Well it's been a while since I posted about books (not including all the 26 A-Z posts I've recently done!) so I have a few books to talk about which I read during April. Firstly:
The Distant Echo by Val McDermid
This series features Karen Pirie a Detective working on cold cases. Having seen a televised version of Karen Pirie and read #6 in the series I decided it was worth checking out #1. It didn't disappoint although Karen Pirie has quite a minor role in this book.
Set between two time periods, 1978 and 2003, it started with a crime that happened in 1978 where a group of 4 friends stumble onto the body of Rosie Duff who, by the time the police arrive, has died. She had been raped and stabbed. The police initially treat the friends as witnesses but as they struggle to find the murderer they try to establish if one of the four could have murdered Rosie and treat them as suspects.
With suspicion aroused repercussions follow but eventually the case is left unsolved.
25 years later a review of cold cases, including the Rosie Duff murder stirs up memories and 2 of the original witnesses/suspects die in suspicious circumstances. New evidence comes to light and the remaining 2 try to clear their names and find out who the actual murderer was.
I enjoyed the book as it didn't keep switching between the time periods - we had the earlier events and then moved forward. And it came to a satisfactory conclusion. I'd liked to have seen more of Karen in the book but I'll be looking for #2 in the series at some point to see how she progresses. 4 stars
Next was:
Show me the bodies: How we let Grenfell Happen by Peter Apps
This book ticked a prompt on the 52 Book Club challenge as it will pair with another book I'm intending to read. Basically it's read 2 books by authors related to one another.
Not my usual sort of read but it was written by someone who attended the same school as my sons - in the year between them.
It is a very detailed account of not only the event of 14th June 2017, i.e. the devastating fire at Grenfell Tower in Kensington, London, that claimed 72 lives, but how successive previous governments had allowed the situation to occur. It details the failings of the construction industry that allowed cladding, that not only contained combustible materials but also released toxic gases, to be fixed to buildings but also the short comings of local authorities in their management of social housing, in particular high rise blocks of flats.
Grenfell Tower with its external cladding and maintenance issues was a disaster waiting to happen. But the disaster was compounded by the Fire Brigade's response to the situation. Their expectation in fires in high rise blocks of flats is that a fire would be contained within the flat where it started and residents are therefore advised to "stay put". They were woefully unprepared for the rapid spread of the fire and how to arrange an evacuation of the building.
The book also touches on how the local authority badly handled rehoming the large number of people that were made homeless overnight, losing all their possessions, documents etc.
It's not an easy read and there is quite a bit of repetition about the fire testing regulations for the cladding panel but the author had clearly done his research well, including talking to many of the survivors who had horrifying stories to share. 5 stars
One of the prompts for the 52 Book Club Challenge is:
34. Inspired by the top-grossing movie the year you were born
Well the top grossing film in the year 1959 was Ben Hur! This immediately conjured up images of Romans and chariot races. I haven't watched the film but I knew that much at least. Reading more about it I discovered that betrayal was a feature of the story so I went for:
Betrayal by Kate Furnivall
Could you kill someone? Someone you love?
Paris, 1938. This is the story of twin sisters divided by fierce loyalties and by a terrible secret. The drums of war are beating and France is poised, ready to fall. One sister is an aviatrix, the other is a socialite and they both have something to prove and something to hide.
I enjoyed the book although some of it was a bit predictable. 4 stars
My final read during April was:
Hotel du Lac by Anita Brookner.
Well I'm not sure how to start reviewing this book. It's supposed to be a classic and it won a Booker prize. It's also been described as a love story.
Firstly it's hard to pin down when the book is set. It was written in the 80s but it seems that the setting is the 50s. The main character, Edith Hope, is a romantic novelist who has been advised by her sister and friends to spend some time away in Switzerland at the Hotel du Lac. Eventually we find out why but details are vague.
I found the book dull and slow. There is a lot of descriptive text about furnishings, weather and, to be fair, some of the other people staying at the hotel but not about the important events in Edith's life. I found it hard to get my head around Edith's character. There is also a lot of misogyny in this book.
This is an edited version of the review I posted on Goodreads which included spoilers. I read it for a book club. It will be interesting to see what others thought of it. I gave it 1 star!
Thankfully it ticked off another 52 Book Club Challenge prompt.
49. From the 800s of the Dewey Decimal System
I'm currently reading Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg which was my other book club's choice but also ticks off another prompt:
40. Author’s first and last name start with same letter
So far I've been able to pair quite a few of the book club reads to the 52 Book Club Challenge which makes things a little bit easier.
Apologies for the odd formatting where I've copied from Goodreads. It's too late in the day to go back and edit it. Goodnight!
