Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

Catherine Morland is a young lady, naive but well intentioned and good natured, and a lover of Gothic novels.  When friends of her family take her to Bath, to introduce her into society and increase her social circle, she makes friends with two particular families.  The first are the Thorpes, and a close friendship quickly develops between Catherine and the eldest Thorpe daughter, Isabella.  Isabella’s pompous brother John takes a fancy to Catherine, but the feeling is not returned.  The other family she befriends are the Tilneys – and she is immediately attracted to Henry Tilney, a witty and charismatic young man, although she is not sure that her feelings are reciprocated.  When Henry and his sister Eleanor invite Catherine to stay at their home, Northanger Abbey, her over-active imagination, caused by her love of novels, starts to go into overdrive!  But more adventures await Catherine at the Abbey, and her resolve will be tested…

After reading this book, I looked at some reviews of it, and it would appear that this is probably the most maligned book that Jane Austen wrote.  However, I found it delightful and perhaps more accessible than some of her other works (all of which so far I have enjoyed).  Austen’s famous wit shines throughout; my favourite sequence was the teasing conversation which passed between her and Henry on the way to Northanger Abbey, where he played on her imagination – in consequence, she imagines all sorts of things when she arrives at their destination, with hilarious results.

Catherine is a lovely heroine, although a less obvious one than some of Austen’s other heroines.  In fact, Austen herself often addresses the reader directly, acknowledging that this is a book which she has written, and making reference to Catherine’s qualities as the heroine of such a story.  The other characters are also very well drawn, in particular Henry Tilney and the vivacious but self-absorbed Isabella Thorpe.

Essentially, this is a charming coming-of-age story, where we see Catherine learn about herself and the world around her, and deals with disappointments and uncertainties in life and love.

The writing is fabulous – descriptive and witty, and capable of first making the reader laugh out loud, and then in the turn of a page, making them wonder what is going to happen.  It was impossible not to warm towards the main characters, and I certainly found myself caring about what happened to them.

I won’t give away the conclusion of the story for anyone who has not read it – Austen fans may well be able to guess at the flavour of the ending of it in any event.  However, as is so often the case with Jane Austen, the destination is less the object of reading than the journey.  Highly enjoyable, very charming, and definitely recommended!

Rounding the Mark by Andrea Camilleri

In this seventh book in the Inspector Montalbano series, the Sicilian Inspector has become disillusioned with his job, and suspicious of the ethics of those he works for.  He is worried that he is past his best, and seriously considers resigning.  So his mood is not improved when he is out for an early morning swim one day, and suddenly finds himself sharing the sea with the corpse of a man who has clearly been dead for some time.  Trying to discover the identity of the deceased proves an arduous task.

Montalbano also finds himself getting involved in the plight of a young immigrant boy, which leads him into the murky world of illegal immigrant trafficking, and putting his plans for resignation on hold.

As in the previous books in this extremely entertaining series, the Salvo Montalbano is grumpy, sarcastic and sometimes just plain rude, but still manages to endear himself to the reader, with his strong morals and eagerness to do the right thing (and love of good food!).  The usual supporting cast are all in evidence, from the steadfast Fazio, to the showy (and now married with a child on the way) Augello, and the bumbling, but frequently hilarious Catarella.  The book is filled with the series’ trademark mouthwatering descriptions of Montalbano’s beloved local cuisine, and the Sicilian atmosphere almost leaps off the page.

This book however, is somewhat darker in tone than those which precede it.  Questions are raised not only about Montalbano’s ability to do his job, but also whether his health is all it should be.  The nature of the enquiry – into the illegal trafficking of immigrants, and specifically children – takes the reader into an uncomfortable area.  None of this is a critcism however; this series tends to get better with every book, and this is possibly my favourite so far. 

An excellent read, but I would urge anyone wanting to read any of the Montalbano series, to start at the first book and read through them in order.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

Waterstones Synopsis:

From the famous episodes of the whitewashed fence and the ordeal in the cave to the trial of Injun Joe, “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” is redolent of life in the Mississippi River towns in which Twain spent his own youth. A sombre undercurrent flows through the high humour and unabashed nostalgia of the novel, however, for beneath the innocence of childhood lie the inequities of adult reality – base emotions and superstitions, murder and revenge, starvation and slavery.

This is my first Mark Twain novel, which I read because it is on The List of Banned Books. I am really pleased I picked this book to read – it was full of life, adventure and mischief. Tom Sawyer is a boy out there looking for fun. He runs off to play pirates for a few days and conning other boys into doing jobs his Aunt has assigned him. Twain was a wonderful writer and took me into this world of boy’s play and games.

