JESS JUST READS

A BOOK REVIEW BLOG

A Madness of Sunshine by Nalini Singh

Welcome to Golden Cove, a remote town on the edge of the world where even the blinding brightness of the sun can’t mask the darkness that lies deep within a killer…

On the rugged West Coast of New Zealand, Golden Cove is more than just a town where people live. The adults are more than neighbours; the children, more than schoolmates.
That is until one fateful summer – and several vanished bodies – shatters the trust holding Golden Cove together. All that’s left are whispers behind closed doors, broken friendships, and a silent agreement not to look back. But they can’t run from the past forever.

Eight years later, a beautiful young woman disappears without a trace, and the residents of Golden Cove wonder if their home shelters something far more dangerous than an unforgiving landscape.

It’s not long before the dark past collides with the haunting present and deadly secrets come to light.

A Madness of Sunshine by Nalini Singh is a small town crime thriller novel, following the disappearance of local teenager Miriama Hinewai Tutaia in Golden Cove New Zealand, and its potential connection to the disappearance of three backpackers eight years earlier.

The main characters are police officer Will Gallagher, in charge of trying to find Miriama, and Anahera Spencer-Ashby, a young woman who grew up in Golden Cove and has recently returned after living in London for many years as a highly successful pianist and performer.

Will and Anahera are both complex and conflicted characters — Will was exiled to Golden Cove after a previous case went in an unexpected direction, and Anahera runs home to Golden Cove after her husband dies and his pregnant mistress turns up on her doorstep.

“But there were other possibilities and he’d be a bad cop if he ignored them. No one had ever called him that, not even when his mistakes had led to two deaths. Will’s police work had been stellar; it was his understanding of human nature that had let him down.”

Will and Anahera are both incredibly interesting and thoroughly developed characters. Both of them share wounded histories and are psychologically damaged from past events in their lives. Whilst they don’t know each other prior to Anahera returning to Golden Cove, the two bond over their circumstances and find comfort in each other’s company.

There is definitely this sense of isolation that comes with being in Golden Cove, like you’re all alone and nothing you do will penetrate the outside world. Anahera was able to leave because she’s musically gifted, but most people stay (as Anahera learns when she returns home). Many juicy secrets are harboured in Golden Cove. As a result, tension and suspense are heightened and the setting itself feels like another character.

“Another fifty meters and the sand disappeared under a flow of water that turned into a whirlpool surrounded by rocks as black as obsidian and as jagged as broken glass. Everyone knew to keep their distance from the spot — there was simply no hope for anyone who fell into that water.”

The pacing is slow but consistent, successfully building suspense and intrigue. There is more than one mystery plaguing this small town and everyone is a suspect. Will can determine multiple motives for wanting young, beautiful local Miriama missing — she held many secrets, and was fancied by just as many admirers.

Setting and environment are big strengths in this novel, and Nalini has captured the small, isolated town of Golden Cove incredibly well. The ‘small town’ vibe is rich with secrets and hidden pasts, and it will draw every reader in and keep them enticed until the final pages.

There’s a small romantic storyline that develops in the book, which is both welcome and expected with this genre. However, it’s not a dominant part of the book and if it were removed, the events in the novel would mostly remain unchanged.

“Two hours later, he’d gone through every single one of the names and ID photos and come up with nothing. If Fidel Cox had returned to the area, he’d done so in a way that wouldn’t be noticed.”

Admittedly, I wasn’t a fan of the ending. There were two major revelations at the climax of the book — one made sense and the other did not. The truth behind Miriama’s disappearance was not consistent with the characterisation set up prior and it seemed like a cheap ploy to surprise the reader. To be honest I felt a bit cheated at the end.

Enthralling, inviting and entertaining. Recommended for fans of crime, thrillers, and mystery novels.

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

A Madness of Sunshine
Nalini Singh
December 2019
Hachette Publishers

The Wailing Woman by Maria Lewis

Good girls don’t talk back. Good girls don’t cry. Good girls don’t scream.

Sadie Burke has been forced to be a good girl her entire life. As a banshee, she’s the bottom of the ladder when it comes to the supernatural hierarchy. Weak. Condemned. Powerless.

Silent. That’s what she and her six sisters have been told their entire lives, since their species was first banished from Ireland. Yet when a figure from her childhood unexpectedly arrives on the scene, Sadie finds it harder than ever to toe the line.

