Book Review · Books

The Turnglass by Gareth Rubin [BOOK REVIEW]

The Turnglass by Gareth Rubin [BOOK REVIEW]

About The Book:

The Turnglass by Gareth Rubin [BOOK REVIEW]

Pages: 512

Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery, tête-bêche novel

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Format I read it in: Paperback

Rating: ★★★★

1880s England On the bleak island of Ray, off the Essex coast, an idealistic young doctor, Simeon Lee, is called from London to treat his cousin, Parson Oliver Hawes, who is dying. Parson Hawes, who lives in the only house on the island—Turnglass House—believes he is being poisoned.

And he points the finger at his sister-in-law, Florence. Florence was declared insane after killing Oliver’s brother in a jealous rage and is now kept in a glass-walled apartment in Oliver’s library. And the secret to how she came to be there is found in Oliver’s tête-bêche journal, where one side tells a very different story from the other.

1930s California. Celebrated author Oliver Tooke, the son of the state governor, is found dead in his writing hut off the coast of the family residence, Turnglass House. His friend Ken Kourian doesn’t believe that Oliver would take his own life. His investigations lead him to the mysterious kidnapping of Oliver’s brother when they were children, and the subsequent secret incarceration of his mother, Florence, in an asylum.

But to discover the truth, Ken must decipher clues hidden in Oliver’s final book, a tête-bêche novel—which is about a young doctor called Simeon Lee…

My Thoughts:

Tête-bêche (n)

A book split into two parts printed back-to-back and head-to-foot.

“The Turnglass” is the first Tête-bêche book I remember reading and I quite enjoyed it. It was an adventure on its own and added excitement to the story.

Even picking what story to read was an adventure in itself. You pick the book up, and one side of the book is covered in green. This side takes you to 1880s England. Then you flip the book and you get the red side, a story set in California in the 1930s. It is up to you to choose which side to read first, the stories can be read in any order.

I chose to go with 1880s England first.

Only because it is set earlier in the past. The two stories are connected to each other, and, of course, they have The Turnglass house in common. Whilst I was reading, I had a feeling that every detail mentioned could be important at a later date. I couldn’t fully enjoy and immerse myself in the story, because I couldn’t help pretend to be Sherlock Holmes and always look out for clues.

That being said, the chapters are fast-paced and intriguing. They often featured letters or book quotes that brought diversity to the format. Both stories were interesting and kept me guessing until the very end. I liked how it all tied up in the end. There is no special ending – both stories have their own endings. There is nothing to wrap them both up or a big reveal to unite them. Although, with this format, that’s very much expected.

In all honesty, I don’t know if the reading order would have changed anything. But I will never know. “The Turnglass” is one of those books I wish I was able to read again for the first time. Only to try the other order of the stories and see if my reading experience would change. I would definitely recommend this book. It’s a gorgeous, adventurous and mysterious read for sure.

“I guess you learn a lot more about someone from the books they read than where they spend their vacations or which box they tick on a voting paper.”

About The Author:

The Turnglass by Gareth Rubin [BOOK REVIEW]

Gareth Rubin writes about social affairs, travel and the arts for British newspapers. In 2013 he directed a documentary about therapeutic art at the Bethlem Royal Hospital in London (‘Bedlam’). His books include Liberation Square, set in Soviet-occupied London; The Winter Agent, about British agents in Paris on the eve of D-Day and The Turnglass, two entwined mysteries that take place in Essex in 1881 and Los Angeles in 1939. He read English literature at the University of St Andrews and trained at East 15 Acting School.

Author Website

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Book Review · Books

One of us is Dead by Peter James (Roy Grace #21) [BOOK REVIEW]

One of us is Dead by Peter James (Roy Grace #21) [BOOK REVIEW]

About The Book:

One of us is Dead by Peter James (Roy Grace #21) [BOOK REVIEW]

Pages: 464

Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Crime, Fiction

Publisher: Pan Macmillan

Format I read it in: Hardcover

Rating: ★★★★

Hunting him would be murder . . .

When James Taylor arrives late for a funeral, he has to stand at the back of the small church. But, as the service progresses, Taylor notices a man six rows in front of him. At first he thinks he must be mistaken, but the more he looks at the man, the more convinced Taylor becomes that this is his old school friend Rufus Rorke.

Except it couldn’t be him, could it? Because two years ago Taylor attended Rufus Rorke’s funeral. He even delivered Rufus’s eulogy.

