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The novel is strong on characterisation, so the reader gets to know all the residents through their own eyes and the opinions of their neighbours. It is initially quite hard to keep up with them all after the initial introductions, but gradually the reader gets to know them and gets caught up in their dramas. The murder realigns their lives and priorities in both good and bad ways. It is an interesting idea of introducing Conrad and Nina who walk into the situation blind and are able to offer more balanced opinions. The extensive dramatis personae is full of stereotypes. The characters are so wooden that I felt I was in serious danger of getting splinters simply from holding my Kindle.
The very last thing that you would want to see on moving in day, is a crowd of reporters and police cordons, however, Nina and Conrad’s forever home is tainted on arrival by the discovery of Chloe Church’s body. As the image of a ‘perfect place to raise a family’ starts to tarnish, Nina and Conrad’s life plans start to unravel. Pearse enjoys introducing her readers to characters that they will connect with and care about. While other books in the genre she writes in rely on formulas to get from the beginning to the end, she doesn’t use any formula to write her novels. The genres that they are set in also vary from genres that aren’t totally defined, from crime to historical adventure or engaging books like Trust Me, which was based on the real events of child migrants from England that were being sent over to Australia after the war. I read this through my online book club and looked forward to it based on the blurb. Sadly, the hype failed to translate on any level. The writing was poor and the storytelling weak, but perhaps the worst thing about this book was the appalling characterization. The non-stop aspersions cast on people's looks with a heavy bias against anyone overweight was frankly more than off-putting. Add to this dialogues that are beyond ridiculous and you have the recipe for a dismal read. She is married now to her sweet husband. His name is Jimmy and he supports her as she supports them both on the hat shop she finally opened– her dream for so long, ever since she was young. But they can’t see what’s coming as the first world war gathers on the horizon and it is certain that a storm is coming. Belle’s life is so crazy but it’s about to change more than she ever knew possible– is she ready for it?Eve should never have married Don Hathaway. Yes, he gave her two beautiful children - Olly and Tabitha - but he is a bully. Worse than that, he hurts her. This is a book to talk about, to drill down into the story and really think about it * Devon Life * Pearse’s Belle Series debuted in 2011 with the publication of Belle. It was followed by The Promise, where main character Belle is desperate to do anything to make her life better. The third book in the series came out in 2014 and is titled Survivor. Over the pas few years I have been grateful to have been offered the opportunity to read Lesley Pearse’s thrillers, and I have enjoyed every one of them. Her new offering is Suspects, set in a a leafy susburb of Cheltenham, Willow Close. Nina and Conrad have been looking for their perfect new home for a while, and find it in Willow Close with its perfect front gardens, tranquil setting and perfect houses with gleaming windows. But on the day they move in the body of a young girl from Willow Close is found murdered in the woods. As the police investigation starts, and residents questioned, Nina and George begin to wonder if Willow Close is less Stepford Wives and more Nightmare on Elm Street.
On the day Nina and Conrad Best move into their new home in picture-perfect Willow Close a body is discovered. A fast-paced, psychological drama . . . with an enthralling plot, a cast of fascinating characters, and Pearse's addictive storytelling, Suspects will grip from start to finish The Best Life Project Characters – Throughout the entire book the author becomes more obsessed with the character’s weights and is extremely misogynistic. The men are heroes while the women are either domestic slaves, coerced to comply with the men’s needs or they are a religious zealot, an escort or a nasty piece of work. I was aghast that this was written by a woman. The icing on the cake was the female police officers whose only role was to pose undercover as girlfriends so the male police officers could solve the crimes. Considering this is set modern day I began to feel like it was possibly going to turn into an episode of Life on Mars and Gene Hunt would turn up in his Quattro and utter one of his infamous 70’s un pc lines. Belle is set in London in 1910 and is the debut novel in the Belle series by Lesley Pearse. Belle is 15 years old at the time of this novel. As a young girl, she has lived in the Seven Dials in a brothel for all of her life and for most of it had no idea what was really going on in the name of commerce upstairs.I did enjoy this read, but that was due to reading alongside others and creating our own stories and views rather than what we were reading, because what we were reading was awful. The story is about the residents of Willow Close. Most of them have lived there a while, but it’s Nina and Conrad’s first day on the street when the body of 13-year-old aspiring singer/actress Chloe Church is found in bushes in an area of common land behind the street. The girl murdered is Chloe Church, the much loved only daughter of Mike and Ruth Church. They had dreams and ambitions for their young and talented daughter but now it is a nightmare as the police attempt to unravel the mystery of Chloe’s death. With no apparent enemies, Detective Inspector Jim Marshall, who is in charge of the investigation, and his team prepare to leave no stone uncovered in their search for the truth. I honestly don't know how this book happened. It feels like the author needed to present something to her publisher during this dystopian nightmare we're living in, and she rummaged around and pulled out something she wrote 30 years ago that's been sat in a drawer. The publisher then accepted it without even proofreading as she's been reliable for so long. Nina and Conrad had thought they'd found their dream neighbourhood. But have they moved into a nightmare?
On the day Nina and Conrad Best move into their new home in picture-perfect Willow Close, a body is discovered.With her father in the Royal Marines, Lesley and her older brother spent three years in grim orphanages before her father remarried – a veritable dragon of an ex army nurse – and Lesley and her older brother were brought home again, to be joined by two other children who were later adopted by her father and stepmother, and a continuing stream of foster children. blogtour Adventure Ancient Egypt Art History Australia Book Blogger Bookliterati Book Recommendation Book review Contemporary Fiction Crime Del Rey Doubleday Emmeline Kirby and Gregory Longdon Mystery Fantasy Festive Reads Florence Folklore Harper 360 Harper Collins Harper Voyager Historical Fiction History Independently Published Italy Karen Swan Literary Fiction Magic Mantle Books Melville House Murder Mystery Myth Orenda Books Pan Macmillan Penguin Random House Psychological thriller Romance Secrets Simon and Schuster Supernatural Suspense thriller Women's Fiction Zaffre Books Book title Search for: Search Search Recent Comments My suspicion is that the author, while I’ve never read anything of hers before, is very well regarded and is talented was not very involved with this book. My personal guess is this was a story written in the early 90’s, dusted off and published without much scrutiny. Whoever at the publishing house thought this was a good idea has done the author and her fans a massive disservice. The author has a pathological obsession with describing the weight of her characters and what clothes they are wearing, as if that somehow replaces what they are feeling. The weight thing is the most distracting, particularly the repeated body-shaming descriptions of Amy, Chloe’s friend and the only other child who lives in Willow Close. The only excuse I can come up with for the clothes obsession is that maybe there’s a tie-in with a clothing company, and there’ll be a link somewhere to buy any of the outfits characters were wearing to Chloe’s funeral. Nina, a florist and care worker, Conrad Best have found their dream home - 3 Willow Close. The Bests move in but on the same day, a body is found. The subsequent police investigation centres on the neighbours and uncovers more secrets than the residents would wish for.
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