nomadreader

Often I find myself listening to audiobooks that fit together, either by narrator, genre, theme or setting. As I find myself staring at a long list of them to review, I decided to start writing Litsy-length reviews and grouping them together in a new recurring series I'll call Audio Interludes. Today's installment features a trio of contemporary novels narrated in British and Irish accents. When All Is Said  by Anne Griffin narrated by Niall Buggy If an old maudlin Irishman narrator is your thing: do I have a book for you! Maurice Hannigan, over the course of one night, orders five different drinks a hotel bar and toasts each one to a different person who impacted his life. Through these five (very long) toasts that are more like stories, we learn about his life in interesting, and non-linear ways. For a debut novel, this book is bravely told, but for such an emotional book, it also felt like it was trying to be a little too clever. Is a lovely goal, but it didn't fu...

narrated by Graham Halstead and Julia Whelan The basics:  The first in a new young adult trilogy, A Study in Charlotte  follows Charlotte Holmes, a descendant of Sherlock Holmes, and Jamie Watson, a descendant of Dr. Watson, as students at a Connecticut boarding school. My thoughts: I typically file Sherlock Holmes under the "things I simply don't really like--but people with similar taste always seem to love." And I haven't read a young adult novel in several years. So what made me pick up a young adult Sherlock Holmes-inspired mystery? Brittany Cavallaro's Twitter bio . Despite not really caring for most adaptations or appropriations of Sherlock Holmes I've encountered, I really like the smart ways Cavallaro uses Holmes. Most importantly, she makes Holmes and Watson real people. Sometimes I have to remind myself my favorite characters aren't real people, and after so many years and iterations, doesn't it seem like Holmes and Watson were  real? ...

narrated by Karen Cass The backstory: Crooked Heart  was longlisted for the 2015 Baileys Prize . The basics:  "When Noel Bostock – aged ten, no family - is evacuated from London to escape the Blitz, he ends up living in St Albans with Vera Sedge - thirty-six and drowning in debts and dependents. Always desperate for money, she's unscrupulous about how she gets it. Noel's mourning his godmother, Mattie, a former suffragette. Brought up to share her disdain for authority and eclectic approach to education, he has little in common with other children and even less with Vee."--publisher My thoughts: Now that I spend almost as much time listening to audiobooks as I do reading print books, I often find myself wondering how much the format impacts my reaction. As I listened to Crooked Heart , I found myself thinking something I can't recall ever thinking while reading: I'd rather watch this story on screen. As in, I would gladly put down this book and watc...

The basics:  "When Charlotte Rainsford, a retired schoolteacher, is accosted by a petty thief on a London street, the consequences ripple across the lives of acquaintances and strangers alike." -publisher My thoughts: I find myself drawn to novels that address the unlikely connections between people, so the premise of How It All Began appealed to me immensely. Lively uses the premise to trace connections of various levels that all begin with a mugging. As each new character was introduced, I was fascinated to guess the connections. Promising as this premise was, I didn't find all of the characters particularly interesting. And even the interesting ones got bogged down in odd subplots at times. Despite my questioning of some of Lively's storytelling choices, her observational prose frequently took my breath away: "Time was, long ago, pain occasionally struck--toothache, ear infection, cricked neck--and one made a great fuss, affronted. For years now, pai...

The backstory: I Am China  is longlisted for the 2015 Baileys Prize . The basics: I Am China  recounts the lives of Jian, a musician and political activist, and his love for Mu. It's also the story of Iona, a British woman tasked with translating this disorganized collection of diaries and letters from Jian and Mu. My thoughts: The premise of this novel is an intriguing one, and I immediately identified with Iona as she set out to try to make sense of this correspondence. This novel jumps across time and its characters move throughout the world. It isn't constructed chronologically, but rather Guo dips in and out of the present through Iona's translations in progress. Initially, I quite liked this approach of getting to know Jian and Mu with Iona, but the more I read, the more I began to question Guo's narrative choices. Jian and Mu's lives coincide with many momentous times in modern Chinese history. As more and more of these moments unfolded, I began to qu...