Texas Contos is the son of their greatest oppressor. He’s also someone she’s inexplicably drawn to, and as they grow closer, Sadie begins to question what banshees have been told for centuries about their gifts.

But the truth comes at a cost. With Sadie and Tex forced to run for their lives, their journey leads them to new friends, old enemies, and finally to her true voice – one that could shatter the supernatural world forever.

The Wailing Woman is another urban fantasy novel from Australian author Maria Lewis, this time turning our attention to the legend of Banshees — a supernatural creature not very common in fantasy novels.

Maria Lewis’ fifth novel, The Wailing Woman is about Sadie Burke and her voice, literally. When she is a young girl, it is discovered that Sadie Burke’s banshee scream has the ability to hurt — maybe even kill — others and so her voice is taken from her. She lives her life as a mute. The Wailing Woman is about Sadie reclaiming her voice and her identity, and punishing those who took it away from her as a child.

The Wailing Woman expands on the supernatural and urban fantasy worlds of Maria Lewis’ previous novels, but you don’t need to have read any of them to be able to follow this — The Wailing Woman is enough of a standalone novel that any reader can pick it up and be swept up in its storyline.

“Tasmanian devil shifters had been running a trafficking operation out of Australia for nearly a century now and no matter how many the Praetorian Guard were able to find and stamp out, another always popped up.”

The book is set in Sydney, but moves across a few different international locations, heightening the tension and the pacing and propelling the story forward.

The Wailing Woman switches POV between Sadie and love interest Tex, whose father was responsible for taking away Sadie’s voice. They team up after being separated for 10 years to uncover the truth about Sadie’s capabilities. Tex had been sent away by his father to train as an Askari — like a policeman/guard for the supernatural world — but now that he’s returned he realises the Askari are not as honourable as they make out to be.

Maria Lewis weaves between the supernatural world and the real world with ease and clarity. As a Sydney resident, it was rather fun to read these exciting plot points that were set in and around where I live. The setting is realistic, believable and incredibly engaging.

“Sadie held up her fingers in an okay symbol, not offended in the slightest. In truth, it was just nice to meet someone who didn’t know who she was or anything about her ‘condition’. It made her feel…regular, almost.”

A strong theme in the book is the oppression of women by men, and more specifically, how men use their power and their dominance to silence women and make them feel like they can’t use their voice to speak out against those who are evil.

The writing is incredibly strong throughout the novel. Maria Lewis is skilled at building intrigue and writing humour; she’s fantastic at writing romance and sexual tension, and all of the characters in The Wailing Woman are three-dimensional and interesting to read.

Side note: there was a pesky little thing that bothered me in the book — the pop culture references within the dialogue were quite corny.

“We gotta protect this pregnancy like a Jenner sister.”

“Take that, Ariana Grande’s whistle register.”

Despite this, which only happens a few times in the novel, I enjoyed The Wailing Woman. Fast-paced, enthralling, exciting and just a great time. I sincerely hope there’s a sequel, because there were a few things left unsaid and I’d love to keep exploring the world of the banshees. I’d recommend this to readers of fantasy, horror, thriller and young adult novels.

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

The Wailing Woman
Maria Lewis
November 2019
Hachette Book Publishers

The Institute by Stephen King

Deep in the woods of Maine, there is a dark state facility where kids, abducted from across the United States, are incarcerated. In the Institute they are subjected to a series of tests and procedures meant to combine their exceptional gifts – telepathy, telekinesis – for concentrated effect.

Luke Ellis is the latest recruit. He’s just a regular 12-year-old, except he’s not just smart, he’s super-smart. And he has another gift which the Institute wants to use…

But great events can turn on small hinges and Luke is about to team up with a new, even younger recruit, Avery Dixon, whose ability to read minds is off the scale. While the Institute may want to harness their powers for covert ends, the combined intelligence of Luke and Avery is beyond anything that even those who run the experiments – even the infamous Mrs Sigsby – suspect.

Far away in a small town in South Carolina, former cop Tim Jamieson has taken a job working for the local sheriff. He’s basically just walking the beat. But he’s about to take on the biggest case of his career.

Suspenseful and gutsy, The Institute is the latest horror novel from Stephen King, this time set within the walls of a facility tasked with testing children who show extraordinary abilities.

Hidden deep inside the American forest, more specifically in Maine, the organisation is responsible for kidnapping hundreds of children across the United States — shortly after killing their parents — and keeping them contained in the facility while they force them to undergo terrifying and sometimes painful tests.

