Review of "The Hiding Place: A Novel of Suspense" by C.J. Tudor

 

Terrible things happened in Joe Thorne's English home town of Arnhill 25 years ago. His eight-year-old sister Annie disappeared and Joe thought it was the worst thing that could ever happen.....until she returned.



Later on Joe's mate Chris jumped to his death on the grounds of their school, Arnhill Academy. Joe moved away soon afterwards, and now he's a forty-year-old English teacher who drinks too much, smokes too much, and has a gambling problem.



As the story opens Joe has just moved back to Arnhill, being drawn back by an anonymous email that said: "I know what happened to your sister. It's happening again." Joe obtains a teaching position at his old school and rents a dilapidated cottage that was the site of a murder-suicide.



Joe isn't bothered because the place is cheap and he wants to absorb its 'atmosphere' for personal reasons. Moreover, Joe only plans to stay in Arnhill long enough to settle old scores and pay off a gambling debt - so that Gloria the enforcer doesn't cripple him for life (or worse).



The leader of Joe's old high school gang, a sociopath named Stephen Hurst, is irked about his former pal's return. Stephen wants Joe out of town YESTERDAY and will do almost anything to make that happen. 



Stephen has other things on his mind as well: his wife Marie is dying of cancer and his son Jeremy - a bully like his dad - is constantly making trouble at school.

Arnhill, a defunct coal mining town, exudes a sinister atmosphere and eerie noises. Furthermore, the crumbling colliery's underground tunnels and pits - like all dangerous places - attracts kids looking for adventure. That led to trouble 25 years ago....and seems to be causing trouble again.





And then there are the black beetles.....oy vey!!





In addition to his mission in Arnhill, Joe has to do his job at the school - where he teaches classes; has lunch with other instructors; catches bullies tormenting students; and so on. Joe acquires both friends and foes at the school, and these side narratives help round out the novel.



The author is a good storyteller and the tale includes some clever surprises. That said, the narrative crawls along too slowly (for my taste) and the main character, Joe Thorne, has an extremely annoying personality. Joe has a sarcastic streak and a breezy jokey way of talking that NEVER LETS UP....even when he's facing down hooligans. I wanted to cover Joe's mouth.😷

The novel leads to a fitting climax that wraps things up in a satisfactory fashion. One of my favorite scenes involves a sinkhole, which I've always found intriguing.....and this is a good one. 🙂



Overall, I'd say the book is a clever mystery/thriller that would appeal to fans of the genre.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author (C.J. Tudor), and the publisher (Crown) for a copy of the book.

Rating: 3 stars

Review of "The House of Silk: A Sherlock Holmes Novel" by Anthony Horowitz

This is Anthony Horowitz's first addition to the 'Sherlock Holmes' canon and he does a good job capturing the voice of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

As the book opens, Holmes is dead and Watson is an elderly man who's decided to write up one of his friend's old investigations - a case so hush-hush that it can't be released for 100 years.



The 100 years is now up.

*****

The sensitive inquiry begins when Holmes is visited by Edmund Carstairs, a wealthy art dealer who claims he's being stalked by an Irish mobster named Keelan O'Donaghue - who blames Carstairs for the death of his brother.



Shortly afterward, Carstairs' home is burgled and the thief - presumably O'Donaghue - makes off with cash and an heirloom necklace.



In an attempt to track down the stolen necklace, Holmes calls on the 'Baker Street Irregulars' - a band of street urchins who know their way around London's underbelly. The Irregulars trace the necklace to a pawnshop....and the thief to a cheap hotel.



A lad called Ross is left to watch the hotel while Holmes is fetched.



When the detective arrives - with Watson and Carstairs - they find O'Donaghue murdered in his hotel room. Ross, who seems badly frightened by this development, runs off. Could he have seen the killer?

Inspector Lestrade arrives to investigate the case, but - true to form - he misses all the important clues and goes haring off in the wrong direction.



