Jules Hardy

A different kind of book of what I was expecting...it is not the thriller I was thinking of when I got it via Bookcrossing, ages ago. In fact, the book has been on my TBR shelf for 11 years, and in my hands several times, but only recently I chose it among all the books, as I was hoping in a light thriller story to entertain me on a train ride to Birmingham and back.
I was hooked by the story. It's not a thriller as I thought, nor a serial killer story as we know them. It's really a tragic story of a family, of the rich and not so, of the search for justice and thirst of revenge, and since it is not a thriller it is not a fault that you can see where this is going.
Unfortunately, I found the end a bit too rushed, but all in all a good read. I have another book by this author, and I will probably give it a go before too long - hoping it will be just as easy to read and entertaining.… (plus d'informations)

The first section of this book was one of the best opening sections to any book I’ve ever read. It happens sometimes, when I pick up a book by someone I haven’t previously heard of, and think “wow, this is amazing”, and immediately know I want to read everything else they have ever written. It happened with this one – such great writing, hopping from subject to subject with ease, ignoring what is boring and concentrating on what is interesting, imagery that helped rather than hindered. I loved that it fooled me, too – having read the synopsis and then the first section I was thinking: “OK, so what’s the big problem?” and then I got to the end of the chapter and immediately went back and read through it again and sure enough, the clues were there.

The next couple of chapters continued this powerful writing, but it was once the book reached the halfway mark that I began unexpectedly to fall out of love with it. It was as though all its messages had been conveyed in that first half and all that was left was to go over and over old ground. I found I had less and less interest in Joan’s life in the 1970s; having been told “I was very very beautiful” and “I was very very clever” so many times it was like a mantra, now we were being told “I was very promiscuous”, and it was a bit like being beaten around the head with a blunt instrument.

So, a book of two halves. So much promise, humour and interest at the start but a bit of an anti-climax to finish, and one I was ultimately glad to put down. Was it worth it? On balance, I think yes… (plus d'informations)

This is one of the most disturbing books I have ever read. It has incest, pedophilia, social violence, you name it.

Why I read this? Well, in my college days, I was on a long train journey and this was the only book available at the smallest bookstore in the world at a train station (I didn't catch the name)which was not written by a Crichton, a Grisham or an Archer.

Not bad but a very grim tale. The end will break your heart. It still pains me from time to time whenever I think about that last page. Some stories just stays with you.… (plus d'informations)