Hot Books for August

 

Dear friends.  Welcome to another round-up of book reviews.

My reading for August included four of my favourite authors: Colm Tóibín, K L Slater, Richard Armitage and Amanda Prowse.

There's also some interesting non-fiction with a new book after decades by style guru David Kibbe, how to age joyfully by a gerontologist, and some of the strangest ways to die in Tudor times. 

As always, most of my books were given to me in advance of publication by NetGalley or Amazon First Reads in exchange for a review.  I've indicated with an asterisk where I purchased a book. 

The Women of Arlington Hall by Jane Healey (4 stars)

General Fiction,  Historical Fiction 

An enjoyable historical fiction book about female code breakers in the Cold War in the late 1940s. Cat Killeen has joined the "government girls" at Arlington Hall, unsure of exactly what her role entails. She finds out it's a code breaking project aimed at rooting out Soviet spies who have infiltrated the US. 

The leader of her team, the talented but socially withdrawn Meredith is a hard nut to crack, while Cat is less than thrilled to find that an arrogant male peer from Harvard, whom she met on a course, is also at Arlington.

As the story develops, Cat becomes deeply embroiled in a dangerous situation involving a member of her family. There's romance, drama and tough decisions, plus deep friendships between the other women at Arlington.

The story is largely based on truth with several real life characters depicted. Thanks to Amazon First Reads for the advance copy.  

The Lucky Winners by KL Slater (4 stars)

General Fiction (Adult) | Mystery & Thrillers

Kim Slater is on top form with this. I couldn't put it down, and woke at 5am to finish it!

What makes her thrillers so compulsive are the pacing, the suspense that builds, and the relatable characters. 

In The Lucky Winners, a couple win a luxury house in the Lake District. It solves quite a few of their problems and they're full of optimism and keen to get to know the local community.

However their win attracts a lot of jealousy and hostility.  We discover Merri has some secrets, and in true KL Slater fashion, there was a gripping denouement.

The Cut by Richard Armitage, 3.5 stars 

Mystery & Thrillers

Richard Armitage writes classy and thought provoking novels with very unusual plot lines.

Thirty years ago, one of Ben Knott's school friends was murdered. Another went to prison. The story ended. The village of Barton Mallett tried to move on.

As the murderer’s sentence ends, the village is chosen as the unlikely location for a feature film by a Hollywood producer, with Ben’s son Nathan cast in the leading role.

As the film takes shape, Ben begins to recognise the storyline – from his own past. As his son becomes immersed in a tale of bullying and retribution, things turn dangerous, and an uncomfortable truth begins to emerge. Ben must choose between the safety of his children and reopening the wounds of the past. How much is he willing to risk to protect his family – and himself?

The plot grips you from the start as Armitage creates an atmosphere of fear and dread as a young film maker runs for his life in eerie surroundings.

The plot unfolds over two timelines and it was sometimes a challenge to know who was who, and as a result my score is 3.5 rather than 4. 

Overall an adept and creative thriller from the author of the outstanding Geneva.

Ever After by Amanda Prowse (4 stars)

General Fiction (Adult)

Amanda Prowse is the alchemist of our emotions! She is so accurate in capturing her characters' feelings and thoughts, and creates very real, relatable people. 

In Happy Ever After,  the death of her husband has left Enya, in her 50s, bereft. She’s happiest looking after her son, Aiden, his childhood sweetheart, Holly, and her beloved cat, Pickle. She is shocked to feel a connection to a stranger who bumps into her car in the airport car park.  

When Aiden makes a life-changing decision, Enya suddenly finds her close-knit community thrown into chaos. Her best friend, Jenny, isn’t speaking to her, Aiden’s future hangs in the balance, Holly is devastated, and the stranger from the car park is suddenly in her life.

Initially I didn't like several of the characters, but as the story develops, I changed my opinion. As always Amanda perfectly captures the feeling of being stuck that many mid life women experience when they are widowed or divorced. A feel good novel, perfect summer reading.

Long Island by Colm Tóibín (4 stars)*

Literary Fiction / General Fiction (Adult)

This is the follow-up to the hugely successful Brooklyn, which was made into a film starring Saoirse Ronan. To recap, in Brooklyn, Eilis Lacey can't find work in the small town where she lives in 1950s Ireland. She goes to America and builds a new life. Called back to Ireland by a tragedy, she finds herself facing a terrible choice: between love and happiness in the land where she belongs, and the promises she must keep on the far side of the ocean.

Long Island has a similar premise. Eilis has grown weary of her noisy Italian in-laws in New York, where she still feels like an outsider. 

She finds out about a heart breaking secret involving her husband and his mother, where they appear to be colluding against her. She goes back to Ireland and has to decide where her future lies. Can she pick up the pieces? 

I love the spare style of Tóibín's prose and the vivid evocation of Ireland at this time. 

Butter* by Asako Yuzuki, Polly Barton (translation) 4 stars 

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Literary Fiction

Mouth watering descriptions of food combined with sharp insights into misogyny, fat phobia and loneliness make this an exhilarating read, albeit much better in the first half of the book than the second. 

I was constantly Googling the references to Japanese culinary delights. I can't wait to try rice with quality butter and soy sauce. The translation is extraordinarily good.  An unusual storyline for those who like quirky.

