The Behaviour of Moths by Poppy Adams

Ginny is upstairs, watching out the window for the return of her sister Vivi. It has been years since Vivi has come home, and now that their parents are dead and they are both in the autumns of their lives Vivi has decided to come home. As Ginny waits she remembers their childhood, the highs, the lows and the moths. Ginny like so many of her forefathers is a lepidopterist, whilst Vivi has never been interested. Once Vivi arrives, Ginny finds her whole world turned upside down and in the space of one weekend a myraid of dark family secrets unravels into a dramatic climax.

For anyone who has read the The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox I thoroughly recommend that you read this. Although in some ways a similar theme, this is far more accessible yet with more twists and turns. It is beautifully written and Poppy Adams has a superb knack of lulling you into a false sense of security and leading you up the garden path before finally revealing all. I am surprised this is her first book but I will definitely be looking out for her next one.

This is definitely a meaty book exploring the relationships of parent and child and siblings in an era when you didn't talk about private things. This creates many secrets and lies and you're never sure who knows what because no one is really talking to each other. As the book unfolds you begin to realise that things that you assume only one or two people knew, in fact was a secret shared by many. It also illustrates how secrets and lies will all unravel and that the consequences are not always anticipated.

I really don't want to spoil this book for potential readers so I won't go into the themes the book covers in more detail than this. Suffice to say, I wouldn't call it a light hearted read but at the same time it didn't feel constantly bleak (like Eastenders makes you feel if you watch a few episodes and realise that in fact most of the families are there to suffer because nothing goes right in the end for anyone). I found that how I imagined the family and how it worked constantly changed as more and more flashbacks occurred and as Ginny and Vivi interacted. The good news is the bits about the moths are not offputting for those of us with no interest in the subject. It adds another beautiful layer to this book that adds to the storyline rather than existing as a separate theme.

I would definitely recommend this book to others and especially to book groups as there are plenty of topics for discussion.

*5 stars*

If you enjoyed this why not try 'The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox' by Maggie O'Farrell?

Anne of Avonlea by L M Montgomery

Anne of Avonlea follows on from Anne of Green Gables. After the shock decision of Anne not to attend university but to return to Avonlea to be with Marila, Anne manages to secure a job teaching at the local school. As if a new job wasn't enough a relative of Marila's dies and Marila is left to bring up six year old twins Davy and Dora whilst their uncle finishes his job and secures a new home for them. Although Dora is extremely well behaved, Davy is a handful and is soon getting into all sorts of scrapes. Anne somehow also finds the time to work on improving Avonlea with the Improvement Society and it is not long before she too gets into some scrapes. With new neighbours and friends and old rivals Avonlea continues to provide adventures for Anne during her late teens.

Anne of Avonlea picks up right from where Anne of Green Gables finishes. Although some of the characters from the first book are no longer present or take much lesser roles in the book, there are enough of the core characters to keep a sense of familiarity. The book is another gentle trundle through Anne's adventures with the usual mix of mini disasters and small triumphs. It is certainly a mellow book, entirely suitable for young children and adults alike and best enjoyed over a mug of hot chocolate.

It is hard to be critical of Montgomery for her style of writing. After reading Anne of Green Gables I find that my expectations have changed and I was able to slip into reading Anne of Avonlea quite easily and not find it tedious or irritating. Certainly Anne has managed to rid herself of some of her more annoying habits and as one might expect is beginning to grow up. The book was written at a very different time from the modern day which means we have to accept its differences.

I would recommend that anyone who wants to read this book read Anne of Green Gables first (click on any mention of Anne of Green Gables in this review for a link to my review for the book). It is certainly worth reading if you want a light and gentle read to whisk you away to another more innocent age after a long hard, miserable day at work.

*3 stars*

The Savage Garden by Mark Mills

It is 1958 and Adam Strickland has reached the end of his second year studying at Cambridge. He is not the most diligent of students and when his tutor asks to see him he presumes he is in trouble for slacking. Instead he is offered a dissertation topic, studying the garden of a Tuscan villa owned by a friend of his tutor. Intrigued and desperate not to follow in his father's footsteps Adam agrees. What he does not anticipate is that the garden hides a 400 year old mystery and a curse that has followed the owners for years. Armed with his intellect alone Adam feels he must solve the mystery of the garden and the mystery that surrounds the current owners in the few short weeks he has.

I picked this book up as I hoped it would be something different to what I usually read. I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised. Although the first few chapters had me wondering if anything was going to happen as the story unfolded I was gradually drawn in. Like any good detective story by the end I was heading in the right direction although I hadn't quite guessed what was going on. There are plenty of twists and turns but for fans of fast paced action you will find this book very slow and lacking in action. Much of the story line involves looking at the garden and several of the older characters reminiscing, as well as family dinners.

