The Kellerby Code by Jonny Sweet

Before I started reading this book, I noticed a paragraph on the back that mentioned that it was a debut novel, then all the way through I kept thinking: How on earth can anyone write anything this good at the first go?

It is a really clever novel that nibbles at the edges of 'cosy crime', but is much darker than most in that genre. There are no sweet little old ladies putting together clues in between Pilates and dinner, and not everyone in it is necessarily on the side of the police, so that gives it an interesting twist. It seems that among the upper classes, it is quite possible to be a pillar of society while still being capable of covering ones tracks if anything unsavoury occurs.

Edward, who has come from more humble beginnings, has managed to earn himself a private education through scholarships and good fortune, ending with an assisted place at Oxford. While he was at the university he met Stanza, who was grieving for her recently deceased mother, and quickly became her shoulder to cry on and indispensable friend. One of Edward's great strengths was organisation and planning, and he helped Stanza to such a degree that she began affectionately calling him her 'Jeeves'.

Edward grew to love Stanza as she was clever and beautiful, but also had a wilful streak that could become slightly malevolent when she thought no one else was watching. He knew she was out of his league romantically, and was satisfied with just being her dear friend, but it wasn't long before his loyalty was tested and he had to decide how far he was prepared to go in order to protect her good name.

Jonny Sweet has created a character in Edward that is alternately innocent and maniacal, but the switch between the two states of mind is wonderfully described. There are times when you can almost hear Edward's heart thumping in his chest with nervous anxiety, and as the book progresses his nervous state almost becomes a breakdown.

The book was chosen for the television series 'Between the Covers' on BBC 2 and it deserves all the recommendations it gets as it's a real stand out crime novel in a very crowded market.

Comments

Violeta by Isabel Allende

Published: 2022, Bloomsbury Genre: Fiction Themes: South America, family relationships, business My rating (out of 5): ❤❤❤❤ If I ever tell my life story, I will take a leaf out of Violeta's book and make sure you understand that everybody loved me, and despite all sorts of questionable behaviour on my part, I leave the world as a winner. This is the story of a hundred year life. Violeta is approaching the end, but before she goes she is determined to write out her life story for someone she loves dearly. You don't get to know who that special someone is for most of the book, but that just serves to give the narrative a little twist. I didn't much like the character of Violeta but I understand that people who don't go round upsetting the apple cart don't make for very interesting stories. With such a great time span to play with, Isabel Allende had plenty of scope for changing Violeta's circumstances and adding in references to world events to keep the reader...

Holding by Graham Norton

Published: October 2016, Hodder and Stoughton Genre: fiction Themes: Ireland, crime, secrets, relationships, family My rating (out of 5): ❤❤❤ I went into the library looking for a book by Graham Norton as I keep seeing positive comments about his books on Twitter, and I felt I might be missing something. Holding seems to be his first book, and the library copy has a Radio 2 Book Club sticker on it, and I think it's fair to say that it's a perfect book for that reading group. It's a chatty style of writing that I could imagine would be how Graham would recount a tale if he was in conversation with someone, and there are sufficient strong elements to the plot-line to keep it interesting to the end. When I first started reading I thought it was going to be a bit thin on plot, as much of the story involved character descriptions, and I was starting to wonder how it was going to pull together. Then the dramatic events began to unfold and, once I could see how everyon...

The Wolf Den by Elodie Harper

Publisher: Head of Zeus, 2021 Genre: Fiction Themes: Ancient Pompeii, slaves, brothel My rating (out of 5): ❤❤❤❤ If, like me, you spent most of your history lessons looking out the window and didn't really absorb very much about the ancient Roman Empire, nil desperandum, as you will still manage perfectly well with this book. Set in first century Pompeii, the story follows the life of Amara, a young Greek woman who has been shipped to Pompeii as a slave and then bought by the owner of The Wolf Den brothel. As the daughter of a doctor, she was bought up in relatively comfortable circumstances, but a series of terrible events turned her life upside down and she is now trapped in an endless cycle of fear and degradation with almost no hope of escape. Amara is one of a group of slaves working in the Wolf Den, and they do what they can to protect one another from serious harm, but Amara knows that if she wants anything better for herself, she must make the brothel ow...

dittybox

Search This Blog