JESS JUST READS

A BOOK REVIEW BLOG

Greenlight by Benjamin Stevenson

Four years ago, in the small town of Birravale, Eliza Daley was murdered. Within hours, her killer was caught. Wasn’t he?

So reads the opening titles of Jack Quick’s new true-crime documentary. A skilled producer, Jack knows that the bigger the conspiracy, the higher the ratings – and he claims Curtis Wade was convicted on flimsy evidence and shoddy police work. Millions of viewers agree.

Just before the final episode, Jack uncovers a minor detail that may prove Curtis guilty after all. Convinced it will ruin his show, Jack disposes of the evidence and delivers the finale unedited, leading to Curtis’s eventual release.

Then a new victim is found bearing horrifying similarities to the original murder. Has Jack just helped a killer walk free?

Determined to set things right, Jack returns to Birravale looking for answers. But with his own secrets lurking just beneath the surface, Jack knows more than anyone what a fine line it is between fact and fiction. Between life and death.

Now there’s only one option left. The truth.

Greenlight by Benjamin Stevenson is a rural crime thriller about the long-solved murder of backpacker Eliza Daley.

It’s an interesting premise — a well-known television producer and presenter helps cast enough doubt on a convicted killer that he is released from prison. But perhaps this man was indeed the killer after all?

Benjamin’s writing is polished. The dialogue realistic, the characters are three dimensional and well-developed, and the mysteries of this rural town are enticing enough to keep the reader turning the page. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story, and churned through the pages of this book.

“The shoe grew heavier in his mind every day. Jack knew what it was like to make a decision that you can’t take back, even if you want to. Some small, inconsequential choice that grows and grows into something monstrous when everyone is watching. Why had he been fine with hiding the shoe?”

Jack Quick is flawed, but he’s also determined and compassionate and desperate to find out the truth. He puts himself in dangerous situations and is able to see things that others probably wouldn’t be able to see.

He starts to piece together what happened to Eliza Daley, and also the second victim who is murdered after Curtis Wade is released from prison.

Greenlight does follow a bit of a stereotypical trope found in rural fiction — someone arrives in a small town and they are neither a policeman or a detective, and yet they’re able to solve a crime that the cops couldn’t? I’ve read quite a few crimes novel lately that feature a protagonist like this.

“Jack scanned the paper. The front page had a close-up picture of Curtis, red letters splashed diagonally across him. Of course, the sub-editor had added the question mark — The Nailbiter Killer? — to protect from defamation.”

The prologue of this book is completely unnecessary. It’s from the point of view of Eliza, shortly before being murdered and it gives away too much. It makes it very clear that she’s being kept underground, which allowed me to guess one of the twists in the novel long before it was revealed.

Despite that, this is one of my favourite crime novels from this year. There are many different mysteries to solve, not just the murder of Eliza Daley, and tension builds slowly until the reader grows very anxious about what’s going to happen.

Greenlight is utterly compelling and engrossing — an absorbing mystery with more surprises than I thought possible.

Thank you to the publisher for mailing me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Green Light
Benjamin Stevenson
September 2018
Penguin Random House

No Country Woman by Zoya Patel

No Country Woman is the story of never knowing where you belong. It’s about not feeling represented in the media you consumed, not being connected to the culture of your forebears, not having the respect of your peers.

It’s about living in a multicultural society with a monocultural focus but being determined to be heard. It’s about challenging society’s need to define us and it’s a rallying cry for the future. It’s a memoir full of heart, fury and intelligence – and the book we need right now.

No Country Woman by Zoya Patel is a feminist memoir about what it means to never feel at home where you live.

Zoya Patel is the founder of Feminartsy and is a Fijian-Indian writer. She’s based in Canberra and moved to Australia when she was very little. No Country Woman is an exploration of her heritage, culture and place in this country.

‘I was born in a hospital in Suva, Fiji. …It is not a place I’ve thought of often, but I think of it now and wonder how it has shaped me. I am Fijian-Indian, and have lived in Australia since I was three years old. Memories of my early life in Fiji are limited to flashes, like an old film projector running backwards. I remember a blue dress, a trip on a boat where my father handed me a dried, floating starfish that I clutched in my fingers, determined not to lose it back to the ocean.’

