The Son-in-law - Charity Norman

3/5

Joseph Scott has been recently released from prison and wants to get his life back on track. He wants his kids back, living with him, and although his career as a teacher has been ended by his prison sentence, he wants to start again, find a new job and a new future.

The only fly in the ointment is that it was murder he was jailed for (reduced to manslaughter, if I remember rightly) and its was his children's mother he murdered. In front of them.

Scarlet, the eldest of the childrens, is in her teens now and a young woman. She remembers it most clearly and isn't ready to accept her father back into her life. She and her two younger brothers have been living with their maternal grandparents since it happened. The grandparents, although both showing the signs of aging, are definitely not ready to let Joseph Scott, the murderer of their only daughter anywhere near them.

This book really wasn't what I thought it was going to be. I'm a bit in two minds over it. I found it a little bit overly forgiving of the man who murdered the mother of his children - there were extenuating circumstances of course, and probably the most interesting thing about the book is the exploration of what happens to 'you' when you do something so terrible you can't forgive yourself.

I agreed with the grandparents all the way through - although I think the author intended you to be sympathising with Scott, so therefore I didn't really like the ending. Joseph Scott was okay. I liked the characters of the Granddad and Scarlet the best. Overall slightly disappointing and a bit too PC.

Goodnight, Beautiful - Dorothy Koomson

4/5

Nova's eight year old son, Leo has been in an accident and lies in a coma. The real story, however, is how Leo even came to be. We soon discover that Nova never really bargained for a son. She was carrying a surrogate baby for her childhood friend, Mal and his wife. Close to the end of her pregnancy, they inexplicably changed their minds, literally leaving Nova holding the baby.

We go back further into Nova and Mal's 70s childhood together. They grow up together, but somehow never get the timing right to actually be together. Eventually they both meet other people. Mal falls in love with Stephanie, someone who is the exact opposite of Nova. They never see eye to eye but make the effort for Mal. Stephanie has problems of her own too. When they find they can't have children together Nova is the obvious choice for a surrogate for them.

Back in the present, Nova, who understandably has not spoken to Mal and Stephanie since they backed out of the surrogacy now has to bring Mal back into her life as it appears Leo isn't getting any better.

Unlike the other Dorothy Koomson books I've read this year, Goodnight, Beautiful: Everybody has secrets ... will this one break somebody's heart? (apparently the full title!) is much more firmly in the romance, tear jerker genre. I think Dorothy Koomson's early books were much more like this (very chick-lit) but her later ones have more of a dark side with murder, lies and intrigue. There's no deliberate deception and lies in Goodnight, Beautiful, it's more a victim of circumstance and unfortunate timing. It's still a good book - Nova is very likable and Mal is too, if not sometimes a bit of a wet weekend. I preferred the flashback story to the 'present' story. It's not really about the kid. There's a few other twists and surprises I haven't mentioned here too! 

The Sleeper - Emily Barr

3.5/5

Lara Finch is bored. Terribly bored. She lives in an ideal little house in picturesque Devon, with her all too perfect husband, Sam, but she's not happy. Following failed IVF attempts, their family is incomplete and their marriage is falling apart. Sam wants to try and adopt. Lara wants to move on.

When the chance at a job in London presents itself, Lara jumps at it. She begins to regularly take the sleeper train to London every Sunday night, only returning home on Friday nights. Distance begins to grow between her and Sam, but she feels alive again, part of something important.

Then - she disappears. Boarding the sleeper train back to Devon one Friday, she never arrives, leaving Sam and her only Devon based friend, Iris floundering for explanations and clues as to what has happened.

A past that her husband had no idea about has finally caught up with Lara, and she's very soon wishing for her quiet life back in Devon again!

The Sleeper is a story which travels. I found it a little slow at the start, perhaps bordering on predictable, but then when the twist comes and the story delves in to Lara's secret past, it pick up speed and becomes a lot more interesting. The first half of the story is from Lara's perspective, but she doesn't give away much. She seems childish, spoiled and a bit of a brat. It hints at a checkered past but doesn't give much away. The second half is from Iris's point of view - Lara's Devon based friend who is hiding from a tragic past of her own. The books a bit slow in places and not all the characters are as well drawn as they might be, but makes for quite a good read anyway. 

