Book Review: Poppet by Mo Hayder

The Maude is outside. It wants to come in.
It wants to sit on your chest.
The mentally ill patients in Beechway High Secure Unit are highly suggestible. A hallucination can spread like a virus. When unexplained power cuts lead to a series of horrifying incidents, fear spreads from the inmates to the staff. Amidst the growing hysteria, AJ, a senior psychiatric nurse, is desperate to protect  his charges.
Detective Inspector Jack Caffery is looking for the corpse of a missing woman. He knows all too well how it feels to fail to find a loved one's body. When AJ seeks Caffery's help in investigating the trouble at Beechway, each man must face a butter truth in his own life. Before staring pure evil in the eye. 

I have been trying to read more books in the crime/thriller genre but I've struggled as it's hard to find good authors  as I find many books in this genre extremely predictable. I have no such problem with Mo Hayder, I think she is extraordinary, Poppet absolutely terrified me! It is part of the Jack Caffery series, I have only read one other book involving this character but I think he is a very interesting creation.
Jack is trying to find the corpse of a missing person, her family think she may still be alive but Jack knows for certain that she's dead; he just needs the body to prove it. It is during this case that Jack gets a call from AJ, he is a senior psychiatric nurse at the Beechway High Secure Unit. AJ is used to dealing with extreme situations and complex characters but a number of incidents at the unit have led him to ask questions. There have been a series of power cuts and during these some patients have mutilated themselves or even died. They talk of a featureless figure called The Maude, she is apparently the ghost of the hospital's Victorian matron. She is a dwarf in a white dress who sits on their chests and makes then inflict terrible injuries on themselves. Whilst trying to calm the situation down, AJ begins to wonder whether the patients are really hallucinating or does The Maude really exist, when do you start taking the crazy people seriously?
Poppet had the hairs on the back of my neck standing up from the very beginning. Mo Hayder is a master of dropping in macabre and sinister details into her story which play on your mind, she is continually ramping up the tension. Hayder has obviously done her research, her presentation of Beechway and it's patients seems highly realistic. The patients' description of The Maude are chilling and I found myself constantly questioning whether they have any foundation or are they just the ramblings of the mentally ill?
I loved the plot twists towards the end of the book, Mo Hayder is certainly not predictable. I didn't see what was coming at all but when I thought back, I could see all of the clues that Mo Hayder had scattered the story with.
Poppet is a terrifying, gripping read which I highly would recommend, Mo Hayder has reminded me how much I enjoy reading this genre.

Dot Scribbles Rating: 5/5

Many thanks to the lovely Alison Barrow for sending me a copy of the book, Poppet is available now.

Book Review: The Perfect Retreat by Kate Forster

Two women are in desperate need of the perfect country retreat.
With the most sought after postcode in London, an Oscar on the shelf and a rock star husband, actress Willow Carruthers seems to have it all. But appearances can be deceiving.
Kitty Middlehurst, nanny to Willow's three children, is used to discreetly making things happen. But a life changing secret forces her to rethink her position.
When Willow suddenly falls from grace, Kitty offers her and the children the perfect place to hide- Middlemist Manor, the crumbling ancestral home of Kitty and her reclusive brother, Merritt.
As both women leave the trouble of their London lives behind for the tranquility of country living, their problems begin to disperse. That is, until Merritt returns home unannounced...

I  missed Kate Forster's first book which I highly regret after having read The Perfect Retreat. It is such a good read, I'm so excited to have found a new author whose books I know I will enjoy.
Willow Carruthers looks as though she has it all, the perfect home and children, an Oscar on the mantlepiece and a rock star husband lusted after by women world wide. However, it all comes crashing down and Willow needs to hide. Kitty is Willow's nanny an she offers her the use of Middlemist Manor, the crumblin
g country estate left to her and her brother Merritt. Willow jumps at the chance to get away and Middlemist is perfect. Merritt returns while she is there which makes Willow questions everything, does she want her old life back or is there something better out there?
Kitty has to face up to her past by returning to Middlemist. She knows she has been running away but she has a huge secret which she can't bear to share with anyone. Yet she sees Willow making changes and begins to think that she should be doing the same but she has no idea where to begin.
The characters really made this book. Willow and Kitty are both extremely likable but they are far from perfect which obviously makes them very interesting. Willow's children Poppy, Lucien and Jinty are adorable and Poppy in particular brings a lot of humour to the story.
Kate Forster's writing style appears effortless; she packs so much into each chapter; I  just couldn't stop reading.
The Perfect Retreat is an entertaining, romantic and page-turning read, I highly recommend Kate Forster as an author.

Dot Scribbles Rating: 5/5

Many thanks to the lovely people at Harper Collins for sending me a review copy, The Perfect Retreat is out now!

