The Last Flight and A Double Life{books by Julie Clark and Flynn Berry}

Two of my library books came in at the same time. Naturally. Both have red covers and both have a main character named Claire. 

How weird is that? 

Starting with The Last Flight by Julie Clark

Claire Cook is the beautiful wife of politican Rory Cook.  He is handsome and dynamic, the son of a former senator whose shadow I suspect he lives in and never finds himself overcoming his mother's mystique.

Rory Cook is also an abusive and controlling husband. After enduring physical and mental abuse in her marriage as well as being in the public eye just about every moment of the day, Claire has the perfect plan to get away for good.

Her every movement is watched, her calender is public so she needs the perfect scenario to slip away and disappear.  With a new identity and stashed cash Claire is on her way to disappearing and becoming someone else. Months of planning are destroyed when Rory swaps the agenda and goes on the trip to Detroit where Claire's documents are waiting.  

An opportunity presents itself when a young woman offers to switch tickets with Claire at the airport.  Instead of boarding a flight for San Juan she heads to Oakland California. Eva has Claire's ticket and they both hope to start a new life elsewhere.  Lots of intrigue and you will reread the prologue when you finish the story, learning the identity of the person narrating in the beginning.

A Double Life by Flynn Berry

The story begins with Claire, a medical doctor living in London. Claire isn’t her true name as it’s been changed for her protection. About 25 years ago her father Colin attempted to murder her mother Faye.

Twenty plus years ago upper crust English gentleman Colin meets working class woman  Faye whilst on dates with other people. They leave the restaurant together and seem to hit it off. Faye finds Colin  is just a regular fellow and has no idea of his wealth or upbringing.

One evening Colin takes Faye to a friend's house for a dinner party. This is the first time she meets James and Rose. From her description it’s like arriving on a masterpiece theater or national trust property. In spite of the fact his friends are from a different social and class level than she has ever been involved in, they seem to except her and she has a good time.

Eventually Colin grows tired of Faye and leaves their home and their two children. One night, allegedly, he returns to their home armed with a pipe and beats the nanny to death then tries to murder Faye. Colin flat out disappears afterwards.  His car with blood covered searts is found abandoned near a cliff but no one can find him.

Afterwards Faye takes Claire and her infant son Robbie to Scotland to start a new life. There are hundreds of domestic violence cases and murders reported annually in the U.K. but as Colin was a Lord and policically connected, this particular murder and assault case stays in the news.  People blog about the details and wonder where Faye and her children went.  Did he do it or was it a burglar?  Naturally the family needed to disappear and start over.

So that was the backstory woven in but the focus is on how Claire and her brother Robbie handle their lives with so much tragedy in their backgrounds.  It seems to obsess Claire especially as she is contacted by police every few years with a "sighting of her father" and it dredges everything up again. The settings are London, Scotland and Coatia.

This is loosely based on a true story about Lord Lucan who disappeared in 1979 after a murder.  Same situation with an abandoned bloodied car and wrapped pipe. Hmmmm...

I loved Flynn Berry's novel Northern Spy so I thought I'd try another of her books.  I liked it better but I am now going to read her first novel Under the Harrow next.

Sharing with Joy's Book Blog for British Isles Friday.

A Little Bird by Wendy James

 

Josephine "Jo" Sharpe is our main narrator in this Australian novel.  She returns home to the backwater town Arthurville with a bit of reluctance because of her family's past and also to help her father as he is in poor health. 

Mick doesn't blink an eye when Jo arrives at the unkempt home desite the fact that they haven't spoken for over two years. They rarely commmunicate and yet they coexist and skirt the big issue about her mother and baby sister disappearing over 20 years ago.

Jo was a journalist in a large city and her new job at The Chronicle has her writing fluff material such as the grandparent's day gathering and who won first prize for their crafting assignments. In the dilapidated newspaper office she comes across old newspaper clippings with a gossip column called The Little Bird.  Eventually Jo discovers her mother had a hand in this anonymous column which shared salacious community information such as who may be having an affair or who may have dented the fences in front of the drug store, all without naming names of course.  

There are multiple narrators in this story and you will be taken back to the 1990's when Jo's mother Merry up and leaves with the baby Amy. Merry was from a weathy family and was destined for university in Sydney until she ran into Mick one day.  Mick is/was a working class man who would never have crossed paths with Merry in any social setting.  As it worked out, Merry became pregnant and all the big plans went up in smoke. Her family was....displeased.

You will go back and forth between the two time lines, mysteries are revealed and finally by the end of the book you'll discover what happened to baby Amy and Jo's young mother.

Overall it was a decent read but a bit slow here and there.  I was wanting more atmospheric details about the Australian setting but there is little of that.  There is the occasional mention of the extreme heat and dusty roads but that's it.

Publication date November 30, 2021 by Lake Union Publishing.  Genre: General Fiction and Women's Fiction.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced reader's copy of this book.  I was not compensated for the review, all opinions are mine. 

A Note From the Publisher:

Wendy James is Australia’s queen of the domestic thriller. She is the author of nine novels, including An Accusation, The Golden Child―short-listed for the 2017 Ned Kelly Award―and the bestselling The Mistake. Her debut novel, Out of the Silence, won the 2006 Ned Kelly Award for first crime novel and was short-listed for the Nita May Dobbie Award for women’s writing. Wendy has a PhD from the University of New England, and she works as an editor, teacher, and researcher. She writes some of the sharpest, most topical domestic noir in the country.

Sharing with Marg at The Intrepid Reader for the 2021 Historical Fiction Challenge.

