Book Review: The Suspicions of Mr Whicher or The Murder at Road Hill House by Kate Summerscale

I have the internet in the form of a dongle supplied by my lovely sister so I shall be able to log on every now and again! It is very childish but the word dongle makes me giggle every time I say it!!
Anyway with the nights drawing in and the leaves beginning to change colour, it felt like the right time for a good old murder mystery. Kate Summerscale's book is truly excellent and the best thing about it is that it is all true:

It is midnight on 30th June, 1860 and all is quiet in the Kent family's elegant house in Road, Wiltshire. The next morning, however, they wake to find that their youngest son has been the victim of an unimaginably gruesome murder. Even worse, the guilty party is surely one of their own number- the house was bolted from the inside. As Jack Whicher, the most celebrated detective of his day, arrives at Road to track down the killer, the murder provokes national hysteria at the thought of what might be festering behind the closed doors of respectable middle-class homes- scheming servants, rebellious children, insanity, jealousy, loneliness and loathing.
This true story has all the hallmarks of a classic gripping murder mystery. A body, a detective, a country house steeped in secrets - it is the original Victorian whodunnit.

Obviously this book has a gripping, page-turning story as we follow Jack Whicher as he tries to discover what happened on that fateful night. I won't go into it too much as I don't want to give the plot away to anyone who hasn't read it yet. However, I will say that this book is so much more than the recounting of a murder case.
Kate Summercale's research covers so much ground yet she ties it all together perfectly, almost as though she has been playing detective herself. I think that we take it for granted that we have hundreds of police detectives nowadays but Jack Whicher was one of the very first in the UK and at that time there was merely a handful of them. The public in the main disliked detectives and their methods, they were vilified in the press for their handling of cases and often treated with as much suspicion as the villains they pursued.
The class issue was a major problem, it was deemed improper by many that a detective from a humble background could be allowed to question and accuse people of a higher social standing. This is exactly what happened with the Road Hill House case, Jack Whicher had no choice but to suspect and point the finger at a member of this seemingly respectable middle-class family.
Kate Summerscale gives the reader so much information to take away with them, I know that I will want to re-read this book again in the future. I loved how Summerscale highlights the new ground that detectives such as Whicher were having to break. They were the first of their kind so they had to create their own rules and codes of conduct as they went along and obviously this caused many a problem .
As I have said, the author explores many different avenues using the murder at Road, however, I found the influence it has had on literature to be the most interesting aspect of the book. Summerscale highlights throughout the book how writers of the day such as Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins took the true life events and used them in their fictional creations. Dickens especially was fascinated with the figure of the detective and he personally spent time with Whicher and his colleagues learning about the type of men they were and where their job led them. Kate Summerscale describes how Wilkie Collins' books, especially The Moonstone and The Woman in White were influenced by the real life murder cases of the time and the fate of both the victim and the murderers.
If you are a murder mystery fan then I would highly recommend this book. I feel as though I have learnt so much about the origin of the detective novel and the way in which shocking, real-life events were fictionalised by some of the greatest writers of our time.
Reading The Suspicions of Mr Whicher has got me ready to take part in Sensation Season which is being hosted by Simon over at Savidge Reads. Simon is working his way through some of the greatest sensation novels ever written, a number of which are by the excellent Wilkie Collins. I shall be joining in by reading The Woman in White which I am looking forward to even more now. I love it when a book leads you to read others, the following will be added to my TBR pile thanks to Kate Summerscale's excellent writing and enthusiasm:

The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

Book Review: The Love of My Life by Louise Douglas

Wow, this book completely blew me away, it is definitely the best book that I have read so far this year. This is Louise Douglas' debut novel which is hard to believe as you read it due to how accomplished the writing is. Here is the story:

Olivia knew she'd never love anyone like she'd loved Luca. He was everything to her, her whole world, and now he'd gone. They had grown up together in a bleak, northern, sea-side twon, where his family ran Marinella's restaurant, and when they eloped to London his mother never forgave Olivia for taking him away.
As she begins to try and come to terms with Lucas' death, Olivia realises that she has to return to Watersford, where he has been buried. It is in a chance meeting with his twin brother, Marc, that she realises his loss is almost as painful as her own. Their desolation leads them to follow a path which has no future, and which will prove to have devastating consequences for the entire family.

This book reminded me so much of Maggie O'Farrell's book After You'd Gone, these two books are the best that I have ever read about dealing with grief and loss.
Initially, I was quite shocked at Olivia starting a relationship with Marc so soon after Lucas' death but as I got to know her character and the relationship she had lost, I could understand how she could do such a thing, she needed to do it in order to grieve and move on in life.
I loved how Louise Douglas personified Olivia's grief as a black dog. I know that it is often a way of describing depression but I thought that it was so appropriate for grief. This black dog of grief becomes Olivia's faithful companion:

On the occasional instance when I forgot what had happened, the dog was there to remind me, its breath hot in my ear. At some point, I thought, I would have to chase the dog away, throw metaphorical stones at it or something. But for the time being I welcomed the dog into my own life, even went so far as to talk to it.

