The Only Child by Andrew Pyper.

Dr. Lily Dominick is a forensic psychiatrist and she has a new client number 46872 - A, a man with no name. Follow Lily as she goes on a journey to discover the identity of this strange man.

I was attracted to this book because it was recommended by two of my friends on Goodreads and because I liked the title as I have no brothers or sisters. I started reading this book with an open mind when suddenly I was informed of client’s 46872 - A, age - you’ve got to be kidding me I thought! But then this novel shifts back a long time and reveals the history of client 46872 - A. It was then that I discovered what a great author and storyteller Andrew Pyper truly is. This book is NOT of a genre of novel that I normally read but Andrew skillfully draws on the knowledge of the horror tales we all enjoyed in our childhood to add a legitimacy to his story. So I sat back and escaped into a make believe world of horror with a dramatic pursuit of the truth.

The quality of writing in this novel is top rate and I love the way Andrew makes the whole tale sound true. By weaving the guts of three horror stories we enjoyed from our childhood into his tale, you feel as though this story is steeped in history. The reading experience I got from this book was very high indeed. The characterization of both Lily and client 46872 - A was very deep and rewarding. The supporting characters were also sharply portrayed which simply adding to the tension running throughout the story.

I found The Only Child to be a great story and although not true to life, was very easy to engage with this make believe horror. It is a book that really entertains and would make a great film for all ages to enjoy. I agree with my friends on Goodreads that The Only Child is a 5 star read, so it gets 5 stars from me too! 

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Simon & Schuster for giving me a copy of this book on the understanding that I provide an honest review.

Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal.

Nikki gets a job to teach creative writing to women at a Sikh temple in Southall, a district of west London, close to Heathrow Airport. This novel tells the tale of Nikki, some Punjabi widows and the stories they make together.

Okay, first things first, ignore the title as this novel is NOT porn. Yes, the Punjabi Widows can tell some saucy tales but these are not crude and are not a source for masturbation. This novel is about a community, how it works and what is important to them.

Politicians have complained about people living parallel lives and this book enables the reader to understand the long standing Punjabi community in west London. Balli explains the culture very well indeed and by the end of this book I felt as though the characters were my neighbours. Even their Punjabi first names seemed so familiar after a short while.

I found this book very easy to read and follow. Although the creative writing classes were held in a Sikh temple, Balli does NOT include religion in her novel. The overall feeling of this book was sweet, even though there was some danger near the end.

There is some mild humour in the way Balli tells her story, for example…

Worst of all, the title of her blurb made her sound like a supermarket seasoning mix: Mindi Grewal, East-West Mix.

and also…

She wandered around for a while but avoided asking for directions. She had once entered a church in Islington looking for directions and made the mistake of telling the minister that she had lost her way. The ensuing conversation about locating her inner spirituality took forty-five minutes and did nothing to point towards the Victoria line.

Then we have the lovely little bits of Punjabi culture to enlighten the reader, for example…

‘Hai, you idiot’ Mum said. ‘Why didn’t you put it in a microwaveable container first?’

‘Why didn’t you store it in one?’ Nikki asked. ‘Ice-cream tubs are misleading.’ It was a suggestion stirred from years of crushed hopes from searching Mum’s fridge for dessert and instead discovering blocks of frozen curry.

‘The containers work just fine,’ Mum said. ‘They’re free.’

and also…

‘My mother-in-law did the same thing,’ Arvinder said. ‘Not on the wedding night, she left us alone that night. But many nights I’d fall asleep and wake up to see her snoring peacefully between us. I asked my husband, “Doesn’t that noise bother you?” He said, “Noise? What noise? She’s my mother.”’

… I enjoyed reading this novel, it was not erotic but sweet and warm. It shone the light on people living parallel lives in Britain and how we all share love and loyalty with our families. The most moving part of this story for me was not Nikki or any of the Punjabi widows but an old married couple, Sarab and his wife Kulwinder who gave Nikki the teaching job at the temple. Kulwinder went back to India for a holiday and when she returned Sarab took her straight to a McDonald’s…

She pictured him sitting there every evening, ordering his regular meal - Fillet-O-Fish and Chicken McNuggets - and chewing slowly to pass the time. The prepared meals would still be in the freezer when she got home, and she would defrost them for dinner for the next few weeks. This happened every time she went away without him. In a strange way, it was comforting. If Sarab couldn’t eat home-cooked food without her, it meant he had missed her, a sentiment he would never express in words. It also reminded Kulwinder that he would survive without her.

...So, enough of the quotes, I found this a GOOD book that was refreshing to read and I vote it 4 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Harper Collins UK for giving me a copy of this book on the understanding that I provide an honest review.

The Promise by Casey Kelleher.

This novel is set in south London and deals with drugs and prostitution. Follow a good range of characters as they get on with their daily lives trying to do their level best to improve the quality of life.

I found The Promise to be a brilliant read. It puts the reader into a different world of how some people live. I loved the way Casey told her story, in particular how she detailed the private thoughts of her characters. Most novels have dialogue between characters and you have to take their words at face value. But in The Promise after the dialogue you are given the private thoughts of a character as to what they really think of the other person. This knowledge adds so much more to the story.

I have NEVER used drugs or prostitutes but The Promise gives you a thrilling ride that includes drug use and sex. Yet for all the thrill of the drug use and sex, Casey managed to give the thrill without making the reader feel uncomfortable. You could pass this book onto your grandmother and she would not be offended. Casey has a great skill at describing things you have never experienced or wanted to do but still get a great buzz from your favourite seat without any of the danger or making you feel uncomfortable. Casey has that measured skill of just revealing enough to give a thrill to the reader without causing any distaste.

I liked Casey’s balance of characters, there were prostitutes, punters, a drug dealer, a pimp, a pub landlord, vulnerable children and social workers. I liked the tension woven into the story where you were guessing what would happen next. Many characters were making promises but sadly these were not upheld. There were many twists and turns in this novel and a big surprise at the end. I liked how creepy Casey made Javine’s treatment by Delray and Lenny, you can imagine what fun they had with her but Casey did not disclose the details to the reader but left them to their imagination. So the tension builds and I started to worry about the safety of Javine’s two pet dogs called Dolce & Gabbana.

I found The Promise a pleasure to read, it was thrilling and very engaging, allowing me to enter into another world. This type of escapism with all it’s urban reality is such a joy to read. I got such a buzz from this book that I have no doubt in voting it the top score of 5 stars. This is quality writing that would also make a great television drama.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Bookouture for giving me a copy of this book on the understanding that I provide an honest review.

Little Girl Lost by Carol Wyer.

Follow DI Robyn Carter in this British crime thriller as she tries to get to the bottom of family secrets and a number of suspicious deaths.

I found this novel a frustrating read. It is not a regular crime thriller told only from the Police’s point of view but from all the characters involved. Family secrets are hinted at but you are kept in the dark for a very long time. All this hinting from the characters becomes very tedious. To add further frustration, the characters change their names and identity through this novel. There is a lot of misdirection throughout this story but this does not come across as clever, just annoying.

I did not find Little Girl Lost to be an enjoyable read but quite a drag. It did not give me a buzz and did not entertain or enlighten me. I did not develop an empathy for any of the characters. I thought the writing was soap opera quality and it started to grate on me very early on. One character’s chapters were always written in Italics which was both annoying and distracting plus the time frame jumped back and forth between present time normal text characters and the Italic text character explaining what they had done earlier. Sadly Little Girl Lost brings nothing new to the crowded crime thriller genre and this POOR read gets just 2 stars from me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Bookouture for giving me a copy of this book on the understanding that I provide an honest review.