The Guest List by Lucy Foley

Blurb

"A wedding celebration turns dark and deadly in this deliciously wicked and atmospheric thriller reminiscent of Agatha Christie from the author of The Hunting Party.

The bride ‧ The plus one ‧ The best man ‧ The wedding planner ‧ The bridesmaid ‧ The body

On an island off the coast of Ireland, guests gather to celebrate two people joining their lives together as one. The groom: handsome and charming, a rising television star. The bride: smart and ambitious, a magazine publisher. It’s a wedding for a magazine, or for a celebrity: the designer dress, the remote location, the luxe party favors, the boutique whiskey. The cell phone service may be spotty and the waves may be rough, but every detail has been expertly planned and will be expertly executed.

But perfection is for plans, and people are all too human. As the champagne is popped and the festivities begin, resentments and petty jealousies begin to mingle with the reminiscences and well wishes. The groomsmen begin the drinking game from their school days. The bridesmaid not-so-accidentally ruins her dress. The bride’s oldest (male) friend gives an uncomfortably caring toast.

And then someone turns up dead. Who didn’t wish the happy couple well? And perhaps more important, why?"

Kindle Edition, 400 pages
Published March 19th 2020 by HarperCollins
With thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

My Review

It's difficult to do justice to just how brilliant this book really is; I was gripped from the start. As we move between the different points of view, the connections, histories and past grievances begin to come to light. Moving back and forth between the characters first arriving on the island for the wedding and a point leading up to the body being found, Lucy Foley creates a tense atmosphere which kept me on the edge of my seat and unable to put the book down. Her descriptions of the island evoke an eerie sense of isolation from the outside world and from any form of help as a storm begins to rage in both a literal sense and amongst the characters.

Who's the victim and who's the murderer? The author kept me guessing to the very end!

This book gets 5 out of 5 from me.

The Author - in her own words

I live in London, but love traveling - both in real life and on the page (hence the appearance of some far flung locations in my writing).

My latest novel is The Invitation - set in the film world of the 1950s, along the Italian Riviera.

My debut novel, The Book of Lost & Found, published in early 2015.

You can find my Facebook page here:

https://www.facebook.com/LucyFoleyAuthor

and follow me on Twitter as:

@lucyfoleytweets

The Cancer Ladies' Running Club by Josie Lloyd

Blurb

"When Keira receives her breast cancer diagnosis she doesn’t want to have to tell her children or her husband Tom, and she doesn’t want to step back from work. She doesn’t want to sit in a hospital and stare mortality in the face, nor be part of a group of fellow cancer sufferers. Cancer is not her club.

But, as she is forced to accept everything must change and her health becomes something she can’t rely on, Keira finds herself embracing running. Hot, sweaty running in the company of a group of brilliant, funny women each going through treatment.

One step at a time Keira is going to reclaim something. Her family, her business, her life.

Moving and uplifting, this is a novel about love, family and the power of finding your tribe."

Paperback, 400 pages
Expected publication: June 25th 2020 by HQ
Received with thanks from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

My Review

In her introduction, the author Josie Lloyd explained how this book was inspired by her own breast cancer story and the inspiring people she met along the way. The book is really well written and it was good to read a book that honestly tells the struggles of going through cancer treatment, seemingly without sugar-coating it while still telling a story of strength and hope in the face of adversity.

I was drawn in from page one to Keira's world, from the introduction to her family and friends and then receiving the shattering news of her breast cancer diagnosis. I felt every step of her journey and the challenges, heartbreaks and uplifting moments along the way. I felt the reality of what a cancer diagnosis can mean, including the wide variety of reactions from different people and how it affects the family around the person as much as the person themselves.

The Cancer Ladies' Running Club is an inspiring story and I really enjoyed getting to know all the characters, especially the ladies themselves, Keira, Tamsyn, Amma and Sian. The love and support they show each other is really uplifting and show the importance of friendship and understanding in difficult times.

I highly recommend this book and give it 5 out of 5.

The Author

Josie Lloyd has written a lot of books, many of them with her husband Emlyn Rees.

The Familiars by Stacey Hall

Young Fleetwood Shuttleworth, a noblewoman, is with child again. None of her previous pregnancies have borne fruit, and her husband, Richard, is anxious for an heir. Then Fleetwood discovers a hidden doctor’s letter that carries a dire prediction: she will not survive another birth. By chance she meets a midwife named Alice Grey, who promises to help her deliver a healthy baby. But Alice soon stands accused of witchcraft.

Is there more to Alice than meets the eye? Fleetwood must risk everything to prove her innocence. As the two women’s lives become intertwined, the Witch Trials of 1612 loom. Time is running out; both their lives are at stake. Only they know the truth. Only they can save each other.

Rich and compelling, set against the frenzy of the real Pendle Hill Witch Trials, this novel explores the rights of 17th-century women and raises the question: Was witch-hunting really women-hunting? Fleetwood Shuttleworth, Alice Grey and the other characters are actual historical figures. King James I was obsessed with asserting power over the lawless countryside (even woodland creatures, or “familiars,” were suspected of dark magic) by capturing “witches”—in reality mostly poor and illiterate women.