On the other side of Brighton, at Police HQ, Detective Superintendent Roy Grace has been alerted to a number of suspicious deaths that he can’t get out of his mind. But how are they linked? And how could they possibly be connected to Rufus Rorke?

Roy Grace is about to find out just how dangerous a dead man can be.

My Thoughts:

“One of us is Dead”  is a tremendous book, and was well worth my time. It intrigued me from the very first chapter.

“Mediocrity recognizes nothing higher than itself. It takes talent to appreciate genius.”

It really starts with such a bang. I could imagine myself being in Taylor’s shoes. Going to a friend’s funeral and seeing a person in the crowd that died two years ago. How freaky is that, right? And surely impossible. Same as Taylor, undoubtedly, you would start asking questions. And little do you know, the police are trying to figure out the same thing.

“They’d vowed they would always stay in touch, but of course life had other plans.”

I cannot reveal too much as I don’t want to spoil it for others. “One of us is Dead” is very fast paced and never runs out of action. The slight downside is that it can be a bit predictable at times, although not with the ending. Speaking of the ending, I was slightly disappointed. Firstly, because I am a sucker for justice, and I don’t feel that we got true justice. And secondly, we only get the crumbs about what happens next with certain characters. There were a few people “still awaiting justice” and this was not good enough for me. 

Overall, I think Peter James did a good job with this book, and I now definitely have him on my radar and will probably pick up some of his older books. This book is actually book number 21 in the Roy Grace series. But, as you might already know with these kinds of books, they can all be read as standalones. They are all unique stories in themselves, with only the detective Roy Grace featuring in them as a common denominator. What was the last crime / thriller you read?

“When I was a young kid, my mum taught me how to make clouds disappear. She told me I had magic powers and that I could dissolve clouds. If I just stared at a small cloud hard, really hard, and kept staring at it, it would break up and disappear… I do still look at clouds today and make them dissolve.”

About The Author:

One of us is Dead by Peter James (Roy Grace #21) [BOOK REVIEW]

Peter James is a UK No. 1 bestselling author, best known for writing crime and thriller novels, and the creator of the much-loved Detective Superintendent Roy Grace. With a total of 20 Sunday Times No. 1s under his belt, he has achieved global book sales of over 23 million copies to date, and has been translated into 38 languages. Her Majesty Queen Camilla has announced that Detective Superintendent Roy Grace is her favourite fictional detective

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Book Review · Books

The Missing Family by Tim Weaver (David Raker #13) [BOOK REVIEW]

The Missing Family by Tim Weaver (David Raker #13) [BOOK REVIEW]

I absolutely devoured “The Missing Family” by Tim Weaver

About The Book:

The Missing Family by Tim Weaver (David Raker #13) [BOOK REVIEW]

Pages: 545

Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Crime, Fiction

Publisher: Penguin Michael Joseph

Format I read it in: Paperback

Rating: ★★★★★

One family…
On a beautiful summer’s day, at a remote lake in the middle of Dartmoor, three members of the Fowler family take a dinghy out onto the water, leaving mother Sarah at the shore.

Less than sixty seconds later, she checks to see where they are.
The boat is drifting in the middle of the lake. It’s empty.

Sarah’s family have completely vanished.

One killer…
At the Skyline Casino in London, the security team have just made a headline-grabbing they’ve spotted and detained a man suspected of murdering a high roller.

After locking him in one of their holding cells, the team station themselves outside and wait for the police. But when the cops arrive, they find something impossible.

The killer is no longer inside the cell.

Two detectives…

David Raker is an expert at solving missing persons puzzles – but these mysteries are unlike anything he’s ever seen.

As he digs into the Fowler’s, his long-time ally – ex-detective, Colm Healy – tries to get to the bottom of what happened at the casino.

But the men are in danger. Because, buried in the shadows of both cases, is a deadly secret that was never meant to come out…

My Thoughts:

“But if those tethers did exist, if they bound us to people in our lives that would eventually matter, and through those relationships we could find endings and perhaps a measure of peace for those who were hurting, I wanted to believe in them.”

David Raker is an expert at solving missing people cases. He is summoned to have a look into the disappearance of three members of the Fowler family, in the middle of a lake in Dartmoor.

At the same time, at the Skyline Casino in London, the security team detained a man suspected of murdering a high roller. When the police come to the cell, the strangest thing happens, the killer is no longer inside the cell. 