This book is not just about games Tom plays however. On his adventures he discovers a crime with Huckleberry Finn. This twist and the suspense surrounding the event added depth and flavour to his novel. I liked how it played out, the way it fitted into adventures that make this book special.

I enjoyed reading all the characters, and I loved Tom and his cheekiness. He made for an exciting read, and it was fascinating following his activities. I loved his Aunt and the way she wanted the best for him. And I liked Huck Finn too. He was fun but poor – a risk to be with but great fun.

This novel is full of life. It has mystery and adventure. It is fun to read and I felt like I was there and just wanted to know what was going to happen. There was a range of characters and some great mischief occurring. I will definitely be reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn very soon.

4.5/5

Monster In Miniature by Margaret Grace

From Amazon ~

This miniaturist is in BIG trouble… For a festive Halloween project, Geraldine Porter and her granddaughter, Maddie, set out to create a multi-story haunted dollhouse. But their holiday fun turns to fear when a neighborhood scarecrow turns out to be a bloody corpse.

My review

It’s Halloween and Geraldine Porter and her granddaughter Maddie are busy working on miniature witches and ghosts for their haunted dollhouse. When they aren’t working on their masterpiece, they are taking in the sights of the decorated streets of Lincoln Point wondering who will win the contest for best house. They come up to the home of Sam & Lillian Ferguson where a lifelike scarecrow is resting on the steps. When anyone gets too close, the scarecrow is supposed to scare them with sounds and movement. However, when a few teenage kids got close this scarecrow didn’t make any noises or move, as it wasn’t a scarecrow but the body of Oliver Halbert. Oliver wasn’t liked much by some of the more influencial people of Lincoln Point as he was working on digging up information to prove that bribes were made and shortcuts taken by city members and builders.

Geraldine vows she will not get involved in another murder investigation, but Maddie has no intention of not doing any investigating on the Case. It may all be moot as at first it appeared that Oliver committed suicide. Of course it’s never that simple. No only is Oliver the brother of her miniature crafting buddy Susan, but Gerry’s nephew Skip (one of Lincoln Points detectives) comes to her with news that her late husbands name is found on the list of “possibles” that Oliver was working on. Anyone that knew Ken Porter knew he would NEVER do something illegal, and Gerry will do everything she can to prove just that. But what happens when she finds some unsettling things among Ken’s things. Is Ken the man she thought he was? And what secret was he hiding?

Geraldine has many suspects in her hunt for the truth including Peter Lynch, a major contractor in Lincoln Point and the Ferguson family (who owned an airplane parts repair business and also a focus of his investigation) whose front stairs Oliver was found on. With the help of Maddie, girl detective wanna be and Henry, boyfriend wanna be, Geraldine is bound to get to the bottom of this gruesome Case. As Geraldine works to preserve her husbands good name, she painstakingly follows the clues that are left out, like candy on Halloween night.

One of the things I love the most about the miniature series is the relationship between Gerry and her granddaughter as it reminds me so much of my own relationship with my grandmother. While I am not a miniaturist, I find it fascinating to read about how they make such things as hard hats, a sawhorse, witches and ghosts. Ms. Grace does a wonderful job of leaving clues hidden along the way. She creates just enough spookiness to make any Halloween lover go BOO. Monster in Miniature is a charming cozy that will have you feeling like you’re back visiting with friends you haven’t seen in a while and anxiously awaiting the next time you get together.

1989 The Berlin Wall, My Part In It’s Downfall by Peter Millar

In 1989, the world watched as the Berlin Wall – a symbol of oppression at its most blatant – was brought down.  The atmosphere was euphoric and everyone who saw those scenes knew that they were watching history being made.

Peter Millar is a British journalist, who had spent several years living in East Berlin, and who found himself literally caught in the middle of the celebrations, stuck at Checkpoint Charlie, trying to make sense of what was happening, while piecing together a story for The Sunday Times.

In this book, he describes the events that led to the wall being built, and what life was like for those on the Eastern side of it.  People suddenly found themselves separated from family members, or forcibly ejected from their homes.  Living conditions were poor, and the economy crumbled.  Unlike most journalists who reported on the Wall and the division of a country, Millar has an on-the-ground view of events, as he lived through them personally.  The book also talks about how he initially fell into journalism (almost by accident), and worked in Fleet Street in the 1970s, before he became a foreign correspondent, and found a local public house in East Berlin named Metzer Eck.  There, he made some good friends and uncovered a lot of local opinion about life under the rule of the Soviet Union.

