Something Only We Know by Kate Long

Something Only We Know

 by Kate Long

This latest novel from Kate Long explores some important themes. At heart, it is a story of two sisters; a story of a family that has been damaged by the past but is nevertheless holding itself together. But it also explores political themes including environmental issues, consumerism and animal welfare.

We see the story through the eyes of Jen, the younger of the two sisters. Her life has been lived in the shadow of her older sister Helen, who has always been known as 'the beautiful one' casting Jen into the shade. But Helen has also been anorexic and that has also cast a shadow over the whole family.

The novel discusses issues around eating disorders and body image as both Jen and Helen try to make sense of their shared past. It is also a story about secrets. Who is telling the truth about the past and who isn't? Who can be trusted and who can't? 

Although the subject matter is quite sensitive, this is not a downbeat book. Jen's job in the local newspaper offers some lighter moments and her colleagues are great, especially her monstrous boss Rosa. Jen tries really hard to be a success at work, but missing diaries, a slightly too thorough fridge clean out, and an over generous offer of publicity to friends all conspire to make her fall foul of Rosa and incur her wrath. The little snatches we are given of the features Jen writes for the paper are also very effective. 

There are some really touching moments between the two sisters which lift the narrative out of the ordinary. And Kate Long's love of animals shines through with details of Helen's job caring for dogs, a pet hamster and Jen's mission to expose the ills of fox hunting.

I found this novel authentic and touching. Jen is really put through the mill emotionally. Not only does she have to cope with the demands of her relationship with her fragile sister, but she also has to deal with the fallout caused to her parents by Helen's illness. In addition, she has romantic problems to face up to. Will her boyfriend Owen ever properly commit? What is going on in Helen's relationship with her partner Ned, and what has led to her desire to delve into the past to track down her ex Joe, implicating Jen in the search.

There are all sorts of questions to be answered and mysteries to be solved and that adds to the page-turning quality of the book.

Overall this is a great read which had me gripped. Well-drawn characters, an original plot and very fine writing indeed add up to a top-notch read.

You can find out more here.

Guest Post from Dinah Jefferies

Dinah Jefferies - Author of The Tea Planter's Wife

I'm very pleased to have a guest post from Dinah Jefferies on my blog today, sharing some of her top writing tips. Her book, 'The Tea Planter's Wife' is out today.

Writing without Stabilisers

With three books either published, or about to be published by Penguin, these are fourteen of the things I’ve learnt about writing that I wish I'd known earlier. Some are obvious, others less so. They may suit you, or they may not, but they work for me.

Writing without stabilisers and trusting your own instincts is the most vital thing. Waiting for someone else to verify our work can hold us back as writers. I had to learn the importance of trusting my own instincts and making my own decisions. It’s a skill that grows with use, but if you rely on other people too much it can hinder your own progress. Having said that, of course feedback can be useful. I always take on board what my agent and publisher say, and I always have, but I don’t use an army of readers because I find that too many opinions hamper me.

Get to know your audience and work out your USP. Who are you writing for and what do they want? My readers tend to be looking for quality reads that captivate them or sweep them away to a life different from their own. And that’s what I enjoy writing.

What is the real heart of your story? Sometimes it’s only when the first draft is done that I can answer this, but it’s an important question to ask and I always do. Sometimes I spend quite a bit of time working out the answer, but it’s worth it because once you know the heart of your story it gives you a clearer focus with which to write the second draft.

Be prepared to get really busy & work very hard. Everyone knows that. Right? And yet it came as quite a shock when I found myself promoting one book, editing the next and planning the one after that. Some days I feel as if I’m running to catch up.

Draft an outline of some kind even if, like me, you aren’t a precise planner. I learnt this the hard way as I recently had to cut 49,000 words from the manuscript of my fourth book because the outline was too vague and I’d wandered way off track.

Get the first page right. Exciting, attention grabbing, intriguing, or subtle, the first page has quite a job of work to do, but now I write it quickly, and then go back and re-write once the first draft is finished, because then I understand more about how the book works. If you do that it’s easier to decide what your first scene really should be and the most effective way to hook your reader. I think it’s helpful to get across where the scene is happening and to whom, with enough sensory detail to encourage a reader to read on, but not too much.

