Month: January 2017

A Deadly Thaw by Sarah Ward

This is the second novel by Sarah Ward to feature Detective Inspector Francis Sadler.  I’ve not yet read the first book, but I’ve added it to my reading list.

I’m amused: in order to post this review on Amazon, I had to remove a quote.

The quote I had to remove?  ‘A quartet of cock-ups.’   Sigh.

A Deadly Thaw by Sarah Ward

‘If you really want to know what happened in 2004, you need to unlock the past.’

In spring 2016, a body is discovered at a disused morgue in Derbyshire.  A man has been murdered.  Detective Inspector Francis Sadler is called to the scene, and recognises the body as being of his old schoolmate, Andrew Fisher.  But Andrew Fisher was supposedly murdered in 2004 by his wife Lena Gray.  Lena identified the body, admitted to killing him and has served 11 years in prison.

Whom did Lena murder in 2004?  Where has Andrew been for the past 12 years, and what on earth happened to the police investigation in 2004?

‘There’s something bigger going on here.  And we haven’t found it yet.

There are many layers to this story, and plenty of complications.  Almost all of the main characters have complicated (or complicating) personal lives.  Lena and her sister Kat Gray share their childhood home, but Lena goes missing after Andrew’s body is discovered.  While the police eventually work out who the first murdered man was, this raises even more questions.  Another woman, who looks like Lena, is found dead. While her death is apparently suicide, could it be murder?  In the meantime, Kat is receiving items, including the murder weapon, from a mysterious teenage boy.  Each item appears to be a clue, even though Kat doesn’t recognise them all.

As the police investigate, they uncover a number of rape cases around the time of the 2004 murder.  Those cases were handled badly by the police, but revisiting the details now will eventually help them solve the murder cases.

‘A quartet of cock-ups.’

I understand that this is the second D I Francis Sadler novel written by Ms Ward, and I’ll be adding the first to my reading list. There’s a good balance between the private lives of (some of) the police officers and the details of the case being investigated.  The novel moves quickly, with plenty of twists and turns that kept me turning the pages and wondering whether there was only one murderer, and who it was.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Faber & Faber for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Jerome and His Women by Joan O’Hagan

Joan O’Hagan started work on this novel during the 1990s, and completed it shortly before her death in 2014.  I wish I’d discovered her work earlier!   I’ve added her other novels to my ever lengthening reading list.

Jerome and His Women by Joan O’Hagan

‘Our Jerome is a moralist, the most eloquent of moralists.’

Who was Jerome?   Saint Jerome was born Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus about 347 BCE in Stridon, Dalmatia (in what is now known as Croatia) and died in 420 CE in Bethlehem.  Jerome was commissioned by Bishop Damasus I of Rome to undertake a new and definitive Latin translation of the Bible from Greek by 390 CE. The focus of this novel is on Jerome’s relationships with the Christian community in Rome, specifically his patron Paula and a number of other Roman women.

The setting of this novel, the fourth century CE, was a time of upheaval for the Roman Empire.  In addition to a series of internal riots and external threats, the spread of Christianity with the worship of a monotheistic God was replacing pagan beliefs and gods.  In Rome, Jerome was surrounded by ‘his women’: a circle of well-born and well-educated women.  These women included the patrician widows Lea, Marcella and Paula, together with their daughters Blaesilla and Eustochium.  By concentrating on these women and Jerome’s dealings with them, Ms O’Hagan paints a picture of a complicated man: at times introspective and at other times argumentative.  Jerome was critical of the secular clergy of Rome and, shortly after the death of Damasus I, he was forced to leave his position.  It was alleged that he had an improper relationship with the widow Paula.  Eventually he and Paula travelled to the Holy Land where they built two monasteries and a hospice.

I found this novel fascinating, partly because I know so little about this particular aspect of Christian history. Ms O’Hagan brings to life Jerome’s women, with her descriptions of how they chose to turn their back on luxurious Roman life, instead selling off their property and possessions to donate to the poor and to the Church.  These women then chose, with varying degrees of success, to live celibate lives of prayer in poverty.

Ms O’Hagan started work on this novel in the 1990s, and completed it shortly before her death in 2014.  I think it is a tribute to her writing skills that the research she undertook to write this novel never weighs the narrative down.

I am always on the lookout for books by Australian women, and when Joan O’Hagan’s name was mentioned, I added her to my list.  Now I’ve read ‘Jerome and His Women’, I’ll be looking for her other novels.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

‘Our Jerome is a moralist, the most eloquent of moralists.’

Who was Jerome?   Saint Jerome was born Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus about 47 BCE in Stridon, Dalmatia (in what is now known as Croatia) and died in 420 CE in Bethlehem.  Jerome was commissioned by Bishop Damasus I of Rome to undertake a new and definitive Latin translation of the Bible from Greek by 390 CE. The focus of this novel is on Jerome’s relationships with the Christian community in Rome, specifically his patron Paula and a number of other Roman women.

