Till We Meet Again - Lesley Pearse

It looks like I might be back on the reading wagon again, having read this book in under a week :) But then again, it could just be that it has Lesley Pearse an the author - and Lesley never lets me down with a good story.

Till We Meet Again doesn't disappoint at all. It's possibly not quite as hard-hittingly graphic as some of her others have been but this doesn't make her plotting and and story-telling any worse or better. It continues to be great. Pearse still writes a fantastically good story and once again makes the reader question things that maybe we take for granted.

The story opens immediately with a double murder. Susan Wright walks into a doctors surgery and kills the two people seemingly in cold blood. She then gives herself up, wishing to be punished for the crimes she has committed. In a cruel twist of fate her childhood friend Beth Powell is randomly appointed as her solicitor. And thus begins the unraveling of the past lives of these two characters and the events which lead them to this point in their lives. How circumstances and actions affect each other and how two seemingly very different women can have so much similarity at their core.

Once again, Pearse handles what are quite difficult subjects in a forthright but sensitive manner, always taking the time to explain clearly the motives which justify the actions of her characters. Her sensitive handling of Beth's traumatic past but without shying away from details enables the reader to really feel for Beth and to want to understand her more deeply. Similarly the way she leads the reader to develop their own sympathies for Susan's restrictive and manipulated childhood enables us to care so much about the characters and to want justice for them. It is fairly obvious to me why Lesley Pearse is one of our best-selling authors :) An engaging story-line and well thought out characters who you can't help but care deeply about.

I've released this book into the wild via www.bookcrossing.com and its BCID is 112-5135927 - enjoy!

Mr Commitment - Mike Gayle

Oh dear... my book reading time (or lack there of) has been shameful lately. Other things have just gotten in the way... and nothing particularly constructive either so I don't even have a proper excuse... bad Charlie :)

Anyway, I have finally read another book. But it's nothing to write home about really. It is one of those easy going, timid, everything-works-out-okay-in-the-end books of no substance that could probably even be given away free with a copy of Glamour magazine. Sorry to sound harsh. These types of books are great for an easy read on the beach or on a plane but they are just so full of nothing. No nitty-gritty with characters that mean something or have depth.

As these types of books go it was ok but you'll probably have heard the punchlines a billion times before. General storyline as follows: Boy loves girl, girl loves boy, girl wants to get married, boy scared of commitment, boy and girl have fight, boy and girl split up, boy pines after girl, boy realises boy can commit to girl, girl discovers she is pregnant, boy and girl get back together, boy and girl get married and live happily ever after, amen. Mike Gayle probably wrote it in his lunch hour :)

Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows - J K Rowling

I can't remember how long I've waited for this final book to come out... which I know is very sad for a 27 year old to admit! I totally wasn't into these books when they first came out figuring that they were just kids books really. But then the Book People came round at work and I bought a box set of the first four just so I could see what all the fuss was about... and I've been hooked ever since!
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It took me over month to read this final installment, just because I wanted to make it last as long as possible (much to the annoyance of my mates who couldn't talk about it in front of me until I finished it - sorry guys!). After all the hype and anticipation of the final book I was slightly worried that it wouldn't live up to expectations and that there would be questions left unanswered. Which way was Rowling going to take the ending? Does Voldemort get defeated? Can Snape still be trusted? Is Dumbledore really dead? Will Ron and Hermione get it on? And most importantly.... will Harry survive the end?
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I won't go into too many details regarding the actual story as I'm sure there are still some peeps out there who haven't read it and I wouldn't want to spoil any surprises. But surffice to say, it was totally worth the wait. Rowling has done an excellent job in finalising the story for us all and in a way which was both sympathetic and heroic. All the questions that I had were answered and there were no loose ends at the end of the book to worry about. It's just fantastic.
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My only criticism (and it's only a little one) is that the final chapter was a little too short for my liking. I wanted to know more about what happened immediately after the battle and in the days following. But to honest Rowling has probably got it spot on. If she had of gone into these details the book would have been twice as long no doubt. And in any case, leaving us to fill in the blanks with our own imagination helps to highlight the sense of daze, relief and dream-like quality the characters must have felt after things work out the way they do (no hints from me here!). It's kind of sad that it's all over. But at least I know I have seven books sitting on my shelf knowing that they will always be there should I want to re-read the whole story again. Which, I am sure, will happen several hundred times between now and the day I die, lol. Enjoy x

