A Curtain Twitcher's Book of Murder - Gay Marris

 

Description

Set in London in 1968, A CURTAIN TWITCHER'S BOOK OF MURDER follows the lives of the inhabitants of a suburban London street. But this is no ordinary road.

"Ask anyone on Atbara Avenue how well they know their neighbours, and they'll answer 'well'. After all, they see each other across the vast distance afforded by close proximity, and that is probably for the best...".

For the best, because Atbara Avenue is a street where, all too often, murder feels like the solution.

With a delicious cast of characters, dazzling plotting and an utterly unique voice, Gay Marris' first book is remarkably accomplished. If you've been longing for a fresh and compelling new voice in the world of crime fiction, your wait is over.

Review

It took me a few pages to get into this book as at first it seemed a little banal. Set in the 1960s it felt unfamiliar and hard to regain that era.  That soon changed as the story or rather stories began to unfold. Not really short stories but each chapter focuses on a different house in the street and in time, some of the inhabitants feature in other stories too.

It's a rather unique and very clever read. Without giving out spoilers the closest I can get to the style of the writing is Tales of the Unexpected by Roald Dahl. So many details of life in the past were spot on and of course with no mobile phones, CCTV etc they really could get away with murder!

I'm giving this book 5 out of 5 stars. This book is from my personal bookshelf.

The Six Murders of Daphne St Clair - Mackenzie Common

DESCRIPTION

Meet Daphne St Clair: glamorous ninety-year-old grandmother, care home resident, and your new favourite serial killer.

Meet Ruth Robinson: aspiring true crime podcaster, hunting for a killer story.

Who are you going to trust? . . .

When Daphne confesses to killing a number of men throughout her lifetime, she chooses Ruth to produce the podcast reporting her story. Each episode charts Daphne's humble beginnings from the Dust Bowl in Canada to her glittering life in 70s New York - and a string of murders in her wake.

Daphne tells her story. Ruth listens. And edits it.

The public are hooked. Is she a feminist icon taking revenge on bad men? Or just a ruthless criminal? Then, as the podcast finale approaches, it becomes clear that neither woman has been entirely honest with the other. Who has been controlling the narrative?

After all, the truth doesn't always make for the best story...

A darkly witty thriller, sparking conversations around true crime and female serial killers, for fans of Janice Hallett, Bella Mackie and Katy Brent.

REVIEW

I couldn't put this book down.

I recently bought this book from Amazon for 99p and it's still on offer today. I was so intrigued by the synopsis that I ignored my TBR and sat down to read it immediately. It didn't take long to read because it's a real page turner.

Daphne (her latest name) resides in a retirement complex. Her boyfriend just died and she's 90 years old. So, with nothing better to do, she rings the police and confesses to being a serial killer. Why would she do that, as she knows herself she's not got long left and why waste that time in jail?

Enter Ruth, who is the woman Daphne engages to interview her for a true crime podcast. Throughout the book we have the transcript from the on (and off) air interview and also the comments from listeners with their own thoughts about why Daphne confessed. 

I don't always like books with transcripts, but this just reads like regular dialogue. Daphne is also so interesting to listen to.

Ruth however has her own agenda which I will leave you to discover.

I'm giving this book 5 out of 5 stars.

I Shop, Therefore I Am - Mary Portas

Description

A GUARDIAN 'BEST BOOK TO LOOK FORWARD TO IN 2025'

It’s the 1990s: Britpop is dominating the charts, Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell stare out from the cover of every glossy magazine and British fashion is ripe for reinvention. Leading the charge is a twenty-something Mary Portas who has been brought in to revitalise the department store Harvey Nichols, at the time more likely to be associated with dowagers than daring designers.

With department stores in decline and an alpha male leadership team watching closely, the pressure is immense: make it profitable and make it relevant. Mary steps into a world she doesn’t fully understand – and at first, it shows. But what seems like vulnerability quickly reveals itself as vision. She doesn't rely on fitting in; she leans into instinct, takes bold creative risks and reimagines what luxury could be.

By the millennium, the store would be renowned for its outrageous, headline-grabbing, traffic-stopping window displays; patronage by style icon Lady Di and Bolly-swigging duo Patsy and Edina of the iconic sitcom Ab Fab – no longer fusty old Harvey Nichols but Harvey Nicks, daaarling! I Shop, Therefore I Am is the story of how she did it.

Mary takes us behind the shop window – to the people who kept the show on the road and the early lessons that shaped her career. Told with her trademark wit, grit and candour, readers will see first-hand how, armed only with the blank canvas of a shop window and her own creativity, Mary created an era-defining global brand destination.

Review

I loved Shop Girl and was really looking forward to reading this next installment. It did not disappoint.

For some this will be a history book, as it charts Mary's journey through her time at Harvey Nichols in the 1990s. For me it was a reminiscence, and I enjoyed remembering all the trends and new developments that now are enshrined in our culture.

The part I found most interesting was the behind the scenes goings at Harvey Nichols with the newly launched Ab Fab. I didn't realise that before Ab Fab we never said Harvey Nicks - or that it was such a positive impact on the shop and career of Mary.

There were so many colourful and candid anecdotes involving members of named staff, that I wondered if their names  had been changed? It was very entertaining, but at the same time the toil that Mary and her team went through was also apparent. So much social history is also in the book, from the lack of women on the Board of Directors at HN and the attitude to maternity leave. 

I'm giving this book 4 out of 5 stars. My thanks to NetGalley for the ARC to review.