3-2-1 Chapter Review for He Said / She Said by Erin Kelly

3-2-1 Chapter Review for He Said/She Said by Erin Kelly.

He Said/She Said is about the alleged rape of Beth Taylor, described from the perspective of the witnesses Laura and Kit who testify in the court case.  Kit and Laura are eclipse followers and this thread is interwoven with the story line.  I picked this book for my own birthday treat – mainly because it mentioned there was a twist.  I like a good twist; when dancing, but especially when reading.  So far the writing style has been as rich as I love it to be and I can’t wait to get on with the rest of the book. Here’s my 3-2-1 Chapter One Review.

The Good – Erin Kelly uses such a rich, descriptive language and the words are carefully chosen to match the locale, as in ‘the institutional clatter of doors opening and closing’

The Good – A great build of the mystery and threat on the horizon and yet they have such friendly sounding names; Beth and Jamie.

The Good – I loved the little double poke at psychotherapists and IKEA where Kelly describes their thoughts towards their IKEA couch being a sacred confessional.  We all know IKEA thinks this too!

The Bad – Possibly too many mystery angles for the first chapter.  One of the descriptions left me wondering if Laura had a sex change.

The Bad – The epilogue (not named) is set at the Court house and refers to the female first person being a witness. It ends with ‘How did it come to this? How did we get here? How will it end?’  Then we start the first chapter to find that it’s after the trial has happened rather than an explanation of how we came to this or how we got here.  Just a little confusing.

The Beautiful – ‘High ceilings catch your words and throw them back in different shapes.’

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3-2-1 Chapter Review for Murder at Wrotham Hill by Diana Souhami

3-2-1 Chapter Review for Murder at Wrotham Hill by Diana Souhami.

Murder at Wrotham Hill tells the true story of the killing of a woman in 1946.  The whole country has been surrounded by death caused by World War II and now yet another death is on their doorsteps.  With so much upheaval and loss from the war, should this murder have mattered?  Here’s my 3-2-1 Chapter One Review.

The Good – Souhami gives us an interesting insight into the background of the time, where people are coming from and the attitudes of the time.  We see how people are still influenced by law, religion, culture and in particularly World War II

The Good – I like the way the cost of living at the time has been integrated quite smoothly into the descriptions of the murder and surroundings.

The Good – Descriptions of Dr Cedric Keith Simpson, the pathologist, were the most energetic of all the characters.  There was a swing and a swagger to it in line (I hope) with his personality.  It made me want to hear more from him.

The Bad – The subtext on how to pronounce Wrotham (root’em) was useful, but I found it distracting from the magic of the opening sentence.  Would it have been awful for us to mispronounce it in our heads?

The Bad – I found the writing very staccato.  It’s almost like a list of evidence or the sequence of events taken from a Detectives notebook.  It will be interesting to see if the next chapters follow suit.  It was closer to prose when giving background information.

The Beautiful – (about Keith Simpson) ‘His patients, he said, never complained, and if their symptoms proved perplexing he could always put them back in the fridge and return to them later.’

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3-2-1 Chapter Review for The Black Tulip by Alexandre Dumas

3-2-1 Chapter Review for The Black Tulip by Alexandre Dumas.

The story of Cornelius van Baerle, a simple member of the Dutch gentry whose only passion is to grow the perfect specimen of a black tulip.  Set in 17^th Century Holland, Cornelius is the closest thing they had to a geek.  He gets caught up in his godfather’s political minefield and ends up being sentenced to death.  It is while he’s in prison that Rosa, the jailor’s daughter, winds up holding the key to his survival and the fulfilment of his desire.  In spite of time’s transition I found The Black Tulip a very exciting, insightful and humorous read.  Here’s my 3-2-1 Chapter One Review.

The Good – Dumas built the tension extremely well with a magnificent comic timing.

The Good – Count Tilly, the Captain of the mounted troops, was my favourite character and loved his gentle taunting of the angry crowds.

The Good – The first chapter (and proceeding) is written with such an easy style you feel like you’ve been friends forever and he’s filling you in on a rather exciting day.

The Bad – Even though he explains it’s necessary to give the history I think the main protagonist should have been introduced in the first chapter as well as Rosa.

The Bad – The brothers are portrayed as perfect in every way, which is hardly possible.  I suppose their naivety could be counted as a failing.

The Beautiful – ‘Whereupon the jailer, a sort of bear, trained to lock and unlock the gates of the prison…’

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3-2-1 Chapter Review for Intended For Harm

3-2-1 Chapter Review for Intended For Harm by C. S. Lakin. 

