The Intruder by P S Hogan

The Intruder by Phil Hogan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1.5 days

Pages - 281

Publisher - Black Swan

Source - Review copy

Blurb from Goodreads

He has the key to hundreds of houses.
Maybe even to yours.

William Heming is an estate agent. He’s kept a copy of every key to every house he’s ever sold. Sometimes he visits them. He lets himself in – quietly, carefully – to see who lives there now, what they’re like, what they’ve been doing.

But what will happen when he gets caught?


My Review

William Heming is not your ordinary estate agent, William takes great interest in the people moving into his homes. He keeps copies of all the keys, he spies on the people moved into his home, he tracks them, he visits them and sometimes, just sometimes, he involves himself in their lives.

Told in first person point of view we get to hear exactly his thoughts and reasoning or the things he does. Flashes back in time to when he was younger also gives the reader a bit of insight into a bit more of his character. His outward persona is vanilla, non threatening, someone you wouldn't give another glance but William is a dangerous man, obsessive, a stalker and may even be in your house without you knowing.

Oooft after reading this, if you didn't change your locks when you moved into your house, you will. If you haven't checked your loft, you will. Every noise will have the hairs on the back of your neck standing up. I think the grab for this kind of book is how easily it could be true, it could happen to you. The atmosphere builds up very quickly, eerie, creepy without being over the top and wraps itself around you so have to find out how it plays out. The end was a bit too quick for me, they say an author is doing their job properly if they leave you wanting more. 3.5/5 for me this time, this is my first time reading this author, I would be interested in checking out more of his work!

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The Given Day by Dennis Lehane

The Given Day by Dennis Lehane
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2.5 days

Pages - 734

Publisher - Black Swan

Source - Amazon

Blurb from Goodreads

1918. Boston. A city in turmoil as soldiers return home from World War One, bringing with them an epidemic of Spanish influenza.

Danny Coughlin is the son of one of Boston's most powerful police captains. An undercover cop, he is hunting for revolutionaries and anarchists who, in the aftermath of war, are pledged to overthrow the city's ruling classes. But Danny soon finds his ideals compromised as, drawn into the conflict, his family starts to question where his loyalties really lie.

Luther Lawrence is on the run. Having survived a murderous confrontation with a crime boss, he lands a job in the Coughlin household. But it isn't long before his dangerous past and his tenuous present are on a life-threatening collision course.

As the city goes into meltdown, Danny and Luther must confront the storm of violence that threatens to engulf them if each is to survive...


My Review

The book is split into three main characters timelines and points of view, well two main ones Luther Lawrence, Danny Coughlin and Babe Ruth gets a few chapters (yes the Babe Ruth!). Set in 1918-1919 in Boston we cover a few periods of time with big history. The Influenza epidemic, the Boston police strike and civial unrest and not forgetting the time period where racism is strong. Luther is a black gentleman trying to make a living in conditions where he is treated horrifically because of the colour of his skin. Danny is a white Irishman, police officer who has his own struggles at the time, the police aren't valued and have terrible working conditions. The two males have different problems and we see how they tackle them having very different opportunities and trying to survive a horrible time period. The book is historically correct, from what I have heard as history is not one of my strong points. I aim to read more about on the political unrest, the riots, the influenza that killed so many. The racism is ugly, heartbreaking and at times makes you very ashamed to be a human being. Whilst the book is fiction it portrays many true events and mirrors the attitudes of society at a time when poverty and race was rampant.

My workie David had been telling me about this book last year when we started working together, it is his favourite book of all time. It took me ages to get to it and I wish I had picked it up earlier, I love a book where you learn something. I read so much fiction and really need to learn more about the world we live in, we have such a dark history with the worst and best of humanity documented.

Baseball is not something I have ever been interested in however I would like to read more about Babe Ruth. I don't think the book would have lost anything had his parts not been in the book but it was interesting and I would like to read more on his history is not the actual team.

It took me a wee bit to settle into the book, it is a huge read and we flip between the three characters with very stark differences. Once you get into it it makes for riveting reading however be prepared going in to this to read some horrible aspects of human behaviour and complete disregard for human life. From what I can see this is the first book in a trilogy, I will certainly be getting the next one to see what is next in store for our characters, 4/5 for me this time.

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Somewhere Inside Of Happy by Anna McPartlin

Somewhere Inside of Happy by Anna McPartlin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Pages - 427

Publisher - Black Swan

Blurb from Goodreads

Maisie Bean is a fighter. A survivor. Seventeen years ago, she went on a first date that went so badly it was enough to put the girl off chips. The marriage that followed was hell but it gave her two children: funny, caring Jeremy and bullish but brilliant Valerie.

Just as it seems everything might finally start going right, sixteen-year-old Jeremy goes missing. The police descend and a media storm swirls, over five days of searching that hurtle towards an inevitable, terrible conclusion.

Maisie is facing another fight, and this time it’s the fight of her life. But she’s a survivor. Whatever the odds, she’ll never give in.


