Books to enjoy ...
This week’s bookcase includes reviews of Five Rivers Met On A Wooded Plain by Barney Norris, The Obsession by Nora Roberts, and Different Class by Joanne Harris.
FIVE RIVERS MET ON A WOODED PLAIN
Barney Norris
Having already made quite a name for himself in the theatre world, award-winning playwright Barney Norris is adding another string to his bow with his debut novel Five Rivers Met On A Wooded Plain. Although on paper the premise doesn’t seem particularly special – five strangers united by one accident - in all other respects, it’s a brilliant and multilayered story. Each chapter is devoted to one of the five individuals and part of the enjoyment of the book is discovering the myriad ways they are all connected to each other. This is done gradually, with casual passing comments and small surprising revelations that draw you further into the story. The author has an uncanny ability to capture even the tiniest nuances of each character, whether it’s an army wife in the midst of a breakdown, a recently widowed elderly man or a teenage boy with a hopeless crush. Although the novel is primarily characterdriven, it also has a wonderful sense of place and it is in part a homage to Salisbury, where the author grew up.
DIFFERENT CLASS
Joanne Harris
Chocolat author Joanne Harris’ latest book is a sequel to her 2005 psychological thriller Gentlemen & Players, set in the same Yorkshire boys grammar school, St Oswald’s, a year after that novel was set. This time, a former pupil has returned as headmaster, bringing new staff and attitudes that threaten the school’s centuries of tradition. Once again, Latin master Roy Straitley shares the narration with an adversary whose identity and motives are revealed through passages dwelling on school events some 20 years before. While this third Malbry novel is enjoyably dark and satisfyingly twisty – a veritable study in unreliable narrators and a deconstruction of blame and abuse – I found it less gripping than its predecessors; too structurally similar to Gentlemen & Players and lacking the innovation of Blueeyedboy, which is set in thesametown.Fanswill enjoy the nods and clues in Different Class, but it certainly stands alone and, in fact, newcomers may enjoy the storytelling more.
THE OBSESSION
Nora Roberts
Bestseller Nora Roberts returns with a new thriller. Naomi Carson will be 12 in two days. During one humid night, the youngster follows her father, convinced he is planning her present. However, Naomi’s life is turned upside down when she discovers her father has been abusing and killing women. With her father in prison and the constant media coverage, Naomi, her mother and her brother find themselves moving from place to place to start a new life.Now28anda photographer, Naomi buys a rundown house in a small town. As she involves the local trades people in remodelling the house, she encounters mechanic Xander Keaton, and begins a tentative relationship. But, just as Naomi is feeling settled, two women are found murdered in almost the same way as her father’s victims. Has her past finally caught up with her? And will she have to move again? Another thrilling page-turner.