The setting of this novel, the fourth century CE, was a time of upheaval for the Roman Empire.  In addition to a series of internal riots and external threats, the spread of Christianity with the worship of a monotheistic God was replacing pagan beliefs and gods.  In Rome, Jerome was surrounded by ‘his women’: a circle of well-born and well-educated women.  These women included the patrician widows Lea, Marcella and Paula, together with their daughters Blaesilla and Eustochium.  By concentrating on these women and Jerome’s dealings with them, Ms O’Hagan paints a picture of a complicated man: at times introspective and at other times argumentative.  Jerome was critical of the secular clergy of Rome and, shortly after the death of Damasus I, he was forced to leave his position.  It was alleged that he had an improper relationship with the widow Paula.  Eventually he and Paula travelled to the Holy Land where they built two monasteries and a hospice.

I found this novel fascinating, partly because I know so little about this particular aspect of Christian history. Ms O’Hagan brings to life Jerome’s women, with her descriptions of how they chose to turn their back on luxurious Roman life, instead selling off their property and possessions to donate to the poor and to the Church.  These women then chose, with varying degrees of success, to live celibate lives of prayer in poverty.

Ms O’Hagan started work on this novel in the 1990s, and completed it shortly before her death in 2014.  I think it is a tribute to her writing skills that the research she undertook to write this novel never weighs the narrative down.

I am always on the lookout for books by Australian women, and when Joan O’Hagan’s name was mentioned, I added her to my list.  Now I’ve read ‘Jerome and His Women’, I’ll be looking for her other novels.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

#AWW2017

The Girl Before by J.P. Delaney

I took a stack of books (both electronic and physical) with me to Adaminaby to read last week.  I was fortunate: most of the books I read (no, not the whole stack) held my attention (fiction), were informative (non-fiction) and interesting (both fiction and non-fiction).  Slowly, I write reviews.  And this is the first review.  This novel has been likened to ‘The Girl on the Train’, and if you enjoyed that book (I did) then you’ll probably enjoy this one as well.

The Girl Before by J.P. Delaney

‘Please make a list of every possession you consider essential to your life.’

This is the story of two women, connected by living in one place.  The focus moves between the lives and experiences of Emma Matthews (‘Then’) and Jane Cavendish (‘Now’) at One Folgate Street in London, UK.  One Folgate Street is a minimalist house designed by a reclusive architect, Edward Monkford.  Those who seek to live there need to fill in a lengthy application form, and will need to abide by some 200 conditions stipulated under a restrictive covenant if their application is approved.  Very few applicants are approved.

‘It’s an extraordinarily tight contract.’

Then: Emma Matthews likes One Folgate Place: she feels safe there.  After a burglary in her last place, she is looking for security.  Emma and her boyfriend Simon move in.

Now: Jane Cavendish is looking for a new home.  Somewhere to recover after the sudden death of her baby daughter just days before her birth.

The novel shifts between ‘Then’ and ‘Now’, between Emma and Jane.  Clearly Emma and Simon are no longer living at One Folgate Street when Jane moves in.  But when Jane discovers that Emma died at One Folgate Street, she becomes curious about the girl who lived there before her.

‘It seems One Folgate Street has a somewhat tragic history, he says.’

So, what happened to Emma Matthews and her boyfriend Simon?  Why are the tenancy rules so inflexible for One Folgate Street?  Who is Edward Monkford, and why has he designed One Folgate Street in such a controlled, minimalist fashion?  You’ll need to read the book to try to find the answers to these questions

The more pages I turned, the more I became caught up in the story.  My own brief obsession (I read the novel over two days) was to find out what had happened to Emma.   While there are many disturbing similarities between Emma’s story and Jane’s, there are some significant differences.  And just when I thought I’d worked out what happened to Emma, another twist would have me looking in another direction.  It’s claustrophobic and obsessive, and I can understand why Universal has bought the film rights.

Did I enjoy this novel?  Yes, mostly.  I had envisaged a slightly different ending, but I’m not disappointed.  I’d like to know more about the author, though: J.P. Delaney is, apparently, a pseudonym for an author who has ‘previously written bestselling fiction under other names’.

Note: My thanks to Hachette Australia and NetGalley for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

 

Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra 27/1/2017

 

Always a wonderful place to visit.  My friend and I spent two hours wandering around the gardens.  There were plenty of lizards to admire.

The paths through the rain forests particularly appealed on this warm day.

I had not previously visited this part of the garden. Quite a contrast with the rain forest!

I really enjoy visiting gardens, and the Australian National Botanic Gardens are particularly special.  It’s been some years since my last visit, and there have been some changes.  Some damage, too, in the rain forest walk area as a consequence of storms.

I’ve made a promise to myself to return again soon.

Adaminaby, 25/1/2017

Today is my last day in Adaminaby for this visit, and I was pleased that the weather encouraged me to walk along the Yaouk Road to the Little River Road intersection.  According to my Fitbit, the walk out involves 46 ‘flights’ whereas the walk back involves 10 ‘flights’.  I knew there was a fair bit of climbing involved.

The photograph above shows Adaminaby in the distance on my way back.

I love the contrast: the trees against the sky.

The sky is much clearer here: just on the Adaminaby side of the Little River Road intersection.

Adaminaby, 24/ 1/2017

Windy weather in Adaminaby today, with lots of clouds.  I didn’t venture far out of town on my walk, down to the bridge on the Yaouk Road then back through the town and along Scenic Drive.

On Scenic Drive looking east towards the Adaminaby Airfield.

On Scenic Drive looking north over Adaminaby. Fewer clouds in this direction at the time.

From the Yaouk Road looking south-east towards Adaminaby. Lots of cloud cover and quite windy.