The Ballroom by Anna Hope

The Ballroom

By Anna Hope 

I loved 'The Ballroom'. It is a swooping, amazing romance of a book.

Caught up in the asylum system for the most flimsy of reasons, Ella and John first come across each other when she tries to escape. After that, they cannot forget each other, and finally are able to spend time together in the Friday night dances held in the ballroom of the asylum.

As well as segments of the story being told through the eyes of Ella and John, there is a third strand told through the eyes of Charles, a doctor at the asylum. Charles is a very interesting character as, although in many ways he is the one with the power, in fact he is just as tortured as John and Ella. He is in denial about himself and seems incapable of finding happiness.

Reading ‘The Ballroom’ will make you feel angry about how the inmates of asylums were treated, about how they were thought of by some as less than human, and about the ludicrous reasons why some people ended up incarcerated in such a cruel way. In Ella's case it was because she broke a window. In many cases, it was simply for the crime of being poor.

But there is some hope in the way the human spirit, embodied in both John and Ella, was able to overcome the imprisonment in different ways. I loved the way a glimpse of sky through an open window, a flower, or a bird feather representing the outside world could take on huge significance.

This story could have been a much simpler one that it was - at one point a very neat conclusion suggested itself. But the author went for something more complex, more believable and ultimately more satisfying. I’m glad she did.

I don't want to say any more for fear of spoilers, but the ending is perfect, moving and beautiful.

I highly recommend this novel. A tale of love, pain and humanity in the most difficult of circumstances.  

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

You can find out more here.

Journey To Death by Leigh Russell

Journey To Death

By Leigh Russell 

'Journey To Death' is the first in a new series by the prolific crime writer Leigh Russell. Unlike previous series leads Geraldine Steel and Ian Peterson, Lucy Hall is not a police officer, she is just an ordinary young woman going on holiday with her parents in an attempt to get over a broken heart. At least she is until a series of extraordinary events start to happen.

One of things I liked best about this book was the setting. Leigh Russell whisks us off to the Seychelles with Lucy and right from the start we get a really good feel for what it would be like to be there. I found the descriptions of the island and the glimpses into its history really interesting and a great background to the crime story as it unfolds.

In a short prologue we learn that Lucy’s father has lived on the island of Mahe before. But how do the links to his past life fit in with the dramatic events that happen to his family on what should have been an innocent holiday?

Because of the exotic setting, and the ‘amateur’ rather than professional detective, this story is very different from Leigh Russell’s earlier output. I found it an interesting and absorbing read and enjoyed the character of Lucy Hall as well as the others who accompany her in this story.

I’m now really looking forward to finding out where Lucy Hall ends up going on her travels next, and what trouble she can get herself into, and hopefully out of!

A great and unusual crime read.

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

You can find out more here.

Used To Be by Elizabeth Baines

Used To Be

By Elizabeth Baines 

It’s not often that I get asked to review a volume of short stories, so I was really pleased when Elizabeth Baines offered to send me a copy of this one.

One of the most appealing things about this collection is that, although all the individual stories are very different and cover different subjects, there is a real unity of theme to the book.

All the stories look at alternative explanations and viewpoints on things that have happened or are happening. They examine the nature of memory, the complexities of interpretation and the possibilities of alternate reality. The y also put the microscope on the art of storytelling itself.

A thread that appears and reappears is the notion that someone dying actually changes everything. In the author’s words, it is like ‘a hole punched in the universe’. The collection as a whole has a lot to say about the nature of life and death and everything in between.

For me there were several highlights. I loved ‘That Turbulent Stillness’ in which a woman sees herself as a Bronte heroine, only to discover it’s not all it was cracked up to be. In ‘Clarrie And You’ two sisters spend their entire lives misunderstanding each other. The reason for this, when it’s revealed, is both small and immeasurably huge. A very clever story. Another story that particularly resonated was ‘The Choice Chamber’ which shows a woman contemplating the choices she’s made in her life, and those she hasn’t made.

All in all, an enjoyable collection of well-chosen stories with a fascinating linking theme. Recommended.

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

You can find out more here.

Guest Post from Leigh Russell

Leigh Russell - Blood Axe


To celebrate the release of Blood Axe, I am very pleased to have Leigh Russell as a guest on my blog today. Leigh is sharing her thoughts on what it means to be an author.