Zoya explores her identity through a number of lenses — location, family, religion, relationships, holidays, education. She reflects on her own experiences as a migrant to Australia, and how she’s experienced racism and prejudice in this country. She examines her childhood and her attempts to rebel against her heritage, and she also documents the times she travelled away from home and how her experiences shaped her identity.

No Country Woman is an eye-opening read for anyone who isn’t a migrant to this country, and who hasn’t experienced racism. Zoya tries to help us understand the complexities of a multicultural society, and how important it is to be aware of one’s privilege and circumstance.

Zoya also touches on discrimination, because many people in the world experience it. Sometimes it may be because of the colour of their skin, or their culture, or it may be because of sexuality, gender or disability. It’s important to be an ally for the disadvantaged and marginalised in society.

I admire Zoya’s ability to look at many issues from different perspectives, so that she’s not just pushing one agenda to the reader but presenting a situation from many different sides to allow the reader to make up their own mind.

“One of the most pervasive stereotypes of Indian immigrants the world over is that of the Indian small-business owner, the savvy, stingy subcontinental with a cockroach-like ability to thrive in any environment, who infiltrates a milker or service station and takes over entirely, unable to be dislodged as they feed off the economy they have adopted.”

I struggled with the book’s jarring balance of memoir vs. academia. I connected with the book most when Zoya was exploring her history and her memories, when she was telling us about her parents and her family and other aspects of her life that were important to her.

But at times, Zoya moves between memoir and statistics, or memoir and academic research, and I found the transition very jolting and not as seamless as it could’ve been.

Additionally, some parts of the book felt very drawn out. For example, there’s one whole chapter on Zoya’s relationship with the water and swimming. Whilst the chapter is interesting and important to her identity, it’s seventeen pages long and I felt that she could’ve been more succinct in what she was trying to say.

Despite this, Zoya’s memoir will be enjoyed by many readers. There are moments of humour and light-heartedness, and Zoya’s writing is sharp. No Country Woman allows the reader to develop a greater understanding of issues surrounding race, culture and identity. It’s revelatory read.

Thank you to the publisher for mailing me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

No Country Woman
Zoya Patel
August 2018
Hachette Book Publishers

Forgotten Women: The Artists and The Writers

Forgotten Women is a new series of books that uncover the lost herstories of influential women who have refused over hundreds of years to accept the hand they’ve been dealt and, as a result, have formed, shaped and changed the course of our futures. From leaders and scientists to artists and writers, the fascinating stories of these women that time forgot are now celebrated, putting their achievements firmly back on the map.

The Writers celebrates 48 unsung genius female writers from throughout history and across the world, including the Girl Stunt Reporters, who went undercover to write exposes on the ills of 1890s America; Aemilia Lanyer, the contemporary of Shakespeare whose polemical re-writing of The Bible’s Passion Story is regarded as one of the earliest feminist works of literature; and Sarojini Naidu, the freedom fighter and ‘Nightingale of India’ whose poetry echoed her political desire for Indian independence.

Including writers from across a wide spectrum of disciplines including poets, journalists, novelists, essayists and diarists, this is an alternative gynocentric history of literature that will surprise, empower, and leave you with a reading list a mile long.

The Artists brings together the stories of 48* brilliant woman artists who made huge yet unacknowledged contributions to the history of art, including Camille Claudel, the extraordinarily talented sculptor who was always unfairly overshadowed by her lover, Rodin; Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven, who has been claimed as the true originator of Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain; and Ana Mendieta, the Cuban refugee who approached violence against women through her performance art before her own untimely death.

With chapters ranging from Figurative to Photography, and Craft to Conceptual, this is an alternative guide to art history that demonstrates the broad range of artistic movements that included, and were often pioneered by, female artists who have been largely overlooked.

The Writers and The Artists are the third and fourth books in the Forgotten Women series, each book focusing on a selection of women who shaped our history but whose contribution has largely been forgotten. Each book celebrates 48 women who were influential and inspiring. They made significant contributions to history.

This series is a favourite of mine. Earlier in the year, I read and reviewed the first two books in the series: The Leaders and the Scientists.

