HUSH, DELILAH by Angie Gallion #RBRT @AngieGallion

 4.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.

In a Nutshell: Suspenseful domestic violence-themed family drama

Wife and mother Delilah wonders if she will ever be brave enough to escape years of domestic violence - and whether she can discover the truth about the crimes she fears her husband may have committed.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it's so well-written and a real page-turner.  The portrayal of Chase Reddick's character is so typical of the misogynist violent male, and anyone who has ever been in a relationship with this sort of man (or those with addiction problems) will be so familiar with that 'waiting for the other shoe to drop' situation that Delilah finds herself in, every minute of every day.  The side-plot is interesting and convincing, and added another dimension to the story.

As with any tale about a person stuck in similar circumstances, Delilah's tale will make you want to scream at her to be brave, to take friend Carmen's offer of a way out.  The intricate way in which the author details her constant strategies to hide what she's doing from Chase is artful indeed, and also the confusion she feels when she discovers that Chase is sleeping with another woman.  She knows she shouldn't care, but an atom of jealousy creeps in, and meetings with the woman concerned only increase her feeling of inadequacy.

The reasons why the glamorous Chase chose Delilah are all totally feasible - aside from the immediate, practical reason, men like him often make a point, either consciously or subconsciously, of choosing women who will accept the treatment they are likely to dish out.  Why Delilah wanted Chase is also clear - the infatuation, obsession, lack of self-esteem.  The only question for me is why she had such rock bottom self-esteem in the first place - that she stayed with a man who made it clear to her that he didn't find her attractive (and worse).  Just a few lines to say something about why she was such a doormat would have rounded her character out nicely; I kept wondering, all through, if we were going to find out, maybe in flashbacks, about the relationship she had with Chase when she was younger.

That said, this is an extremely good book and one I most definitely recommend!  Only downside is that it's priced at £8, which may put some ebook buyers off.

IF SHE WAKES by Erik Therme

3 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)

On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.

In a Nutshell: dark family drama

I didn't realise when I opened this novel on my Kindle that it was a sequel, as I don't look a book up on Amazon after choosing it for review so I can't be influenced by others.  I gather that in the first book, Tess and Josh's daughter Lily was killed in an RTA by Brady, after which Tess stalked his family (wife Meg and daughter Amy), and Meg faked Amy being kidnapped.  Also, Tess's brother Colin died of cancer - he was married to Torrie, and they have a son, Levi.  I learned this from a prologue and first chapter that contained a little too much exposition; a brief 'story so far' in the introduction might have worked better.

The title refers to Torrie, who falls into a coma early in the story, the rest of which centres around Tess and Josh's necessary but difficult relationships with Torrie's family members, as care for Levi is of prime importance.  Mysteries abound concerning Torrie and her family.  Although certain conclusions are reached by the end of the book, it's clear that it's making way for a third novel as the story is by no means finished.

I'm afraid I found this novel a little 'flat'; it flowed well and is professionally presented; the author has thought up a reasonable plot and delivered it, and the characters are fairly well represented.  The emotional problems within Tess and Josh's marriage are well written and realistic, but none of the characters are likeable (you need at least one person to root for!) and I felt that the conversation and narrative lacked spark.  An example: 'I nod, as if I didn't already know this. "Better to go tonight and get it done, as something might change in the morning, and we wouldn't have time.  I'll go.  I just need a few minutes to relax after I finish clearing the table.  It's been a long day".'  It's all like that.  Nothing wrong with it, but it just didn't grab me.  A couple of times I got a little excited by what appeared to be the beginning of a good plot line, but each time it fizzled out quickly. The twist at the end was over-explained and a bit tenuous, I thought.

It's not bad, but for me it was just 'okay'.  This is, of course, always so subjective, and others might feel differently, particularly if they loved the first book.

SAFE WITH ME by Grace Lowrie

3.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: It was a submission to Rosie Amber's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.

Safe With Me is a contemporary romantic drama involving themes of fostered children and domestic abuse.  The story alternates between the points of view of Katerina (sometimes Kat, sometimes Rina), and Jamie. 

The novel opens with Kat in a deeply depressing situation.  After a terrible childhood in and out of foster homes, then life on the streets, she has been married for many years to Vic, a criminal who owns a greasy spoon café on a London market.  Her life is one of imprisonment, abuse and drudgery, as she works in the café all day every day, and spends her evenings tiptoeing round Vic's temper.  She hates him, but is completely worn down and unable to see a way out.   The one light in her life is her memory of Jamie, the little boy with whom she was fostered as a child.  I thought this part of the book was written very well indeed, I was most impressed.  I felt every moment of Kat's fear and hopelessness. 

Jamie, by contrast, has led a happy life, but always longed to see Kat again.  When they meet up, completely by accident, neither of them have any idea who the other is.  This novel turns on its head the current trend for unguessable plot twists, which I liked very much: in Safe With Me, the reader knows what's going on, but the characters don't.  It really worked, because I found myself wondering how they were going to discover each other's identities; the 'reveal' is well done, and is unexpected; I liked it. 