Close - Martina Cole

Man O man. I did not enjoy this book at all! A friend lent it to me and she only got half way through it before giving up because it didn't seem to be going anywhere. And boy was she right. I am one of those people who will persevere because I hate to give up on a book. Some of the best books are those where you don't have a clue where it's going and then right at the end with a flash of golden light, all becomes clear. Unfortunately Close is nothing like that which was disappointing since it meant a delay in starting Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by a day to finish it (shock horror!).
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Anyway, Close as we have come to expect from Cole is gangster related and follows the Brodie family through their rise to, then fall from, and eventual rise back to power and control over London's gangster scene. And that's pretty much it. The beginning opens with Lily Brodie (the matriarch) lying on her death bed and we discover that one of her sons Patrick has killed his brother Lance. The rest of the story describes their life and how Lance is considered strange and bad from the day he was born and therefore his mothers love was held from him and he was taken in hand by his evil grandmother Annie. Call me mad but surely a mother openly withholding love from her son is going to make him feel unwanted and therefore turn wild? But what do I know. Anyway, the story culminates when we vaguely find out why Patrick kills Lance (other than that he's rubbish at helping to run the businesses) but here Cole merely hints at what he's done and leaves the reader to work it out for themselves. From what I can gather, what Lance did is pretty shocking by all accounts but I would have preferred something like that to be spelt out for me because now I am worrying if I have just got a dirty warped mind! And I don't like books that make me feel like that!
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So, sorry Martina. I loved Dangerous Lady and can't wait to read Maura's Game, but this one was a big let down for me I'm afraid.

Firewall - Andy McNab

I finally finished this book last Saturday. This wasn't the fault of the book though. I go through phases where I read and read to the exclusion of everything else. However, this phase ended just after I started the book so that's why it took me so long. I've read it before anyway and may also have had a bit of McNab overload so that probably contributed to my slow reading!
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Anyway, like McNab's other books Firewall is pretty good. The storyline is full of thrills and punch-ups and poor old Nick never seems to catch a break. If you ever had a bad day at work - trust me when I say he has had worse!
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This book follows Nick in his desperation to get some major finance together for Kelly's hospital treatment after she succums to post-traumatic stress disorder (read Remote Control for reasons why). Low on funds and with a wreck of a house for Kelly's home Nick will do anything - even for ROC (Russian Organised Crime). As always McNab seems to have his pulse on what is going on in the world and Firewall is about preventing commercial espionage by unsavory organisations who can not be allowed to have access to any governemnts secrets. Why Nick chooses to believe the Russians of all people is beyond me....! But I like I say, I guess he really needs the cash.
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The story follows Nick as he is seduced by the millions he is set to earn by stealing the Echelon program from an unsuspecting group of hackers and hand it over to the Russians. For this he needs his old mate Tom to crack the firewall and steal the program. Convincing Tom to do it is a challenge in itself. The two fly to Finland where the first attempt to steal the program goes completely wrong when another group intent on the same mission turn up and results in Tom's kidnap. The usual fight scenes ensue but all the while with McNab's descriptions bringing them to life so you feel the punches hit you with the same force as they do the characters. Nick goes on the hunt for Tom on Russian instructions to now destroy both the Echelon program and Tom. This takes him to Estonia where, with the help of his new buddy 'Eight' he gathers what he needs to blow the place sky-high and claim the cash. It is here during these descriptive parts when Nick is pulling together what he needs to get the job done that NcNab's field experience shines through. The way he explains it is dead easy to grasp and you can totally visualise what Nick is up to and his thought processes. More fight scenes and a brilliantly executed explosion later, Tom and Nick must navigate through devastaing weather conditions as they escape the compound to evade capture. Cold, hungry and tired and without any survival equipment they set off into the freezing cold.
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However, as always with Nick Stone's life, nothing is ever that simple...