In the aftermath of these events a boy is murdered and an unsavory enterprise - involving VIPs at the HIGHEST levels - is suspected. The latter issue is so sensitive that Mycroft Holmes, who's 'in' with the most important British officials, warns his brother to back off the investigation - but Sherlock does no such thing.



This is unfortunate for Holmes, since the miscreants will do ANYTHING to cover their asses.

At the book's climax - after Holmes and Watson have survived more than one life-threatening situation - the criminals are revealed in true 'Sherlockian' fashion. That's all I can say without spoilers.



The book contains many elements of the original stories, including several instances when Holmes deduces information about complete strangers. (I always get a kick out of these scenes.)

The novel retains the flavor and mood of Arthur Conan Doyle's stories, but it's too long.....and some plotlines could have been tightened up (IMO). Still - as a big Sherlock Holmes fan - I liked the book, and recommend it to other Holmes enthusiasts.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Review of "When I Was You: A Novel of Suspense" by Amber Garza

This review was first posted on Mystery and Suspense. Check it out for features, interviews, and reviews. https://www.mysteryandsuspense.com/re...

Californian Kelly Medina is finding it hard to cope with her empty nest.



Kelly's 19-year-old son Aaron is off at college.....



.....and her husband Rafael, who teaches at a university two hours away, only comes home for weekends.



Kelly tries to fill her time with volunteer work, seeing her friend Christine, going to the gym, shopping, and posting on social media - but she's lonely and depressed. Kelly is jealous of women with small children and daydreams about the days when Aaron was a little boy who needed her.



The match that lights up this incendiary situation is a call from the office of Aaron's pediatrician, reminding Kelly that she has a well baby appointment on Friday morning. Kelly laughingly replies that her son is nineteen, and the receptionist checks the records and realizes the appointment is for a DIFFERENT Kelly Medina, who has a baby.



For the sake of the review I'll refer to Aaron's mother as mature Kelly and the infant's mother as young Kelly.

Mature Kelly is curious about her namesake and trolls social media - Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, etc. - to find out about her. Finding nothing, mature Kelly decides to park outside the pediatrician's office on Friday morning, JUST TO SEE what young Kelly looks like. One thing leads to another and mature Kelly manages to meet young Kelly and her baby boy Sullivan.





The women marvel at the fact they have the same name, exchange phone numbers, and arrange to get together.

Mature Kelly soon learns that little Sullivan's dad is out of the picture and young Kelly is almost destitute. Young Kelly and Sullivan live in a dank little cottage with almost no furniture; no crib; no high chair; and few baby supplies. Moreover, young Kelly has lost her mother and grandmother, and has no support system.



Mature Kelly, who's worried about little Sullivan's well-being, goes out and buys a crib, a highchair, onesies, washcloths, formula, and other things a baby needs. She also brings a tray of homemade burritos to young Kelly's house, and invites young Kelly to HER home for a meal, wine, and a sleepover if young Kelly likes.



By this time the reader is aware that something is wrong with this situation. Mature Kelly's friend Christine is always calling to ask how she's doing; to arrange yoga dates; to invite mature Kelly out for lunch; to ask her over for a glass of wine; etc. And when mature Kelly says she's busy because she made a new friend, Christine doesn't seem to believe her.




Moreover, Rafael is also troubled about his wife. He phones to inquire about her credit card purchases of expensive baby supplies, and appears reluctant to accept his wife's explanation that she's helping a new acquaintance. There's some underlying tension between mature mature Kelly and Rafael, as if there's something they can't discuss.

As the story unfolds, mature Kelly intrudes on young Kelly's life more and more, becoming increasingly obsessive about 'keeping Sullivan safe.'



At one point mature Kelly's behavior tips over to the outrageous, and one wonders about her mental health.



I thought I knew where all this was going, then the twists started coming hard and fast. This is an excellent psychological thriller, clever and original.

Rating: 4 stars

Review of "Summerland: A Novel" by Elin Hilderbrand

The evening of the high school graduation in Nantucket is a time for celebration. But the night ends tragically when sweet, talented Penny Alistair, a rising high school senior, takes the wheel of a Jeep containing her sports-phenom brother Hobby, her friend Demeter, and her boyfriend Jake.



