Book Review no 9: Beyond Fear by Jaye Ford

Having recently read Jaye Ford's other book (Scared Yet?), I was really looking forward to reading this one and it definitely didn't disappoint. Once again the setting is in NSW, close to Newcastle - although this time it is a remote B&B in the middle of nowhere. This, of course, is a perfect setting for a thriller/suspense novel.

Four mothers set off for a weekend away from kids/husbands. Driving along a quiet, dark country road they are run off the road by another car - forcing them to stop and wait for help. While all the women are shaken by the ordeal, it is Jodie who is freaked out the most. Unknown to her friends she was a witness to a horrific crime years before and bears physical and emotional scars as a result.

Book Review no 8: Where Have You Been? by Wendy James

Having recently read Wendy's most recent novel The Mistake, I couldn't wait to read another one of her books and Where Have You Been was also a gripping read.

Susan Middleton is living a comfortable suburban life in Sydney. Married to the unexciting but stable Ed and with two young children, she has managed to overcome the trauma of seeing her older sister disappear more than twenty years before and watching her mother suffer mental illness until her recent death. Her mother's will, however, has a major twist. Before the estate can be settled, efforts must be made to locate Susan's missing sister Karen, so she can claim her inheritance. Similar to The Mistake, Wendy James has taken a compelling topic and spun it into a mystery that captured my attention from the first page. 

Book Review no: 7 Scared Yet? by Jaye Ford

Wow, this book really packs a punch! It kept me engrossed from start to finish (and like a couple of the other reviewers I was up until the early hours because I just couldn't put it down).

Livia Prescott is an average single mother living and working in suburban Newscastle, when one night she is attacked while walking to her car in a dark, multi-storey carpark. Fortunately she has the strength and courage to fight back, and while shaken, she walks away relatively unscathed. Her friends and workmates praise her quick thinking and she vows to get on with her life.

Then the notes start arriving. Short and jarring they taunt her, asking if she is "scared yet?" Now Livia realises that far from being a random, opportunistic attack, she was actually specifically targeted and is now being stalked.

Book Review no 6: The Old School by P.M. Newton

This is more than just a crime novel. While there is a crime at the centre of it, so many other elements are also explored - the city of Sydney, the era of the 1990s, police corruption... as well as the cultural aspects of Aboriginal people and their ongoing fight for justice and the lingering aftereffects of the Vietnam war.
Detective Nhu 'Ned' Kelly works at Bankstown in Sydney's west. When a set of bones are found in concrete (that was poured in the 1970s) she is drawn into the mystery on both a professional and personal level. The mystery is compelling. While not overly suspenseful to begin with, it does build to an edge of your seat read as the story progresses.

Book Review no 5: Watch Out For Me by Sylvia Johnson

It’s a typical Australian summer in 1967. Long hot days, the childhood freedom to roam and explore to your heart’s content (as you could back then), sunburn and bare feet. Four children (three siblings and their cousin) are holidaying at a beach shack in the small town of Bradley’s Head. Amidst their idyllic summer holiday, a baby goes missing and the children tell a lie to keep themselves out of trouble. Of course they have no way of foreseeing what dire consequences their seemingly small fib will have. Fast forward to 2005 and those children are spread around the globe – Hannah is in Sydney, Lizzie in Morocco and Richard in Rome. They haven’t seen their cousin Toby since that summer - then his reappearance in their lives coincides with a series of seemingly unconnected world events that sees each of them struggling with a personal demon of some sort.

Book Review no 4: Wings of Fear by Helene Young

Captain Morgan Pentland hasn’t had an easy life, but she has worked hard to create a great career for herself as a pilot patrolling the vast Queensland coastline. Immediately curious when customs agent Rafe Daniels joins her crew, she soon realises there is more to him than meets the eye. What Morgan doesn’t realise is that Rafe has her under surveillance as a suspected leak in a terrorist plot. It’s only when their plane is shot down that they realise they have limited time to prevent an attack that could devastate Sydney.

Book Review no 3: The Mistake by Wendy James

The first thing I was struck by when I read this book was the striking similarity to the Kelli Lane case (involving a water polo player who was charged with the murder of her baby when she couldn’t prove it had been “unofficially” adopted out). I’m not sure if this novel is loosely based on that or whether it’s just an eerie coincidence – in any case, whatever the inspiration for the plot, this book is an absolutely compelling read.

One of the first things I really liked about this story was how quickly it got to the point, without any drawn out lead up. Jodie Garrow has been harbouring a secret for almost twenty five years and, as often happens, it is revealed in the most unlikely way – through a series of unusual events that all thread together to create a personal disaster.

Book Review no 2: Free Falling by Nicola Moriarty

Told from the points of view of both Belinda and Evelyn, Free-Falling is a story about grief, loss and finding meaning in life when your whole world has imploded. The dual voice works really well – with alternating chapters further exploring each woman’s personal reaction to the death of a person they both adored. While Belinda is initially the more likable character and the one I felt more sympathetic towards, I was also drawn to Evelyn and increasingly curious to know what made her tick and why she hated a (seemingly) nice person so much. 

Book Review no 1: Under The Influence by Jacqueline Lunn

When they meet at a Sydney boarding school as twelve year olds, Eve, Meg and Sarah have no idea that their lives will remain linked by a nasty secret they all share. Now in their early thirties and separated by geography and vastly different lifestyles, the story begins when Eve (who is living in London) hears the news of Meg’s death. Travelling back to outback New South Wales for the funeral and meeting up with Sarah again, the women soon realise their past can no longer be banished to the further recesses of their minds, but must be dealt with before they can move on with their lives.

I really liked the way the story wove easily between present and past, illustrating clearly the background of the three friends and what has driven them to become the women they are. The depiction of a girls’ boarding school in Sydney comes across very accurately as does the incessant bullying that Eve suffers at the hands of “it” girl Rebecca Thornton. Tied in with this is the theme of consensus by silence – if you stand by and watch someone be bullied are you just as guilty? Yet it also acknowledges how powerless teenagers can feel when confronted by it – at that age your own survival and acceptance can sometimes mean putting aside personal ethics just to fit in.

Reading/Reviewing Challenges 2012

I am taking part in two reading and reviewing challenges in 2012 - The Australian Women Writers Challenge and the Great Aussie Reads Challenge. The aim of each is to read and review as many books in particular categories during 2012. Both are exciting and fun challenges which are raising awareness of Australian authors across all genres and putting readers in touch with exciting new books. I will post my reviews on this blog or you can check them on Goodreads.