Hardcover, 344 pages
Published February 19th 2019 by Mira Books (first published February 7th 2019)

My Review

This story is told from the point of view of Fleetwood Shuttleworth (yes, that was her real name!), a young woman of 17 who is on her fourth pregnancy and is desperate to ensure her child survives after three miscarriages. When she meets Alice, she meets someone who could be a friend for the first time in her life but Alice has secrets and is mysterious.

I liked the way Stacey Halls wove a story around the history of the real Pendle witch trials using real people who were close to the trials and creating an answer to the mystery of Alice's missing story. I sometimes found Fleetwood's narrative a little unbelievable as she rides around the countryside searching for answers but appreciated the descriptions. I also found her history with her mother really interesting and more believable for the time.

I would really have valued reading chapters from Alice's point of view to further bring her story to life.

This was an enjoyable story with some insight into the danger during witch trials, when neighbours would turn against their neighbours, and being a woman not conforming to patriarchal stereotypes could have you branded a witch. This gets 3 out of 5 from me.

The Author

Stacey Halls grew up in Rossendale, Lancashire, as the daughter of market traders. She has always been fascinated by the Pendle witches. She studied journalism at the University of Central Lancashire and moved to London aged 21. She was media editor at The Bookseller and books editor at Stylist.co.uk, and has also written for Psychologies, the Independent and Fabulous magazine, where she now works as Deputy Chief Sub Editor. The Familiars is her first novel.

All the Water in the World by Karen Raney

A stunning debut novel about a teenage girl and her mother as they grapple with first love, family secrets, and tragedy.

Maddy is sixteen. Smart, funny, and profound, she has loyal friends, a mother with whom she’s unusually close, a father she’s never met, devoted grandparents, and a crush on a boy named Jack. Maddy also has cancer. Living in the shadow of uncertainty, she is forced to grow up fast.

All the Water in the World is the story of a family doing its best when faced with the worst. Told in the alternating voices of Maddy and her mother, Eve, the narrative moves between the family’s lake house in Pennsylvania; their home in Washington, DC; and London, where Maddy’s father, Antonio, lives. Hungry for experience, Maddy seeks out her first romantic relationship, finds solace in music and art, and tracks down Antonio. She continually tests the depths and limits of her closeness with her mother, while Eve has to come to terms with the daughter she only partly knows, in a world she can’t control.

With unforgettable voices that range from tender to funny, despairing to defiant, this novel illuminates the transformative power of love, humor, and hope.

Hardcover, 352 pages

Published August 6th 2019 by Scribner

I received my copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

My Review

This is a tender exploration of the relationship between a mother and daughter in the most difficult of circumstances. The narration switches between Eve and Maddy's perspectives and doesn't always fall in chronological order.

I enjoyed the descriptions of the music which Maddy enjoys so much and the setting of the lake.  This book also contains some of the most detailed descriptions of chemotherapy and its effects that I've read in any novel.

The story and the relationships between the characters were very moving and I enjoyed the story, although towards the end Eve's actions seemed perhaps a little out of character. I'd give this 3 out of 5 and would be interested to read future novels by Karen Raney.

Postscript by Cecilia Ahern

It's been seven years since Holly Kennedy's husband died – six since she read his final letter, urging Holly to find the courage to forge a new life.

She’s proud of all the ways in which she has grown and evolved. But when a group inspired by Gerry's letters, calling themselves the PS, I Love You Club, approaches Holly asking for help, she finds herself drawn back into a world that she worked so hard to leave behind.

Reluctantly, Holly begins a relationship with the club, even as their friendship threatens to destroy the peace she believes she has achieved. As each of these people calls upon Holly to help them leave something meaningful behind for their loved ones, Holly will embark on a remarkable journey – one that will challenge her to ask whether embracing the future means betraying the past, and what it means to love someone forever…


Paperback, 368 pages
Published September 19th 2019 by HarperCollins
I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

My Review

I first read P.S. I Love You back in 2004 when it was released and loved the emotional story of Holly and Gerry and his letters to help her move on after he passed away. Since then I have also enjoyed the film adaptation, which changed a lot of details but still had the same feeling of the original story. In the intervening years I had definitely forgotten some of the details of the book and focussed on the film, so if anyone else is the same, I would recommend re-reading P.S. I Love You before reading Postscript - I wish I had!

Postscript rejoins Holly seven years after Gerry died and six years after his last letter. She has moved on with a new job and new boyfriend but is still treated by her family as very fragile due to her grief. She has also become an expert at distracting herself from thinking about Gerry too much. 

When she shares the story of Gerry's letters, people in similar situations to Gerry are inspired to form a club focussing on helping their own loved ones after they're gone. The stories of the PS, I Love You Club members are very moving. I was particularly captivated by Ginnika and Jewel and was heartbroken by the end. It was interesting to see how Holly was affected by each member of the group and how it helped her reflect on Gerry's loss and his letters, although I did find some of Holly's reflections quite lengthy and maybe a little repetitive.

I really enjoyed Postscript and felt like it has enhanced the original story, emphasising how grief for a loved one is a lifelong process but that there can be hope for the future.

I highly recommend Postscript for those who loved P.S. I Love You. I give it 4 out of 5.

The Author

Cecelia Ahern was born and grew up in Dublin. She is now published in nearly fifty countries, and has sold over twenty-five million copies of her novels worldwide. Two of her books have been adapted as films and she has created several TV series.