Recently someone asked me what I do. When I told her I'm an author, she responded with 

a question. 'What makes you call yourself an author, not a writer?' All I could say was that many 

people write, but when you earn your living by writing fiction, you are an author. It's a glib 

response. According to that definition there are many talented writers, and equally many fairly 

untalented authors. 

So what earns me the right to describe myself as 'an author', rather than 'a writer'. Writing is 

a great leveller. Anyone who can write is a writer. How do we distinguish between the dedicated 

and the hobbyist? Is it even a meaningful distinction? 

We all have days when we struggle with questions about what we're doing with our lives - 

or is it just me who sometimes feels like a headless chicken, trying to make sense of the chaos 

around me? I wonder how other people deal with those demons of self doubt. As a writer, they go 

with the territory. Every book I write takes me back to the beginning. 'Is what I'm writing complete 

garbage? This plot is never going to work. What is this character doing?' which leads to the 

inevitable next stage, 'What is my editor going to make of this?' followed by 'What will reviewers 

and fans think of my new book?' 

There are a number of ways I counter my insecurities about my writing, one of which is to 

take a step back to review my progress in this crazy career as an author which, like writing itself, 

seems to follow no rules. 

When I stop to consider how far I've come, I can hardly believe my eleventh book has just 

been published since Cut Short came out in 2009. By the end of 2016, the number of my published 

books will go up to thirteen... and these numbers don't include the different editions, large print 

books, all the titles published in translation... adding them all together, there must be well over fifty 

different covers so far... and yes, I have a copy of every one of them, together with proof copies of 

all the UK editions. I look at my collection sometimes, when I'm having an insecure writing day, 

trying to reassure myself that this is not all a dream. I really have written three series, my research 

has taken me as far afield as Paris, Rome, Greece, and the Seychelles, my books are in 

development for television... 

Yet with all of this success, the insecurity never leaves me. 'So far so good' is all I can say, 

because every book is a precarious new venture. Every day is a different story. Which, I suppose, 

is appropriate for a fiction writer...

Thanks very much to Leigh for her thoughts on writing and where it has taken her so far. You can find out more about Blood Axe below.

Blood Axe

Gruesome, brutal murders, seemingly at random. A killer who leaves no clues. And so another case begins for Detective Inspector Ian Peterson.

Bestselling crime author Leigh Russell returns with the third title in her DI Peterson Murder Investigation series, set against the gothic backdrop of the city of York. Under the shadow of the Minster, DI Peterson is once again tasked with discovering a killer – only this time, he’ll have to use all his skills to uncover who is responsible.

You can find out more and buy a copy, here and here.

Savage Lane by Jason Starr

Savage Lane

By Jason Starr 

This is a dark tale from the start, shot through with a sense of oncoming doom. We begin the story by being plunged right into the bad marriage of Mark Berman and his wife Deb as they argue on the way home from a dinner party.

The setting is Savage Lane - the street, in an idyllic New York suburb, where Mark and Deb live and where, we find out early on, Mark obsesses about their neighbour, Karen Daily.

As the novel progresses we find out more about the location; the goldfish-bowl-like environment with the country club, where everyone discusses everyone else's business; the train that Mark and his male friends and acquaintances catch to go to work in Manhattan every day, and the school which the characters' children attend. It's all very claustrophobic, and maybe that's the root of some of the problems.

We soon find out that it isn't only Mark who is having fantasies of sex with someone other than his spouse, and as we find out how Deb acts out hers the story starts to move into really dark territory.

There is a sense in the first few chapters that we are waiting for something to happen. But the reader is not sure what. Then there is a point where an unexpected and pivotal event is triggered, which takes the plot off in a different direction again. This for me is where the story began to get really interesting. I don't want to say too much more than that for fear of spoilers.

The narrative technique chosen to tell the story is interesting as we get to see aspects of the story told from the point of view of all the main characters. This is revealing because it means we experience all the intrigue, all the fantasies, all the secrets and all the lies. We get to know all the characters really well and although none of them is really likeable, they are all interesting.

I would have liked to see more of the point of view of the police officer who gets involved towards the end of the story, but this is only a minor niggle.

If you like thrillers that are domestic, dark and psychological, this could be for you.

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

You can find out more here.