Each book is a beautiful hardback, with gorgeous illustrations to accompany each entry. I love that each women is dedicated approx. 2-3 pages for her story, because this allows us to understand who she was but at the same time, we aren’t bogged down with excess detail. This allows for a quick read.

“With William’s support, Margaret Cavendish was able to publish her own work, which included everything from philosophical treatises to plays and poetry. At a time when most female authors wrote anonymously, Margaret published under her own name.”

Readers of different ages, genders and backgrounds will find inspiration in these pages. The women were courages and ahead of their time, and their art and their words made a lasting impact on society. A lot of the women in these books I’d never heard of before, and it was great to discover and read about these amazing women from history.

Marjorie Cameron was a Los Angeles occultist who was known for her Surreal paintings that conjured up Jungian myth and aliens in coitus; Alma Thomas began painting vivid, abstract works after she retired at the age of 69; Carolina Maria De Jesus was a Brazilian writer and her country’s first black author.

“At the time, women were not allowed to make a living from their painting, but this was not for the reasons you might expect. The Qing dynasty believed that the greatest art was created only by educated amateurs who painted in the privacy of their home for leisure and enjoyment, and didn’t seek to profit from it like common tradesmen.”

Readers will find the Forgotten Women series a delight, the pages filled with gorgeous illustrations and remarkable stories.

Thank you to the publisher for mailing me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Forgotten Women: The Artists & The Writers
Zing Tsjeng
September 2018
Hachette Book Publishers

All the Hidden Truths by Claire Askew

This is a fact: Ryan Summers walked into Three Rivers College and killed thirteen women, then himself.

But no one can say why.

The question is one that cries out to be answered – by Ryan’s mother, Moira; by Ishbel, the mother of Abigail, the first victim; and by DI Helen Birch, put in charge of the case on her first day at her new job. But as the tabloids and the media swarm, as the families’ secrets come out, as the world searches for someone to blame… the truth seems to vanish.

A stunningly moving novel from an exciting new voice in crime, ALL THE HIDDEN TRUTHS will cause you to question your assumptions about the people you love, and reconsider how the world reacts to tragedy.

All the Hidden Truths by Claire Askew is a debut crime novel about a horrific college shooting in Edinburgh. Thirteen women are killed, and the gunman — Ryan — commits suicide before the cops can arrest him.

The shooting shatters the local community, but it also ruins many families — the families of the victims, mostly. But also Ryan’s mum. She was his only family, and after Ryan’s death, Moira is demonised by society for what her son has done. She is threatened, abused and tormented.

Novels that are centred around public shootings are always tough to read, because they feel so real. Shootings happen so often, particularly in the US, and Claire Askew focuses on the aftermath and what a shooting does to the people left behind.

Claire builds suspense and tension and she causes the reader to question many things — are the parents responsible when their child murders another? Can they really say they didn’t know what their child was capable of? And if the child uses their parent’s weapon, is the parent at fault as well?

All the Hidden Truths forces the reader to really second guess their moral compass and rethink where the blame lies in a situation like this.

“She couldn’t quite believe that there were people out there who might want to kill her…but then, she could also believe it just fine She tried to imagine what she’d have felt if the roles were reversed — if someone had walked into Three Rivers College that say, and killed Ryan.”

The most heart-wrenching account is that of Ishbel, the mother of Abigail, the first victim of the shooting. Ishbel is an incredibly relatable character, and I imagine a lot of mothers would read this and see themselves in her. She cared about her daughter, who at times was reckless and rude and stubborn, and she struggles to move forward after Abigail’s death. Isabel’s chapters are very haunting for the reader.

“Ishbel wasn’t sure how she’d got there herself. She had no memory of the short drive over, though she knew she had done it: right now she was leaning against the back corner of the car to cover up the shaking in her legs. This was the first time she’d changed her clothes in two days, and she’d taken them from the drawer and put them on without really looking at them.”

I felt that a key element missing from the novel was any sense of who Ryan really was. I expected the reader to — through the lens of the other characters — find out more about him and what events really drove him to do what he did. At the very least, I wanted to understand him as a person a little better. But, we’re offered very little. Not even that much about his personality or his manner or his personal life.