I absolutely devoured this book. It was written at a very fast pace and I couldn’t stop reading, whilst thinking about all possible theories. There are a lot of stories happening at the same time, and in the end, they will all tie together and wrap the story up. 

Although I enjoyed all the stories and it really did come together well, it felt a bit unrealistic. There is no way so many of those events were a pure coincidence and happened like that. And even if the events somehow happened, there is no chance that David Raker is the one involved with all of them at once.

Apart from that, I really have no complaints. The book is part of the David Raker series, in fact, the 13th book in the series. I had no clue it was part of a series, so I can say with absolute certainty that it can be read as standalone and in any order. This is quite often with detective book series. They all feature the same main character, it’s only the story and case that differ. I would warmly recommend this book. It was mysterious, entertaining and had me guessing until the very end.

About The Author:

The Missing Family by Tim Weaver (David Raker #13) [BOOK REVIEW]

Tim Weaver is the Sunday Times Top 3 bestselling author of the David Raker missing persons series, the standalone thriller, Missing Pieces, and the novella collection, The Shadow at the Door. His novels have been selected for the Richard and Judy Book Club three times, and his work has been nominated for a National Book Award and the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger. He is currently developing an original TV drama with the team behind Line of Duty. A former journalist and magazine editor, he lives near Bath with his wife and daughter.

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Book Review · Books

The Tasting Menu by Stuart MacBride [BOOK REVIEW]

The Tasting Menu by Stuart MacBride [BOOK REVIEW]

I don’t recommend reading “The Tasting Menu” on an empty stomach! 

About The Book:

The Tasting Menu by Stuart MacBride [BOOK REVIEW]

Pages: 127

Genre: Short Story, Horror, Crime, Fiction, Thriller

Publisher: Amazon Original Stories

Format I read it in: E-book

Rating: ★★★

In this short tale from Stuart MacBride, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Dead of Winter and the Logan McRae series, sometimes a meal ends with unjust deserts…

Three friends go on a foodie road trip to the Scottish Highlands and Islands to celebrate their pending retirement, expecting stunning scenery, great food, fine wines, and a chance to reminisce about the good old days. When they somehow secure a reservation at a remote and extremely exclusive restaurant set on a private island in Loch Broom, they know they’re in for a once-in-a-lifetime dining experience.

The question is: what is on the menu? Because all is not as it seems. One of the three friends is a killer, one is a liar, and one will do whatever it takes to survive…

My Thoughts:

Firstly, a huge thank you to the team at Riot Communications, for sending me an e-copy of “The Tasting Menu”. I don’t usually read e-books (I prefer flipping pages and annotating), but I made an exception on this occasion. 

The book is short and packed with action and I read it in one sitting. We follow a group of older friends that are celebrating retirement, and they stay at this ultra posh and expensive restaurant set on a private island. 

Very shortly after their arrival and their first meal, things turn sour (pun was likely intended). There is non-stop action after that in a short span. The book itself had many twists and unexpected moments. 

The issue is that the book is and stays an appetiser.

There is no full course meal to follow or a desert. It was too short to my liking. And because of this, I felt like there was little to no time to get to know the characters. And when a character was betrayed, or murdered, I felt nothing. I couldn’t get a moment of shock or surprise because I didn’t get invested. This is the only reason the book gets a lower rating.

I did, however, very much enjoy the food references. Every chapter was structured as a menu, and we got various different meals and wine recommendations.

“Smoked Frog’s Legs served in a gilded White-Chocolate-&-powdered-Lobster ball, with a Lobster-&-Tarragon velouté” 

Hirsch Vineyards Hirsch Estate Chardonnay, 2020

I am not sure if I would recommend the book, unfortunately. Perhaps, if you are interested in a short mystery and if you are a foodie. It’s a good book to pick up if you are bored late in the night and want something quick and easy to read. If the synopsis seems intriguing to you, please do pick this book up. You never know, you might end up loving it and I hope that you do!

About The Author:

The Tasting Menu by Stuart MacBride [BOOK REVIEW]

Stuart MacBride is the Sunday Times No.1 bestselling author of the Logan McRae and Ash Henderson novels. He’s also published standalones, novellas, and short stories, as well as a slightly twisted children’s picture book for slightly twisted children. Stuart lives in the northeast of Scotland with his wife Fiona, cats Gherkin, Onion and Beetroot, some hens, some horses, and an impressive collection of assorted weeds.