Don’t begin with back story. Although it’s not unknown to find yourself bogged down by back story in a novel, as a new author I’ve found it’s a good idea to keep it brief and slip it in as I go along. Some writing teachers advise no back story in the first 50 pages, and though I wouldn’t go that far it’s worth bearing in mind. I have to admit I enjoy novels that don’t rely on back story too soon.

Be prepared to be ruthless and keep the plot moving. Make sure something is actually happening. It’s important not to hang on to chapters, characters or sections that don’t add anything to the book. I’ve found streamlining and cutting can be fun once you get over the fear. (Those pesky 49,000 words AGAIN!) In any case I always check if the first chapter or two are even necessary, or whether I was actually just finding my way into the story.

Repetition I had stock phrases I used without thinking. You probably do too. Seek them out and weed them out. This is a never ending task.

Talking of dialogue. It’s frequently recommended and I found it to be true. Reading your manuscript aloud helps make each character sound distinctive, and if it doesn’t you soon see where to make changes. In fact I read the whole book aloud. It’s amazing how many glitches you find. Keep a glass of water at hand and some throat lozenges.

Tension. There’s no story without tension but it can be subtle, elegant, or found semi-hidden in the subtext. It doesn’t have to hit you over the head with a hammer, but you do have to make sure it’s there and, if it’s compelling you to read on, all the better.

Show not tell is the single most obvious piece of advice but what does it really mean? It took me a few stabs at it before I recognised the difference between reporting a scene and showing it happening in front of your eyes. What you’re aiming for is to fully engage your reader with what’s going on at the moment it happens.

Fully rounded Characters. Seems obvious but getting a grip on their weaknesses as well as their strengths helps to make them believable. Decide what the character really wants, explore their inner and outer conflicts, and choose what or who is going to get in their way. Most of all look for ways for your readers to empathise and care about what happens to your characters.

Think about polishing the writing as a last step not a first step. As with the first page I found there was little point polishing the writing too early as much of it was liable to alter. In the early days I wasted time that way, but now I get the story down and then work at it to improve character, dialogue, setting and so on.

So that’s it. There are other things I’ve learnt and more that I’m still learning – it’s an ongoing process, but that’s what makes writing so much fun.

Dinah Jefferies was born in Malaysia and moved to England at the age of nine. She has worked in education, lived in a commune and exhibited work as an artist. Dinah's first novel, The Separation, was published by Viking in 2013; The Tea Planter's Wife is her second novel. It will be out September 3^rd. She is a contributor to the Guardian and other newspapers and lives in Gloucestershire with her husband www.dinahjefferies.com @DinahJefferies

Blood Axe by Leigh Russell

Blood Axe

By Leigh Russell 

DI Ian Peterson investigates a series of gruesome and brutal murders in York. As the body count mounts, the case demands all Ian’s ingenuity, because these are murders seemingly committed at random, and this is a killer who leaves no clues.

‘Blood Axe’ is the third outing for Leigh Russell’s DI Ian Peterson and delivers another complex and gripping plot.

Like the previous book in this series, ‘Race To Death’, ‘Blood Axe’ really makes the most of the York setting. This time it’s the Jorvik museum that takes centre stage, after Ian is led there by the fact that the murderer appears to be using a Viking axe on the victims. Could that mean there is a link to the museum? Or should Ian and his colleagues be looking more closely at the families of the victims? As the body count increases, they can’t afford to ignore any possibilities however outlandish they may seem.

One of the most chilling aspects of this story is that the killer really does seem to be striking randomly and Ian has to accept the possibility that no one is safe. Mysterious sections of narrative from the killer’s perspective add an other-worldly feel to the unfolding events and give the reader some insights from the other side of the chase.

Other highlights of the book include the now traditional appearance of Geraldine Steel, making a cameo visit from Leigh’s other ongoing series, and some dramatic developments in Ian’s personal life. For me it is these little touches that add authenticity to the series, making it feel very realistic and adding to the addictive nature of the ongoing storylines.