It is certainly one of the better representations of Italy I have read of late. The descriptions make you want to visit but they don't drown the story line. The family at the centre of the book feel convincingly Italian. There is good food, good company and a general happiness that you expect from your stereotypical Italian experience.

Its a book that is well worth trying and persevering with past the first few chapters. Its not a difficult read and if you want a detective story with more similarity to Rosemary and Thyme than Waking the Dead then this is probably for you.


*3 stars*

The Blackpool Highflyer by Andrew Martin

In the hot summer of 1905 Jim Stringer has work to do. For many the factories and mills of Halifax are closing for a short holiday and it's off to Scarborough and Blackpool. Jim is a fireman and it's his job to man the excursion trains for the summer break. However on one trip to Blackpool the train hits a millstone on the line and is derailed. Not convinced this is an idle act of vandalism, Jim thinks the Hind's Mill excursion train to Blackpool has been targeted specifically. There are several people with motives, but is Jim right or is he just chasing shadows?

This is the second book in the Jim Stringer series and immediately precedes 'The Lost Luggage Porter' and sees Jim still working as a fireman before his career change to the railway police. For those of you who have read 'Lost Luggage Porter' (or even my review of it) you may find this book jars with your knowledge of Jim and how he came to move to York. I for one was scratching my head over it all the way to the end of the book. I think it is definitely a case of reading these books in order. Therefore I recommend to anyone who hasn't tried these books to go and read them in order, starting with 'The Necropolis Railway', to avoid confusion.

Despite the slight lack of continuity between books, this was still and fairly enjoyable romp. In some ways the story reflects the restrained characteristics we think are typical of the Victorian/Edwardian periods. Jim is fairly down to earth, doesn't pick fights, goes to work, enjoys a drink and has a passion for his railway magazines. Often the heroes of crime fiction have awful foibles and depressing lives. They are womanisers, or alcoholics or bad parents. Jim has none of these foibles. He seems a pretty pleasant character with an equally pleasant wife. If anything the fact his wife cannot cook and is veering towards the suffragette cause is perhaps the most controversial thing about Jim and his family. In some ways this makes him a unique character in the crime fiction genre.

There’s not a lot more that can be said about this book. A book to pass the time rather than a 'must read' perhaps.

*3 stars*

The Lost Luggage Porter by Andrew Martin

It's December 1905 and Jim Striger is starting his new job as a
detective for the North East Railway Company at the York office.
It's a job he doesn't want and he'd far rather be back on the
trains. His new boss decides to send him undercover to
investigate pickpockets and other small fry who have been
operating at the station. Yet events take a turn and Striger ends
up being dragged into the deep, murky underworld of York. As if
that wasn't enough, back home he's trying to keep the peace
between his heavily pregnant Suffragette wife and his deeply
conservative father. With a new addition of the family on the way
and a murderer on the loose Striger must find a way to keep the
peace, stay alive and not get fired.

Although this is the third book in the Jim Striger series I
thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Martin was very good at
explaining some of the background when needed (that
presumably readers of the first two books wouldn't need) without
lingering too long on it. I didn't feel penalised for not reading the
first two books and felt like I wanted to go back and find out a bit
more about what happened. It is great that a writer can do this.

The style of the book is somewhat different to what I'm used to.
Striger's character is a hard working Victorian/Edwardian middle
class kind of guy. He's old fashioned in our eyes but with
enough forward thinking ideas to make him interesting. He fits in
well with the time the book is set and occupies the space
between his wife's Suffragette views and his father's Victorian
value system. It's hard to explain but in a way Martin's text feels
slightly old fashioned in style, very in keeping with the story.

Striger is very uncomfortable in his new role and that comes
across well in the book. He's not sure how far he can go with his
'role' without breaking the law. Its all new territory for him, so
there is a struggle between his law abiding normal self and what
he needs to do for his alias to ring true. He's not your typical
detective. He's been thrown into the career rather than choosing
it and he often feels it's a punishment. Yet there are times when
he seems to be enjoying himself. The thrill he feels the first time
he goes undercover (before his conservative self asserts itself)
is just one example of this. There are times when he sounds like
a middle aged man but occasionally there are glimpses that
show that actually he's quite a young, intelligent man. He's a bit
world weary but naive all the same.

I would definitely recommend this to all those who like historical
crime fiction as something new and different (at least from
anything I've read). Well written and researched. I would
however suggest people might want to start with the first book in
this series, 'The Necropolis Railway'. You can enjoy 'Lost
Luggage Porter' without reading the previous two books though
so don't worry if you can't get hold of it. Worth reading if you like
Edward Marston's 'Railway Detective' series.