The Tenth Circle - Jodi Picoult

The Tenth Circle is the second novel of Picoult’s that I have read, the other being Keeping Faith which I read back in March. I remember thinking how engaging a book that had been and how Picoult had managed to draw you deep into the characters so that you somehow managed to see a part of yourself in each of them.
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The Tenth Circle is nothing short of brilliantly captivating. It took me four days to read it – no mean feat since I work full time and did two 12-hour days this week. I just couldn’t put it down. Picoult’s writing is just so (and I don’t mean to sound snobbish here) intelligent and fantastically constructed and the way she gives her characters so much depth you can’t help but feel their pain or happiness as deeply as they do.
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The story follows the Stone family whose lives are torn apart one night when 14-year old Trixie is raped at a party by her ex-boyfriend and the subsequent effect on those around her. Her father Daniel has always been her main caretaker as he has been the ‘stay at home dad’, fitting his work of writing comics around her schedule. Picoult has cleverly managed to paint her father as some kind of superhero who will do anything it takes to protect his daughter from the world. This is further demonstrated by Picoult’s descriptions of Daniel’s ‘wild’ past which, cleverly juxtapositioned between his current ‘normal’ persona, serve to highlight the two sides that probably every person who loves someone else has – the side to love and nurture and the other to protect, no matter what price that amounts to. To this end, at the conclusion of each chapter is a short comic strip which illustrates Daniel’s quest to save his daughter, written along the lines of travelling through the nine levels of Hell as described in Dante’s Inferno – a epic poem on which his wife Laura is something of an authority.
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Jodi Picoult throws up so many questions during this book that on occasion it reads like Carrie Bradshaw’s narrative in Sex in the City. However, her questions and points are so relevant and thought-provoking that before you know it your mind is whirring away trying figure out the answer – sometimes to which, there isn’t one. Questions such as why you have to physically say “no” to sex for it to be considered rape when we never actually say “yes” either. Why isn’t the body language of saying no just as important as when the body language says yes? How dressing someone can be much more intimate than unravelling them. How you can be married to someone for so long and both know and not know them. How, when two people are changing so rapidly whilst they each fight off their demons, the two of them remain the only constant and can still recognise each other afterwards.
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There is no doubt that Picoult has done her research. The use of the Alaskan environment and its people serves to highlight that sometimes words are not needed and that volumes can be spoken within a silence, especially in a landscape where breath is instantly frozen on the air. I liked the way this was highlighted through the character of Willie near the end of the story and his relationship with Trixie. Sometimes you have to listen to silence before you can find it within yourself to speak the truth and how sometimes you don’t need to speak at all to say what needs to be said.
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I could go on forever about how good this book is but I don’t think I could ever do it justice. It is clever and sharp and brilliantly written. Picoult has the most amazing way of bringing you deep into the characters so that they become a part of you. The way she shows how difficult it is to be a parent, or a family, or someone who loves someone else, or anyone who has something to lose by turning a blind eye. How even superheroes have the flaws of humans, but at the same time this is what makes them superheroes in the first place. It's a lucky girl who ever had a dad like Daniel.