The book begins with ex-cop Tim Jamieson, a loner who lost his job years earlier in an unfortunate incident. He arrives in DuPray, South Carolina and accepts a job working for the local Sheriff. Before too long, the POV shifts and we spend the bulk of the book following Luke Ellis’ story. He’s a twelve year old boy who is that latest kidnapping victim of the institute. Before too long, Luke and Tim’s stories will intersect.

“He ordinarily didn’t show off — it was the worst way in the world to win friends and influence people — but he was upset, confused, worried, and (might as well admit it) scared shitless. It was getting harder and harder not to label this experience with the word kidnapping.”

The Institute evokes ‘Stranger Things’ vibes and brings really incredible characters to life. All of the children at the facility are unique and three-dimensional, and the antagonists of the institute are all genuinely terrifying and believable as villains.

At its core, this book is about the power that children contain when they come together — when they combine forces and utilise their potential. This sounds like a preach, but Stephen King achieves this rather well, and the messages of the book are incredibly subtle.

“Gladys was small and pretty, but for all Luke knew, she was a black belt who could throw him over her shoulder if he gave her any trouble. Even if she wasn’t, they were watching, and he had no doubt reinforcements would show up in a hurry.”

Structurally, I think the novel is flawed. The pacing is appropriate and realistic for the first three quarters of the book, but then everything happens quickly and the conclusion of the book feels rushed.

Additionally, the book is so long that by the time you get to the conclusion you’re pretty exhausted and ready for it to finish.

“The ice machine. Where Maureen had spoken to him yesterday. That was sort of interesting. According to Kalisha, there were several places in Front Half where the audio surveillance worked poorly or not at all, but Maureen seemed to favour that one.”

Not overly violent, so suitable for young and old readers. Fans of horror and thriller will love this, as will Stephen King’s existing fans.

Recommended 14+

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

The Institute
Stephen King
September 2019
Hachette Book Publishers

Bruny by Heather Rose

In a world where a right-wing US president has withdrawn America from the Middle East and the UN, and Daesh has a thoroughfare to the sea, even the most far-flung corners of the earth can’t escape global change.

When a bomb goes off in remote Tasmania and destroys part of the Bruny Bridge, UN troubleshooter Astrid Coleman returns home to help her brother prepare for the upcoming election. What she doesn’t expect is the true extent of the conspiracy theories that have engulfed her community, amidst the conflict of her brother and sister — who are on opposite sides of politics.

Only on Bruny does the world seem sane. Until Astrid discovers how far the government is willing to go.

Bruny by Heather Rose is a political thriller about family, relationships, responsibility, and order.

Set on Tasmania’s Bruny Island, the book begins after the almost-complete Bruny Bridge is blown up in the early hours of the morning. Shocked but undeterred, the Tasmanian government want that bridge to remain a top priority and are not being deterred by the terrorist act; they do all that they can to ensure the infrastructure project stays on track, and their actions could have disastrous consequences.

The premise of the novel invites intrigue, suspense and tension. Some events and conversations in Bruny reflect the current political climate in Australia, allowing readers to feel a sense of understanding and dread at what could potentially occur as we near the conclusion.

“Farris bought the property at the end of the beach a year before the bridge project was announced. He’d thought he was retiring from world to work on his next great tome on the human species. But then people began crawling over his little bit of paradise.”

Astrid Coleman is a complex protagonist — her relationship with her mother is fractured, perhaps beyond repair; her father is incredibly unwell and now only speaks in Shakespearean, and she’s still recovering from her divorce with her ex-husband, Ben. Reflections on the past highlight the deprecating treatment she received from him — it had a damaging impact on her self-esteem and her self-worth but she’s now doing much better.

Additionally, her relationship with her siblings is at times fraught because they’re on opposite political sides and Astrid often feels she’s caught in the middle. The book features a touch of romance, enough for it to blend well with the rest of the book, but not too much where you feel it detracts from the overarching plot and themes in the book.

“I knew Mick Feltham had been offered a huge bonus for meeting the bridge deadline by JC, following that meeting with Aid-n-Abet. There were also penalties for any day it went over.”

Heather’s strengths lie in her vocabulary choice, her sentence structure, her ability to put together magnificent prose and relatable, believable and entertaining dialogue. The imagery and descriptive language is evocative, drawing the reader in and keeping them engaged throughout.