The political blunders and deliberate misunderstandings that led up to the demolition of the Berlin Wall are well explained and interesting.  Millar discusses how life changed for people on both sides, when Berlin became one city again.  He also relates how, some years later, he went to look at his own file kept by the Stasi Police (who spied on the citizens of East Berlin), and discovered who, if any, of his friends had fed information about him to the Stasi.  This chapter was the most chilling for me.  It was commonplace for microphones to be hidden in the walls of people’s apartments, and for certain citizens to be kept under surveillance from dawn to dusk.  A day out for Millar with his wife, when they did nothing more than go to a beach for a picnic, is described in minute-by-minute detail.

Millar is an engaging narrator, with a wry wit.  However, his good natured sense of humour never lets the reader forget that this is a story of oppression and dictatorship; that the people described lived their lives under constant watch and distrust.  It is written in a chatty tone, but it is about a very serious subject.  Highly informative, well researched and extremely interesting.

Yours, Faithfully by Sheila O’Flanagan

Waterstones Synopsis:

Iona’s not pregnant. It’s a blow, but she knows that when husband Frank gets home he’ll reassure her that their dream of a family together will come true. Sally, on the other hand, has just discovered that she’s very much pregnant. Which is quite a surprise, with her only child now a seventeen-year-old. And Sally’s not sure how her husband’s going to feel about it, when he gets home. Except Frank’s not going to get home – to either of his wives. Frank’s bigamy of several years is about to be exposed, because Frank was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Now his wives are going to meet in the hospital where he lies in a coma. And everything is about to change for all of them…

I was surprised to enjoy this book as much as I did. At first the story seemed familiar to me but as it unfolded that feeling changed. The book follows Iona and Sally – two different women but who share the same husband – Frank. He is using a bathroom in a pub when the wall collapses and he is seriously injured. The result is that he is left in a coma for months – leaving Sally and Iona to discover the truth.

This is a big book – over 600 pages; but the story flew off the page. I loved the characters and the story had a great plot. This is chick-lit but of the highest quality. There is a bit of crime, there is anger and hate, and of course love, friendship and resolutions. I liked both Sally and Iona, although at the beginning found myself siding with Sally. I felt real empathy at the their situation – not one I would like to experience. I liked how their characters developed and the relationship they were forced to make.

From a medical and lawful point of view I felt this was very well dealt with. Siobhan, the police officer was a lovely character; and bigamy being a crime I think O’Flanagan was realistic in her approach. As for the coma, I felt that this was explored well. The emotions of the family seemed realistic and O’Flanagan also wrote what was going on in Frank’s mind, which was very interesting.

I think the ending was a bit of a cop-out to be honest. It was an easy way to finish the story, and this let the book down a bit. However, the rest of the story was great and I really enjoyed it.

3.5/5

Grave Secret by Charlaine Harris

Waterstones Synopsis:

When she was 15, Harper Connelly was struck by a bolt of lightning, which left her with a spiderweb of red over her body, headaches, and episodes of weakness. Sometimes her right hand shakes. And she can find dead people. It’s taken a while, but at last Harper’s pretty happy with her life: she’s making a living, using her unique talent to help people, and she’s got a lover – her stepbrother Tolliver. That creeps some people out, but though they grew up together, and got each other through the real bad times – their parents’ drug-use, the abuse, the disappearance of Harper’s elder sister Cameron – they’re not blood relatives. Then Tolliver’s dad arrives on the scene, seeking forgiveness for the sins of their youth, and the police get a tip-off that after all these years, Cameron’s been spotted in a mall. With all this going on Harper realises life is getting a little complicated, but she doesn’t expect those complications to include Tolliver getting shot, or watching a cop die taking a bullet for her. Harper can find dead people, but now it’s clear someone wants her dead …

This is the fourth book in Charlaine Harris’ Harper Connelly Series. This book is just as good as the other three, with Harper starting the book by finding a dead body. However, what she uncovers makes some very unhappy. This book is slightly different from the previous novels because there is more emphasis on her family and her childhood. A large chunk of this book focuses on her search for her missing sister Cameron and with dealing with issues in her past.

Like with the previous novels I was gripped from the beginning and thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was not my favourite but that is because I would have liked more focus on her occupation. That said, the mystery surrounding those who wanted her dead did make a good read and there was no lack of action in the book. There were a couple of twists, one I saw coming, the other I did not.

As ever I liked Harper and I thought she grew up a lot in this book. She came to some realisations concerning family and her little sisters which showed a lot of maturity. I didn’t like her new relationship with Tolliver – I preferred them as brother and sister; but everything else I liked reading about.

This is fast-paced and action packed. There are mysteries and serious issues well dealt with in my opinion. The story seems to be concluded in this book, but hopefully Harris will write more. I love this series and highly recommend it. This is well worth reading.

