Monday 26 August 2013

Book Review: SOME DAY I'LL FIND YOU BY RICHARD MADELEY

SOME DAY I'LL FIND YOU
BY
RICHARD MADELEY



About the Book:

James Blackwell is sexy and handsome and a fighter pilot - every girl's dream partner. At least that is what Diana Arnold thinks when her brother first introduces them. Before long they are in love and marry hastily just as war is declared.
Then fate delivers what is the first of its cruel twists: James, the day of their wedding, is shot down over Northern France and killed. Diana is left not only a widow but pregnant with their child.
Ten years later, contentedly remarried, Diana finds herself in the south of France, sitting one morning in a sunny village square. A taxi draws up and she hears the voice of a man speaking English - the unmistakable voice of someone who will set out to torment her and blackmail her and from whom there can be only one means of escape... - See more at: http://books.simonandschuster.co.uk/Some-Day-I%27ll-Find-You/Richard-Madeley/9781471112638#sthash.skRuYJAg.dpuf
James Blackwell is sexy and handsome and a fighter pilot - every girl's dream partner. At least that is what Diana Arnold thinks when her brother first introduces them. Before long they are in love and marry hastily just as war is declared.
Then fate delivers what is the first of its cruel twists: James, the day of their wedding, is shot down over Northern France and killed. Diana is left not only a widow but pregnant with their child.
Ten years later, contentedly remarried, Diana finds herself in the south of France, sitting one morning in a sunny village square. A taxi draws up and she hears the voice of a man speaking English - the unmistakable voice of someone who will set out to torment her and blackmail her and from whom there can be only one means of escape... - See more at: http://books.simonandschuster.co.uk/Some-Day-I%27ll-Find-You/Richard-Madeley/9781471112638#sthash.skRuYJAg.dpuf
James Blackwood is sexy and handsome and a fighter pilot - every girl's dream partner. At least that is what Diana Arnold thinks when her brother first introduces them. Before long they are in love and marry hastily just as war is declared.
Then fate delivers what is the first of its cruel twists: James, the day of their wedding, is shot down over Northern France and killed. Diana is left not only a widow but pregnant with their child.
Ten years later, contentedly remarried, Diana finds herself in the south of France, sitting one morning in a sunny village square. A taxi draws up and she hears the voice of a man speaking English - the unmistakable voice of someone who will set out to torment her and blackmail her and from whom there can be only one means of escape...

"....You're special, James; really special.  You'll see.  One of these days you'll surprise the world, just you see if you don't.  You'll amaze everyone.  And you'll have beautiful, beautiful ladies - princesses, I shouldn't wonder - who'll give anything to be your wife.  Mark my words."

Author Richard Madeley is best known in the UK for being a TV presenter and, together with his wife, Judy Finnegan, they presented the daytime show This Morning for many years.  He has now written his first novel and it is a reasonable debut.

The first part of the story starts in 1951 in Southern France where Diana is sat outside a cafe when she hears an English voice and we immediately realise that something is wrong.

In the second part we are taken back to Southern England in 1938 and, over the next 100+ pages we learn of the build up to that morning in 1951.

We learn about Diana's wealthy upbringing with her parents and older brother James who is training to be a RAF pilot. One day he is home on leave and brings with him James "pin-up material, a gift for the RAF's propaganda unit, blond and blue-eyed" and Diana is immediately smitten.  Everyone thinks James is wonderful and charming but is he really like that or is he manipulative and looking for a rich wife?

When James is shot down over France on their wedding day Diana is devastated.

The third and final part of the story begins as the book started - outside the cafe in 1951 and to say anything more would spoil it.

The story was well-written and Diana is by far the most interesting and well-rounded character.  I found some of the dialogue a little stilted and unreal and I thought some of the situations the main characters found themselves in a little unbelievable.  Having said that, I did quite enjoy the book, it's an entertaining read and the dual time periods were well put together. 


Special Thanks to Simon & Schuster for sending me this book in exchange for an unbiased review.  A question to the Publishers: Why the title 'Some Day I'll Find You'?  To me, it just did not fit with the storyline.