Louise Douglas really gets under the skin of Olivia; she is such an honest character, she has done things that she isn't proud of but she doesn't try to hide them. The book stirred up so many emotions in me and there was a couple of times that I had to put it down as it had made me cry. Even though I have never expereinced grief at the level that Olivia does in the book, I still felt as though I could identify with her. The author gives you such a complete picture and history of her and Luca's relationship that you can fully understand her pain.
This book is beautifully written, the subject matter is dealt with brilliantly, I can't wait for Louise Douglas' next book.

Book Review: Memoirs Are Made of This by Swam Adamson

This was a much longer book than I expected but I have really enjoyed it. The central character, Venus Gilroy shows us how to get ahead in journalism:

1. Take a job as PA to a glamorous writer, like Susanna Hyde, author of the wildly popular sex column Nothing to Hyde.
2. Spend your days running errands and delivering 'you've been dumoed' messages to ex-lovers who are yesterday's news. Realise life in Manhattan is not as glamorous as you expected.
3. But when the boss asks you to cover her column, do not, repeat do not, prove to be better at writing about sex than she is.
4. And when one day you accidentally hit it off a little too well with Susanna's lastest ex-toy-boy, sexy writer Josh O'Connell, keep this information very secret from her.

Memoirs Are Made of This is a really good story of a young woman trying to make a new life for herself in Manhattan and a new career for herself in the ruthless world of publishing. It was a little like The Devil Wears Prada with the glamorous setting of New York and the world of magazine publishing. There were not many twists and turn but it was still a good read.

Interrupted Blogging!

Just to let you know that I am going to be without the internet on and off over the next few weeks!! I know, it's not great and I am going to miss reading everyone's blogs but Mr S has a hospital placemement near his parents for 6 weeks so we will be staying with them in the week to save him the long commute. Now Mr S' parents are not dinosaurs but they are moving house and so their internet is not on at the moment, hence no blogging for me in the week! We shall be popping back to the Shire at the weekends though so I am hoping to get my blogging fix then! I have just finished reading Memoirs are Made of This which was a lovely light read (review to come) and I started The Love of my Life by Louise Douglas last night and it has totally blown me away, I think I will probably have finished it by the end of the day so there will be a review for that soon too!! Mr S took me to see Julie & Julia at the cinema yesterday and it was a really lovely film which I shall have to write a post for, I am worried that I may develop a bit of an obsession with Julia Childs over the next few months, I shall definitely be reading more about her in the future! Well have a good week and I shall hopefully get to catch up with your blogs and reviews at the weekend!

Booking Through Thursday: Recent Enjoyable

What’s the most enjoyable, most fun, most just-darn-entertaining book you’ve read recently?

(Mind you, this doesn’t necessarily mean funny, since we covered that already. Just … GOOD.)

I like this one! I can't really pick just one book, there have been quite a few that have stood out for me recently! I loved The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton, I just could not put it down as I was so drawn in by the plot and characters. Her first book, The House at Riverton is also a good read but I though this one was excellent. My reading choices have been quite varied recently depending on mood, The Seance by John Harwood is a very dark and mysterious book and has one of my favourite book covers of the year! My third and final choice would have to be Rumour Has It by Jill Mansell, I have only read two of her books so far but I know that I have found a new author to enjoy!

What about you, what has been your most enjoyable, recent read?

Review: Holly Would Dream by Karen Quinn

I read one of Karen Quinn's other books, The Ivy Chronicles, a few years ago and really enjoyed it. Holly Would Dream sounded like it would be just as good:

Holly Ross is a fashion historian and life seems to be going well for her; she is a month away from marrying Alessandro, a top Broadway star and she is promised a huge promotion at work. Yet it all goes wrong and Holly finds herself homeless, jobless and with her own wedding to cancel.
The answers to all her problems lie on the super luxurious cruise ship, Tiffany Star and one of its billionaire passengers, Denis King, who Holly is hoping to secure a donation from and therefore her career in the process. But again things don't go smoothly and Holly somehow ends up trying to track down a suitcase full of Audry Hepburn gowns as Interpol are trying to track her down.

I went on a cruise for my honeymoon so I really loved the setting of this book on the Tiffany Star; Karen Quinn captured the atmosphere of a glamorous cruise ship with its varied passengers, gossip and cocktails! I am also a bit of an Audry Hepburn fan as is the character of Holly Ross so I thought that the references and comparisons to her classic films only added to the book.
The plot of this book may be a little far fetched but it does keep you reading as you follow Holly on her mission across Europe to get the priceless gowns back. This would make a perfect holiday read, especially if you were cruising the Mediterranean.
Karen Quinn has also managed to hide (some more than others) one hundred and twenty five references to Audry Hepburn and Cary Grant movies within the book so it's good fun to look out for those!

What Comes First?