“Tasmanians are island people, Bruny Islanders even more so. It’s a very different identity to that of someone from American Midwest, the mountains of Europe, the veldts of Africa. There is always the awareness that we are somehow water-bound and water-dependent. The water is friend and foe.”

Here’s something you don’t really grasp from the blurb — the book is incredibly political. For some readers, it may be too political and this may affect their ability to finish the book. Personally, a lot of the political discussions went way over my ahead and I found it quite disorientating. I went along for the ride, but I didn’t really understand what was going on — I didn’t really understand the stakes that were at play.

The majority of the book is incredibly slow-paced, and there are some chapters where nothing really happens in the present and it’s all a reflection on past events. The climax of the book, though, is fast-paced, heated, incredible and interesting. But by then it feels a little late — it seems like a jolt because the pacing changes so quickly and you’re not quite ready for it. I just don’t know that all readers will stick around long enough to get to the climax.

Bruny is for seasoned readers who are aware they’re headed into a political thriller novel. People who don’t read very often? This isn’t for them. People who read a lot of literary fiction or political thrillers? They’ll love this.

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

Bruny
Heather Rose
October 2019
Allen & Unwin Publishers

A Nearly Normal Family by M.T Edvardsson

A Nearly Normal Family is the psychological thriller from M. T. Edvardsson and asks what would you do if your child was suspected of murder, how far would you go to protect them? Do you want to know the truth?

Every murder case starts with a suspect. What if the suspect is your daughter? Would you believe her, or the evidence against her?

The Father believes his daughter has been framed.
The Mother believes she is hiding something.
The Daughter believes they have no idea what she’s truly capable of . . .

There are three sides to the story. And the truth will shatter this family to pieces.

A Nearly Normal Family by M.T Edvardsson is a Scandinavian crime novel, the victim being a man in this 30s and the suspect a young teenage girl who seems the most unsuspecting type. The novel is an exploration of domestic drama and family in crisis.

18 year old Stella Sandell is a rebellious teenager who has a history of being aggressive and having a short fuse. Her parents re overprotective and are at a loss of how to help her, but they’re also in denial about how bad her behaviour really is. And then, she’s charged with murder.

“I have gone against everything I believed in. The law has been my religion. It certainly has its faults, rather extensive ones in some respects, but still I firmly believe the law to be the pillar and guiding light of a modern society.”

The book is divided into three sections, each written in first person — the father, the daughter, the mother. The father is the weakest section, which is a shame because it’s the first section. The writing is inconsistent and the character — Adam — is overdramatic and unlikeable. The language is overly affectionate for the situation and Adam comes across over the top, cringeworthy, and his ‘voice’ is very unrealistic for a man of his age and position. I doubted my ability to finish the book, and probably wouldn’t have, if it weren’t for the mystery. I wanted to know who had murdered the man found dead in their suburb.

Another element I didn’t like about Adam’s narrative was the constant mention of religion and God. Adam is a pastor and therefore an honourable and trustworthy pillar of the community. But, in his POV, he references God and religion a lot, and it doesn’t feel natural. At times, I felt like the author was preaching to me and I had to skip ahead.

Once part one ended and we moved onto the daughter’s POV, I found it much easier to settle into the narrative.

“On that Saturday night when our lives were about to change, I turned to God. I was worried about the stained blouse in the washing machine. I made the snap decision not to mention it to Ulrika. Those stains could be from anything, it didn’t necessarily mean much, and there was no reason to subject Ulrika to further anxiety.”

Unreliable narrators is a common thread across all three parts in the book — Adam is willing to deceive and lie in order to save his daughter, Stella won’t tell the whole truth, and Ulrika seems to know more than she’s letting on. As the book progresses, the truth of that night slowly reveals itself.

The ending is plausible, realistic, and surprising, but a little too convenient. However, readers will find themselves satisfied with the ending, and the twists and turns that lead them there.

“It’s all about control. People never believe that. In their minds, the need for control is a characteristic of that sort of pendant who loses it if a paper end sup in the wrong pile on their desk, the type who sorts their wardrobe by exact shades of colour…but this is a different sort of control. It’s about not losing face. Not letting anyone get too close.”

Recommended for fans of crime and thrillers. The writing is average and there is a lot of repetition, but the mystery is enough to keep you reading.

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

A Nearly Normal Family
M.T. Edvardsson
July 2019
Pan Macmillan Publishers

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