Crisis Four - Andy McNab

Crisis Four is the second book in the Nick Stone series and just like Remote Control it’s full of action and intrigue.
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Personally, one of my favourite parts of these books is Nick’s relationship with Kelly. This focuses his attention on something else in his life other than him and it’s interesting to see how this affects his choices – even past SAS operatives are human too (shock horror!). She doesn’t appear too much in this story but we find out that Nick is now Kelly’s joint guardian and with that has come a responsibility unlike any other he’s ever had.
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The story opens on an operation in Syria where we are introduced to Nick’s old flame, Sarah Greenwood. When I read Recoil last month I mentioned I was glad that McNab had tackled a more lovey dovey side to Nick that I hadn’t seen before. However, I’d forgotten and Nick pretty much falls in love with Sarah in Crisis Four so it’s actually here that we first see how Stone reacts towards the ladies. McNab does a good job telling it from the side of a bloke unable to cope with these type of emotions.
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As usual for Nick though things do not go according to plan. He’s already ticked off with Sarah for using him in the past and in the opening chapter she screws him over again causing one of his team to get killed. The book then skips forward a few years to where Stone is sent on a mission to locate her as she’s gone AWOL in the States and the firm are concerned about where her loyalties lie. It’s here in the first half of the book that McNab’s operational experience really shows through as the detail he goes to in setting up the situations for us are second to none – but as always, narrated in the squaddie language style we love so much!
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After finding Sarah and listening to her side of events he decides to ignore the “T104” order and help her out, believing that to stop a greater wrong is more beneficial on a global scale than ignoring an trifling order from the Firm. Plus, more to the point, he still fancies his chances with her. Here the action gets intense as Sarah and Nick dodge bullets, dogs and hypothermia as they are pursued across North Carolina by the police. They eventually make it out alive and as their next step is to try and enter the White House, Nick must call on an old friend who he knows he will have to screw over in order to help Sarah.
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Like Remote Control, the book leaves you guessing right up until the end and you’re never quite sure who the bad guys are. Invariably Stone takes the brunt of the blame as things do not go to plan in Washington and at the end of the story Stone is left wondering if there is anyone out there who he can trust – or even if there is anyone left who can trust him…

The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold

I think that when you are reading a book there are two questions you need to ask: a) Was it good; and b) did you enjoy it.
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The Lovely Bones is a very good book. It has a sympathetic approach to it's subject and is intelligent in its construct and I had heard people rave about how brilliant it was. However, throughout the majority of the book I couldn't stop myself from thinking that actually, I'm not really enjoying reading this however much I wanted to enjoy it. Only in the last chapter did I begin to fully understand and like where the story took me.
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But maybe this is what Sebold had intended all along due to the subject of the book? The story is told by 14 year-old Susie who one night on her way home is raped and murdered by a man in her neighbourhood. The rest of the book details how she sees her family's attempt to come to terms with her senseless death as she looks down on them from Heaven; as they try and make sense of it, and most notably at the end, how their lives have been irrevocably changed and linked to one another by it. Thinking back, maybe the reason I didn't enjoy the majority of the book was because of the emotional changes that happen to the characters as they try to make sense of Susie's death - this in itself would be a hard time for anyone unlucky enough to have to experience it which maybe Sebold, in her cleverness has managed to convey to her readers perfectly.
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As Susie's family and friends try to get on with their lives you sense there is a heavy veil of longing over the them - a sense that they will each of them have to find closure in their own way especially since Susie's body or her killer are never found. This is where the book for me at least, starts to come together at the end when the family realise that their longing and hanging on can not continue and that they need to get on with their lives whilst remembering Susie in their own way. Only in this way can Susie herself let go and move into the next part of her Heaven. Sebold explains to us the comforting thought of how the dead never actually leave us even once their loss has been accepted by those they love. They are always with us and their legacies however small will remain forever which she explains in a very sympathetic manner.
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There is no doubt that this in an elegant book which taps into the heart of love, loss and grief and reluctant acceptance. It is honest in its conclusion highlighted by the fact that Susie's killer is never found and eventually dies an unremarkable and unnoticed death himself. Sebold is a very clever writer who does expect you to read between the lines on occasion. All in all a very good book but as to whether it was enjoyable to read, you'll have to make up your own mind on that one.
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I've released this book into the wild via http://www.bookcrossing.com/ and its BCID is 196-5133324 - enjoy!