Even his mother’s POV chapters don’t provide any insight, and as a result Ryan seems like a cardboard cut-out character, the stereotypical college shooter. The blurb implies that you’ll find out why Ryan shot all those women, but I don’t think you do. And it’s a bit of a letdown.

“They cut to a picture of Ryan’s face. His last school photo, a few years old now: Ryan in his navy school sweater, the stiff white collar of his shirt sitting wonky in its pilled V-neck. He was smiling, but he didn’t look happy — a handful of years back he’d decided he hated having his photograph taken.”

This is a character driven story, not the plot driven narrative you think you’re going to get. All the Hidden Truths explores family, love and the trauma and heartache of lives interrupted.

Thank you to the publisher for mailing me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

All the Hidden Truths
Claire Askew
August 2018
Hachette Book Publishers

Give Me Your Hand by Megan Abbott

You told each other everything. Then she told you too much.

Kit has risen to the top of her profession and is on the brink of achieving everything she wanted. She hasn’t let anything stop her.

But now someone else is standing in her way – Diane. Best friends at seventeen, their shared ambition made them inseparable. Until the day Diane told Kit her secret – the worst thing she’d ever done, the worst thing Kit could imagine – and it blew their friendship apart.

Kit is still the only person who knows what Diane did. And now Diane knows something about Kit that could destroy everything she’s worked so hard for.

How far would Kit go, to make the hard work, the sacrifice, worth it in the end? What wouldn’t she give up? Diane thinks Kit is just like her. Maybe she’s right. Ambition: it’s in the blood…

Give Me Your Hand by Megan Abbott is a psychological thriller about two women and the power of a secret.

The novel explores female friendship and how two women can toe the line between friends and enemies. Diane Fleming and Kit Owens haven’t seen each other for over ten years, until Diane shows up at Kit’s work and the two women are forced to co-exist together. But no one can know the real reason why they stopped speaking after high school.

The two women were close friends once, but now seem to be professionals rivals. And since Kit knows Diane’s biggest secret, Kit is worried that Diane feels threatened by that. And if so, what she’ll do to silence Kit. Much more than just their careers are at stake.

“You always wonder, when someone is trying so hard, what it’s really about…Maybe, for Diane, working really hard was a way of crouching low in her grief, of staying under the radar. Of hiding. But in other ways she was impossible to miss.”

Megan Abbott has captured setting incredibly well. Most of this novel takes place within the walls of a science lab, so everything feels very claustrophobic and tense. It’s the perfect setting for Diane and Kit’s reunion.

Kit is a postdoc researcher for Dr. Lena Severin, a well-respected, inspiring mentor. She’s strong and determined and confident. She’s everything Kit wants to be.

There’s an exciting opportunity at the lab — Dr. Severin is spearheading a study of PMDD, which stands for premenstrual dysphoric disorder. Everyone wants a spot on that team, but there’s only room for two researchers and there are quite a few colleagues to choose from.

It’s a high-stakes environment and Diane wants this more than anything. But so do her colleagues. And as tensions rise and Diane and Kit’s working relationship starts to fracture, the people around them are starting to notice that something is amiss about the two of them.

“In the car, we don’t speak. She drives carefully. Stopping at all the yellow lights. Every time she turns a corner, her key chain smacks the ignition panel. One of those furry key chain kids used to have swinging from their backpacks.”

Something about this novel just doesn’t hit the mark. Not once did I feel like Diane was going to threaten everything Kit has accomplished. Diane is supposed to be seen as an unpredictable, unstable villain but really she seems like a complicated woman with a tragic secret and a dark mind. And Diane’s ‘secret’ — the author teases it for the first half of the book — is incredibly predictable.

If you’re a lover of crime, thriller or psychological fiction, then this story accomplishes enough to entertain you. You’ll be intrigued by Diane’s secret and the evolution of Kit and Diane’s friendship. Unfortunately, I felt like this novel fell short of what the blurb claimed, but others may enjoy it.

Thank you to the publisher for mailing me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Give Me Your Hand
Megan Abbott
August 2018
Pan Macmillan Publishers