My Review

The book opens in present day, Maisie Bean is about to do a talk and she is feeling nervous. She takes the reader back to the past that shows us how she got to where she is and why she does what she does. She has two beautiful kids who have their own issues after watching their mother survive and abusive relationship. They live with Maisie and her mum whose illness provides more stress and strain on the family. Her youngest is moody, argumentative and trying to find herself and Jeremy is the apple of everyone eye, sixteen but responsible, kind, caring and trustworthy. This is what sends everyone into a panic when he doesn't come home, the media get involved and things from the past won't stay buried.

McPartlin has a style where she can hit some very dark and unsettling topics but still infuse the story with humour and provide light relief which I think is an amazing feat for an artist. The characters you immediately warm to, or hate pending on which ones we are talking about. She whirs up a storm and covers many issues in life that the reader can identify with or at least one of them. Friendship, love, domestic abuse, sexuality, homophobia, media scrutiny, personal growth, family secrets, the list goes on and on whilst not overstretching the story or realism.

I could have easily read this in one sitting had time permitted, you are drawn in within the first few chapters and I gasped out loud at least once. A very talented writer, I have read her before and I will read her again, I think her writing gains strength with age and experience, 4/5 for me this time.

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The Mistress's Revenge by Tamar Cohen

The Mistress's Revenge. Tamar Cohen by Tamar Cohen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Pages - 346

Publisher - Black Swan

Blurb from Goodreads

You think you are rid of me. You think you have drawn a line under the whole affair. You are so, so wrong.

For five years, Sally and Clive have been lost in a passionate affair. Now he has dumped her, to devote himself to his wife and family, and Sally is left in freefall.

It starts with a casual stroll past his house, and popping into the brasserie where his son works. Then Sally befriends Clive's wife and daughter on Facebook. But that's all right, isn't it? I mean, they are perfectly normal things to do. Aren't they?

Not since Fatal Attraction has the fallout from an illicit affair been exposed in such a sharp, darkly funny and disturbing way. After all, who doesn't know a normal, perfectly sane woman who has gone a little crazy when her heart was broken?


My Review

Silly Sally, thats what Clive called her. Clive whom she embarked upon a five year affair with, both married, both have children, both linked in each others circles. Now Clive has called time on the affair, Sally is seeing a therapist and keeping diary entries cataloging the affair and how she saw it all. Clive has moved on, Sally just can't let go and this is her story, of her fall from a loving mum, wife and career woman to one who is fully obsessed with her ex and her world is crumbling around her.

Firstly, there are no chapters in this book, there are page breaks, however it is almost a continuous monologue. Told in first person, Sally speaks clearly to Clive in her entries, there are no dates, she just launches in as if she is having a conversation, all one sided of course. Whilst this isn't my favourite type of layout, I think it serves its purpose, casting light onto just another aspect of how obsessive Sally is/has become.

I can't say I liked any of the characters, Sally is hard to like at all, selfish, obsessed, her behaviour and all consuming affair takes over everything. It is hard for the reader to witness the destruction to those around her, and Sally, whilst she is oblivious. I think this was smartly done in that these kind of situations you see the actions but not the insight of the mind or rational of the individual.

Whilst this was hard to read in parts it was hard to put down, understanding just how Clive managed to get Sally to that state, by manipulation and his actions was quite an insight. Whilst this is a work of fiction I am sure people can identify seeing behaviours like this with friends or family. Going by reviews, this is a marmite book, I think it was very well done however with such unlikeable characters one may require something lighter after finishing this. 4/5 for me this time, I have read Cohen before and I would read her again.





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The Summer of Secrets by Sarah Jasmon

The Summer of Secrets by Sarah Jasmon
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Publisher - Black Swan

Pages - 352

Blurb from Goodreads

In the summer of 1983, when Helen is sixteen, Victoria Dover and her eccentric family move in next door, at once making her lonely world a more thrilling place. But the summer ends with a terrible tragedy, and everyone involved – her father and the entire Dover family – simply disappears.

Then one day, thirty years later, Victoria comes back.


My Review


Sixteen year old Helen is lonely and bored when the Dover family come crashing into her garden and life. She quickly becomes enamoured with the family, particularly Victoria, they build a friendship which comes crashing to an abrupt end and the family disappear. Years later Helen sees Victoria which sees her flipping back to the past and recounting their meeting, leading up to that night. Can Helen get her answers to what happened that night and everything that followed?

This is a tale about friendship, intrigue, personal growth, secrets and families. Helen is a young lonely girl that quickly becomes enveloped in the strange family who appear during the summer of '83. Her mother has left, her father is neglectful and more concerned with his boat and drink than Helen. A story of growth and friendship, from the point of view of a young teenager and what can happen when things go wrong of a night.

The story is interesting and you know there is a reveal however you wait a while to get there. The focus is on the budding relationships and Helen's personal growth, it was just a bit too much teen angst style for me. So many people have loved this book, I liked it and felt the whole thing is tied up nicely which I always think is a good thing, there was just a little oomph missing for me. This is my first time reading this author and I would certainly read her again, 3/5 for me this time, thanks so much to Ben at Penguin Random House for sending me a copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

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