Summer Reading Reviews

Three great books here from indie presses - I really enjoyed them all.

Don't Think a Single Thought by Diana Cambridge - Louise Walters Books (Published September 2019) 

Order a copy here

1960s New York, and Emma Bowden seems to have it all – a glamorous Manhattan apartment, a loving husband, and a successful writing career. But while Emma and her husband Jonathan are on vacation at the Hamptons, a child drowns in the sea, and suspicion falls on Emma. As her picture-perfect life spirals out of control, and old wounds resurface, a persistent and monotonous voice in Emma’s head threatens to destroy all that she has worked for... 

Taut, elegant and mesmerising, Don’t Think a Single Thought lays bare a marriage, and a woman, and examines the decisions – and mistakes – that shape all of our lives. 

My review:

Elegantly written, an engaging and beguiling novel centred around Emma, the most unreliable of narrators, a woman struggling with life and the effects of a complicated childhood, full of mystery and unanswered questions. Throughout the novel I felt a little distanced from Emma, yet at the same time I was totally hooked and keen to unravel her troubled past and discover the truth.

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Finer Things by David Wharton - Sandstone Press


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London: 1963. The lives of a professional shoplifter, and a young art student collide. Delia needs to atone for a terrible mistake; Tess is desperate to convince herself she really is an artist.

Elsewhere in London, the Krays are on the rise and a gang war is in the offing.
 
Tess’s relationship with her gay best friend grows unexpectedly complicated, and Delia falls for a man she’s been paid to betray. At last, the two women find a resolution together – a performance that is both Delia’s goodbye to crime and Tess’s one genuine work of art.

"Vibrant, absorbing and bursting with the unexpected, Finer Things is a sideways look at 1960s London, in which art school bohemia meets the gangster underworld. It is full of spot-on observations about the subtle power play in human interaction. I was immediately drawn into its vivid world." --Catherine Simpson

"An evocative portrait of two women navigating 1960's London."--Mahsuda Snaith

"David Wharton's novel unfolds with all the style, pace and drama of a British New Wave movie. It is a very fine thing indeed." --Jonathan Taylor 

My review:

Captivating, lively, stylish, and beautifully written, full of wonderful insights into the human psyche. David Wharton has created a layered, nuanced and totally believable world, and a lovely portrait of two young women whose different worlds collide. Delia, in particular, is a fabulous character!

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The Neverlands by Damhnait Monaghan - V Press

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"The Neverlands, a virtuoso mosaic of microfictions, tells the story of Nuala, a child caught in the crossfire of her parents' troubled marriage. This is a family epic in flash form, masterfully and movingly distilled, both devastating and hopeful. A gorgeous debut." Kathy Fish 

"The Neverlands is a heart-tugger of a collection. In pitch-perfect colloquial prose, Damhnait Monaghan waltzes us through the sorrows of a poverty-stricken Irish family, who struggle to love each other well. Funny, clever, warm and sad, this is a beautiful book." Nuala O'Connor.

My review:

Such beautiful writing, so skilfully executed. This wonderful novella-in-flash is achingly sad, yet ends with hope. It deserves to be read more than once. Such a layered and complex insight into the human condition - Mammy and Nuala will stay inside my head for a long time to come.