Father Unknown - Lesley Pearse

Lesley Pearse is, beyond any doubt, a gifted writer. I have only read one other of her books before which was Trust Me - a harrowing story based on true events about two children who were sent to Australia on the pretext of starting a new life, which turned out to be little more than a life of slavery, abused by those in a position of trust.
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Father Unknown therefore, had a fairly tall order to live up to based on how engaging Trust Me was. And indeed it doesn't fail to deliver. It opens with the story of dizzy Daisy who, after her adoptive mother's death, goes in search of her real mother in the hope of understanding her past. Much of the book is taken up with the story of Daisy's real mother Ellen and Ellen's half sister Josie and how their lives move in two totally different directions, shaping their lives and personalities to a tragic end for both. Pearse tells the tale of parental cruelty, abandonment and lost innocence in such a way that you can't help but feel sorry for those involved. The story is also set in Cornwall, an area which although vibrant and full of life in the summer, becomes drab and isolated in the winter - an area discarded by the tourists after their fun in much the same way as Josie's character is discarded by men. A lot of time is spent on Josie in the book as her character surprisingly is the pivot on which much of the story falls. Pearse does a great job on capturing the hardship of both girls' situations and how the personality of each goes a long way in turning their lives into what they are - an idea highlighted in it's extreme once again by Josie's character.
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This book, just like Trust Me is not for the faint-hearted. Pearse is not a woman who shies away from detail in the most extreme situations or makes pretty scenes purely to appease. Some paragraphs describing Josie's life are so harrowing I had to read them twice to make sure I'd read them right. Pearse should be commended for this. She doesn't put these scenes in purely for shock value - they are there because afterwards we understand more about the character and their actions and why they are the way they are. She writes life like it is and is not afraid to put in the nitty-gritty either which I personally feel is one of her most admirable qualities. On the other hand she also expresses love and happiness with equal vehemence which makes a wholly balanced and entertaining story for the reader with brilliant plot development, character assassination and an engaging twist to the story at it's climax. Ellen and Josie may have been let down by society, but you won't be let down by Pearse.
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I've released this book into the wild via http://www.bookcrossing.com/ and its BCID is 881-5133217 - enjoy!

Remote Control - Andy McNab

After reading Recoil last week and enjoying it so much I figured I would go about trying to read all the books in order - an idea reinforced by happening across Remote Control in a charity shop a few days ago and picking it up for the bargain price for 99p!
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So, here we find ourselves at the start of the Nick Stone series. It's been ten years since I read this book and it was really great to read it again. It's even more gritty and action-packed than I remember it being which is why I read it so quick coz I couldn't put the thing down!
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This story is about government greed, corruption and betrayal all interlaced with the relationship between Nick and Kelly as he tries to uncover what is going on whilst on the run with a seven-year old in tow. Stone is working for The Firm on deniable operations and is sent to the States to follow two known PIRA (Provisional Irish Republican Army) players. Just after landing however, the operation is pulled unexpectedly and he's ordered back to the UK immediately. Killing time between his flight out he visits his old mate Kev and finds the family slaughtered in their own home. Only Kelly, their daughter, has survived. The Firm refuse to help Stone out of the situation due to him being in the States on a deniable op and will only do so should Stone manage to find his way back to England with sufficient evidence behind the killings - thanks very much!
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With Stone now being the key suspect in the murder, thus ensues an action packed tale of chases, fights, dingy hotel rooms, and the search to uncover the truth where he can only rely on others for help. The thing I really like about this book and others of McNab's that I've read is that he's not afraid to tackle the subject of the plan going wrong. His books are not like Hollywood movies where the plan always works and the good guy comes out smelling of roses. He knows people make mistakes and screw up and with a seven-year old as an accomplice there is ample opportunity to explore this. The story is dead easy to read and the pace rarely slows, and with a wicked twist at the end it really makes a great read. McNab's descriptions of people and methaphors on occasion had me laughing out loud as we get a taste of Stone's sarcasm and wit regarding his situations.
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The way McNab deals with the relationship between Stone and Kelly is also brilliant and always honest. He identifies the difficulties of not only being on the run with a child, but how difficult it can be for someone who's not used to dealing with kids to try and coerce them into doing what he needs whilst trying to help her come to terms with the death of her family (something which he initially tries to side-step). From taking her from the the horrors of her home with the intention of off-loading her onto someone else, to eventually wanting to protect her himself and get revenge for her fathers death you can see how Stone's attitude to his responsibility changes as the story develops. I think it's the way McNab deals with these dynamics that make his books appeal to both sexes: action stuff for the men; emotional stuff for the women - and vice versa of course : )
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The only down-sides to the book that I can see are the fact that NcNab seems to repeat some descriptions found in the first chapter later in the book pretty much word for word (copy-editor was obviously asleep), and with a cool "Macgyver"-esque scenario at the end of the book it ends a bit too abruptly for my liking. However, it's still a cracking read with loads of intrigue and action which personally leave me gagging for the next installment. Off to search the thrift shops I go!

