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Eleanor (1463 KP) rated The Hiding Place / The Taking of Annie Thorne in Books
Jul 24, 2019
Supernatural small town horror meets twisty thriller
I listened to this book on an audio edition narrated by Richard Armitage who did a superb job of bringing the protagonist Joe Thorne to life. There is much of the dialog in this book that is interspersed with Joe’s own contradictory thoughts but I found it all so well narrated it flowed very enjoyably. Based in a part of the world I’m very familiar with the accent and attitudes (well written) all fitted perfectly.
Returning to his childhood home; the former mining town of Arnhill has few attractive qualities; and some very upsetting memories for Joe. As we learn about Joe’s past; which is still very present in Arnhill we get a cross between a creepy mystery horror story and flat out crime thriller. Annie Thorne was Joe’s sister, she disappeared at age eight and reappeared 48 hours later but was somehow different….. When he receives a mysterious note suggesting that history is repeating itself in Arnhill he is drawn back.
It’s dark and twisty tale full of easily pictured characters. Joe himself is far from a reliable narrator and even his true motives are less than clear. The story is well written with some very high standard dialogue that really pulls you into the setting. I can imagine the supernatural nature may be a put off to those just out for a solid mystery thriller but I don’t think it’s too in your face creepy horror. In fact I could have gone for more delving into the history and supernatural origins side of things. The more standard mystery and thriller side of the book has some interesting twists and turns and I give the book a general bump for the high quality audio adaptation I experienced.
Returning to his childhood home; the former mining town of Arnhill has few attractive qualities; and some very upsetting memories for Joe. As we learn about Joe’s past; which is still very present in Arnhill we get a cross between a creepy mystery horror story and flat out crime thriller. Annie Thorne was Joe’s sister, she disappeared at age eight and reappeared 48 hours later but was somehow different….. When he receives a mysterious note suggesting that history is repeating itself in Arnhill he is drawn back.
It’s dark and twisty tale full of easily pictured characters. Joe himself is far from a reliable narrator and even his true motives are less than clear. The story is well written with some very high standard dialogue that really pulls you into the setting. I can imagine the supernatural nature may be a put off to those just out for a solid mystery thriller but I don’t think it’s too in your face creepy horror. In fact I could have gone for more delving into the history and supernatural origins side of things. The more standard mystery and thriller side of the book has some interesting twists and turns and I give the book a general bump for the high quality audio adaptation I experienced.
ClareR (5879 KP) rated Killing Beauties in Books
Feb 5, 2020
Killing Beauties is about the female spies (She-Intelligencers - isn’t it funny how they could make even that sound like an insult 🤔) who worked for the exiled Charles Stuart during Cromwells reign. Charles Stuart himself sends two female spies back to England to turn Cromwell’s Secretary of State, John Thurloe, into their accomplice using their feminine wiles and training. This is actually based on the true story of two female spies - not something that any of us are usually taught in history lessons at school (perhaps due to their methods!). This is a story with heaps of subterfuge and betrayal, and women who are determined to do the best job they can for their King and their secret society. It was quite amusing in places, which was a little light relief in an otherwise tense story. There’s loads of great historical detail too - think sights, smells and sounds.
It’s a really fun book - fast-paced and with a feeling of danger. I loved it!
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising the book, and for Pete Langdon for commenting along with us readers!
It’s a really fun book - fast-paced and with a feeling of danger. I loved it!
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising the book, and for Pete Langdon for commenting along with us readers!
Transformation Wave Physics: Electromagnetics, Elastodynamics, and Thermodynamics
Mohamed Farhat, Pai-Yen Chen, Sebastien Guenneau and Stefan Enoch
Book
Space-time transformations as a design tool for a new class of composite materials (metamaterials)...
First Steps: The French
Book
The French Defence is a highly reliable response to 1 e4 which is popular at all levels. With the...
Great City Parks
Book
Great City Parks is a celebration of some of the finest achievements of landscape architecture in...
The Ultimate EU Test Book Assessment Centre Edition
Book
Facing the Assessment Centre, the final stage in selection competitions for permanent jobs in the EU...