Penny seemingly purposely crashes the Jeep, killing herself and horribly injuring Hobby, while leaving Jake and Demeter physically unscathed.



What did Demeter tell Penny that set off this event?



That's the central mystery in this character driven story. Hildebrand presents a realistic picture of troubled families in a small community. We see adultery, unresolved grief, teens in crisis, young love, lax mothering, mental illness and more.



I didn't find the climax very believable or satisfying but all in all the book contains a touching portrayal of how the people of a community try to deal with a tragedy of this magnitude.

Rating; 3 stars

Review of "Faithful: A Novel" by Alice Hoffman

Shelby Richmond is a high school senior preparing to attend NYU with her best friend, Helene Boyd, when an automobile accident intervenes. The car Shelby is driving skids on a patch of ice, leaving Helene in a perpetual coma and Shelby with only minor injuries.

Unable to get past the guilt, Shelby has a nervous breakdown and is institutionalized for several months.



Afterwards, Shelby holes up in her parents basement, eats little, cuts herself, smokes pot, and sleeps as much as she can.



Shelby's parents gamely pay for her first year's college tuition, but lose the money when Shelby doesn't go. One of Shelby's few human interactions is with Ben Mink, a pot dealer she's known since they were children. Though they don't talk much, Shelby feels comfortable with Ben, who also seems a bit lost.



The one thing Shelby values are occasional anonymous postcards delivered to her house, with original drawings and messages like 'Be Something' and 'Feel Something.'



Shelby feels like someone cares about her - and even wonders if that person is somehow Helene. In fact, some people think brain-dead Helene has special powers, and visit her to be healed - which Shelby finds abhorrent.

After Shelby has been hanging around with Ben for a couple of years, he - almost embarrassedly - confides that he's been taking an independent study course at college, has graduated, and is going to pharmacy school in New York. Ben persuades Shelby to move to the city with him and they get a tiny apartment on Manhattan's west side, where they share a bed and eat lots of take-out Chinese food.



Eventually Shelby gets a job stacking shelves at a pet store, which requires little interaction with other people, including her co-workers. In time, though, Shelby becomes friends with her colleague Maravelle, a single mother with a teen daughter and twin sons in grade school.



When Maravelle's called away, she even trusts Shelby to kidsit for a few days, and this is a critical event in Shelby's recovery.

Damaged as she is, Shelby has a soft spot for animals, and launches two rescue operations. First, Shelby kidnaps two hungry, dirty, bedraggled dogs...a little mutt and a bulldog... who are being rented out to homeless people - to help them beg for money. Shelby calls the small, semi-blind mutt 'Blinkie' and the bulldog 'General Tso.' Later, Shelby cuts through a fence to free a chained-up, mistreated Great Pyrenees, and names him 'Pablo.' The canines join Shelby and Ben in their little apartment, and Shelby - who's now the manager of the pet shop - gives herself discounts for animal supplies.



After a time Shelby meets a handsome veterinarian, Harper Levy, which leads to major changes in her life.



In the course of the story, Shelby interacts with a variety of characters, including: a nasty homeless girl; an adulterer; a Chinese restaurant delivery boy; her supportive mother; her distant father; a bully who won't take no for an answer; a pregnant woman; Helene's grieving parents; a tattoo artist; and others.....all of whom have some role in her inch-by-inch healing.

This is a moving story of a young woman's emotional journey, but Shelby's not always a likable girl. I admired Shelby's tenderness toward her dogs, but was put off by her callousness towards some humans, including those who cared for her most. I'm not sure PTSD can excuse this.



On the other hand, Ben Mink is a 'prince.' He looks after Shelby; lets her bring three dogs into their little apartment; overlooks her worst behavior; and more. Every girl should have a guy like this....if just for a little while. LOL

All in all, this is an uplifting tale that show's there can be recovery - and happiness - after a life-altering tragedy.



Rating: 3.5 stars