We read two books for our July meeting...
The Alphabet House by Jussi Adler-Olsen Two British airmen are shot down over Germany during World War Two. They survive and attempt to escape by hitching a ride on a train filled with wounded German soldiers being transported to a hospital. Stealing the uniforms of two dying soldiers, they assume their identities and arrive at the hospital, a mental facility for shell shocked men. Their gruelling experiences and survival strategies form the first half of the book. One escapes but leaves the other behind and the rest of the book explores what happens thirty years later when they both meet up. This is a tough book to read and pulls no punches about the horrors of the incarceration they endure. For those who like war stories, this is challenging book about endurance, fortitude and the effects of war service on men.
What Happened to Nina by Dervla McTierman This book is really not about what happened to Nina, but instead about the behaviour of two sets of parents when Nina goes missing. One is rich and well connected, the parents of Simon who is suspected of killing Nina after a rock climbing expedition becomes an angry argument. The other, an average middleclass family, who manage a small B&B, and believe Simon is guilty but protected by his wealthy family who hire an unscrupulous legal firm to harass them. How far will parents go to protect their children? And how far will parents go to get revenge if they think that the law is incapable of solving this mystery? None of the parents are guiltless or even likeable, but as characters they are shallowly drawn by the author. This could be a good read if you want a well paced crime novel for a rainy winter afternoon.
The book for our next session on Tuesday morning, 5 August, is 'The Safe Keep', by Yael van der Wouden - 'Living in a secluded, ruined house that survived WW2, Isabel is confronted by house guest Eva when secrets unravel war-time mysteries.'
Meg Dillon
The Alphabet House by Jussi Adler-Olsen Two British airmen are shot down over Germany during World War Two. They survive and attempt to escape by hitching a ride on a train filled with wounded German soldiers being transported to a hospital. Stealing the uniforms of two dying soldiers, they assume their identities and arrive at the hospital, a mental facility for shell shocked men. Their gruelling experiences and survival strategies form the first half of the book. One escapes but leaves the other behind and the rest of the book explores what happens thirty years later when they both meet up. This is a tough book to read and pulls no punches about the horrors of the incarceration they endure. For those who like war stories, this is challenging book about endurance, fortitude and the effects of war service on men.
What Happened to Nina by Dervla McTierman This book is really not about what happened to Nina, but instead about the behaviour of two sets of parents when Nina goes missing. One is rich and well connected, the parents of Simon who is suspected of killing Nina after a rock climbing expedition becomes an angry argument. The other, an average middleclass family, who manage a small B&B, and believe Simon is guilty but protected by his wealthy family who hire an unscrupulous legal firm to harass them. How far will parents go to protect their children? And how far will parents go to get revenge if they think that the law is incapable of solving this mystery? None of the parents are guiltless or even likeable, but as characters they are shallowly drawn by the author. This could be a good read if you want a well paced crime novel for a rainy winter afternoon.
The book for our next session on Tuesday morning, 5 August, is 'The Safe Keep', by Yael van der Wouden - 'Living in a secluded, ruined house that survived WW2, Isabel is confronted by house guest Eva when secrets unravel war-time mysteries.'
Meg Dillon
