Book Review: Style and the Solitary by Miriam Drori

 

Yet again, my Bookaholic friends, I am delighted to be kicking off a Blog Tour. This one is for Style and the Solitary, a cracking crime book by Miriam Dori. 

BLURB

An unexpected murder. A suspect with a reason. The power of unwavering belief.

A murder has been committed in an office in Jerusalem. That’s for sure. The rest is not as clear-cut as it might seem.

Asaf languishes in his cell, unable to tell his story even to himself. How can he tell it to someone who elicits such fear within him?

His colleague, Nathalie, has studied Beauty and the Beast. She understands its moral. Maybe that’s why she’s the only one who believes in Asaf, the suspect. But she’s new in the company – and in the country. Would anyone take her opinion seriously?

She coerces her flatmates, Yarden and Tehila, into helping her investigate. As they uncover new trails, will they be able to reverse popular opinion?

In the end, will Beauty’s belief be strong enough to waken the Beast? Or, in this case, can Style waken the Solitary?

Review

Having lived in Jerusalem for a year I jumped at the chance at being able to read this book as I love anything to do with Jerusalem. I also love crime fiction, so this was a no brainer. I loved the premise of the book, a retelling of beauty and the beast and was intrigued to see if it would work.

Let me reassure you straight away that it most definitely worked. From first word to last, this book is fabulous. The characters are well drawn with a lot of depth and nuances of characterisation. I found myself both drawn to them and empathising. I would say they are true to the Israeli people and culture. Asaf and Nathalie, the main characters are realistic and I found myself imaging them and their character traits, perfectly. I could genuinely feel Asaf's bewilderment, confusion and pain, and found myself wanting to take him away from it all. 

Drori is a skilled wordsmith, with a real gift for writing, something which is evident in every skilful word and sentence. She uses the words to draw the reader in and to keep them reading. The pace is swift and at no point did I feel the storyline flagging; in fact, the very opposite was true. I toyed the story which tantalises and intrigues in equal measure and I genuinely wanted to know the outcome. 

I could not review this without mentioning the setting, Jerusalem. Whilst setting does not play a major part in this story, what was sprinkled in was enough to give the reader a flavour and transport me back to my time living in the City.

To conclude, an excellent and well written crime novel which I would highly recommend. 

   

You can find out more about the author and her books via:

website 

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That is it for another week, Bookaholics. I will be back soon with another reading or writing blog. Until then, keep reading and keep writing. 

I was given a copy of this book from the author and blog tour operator as part of the Reading Between the Lines Blog Tours. At no point was I asked to provide a positive review and my review is based on my reading of the book. The links above are affiliate links and I will receive a few pence if you buy the book via the link. 

Unravelling by Helen Forbes

Well, my Bookaholics friends, you know I like crime books and the book I bring you today is a cracker. Seriously, I'm blown away. Unravelling by Helen Forbes draws you in from the first exciting sentence to the very last word. I am going to start by giving you the blurb as come context.

Kate Sharp’s family is a mystery. Her mother, Ellen, disappeared into the shadows of Craig Dunain psychiatric hospital when Kate was a child. When her grandmother dies, Kate is desperate for answers. What were the circumstances of her mother’s life and death? Who is her father? Kate’s not the only one trying to uncover the truth. The remains of two bodies with murderous injuries have been found buried in the forest next to the former hospital. And someone else is searching for answers, and he will stop at nothing to find them. As the tale of Ellen’s tragic unravelling unfolds, the secrets that led to her death are exposed, along with the shocking truth about Kate’s father. Unaware of the danger stalking her, Kate continues her search. Will she find the answers? And can she save her own life?

Forbes is an outstanding wordsmith and this is apparent throughout the book. I do workshops on writing a killer first line and this first line is going to make it to the workshop as being a perfect example. I am hoping the author and publisher will forgive me but I just had to share it here. 

'The sway of the noose was mesmerising against the shimmering light that danced between the branches'.

From the minute I read that line, I was hooked and knew I just had to read on. This is writing which invites and tantalises drawing you in word by perfectly crafted word. 

The tense plotline is also superb with highs and lows which had my emotions all over the place and I genuinely wanted to know the secrets that had shaped Kate's Life. Kate is a troubled character but realistic and interesting. I think the author has drawn her well and takes the reader deep inside her head an her soul. We certainly know her by the end of the book.

Page-turner may be a cliche but it certainly applies in this case. I found myself reading way past the point of a sensible bedtime as I wanted to know what happens.

Well done to the author, I am going to search out more books by her. 

You can buy the book from any bookstore or from Amazon via the links below. These are affiliate links and I will receive a few pence if you purchase via the link. 

 

I was given a review copy of  this book as part of the Reading Between the Lines Blog Tour. At no pint was I asked to provide a positive review and my review is based on my reading and enjoyment of the book. 

 

Scent of Water - Words of Comfort in Times of Grief

Good morning, Bookaholics. As you know I review a variety of books on this blog but today I bring you one which will bring comfort to those who are grieving. As I write this, it is a year to the day that my cousin died suddenly, his wife having died a few days earlier. So, I write this from a place of grief myself, knowing the truth of what is contained within its pages. When I say this book is suitable to buy as a gift for anyone who is grieving, I can relate to what they re going through. Grief is not something which disappears overnight and Scent of Water acknowledges that. It does not dismiss grief but provides words to support those who are in the midst of their grief. 

Penelope, herself, went through a great loss, seeing her mother being swept away by an out of control car. This plunged her into a two year period of overwhelming grief. She is honest about her feelings and shares her story at the beginning of the book. The fact that she has walked where the reader walks gives this book greater clarity, sincerity, and meaning. The book is unapologetically Christian and is, in fact aimed at the Christian market. This means that God is very squarely at the centre of every short section.

The book is broken into sections, the first being for the special days where the loved one who has died will be missing. These include Birthday's, Christmas, and New Year. The next section contains 25 weeks of short devotionals which can be read in any order. Each has a bible verse and a short prayer, acknowledging every emotion and every stage of grief. These do not shy away from  the difficult times or difficult emotions but help the reader to acknowledge them and to bring them to God in heartfelt prayer. 

This could not have been easy for the author to write; I applaud her generosity in pouring her raw feelings onto paper in order to help others. And help it will. It will allow those grieving to acknowledge their own feelings and, at the same time, will soothe like a literary balm.

I can highly recommend this book if you know anyone who is grieving. You can order copies from the authors website 

I am honoured to be kicking off the blog tour for this book. I was given a copy from the publisher in return for an honest review. At no time was I asked to provide a positive review and my review is based on my reading of the book. 

That's it for another week my Bookaholic friends. See you soon and until then keep reading and keep writing.