Someone Else's Son

I enjoyed Someone Else's Son by Sam Hayes which involves the fatal stabbing of a teenage boy, Max, at his school. His girlfriend, Dayna, is there but cannot identify the killer. Max and Dayna are both from dysfunctional families though for very different reasons. Max's parents are divorced. His mother is a wealthy high profile TV personality who specialises in exposing people who have done the wrong thing or tries to find murderers. Now she is faced with the murder of her own son and goes into emotional meltdown as she becomes the "mother" whom she has interviewed many times in similar situations. Max's father is a blind mathematician who lives in an area far below his means, probably to irritate his ex-wife. Dayna lives on an "estate" with her mother, dole-bludging step-father and her little sister. The parents of these teenagers don't really know them at all. Max and Dayna are both bullied at school and find each other because they are both "different". At the time of the murder, they are studying "Romeo and Juliet" and this play is a strong theme for the story. The book jumps into different time zones for each chapter so we learn more background and well as advancing the present story. Good read. 4/5

The Year After

I enjoyed The Year After by Martin Davies, set in late 1919 - the year after the end of WWI. Returned from the War unscathed, Tom Allen had often been a guest before the War at the Stansbury's home, Hannesford Court whose owners were wealthy and had a number of children. A son, Harry Stansbury, was killed in the War and another son, Reggie, was terribly maimed. Tom Allen is intrigued when another guest mentions the sudden death of a German professor staying at the house shortly before the War began. So there is a mystery to be solved, a possible crime and it may involve the Stansburys. Tom narrates his chapters, so is the main character. The other character, Anne, also narrates her part in the story. There are two different fonts to distinguish the characters. Anne was a "companion" at the house before the War - in the background and she has no desire to return to the same position after her own War experiences. So there is romance and intrigue and a look at that time - what life was like. 4/5

Homecoming

This book Homecoming by Bernhard Schlink was interesting and a little hard to get in to at first. The main character, Peter, was born during the War and was told his father had died. His mother brought him up and and he also spent his holidays with his beloved paternal grandparents. They valued books and Peter became intrigued with the manuscript of a story of a soldier returning from the War. He had only part of it and couldn't find the ending, so eventually became obsessed with finding the author and the end of the story. He found it was based on the "ultimate" homecoming story The Odyssey - as are all "homecoming" stories (according to the book). He also has a romantic interest which is sometimes dysfunctional. Finally he learns the truth about his father and has a bizarre "confrontation" with him. A strange story. 31/2/5

The Second-last Woman in England

I enjoyed The Second-last Woman in England by Maggie Joel which is a fictional story. The author begins with the murder of Cecil Wallis by his wife Harriet in 1953. The author was inspired to create her main character, Harriet, based on the last woman to be hanged in England, Ruth Ellis. The story begins with the shocking murder on Coronation Day then the reader is taken back nine months before that day of the murder when Harriet receives an unexpected visitor, her brother Freddie, who has been away for a number of years. Another character in the story is the new nanny, Jean Corbett, who has a special reason for taking the position in the Wallis household. It's a good story revealing the society of that time. 41/2/5

One Day

I enjoyed One Day by David Nicholls which is a story of the relationship between Dexter and Emma spanning 20 years. From 15 July 1988 we learn about their friendship then each subsequent 15 July we learn where they are at in their lives - their careers, their love lives, marriages, friendships, family connections. Later in the book their lives take an "inevitable" turn and then things change. Well written, interesting way of looking at two people's lives. 4/5

December Book Club

We all had a lovely time at Liz's place for our final meeting for the year. She had the Christmas tree and decorations up and a delicious Christmas supper with lots of home made goodies. Everyone was there last night except for Robyn who wasn't well. Marilyn was back from overseas but as she plans to return there for some time, sadly she has temporarily resigned from our club. Penny, Ulla and Jenny are excitedly looking forward to grandchildren in the very near future, Penny for the first time. We had a terrific evening chatting about many things including Christmas plans. Liz bought a number of great books and we stocked up to ensure we have enough reading material to last till our next meeting in February.

Empire Day

I quite enjoyed Empire Day by Diane Armstrong which is set in Sydney in 1948 and examines the changes in society brought about by the European refugees. Empire Day is the symbol of Australia's loyalty to Britain with its "cracker night" celebration. There are other changes which are not easy for some to accept such as single women bringing up children, working women, threat of communism. The polio epidemic is also highlighted. At first the story seems full of "Aussie cliches" but some serious issues are addressed - crime in Sydney, how migrants adjusted (or not) and how they were treated. Was the migration process flawed allowing "undesirables" in to the country. It's a good story of a snapshot in time in Australia. 4/5

Crime Book Club Christmas Lunch

Our Crime Book Club enjoyed lunch at a local restaurant last week. It was the 1st December and we had abnormally cool weather with some rain, which was a welcome relief after the very hot November. Unfortunately, not all members could come but we enjoyed some good conversation, nice meal and a glass of wine. We have our list of books to read for 2012 and I look forward to getting started on the first one The Second Last Woman in England by Maggie Joel.

All That I Am

I very much enjoyed All That I Am by Anna Funder. This fine writer is the author of the non-fiction Stasiland and this is her first novel which is based on oral histories done with an elderly friend. The story is about real people and events and Funder builds her flesh on the bones of those facts. It is initially set in the early 21st century as an old woman, Ruth, looks back on her past in Nazi Germany. She tells about her cousin Dora and her passion for justice and equality in a country where there was none pre-World War II. In a different time period and voice we learn about playwright Ernst Toller, living in New York shortly before the War who is also looking back on his own relatively short life as he dictates his story to his secretary. It is a suspenseful story as we learn about the events that affected the characters and gain an understanding of the terror the anti-Nazis experienced. Also as many refugees moved to Britain we learn that the British refused to accept what the refugees were telling them about what was happening in Germany, likely because they feared another War and refused to believe it could happen again. This is so well written - highly recommended. 5/5