The Shadow of War by Jack Murray is the first of three books following two boys/soldiers from their homes and families North Africa and the battle of El Alamein.

In 1933, Danny Shaw was a schoolboy in a rural English village and Manfred Brehme was growing up in a city in Germany. Manfred enjoyed school, Danny didn’t. Danny’s father fought in the Great War, Manfred’s didn’t. Danny skips school to steal apples and enjoy the countryside with his two friends. Manfred is uneasy at school when his Jewish teacher is taken away, but the lure of the Hitler Youth is strong. Danny leaves school to help in his father’s blacksmith workshop while Manfred leaves school to sign into the German Army. When war is declared both Danny Manfred undergo basic training after which both are shipped off to North Africa – which is where this first book in the trilogy ends.

Each boy’s/soldier’s are told with clarity, humour, emotion, and a strong sense of ‘war is coming’ and that both will be involved. It’s interesting for the reader to read in such detail two soldier’s preparations for war.

The Shadow of War is well-written with careful attention to detail giving the book a strong feel of reality. The story is balanced between Manfred and Danny and their characters are well-developed through the whole book. We’re given a keen sense of their characters by following their child and teenage years, who they have strongest relationships with, their fears and weaknesses as well as their strengths. It’s reasonably clear that the later books will bring these two together in some way and I’m eager to know how that will look.

Caged Little Birds by Lucy Banks is the first-person account of Ava, who murdered a child, and her life after release from jail.

Her sentence complete, she is living in the community under a new identity and all she wants is to return to a remote Scottish island to observe the birdlife, as she did in her childhood. Instead, the terms of her probation require her to live in the town, receive weekly visits from her over-worked probation officer, attend regular sessions with her psychiatrist, and try to find a job. Ava has too much spare time and spends much of it dwelling on her ex-lover whose son she accidentally killed (they say ‘murdered’, she says it was an accident), the boy’s cold-hearted, jealous mother, and an ex-cellmate whom she may have encouarged to commit suicide.

Ava becomes friends with her neighbour, an ex-homeless man who asks too many questions about her earlier life. When this neighbour’s adult daughter comes to stay with him Ava’s world starts to unravel. A letter arrives indicating at least one person out there knows her true identity and Ava is convinced it’s from the neighbour’s daughter. Ava sees her acting suspicioulsy when out on walks along the river and is further convinced when a brick is thrown through her window. Around this point in the plot, the pace quickens, the tension in Ava’s mind increases rapidly, she knows she must act soon before her identity and crime is revealed to everyone, and so she makes the necessary preparations…

This a real psychology novel; the author captures Ava’s anxieties remarkably well. The plot is well-crafted and the essential characters are thoroughly developed and feel like they could be people we already know. I like the use of tension and pace, rising and falling as the book progresses. The ending is neatly crafted and satisfying.

I enjoyed reading Just A Boy by Elena Varvello even though it wasn’t my normal reading genre. It certainly didn’t fit its description as a thriller. I would categorise it as literary /family/emotional fiction.

As the title suggests, the story focuses on the past behaviour of a now-dead teenage boy although the story centres on the boy’s mother, her mother, her husband, her two daughters and her friend and their responses to the boy’s behaviour.

His initial disturbingly-odd behaviour was two house break-ins/roberries, both of which trouble his family. But what really kicks the story off is a house break-in and attack on the family (including the daughter) of his mother’s friend. In the immediate aftermath of this last incident, the boy kills himself and this is really what the book is about.

The story is a protracted examination of his family-members’ reactions, memories and ‘what-ifs’. There is an element of teenage-/adolescent-angst but ‘once-removed’ as each of the boy’s family members tries to make sense of his behaviour. This all had a strong feeling of reality; it’s likely every familiy in a smiliar situation would go through a similarly drawn-out self-examination. In this regard, although the characters were not well developed in terms of descriptions and back stories, their dialogue and behaviour gave them a vivid richness that is probably the real essence of the story. It feels like I learnt as much about the individual familiy members and their thoughts and behaviour as much as I learnt about the boy and his behaviour.

The book is well-written (perhaps I should say the translation is well-written because the book is originally written in Italian; the story is set in Italy.) It is quite literary in style, evocative and reflective, and although the plot is not linear in terms of time, it flows easily. So, not really for fans of suspense, thrillers and crime-mystery, but certainly one that fans of The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje) might enjoy.

My favourite extract from this book: ‘There are so many things we should do, and then we never can,’ Sara said. ‘We should have done them, yes.’

