THE ICE PRINCESS by Camilla Lackberg

Translated from the Swedish, this is the first murder mystery in a series featuring writer Erica Falck and detective Patrik Hedstrom. Being the first novel, the author does a lot of scene setting with Erica returning to the small town she was brought up in to sort out her parents' estate following their recent deaths in a car accident.  She is a journalist,  in her mid-30s, tired, stressed, single again, and is both happy and relieved to be back in her old home, enjoying the peace and quiet of her old neighbourhood. Until her best friend from childhood, the beautiful, successful, happily married Alex is found dead in her bathtub, apparently by her own hand.

Being a journalist she  naturally has a very enquiring mind, and fairly quickly she sees that things don't quite stack up in the death by suicide scenario. She and Alex were only children when they were best friends, with Alex and her family suddenly disappearing when the girls were about 10 years old. This little mystery and a few other odd things about Alex and her life do not sit well with Erica. The local detective Patrik also remembers Alex from childhood, and when he and Erica team up, the layers of silence and terrible secrets are gradually revealed.

I kind of guessed what was going on, but the time lines always remained a little hazy, so the big reveal when it did come was still a shock. Which of course is exactly what you want in a good thriller/murder mystery. Plenty of clues and red herrings tossed around, but not enough to give too many Aha moments. I really liked this novel - with a well developed plot line, it just manages to nicely walk the line between 'dynamic crime-solving duo' and the delicate art of slowly peeling the layers behind the lives of those entwined with those who are killed - yes, there is another death! I would happily read the next in the series. 

NEVER GO BACK by Lee Child (#18 Jack Reacher Series)

I am a Jack Reacher novice - this is only the second one I have read, sort of foisted upon me at a holiday accommodation place where guests can swap a read book for an unread one. This was the only one that appealed, so I began. The reviews from other readers seem to be a bit rubbish, but I liked it! Perfect reading fodder for long haul flights, sitting in a terminal, lounging by a pool, recovering from a gastric episode in your hotel room. No brain required to read and digest, plenty of action, odd characters, possibly ridiculous and unrealistic plot happenings, but rollicking good fun. A book that filled a purpose most perfectly. And apparently this story is the bones of the second Jack Reacher movie. Wow - with 17 others to choose from, I wonder what was special about this one! 

QUEST by AJ Ponder

It has been a few years now since I felt the indulgent pleasure of reading bedtime stories to my children, having a nightly excuse to become a child again myself, immersed in a world different from that of GrownUp. Escapism, fairy tales, fantasy, magic, a sort of parallel reality to adulting, where all things are seen from a different perspective.

So when I chose this little gem to review, I was secretly wanting to be taken back to the days of magic, the mischief that magicians and sorcerers would get up to, princesses and princes, dragons, silly story lines. And this sure delivered. Reminiscent of The Princess Bride, no introduction needed and which I haven't read as it so happens, but have seen the movie of course.

In this action packed story Princess Sylvalla does not want to be a princess. She wants to be a hero, to slay dragons, to wield a sword, to break out. And one day she does - she escapes the castle, setting in motion a 'princess hunt' which attracts all sorts of dodgy characters, opportunists, wizards, con men, runaways. It is actually hilarious. Some of them even join Sylvalla in her posse to hunt dragons - Jonathon the con man chasing his stolen treasure; his 150 year old father who is also a wizard; Dirk the world's most deadly swordsman; and Francis, the horse groomer who sees a chance to escape his lowly existence.

The story line is pretty crazy, and the characters are all over the place, but the writing is magnificent. This book is made for reading aloud, it fair rollicks along, a huge vocabulary with marvellous character drawings, funny dialogue and conversations. The best parts though, to encourage fully engaged adult interaction with child, are the footnotes the author has made which are really for adult eyes only. Funny, wicked and sometimes a bit naughty. There is no happy living after in this story either! No handsome prince, no evil witch. So the traditional fairy tale is turned on its head, and I hope to see more of Syvalla's adventures, because she is well set up to take on more baddies.

THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW by A.J. Finn

Who is the woman in the window? Is it Dr Anna Fox, child psychologist, house bound, pill popping, bottle swigging, movie watching tragic figure? Or is it one of her many neighbours she 'observes' (if one is being kind), or 'spies on' (if one is not being kind)? Between viewings, she binge watches old movies, most notably Hitchcock, Stewart, Bogart, Bacall and Bergman, Rear Window being the one most closely linked to Anna and her story.

One evening she has her own Rear Window/Girl on the Train moment, watching the neighbours, seeing something bad that really she shouldn't have seen. Well, she thinks she sees something bad happen, but has enormous trouble convincing the police and the few people she lets into her world that a catastrophic event has occurred.

As readers, I don't think we are ever really in doubt that Anna is 100% sane, not delusional or hysterical. Yes, she has some major mental health problems due to I guess what we would label as a post traumatic stress disorder. But she is so level headed and rational in her daily life within the small physical boundaries she operates/lives in, that we really do know that what she saw is true. We are constantly rooting for her - Go Anna, Go. You can do this. The real world however, is not so rational or so kind, neat and tidy. Anna has a very complicated challenge on her hands, not only in finding the truth, but also fighting her own huge demons so as to convince everyone else that truth and that she is not completely nuts.

