An Officer And A Spy by Robert Harris

A tantalizing historical thriller set in France in 1895.  It is about the trial of Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish officer in the French army, wrongly accused of passing secrets to the Germans. Dreyfus is found guilty and sent to Devil's Island for life.  It is narrated by Colonel Georges Picquart as he takes up his position to run the intelligence unit that identified Dreyfus and his crimes.   I found it interesting as it is not a period of French history I was familiar with.  The first half of the book sets the scene as Picquart slowly gets to grips with life in the intelligence unit and the politics involved.  He discovers that secrets are still being passed to the Germans and then other information comes to light that forces him to believe Dreyfus is innocent.  Now he just needs to convince his superiors, but the honour of the French army is at stake and the ranks close in against him.   For me the first half dragged a bit, but once I got past the halfway point I could not put the book down.  The amount of research that the author must have done is staggering, but at no point did it feel like a history lesson as the story is interwoven with vivid characters whose hopes and fears are believable. 

Us by David Nicholls

I enjoyed One Day by the same author, so I was looking forward to reading Us, which was long listed for The Man Booker Prize.  After two decades of marriage Douglas and Connie Petersen are about to become empty nesters.  Douglas is looking forward to this new chapter in their lives, but then Connie announces she’s thinking of leaving him.  His son, Albie, feels like a stranger.  In one last attempt to save his marriage and keep his family intact Douglas plans a once in a lifetime family holiday touring the cultural delights of Europe.  Douglas is a biochemist, Connie, is an artist.  No one is sure what Albie wants to be, but Connie is keen to encourage him in his artistic endeavours.  In the beginning I wasn’t convinced by the characters.  I felt that Albie and Connie were both self-centred and I wanted to shake Douglas.  As the story unfolded and I learnt more about the couple’s history, the highs and lows of their relationship, I started to believe in the characters and I was hooked.  It was interesting seeing the story through the eyes of Douglas.  I found the book laugh out loud funny at times and at others touchingly sad.  I thought it was pitched perfectly.    

Grand Central – by bestselling authors Melanie Benjamin, Jenna Blum, Amanda Hodgkinson, Pam Jenoff, Sarah Jio, Sarah McCoy, Kristina McMorris, Alyson Richman, Erika Robuck and Karen White

A collection of post war stories set on the same day in September 1945 and in the same place Grand Central Terminal, New York. The stories are written in a mixture of styles, some written in first and some in third person. I enjoyed all of them. Each story stands alone, but also picks out a character or two from the previous story, which I thought was cleverly done. I liked the fluid feel to each story, which captured the sense of place with everyone on the move, some coming home from the war, some embarking on a new life and others escaping their past.

The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton

The story opens in 1961 when sixteen year old Laurel Nicolson witnesses a shocking event concerning her mother Dorothy, and a stranger. She and her mother are the only ones who know the truth, but it has never been discussed. The story then jumps forward fifty years and Laurel, who is now a famous actress in her sixties, has been summoned to the family home as her mother is dying. Laurel has always been haunted by the shocking event and, before her mother dies, she wants answers. The story then alternates between 2011 and 1941.  The chapters in 2011 are narrated by Laurel, but the 1941 chapters are narrated by Dorothy, her boyfriend Jimmy and her friend Vivien. I especially enjoyed the chapters from Vivien’s point of view. I found myself skipping pages as I felt there was a lot of overwriting with lots of unnecessary scenes. I am glad I had the patience to finish this book because the twist at the end was worth it.

Before We Met by Lucie Whitehouse

Before We Met is a thriller based on the secrets within a marriage.  It also explores the relationship between siblings.  The narrator, Hannah Reilly is happily married after a whirlwind romance - she met her husband Mark while he was on a business trip in the US and she was living there.  Now they have moved to his luxurious London home.  Mark is a successful businessman running his own software company and is away on business quite a bit.  Hannah is coming to terms with married life and the loss of her financial independence as she struggles to find a job.  The story opens with Hannah waiting at Heathrow for the arrival of Mark who is flying back from New York.  As the passengers file through arrivals we feel Hannah’s anticipation and then gradually the feeling is replaced by worry as Mark fails to arrive.  The worry is intensified as Hannah tries unsuccessfully to contact him.  The worry is later replaced by suspicion as Hannah searches for clues as to why Mark has failed to arrive.  I found it a fast paced read.       

Kind of Cruel by Sophie Hannah

This is the first Sophie Hannah book I have read and it won't be the last.  Amber Hewerdine is suffering from insomnia and goes to see a hypnotherapist not expecting it to help.  She is obsessed by an event that happened several years earlier when her sister-in-law, Jo, rented a large house, Little Orchard, for the whole extended family to stay one Christmas.  While there, Jo, her husband and their two sons went missing for 24 hours on Christmas day.  They returned unharmed, but no mention was made of it again.  While under hypnosis Amber utters the words ‘kind, cruel, kind of cruel’ – these words mean nothing to her, but as the story unfolds she realises she has seen the words before.  She thinks she must have seen them at Little Orchard.  She is arrested two hours later as a result of having said the words.  The words are somehow connected with the murder of woman Amber has never met or heard of.  I liked the intrigue from the start.  The story is mostly narrated by Amber, but there are also chapters narrated by the hypnotherapist.  I was a little disappointed by the end.    

The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields

Winner of the 1995 Pulitzer Prize.  The story is a fictionalised autobiography of Daisy Goodwill Flett.  The novel details Daisy’s long, at times mundane, life.  It is structured in ten chapters starting with her Birth in Canada in 1905 and ending with her death in a nursing home in Florida.   I liked the use of different narrative voices and devices – it is written in a mix of first person, third person and uses letters, lists, tributes to tell the story.  The book contains a family tree and family photographs to complete the biographical feel.  I enjoyed more sections than others.