The Reinvention of Ivy Brown

The Reinvention of Ivy Brown by Roberta Taylor was a little disappointing after enjoying her earlier book. Set in the terrible winter of 1963 London in an office where the characters affect each other's lives. Ivy Brown, an unmarried 30 year old seeks love where she can and exacts revenge when things don't go her way. Lovers Janet and Brian later discover a terrible secret from their father's past. Flash forward to 1983 and the reader learns what happened to the characters 20 years previously following a "terrible" event. I found some of the story a little confusing, but liked most of it. 3/5

The Water's Lovely

I've enjoyed this dark tale The Water's Lovely by Ruth Rendell. As usual, the story is filled with "colourful" characters and the reader is left wondering who the murder victim is going to be. Two sisters, Ismay and Heather, live with a terrible secret. Ismay believes Heather was responsible for the death of their step-father 14 years before but does not confront her about this. Ismay is afraid Heather will kill again and wonders if she should warn Heather's boyfriend, Ed. Instead she records her thoughts on a tape, with disastrous consequences. Another main character, Marion, lives off her wits and finds ways to ingratiate herself with wealthy elderly people for her benefit - an obnoxious person. The truth is of course revealed in the end. 4/5

Too Many Mothers

This wonderful memoir Too Many Mothers by Roberta Taylor tells of her upbringing in the East End of London and the lives of her dysfunctional extended family - her "street-wise" grandmother Mary, her mother, aunts and uncles. This is not a "hearts and roses" tale but is often confronting as Mary's children try to break away from her clutches. Roberta was lucky to have been born at all after a tragic incident. This well-written and immensely readable story of all the "characters" that affected Roberta's early life shows that fact is often stranger and more interesting than fiction. 4/5

The Broken Window

I've very much enjoyed this thriller The Broken Window by Jeffery Deaver which was also quite unnerving. The murderer uses extensive databases to seek out and learn about his victims and uses the same databases to find information on the people he frames for the murders. In this computer information age there is a lot of information on people stored for good and potential evil and that is what I found interesting and scary. In this story the murderer enjoys playing "God" as he knows everything about everyone and can manipulate the data to change the information stored about people to their detriment. For example, a "clean" police officer has his record changed to show a positive drug test and is therefore suspended. The issue of identity theft is raised in this story as the murderer steals identities and changes them. The murderer's mistake in this story, after being undetected for years, is to target Lincoln Rhyme's cousin. So Rhyme and his beautiful companion Sachs are on the case. At the end of the book, Deaver directs readers to web sites for more information about privacy e.g. Privacy International www.privacyinternational.org 4 1/2/5

Friend of the Devil

I've very much enjoyed this thriller Friend of the Devil by Peter Robinson as I've enjoyed his other books. CI Alan Banks and DI Annie Cabbot investigate two murders in different areas. DI Cabbot's murder investigation seems to be connected to some gruesome serial killer murders from the past. The truth is gradually unravelled as the two murders appear to have a mysterious connection which is revealed in the shock ending. 4 1/2/5

The Dressmaker's Daughter

I've read The Dressmaker's Daughter by Kate Llewellyn and found most of it a depressing read. It is a memoir of her life growing up with a loving family in country South Australia, then marriage to polio victim Richard Llewellyn, her battle with depression and her success as a poet. The early part of the book about her childhood is told in vignettes about different aspects and people with whom she was in contact and was quite good. She does nursing and then meets Richard as a patient, falls in love and marries. Following a family tragedy she sinks into depression and attempts suicide. Other life changes follow and she eventually becomes a successful published poet. Llewellyn uses excerpts from her old diaries to augment her melancholy tale. 3/5

Bad Debts

Our first Crime Club book Bad Debts by Peter Temple was a great read. Jack Irish, a lawyer and gambler, investigates an old hit-run case for which a former client was convicted and imprisoned. When that client tries to meet Jack and is gunned down by police, Jack becomes more interested in the circumstances of the original crime. He unravels a web of political intrigue with graft and corruption to the highest levels of government with the development of a new housing estate. There is also a love interest as Jack teams up with a beautiful journalist, and their lives hang in the balance before the criminals are exposed. 4/5