Not only is the plot amazing, with so many twists, deviations, and the possibly unreliable narrator presence, but the writing, the creation of the tension, the slow but steady build up of the tension,  as well as the psychology of what is going on in Anna's brain, is outstanding. I knew this was a good read from reviews and sales, but am only now appreciating what a great thriller this is. 

THE PASSAGE by Justin Cronin

What a tome. 950+ pages of a genre I could not decide on - but after googling feel quite safe in saying 'apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction'. Initially I would have said horror - dracula; maybe science fiction - experiments gone wrong; fantasy even? I have googled plot lines of the 2nd and 3rd books - more of the same, all of which have equally stunning reviews and ratings, but think this is enough for me!

Having said all that, this is really really good, if somewhat overwhelming and decidedly unpleasant in its subject matter. I couldn't stop reading this, staying up to the small hours several times. It is fantastically put together, really good characters, much of it believable, horrifying, dazzling. I wouldn't say I loved it, but it was a great read, transporting me to somewhere I didn't particularly want to go, but still holding my breath to read what was going to happen next.

So many reviews of this already on line and everywhere else so very brief plot outline. An experiment that started in South America to develop a virus gets spectacularly out of control, resulting basically, in the death of America. There are always survivors in these things - think Cormac McCarthy's The Road, and that is what the bulk of the novel is about. It is also the story of a little girl, Amy, who is infected with the virus, but due to her youth does not die, becoming another type of being, the only person who can stop the complete destruction of the world as we know it.

So good, so scary, so challenging, so terrifying and now I can punish myself further by watching the TV series 'loosely' based on the novel, whatever that may mean. Reviews so far - average, maybe proof yet again that the book is always better than the film/TV series.

THE HUNTING PARTY by Lucy Foley

Shades of Agatha Christie immediately come to mind with a group of old friends stuck together in one place, with one of them turning up dead. This is definitely a sit down in one place and binge read kind of book. So many mysteries and secrets that in true Christie fashion are gradually revealed, leaving everyone wide open and vulnerable. 

It is New Year's Eve weekend. Emma is the person in charge of organising the annual weekend away of four couples, now in their late 20s, who have been friends since university days. Emma has chosen a hunting lodge in the highlands of Scotland, and armed with champagne, illicit drugs and gourmet food they descend on the idyllic property for a few days of R and R under the watchful eyes of gamekeeper Doug and manager Heather, both with their own interesting back stories. Oh, and let's not forget the two random Icelandic hikers who have somehow ended up at the lodge too. 

 By New Year's Day one of these people is dead, but we don't even find out who that is until 2/3 of the way through the story. A bad snow storm isolates the hunting lodge from the outside world, which means that one of the aforementioned people is also the murderer. Imagine that, being stuck in the middle of nowhere, knowing there is a murderer in your midst. Old secrets begin to emerge, betrayals, jealousies and pettiness. The chapters are narrated in turn by Doug, Heather, Emma, and two of the other women in the group Miranda and Katie. The husbands/boyfriends feature of course in the story, but never actually have the story told from their point of view. 

The style of storytelling is exceptionally well done, the isolation and claustrophobia of being powerless adding tension and bit of paranoia to the characters and tone of the story. The environment is spectacularly described and detailed by the writer, contributing to the atmosphere of danger and powerlessness. 

THE TEA ROSE by Jennifer Donnelly

A dazzling combination of historical fiction and romance fiction - you choose which you want it to be. A rag to riches story that opens in the squalor and poverty of the east end of London in the 1880s, moves to New York, then back to London - rag to riches complete. Fiona Finnegan is in her teens when the story begins, madly in love with barrow boy Joe. Fiona works in a tea factory, blessed with a perfect nose for blending teas, but is stuck on the packing floor, Her and Joe dream of opening their own shop, working hard to save money so they can do this. Despite their youthful optimism, life is tough in the East End with no social welfare available, no unionised labour. A tragedy completely destroys Fiona's family, and her dreams with Joe. Her grief and desperate survival instinct take her and her young brother to New York where her uncle lives. He has a successful grocery business, and Fiona knows she will be welcomed with a place to live and work as well as people to care for her and her brother. Naturally things don't go quite as planned and Fiona finds herself again relying on her instincts, pulling up her sleeves, and getting on with it. Eventually her determination, her feistiness, tenacity and ability for sheer hard work give her the rewards and happiness she is looking for and so clearly deserves. And of course there is love! It wouldn't be a romance novel without a bit of love.

This is completely immersive reading. The author has clearly done her research on the east end of London during this time, complete with Jack the Ripper, the quite terrible living conditions, the raucousness of the markets, family life, the day-to-day struggle to live. The close family and community ties, and always the optimism that every day is going to be better than the next. Fiona is a marvellous character, flawed like all of us, so likeable with her complete lack of pretence, hard working, ambitious. All the characters are well drawn and developed, and there are many of them. I enjoyed this very much, and also pleased to see that there are three novels in this series. Look forward to reading them all. Perfect for reading with a cup of tea.