The backstory: Elizabeth Is Missing , Emma Healey's debut novel, is on the 2015 Baileys Prize longlist. It was also longlisted for the 2014 Dylan Thomas Prize . The basics: Elizabeth Is Missing  is the story of Maud, an older woman suffering from Alzheimer's. Her friend Elizabeth is missing. Through flashbacks, we also see Maud as a young woman and her struggles with the disappearance of her older sister, Sukey, shortly after World War II. My thoughts: This novel is billed as a psychological thriller, which I don't think it actually is. It is a compelling page turner, but the titular mystery is the least interesting thing about it. It's emotionally complex, and it's definitely a page turner, but I found the mystery of Elizabeth to be not much of a mystery. Instead, the mystery of Sukey is what fascinated me more. Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of the novel is Maud herself and how much she misunderstands and mis-remembers. As I read Elizabeth Is Missing ...

narrated by Clare Corbett, Louise Brealey, and India Fisher The basics: Rachel, the titular girl on the train, commutes about an hour into London each day. On her commute, the train stops near the home of Megan, and Rachel imagines, and longs for, her life. One day, she sees Megan at her house with another man. The next day, Megan goes missing and is all over the news. My thoughts: The Girl on the Train  is the breakout novel of the season. And it's a good one. It's a literary thriller with well-drawn, interesting characters. I enjoyed the journey as much as the destination (a cringe-worthy pun for a novel about a train, I know.) In short, The Girl on the Train  is so successful because it is both appealing to the masses with its fast-paced plot and appealing to more serious readers with its depth and themes. Rachel is an unreliable narrator, yet she was my favorite character, and I identified with her the most. She's not unreliable for nefarious reasons but because...

The backstory: Brick Lane  by was longlisted for the 2004 Orange Prize (now Bailey's Prize) and short listed for the 2003 Booker Prize . I previously loved her most recent novel, Untold Story . The basics: Brick Lane , Monica Ali's debut novel, is the story of Nazneen, a young woman born in Bangladesh who moves to London as part of an arranged marriage when she's eighteen. My thoughts: I've been meaning to read Brick Lane  for many, many years, and I'm so glad I finally did. I've long been fascinated by arranged marriage, and while it's easy to dismiss it as an appalling practice, Ali presents a fascinating and nuanced view of it here. Brick Lane  is very much a coming of age story, even as Nazneen's coming of age happens later in life than the traditional western time. She is undeniably naive when she arrives in London, yet she carefully takes in information and experiences, those shared with her husband, other Bangladeshi immigrants, and on he...

The basics: Mr. Heming is real estate broker in a small village outside London. His past is somewhat mysterious, and he intentionally blends into every day life to help hide his secrets. The biggest: he keeps a key to every house he's ever sold, and he frequently uses them to visit the homes months and years later. My thoughts: I picked up A Pleasure and a Calling  from my virtual TBR without knowing much about it. And I spent the next twenty-four hours devouring it in its entirety. Mr. Heming is a delightful, albeit creepy narrator. I suppose I'd categorize this novel as a thriller, but Hogan develops the character of Mr. Heming so well that his creepiness is balanced by other attributes: "The truth was that rampant sexual relationships are all very fine and necessary, but, for me, real intimacy is elsewhere." As a narrator, Mr. Heming is both reliable and unreliable. He shares intimate, and often unflattering, details about himself with the reader: "I am ...

The backstory: Us  was longlisted for the 2014 Booker Prize . I also adored One Day , the last novel David Nicholls wrote. The basics: Us is the story of Douglas, a middle-aged biochemist, his wife Connie, an artist, and their seventeen-year-old son Albie. Connie announces she thinks she wants to leave Douglas, but she isn't sure yet. They set out on a tour of Europe with Albie as a last family trip, both before he goes to college and perhaps for their marriage too. The present day unfolds in the narrative while Douglas also tells us the story of their marriage from the beginning. My thoughts: After loving One Day , I was already excited for Us . When it made the Booker longlist (before I could get my hands on a galley), I was surprised and ecstatic. My expectations were high going into this novel, and although I didn't love it quite as much as One Day , it is a smartly crafted, well-written, thoughtful exploration of marriage. It's also a medium-paced travel advent...

