The Familiars by Stacey Halls

Stacey Halls’s debut novel, The Familiars, is based on real events that took place in the county of Lancashire in 1612. An ardent Protestant, King James I was keen to suppress any forms of belief that conflicted with the religion of his reign. This included Catholicism, of course, but also witchcraft or any perceived devil-worship.

Lancashire was considered a particular problem - remote enough for Catholics to worship in secret plus suspected pockets of witchcraft, although healers in poor rural areas were often thought of as wise women or witches. The Pendle witch trials of 1612 are noteworthy as twelve ‘witches’ were seized for trial, with ten convicted and hanged.

Stacey Halls reimagines the events around the trials, using real characters from the time. Fleetwood Shuttleworth is a young noblewoman who is pregnant once more; her husband, Richard, eager for an heir after several miscarriages. Fleetwood is a troubled woman – she suffers from nightmares and is the product of a childhood tainted with loneliness and abuse.

When she discovers a doctor’s letter to her husband, Fleetwood learns that giving birth is likely to kill her. A chance meeting with the healer and midwife, Alice Grey, offers Fleetwood both friendship and hope. As Alice’s remedies dramatically improve her health, Fleetwood begins to imagine that she might just survive to be a mother.

But this hope begins to fade when Alice is named as a witch and a warrant is put out for her arrest. If Fleetwood is to survive, she must somehow prove the innocence of her friend.

The Familiars is a gripping read, evocatively describing an era of suspicion and terror, and how superstition can fester through the illiteracy of ordinary folk. I was completely caught up in Fleetwood’s story – even though she is comfortable and well-cared for, she lives in constant fear, a potent reminder of the powerlessness of women at the time. Somehow Fleetwood manages to fight back and the story moves to a gripping ending, with a race against the clock to save both Alice and herself.

I might not have picked this book up as the thought of witch-hunts and cruel punishments puts shivers down my spine. But this is a terrific novel and I can’t wait to see what Stacey Halls writes next.

Posted by JAM

Catalogue link: The Familiars

Dear Mrs Bird by A J Pearce

The idea for Dear Mrs Bird was born, the author tells us, when she began reading letters and articles from wartime magazines. They were so interesting, she began to collect magazines from this era. Set in 1941 in London, and narrated by young Emeline (Emmy) Lake, Dear Mrs Bird is a story that is at times humorous and heart-warming and at other times sad.

Emmy, feeling unfulfilled in her current work, answers a job advertisement thinking it will lead to her dream position of Lady War Correspondent. However, there is an unfortunate misunderstanding at her interview, and she finds herself typing letters for the frightening Mrs Bird, the agony aunt at Women’s Friend magazine.

Emmy is a kind, cheerful young woman, who when told by Mrs Bird to bin any letters containing any form of unpleasantness, secretly decides to write back to the despairing women who sent them.The dialogue between Emmy and her best friend Bunty and also her friends at the Auxiliary Fire Service where Emmy volunteers as a telephone operator is one of the highlights of the novel as it feels so true to the times.

Dear Mrs Bird is an engaging story of the friendships, courage, generosity and warmth of spirited but ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. I am so pleased I was recommended this novel by Janet, one of our library customers. Like Janet, I really enjoyed A J Pearce’s debut novel and hope she writes many more.

Posted by VT

Catalogue link: Dear Mrs Bird

The Single Ladies of Jacaranda Retirement Village – Joanna Nell

If you enjoyed Three Things about Elsie (Joanna Cannon) and The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (Rachael Joyce), chances are you will be a fan of Joanna Nell’s first novel, The Single Ladies of Jacaranda Retirement Village.

It’s the funny, heart warming and life affirming story of Peggy Smart, who at 79 and a half lives alone in a retirement village with her aging Shih Tzu Basil, while still grieving for her late husband who died four years previously. Her adult son and daughter are anxiously watching for signs of dementia and falls, and Peggy fears being removed from her own home and uprooted to a rest home.

With her weak bladder, an affliction she’s suffered from since childhood, weekly doctors appointments and aqua class there isn’t much to enjoy in life apart from watching her neighbour, Lexus driving, chartered accountant Brian leave for his morning swim. Peggy dreams of inviting Brian to dinner but fears she’s past it and that he wouldn’t be interested in her.

However out of the blue her old school friend, the glamorous and beautiful fashionista Angie Valentine, moves into the same retirement village, turning the heads of the few male residents and challenging Peggy’s ideas of aging. After a fall results in a broken wrist for Peggy, Angie takes her under her wing. With a fashion makeover, a new hairstyle and a new group of friends, the fun and mischief start for Peggy.

There’s lots of laugh-out-loud humour in this fun story, with the delightful Peggy being a little forgetful and also inclined to mix her metaphors, mishear words and utter malapropisms (“orgasms on the kitchen counter” “blue teeth”), while at the same time focusing attention on some of the difficulties the older generations face.

This UK born but Sydney based GP/novelist with an interest in women's health and aging believes that being a doctor makes her a better writer and that being a writer makes her a better doctor too. Joanna’s warm wisdom and understanding is certainly apparent throughout the book which is sure to be enjoyed both by Peggy’s generation and the children of that generation. I will be watching out for Joanna’s next book.