James Blackwell is sexy and handsome and a fighter pilot - every girl's dream partner. At least that is what Diana Arnold thinks when her brother first introduces them. Before long they are in love and marry hastily just as war is declared.
Then fate delivers what is the first of its cruel twists: James, the day of their wedding, is shot down over Northern France and killed. Diana is left not only a widow but pregnant with their child.
Ten years later, contentedly remarried, Diana finds herself in the south of France, sitting one morning in a sunny village square. A taxi draws up and she hears the voice of a man speaking English - the unmistakable voice of someone who will set out to torment her and blackmail her and from whom there can be only one means of escape... - See more at: http://books.simonandschuster.co.uk/Some-Day-I%27ll-Find-You/Richard-Madeley/9781471112638#sthash.skRuYJAg.dpuf
James Blackwell is sexy and handsome and a fighter pilot - every girl's dream partner. At least that is what Diana Arnold thinks when her brother first introduces them. Before long they are in love and marry hastily just as war is declared.
Then fate delivers what is the first of its cruel twists: James, the day of their wedding, is shot down over Northern France and killed. Diana is left not only a widow but pregnant with their child.
Ten years later, contentedly remarried, Diana finds herself in the south of France, sitting one morning in a sunny village square. A taxi draws up and she hears the voice of a man speaking English - the unmistakable voice of someone who will set out to torment her and blackmail her and from whom there can be only one means of escape... - See more at: http://books.simonandschuster.co.uk/Some-Day-I%27ll-Find-You/Richard-Madeley/9781471112638#sthash.skRuYJAg.dpuf

Monday 12 August 2013

Book Review: CLOSE MY EYES BY SOPHIE MCKENZIE

CLOSE MY EYES
BY 
SOPHIE MCKENZIE


About the Book:

It's been eight years since Gen Loxley lost her daughter, Beth: eight years of grief in which nothing's really moved forward, for all that her husband, Art, wills it to. Gen, once a writer of novels, has settled in to a life of half-hearted teaching, while Art makes his name and their fortune - and pressures her into trying IVF once again. For Gen, it seems a cruel act of replacement; life without Beth is unthinkable, unbearable - but still it goes on. And then a woman arrives on Gen's doorstep, saying the very thing she longs to hear: that her daughter was not stillborn, but was spirited away as a healthy child, and is out there, waiting to be found.... So why is Art reluctant to get involved? To save his wife from further hurt? Or something much more sinister? What is the truth about Beth Loxley?

"Once an idea has been planted in your head, you can't just toss it out again.  You have to follow it through to the end."

After six failed IVF attempts, Gen is reluctant to try again though her husband, Art, is still hopeful that it will work.  Spoken in the first person by Gen, she feels inadequate compared to Art's successful business and she is still mourning the loss of her daughter, Beth, who was born dead eight years ago.

Art is kind, smart, shrewd and completely driven, while Beth is just going through the motions of everyday life.

When a middle aged woman turns up at their home and tells Gen an unbelievable story of her baby daughter being born alive and taken away by the doctor, she clings to the hope that Beth could be alive, but Art refuses to believe the story and tries to persuade Gen that the woman is lying.

"I know Art's is the logical way forward but I want to believe the impossible.  I want to believe that Beth is out there somewhere, waiting for me to find her."

Then an old colleague of Art's, Irishman Lorcan Byrne, comes back on the scene and he decides to help Gen in her search, much to Art's disgust.  Both Gen's best friend and Art think that Gen is becoming obsessed and may even be going mad.

As the story moves forward, we only know what's going on inside Gen's head, not anyone else's and this helps to keep the suspense going.  Just when I thought it was going in one direction the author does a great job of taking me into another completely different and unexpected direction.  I certainly never guessed the ending.  I suspected everyone at one point!

The characters were all believable, especially Gen, I really felt for her.  I thought the storyline was unpredictable, clever and enjoyable.

Whilst reading the novel, I was reminded of the brilliant psychological thriller, Little Face by Sophie Hannah, also told in the first person, and one of my favourite reads.

If you enjoy a good psychological thriller please put this on your to read list, I don't think you will be disappointed.

Special Thanks to the publishers for sending me this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...