This is a great story with some interesting and unexpected twists and turns. It ends with some scenes of high drama and a clever and surprising outcome.

Thanks very much to the publishers for a review copy of this book.

You can find out more here.

A Game For All The Family by Sophie Hannah

A Game For All The Family

By Sophie Hannah 

‘A Game For All The Family’ is an intriguing novel. In structure, it is a story within a story and a puzzle within a puzzle.

When Justine Merrison and her family move to Devon, Justine decides that, for reasons that will become apparent later in the story, her main purpose in life will be to do absolutely nothing. A wish that, I have to say, I have every sympathy with.

But it doesn’t turn out that way, because pretty soon it becomes apparent that her daughter Ellen is unhappy. And, with Ellen’s father away on an opera singing assignment, Justine is going to have to do something.

Why has Ellen become so withdrawn? Why is she so unhappy that a fellow pupil has been expelled from school? And why on earth are the school insisting that the pupil concerned never even existed? And what on earth is the story that Ellen is obsessively writing all about?

Justine reads the beginning of the story – a tale of a family called Ingrey, and the murder of Malachy Dodd – and wonders where on earth her daughter got the idea from. The reader then gets to see the rest of the story, and is invited to think about who killed, not Malachy Dodd, but Perrine Ingrey.

The puzzle posed by Ellen’s story runs alongside the puzzles in Justine’s own life. Who is making mysterious threatening phone calls to her? Why did she feel such a strong connection to a house glimpsed from the car that has nothing to do with her?

The novel asks many questions of the reader. What is true? Who can you believe? What is the nature of storytelling, and can we rely on narrators? What sort of behaviour is reasonable and what isn’t? And it is at the intersection of those questions that the essence of the story lies.

As always, the story really makes you think - not just about the outcome, but about the intricate problems of life that it explores. I read this one really quickly, devouring it in huge chunks because I was so intrigued by it.

This book is a great read. It has all the Sophie Hannah trademarks, including a complex plot with an unguessable solution, an accomplished structure and a Twitter spat. It also has some lovely additional touches. The fabulous Olwen – a dog breeder who names all her dogs after lines from Christmas carols.  And the gorgeous Figgy Pudding, a Bedlington terrier who definitely wins my ‘literary dog of the year’ award for 2015.

‘A Game For All The Family’ is a fabulous addition to the collection for established Sophie Hannah fans, but as a standalone would be perfect for new readers as well.

Thanks very much to the publishers for a review copy of this book.

You can find out more here.

You can read my reviews of other Sophie Hannah books here.

The Lost Art Of Keeping Secrets by Eva Rice

The Lost Art Of Keeping Secrets

By Eva Rice 

10^th Anniversary Edition

This anniversary edition, with a foreword from Miranda Hart and a bonus short story, is a delight and I was really pleased to be sent a copy by the publishers.

‘The Lost Art Of Keeping Secrets’ is the story of Penelope Wallace, growing up in the 1950s with her widowed mother and her Elvis-obsessed brother, in their old wreck of a house – Milton Magna.

The story starts when Penelope first meets Charlotte and is drawn into the intrigues of the other girl’s family. What does Charlotte’s cousin Harry want from Penelope, and what is the link between Aunt Clare and Penelope’s own mother?

As the title suggests these secrets and many others run through the book. It’s also full of delightfully memorable moments - a kiss from Johnnie Ray, a guinea pig in a box, a dream dress appearing magically in a wardrobe.

The feel of the fifties is created beautifully; from the music to the café culture and from the cars to the society parties. It is full of rich detail that makes each page sing and gives a wonderful authentic feel to the book.

I loved the quirky characters as well. Penelope’s brother Inigo, her employer Christopher, the mysterious Rocky Dakota and Mary the gloomy cook, all jumped off the page and made for a magical story.

This novel is a beautiful read, enchanting and captivating and I highly recommend it.

Thanks very much to the publishers for a review copy of this book.

You can find out more here.