*4 stars*

This review has been submitted by e-mail



If you enjoyed reading this story click here to digg it.

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell

Iris Lockheart runs her own shop in Edinburgh. She has a string of
unfulfilled relationships to her name, her grandmother is in a world
of her own and her half brother constantly disapproves of the men
in her life. Then she gets a letter about Euphemia Lennox, a
relative she has never heard of who lives in a psychiatric unit. All
of a sudden Euphemia (or Esme as she prefers to be called) is
thrown into Iris' life and so begins a gradual untangling of threads
as to how Esme really ended up vanishing from polite society.

This is definitely one of those books you need to be in the right
mood to read. I think perhaps if I had been this book may have
scored 4 stars. As it was I initially found it a bit confusing. You keep
switching between the present, Esme's memories, Iris' memories
and Kitty's mind (these bits are particularly confusing as she
constantly switches to different time frames mid memory because
she's suffering Alzheimer's). Once you get past this and into the story
it's actually quite enjoyable. It shows how families coped with
post-colonialism, and how women were expected to behave and were
treated in 1930s polite society. It's dark in its way and as the story
progresses you gradually uncover more and more hidden secrets.

O'Farrell is also very good at throwing you off track. At first you
genuinely think Esme is not right in the head and then you realise
she's just different which wasn't acceptable at the time. There are
other instances of this but I won't spoil the storyline by telling you
about them!

In terms of writing style I'm not a huge fan of novels that flick
constantly between characters and at a rate of a page or two
between  switches. It does eventually work and by the end of the
book you  understand why its been written that way but initially it
is incredibly  frustrating. I did admire the bits where Kitty is the one
reflecting because I felt it was very very well done. I haven't had to
deal with  Alzheimer's myself but from what I know about it from
friends who have it is almost like the person has no control over
their chain of thoughts. They don't necessarily forget but their ability
to distinguish between reality,  dreams and memories goes. It just
somehow felt a very real depiction of what someone with Alzheimer's
might be thinking.

As with 'The Kabul Beauty School' I finished the book feeling infinitely
glad that I live in the here and now and that even if I were living in
the 1930s I come from a working class family so wouldn't have had
the life Esme and Kitty did. I'm also glad that I have a much better
relationship with my own sister! Although I wasn't in the mood for it
this weekend it was still a good read and definitely worth trying. Just
have a bit of patience with it!

*3 stars*

This review has been submitted by e-mail.


If you enjoyed this why not try 'The Behaviour of Moths' by Poppy Adams?

If you want to find out more about this book why not visit Amazon UK by visiting the following link
The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

Lily lives on a farm in South Carolina with her father T Ray and Rosaleen. Rosaleen has been looking after Lily since her mother died ten years ago. Convinced she is responsible for her mother's death and an outcast in her small community Lily leads a lonely life. Then Rosaleen is attacked on her way to register to vote. Rosaleen is black and so she is arrested rather than her attackers. Lily helps Rosaleen escape and they become fugitives. On the run with no where to go they stumble across a brightly painted pink house and three sisters who tend bees. So begins a summer of discovery for Lily who must come to terms with her past and her present to be able to decide on her future.

This book is very much a 'coming of age story'. Set in the deep south of America in 1964, the year Lyndon Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act the key theme of this book is racism. Lily is in some ways quite naive about the racial hatred towards the black community. She is surprised by the attack on Rosaleen and has no idea her life might be in danger until her father tells her this when taking her home after being arrested with Rosaleen. Yet by the end of the book you're desperately wishing Lily's acceptance of the black people around her could be adopted by the white community as a whole. At one point a police officer visits the pink house and suggests that Lily shouldn't be lowering herself by staying there and I really just wanted to slap him one! Living in the modern world where such blatant racism is considered unusual and highly disgusting rather than the norm it is hard to really understand the vast majority of the white characters in the book. You sympathise with Lily and the black characters of this book.

The book is very easy to read, and very straightforward. I must admit that I wasn't expecting the twist at the end of the book and I applaud the author for not falling into the trap of making the ending 100% uplifting. I won't say more than that for fear of giving it all away! This book was also a very quick read, I started about 10:30pm last night and was finished by 1am. Although I couldn't put it down because I wanted to see what would happen it didn't grab me in the way that 'The Book of Lost Things' or 'The Kabul Beauty School' did. I can't decide if it was because I felt parts of this story were a little too 'convenient' and had a 'been done before' flavour. The book reminds me of 'How to Make an American Quilt', the 'Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood' and 'To Kill a Mockingbird'. It's got elements from each in it. It was a good read and I did enjoy it but it was very much a light read for me.

*3 stars*