Book Reviews March 2006

Synopsis: When Ginny became pregnant as an undergraduate years ago she never regretted her decision to leave university and raise her daughter as a single mum. Now, though, with nineteen-year-old Marie off travelling in her gap year, a blast from the past brings surprising news that threatens to throw her well-ordered life into disarray...And then suddenly Ginny's sister, impulsive, free-spirited Charlotte, returns from abroad. She has always prided herself on taking the road less travelled but now, bringing with her a surprise of her own, is she finally ready to settle down? Or does her heart lie somewhere further afield? And both Ginny and Charlotte are baffled by their mother's behaviour. Surely a woman whose husband has left her for another woman should be displaying more emotion than Jane exhibits? Is she hiding her grief beneath her calm exterior or could she really be happier living alone? Everything seems to be falling apart. But maybe it's just falling into place. Review: There's a delightful touch of farce about Linda's book - admittedly it's lightweight and frothy, but that doesn't mean it's not enjoyable - it is, it's a great airport or train journey read, and you'll find yourself warming to the characters readily enough. Once again, as with so many similar modern novels, it's a sad reflection on how easily people allow their relationships to break down, but it's witty and incisive, and captures easily the desperation most Mums feel when they get to see their daughters (and sons, of course) fly the nest for the first time. Above all, FALLING INTO PLACE is funny - I think the ending was a tad predictable, but that's not a bad thing - I am, after all a bit of a romantic  I like happy endings, and in saying that I hope I haven't spoilt it for you. This is one of those modern novels that sits easily on your stomach - you'll recognise the dialogue as your own, and some of you will also recognise the situations, too, sadly. But there's hope and warmth in it as well. I enjoyed it for what it is, and it doesn't pretend to be anything other than a 21st century romance.

Synopsis: To their neighbours in suburban Holt, New York, the Winters family has it all: a grand home, a trio of radiant daughters, and a sense of security in their affluent corner of America. But when five-year-old Ellie disappears, the fault lines within the Winters family are exposed. Fifteen years later, Caroline, now a New Orleans cocktail waitress, sees a photograph of a woman in People Magazine. Convinced that it is Ellie all grown up, Caroline embarks on a search for her missing sister. As she travels through the New Mexico desert, the mountains of Colorado, and the smoky underworld of Montana, she devotes herself to salvaging her broken family. "How To Be Lost" is a spellbinding novel about sisters, family secrets - and love. Review: Life in mid-town America? This is a skilfully woven balance between now and the past, a family torn apart by the disappearance of a younger sibling, presumed murdered, and Caroline's search for a true and lasting relationship. Above all this story demonstrated, for me, how different the regions of the vast country that constitutes the USA are; when Caroline arrives in Montana to search for Ellie, her missing sister, she feels as though she's in a different country. Thoroughly enjoyable.

  Synopsis: January 1970, and the final chapter in the Blackwood history appears to have closed with the murder in Cyprus of Lieutenant-Colonel Mike Blackwood, and the subsequent sale of the ancestral home. Disillusioned and grieving for his distinguished father, Lieutenant Ross Blackwood believes there is no future for him in the Corps. The Royal Marines have been reduced in strength, and their role in a modern world, after so splendid a tradition, diminished to policing and paperwork. But Ross remains a Blackwood and a Royal Marine, and the loyalty and dedication of a Blackwood to the Corps sustain him from vicious guerilla warfare in Malaysia through the moral and political minefields of Northern Ireland, where one man's terrorist is another's patriot, to the South Atlantic, and a conflict as bloody as it is unpredictable. And he learns, as every Blackwood has before him, that jungle or moor, insurrection or invasion, mere courage is not enough. Survival and victory balance on the knife edge of destiny. Review: Douglas Reeman works his magic again, with what appears to be the end of the Blackwood saga. Plenty of action, thrills and so on - Reeman's attention to military detail is exemplary, and his characters are sympathetic and real. Also published this month: It was an age of Empire, an age of contrast, and an age of dramatic change - and one which would determine the destinies of nations as well as of men. Captain Philip Blackwood of the Royal Marines rejoins his ship, HMS Audacious, in the August of 1850, anxious to get back into action. Per Mare - Per Terram is the Marines' motto. In the torturous heat of Africa, where they are sent to stamp out the remaining strongholds of slavery, and later, in the bitter war of the Crimea, Philip Blackwood and his men learn to obey it without question. The first novel in an enthralling and colourful saga, spanning 150 years in the history of a great seafaring family and the tradition in which they served, Badge of Glory is a stunning new departure for one of Britain's master storytellers.

Synopsis: Jess and Nancy, girls from very different backgrounds, are nursing in France during the Great War. They have much in common for both have lost their lovers in the trenches, so when the war is over and they return to nurse in Liverpool, their future seems bleak. Very soon, however, their paths diverge. Nancy marries an Australian stockman and goes to live on a cattle station in the Outback, while Jess marries a Liverpudlian. Both have children; Nancy's eldest is Pete, and Jess has a daughter, Debbie, yet their lives couldn't be more different. When the second world war is declared, Pete joins the Royal Air Force and comes to England, promising his mother that he will visit her old friend. In the thick of the May blitz, with half of Liverpool demolished and thousands dead, Pete arrives in the city to find Jess's home destroyed and her daughter missing. Pete decides that whatever the cost, he must find her...From the rigours of the Australian Outback to war-ravaged Liverpool, Debbie and Pete are drawn together...and torn apart... Review: Memory Lane at its very finest! Katie's book reads like a cross between THE SULLIVANS, that first and great old Aussie soap, and a very English saga, switching easily between Liverpool and Oz, with dialogue that is both realistic and homely. This a rattling good yarn you'll want to get to the end of - well-plotted, well thought out, and Katie never lets you down. Watch out for an author profile in the coming months.

As a contract agent of the CIA Café, the agency’s black-budget Contract Agents for Economics, Terry Weston played a clandestine game of espionage against the spy services of Europe in which nobody got badly hurt. But the game becomes deadly for Terry, his wife Maria and their six-year-old daughter when old allies turn into bitter enemies. The Europe where Americans once vacationed is fading from memory. Germany is bankrupt, NATO dissolved. A supersized Greater European Union, led by France and Russia, engages in political brinksmanship to American power. Only Terry and Maria can penetrate deep into enemy territory to prevent a stunningly cynical act of sabotage from ending America’s days as a superpower. But old friends and even family members can no longer be trusted, as the two great rivals of the 21st century head for a conflict as inevitable as tomorrow’s headlines. The new leaders of Europe are obsessed with ‘the American problem,’ that Europe still plays a global #2 to the U.S. Even in space, the new frontier, the Pentagon plans to deploy a Space Shield that will give the U.S. military this high ground. But the DGSE spy service has developed a technology solution. Elegant. Mathematical. Devastating. It will make Europe #1 in space, and reduce the U.S. military into a fighting force that will have to fight with its fists. Review: Chris out-Clancy's Tom Clancy in this stylish and pacy thriller - it moves like lightning through a series of set pieces, with likeable, believable characters and a scenario that's right up to date, as Europe starts to take initiatives in space. Great stuff!