narrated by Katherine Kellgren The backstory: Her Royal Spyness  is the first book in Rhys Bowen's Royal Spyness historical mystery series, which is set in 1930's London. The basics: Lady Georgiana is 34th in line for the throne of England. She's also broke and unmarried. Given her station in life, working is challenging at best. My thoughts: I have a fascination with the 1930's and aristocracy, and I snapped up Her Royal Spyness in an Audible sale awhile ago. I'm glad I finally got around to listening to it. It's a cozy mystery series, and like many cozies, it's emphasis wasn't focused on the mystery, particularly in the first half of the book. The novel is incredibly character driven, and Georgie is a fabulous character. She's funny, and she acknowledges the preposterousness of her situation with wonderful humor. She's a heroine to root for, and when a dead body turns up in her family's home, she finds herself playing sleuth. I...

The backstory:  David Morrell, best known for his debut thriller First Blood , which the Rambo  franchise was based on, has written more than twenty novels. The basics: Set in 1854 London, Murder as a Fine Art  is the story of a panicked London, as the someone is copying the horrifying Ratliffe Highway murders of 1811. Thomas de Quincey, known as the Opium-Eater, is immediately a suspect, as his recent essay Murder as a Fine Art  details the 1811 crimes and speaks of them with reverence. My thoughts: I was instantly transported to 1854 London as soon as I started this book. The first chapter immediately brings to life the grime and chaos of London; it also brings a savage set of homicides. About two-thirds of the way through, I (correctly) figured out the killer, but this novel is not as much a whodunit as it as a whydunit. Morrell reveals the killer about three-fourths of the way through the novel. Much of the last quarter of the novel felt like a cin...

The basics: Genevieve dreamed of leaving her high-stress London sales job behind and living on a boat. After taking a second job as a dancer at a private gentleman's club for several months, she saved up the money and is living her dream. On the night of her boat-warming party, however, the first time she attempts to bring together her London friends, from both her pre-club and club days, and her new boat friends, her friend and fellow dancer Caddy washes up dead next to Genevieve's boat. My thoughts: Dark Tide  initially builds tension quite slowly. If you were to open up the book without looking at the cover, you could almost mistake it for a Katie Fforde novel: a young woman starts her life over and looks forward to new adventures. Soon, however, elements of tension and suspension begin to wind through the novel. Genevieve isn't always entirely honest with the reader. As details of her life are slowly revealed, I began to question some of her choices. Most notably, whe...

The backstory:  Leaving Everything Most Loved  is the tenth Maisie Dobbs mystery novel. Here are links to my reviews of the first nine books:  Maisie Dobbs ,  Birds of a Feather ,  Pardonable Lies ,  Messenger of Truth ,  An Incomplete Revenge ,   Among the Mad ,   The Mapping of Love and Death ,   A Lesson in Secrets , and An Elegy for Eddie .  (There may be some minor spoilers from earlier novels in this review.) The basics: When Usha Pramal is found dead in London, the police soon run out of clues. When Usha's brother arrives in London two months later, he is dismayed at the lack of progress in the case and enlists the help of Maisie to help solve his sister's murder. My thoughts: Reading a Maisie Dobbs novel feels like spending time with an old friend. I'm particularly fond of Maisie as a character, and I appreciate how much changes in her life over the course of her books. Leaving Everything Most Loved  rais...

The backstory: An Unmarked Grave  is the fourth title in the Bess Crawford historical mystery series by mother and son writing team Charles Todd. I've reviewed the first three titles in this series: A Duty to the Dead , An Impartial Witness , and A Bitter Truth . The basics: The novel opens in France in the spring of 1918 when the Spanish influenza is killing many on the front lines. When a private discovers an extra body in the shed, Bess once again finds herself in the middle of a murder mystery. My thoughts: One of the things I love most about this series is the character of Bess Crawford. She is both innocent and experienced. She's confident and bold, yet her behavior conforms to the societal norms of her times. Despite being mysteries set in the war, there is a gentleness to this series as Bess is a nurse not a constable. In many ways, then, An Unmarked Grave  surprised me. Almost all of the action takes place in France, where both the front lines and Spanish influe...