BBC Drama
This eBook was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
Many people in Britain may have recently watched the drama series Our Zoo on BBC1 about the Mottershead family who moved to Oakfield, Upton in 1930 with the aim of building a zoo without bars. Based on a true story the drama over exaggerated the difficulties the family faced in developing what became to be the famous Chester Zoo. Until 2010 when TV producer Adam Kemp approached her, June Mottershead had never thought about making her history available to the public. As the truth had to be bent slightly for the television production with the removal of certain characters and added romance, and, of course, the laws preventing chimpanzees from being filmed, June Mottershead has penned the true story, also called Our Zoo, which is just as fascinating as what was shown on screen.
June was only four when she moved to Upton with her parents, grandparents, and her fourteen-year-old sister Muriel as well as a selection of animals. The BBC1 drama only showed up until the point that her father, George, had finally been given permission to build his zoo despite the petition against it. In the book, however, this occurs within the first few chapters and then continues on until June’s marriage to her husband Fred Williams in 1949. In fact the time period of the narrative jumps around depending on the animals or events that June is describing.
A large chunk of the book is focused on the effect the Second World War had on the zoo. As can be expected the rationings of vital products took its toll on the animals’ diets and, although the zoo never took a direct hit, the Liverpool blitz caused havoc by destroying the glass tanks in the aquarium. On the other hand, the amount of animals rapidly grew, as it was not just humans that became refugees during the war.
It was a delight to read about June’s relationships with some of the animals, particularly Mary the chimpanzee who was also June’s best friend as a child and behaved in a humanlike manner. Alas, as well as the happy moments there were the inevitable upsetting accounts of the deaths some of the animals, either from old age, illness or accidents.
While Our Zoo cannot be described as a novel, it neither has the feel of an autobiography. The conversational tone of the writing made it a pleasure to read and easy to visualize (admittedly watching the televised version had already provided a certain image).
This easy to read book is a strong recommendation for those who enjoyed the BBC adaptation and wish to find out what happened next. It does not matter if you have not watched the drama, as it is overall a fascinating story to read.
Many people in Britain may have recently watched the drama series Our Zoo on BBC1 about the Mottershead family who moved to Oakfield, Upton in 1930 with the aim of building a zoo without bars. Based on a true story the drama over exaggerated the difficulties the family faced in developing what became to be the famous Chester Zoo. Until 2010 when TV producer Adam Kemp approached her, June Mottershead had never thought about making her history available to the public. As the truth had to be bent slightly for the television production with the removal of certain characters and added romance, and, of course, the laws preventing chimpanzees from being filmed, June Mottershead has penned the true story, also called Our Zoo, which is just as fascinating as what was shown on screen.
June was only four when she moved to Upton with her parents, grandparents, and her fourteen-year-old sister Muriel as well as a selection of animals. The BBC1 drama only showed up until the point that her father, George, had finally been given permission to build his zoo despite the petition against it. In the book, however, this occurs within the first few chapters and then continues on until June’s marriage to her husband Fred Williams in 1949. In fact the time period of the narrative jumps around depending on the animals or events that June is describing.
A large chunk of the book is focused on the effect the Second World War had on the zoo. As can be expected the rationings of vital products took its toll on the animals’ diets and, although the zoo never took a direct hit, the Liverpool blitz caused havoc by destroying the glass tanks in the aquarium. On the other hand, the amount of animals rapidly grew, as it was not just humans that became refugees during the war.
It was a delight to read about June’s relationships with some of the animals, particularly Mary the chimpanzee who was also June’s best friend as a child and behaved in a humanlike manner. Alas, as well as the happy moments there were the inevitable upsetting accounts of the deaths some of the animals, either from old age, illness or accidents.
While Our Zoo cannot be described as a novel, it neither has the feel of an autobiography. The conversational tone of the writing made it a pleasure to read and easy to visualize (admittedly watching the televised version had already provided a certain image).
This easy to read book is a strong recommendation for those who enjoyed the BBC adaptation and wish to find out what happened next. It does not matter if you have not watched the drama, as it is overall a fascinating story to read.
