Murder at the Maples by Joanne Phillips : Review

Murder at the Maples by Joanne Phillips (Flora Lively Investigates #1)

Synopsis: A tragic death. A reluctant sleuth. A childhood prank that went horribly wrong.
When Flora Lively inherits her father’s business she’s totally out of her depth. Shakers Removals is in trouble, and manager Marshall isn’t helping one bit – the ex-pat American delights only in winding her up. But Flora has other things on her mind, like Joy: surrogate grandmother and resident of the Maples Retirement Village. When Joy’s pet pug has a brush with death, Flora is pulled into a series of bizarre incidents at the Maples, where fear is starting to take hold.

My Review: I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, it was a delightful, intriguing mystery. The main character Flora Lively reminded me of a young Jean Brodie and Miss Marple. Flora is desperate to do the right thing and continue to successfully run the family home removals business 'Shakers' since the death of her parents.  She refuses to accept the help of Marshall the manger who her father trusted.  Flora's lack of decision making around the family business had me virtually shouting at her, just let Marshall get on with the job and stop getting in the way of his ideas!  I loved the relationship between these two characters, everyone but Flora seemed notice there is something between the two.

Whilst Joy a surrogate grandmother to Flora has settled into life at The Maples Retirement Home, things are not as they appear. Are the residents of The Maples safe, is Joy safe, is the dog safe? I liked the relationship Flora built with the older characters at the retirement home, it showed a caring, thoughtful and kind side in such a young person. I must admit that Joy did remind me of my aunt, who can be rather stubborn and cantankerous if people get in her way. I really felt for Flora when she was faced with the dilemma of trusting and believing what Joy was telling her, or doubting whether Joy was getting herself confused. 

Flora with the help of Marshall, her Uncle, Joy and Otto the dog dig into the past of Felix a new resident at the Maples. Or do the answers lie with the manager of the Maples and a local corrupt solicitor.   I was a little surprised by Joy's past that sweet old lady has something of a dark secret.

It was such a delight reading this book as it is based in Shropshire, which is where I live, it really did add to my enjoyment having visited many of the locations particularly the Cliff Railway at Bridgnorth. A thoroughly enjoyable cosy mystery read, I can not wait to read the next in the Flora Lively Investigates series, which according to Joanne Phillips will be out soon.

I gave this book 4 stars out of 5 on Goodreads where it currently has an average of 3.52 stars.

To find out more about the book or the author Joanne Phillips visit the following links.

Goodreads   ~  Amazon

Angela

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How I Wonder What You Are by Jane Lovering

When Molly first meets Phinn, he's drunk, naked, and unconscious. Both are running away from heartbreak, and have found themselves in a small Yorkshire village. When they realise that they are the only ones who seem to be witnessing a strange night-sky phenomenon, the investigation into what it might be draws them closer together.

When reading a romance novel, I find it important to manage my expectations. As I have mentioned in previous reviews, I don't expect to be shocked by plot twists; ultimately, readers go in knowing what they are going to get. As soon as a male and female character are introduced, it's easy to quickly assess whether or not they are 'meant to be', and once you have decided that they are, you are under no illusions as to the culmination of events.

The fun in reading a romance, therefore, is not found in the basic plot journey between girl meets boy and girl gets boy. It's found in all of the ephemera; the central conceit of the story, the supporting characters, and what happens to the girl and boy before they manage to end up together.

Unfortunately, How I Wonder What You Are didn't really provide me with too much fun in that ephemera. I liked Molly and Phinn well enough, and it was fun to watch them slowly realise that they like each other, only to have various obstacles thrown into their path. But at the centre of the story are the mysterious lights that they see in the sky, and which nobody else seems to be able to see. For me, it just seemed as though it was a heavy handed way to throw the couple together, and it didn't really work.

It wasn't a total failure; I engaged with the characters, and cared about their ultimate fate, but it's not a book that I'd rush to recommend to anyone else. Ultimately it was just a perfectly acceptable way to step away from the reality of my own life for a couple of hours.

