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.