In at number five is: The Familiars by Stacey Halls
Great characters, superb
writing and centred around an episode in history I knew nothing about - The Pendle
Witch trials of 1612 - The Familiars is a fast-paced historical thriller which
drips with secrets, intrigue, fear, hypocrisy and witches, with a constant inference
of injustice, in spite the tenacious efforts of or heroine, seventeen-year-old
mother to be, Fleetwood Shuttleworth.
The power struggle betwixt Fleetwood
and her philandering husband and the pace and tone of the writing reminded me
very much of the late great de Maurier and Frenchman’s Creek, which is why this
superb debut novel earnt itself four stars and a place in my top five.
In fourth place: The Ocean at the
End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
Magical.
Scary, too, but magical.
Mixed with fear, lose, loneliness and bitter
memories of a time gone by, Gaiman manages to weave a tail that can be enjoyed
by everybody. There’s fantasy, magic, good and evil, all expertly mixed with a reality
that still seems to bend the rules and it’s a rollercoaster of emotion, from love,
wonder and amazement to that cold chill that sometimes runs down the back of
your neck. All told, this book is stunning – I read the illustrated edition
which wowed me visually, too – and like all good books, takes you on a journey
that is difficult to forget. Four stars.
In bronze medal position, then: Mosquito
by Rowland White
WWII has begun, but in a remote village in Hertfordshire
a self-taught aviator, Geoffrey de Havilland, has a plan. He has what he believes
the Royal Air Force needs, a twin engine 400 mph fighter, bomber, reconnaissance
aeroplane that will take the fight to the enemy and, it’s made of wood!!
In spite the scepticism from the MOD (ministry
of defence), de Havilland pressed on and creates possibly the best aeroplane
ever made. It was faster than the Spitfire of the time and could carry the
fight – with bombs, rockets, cameras or agents – to the enemy, and performed some
off the most daring raids of the war.
Mixing history and facts with the first hand
accounts of the men who flew the thousands of missions at treetop level over enemy
territory, night after night, week after week, month after month for four
years, this book takes you to the heart of the battle, be it the quietude of a
moonlit field in Zealand, or the smoke filled cockpit of a doomed Mosquito,
you get to smell, hear and feel everything and learn what
fortitude, valour and hero, really mean.
Four and a Half Stars.
This is a book about
domestic abuse, murder in self-defence, kidnapping, multiple personalities, mental
health, young love and an imaginary fox, written with a delicacy I wasn't
expecting.
From Beth's rise behind Liz's calm exterior, to Beth's cold-blooded
ability to not just kill Liz's (her) ex-husband but to dispose of him with such
composure is brilliantly executed. As is the relationship between Francine and
Jinx, her imaginary animated fox friend that happened to turn up the day she
woke after being kidnapped as a young girl. The way they speak, interact - Fran
even holds doors open for her fox when she's going to see her therapist - is
again, clever and very well executed as is the book in general.
With multiple perspectives:
teenagers, adults, the real and the ethereal, the fictional and the
fantastical, and the fear, the horror and the tranquillity, I fell that I’ve found
an unexpected gem that needs shouting about. Four and a half stars.
And the winner: Carrie
Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
I have a confession. I was a big
tennis fan when I was younger, mid-80s to mid-90s – used to camp on the street
to get Wimbledon tickets – which might have skewed my opinion, but let’s
face it, this author writes superb books.
Carrie Soto won everything, and
I mean EVERYTHING, so, when the new kid on the block closes in on her all-time
Grand Slam record, Carrie Soto doesn’t take it lying down and we learn just how
hard it is to be at the top: the fastest, fittest, the best.
Told from two timelines, the before and the now, we follow Carrie through the
lows, the highs, the sweat and tears, the injury, self-doubt, the constant berating
from the media: that she’s passed it, shouldn’t have come out of retirement, is
embarrassing herself.
There’s her relationship with her father, the
lose of her mother, the possible old flame/love interest and it’s frenetic to
say the least, chapters passing in the blink of an eye – it took me just 9 days to read, I just couldn’t put it down.
So, like
Daisy Jones & the Six, where you don’t need to be mad on music to enjoy
it, I don’t think you need to be a tennis fan to enjoy this, it’s just a fantastically fast paced story full of emotion wrapped up in a sporting environment and is, by
me at least, heartily recommended. Five stars.
To finish, I would just
like to wish you all the best for 2025 and hope you find happiness in whatever
form that takes.
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