Recoil - Andy McNab

Now, Andy McNab I think, is one of those writers whose fiction books you'll either like or you won't. His language is incredibly basic, no frills and with metaphors and character analogies so unpretentious they come across as refreshingly honest. However, the basic 'squaddie' language I think is the whole part of their charm and style and what makes his books so great to read - you really get a sense that he know's what he's taking about when he writes which of course, being ex-SAS, he absolutely does. His writing comes from experience and this really comes through when you read and makes his action scenes come to life. Personally, anyone who says that McNab's books are rubbish obviously hasn't read any of them.
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Recoil is the 9th book in the series following the character of Nick Stone. I have read the first three in the series: Remote Control, Crisis Four and Firewall which have given the reader a great deal of info on Stone's character, the reasons why he is the way he is and how he came to become guardian of his dead mate's daughter, Kelly. As Recoil is the 9th in the series he doesn't touch on the Kelly issue at all so I guess the major questions get answered in books 4-8. In Recoil however, Stone thinks he's fallen in love and it's interesting to see McNab tackle some of those issues that he hadn't in the others that I've read so far. The story this time is based in Africa where Stone travels to retrieve his girlfriend who's run off to do relief work in the war-torn Congo jungle. Ultiimately they realise they don't know each other at all what with them both being at either ends of the social spectrum - him with a gun in his hand and shooting people and her with a medic degree and patching up the mess. Most of the story is taken up with Stone and some of his old crew helping to defend the tin mine from the militant LRG who are good at using the local malnourished kids to fight their war. As with the other books you don't really need to read it in series order as each has it's own story you can read independently which is great if you just want to pick up an easy read you can really get into and probably finish in a weekend. McNab's books are great for this especially if you want the thrill of the chase without having to plough through a whole lot of political mumbo jumbo like you get in, say, Ludlum's novels (which incidently are fantasic books if you are in for the whole story with all it's political in's and out's and twists and turns etc. I can particularly recommend The Altman Code). This book is great for a beach read or if you want a weekend quickie and won't fail to deliver action - you'll probably even pick up a handy SAS tip or two! All in all a great read and with McNab's field experience and no-nonsence prose you really get the feel of being out there in the middle of it all.
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And at the end of the day, whether you like McNab or not, parts of the story are heart-breaking and harrowing and bring up some really thought-provoking points about how we in the West live and the inpact this has on the third-world, and in my opinion this can never be a bad thing.

Okay, here goes...

Okay, I've read so many books in my past 27 years now that I can't possibly start to list them all so after this little intro we'll start with the current one and go from there, sometimes adding in thoughts or other bits of relevent or interesting (?!) info along the way on previous books I've read. I should also mention that I'm a total blog virgin so if anyone else out there decides to read my random meanderings be gentle!!

Anyway, a brief bit about me and why I love books: I am a total daydreamer and my head is always off in the clouds. Unfortuately I have to come back to planet Earth to go to work and pay bills etc, but if my nose isn't in a book then my head is totally off somewhere else - so I apologise if I go off on a tangent sometimes! Books provide my escape from the world (being a pisces it is far too harsh for me!) and I love the fact that no matter where you are or how crappy life is being, you can open up a book and be off somewhere else in an instant. I guess that's why I like movies too but books are by far my favourite medium. Anyway, I'll be back soon with the first book log/review thingy...

P.s. Just to add that my tastes are pretty eclectic so be prepared for a whole range of stuff that probably won't come in any particular order other than in which they were read!