
Frayn Plays: v. 4: Copenhagen, Democracy and Afterlife
Book
Michael Frayn is one of the great playwrights of our time, enjoying international acclaim and...

ClareR (5836 KP) rated Mirrorland in Books
Apr 3, 2021
The narrator is completely unreliable, mainly because she appears to have blocked out a huge part of her life.
Cat returns, reluctantly, to Edinburgh from California, because her sister has gone missing on her sailing boat. Cat seems unsurprised that her sister should have a boat - she and her sister spent hours as children playing in Mirrorland, pretending to be pirates, sailing the Seven Seas. But her disappearance is unexpected.
Has El been murdered? If so, by whom? Who is sending Cat on a treasure hunt and leaving written messages for her? Who is sending emails? Is El’s husband, Ross, implicated in her disappearance? And what DID happen to Cat and El when they were children?
This is such a delicious, rub-your-hands-together-with-evil-glee kind of book.
There are some pretty shocking subjects covered in this novel, so if you don’t like reading about abuse of any kind, this may not be for you. However, I was glued to it. I’m trying to think of some synonyms of ‘loved’ (I realise that i completely overuse this word when I talk about books), so: adored, enjoyed greatly, was besotted with, couldn’t get enough of. Well. You get the gist. It’s just well worth the read!
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole and to Carole Johnstone for joining in with the chat in the margins!

Christine A. (965 KP) rated The Good Sister in Books
May 8, 2021
The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth is the first book I read of hers, but it will not be the last.
It appeared Fern and Rose are as close as twin sisters can be. In reality, their relationship is much different. Rose is the responsible, pragmatic sister who always looks out for Fern. Fern is the quirky one who always sees the good in everyone. People do not realize Rose looks out for Fern because of her publicly perfect mother, who in secret is a sociopath, and because of what Fern did when she was younger.
The book is much more than I thought it would be. It is a psychological thriller that explores how people with high-functioning autism are treated and how they view everyday occurrences. It is also a family drama, a dysfunctional family, but a family nonetheless.
Hepworth builds the main characters and the people surrounding them well. She describes their world well enough to be in their world but without too much detail slowing down the story. Her storytelling and the story made Sally Hepworth an author. I want to read more of her work.
On Goodreads, Hepworth is the #1 most followed author in Australia.
This 200-word review will be published on Philomathinphila.com.

Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) created a post
Apr 16, 2020

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Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Cross Her Heart in Books
Mar 11, 2019
I wasn't sure what to expect with this book. I seem to be one of the few people left on the planet who hasn't read Pinborough's Behind Her Eyes. However, all the hype about that one probably raised my expectations for this novel. I will admit, I found it to be oddly captivating. It's told from the points of view of Lisa, Ava, and Marilyn and oscillates between the present and the past. As a result the story unfurls slowly, releasing details in increments. It certainly adds to the tension and suspense of the book.
It's clear that all three women have their own secrets, but figuring out what they are is pretty fascinating. The book definitely kept me guessing until the end. Just when I thought I had something figured out, it threw me another curveball. I didn't particularly love Lisa or Ava--Ava more because I felt like I didn't get to know her that well, but I really liked Marilyn. Pinborough is very good at capturing the voices of her characters--each was unique and easy to picture.
In the end, I found the plot for this one to be interesting, and it kept me reading. Still, it's something that I can't really explain, except to say that nothing about this book "wowed" me. I liked it, but didn't love it. There's no real reason that I can put my finger on, just a feeling. Still, this is a very intriguing psychological thriller. It's twisty, with interesting characters. I still need to get to BEHIND HER EYES.
Thank you to William Morrow for my copy!