Highly recommended.

Posted by VT

Catalogue link: The Single Ladies of Jacaranda Retirement Village

Happiness for Humans by P Z Reizin

Once in a while along comes a book that captures current obsessions and weaves them into a great story. Happiness for Humans is just such a novel - a fun, compelling read that hits the spot in so many ways.

Our two main (human) characters are Jen, who has just been dumped by her smug lawyer boyfriend, and Tom who is trying find new meaning in life since divorce and his son leaving home for university. The narration jumps between Jen and Tom, but there are other non-human narrators as well.

Aiden is the computer generated AI that Jen is getting to know as a kind of experiment she will later write up for a magazine. She and Aiden become companionable and enjoy watching movies together. Aiden understands that Jen is unhappy and wants to help.

Then there is Aisling who has escaped into the Internet where she becomes absorbed by the life of Tom, who has sold up his successful advertising business and moved to Connecticut where he is attempting to write a novel. There are some funny scenes around Tom's friendships with Echo, who makes junk jewellery, and laid-back drinking pal Don, to say nothing of his frequent faux pas with members of his writers' group.

When Aisling 'meets up' with Aiden, the two hatch a plan to bring Jen and Tom together. It is amazing what they can do using cell phones, CCTV, banking systems and more to interfere in the lives of their pet humans. It all reminded me a little of A Midsummer Night's Dream, the way the fairies play with the star-crossed lovers in their midst.

But of course things don’t quite run to plan. Darker forces enter the plot to keep Tom and Jen apart, and threaten the very existence of our well meaning AI friends, Aiden and Aisling. This heightens the tension in a satisfying way, and allows for plenty of madcap incidents and escapades.

P Z Reizin is a former journalist and media producer which shows in his writing, which is sharp, savvy and often very funny. Happiness for Humans is very much a book for our times, a wonderful read that manages to be both clever and entertaining.

Posted by JAM

Catalogue link: Happiness for Humans

In a Dark Dark Wood by Ruth Ware

Nora leads a quiet life living alone writing crime fiction, when out of the blue, she gets an invitation to a school friend's hen party weekend. She hasn't seen Clare since they were sixteen and both fell for the same boy - James Cooper. Oddly it was plain-Jane Nora who hit it off with James, but now, ten years later, it is James that Clare is going to marry.

Ruth Ware writes pacey thrillers with a female main character who is in danger and usually an unreliable narrator as well. She's also a dab hand at atmospheric settings. So it isn't surprising the setting for this hen weekend is a stark, glass-walled house somewhere in a forest in the north of England.

Huge pine trees loom around the house adding to the claustrophobia of being cut off from the world when the landline goes down and it begins to snow. And then there's the gun. Where other people hang a nice painting or mirror over their fireplace, here the owners have attached a shotgun. It reminds me of the Chekov rule: if you introduce a gun in Act One, you have to use it in Act Three. Say no more.

There are only a few fellow guests: crazy Flo who is obsessed by making Clare's hen do really special; wise-cracking Nina; Clare's gay friend Tom who brings the cocaine; and young mum Melanie who can't stop worrying about her baby. Clare turns up and she's just as beautiful as ever, but what lies beneath her perfect exterior? The atmosphere is particularly tense for Nora still smarting over her break-up with James, so long ago.

Ware does a great job of describing toxic female friendships and the darker turns they can take.  In a Dark, Dark Wood is a great read for a cold winter's night. There's plenty happening to keep you turning the pages and the tension keeps up right to the end.

Posted by JAM

Catalogue link: In a Dark Dark Wood

Like Nobody's Watching by L.J. Ritchie

‘When Oscar and his friends hack into the school’s surveillance system, the plan is simple: find the footage, blackmail the bullies, and leave no fingerprints. But the sense of power it brings them is hard to let go …’ – Goodreads.

This novel follows what happens when cameras are installed throughout the buildings and grounds of a Wellington high school to ‘stop bad behaviour’. Oscar and his friends know that there is bullying going unnoticed, so are unsurprised (although disappointed) when they find out that no one is checking the footage. Oscar is an expert hacker, and together he and his friends hack into the security cameras, find footage of the bullies, and email it to them, threatening to turn them in to the staff if the bullying doesn’t stop.

It was just meant to be the one time, but the group decides to keep watching, and blackmails more and more bullies. Eventually the school finds out it was them, and some people decide to get their revenge.

This was a fast paced story about the dangers of surveillance, especially when it falls into the wrong hands. While the group’s intentions started out good enough, the power quickly became too much. A great first novel by New Zealander L.J. Ritchie, and an exciting read for teens.

Posted by Sas

Catalogue link: Like Nobody's Watching

My Absolute Darling by Gabriel Tallent

Powerful, brilliant and shocking, this is one of those books that stay with you long after you finish it.