I absolutely enjoyed reading The Hiker by M. J. Ford because of its carefully-constructed plot, authentic characters and the cracker of an ending.

Two estranged sisters, Sarah and Gemma, tell this contemporary crime thriller separately; I enjoy reading thrillers told from different characters’ perspectives because there’s often a tension deriving from one character’s information that relates to the other characters. The different perspectives kept the story’s pace ticking along.

Sarah is a successful lawyer living with her fiance, Doug, in London. Gemma is working in an elder care home, out of London, with her just laid off boyfriend. They are in debt and now in danger of serious harm by their landlord’s gangster son. Mark hatches a crazy scheme to blackmail some marijuana growers up north in Hartsbridge. 

Sarah is approached at her workplace by police making inquiries about Gemma. A burnt-out car belonging to Mark was found, one dead body inside it. The police ask if Sarah knows about Gemma’s whereabouts but Sarah hasn’t had contact with Gemma for more than 5 years. Their childhoods weren’t great: Sarah rose above it, Gemma didn’t.

Remarkably, the day after the police visit, Sarah receives a card from Gemma, sent from Hartsbridge. Despite her wedding being just days away, Sarah drives north to where the burnt-out car was found. Hartsbridge is a small village and so Sarah is able to make some quick progress in determining that Gemma was there but is not now. Sarah’s inquiries reveal some odd behaviour by some locals – sufficient for her to remain and continue her search for Gemma. 

The local police are supportive and keep Sarah informed of their investigation. Soon, evidence is found by hikers that strongly suggests Gemma has been killed. DNA samples are taken and the investigation takes on a different mood.

The plot takes several interesting twists that I’ll not reveal here – because no one likes spoilers in a review. They’re credible, well-constructed twists and the story picks up pace so that I read the second half of the book in one sitting. 

This is one of those contemporary crime thrillers, like Girl on the Train, that could be set now, feels real, and could be happening to any of us. And that’s probably what makes it such a good read – it’s outrageous but read any daily newspaper and you think, ‘this could happen to me’.  

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book because the characters were ordinary you-or-me people. The situation was credible and the conclusion was well-constructed and satisfying. (Satisfying means I said, ‘good’ or ‘well done’ at the last page). 

Dead in the Water by Mark Ellis is an interesting, complex and satisfying read. I heartily recommend it to lovers of suspense as well as murder-mystery/police-crime.

 The sales blurb doesn’t do the book justice. The story, set in World War 2 London, follows DCI Merlin and his staff as they try to find a murderer. In doing so they are attempting to save a black US serviceman who has been hastily tried for and convicted of the murder and then sentenced to death by the US military based in the UK. DCI Merlin is sure the convicted man is innocent, but time is precious as the hanging is scheduled in just a few days.

The victim is a Russian spy, recently arrived from neutral Portugal. Merlin’s associate in MI6 reveals there is also a Nazi spy involved.

Meanwhile a wealthy Dutch immigrant is trying to sell 2 valuable pieces of art to an ultra-wealthy collector back in Portugal. The complexity of the sale drags in more unsavoury characters, including a corrupt businessman who happens to be the Nazi spy. The sale will resolve the immigrant’s immediate financial difficulties and allow him to keep his son and daughter living their comfortable lifestyles. His son wants money to establish a literary magazine; his daughter wants a more expensive residence. His daughter’s boyfriend hatches a plan to steal the artworks and on the night of the robbery, the girlfriend’s father is murdered, found the next day floating in the Thames.

Merlin must unravel all of this to find the Russian spy’s real murderer in time to save the wrongly-convicted US serviceman.

There are many suspects and all are well-developed characters in the story who relate well enough to create character-led plot twists that flow naturally. I enjoyed keeping track of the characters’ relationships and the suspects’ testimonies, alibis, and dubious behaviours.

World War 2 London is an intriguing setting. While normal life is suspended, many people tried to continue to live their lives despite black outs, rationing and the fear of Nazi invasion.

My only criticism of the book is that Merlin and his staff seemed too squeaky-clean. I like the authenticity of characters who are at least a little flawed, although maybe this is overdone – not all detectives have to be alcoholic, brooding and divorced so it was a pleasant change to read about Merlin’s happy home life, shepherd’s pie and the occasional bottle of ale.

A thoroughly convoluted plot, plenty of suspects, intriguing setting, well-paced suspense, and a cleverly-constructed conclusion. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and happily recommend it to lovers of murder mystery and suspense.