Ms Lowrie has a nice, easily accessible style of writing, very readable.  I did prefer the first half of the book, which, for me, had more atmosphere and realism.  The second half is centred round the relationship between Kat and Jamie, and Kat's road to recovery; it's done well but, for me, the climax of the book came too soon.  This is just a personal preference, of course.  Conflict/tension is provided by Jamie's ex-girlfriend, and the uncovering of some secrets of Jamie and Kat's past, but I thought the Vic situation was disposed of too easily, and sometimes descriptive passages slowed the momentum; I think it needed a better edit.   

This novel has much to commend it; on the whole, I'd say it's a book for readers who like the gradual unfolding of emotions to ponder over, rather than page-turning drama. 

WALLS OF SILENCE by Helen Pryke

3.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: It was a submission to Rosie Amber's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.

I was not sure how to review this book at first, because it's a strange one; my opinion of it varied so much, all the way through.  It's a long novella (or a very short novel - I am sure it is no longer than 50K words, maximum). 

Warning: this review includes plot spoilers.  

Set in northern Italy, the story opens with Pietro, heartbroken over the loss of his wife, Maria, who has just died from cancer.  It then goes back to Maria's childhood in Sicily, in the late 1950s and early 1960s.  Maria lived in a small village, where life rolled by at the slow pace of fifty years before, and the Roman Catholic church and the family were the main focus.  I adored every word of this part; it's beautifully written, and I felt so sad when Maria's mother died, even though I'd met her only briefly.  Yes, the characterisation is that good.  The atmosphere of the time is simply yet vividly portrayed, and I was completely engrossed in the story. 

Maria's childhood takes a darker turn when her father remarries, and her 'uncle' Salvo comes to live with them.  Her account of the abuse she suffered is raw, poignant and utterly believable, and I loved that this part of the book showed not only the reasons for her silence, but also the way in which the simple, ill-educated population were manipulated by the rigours of formal Catholicism.  Stunningly good.  At this point I was going to give the book 5*, which is not a rating I give often. 

Skipping forward, a marriage is arranged between Maria and Vincenzo, when she is sixteen and he is in his late twenties.  They go to live in Milan, and the marriage is difficult, interspersed with brief moments of happiness.  They live in a squalid apartment, Vinny struggles with the prejudices of the northern Italians, he gambles, drinks, and eventually abuses her physically.  I felt this part was a little rushed, and I was sometimes a bit 'hmm' about Maria's reactions, but I was still enjoying it.  Eventually, Vinny's gambling spirals out of control, and he offers Maria up as a final wager in desperation to recoup his losses.  He loses, and Maria has to leave the house with her new protector, Matteo. 

It's now that the book trails off.  Maria is forced into prositution.  At one point, her flat mate, Lisa, gives her a tablet 'to take the edge off', which turns out to be LSD.  Girls in that situation are usually given (or choose to take) heroin or cocaine (or possibly dexedrine, in the 1960s), which give the illusion of wellbeing, not LSD, which is a powerful hallucinogenic and produces a 'trip', not the sort of drug that would be offered to 'take the edge' off anything; I suspected Ms Pryke had not done her research.  After a terrible few months, Maria meets Pietro, a young, professional man who falls instantly in love with her during their brief afternoon/early evening meetings.  Despite the danger involved with going up against Italian gangsters and the fact that he hardly knows her, Pietro hatches a plan to aid her escape, which involves them faking their own deaths and changing their identities.  For some reason I couldn't fathom, his parents (who, in the staid Italian 1960s, are perfectly okay about him potentially ruining his life for the sake of a prostitute he hardly knows) agree to orchestrate this preposterous plan.  I am afraid I could no longer suspend my disbelief at this point; I thought of at least three more convincing ways to end the Matteo section even as I was reading it. 

The book is wrapped up quickly, with details about Pietro and Maria's happy new life, her return to Sicily and reunion with her family.  Again, it was over too soon.  The reunion with Guisy should have been hugely emotional, but it felt raced through, with all information given about the people of Maria's childhood like a quick report. 

I am giving this book 3.5* but rounding it up to 4* on Amazon because the beginning was so very, very good, and because Ms Pryke can certainly write; I read it in one day and looked forward to getting back to it each time.  The main problem is that for the depth of plot it needs to be a novel the reader can become immersed in emotionally, not a short catalogue of disastrous events.  Had the second part, with Vinny, been extended, and the prostitution plot been less outlandish, it could have been a terrific book.  Sometimes, less is more; this author is talented enough not to need car chases and faked deaths.  The atmosphere of Sicily, the stark contrast between the 1960s and the 21st century, the characterisation and her simple knack of writing good sentences that keep the reader wanting to turn the pages, are enough.  And I'd definitely read something else by her.