Book Review: The Accidental Husband by Jane Green

Maggie and Sylvie are perfect strangers: two very different women, living very different lives on opposite coasts. But they share more in common than they could ever imagine.
Both women have beautiful children on the verge of flying the nest, the home they worked hard to build and always longed for, and a handsome and devoted husband that they can't believe belongs to them. Both women think their lives are seamlessly secure, but they couldn't be more wrong...
For each is about to discover a secret that will shake their world to the very core, throwing into doubt everything they ever thought they knew, and bringing Maggie and Sylvie together in the most unexpected way.

The Accidental Husband by Jane Green is one of my favourite books of 2013 so far! I literally flew through it, completely gripped by the story and characters.
I don't want to spoil the plot so I shall try and discuss the plot without giving too much away. Sylvie and Maggie live two very different lives on the opposite coasts of America. Sylvie has her teenage daughter Evie from her first marriage which ended tragically with her husband's death. Sylvie's new husband travels a lot with work so she's trying to keep herself busy as she knows things will be a lot quieter when Evie leaves for university. She also begins to question why Mark has to travel so much, surely he could be at home a lot more?
Maggie is the perfect trophy wife, everything about her is immaculate; her appearance, her home, her marriage, or so she thought. She has three children and enough money in the bank to buy whatever she wants. Her whole world is about appearances so when it all comes crashing down, she very quickly finds out who her real friends are.
Jane Green's story telling captured me from the very beginning. I quickly worked out the connection between Sylvie and Maggie but I wasn't disappointed as I was intrigued as to how they would find out and more importantly, what they would do once they kne
w.
The book is mainly written from Maggie and Sylvie's perspectives with some input from other characters towards the end. This made the book very personal and I quickly got a good picture of these two women.
I took to the character of Sylvie more but I think that is because she is more independent than Maggie and not defined by her marriage. Maggie on the other hand was exactly the kind of woman I can't stand, she focuses on how everything appears rather than appreciating the important things in life. Maggie is the character who changes the most and I did like her more towards the end of the book but I did wonder if she would have just carried on as she was if she hadn't discovered her husband's secret?
The storyline and character that really got to me was Sylvie's daughter Evie. She is already struggling before everything happens but once the secret is out, she completely falls apart. What started as a but to lose a little bit of weight has developed into a full blown eating disorder. I thought that Jane Green handeld this issue so well. I have experience of this myself and I think she really showed the control element of an eating disorder plus the reality that only the individual can get themselves back on track. Sylvie is hugely supportive to Evie but until she wants to be well again, there is not much that she can do. Towards the end of the book, this storyline had me in tears and I have huge admiration for Jane Green and the way she presented it.
The Accidental Husband is a truly brilliant read. The characters and story lines had a depth that I wasn't really expecting. I'm embarrassed to admit that this is the first book by Jane Green that I have read but I shall definitely be checking out her back catalogue and future releases.

Dot Scribbles Rating: 5/5

Many thanks to the lovely Katie at Penguin for sending me a copy of this book to review, The Accidental Husband is out now!

Book Review: Husband, Missing by Polly Williams

When you know, you know.
This is what Gina told friends when she married Rex six months after meeting him. Passionately in love, Gina feels like the luckiest woman on the planet.
Until Rex vanishes without a trace on holiday abroad. Her dream new marriage slipping into a nightmare, Gina never wavers in her belief that he's alive. That she'll find him. When her frantic search unearths troubling secrets from Rex's past, Gina begins to questions how well she really knows her beloved husband. But sometimes when all seems lost, unexpected, wonderful things are found...

I have read and very much enjoyed Polly Williams' last two books, It Happened One Summer and The Angel at No. 33 but I think that this is her best yet. I read Husband, Missing in just over a day, I was completely addicted to the story and characters.
Gina married Rex just six months after meeting him, believing herself and having to convince others that he was definitely the one. She is passionately in love with her new husband and so is completely devastated when she hears that he has disappeared whilst on a lad's holiday. All Gina knows is that Rex decided to go windsurfing in the early hours of the morning and didn't return. Whilst there is no body, Gina refuses to believe that her husband is dead ev
en though she is fully aware that her friends and family have already begun mourning.
Gina considers herself to be Rex's soul mate but as she begins looking in to their affairs and asking questions, she begins to wonder who exactly she was married to. More and more people come forward with a very different description of Rex's character than the one she knows, she still wants his back but wonders if she had the real Rex in her life?
Through all of this turmoil, Gina relies heavily on Rex's younger brother, Jake. Rex had always kept him at arms length but he does nothing but care for Gina, She knows he believes that Rex is alive too and is one of the few who will still help her look for him. Gina is confused by her relationship with Jake too, is it right to feel so close to Rex's brother and why did Rex keep such a distance from him?
As I said, I have really enjoyed Polly Williams last two books but Husband, Missing felt slightly different; perhaps slightly darker and a little more grown up. The author makes you feel like you are there in the situation with the characters which is no easy feat. I was completely gripped by Gina's situation from the start but as she discovered more and more about Rex, I just couldn't put the book down, I had to know what would happen next.
Husband, Missing is a fantastic read, the story has terrific pace and you will now be able to stop turning the pages, I highly recommend it.