Her Secret War by Pam Lecky

 

Sarah Gillespie is returning home after an evening out, worried she may not arrive before her unpredictable and violent father returns from the pub. 

Her younger sister Maura is waiting and frightened as German planes have been buzzing the area.  The time period is during WW II and Ireland is meant to be neutral but bombs are dropped and her home is destroyed. Sarah is in for heartbreak during the chaos of recovery, people are missing and presumed dead.

Sarah eventually moves to England to stay with her uncle and finds work to help with the war effort.  Her uncle gets her work at a Supermarine factory where Spitfires are manufactured. There are scenes from the countryside and London, espionage is inserted into the storyline but that's the only bit that doesn't seem believeable. 

I liked the characters and the ones you were meant to dislike were well written.  The ending was well done in my opinion and definitely sets it up so a sequel could be in the works.  That said, if it ended with this book you'd probably be satisfied and make your own conclusions about Sarah's future. I would seek out a followup book if there is one.

Publication date is October 14, 2021 by Avon Books UK.  Genre: General Fiction (Adult, Women's Fiction and Historical Fiction.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced reader's copy of this book.  I was not compensated for the review, all opinions are mine.

Sharing with Marg at The Intrepid Reader for the 2021 Historical Fiction challenge and Joy's Book Blog for British Isles Friday.

56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard

 

No one even knew they were together. Now one of them is dead.

56 DAYS AGO
Ciara and Oliver meet in a supermarket queue in Dublin and start dating the same week COVID-19 reaches Irish shores.

35 DAYS AGO
When lockdown threatens to keep them apart, Oliver suggests they move in together. Ciara sees a unique opportunity for a relationship to flourish without the scrutiny of family and friends. Oliver sees a chance to hide who - and what - he really is.

TODAY
Detectives arrive at Oliver's apartment to discover a decomposing body inside.
Quoted from Amazon

This synopsis above is what drew me in and I can say I was not disappointed.  As with most mysteries there is that twist where you see how it will be played out but I can honestly say, I didn't see this one.  

Then, there is another twist and surprise to the story which I though was brilliantly woven in. What you'll find early on is both Oliver and Ciara have secrets.  The revelations are slowly introduced and my guesses for each secret was way off base.

When I first started reading it appeared it would be chick lit with budding romance and a simple mystery inserted. The interactions of Oliver and Ciara are a bit stilted at first but as the reader knows they have something to hide, it's understandable. Not chick lit or romance at all.

The storylines will change back and forth to the police investigation in present time then back to 56 days ago when Oliver and Ciara met, then move to 35 days ago as they are living together.  The perspectives and narrator changes as well.  You'll hear Ciara's side of things, Oliver's side and the detectives.

The author Catherine Ryan Howard is a crime writer from Cork Ireland and wrote this novel during the lockdown. 

My reading partner Loki.

Sharing with Joy's Book Blog for British Isles Friday.

Under the Golden Sun by Jenny Ashcroft

 

This historical novel transported me to Ilfracombe and London England, Malaysia and Australia. I will say I enjoyed every bit about this novel from the travel, the character development, the WW II setting and the heartwarming storyline.

The story begins in March of 1941 with our main character Rose headed to London to meet her family for her twenty-fifth birthday. Her parents are in Ceylon but she expects to see her Uncle Lionel and brother Joe.  The war time shortages are apparent with descriptions of mock eggs and chocolate cake.  The cake had prunes and beetroot but when the nation is rationing you celebrate how you can.

Rose is still experiencing grief from a loss and her American fiance Xander isn't exactly the epitome of loving support.  Reading a discarded newspaper on her train to London, Rose, on the spur of the moment, answers an advertisement regarding a young boy who is need of a chaperone to Australia.  Walter aged four is a lonely but bright little fellow and you'll fall in love with him. Rose goes to the house in London to meet the child and this dramatically changes her life. Walter's mother was from Australia and was recently killed in an accident.  

The ship voyage, the strengthening bond between Rosie and Walter and the new family in Australia had me riveted. I loved this book and actually hope the author will add a second book to follow up.  I don't want to see these characters go away! The storyline could be picked up with Rose's life, I'd love to know what happens to Walter and so much more.

Publication date March 15, 2022 by St Martin's Press.  Genre: Historical Fiction.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced reader's copy of this book.  I was not compensated for the review, all opinions are mine.

Sharing with Marg at The Intrepid Reader for the 2021 Historical Fiction challenge and Joy's Book Blog for British Isles Friday.

Nanny Dearest by Fiona Collins

I'm usually down for a psychological thriller with a good mystery twist but sadly this book seemed to drag for me. I see many 4 star reviews but this wasn't my cuppa tea.

The premise is the young toddler Suzy is left to be reared by her nanny Annaliese.  Suzy's mother dies when she is young and Annaliese is the mother and rock for the little girl.

The story is told from two perspectives. As an adult Suzy runs into Annaliese and connects with her again.  Suzy's father had died recently and she was feeling alone in the world. The former nanny inserts herself into her life, giving Suzy a feeling of love and protection which she was missing. Before long Suzy abandons her friends and other interests, including her job.

The characters didn't connect with me at all and I felt zero empathy. After a while I skimmed and had it not been the obligation of a review in exchange for this complimentary copy, I'd have moved on. Again, lots of folks seemed to like this book but I was not one of them.
 

 Publication date November 30, 2021 by Harlequin. Genre: General Fiction Adult, Mystery and Thrillers.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced reader's copy of this book.  I was not compensated for the review, all opinions are mine.