The backstory: The Sealed Letter , originally published in the U.S. and Canada in 2008, was released in the UK last year and was longlisted for the 2012 Orange Prize . The basics: Tracing the troubled marriage and divorce trial of the Codringtons, The Sealed Letter  is the story of women's roles in marriage and life in 1860's England. Emily Faithfull, a first wave feminist belovedly referred to as Fido, is a dear friend of Mrs. Codrington and finds her personal and professional reputations compromised in the ensuing drama. My thoughts: After reading and utterly adoring Room ( my review ), I was curious to read Emma Donoghue's historical fiction and see how it compared. I was immediately captivated by the setting, London in 1864, and with Fido. Donoghue is a wonderful writer of character descriptions: "What in another woman would strike Fido as hyperbole has in Helen Codrington always charmed her, somehow. The phrases are delivered with a sort of rueful merrimen...

The backstory: I enjoyed Rosamund Lupton's debut thriller, Sister  ( my review ), when my book club read it last summer, and I was eager to read her follow-up. The basics: When a fire breaks out during Sports Day at the elementary school where her son, Adam, attends, Grace realizes her daughter Jenny is still inside and rushes in to save her. Soon, Grace and Jenny are both unconscious in the hospital, but they work together in their out of body experience to figure out who started the fire and why. Also on the case is Grace's sister-in-law, Sarah, a police officer. My thoughts: I expected Afterwards  to be a very different novel than Sister , but I was still surprised just how different Afterwards  was. It's not fair to compare these novels simply because they were written by the same author, but given my disparate levels of enjoyment and the differences between their quality, it is somewhat inevitable. In fact, I might have abandoned this book if I hadn't been fasc...

The backstory:  Elegy for Eddie  is the ninth Maisie Dobbs mystery novel. Here are links to my reviews of the first eight books:  Maisie Dobbs ,  Birds of a Feather ,  Pardonable Lies ,  Messenger of Truth ,  An Incomplete Revenge ,   Among the Mad ,   The Mapping of Love and Death , and A Lesson in Secrets .  (There may be some minor spoilers from earlier novels in this review.) The basics: Elegy for Eddie  opens with several of Maisie's childhood friends seeking her help. Their mutual friend Eddie has been killed in a factory accident, but they believe he may have been murdered. My thoughts: Reading a Maisie Dobbs novel feels like hanging out with an old friend. It's comforting, interesting, and engaging. After reading the first eight books in this series last year, it was so refreshing to once again have Maisie back in my reading life. While I've enjoyed all of the Maisie novels, The Mapping of Love and Death  was m...

The basics: Every morning Christine wakes up and doesn't know where she is, how old she is or who the man next to her his. Her husband Ben explains who she is, who he is, and leaves her lists of things to do while he's at work. Meanwhile, Christine has started keeping a journal to remind herself what she learned and remembered the day before. At the beginning of it, she writes: "DON'T TRUST BEN." My thoughts:  Before I Go to Sleep  is a top notch thriller. My mind raced as I read it, and I was eager to unlock the puzzle of if Ben was a model husband trying to protect Christine or if he was keeping things from her, all while I realized this thriller was so rooted in reality, the answer couldn't be an either/or. From Christine's point of view, she wants to know everything about herself. From Ben's point of view, every day is the same; do you want to spend each day reliving the sadness of life and making the one you love sad? What I loved most about t...

The backstory:   A Lesson in Secrets  is the eighth Maisie Dobbs mystery novel. Here are links to my reviews of the first seven books:  Maisie Dobbs ,  Birds of a Feather ,  Pardonable Lies ,  Messenger of Truth ,  An Incomplete Revenge ,   Among the Mad , and The Mapping of Love and Death . (There may be some minor spoilers from earlier novels in this review.) The basics: The British Secret Service recruits Maisie to work semi-undercover as a professor of philosophy at a small college in Cambridge. Maisie is qualified, but she must apply and actually get the job. Her goal: see if anything is amiss at this college, whose founder and president wrote a pacifist children's book during the war that was suppressed. When he soon ends up murdered, Maisie has trouble distinguishing between her duties as a mole and her driving need to solve the crime. My thoughts:  After The Mapping of Love and Death , which was my favorite of the Maisie Do...