A modern day family saga, loosely based on the biblical story of Jacob. 

Never happy to walk past a free offer, Intended for Harm became part of my Kindle library.  With its rather catchy title, it did jump the queue of the other free e-books on the shelves.  To be honest it had been a while since I read the description so I was expecting some kind of thriller. It isn't. What it does is tell the story of a man, a son, a brother, boyfriend, lover, father. The author tells it quite well - it's just not the sort of story or pace that grabs my attention.  All that aside here's my 3-2-1 Chapter One Review.

The Good - At the top of the list of good things about Chapter One are the descriptions. All very well put together in an often unique way.

The Good - Very distinct characters, even the father and brother though similar still come across as definite individual personalities.

The Good - The meeting of Jake and Leah was a sweet rendering that gives hope in the midst of the desolate family life and the war-touched America of the 1970's.  Their relationship quickly develops a streak of doom, yet we are still hopeful that this could be it for Jake.

The Bad - One line jerked at my reading sensibilities - 'Jake'd had to bite his lip to keep from...' There must have been several different and far smoother ways this could have been expressed.

The Bad - I couldn't help wondering why Jake's brother Ethan went to wake him up for the hunting trip, since he didn't like him so much. Why not leave him to get in trouble with their father? Or even if he had no choice but to wake him (strict father orders) would he really pick his clothes out for him to wear regardless of whether he needed something to throw at him.

The Beautiful - 'Ethan threw a look at Jake on his way out, a look tangled up in the snarl of his mouth,...'

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3-2-1 Chapter Review for Anyone But Him

3-2-1 Chapter Review for Anyone But Him by Sheila O'Flanagan.

A widowed mother meets a man old enough to be her son, much to the detriment of her two daughters.

I passed over this book for a few other choices in the local Greek library, but finally it made it to 'best option'. It would have got there a lot sooner if I'd read it before (yes I know - egg before the chicken and all that jazz!). I found Anyone But Him to be right on the outside edge of chick lit, well written and difficult to put down. So here's my 3-2-1 Chapter One Review.

The Good - Andie touches the necklace just gifted to her by her lover, Tom at a moment when she's feeling particularly nervous and you can almost feel Andie gather strength and confidence from it.

The Good - The characters are all very humanised, something to like and dislike about all of them, which is how it should be.

The Good - Andie is attending her shared birthday party and Sheila O'Flanagan sets us up with a lovely little mystery as to why Tom isn't attending too, as they are so obviously in love.

The Bad - Walks across a lawn in posh dress and her posh sandals sink in the mud and she arrives at the door covered in muddy shoes then doesn't go to clean them. I fully recognise I would probably be the only person anal enough to be bothered by this fact.

The Bad - Two small bad for the price of one; I think the agreed spoon gifting was a little overworked and the term 'oneupmanship' was used three times... in one chapter... hmmm!

The Beautiful - 'She wondered if it was actually possible to be the sort of person you knew you should be, or whether everyone's efforts were doomed to failure.'

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3-2-1 Chapter Review for Faces

3-2-1 Chapter Review for Faces by Martina Cole.

Follows the life of Danny Cadogan, an extremely violent criminal (Face), and how his actions affect the lives of his family, friends and competitors.

Living on an island where English is not the first language, one tends to grab at any books in English with both hands, especially ones by a favoured author.  Unfortunately, I’m finding Faces by Martina Cole difficult to finish mainly because the rest of the book is extremely repetitive. The first chapter was true Martina Cole. It falls apart a couple of chapters down the road when you realize more effort is being put into making it a nice thick book to sell rather than telling the story. Nevertheless, this is my 3-2-1 Chapter One Review:

The Good – Great tension in the beginning paragraph.

The Good – Really captured the family spirit, with the exception of the father, they are all looking out for each other on their different levels.

The Good – Paints a picture of 1960’s London with a perfect balance of grime and nostalgia.

The Bad – The third party narrative with each character's undertones works well for most of the characters, except the young daughter, who I think is shown to have a little more perception than she might have had at 4 – 5 years old.

The Bad – Repetitive. I must admit the first chapter is not as bad as those to come but you are left with a feeling of loop-de-loop when descriptions are given as to the characters’ thought processes and emotions… OK I get it already!

The Beautiful - ‘His tongue was a furry black point, and it snaked in and out of his mouth as he shouted at them.’

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3-2-1 Chapter Review for The Desolate Garden

3-2-1 Chapter Review for The Desolate Garden by Danny Kemp.