NON-FICTION

Joyspan: A Short Guide to Enjoying Your Long Life by Dr Kerry Burnight (4 stars)

Developmental Psychology / Aging Self Help 

Dr Kerry Burnight is a well known gerontologist and broadcaster, @the_gerontologist. 

The earliest seed of this ground-breaking book was planted when she was six years old and visiting her grandmother in a residential nursing home. She glimpsed horrific scenes, from a hollow-cheeked man in a filthy sweatsuit slumped awkwardly in his wheelchair, to a woman with white hair reaching out to her, asking for help.

We don't look forward to aging.  Society is very ageist, and older people are invariably characterised as frail, irrelevant, doddery, past it. When I was still working I didn't dare say I was 61 because I was afraid of colleagues stereotyping me with their pre-conceptions.  They probably guessed how old I was, but hopefully didn't see me as someone who wasn't tech savvy and unwilling to embrace new ideas  (while using my wisdom and experience to advise on history and context). 

Dr Burnight's Joyspan is a philosophy that internal strength is as critical as external fitness. Aging well isn't just about how long we live.  It's how we enjoy our long life that really counts. 

If you're in your 60s and 70s, and constantly being reminded by the media, film and TV that you're now old, it's a good book to read now to help reframe retirement, fitness and positive thinking. It lays the ground work for a happy and productive future. 

Research shows that as we grow older it's the strength of our social connections that impacts how well we live. Burnight also highlights adaptability as a key skill.  It helps us manage transitions like retirement or health challenges through proactive engagement and emotional regulation.

The book is realistic. Burnight points out that you can't surmount the genetic and biological factors of ageing.

While she uses her 95 year old mother as a great example of a Joyspan senior, with an active social life, I consider my own mum, at 93, who was busily socialising and organising trips until she was 87. 

After lockdown her social circle diminished significantly,  and health problems mean she is reluctant to go out. She is sad and resentful that her own "Joyspan" has ended so abruptly, although she was of course fortunate to live joyfully until 87. Burnight's book has tips on how we can rally after our joyspan dips. 

She urges us to instigate connections.  "We often get so caught up in the fact that nobody is reaching out to us, we forget that we can do the reaching out."  She quotes an example of a woman who had never expected to feel lonely. She'd enjoyed a long marriage and a satisfying career. When her husband developed dementia, her once busy life slowed and she longed for someone to talk to. She read through a box of old letters and tentatively rang an old school friend, after finding her number online.  She heard a delighted laugh, and the years melted away.

This resonates with me.  Last year I organised a school reunion, and some of the attendees were so thrilled to rediscover their friendships they started a WhatsApp group. Meanwhile I was back in contact with a wonderful friend and we're often sniggering away on Messenger.  I am organising another reunion for October after tracking down more people.  

Thanks to publishers Octopus for the paperback copy. 

David Kibbe's Power of Style: A Guided Journey to Help You Discover Your Authentic Self * (3 stars) 

Beauty & Fashion, Fashion & Style 

As someone who's interested in colour analysis and style personalities, I'd heard a lot about David Kibbe and was intrigued to learn more. This is his first book for decades and discusses his guidelines for discovering personal style. 

I'm afraid it left me unimpressed. 

Kibbe is not modest about his achievements; he was a child prodigy pianist and successful actor. His book does not have the usual quizzes to determine your style personality but requires personal soul searching to determine if you are Yin or Yang (or both), preferably after you've done some breathing exercises developed by his wife. 

This type of "self discovery" doesn't appeal to me. One of the first steps is watching some films - all old - and deciding which style icon's clothes you like best.  I'm not sure that this is the best way to apply style rules to yourself because what works on someone tall and slim like Katherine Hepburn, or petite like Audrey Hepburn, may not be right for your shape and personality.

Kibbe's drama background plays out in his love of the style of former icons. The transformations shown all looked dated to me. In every picture,  the women wear high heels. This seems regressive.  Women have been freed from this tyranny.

He is dismissive of trends - imposed by commercial forces to make us buy things - and fashion, which is a passing nod to certain styles at points in time. I admire the New Look of Dior, for example, but the designer whose outfits I covet is Vivienne Westwood. She applied glamour to heritage fabrics and designed to celebrate curves, but she isn't mentioned. 

I tried hard but I couldn't find anything that really resonated with me. 

Strange Ways To Die in the Tudor Ages by Emily Bush, Carrie Ingram-Gettins  (4 stars) 
History | Nonfiction (Adult)

Imagine being asleep in your bed in Hereford one minute, and then dragged to your death by a bear in the next. The bear in question belonged to a David Northe. It managed to break free of its chains and climb through a window in Agnes Owens's house.

It's just one of the many animal - related deaths in this curious compendium of strange ways to die. 

Animal and bird incidents aside, there's an interesting section about crime and punishment in Tudor times. Those sent to the stocks, or pillory, had additional punishment heaped on them by people throwing things, jeering and slapping them. Swearing and blasphemy was punished by public humiliation and sometimes a branding, with a B being branded on the chest of a blasphemer.

The deaths of the two beheaded wives of Henry VIII are also covered plus those of many of the senior people at his court who were out of favour. Not all beheadings were carried out well. Margaret Pole managed to escape from the block when her executioner swung his axe and missed. It took 11 strikes to defeat this doughty old lady, who at 67 was considered very old in Tudor times.

A fascinating book.

I hope you enjoyed this month's reviews.  I love getting feedback so it would make my day if you left a comment or observation.

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