Dot Scribbles Rating: 5/5

Many thanks to the lovely Caitlin at Headline Review for sending me a copy of the book to review, it is out now.

Book Review: Somebody Else's Shoes by Tiffany Wright

Frumpy, insecure, London real-life journalist Mia is unfulfilled with her life. Her job interviewing the weird and wonderful people of the world is thankless, she doesn't have a love life and her family are on the brink of driving her to the edge. If she were a pair of shoes she would be ballet pumps- reliable, comfortable and just a little  bit dull.
Gorgeous Natasha Logue is a celebrity fashion stylist with everything she could possibly want at her feet. Her days are spent smooching around with celebs, wearing outrageously expensive clothes and dating London's sexiest men. She is the epitome of a Louboutin- sleek, stylish and the envy of every other woman out there.
But one day Mia and Natasha's worlds collide in a way neither could imagine possible and suddenly the shoes are on the other foot. But will a new chance of life be the opportunity both women need to change? Or is the grass always greener? We discover what it's really like walking in somebody else's shoes.

I have really enjoyed reading Somebody Else's Shoes by Tiffany Wright. I found her writing style to be refreshing and witty and I think we have a lot to look forward to from this new author.
Mia is pretty fed up, she is generally fed up in life. Her career is not as planned or wanted and there is no one to come home to at the end of the day to make it all better. I won't disclose how but Mia ends up swapping lives with the gorgeous Natasha Logue. She is the stylist to the stars; she has a wardrobe to die for, a successful business and an extremely busy love life.
At first Mia thinks she will never be able to walk in Natasha's shoes but she soon begins to like her reflection in the mirror and believe that her completely disrespectful demands are totally acceptable. Mia must question whether she must do whatever it takes to get her old life back or is she happier being Natasha even if it means changing who she is forever?
Somebody Else's Shoes is a really clever life-swap story. Mia goes through so many life changes and realisations in the book, there were times when I thought she was vile but that's the whole point of these kinds of stories.
Tiffany Wright's background in magazine journalism really does shine through. I loved the sneek peek into the world of fashion with all its drama and glamour. Somebody Else's Shoes is extremely poignant and I liked the fact that the ending was not as predictable as I had perhaps thought it would be. There are many entertaining moments in the book and Tiffany's writing style keeps you wanting more as each chapter slips easily into the next.
I would have liked to have learned more about the changes in Natasha. The focus is mainly on Mia and I would have been very interested to see how, if at all Natasha changes?
Somebody Else's Shoes is an entertaining and thought provoking read, I'm looking forward to Tiffany Wright's next book already!

Dot Scribbles Rating: 4/5

Somebody Else's Shoes is available now here.

Book review: The Lies You Told Me by Jessica Ruston

When Klara was a child, her mother vanished from her life. All she has left is a handful of stories, passed down from the father who raised her. Klara believes she has long ago come to terms with her mother's disappearance, but then she receives a note and key from someone who calls themselves 'N.R'. These lead her to a storeroom, full of the remnants of her mother's past, and to the diary she kept all those years ago. Within its pages, Klara discovers a woman who doesn't quite match the portrait her father has painstakingly painted for her, and a story that leads her to question everything- and everyone- she thought she knew...

I thought that Jessica Ruston's  last book The Darker Side of Love was fantastic so I was very excited to receive her latest one. The Lies You Told Me is also fantastic, Jessica Ruston is a superb story-teller, she draws you in straight away and you are completely absorbed by the end of the first chapter.
Klara's mother disappeared when she was a child and her father told her she had died abroad. However, Klara receives a letter and a key; the key is for a storeroom which contains some of her mother's belongings, most importantly, her diary. Klara begins to discover the many secrets her mother kept which leads her to realise the many secrets her father has had to keep over the years too. She has been told so many lies; Klara begins to question her whole life, why the need for the lies and elaborate stories, what is she being protected from?
The Lies You Told Me flits between the present day which we see through Klara's eyes and then London in the 70's which is presented in Klara's mother's diary entries. Klara has to fit everything together in order to reach the truth.. Who was her mother and what is her father hiding? Klara doesn't just learn new things about her family members but about herself, the way in which she reacts to this new information affects her current relationship, she questions the way in which she behaves, is she like the mother she didn't know?
Jessica Ruston has written such an interesting book. I loved how everything came together at the very end but there were still some surprises. The whole book is about lies, the good ones and the bad ones plus the ones we don't even realise we are telling.
I highly recommend this book, The Lies You Told Me is a gripping read that I really struggled to put down.

Dot Scribbles Rating:  5/5

Many thanks to the lovely people at Headline Review for sending me a copy of the book, it is available now!