A spy thriller where Harry Paterson is recruited by the British Secret Service to help solve the mystery of his father’s murder.

I was introduced to The Desolate Garden and its taxi driving author via Twitter (I guess it works!) and it was as much Danny Kemp’s varied bio and priors as it was the promise of a good thriller that influenced my choosing to review The Desolate Garden. This is my 3-2-1 Chapter Review:

The Good – Easy and thoughtful methods of introducing the lifestyle and looks of the main character, Harry.

The Good – Loved the confidence of Judith, you really want to get to know her more.

The Good – Great early twist to the tale and chapter one ends with so many mysterious open doors as to where the story will go.

The Bad – Some of the sentences could have been a little smoother in their execution.

The Bad – The information on the lamb-eye-eating crows seemed a little forced and over detailed considering it was an unknown policeman in his home and as a visit from one is usually associated with bad news, I would have expected the immediate focus to be on that.

The Beautiful - ‘The first time I saw her was three days after I was told that my father had died.’

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3-2-1 Chapter Review for Slave: Escaping the Chains of Freedom

3-2-1 Chapter Review for Slave: Escaping the Chains of Freedom by Jacqueline Malcolm.

A freed slave goes against his principles and in turn becomes an owner of slaves.

Slave: Escaping the Chains of Freedom is the first novel masterpiece of my youngest sister, Jacqueline Malcolm. As I'm one of her first readers of early drafts, I've read this book around three or four times. Each time is a pleasure and keeps me on the edge of my seat. This is my 3-2-1 Chapter Review:

The Good – Hezekiah knows he is a slave, yet he does not see himself this way. He is Hezekiah, a husband, brother, son – a man.

The Good – The story telling is so natural, you don't even realise you're being educated about the slave trade and life in 18^th Century New York.

The Good – Gloria is such a great character; a common enemy to them all, even her husband!

The Bad – When Hezekiah first meets Betty (his wife) he is carrying something very heavy, yet follows her quick retreat to find her home. My anal mind wondered how he kept up with her.

The Bad – Hezekiah gets covered in soot when cleaning the oven and complains of having to go and change again. As this was most likely a regular chore, wouldn't he have been prepared for this?

The Beautiful - ‘The old house is cold and I shiver at its command.’

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3-2-1 Chapter Review for Jane Eyre

3-2-1 Chapter Review for Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte.

Tells the life story of the title character in first person narrative.

I first read Jane Eyre when I was fifteen. I started it one morning and read all through the day and night. Finishing it the next afternoon. It is still my all time favourite and I’ve given up watching either movies, TV or stage versions as none of them come close.  This is my 3-2-1 Chapter Review:

The Good - Very smooth introduction to the characters and their personalities.

The Good - Started off with a day that for all intents and purposes should have leaned on the side of boring (a child stuck indoors because of the rain) and ended with a physically violent, blood drawing altercation.

The Good - By the end of the third paragraph the reader’s feet are firmly planted in the young heroine’s corner.

The Bad - The language of the book being read by Jane Eyre ‘Bewick’s History of British Birds’ seems a tad poetic for a factual book on birds. However, since Jane Eyre was first published in 1847 perhaps this was the norm.

The Bad - The novel is narrated by Jane Eyre and at one point she describes in detail the response of her cousin John’s Head Master to her Aunt. It caused me to wonder how an ostracized ten year old would have known his comments.

The Beautiful - ‘I feared nothing but interruption, and that came too soon. The breakfast-room door opened.’

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3-2-1 Chapter Review

...and a good lipsmacking New Year to you all!

New Year's Eve is my favourite day of the year - time for contemplating, letting go, holding on, moving forward - in one word 'growing'. Love it!

This year one of my new endeavours will be to carry out what I'm calling a 3-2-1 Chapter Review on the first chapter of any book I so choose.  The first chapter is what sells a book for me, I'm not saying if it's a bad start I won't finish, but it will certainly set my mood for the remainder of the pages.  The first paragraph or so certainly determines whether I'll purchase a book as I'll often skip the blurb and go straight to reading it whilst in the bookstore. I remember picking up 'Bright Shiny Morning' by James Frey and I had to force myself to go and buy the book BEFORE starting Chapter 2!

The 3-2-1 Chapter Review will consist of 3 good things, 2 bad things and 1 quote or sentence which strikes a chord with my love for the woven word. They will be short as I'd rather they actually be read than skipped because they are longer than busy time schedules allow.

I do hope you enjoy them.

Lets go out of our way to make 2013 a gud un'!

MarvaG