You're Next

A very good thriller. If you enjoy a fast paced plot and convincing characterization give this a go – I have already ordered another title by this author.

Mike was abandoned by his father when he was 4 years old and spends his childhood in foster care. He beats the odds and builds a good life for himself and his wife and child, but is never able to trace his birth family. Life is good, and then suddenly he is the target of some extremely ruthless people out to destroy him and his family. These people have killed and the police appear to be in on ‘it’ too. Why? We find out in the end and for me the conclusion was pretty satisfying.

Sleepwalking

A short but powerful and well written novel with a surprising amount of depth for just over 200 pages. Susan’s relationship with her father has damaged her life and she only begins to come to terms with his treatment of her and her sisters after his suicide. This ‘tragedy’ happens while she is pregnant with her first child and as she is ‘sleepwalking’ through life. Susan’s relationships with her birth family, her husband, with her unborn child and with her lover (she embarks on a love affair while she is pregnant) are explored. Other pivotal characters include Queenie, her father’s abusive mother and a ghostly child, a little boy who is haunting her. 

Room

What a very good book this is. There are many reviews out there and most are full of praise for this novel. It is an extraordinary story that is told in the voice of Jack, a precocious but also unworldly five year old whose development has been shaped from being locked in a small room with his mother for the first five years of his life. She was kidnapped before Jack's birth and kept as a prisoner by a man with motives of the worst kind. The book is, of course, quite horrifying, but also ultimately uplifting as Jack and his mother discover how to live with their situation and their pasts.  It’s a story I will remember for a long time.

Chess

I read Chess following a recommendation from Jackie over at Farm Lane Books Blog. She is a great reviewer and I have tried a lot of her suggestion: book blogs are great way to find and enjoy new titles. Chess is a novella and a probably not something I would usually pick up but what a little gem it is. It is the story of an encounter between a morose and reclusive world chess champion and a stranger, who meet aboard an ocean liner and engage in a chess tournament at the behest of the narrator of the tale. The stranger has a past which has allowed him to play the game at a level to match the champion and the main part of the story is the revelation of his history to the narrator. The book is a powerful and moving commentary on the strength of the human spirit and mind and is a beautifully written observation..