4/5

In The Heart of the Canyon by Elisabeth Hyde

Waterstones Synopsis:

The temperature is over 100. The rapids are some of the largest in North America. Water levels are rising. And JT Maroney, veteran river guide, is leading his 125th trip down the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. For the next two weeks, his 13 passengers – strangers, mostly – will paddle, row, swim, ride the rapids, eat gourmet meals, sleep under the stars, and learn a lot about geology. They’ll learn a lot about each other, too – perhaps more than they want to know. Allegiances form, and likewise dissolve, in the course of an afternoon. JT’s decision on the first day to adopt a stray dog further complicates the group dynamics, leading to a series of fateful mishaps, one of which will alter the course of many lives.

I’ve been putting off writing this review, not because I didn’t like the book, but because I don’t know what to say. I enjoyed this book a lot, but I felt it was unusual in the sense it was like a guide book. This is not a trip I will ever make but I know feel like I have experienced the Grand Canyon and this trip down river, thanks to Elisabeth Hyde.

The novel spans a fortnight and the miles covered on this boating trip. There are 13 passengers and 3 guides. Not all the passengers narrate so we don’t get to know those intimately, but I liked the ones who did. It was interesting to see the friendships form, the people change, and the crazy events that occur. I liked JT most – although I kept forgetting he was a man in his fifties. As I read I pictured him as a 20-something. He was honest, and the way he was written meant you really felt how he was feeling – whether that was elated, tired, or fed-up.

One friendship I liked was Peter and Amy. Peter had had his heart-broken and was hoping to get lucky on the trip. Amy was an obese high-school student who did not get on with her mother. They formed an unlikely friendship, which helps both of them. And I liked their interactions and their comical views of other passengers.

This was a gripping, inviting book. It was well written, and written from experience. The Author’s Note reveals that Hyde has taken this trip many, many times. The descriptions were beautiful, and I felt like I was making the trip as well. There were two unlikely storylines – one of them revealed at the end but that I spotted coming. These made an interesting edition to the book, even if I didn’t really believe them.

Overall, this was an enjoyable book that has left me feeling like I have taken this trip. This is the second Hyde book I have read, and I enjoyed both of them a lot.

4/5

Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day by Winifred Watson

Miss Pettigrew is a down-on-her-luck Governess, who is given the chance of a post with the glamorous Miss LaFosse, a beautiful night club singer.  Miss Pettigrew has never had friends, never been kissed, and has had no fun in her life.  She is soon drawn into Miss LaFosse’s exciting life, and finds herself rescuing her new friend from unsavoury men, and attending social events and night clubs.  Soon, Miss Pettigrew is experiencing everything which she thought had passed her by, and she finds herself wanting to live her life to the fullest.

This Cinderella story is an amusing and wonderfully entertaining novel.  Miss Pettigrew is a very likeable heroine, and Delysia LaFosse is a wonderful character, taking the part of Miss Pettigrew’s Fairy Godmother, who shows her a life full of adventure and laughter which was previously unimagined.

The writing is charming and this was a gently told lovely tale, which was perfect for a lazy Sunday afternoon curled up on the sofa.  It is populated with lots of colourful characters and amusing situations, with a very endearing central character.  I really enjoyed seeing the day through Miss Pettigrew’s eyes.

Overall, this is a sweet, old fashioned fairy tale, which I thoroughly enjoyed reading.

The Queen Must Die by K.A.S. Quinn

Katie is a modern teen, who finds it hard to get on with her peers, and likes nothing better than camping out under her bed with her books. After falling asleep whilst reading one day, Katie suddenly finds herself in Victorian England, under a sofa in Buckingham Palace.

The majority of the book is a historical adventure. Katie is discovered by Princess Alice, the young daughter of the Queen, and then by James, the son of the royal doctor. Whilst trying to work out how Katie has gotten there, and finding a way home for her, they uncover a plot to assassinate the Queen. The three young people learn to work together, to find all the answers.

The historical aspect is handled really well, especially the descriptions of The Crystal Palace, which was built for the 1851 Great Exhibition. It lead me to find out a little more, and anything which encourages further reading/ research in children has to be good!

The adventure part of the story does run all the way through, but it picks up more in the second half. It was during this second half that I found myself drawn back to the book much more.

Towards the end of the book, the issue of Katie’s time travelling is explored in greater detail, as the books strays into the realm of science fiction / fantasy. For me, this aspect of the book didn’t work quite as well as the historical and adventure aspects. However, if the author hadn’t explored this issue, I’m not sure how Katie’s existence there would have been explained. Plus, of course, in the days of the like of Dr Who, this aspect will probably actually be welcomed by young readers.

The Queen Must Die is the first in a new trilogy, and I understand the main characters will be returning. I’m certainly interested to see where the author will take the story in the next book, and I will be encouraging my daughter to take a look too.

Published by Atlantic Books March 2010
Buy at Amazon.co.uk