Close My Eyes - Sophie McKenzie

3.5/5

Gen's life is turned upside down when a stranger arrives on her doorstep with a secret to share. Eight years ago Gen's baby was stillborn. Since then, she's been unable to fall pregnant again despite IVF treatments. The stranger on her doorstep tells her she's been deceived - her baby is alive, her husband knows all about it and Gen's whole life is a lie. At first she dismisses it as a cruel trick - but unable to leave it alone, she begins to search for information and starts to uncover other things that just don't add up...

Close My Eyes is a book about secrets, lies and deception. As you read it, you will go from one side to another and back again - who is lying and who is telling the truth? The charming, albeit slightly too perfect husband, Art? Gen's oldest friend, Hen? The strangers trying to convince Gen all she knows is false? Even through the book is told from Gen's first person point of view, you begin to wonder if what she's experiencing is true - or does she just see it that way because on some levels she desperately wants it to be true?

I found the first quarter of the book a bit hard to get into - I kept thinking get on with it then! But then when it does get going its a thrillingly pacey read - a real page turner to coin the cliché!

The Sea Sisters - Lucy Clarke

4/5

Katie's world falls apart when she learns of the death of her younger sister, Mia. Mia had been backpacking around the world with her best friend, Finn, but when the police arrive on Katie's doorstep one night, they tell her Mia was not only traveling seemingly alone, but that they suspect she committed suicide as well. Katie cannot accept that her fun loving, spontaneous sister would kill herself, so she shirks off her planned and structured life to trace Mia's footsteps around the world in an effort to understand both what happened and who her sister really was.

The Sea Sisters is told both from Katie's point of view as she struggles to deal with Mia's death and follow her travels across the world, and from the travel journal Mia kept, documenting her feelings, her self discoveries and the revelations which set her own world spinning.

 So, over the Dorothy Koomson obsession! In comes Lucy Clarke's debut novel, The Sea Sisters. This is a great, clear and concise story of the relationship between two sisters, and namely how love can be so close to hate sometimes it can crossover and blur your feelings. I liked both Mia and Katie, the two sisters of the title. They are both different, flawed people who both envy qualities in their opposing sister without vocalising it to each other, to their regret. Mia, the younger sister, is searching for who she is and where she came from, which Katie, who feels like she's had to take on too much, too young, wants to break out of her organised, structured life and do something daring or spontaneous. Both sisters do these things, but not in the way they'd perhaps planned.

My favourite character was Finn. He has been in love with Mia since he was a teenager, but Mia is unaware. He has to balance the rejection of unrequited love, with the loss of his friendship with Mia if he chooses to move on with her. In opposition to Finn is Noah, the mysterious - and all together, a bit of a selfish idiot - object of Mia's affections. His past is troubling and he doesn't know how to deal with it.

The end of the book is bittersweet - as it was always destined to be. The author was replying to comments on a website, and I commented how much I'd enjoyed the book, but what would happen to Finn and Katie once the story ended? The author replied she hoped they would grow into something beautiful, which I would hope too, but I think in 'reality' their relationship would not be able to cope with the loss of Mia. They would have to adapt to living without her, but I don't think either character would truly get over her death. 

The book is about life and how your plans can change in the blink of an eye, not always to your liking. It's about love - between men and women and the love between siblings. And it's about regret - not telling someone something that you should have, parting on bad terms, words spat out in anger and how you will regret the things you haven't done, perhaps much more than the things you did do.

Very much looking forward to Lucy Clarke's second novel, which I think is out next year. 

The Rose Petal Beach - Dorothy Koomson

4/5 

When her husband, Scott is arrested for a terrible crime, Tami's world begins to fall apart. Every time she thinks she has reached rock bottom, something else happens and it all falls apart all over again. When she discovers the accuser is her best friend, Mirabelle, Tami has to choose between believing her husband or best friend. Before she's had chance to digest that, something awful happens and Tami finds herself in some real trouble.

It took me quite a while to get into The Rose Petal Beach - I nearly gave up on it, but when that 'something awful' happened, it hooked me in. Each revelation in the story is described as hitting Tami like a truck, and that's how it hits the reader too! A slow start, but then the story becomes twisty and turning and enthralling. Another great book from Dorothy Koomson. Download the free Beside the Rose Petal Beach too for an extra dimension to the story!