<i>This eBook was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review</i>
Many people in Britain may have recently watched the drama series <i>Our Zoo</i> on BBC1 about the Mottershead family who moved to Oakfield, Upton in 1930 with the aim of building a zoo without bars. Based on a true story the drama over exaggerated the difficulties the family faced in developing what became to be the famous Chester Zoo. Until 2010 when TV producer Adam Kemp approached her, June Mottershead had never thought about making her history available to the public. As the truth had to be bent slightly for the television production with the removal of certain characters and added romance, and, of course, the laws preventing chimpanzees from being filmed, June Mottershead has penned the true story, also called <i>Our Zoo</i>, which is just as fascinating as what was shown on screen.
June was only four when she moved to Upton with her parents, grandparents, and her fourteen-year-old sister Muriel as well as a selection of animals. The BBC1 drama only showed up until the point that her father, George, had finally been given permission to build his zoo despite the petition against it. In the book, however, this occurs within the first few chapters and then continues on until June’s marriage to her husband Fred Williams in 1949. In fact the time period of the narrative jumps around depending on the animals or events that June is describing.
A large chunk of the book is focused on the effect the Second World War had on the zoo. As can be expected the rationings of vital products took its toll on the animals’ diets and, although the zoo never took a direct hit, the Liverpool blitz caused havoc by destroying the glass tanks in the aquarium. On the other hand, the amount of animals rapidly grew, as it was not just humans that became refugees during the war.
It was a delight to read about June’s relationships with some of the animals, particularly Mary the chimpanzee who was also June’s best friend as a child and behaved in a humanlike manner. Alas, as well as the happy moments there were the inevitable upsetting accounts of the deaths some of the animals, either from old age, illness or accidents.
While <i>Our Zoo</i> cannot be described as a novel, it neither has the feel of an autobiography. The conversational tone of the writing made it a pleasure to read and easy to visualize (admittedly watching the televised version had already provided a certain image).
This easy to read book is a strong recommendation for those who enjoyed the BBC adaptation and wish to find out what happened next. It does not matter if you have not watched the drama, as it is overall a fascinating story to read.
Many people in Britain may have recently watched the drama series <i>Our Zoo</i> on BBC1 about the Mottershead family who moved to Oakfield, Upton in 1930 with the aim of building a zoo without bars. Based on a true story the drama over exaggerated the difficulties the family faced in developing what became to be the famous Chester Zoo. Until 2010 when TV producer Adam Kemp approached her, June Mottershead had never thought about making her history available to the public. As the truth had to be bent slightly for the television production with the removal of certain characters and added romance, and, of course, the laws preventing chimpanzees from being filmed, June Mottershead has penned the true story, also called <i>Our Zoo</i>, which is just as fascinating as what was shown on screen.
June was only four when she moved to Upton with her parents, grandparents, and her fourteen-year-old sister Muriel as well as a selection of animals. The BBC1 drama only showed up until the point that her father, George, had finally been given permission to build his zoo despite the petition against it. In the book, however, this occurs within the first few chapters and then continues on until June’s marriage to her husband Fred Williams in 1949. In fact the time period of the narrative jumps around depending on the animals or events that June is describing.
A large chunk of the book is focused on the effect the Second World War had on the zoo. As can be expected the rationings of vital products took its toll on the animals’ diets and, although the zoo never took a direct hit, the Liverpool blitz caused havoc by destroying the glass tanks in the aquarium. On the other hand, the amount of animals rapidly grew, as it was not just humans that became refugees during the war.
It was a delight to read about June’s relationships with some of the animals, particularly Mary the chimpanzee who was also June’s best friend as a child and behaved in a humanlike manner. Alas, as well as the happy moments there were the inevitable upsetting accounts of the deaths some of the animals, either from old age, illness or accidents.
While <i>Our Zoo</i> cannot be described as a novel, it neither has the feel of an autobiography. The conversational tone of the writing made it a pleasure to read and easy to visualize (admittedly watching the televised version had already provided a certain image).
This easy to read book is a strong recommendation for those who enjoyed the BBC adaptation and wish to find out what happened next. It does not matter if you have not watched the drama, as it is overall a fascinating story to read.
Algorithms: Design and Analysis
Book
Algorithms: Design and Analysis of is a textbook designed for the undergraduate and postgraduate...
PA
Palaeogeography and Palaeobiogeography: Biodiversity in Space and Time
Paul Upchurch, Alistair J. McGowan and Claire S. C. Slater
Book
Biogeography represents one of the most complex and challenging aspects of macroevolutionary...