Bookworm

You may recall that a couple of weeks ago I set up what I hope will be a fairly regular post which explores a couple (or three) books that I have read on my Kindle, and what I thought of them.  These are my ‘Reviewlets’ – entirely my opinion and not biased in any way, a bit of fun, and hopefully a bit of direction to those who are hopelessly scavenging about in the millions of written words out there.  

I am focusing my reviewlets on Kindle books, but not exclusively to the detriment of others, because I find it the easiest thing to shove in my handbag whilst waiting for my boys at endless sporting activities.  Admittedly I have an older generation Kindle, which is black and white, and this has made me a little less superficial in choosing books.  Whereas before the cover was a great attraction, now I literally cannot judge a book by its cover.  I am also relying on recommendations, and trying to vary my reading so that I can give you, the blog reader, something in your favoured genre.

The Expats by Chris Pavone  

This was an actual book, handed to me by a friend, but available on kindle. It’s been a while since I have read a spy book, and this one did not disappoint.  Written from the point of view of a stay at home mum, who had given up her job to accompany her husband to his lucrative posting in Luxembourg, the story quickly escalates, jumping from the present to the past in which we learn that all of the main protagonists have secrets.  Hence the mummies that lunch, coffee mums, and school mums are not who they seem.  Neither are their husbands.  Kate is an intelligent heroine who is constantly bamboozled.  We quickly get into her way of thinking and her confusion becomes ours.  You begin to think like a spy too – trying to predict where the story line will take you. There are quite a few Americanisms, but the overall story keeps you on side.

This book not only has a cracking spy story, but it explores the relationship between a married couple who have kept major parts of their lives secret from one another  - kind of like Mr and Mrs Smith (2005, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie).  I for one couldn’t see how it was going to end, and it was a goodie.  I would highly recommend it as a great romp of a read.

Wrong Place Wrong Time by David P Perlmutter, Elaine Denning

From the very outset this was a painful read for me, and I am not talking in a good way.  Based on true experiences, and written by the main protagonist, with I assume, a writer, this was an awkward and frustrating book.  What I mean is that the story itself is worthy of so much more than this book gave.  It jumped around all over the place, it was too concise – if the reader was piqued and curious there were no answers given.  To be honest, I ended up feeling sorry for the main character, but frustrated at the end.   Pretty Dismal Read.

There are ways of writing a stunning set of events which answers the reader’s questions and also provides a challenging read.

For example,

Slave Girl by SarahForsyth 

about an ordinary British girl who answered an advert for a nannying job in Europe and found herself sold into prostitution in Amsterdam is a no holds barred grittily realistic and uncomfortable journey into a sordid underworld.  It shows how she coped, how she did what she had to do, how she escaped.  It gives the reader a shocking insight to what can really happen behind those red light windows that all stag and hen parties leer at on their weekends away.  If I was a mother of a teenage girl it would probably make me a little overprotective, and it is definitely a shocking story - not a lying by the pool, light holiday book, but a great and worthwhile read nevertheless.  Recommended read.

All of these books have been either recommended or hand picked for review by me. They are my honest opinion, and I would welcome comments or further recommendations.