What comes first, the character or the plot? This question has been puzzling me for the last few days. As some of you may be aware, I love writing and at the moment I feel like I am on a bit of a journey to discover the kind of thing I would like to write about. I have many ideas for characters and plots and sometimes they come together to form something that could work and sometimes they don't! I have been thinking about an idea for a central character for a while but I don't feel confident about the type of plot she would be involved in, if that makes any sense!!
Personally, when I read a book, the characters are the most important aspect, if I can't take to the characters or believe in them then I probably won't like the book. On the other hand a really bad plot can not always be salvaged by excellent characters. It's such a balancing act and it makes me have such a lot of respect for those authors who pull it off and make it seem effortless.
I'm not sure how others feel about this, do you prefer books that are character driven or do you need something with a really strong and intricate plot?

National Cupcake Week!!!

As I'm sure you are aware I am quite partial to the odd cupcake or two!! I've mentioned before that my lovely sister and her husband run their own cupcake company, Cupcakes & Peonies! Well it is National Cupcake week next week, 14th-19th September and Cupcakes and Peonies are running a sparkly competition where you can win a box of beautiful cupcakes delivered directly to your door!
The idea is that you have to email them and tell them if you were a cupcake (a dream I have had more than once!), what flavour would you be and why? Click here for the link to their delightful blog with more details on how to enter! Good Luck!

Dot Scribbles Suggests: The Girl Next Door by Elizabeth Noble

Ooooh I didn't realise that Elizabeth Noble had a new book coming out, The Girl Next Door is being released on 24th September so not long to wait! I have loved all of Elizabeth Noble's books, especially the last one, Things I Want My Daughters to Know.
Here's the idea for the new one:

What makes a house a home?
For Eve Gallagher, home is miles away in England since she and her husband relocated to an apartment building on New York's Upper East Side. And life isn't remotely coming up roses.

What makes a neighbour a friend?
Violet has lived in the building for decades but she's always kept herself apart, until Eve's loneliness touches her heart and friendship blossoms.

What makes a wife a lover?
Jason Kramer in apartment 6A is no longer sure he loves his wife, but he's head-over-heels for Rachael Schulman in 6B.

What makes the girl next door the woman of your dreams?
Meeting Emily Mikanowski from 3A turns Trip Grayling's world upside down. It's love at first sight, but he needs help from Charlotte, the shy romance addict in 2A, if he's going to win the girl.

Dreams come true, hearts are broken and no-one is left unchanged when the secrets and desires hidden behind closed doors are finally brought into the light.

How good does this sound? I am putting this on my wish list!

Review: Rumour Has It by Jill Mansell

My lovely sister lent me this after telling me how much she had enjoyed it. I'm so glad she did as I really struggled with the first Jill Mansell book that I read but I thought that this one was great.
Newly single, Tilly Cole quits her life and job in London to move to the small town of Roxborough, where her best friend Erin lives. Roxborough may be small but it is full of gossip, secrets and intrigue. Tilly gets a job as a Girl Friday for the lovely Max Dineen and his teenage daughter Lou. Whilst most women in the village think that Max is the perfect man, Tilly only has eyes for the gorgeous Jack Lucas but his reputation as the village Lothario is enough to hold her back. As Jack becomes more persistent, Tilly has to question whether she is making the biggest mistake of her life by keeping her distance.
There are a lot of lovely characters in this book and I found Roxborough to be completely believable. I sometimes found Tilly a little irritating as she was so stubborn. However, Jack Lucas is perfectly created and we learn more and more about him as the story develops.
I did not find Rumour Has It at all predictable; there was a huge twist that I really was not expecting and it was handled particularly sensitively. You are kept wondering right to the very last page as to whether Jack and Tilly will get together, especially with Tilly being so stubborn!
There are quite a few characters in this book, each with their own little plot and Jill Mansell weaves them all together to create a gripping story. I warmed to the characters instantly and read the book quickly to find out what happens to them all.
Rumour Has It has made me want to read more of Jill Mansell's books, I was a little negative about the other one that I read but this one has totally changed my opinion.

Review: Tell Me Something by Adele Parks

I have been meaning to read an Adele Parks book for a long time as her front covers always catch my eye. Tell Me Something sounded like a good place to start; it follows the character of Elizabeth, she has only ever wanted two things in life, an Italian husband and lots of bouncing babies. She meets and marries Roberto and begins planning the family that she longs for. However, Roberto is called back to Italy to help run the family business and Elizabeth is not met with the idyllic Italian life that she has been day dreaming about for many years. Rafaella, Elizabeth's terrifying mother-in-law and Ana-Maria, Roberto's gorgeous ex-fiance do not welcome her with open arms, instead they seem determined to destroy her marriage. Elizabeth is extremely lonely in Italy so she is over-joyed to make friends with Chuck, an American language tutor. At first she thinks she simply enjoys his company because she is able to converse in her native tongue with him, but as things become more strained with Roberto, she has to be honest with herself about her feelings for this new friend.
I love Italy so I really loved the setting of this book, it made me want to pack my suitcase and hop on a plane! The Italian characters are brilliant, Adele Parks manages to show their fiery, passionate nature alongside their strong family values. Rafaella is not a particularly nice character but she is the perfect, meddling Italian matriarch.
This book was quite long but the story moved really quickly and I really enjoyed the dialogue between the characters especially when up against the language barrier. I have another Adele Parks book sitting on my shelf waiting to be read, I'm really looking forward to reading it as I thought that Tell Me Something was a really good read.