My Sister's Bones by Nuala Ellwood

My Sister's Bones by Nuala Ellwood
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 400

Publisher - Penguin UK

Source - Given by a friend

Blurb from Goodreads

Are You Brave Enough To Go Back?

Kate Rafter is a successful war reporter. She's the strong one. The one who escaped Herne Bay and the memories it holds. Her sister Sally didn't. Instead, she drinks. But when their mother dies, Kate is forced to return to the old family home. And on her first night she is woken by a terrifying scream.

What secret has Kate stumbled upon?

And is she strong enough to uncover the truth . . . and make it out alive?


My Review

Well this was different and not what I was expecting at all, Kate is a reporter, covers war torn countries. Home now after finding her mother has died (she missed the funeral) and her sister Sally is still not speaking to her. Kate has PTSD, medicated to try and get through the recurring traumas, the first half of the book focuses on her being back home and facing old trauma from her past and alcoholic father. The second half of the book really changed in pace, we then go to Sally and see her POV of the things Kate told us she suffered as a kid, now we see Sally's version. Sally is an alcoholic and only when something forces through the haze of booze is Sally forced out of her bubble, further pushing her already strained marriage.

Warning, as well as things witnessed in an active/ongoing war country/flashbacks, we have memories of abuse/violence/DV/alcoholism/exploitation and a horrific scene of animal death. I wasn't prepared for it and despite maybe showing just how far Sally has falling I just don't think it was needed and the scene is brutal (its a bird).

The narrators are unreliable, it jumps about, it is really dark and whilst there were things I really didn't like there is no denying the book has a pull about it. It is a very dark read so proceed with caution, this was my first by this author, I would absolutely read them again. They have a knack for painting very vivid scenes and lots of it is brutal and gives authentic vibes, 3/5.

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True Story by Katie Reed Petty

True Story by Kate Reed Petty
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Pages - 386

Publisher - Riverrun

Source - Review copy

Blurb from Goodreads

Tracing the fifteen-year fallout of a toxic high school rumor, a riveting, astonishingly original debut novel about the power of stories—and who gets to tell them

2015. A gifted and reclusive ghostwriter, Alice Lovett makes a living helping other people tell their stories. But she is haunted by the one story she can't tell: the story of, as she puts it, "the things that happened while I was asleep."

1999. Nick Brothers and his lacrosse teammates return for their senior year at their wealthy Maryland high school as the reigning state champions. They're on top of the world—until two of his friends drive a passed-out girl home from of the team's "legendary" parties, and a rumor about what happened in the backseat spreads through the town like wildfire.

The boys deny the allegations, and, eventually, the town moves on. But not everyone can. Nick descends into alcoholism, and Alice builds a life in fits and starts, underestimating herself and placing her trust in the wrong people. When she finally gets the opportunity to confront the past she can't remember—but which has nevertheless shaped her life—will she take it?

An inventive and breathtaking exploration of a woman finding her voice in the wake of trauma, True Story is part psychological thriller, part fever dream, and part timely comment on sexual assault, power, and the very nature of truth. Ingeniously constructed and full of twists and turns that will keep you guessing until the final pages, it marks the debut of a singular and daring new voice in fiction.




My Review

Is I had to describe this book in one word I would say trippy. The book goes over multiple timelines, character narratives - first person narration, movie scripts, essays in different drafts, emails so it is quite a mixed bag. Prologue is present day (ish) then a movie (script) then 1999 when the event happened that plays such a huge part in so many lives. A young girl passed out drunk, two young guys alone with her in a car and lots of rumours of a sexual assualt, bragging and pack/popularity mentality. We then flip forward again and follow one of the friends of the boys as an adult and how his life is going.

The book touches on a lot of triggering issues, sexual abuse and the popular kicks attitudes to it, alcoholism, animlal abuse/death, self harm, control, coercion, manipulation and the long reaches that one night, one incident can have on more than one person.

It took me ages to settle into it, the changes in time, in layout, in characters however once I could work out who was who and what was going on it made more sense. Certainly a different read and it crosses genres as some passages, the movie scripts are spooky, haunting, horror but then the story itself is an abusive event and how it affected those involved. You really need to concentrate, well I did, to keep up with it. It isn't a book you can dip in and out of as so much happens in so many directions. Different, weird, tripping, thought provoking, I think it would be a very good choice for a reading/discussion group, 3.5/5 for me this time.

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Cold Shoulder by Lynda La Plante

Cold Shoulder by Lynda La Plante
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - in and out over 4 days

Pages - 415

Publisher - Random House

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

Lorraine Page is a down-on-her-luck ex-LAPD cop, recruited against her will to hunt for a serial killer. Cold Shoulder is the story of a young woman who has everything: a devoted husband, two beautiful daughters, and a successful career as a lieutenant with the Pasadena Homicide Squad. But when her partner is shot and dies in her arms, Lorraine's life starts to unravel. The after-hours drinking that once was social becomes her refuge, and soon she's not waiting until the end of her shift. From there it all comes undone with frightening speed: Drunk, she kills an innocent boy while on duty, is fired from the force, is abandoned by her family, and ends up living on the street as a prostitute. Cold Shoulder is the dramatic, frighteningly explicit account of Lorraine Page's fall and nightmarish recovery while caught between the danger of a serial killer on the loose and the manipulations of the old-boy police force that had ostracized her not so long before. The book reverberates with realism because it is based on a true story, one that has been meticulously researched and crafted by Lynda La Plante, a consummate expert in crime writing.



My Review

Thia has sat on my shelf for years, went on a bit of a buying splurge when I read this authors Bella Mafia and then Red Dahlia. Cold Shoulder opens with decorated officer Lorraine Page making a fatal mistake at work. Drunk and killing an innocent kid, career in tatters she hits the booze harder and loses everything including years of her life. Once she has hit rock bottom the road to recovery has to start, battling addiction/alcoholism does she not end up in the path of a serial killer. The last place Lorraine wants to find herself is with or helping the police. Past and present must be faced if she is to overcome her demons and face the challenge of helping stop a killer before they strike again.

Ooft what a busy book and some of the things Lorraine does! She is a very very unlikeable character, she goes to the very bottom of humanity with her addiction being the be all and end all. It is a gruelling journey to follow but we see glimpses of humanity and then fling in a killer, I got really pulled into this book. I forgot how much I enjoyed La Plante's writing, even when it is characters you really really don't like. You absolutely want to see where they head and what is next for them.

This is part of a trilogy, I have the other books as I bought a ton back when I found this author. It won't be long before I pick up book two and see where the story goes next. Some people may find upsetting the parts were addiction has it claws into the character, horrible choices and behaviours, dangerous situations, lack of care for herself, prostitution, endangerment and vile/selfish behaviour and attitude. Makes for very gripping reading though, 5/5 for me this time.

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