How I Wonder What You Are
First published: December 2014
Choc Lit
Review copy provided by publisher

Never Marry a Politician by Sarah Waights

The unusually named Emily Pemily has spent many years becoming the model wife. Married to a junior politician, she has allowed a political party to shape the way she lives her life, and now, as her husband's profile grows, she finds that she is having to make bigger changes, and sacrifice more and more, in order to remain the wife she is expected to be.

I can't say that I am ordinarily a fan of out and out romance novels. I prefer my romance to come as a side to adventure, or comedy, or history. So when I am presented with the chance to read a book like this, I sometimes have to think twice, but it does present the possibility for me to be pleasantly surprised, and that's what happened with Never Marry a Politician.

The story was engaging, and the characters easy to identify with. Emily is a heroine that the reader can quickly empathise with; she married Ralph (pronounced 'Raph') after a whirlwind romance, and as the book progresses, it becomes clear that she was on the rebound from a love affair that she never quite gets over, despite settling down to a happy life with Ralph. For his part, her husband is quickly established as the villain of the piece, but he's not a one-note antagonist. He's an ambitious man, who, through a series of events, progresses through the ranks of his party very quickly. His ambition doesn't leave room for Emily's doubts, so she is left to deal with the whirlwind changes on her own.

Part of the fun of reading a story like this, is knowing where it is going. I don't read books like this to be surprised by the twists and turns of the story. I enjoy reading a story where I know the eventual outcome within a couple of chapters, and the fun comes from seeing how the characters reach that point.

I read Never Marry a Politician in one sitting, last month, when I was trying to reach my yearly goal. A lazy afternoon between Christmas and New Year is the perfect time to read a book like this; without expectation that it is a literary masterpiece, it is able to pleasantly surprise.

Never Marry a Politician
First published: November 2014
ASIN: B00P9KVWA8
Choc Lit
Review copy provided by publisher

The Cleaner of Chartres by Sally Vickers : Review

The Cleaner of Chartres by Sally Vickers

I was inspired to read this novel following a talk given by the author Sally Vickers at Wellington Literary Festival in October 2014. Sally talked about her time as a psychoanalyst and how her travels to France and Italy inspired her writing.  It was an interesting talk and as a result I felt encouraged to read one of her novels. Her novel The Cleaner of Chartres was part of the Literary Festival display in my local library.

Synopsis
"There is something very special about Agnès Morel. A quiet presence in the small French town of Chartres, she can be found cleaning the famed medieval cathedral each morning and doing odd jobs for the townspeople. No one knows where she came from or why. Not Abbé Paul, who discovered her one morning twenty years ago, sleeping on the north porch, and not Alain Fleury, the irreverent young restorer who works alongside her each day and whose attention she catches with her tawny eyes and elusive manner. She has transformed each of their lives in her own subtle way, yet no one suspects the dark secret Agnès is hiding.

When an accidental encounter dredges up a series of tragic incidents from Agnès’s youth, the nasty meddling of town gossips threatens to upend the woman’s simple, peaceful life. Her story reveals a terrible loss, a case of mistaken identity, and a cruel and violent act that haunts her past. Agnès wrestles with her own sense of guilt and enduring heartbreak while the citizens piece together the truth about her life."

My review
I really struggled to get into this book, I was just not hooked by the story. The book is only 296 pages, which for me is a short read and for that I was grateful. I found the first 200 pages slow going, and a number of the characters unlikeable, and as such I was not interested in their story. The pace picked up in the final 90 pages, when I did start to enjoy it. In fact I was almost surprised by the slight twist of discovery at the end of the story.  Though nothing is confirmed by the author it is left with the reader to interpret the evidence. On a positive note, I did enjoy the interaction between Alain and Agnes, and found their exchanges of knowledge and wisdom endearing.The history behind the architecture of the cathedral was fascinating, and cleverly told through Alain.

I do not like to give up on a book, hence the reason why I continued to read this book to the end, and the story did improve towards the end.  I am just grateful  though that I borrowed this book from my local library and did not buy it.

I gave this book 2 stars out of 5 on Goodreads where it had an average of 3.7 stars.

To find out more about the book or the author Sally Vickers visit the following links.

Goodreads ~ The Book Depository  ~  Amazon

Angela

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