Author Website

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Book Review · Books

Redemption by Jack Jordan [BOOK REVIEW]

Redemption by Jack Jordan [BOOK REVIEW]

“Redemption” by Jack Jordan blew me away! It was the gift of action and emotion that just kept giving. I loved “Do No Harm” and “Conviction”, and I expected to equally enjoy “Redemption”. What I didn’t expect was for it to become my ultimate favourite book by this author so early into the book.

About The Book:

Redemption by Jack Jordan [BOOK REVIEW]

Pages: 384

Genre: Fiction, Thriller, Legal, Psychological, Suspense

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Format I read it in: Hardcover

Rating: ★★★★★


Aaron Alexander has just been released from jail after serving eleven years for causing the death of Joshua Moore in a hit-and-run. Now a free man, all he wants to do is stay on the straight and narrow and leave his troubled past behind him.

But for Joshua’s mother, Evelyn, eleven years in jail isn’t nearly enough. Consumed by grief and rage, she has been waiting for Aaron’s release, counting down the days until she can exact the revenge he deserves. And now that time has come.

But as Evelyn and her husband Tobias embark on a road trip to track Aaron down, they find themselves caught on two different sides of a gripping game of cat-and-mouse. Because Tobias knows what Evelyn is planning, and he will do anything to save her from herself.

Even if it means protecting the man who killed their son.

My Thoughts:

The book starts with a fast pace very early on. We meet Evelyn and Tobias through their own POV’s and find out that they moved from the UK to the USA for a better life, but their son has died in a hit-and-run accident. In the first chapters, we see how they deal with their own grief and handle the loss as a couple. Or rather, how they’re failing at it. It’s a very sad scene, really. We get to see a very hurt, devastated couple, a shadow of the people they used to be, struggling to cope! We see them barely talking to each other. The writing, although sad, really highlights the details and makes you feel the grief with them as a reader.

We then find out that the killer has been out of prison for a month, and Evelyn has planned her next move. To find Aaron – and kill him. Tobias is vaguely aware of this plan, but doesn’t quite think Evelyn will actually do this. Rather, he really hopes she doesn’t. Very soon, he realises she’s very determined to go through with her plan, and he decides it’s time to stop her, even if it means losing her.

This is where the game of cat and mouse begins. They both grieve in different ways, and cannot see eye to eye. And now, they are both racing to find Aaron, one to save him, and the other to kill him. 

We also get the chance to meet Aaron through his own POV, and find out what he’s going through, and the guilt he carries for an accident he will never forget. 

As a whole, this book was gripping and I couldn’t put it down. It intrigued me from the very first chapter, and this feeling lasted until the very end. With so many twists and turns, and situations I didn’t expect to happen, it continued to surprise me. It also touched my soul deeply with the characters. I could feel for every single one of them, their intense pain. A gut-wrenching story about how one accident can change the course of so many people’s lives forever!

Favourite Quotes:

“Betrayal”, I say finally, sucking the joy out of the room. “It’s not the method that frightens me, but the intention.”

“I try to imagine how my life might have been without her, had we not crossed paths that day. Would we have met another way? Or would my life look completely different?”

“Life never fails to surprise me in moments like these. How one’s world can flip in an instant by simply crossing paths with another. The joy it can bring, the heartache.”

“Some people understand life better than others, don’t they? I don’t mean capitalism or politics or corruption, that sort of thing. They understand life in that they know how to live it: they know how to love, how to trust, how to get by relatively unscathed.”

“Last words – they’re infamous, aren’t they? I think about them a lot. People often say you should tell people you love them as much as you can, because you never know when the last time will be. When I part ways with people, their last words always linger as I wonder if they were the words they would have used if they knew they’d be their last.”

“Broken people can’t fix other broken people.”

“Every experience I’ve had as an adult has been with her, and the thought of stepping away, becoming my own person and not having her to turn to, doesn’t seem possible. And deep down, when I really think about it, I’m terrified that when I’m alone, I won’t like who I am without her.”

About The Author:

Redemption by Jack Jordan [BOOK REVIEW]

Jack Jordan is the global bestselling author of Anything for Her, My Girl, A Woman Scorned, Before Her Eyes, Night by Night, Do No Harm and Conviction, and an Amazon No. 1 bestseller in the UK, Canada and Australia.
Do No Harm was described as ‘chilling’ by Sarah Pearse, ‘brilliant’ by Lesley Kara and ‘pulse-racing’ by Louise Candlish. It was an instant Times bestseller on first publication and a Waterstones Thriller of the Month pick. 

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