Amity Gaige's "Sea wife"

 

You can find this book here.

Gaige's novel is a sea adventure; at least on the outside. Juliet's husband Michael buys a sailboat and persuades her and their two children to live at sea for a year. And so, the sea "adventure" begins. The inside of this novel though; is about Juliet and her marriage, her relationship to her family, and her own individuality and identity that has been overtaken, it seems, by postpartum depression. 

The writing is a very smooth read; and offers the two perspectives of Juliet and Michael. Juliet's is in real-time, but Michael's voices comes through written logs during the sailing. There are, in the back of the book, excerpts of other styles of writing such as emails and radio interviews; however, I felt that these did not add to the story and once that final page of the narrative is read, everything is resolved as it can be. I do think that being able to see both voices in the marriage is a strong tough and adds authenticity to both voices and the ability to see things differently, or the fact that we all put lenses over things depending on our experiences, personalities, histories and lives. 

Whilst readers who enjoy sea jargon are going to love this aspect of the novel, those unfamiliar with sailing (like myself) may feel overwhelmed by the focus. However, it again adds authenticity to the life the family are living. This book is also not a thrill-ride, but more a look at characters and underlying tensions that can exist but aren't brought to the surface as strongly until you are stuck at sea with them for a long period of time (politics comes up from time to time for example that seems to focus on the 2016 U.S. election). In this way, the novel is more relational, focussing on characters. There is a mysterious tone surrounding Michael; however, this is a very light shade of mystery, that resolves itself when it should.

Emotions and communication are strong themes in this book, among other things, and so if you want to read about these balances between a wife and husband, pick up this book. It is an easy-read and the language flows well. Just don't expect a kraken in the water.

Links for you

Read-a-likes in the Library:

Monogomy

Sue Miller

This book has a little more psychological tension than Gaige's; however the focus is on long-term marriage, relationships and identities within them. It's also not at sea.

Only story

Julian Barnes

Again, whilst not at sea, this book focusses on marriage and reflections of love, life and memory.

Vanessa Savage's "Woods"

 

You can find this book here.

Two girls went in. Only one came out.

This is part of the fairy story Tess's mother used to read to her and her younger sister Bella; but now the line mars her present with a past horror she can't remember.  

Tess's past not only haunts her, but was a haunted experience for her: new neighbours brought chaos to her life; local girls, murdered by someone who was never convicted, and her sister died, but only Tess herself believes someone murdered her. The interesting part of this haunting? Tess herself does not remember what happened to her sister, even though she had been found with her that night. 

As she has to move back to her old home where it all happened, she is haunted by being around people from the past again, not being able to sleep and suffering from hallucinations of her dead sister. Or, is she an actual ghost?

Tess is an unreliable narrator; so this makes the story's progress interesting. It chops and changes in her present, whilst bringing to light her past. Her unreliability comes from the fact that she is so emotionally charged and (to me at least) appears to not see past her own nose, and so you may find yourself drifting between sympathy to strong dislike. 

The novel has a nice pace to it, which helps to keep the creepy vibe going. I was able to pick up on some of the twists; let's see if you think it is predictable. The rest of the characters all have secrets and difficulties with being back where they grew up though, increasing the suspense when reading, which was good to see. So overall, it was a good read for me. 

Links for you

Savage in the Library:

Woman in the dark

Read-a-likes in the Library:

Mother-in-law

Sally Hepworth

This novel has an unreliable narrator as well and focusses on secrets in a psychological suspense genre. The author is also Australian. There is an eBook copy of this also if you prefer, available in the library here.

In a dark, dark wood

Ruth Ware

This book is similar as it is a psychological suspense novel where the protagonist wakes up in hospital and does not remember what happened. And what happened was something horrible. 

Read-a-likes in cloudLibrary:

When the lights go out

Mary Kubica

Is a psychological suspense novel with an unreliable narrator. 

David Jackson's "Resident"

 

You can find this book here.

Who wants Thomas Brogan living in their loft (or attic)? No one. 

Brogan is a serial killer who is on the run from the police. He finds an abandoned home with a loft that has a secret: the loft joins to three other houses. This of course will make a lot of fun for a serial killer no one knows is living up there. Oh, the games he intends to play with the neighbours!

The book is a first-person narrative; though most of the conversation Brogan has is with the voice in his head. To be honest, without this element, the book would be a boring read because most of the book is him watching and playing games to gauge reactions from the people below him. 

The perspective of a serial killer was interesting. You slowly find out about Brogan as the novel goes on and possibly motivations for why he does what he does. But since he talks to a voice in his head, you also know he's not sane. 

Because the book focusses on a very restricted environment, there is a sense of claustrophobia to it. There is enough information to attach yourselves to the characters in the book; though whether you grow sympathetically to Brogan's situation or not is up to you when you read it. 

Watch out for the black humour; and though the reviews on the cover suggest it is a thriller, I found it a slow burn and not very creepy. This is good though, because it builds tension rather slowly, shows you the state of Brogan and other characters and possibly even the claustrophobia they feel, even though they aren't stuck up in an attic. 

It wasn't terrifying, but it was a little bit of fun.

Links for you:

Read-a-likes in the Library:

Please be aware that I have chosen these read-a-likes because their point of view (POV) of the main character is that of the killer, stalkker, etc.

You and Hidden bodies

Caroline Kepnes

Dexter: an omnibus

Jeff Lindsay

American psycho: a novel

Brett Easton Ellis

Highlight: Western fiction

 

Before we get even more of a fix on any Western fiction coming to the Library this year, let's highlight some of last year's arrivals that you may not have read yet!

Click on the covers to be taken to the catalogue so you can reserve your copy!

William W. Johnstone had been writing fiction, particularly Western fiction, from 1979. This totalled to over two hundred books (though not two hundred Westerns). After his death; the name continued with his nephew J. A Johnstone so that the Westerns he was well known for could continue coming. 

The Jensen boys are back! They find themselves inside the meanest, dirtiest prison in the Arizona territory with no chance of surviving unless they bust out of their hellhole.

Once upon a time in the Old West, Buck Trammel was a Pinkerton agent with a promising future. But after a tragic incident in a case gone wrong, he struck out for the wide-open spaces of Wichita, Kansas. But soon enough, his gun skills are put to the test. The Bowman gang show up, turning a friendly card game with a Wyoming cattleman into a killer-takes-all shooting match. Buck saves the cattleman's life, but at the cost of Bowman's two sons. That's when Deputy Wyatt Earp arrives. He warns Buck that he'd better get out of town, pronto, and take the cattle baron with him. The rest is history--if he lives long enough to tell it.

E. Jefferson Clay is a pseudonym for the Australian author, comic book writer and illustrator Paul Wheelahan. So not only should I be highlighting the fact he was an Aussie, but also his talent at Western fiction. Again, his novels ranged in the hundreds as well; but be aware that because he has passed these books are reprints ... still as good as they were the first time round!

They are an odd pair: a one-time Union captain and the former Confederate sergeant. They'd fought each other during the Battle of Pea Ridge and then ended up fighting shoulder to shoulder when a common enemy showed his face and stole two hundred thousand dollars' worth of Confederate gold. Hank Brazos and Duke Benedict never forgot that day, or each other. And when their trails cross again after the War, they team up to reclaim the gold for themselves and get revenge for that day back in 1862.

There was trouble in Fortitude Valley. Someone had set up a lumber camp smack in the middle of cattle country run by paroled convicts! Hank Brazos and Duke Benedict are back and hired to keep the peace between the lumber camp and the Cattleman's Association; however, they have instead landed themselves right in the middle of an all-out war, in which neither side intends to go down without a fight...