are twists that had my mouth agape with the ending of the book causing me to gasp out loud.  Written at a good pace, The Bride is a great psychological thriller that I would have no hesitation in recommending to readers of this genre.

Thanks to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of The Bride.

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Read my review of The Cellar also by John Ncholl