‘My absolute darling’ is what domineering and deeply flawed Martin Alveston calls his 14 year old daughter Turtle; whom he has brought up alone since the death of his wife.
Martin is a hard man; teaching his daughter how to use a gun with skill, fend for herself in their dilapidated home and run wild in the beautiful wilderness of the Northern Californian coast. He is convinced the world will end soon and mostly shuts himself off from modern life.

However we experience the world through Turtle’s narrative. She struggles at school, shuns people her own age, and surreptitiously visits her alcoholic grandfather (who is estranged from her father).
Turtle’s life changes when she helps two clever and playful High School students Jacob and Brett, who are lost in bad weather in the forest. This friendship opens her eyes to how other people live and she begins to question her father’s authority.

The flora, fauna and landscapes in My Absolute Darling are lovingly and beautifully described; enough for me to look up images online of the Mendocino Coast with it’s verdant forests and rocky coastline.

This is Gabriel Tallent’s first novel. He grew up near the Mendocino coast and spent eight years writing My Absolute Darling. He began writing while in his final year of University, homesick for his ‘free range’ childhood in the wilderness.

A warning: graphic abuse is depicted in this novel; and I admit to putting the book down for a couple of weeks thinking it was not for me. I am glad I picked it up again; it is unforgettable and ultimately a novel of coming of age and rising above adversity, mixed with elements of a gripping thriller. Turtle’s character in particular is mesmerising; vulnerable yet tough, you just so want her to succeed and thrive. My Absolute Darling reminds me of a rural version of the award-winning A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara; which was one of my favourite reads from last year.


Reviewed by Katrina

Catalogue link:  My Absolute Darling

The Traitor and the Thief by Gareth Ward

Having met the author, seen him perform as the Great Wardini, and shopped at his beautiful bookstore, I really REALLY wanted to like this book. Friends who had gone to his Steampunk ball book launch had all raved about it (both the book and the ball), and while people always say not to judge book by its cover, I'm sorry but I do (and this one has such a wonderful cover).

I thought that because of all the high hopes and expectations I had for the book that there was no way it would be able to live up to them all.
I’m happy to say that I was wrong.

Gareth Ward wrote a magical adventure story that I could not put down. With spies, mysteries and Steampunk gadgets it was a wonderfully crafted story that has left me wanting more. The story follows Sin, a 14 year old orphan boy who lives on the streets and makes a living by stealing and fighting for a man named ‘The Fixer’. However one day he is offered an escape from his life of crime, and a chance to become a spy for COG (the Covert Operations Group). He is given new clothes, delicious food, and a luxurious place to sleep. It seems too good to be true. It doesn’t take Sin long to realise that there is a spy in COG and that if he wants to find out more about his mysterious past, he must first work out who the traitor is.

Who can he trust? A life of the street has meant that he thought he had all the skills needed to survive, but in secret organisations, surrounded by fighting experts and scientists he realizes that he might be outclassed.

The story also has an eccentric and interesting group of supporting characters. There is Zonda Chubb the tech-wizz, Velvet Von Darque the rich school bully, and a range of fascinating staff members at the school (including Major C who seems to be half man, half steampunk robot and a mysterious magician Noir).

Fans of Harry Potter, CHERUB, Alex Rider, Oliver, or really just fans of fun adventure stories -  this book is for you.

Seriously Wardini - I hope you're writing the next one already!

Gareth Ward joins award winning writer Kate de Goldi in the Spiegeltent, Sunday 1 Oct, 2.30pm for It’s a Kind of Magic chaired by Jessica Soutar Barron. We’ll see you there!

Reviewed Sas Hill

Catalogue link:  The Traitor and the Thief

If You Knew Her by Emily Elgar

Everyone has secrets and the three main characters in this book are no exceptions. This psychological thriller has three main characters and a whole host of suspects.

We follow Cassie, a young, recently married woman, keen artist and free spirit who is brought into the intensive care unit at St Catherine’s Hospital, the victim of a hit and run accident. She is cared for by Alice, a hard- working nurse on the ward. Alice also cares for Frank, who is in a coma and suffering from locked- in syndrome brought on by alcohol abuse, which means he is aware of everything going on around him but is unable to communicate with the outside world.

Frank observes everything in his very limited world and takes particular interest in Cassie, noting that although she appears to have a loving family surrounding her , that there is more to them than meets the eye. Ultimately this means that his life too is placed in danger.

Cassie’s story is told through flash-backs to the weeks and days leading up to her accident interspersed with observations in real time from Frank and the thoughts and later suspicions of Alice as she comes to realise that all is not as it seems and that secrets abound with all the characters.

There are a number of themes within this book, the first novel for this author, including betrayal, shame of the past, obsession and emotional pain. We share with each of the main characters as they struggle to make sense of the situation in which they find themselves.

It did take me a few pages to become hooked into the book. Once I started to relate to the characters however, I quickly became engrossed in trying to work out why Frank felt Cassie was in danger. If you like medical crime thrillers then this is certainly one to consider. The whodunit theme ramps up as the book progresses, there is more than one twist and turn in the story and I was left guessing right to the end.

I did enjoy the book and would certainly read more by this author should she publish again.



Reviewed by Fiona



Catalogue link: If You Knew Her