Promo: Sunflowers by Cass McMain

Sunflower is a literary novel that has been described as "impossible to put down". It follows Michael, an ordinary man who makes one bad choice, and explores how he comes to terms with who he is and what he has done. 

Robert Peett, editor at Holland House, says of the story: "The reader is taken into the lives of the characters, the life, above all, of Michael. Like most lives his is composed of small moments, small worries, and small ambitions; as with most lives there is a fragility to his. The fragility is in part due to a fault line in him – the kind of fault line we all have. One particular small moment has a butterfly effect on the whole; the structure begins to crumble, quietly, almost unnoticed, and a life of quiet desperation emerges."

Sunflower was realeased on the 15th June and is already getting great reviews, it's certainly a book that is going on my TBR list. 

Sunflower is available from Amazon for £2.04, Waterstones, Barnes and Noble, and Foyles.

Review: The Axeman of New Orleans by Hoffmann Books

As you might have noticed I'm a bit of a true crime buff and I couldn't pass up the chance of reviewing a new book in a new 'True Crime Collection' from Hoffmann Books. The Axeman of New Orleans is currently one of three offerings in the collection and tells the events of 1918-1919 in New Orleans that left residents in a state of panic.

The city was gripped by a series of horrific attacks and murders, where an unknown man or men broke into people's houses while they slept and bludgeoned them with an axe. Whilst several suspects were arrested, the true identity of the Axeman was never discovered and the crimes stopped as suddenly as they started.

The book covers the key points in the case, and has a very professional and easy to read narrative. It goes through the murders 'as they happened' and discusses possible suspects and briefly covers how the police and justice system handled the investigation. However perhaps due to a lack of solid case material (as the murders happened nearly one hundred years ago), the book is incredibly short and lacks the kind of insights these books usually have, either from victim accounts or from speaking to detectives involved. There are also quite a few instances where events are not clear, for example, there is uncertainty over whether one of the victims survived the attack. Not necessarily the fault of the authors, but detracts from the book's credibility and overall reading experience. The book also fails to include a key suspect included in many other accounts of the case. I can see no reason for this, as the name and details of this suspect can be clearly found in earlier accounts of this case, but is absent from Hoffmann's offering.

Unfortunately for The Axeman of New Orleans, it suffers because of the age of the material it is addressing. Whilst the material Hoffmann books has got is presented very well and makes an interesting read, it is lacking in the real detail needed to make a true crime book a success. As with most true crime accounts the same material can be found in numerous places on the web, although The Axeman of New Orleans does provide it in a much more accessible format and is arguably better written. This book would be perfect for someone wanting a quick overview of the case, or as part of a bigger collection should Hoffmann Books extend their offering.

The Axeman of New Orleans is available from Amazon for £1.96, but can be borrowed free if you have Prime.

[A review copy was provided by the author]

Review: Winter Chill by Joanne Fluke

In Winter Chill the Larsens are your typical American family until their world is ripped apart by a snowmobile accident in which their young daughter is killed and Dan Larsen is paralysed. Whilst to their friends and neighbours the Larsens adjust to their daughter Laura’s death; behind closed doors it is a different story, both are struggling to cope. As the Larsens begin to self-destruct, the town has to cope with a series of tragic accidents that claim more lives in the rural winter idyll. 

Knowing nothing about the author or her previous works I requested this book to review solely based on the blurb, and the blurb makes Winter Chill sound like a fast paced mystery. Sadly that wasn’t the case. Very little action happens in the first half of the book, the early chapters are dedicated to the humdrum of the Larsens life – from shopping to cooking (after some research, I found out that Joanne Fluke is famous for a series of culinary mysteries, which explains the heavy presence of food). There are glimmers of what is to come, such as Dan’s sleepwalking and Marian’s mood swings, but these only really add to the story much later on, when they build into something more significant. The pace improves towards the end of the book, as does the action as we start getting ‘accidents’ happening to those close to the Larsen family, but the really good stuff is not until the final chapter.

Whilst slow, the story generally flows well, moving seamlessly between perspectives. There are two exceptions, both in the form of unneeded and out of place sex scenes. The adultery between Marian and Drew would be more fitting in a Mills and Boon story than in Winter Chill. It made uncomfortable reading (no, I’m not a prude), and what’s worse is that is simply swept under the rug after a few pages, despite Marian having confessed to Dan. The second scene between Cliff and Connie makes more sense, but doesn’t really advance the plot apart from providing a simple excuse to allow the killer access to them at the same time. Plot wise, there are some sticking points for me such as the lack of forensics and the seeming disinterest of the local sheriff in doing any investigation, despite clues pointing squarely at one family. The biggest let down was the fact that at the end of the book we don’t actually get told who the killer is, there are some strong indications but it could be one of two people depending on your interpretation. Some readers may like this, but for me personally it was frustrating and felt like a waste of several hours of reading.

There is a heavy emphasis on the psychological states of the two lead characters, and this provides an interesting dimension to the plot, but I feel it could have been used differently in order to maximise the effect. Also interesting were the notes back and forth between ‘Laura’ and Marian, particularly the last note.

Overall Winter Chill is a cosy mystery (if you overlook the sex) with an interesting psychological aspect. It’s not a book I enjoyed or would recommend, mainly due to the lack of pace and plot issues, but it should appeal to those who enjoy a slower, more character driven read (and must have done previously as this is a re-release of a 80s paperback). If you are not sure if Winter Chill is for you then you can try it yourself by reading the available pages on GoogleBooks.

Winter Chill will be available as an e-book from today on Amazon UK for £4.31 and from Amazon US for $6.63.

[A review copy was received through NetGalley]

Review and Giveaway: Snow Day by Dan Maurer

Snow Day reads like an old campfire story, and that is what the author intended. Billy, our narrator, tells the story of how, as a child, he stumbled into a horror story which left another boy dead and gave him nightmares every snow day since.

Snow Day is a novella, only 100 pages long, but that is the perfect size for this story, as any longer and it would loose the thrill with too much detail. If anything, it could have been a little shorter, as I felt the first section dragged and, whilst building the background of the characters, wasn't needed in a story so short. The first few pages also revealed a bit too much for me, as horrifying as they were. These two small points were the reason I didn't award it the full 5 stars - but they should not put off a potential reader, as they are soon forgotten as the rest of the book unfolds.

Although short, the story is substantial, and leaves the reader with a satisfied feeling when you finish the book, rather than feeling like there could have been more. The writing is elegant in its simplicity, and the innocent but slightly cocky voice of the narrator takes you back to a much simpler time, and also makes the story that much creepier. There is even a surprise twist at the end.

A great read when you want to finish a story in one go. I very much enjoyed it, even though I usually steer clear of novellas.

Snow Day is available from Amazon for £1.32 as a Kindle e-book. There is also an audio book version available. A sample chapter can be found here.

Giveaway: The author is currently running a giveaway (ends Sep. 28th 2013) to win a Kindle Fire HD and copies of the audio book. Details can be found on his website here. Note: Tomes of the Soul is in no way associated with the giveaway.

[A review copy was provided by the author]