Best of November 2020

November's here, the clocks have changed, and my 'Books of the Month' are....

#1 One By One by Ruth Ware (released 12 November 2020)
*****

Snow is falling in the ski resort of Saint Antoine, as the shareholders and directors of Snoop, the hottest new music app, gather for a make or break corporate retreat. At stake is a billion-dollar buyout. With the group irrevocably split, tensions are running high. When an avalanche cuts the chalet off, and one board member goes missing in the snow, the group is forced to ask - would someone resort to murder, to get what they want?

In my opinion: OMG I absolutely loved this. I knew I would because I have loved everyone of Ruth Ware's books but even so this somehow still managed to surpass my expectations. I loved the terrifyingly beautiful setting. I loved the cast of hip young Snoop employees, with job titles such as Chief Bean Counter (finance to me and you). They were all so quirky and different from driven CEO, Toph, to geeky Elliot or airhead Ani. At first the group seem little more than obnoxious, privileged, beautiful, play boys and girls but the author does well to add depth and a certain likability to almost all of these characters by the end. 

And, I loved the One By One concept - a conflicted group isolated together getting picked off one by one and knowing the murderer had to be one of them. Terrifying and captivating - waiting to see who'd be next.... My favourite bit however is difficult to talk about without spoiling it. So, I'll just say that it was so cleverly written that even when I started to suspect the eventual murderer I didn't believe it because the format suggested it was highly unlikely to be them.

#1 Forgive Me by Susan Lewis (released 12 November 2020)
*****

This is Claudia Winters’s last chance for a fresh start. Changing her name and leaving her old life behind, she has fled to the small town of Kesterly with her mother and daughter. But the past can’t stay hidden forever. And even as Claudia makes new friends and builds a new life, she can’t help feeling it’s all about to catch up with her… Until one disastrous night changes everything forever.

In my opinion: Having absolutely loved the author's previous book 'My lies Your Lies' I was looking forward to this one with nervous excitement - would it be as good? The answer is YES but it's really not comparable as it's completely different. Expecting another twisty, turny thriller I was a little disappointed at first that there was nothing to work out and as a result it felt a little slow. But, once I realised there wasn't meant to be and it was more of a psychological family drama than thriller, I realised it was just as good but just in a completely different way.

And, the reason it was just as good was Susan Lewis. Her writing is so powerful, so emotive, so descriptive and so well thought out and researched that it totally immerses you. Her characters are so well developed and relatable with both strengths and weaknesses, evoking strong feelings of anger and empathy for them. Once again I loved the multi-generational relationships and the way the characters support and forgive each other even those who've done some truly terrible things. I guess the moral of this one was that not everything is black and white, there's so many shades of grey.

#3 Just Between Friends by Rosie Nixon (released 12 November 2020)
***

Aisha Moore is eight months pregnant. Lucy is having her first child too. When the two women join the same baby group, they quickly become friends and before long they’re confiding in each other. Only there’s one thing Lucy hasn’t told Aisha. And while a baby may turn your life upside-down, a secret this big will change everything

In my opinion: I knew this was a new direction for author Rosie Nixon but not how different. One of the main characters Lucy acknowledges that before falling pregnant, she "found it difficult to engage with other people's pregnancies and births." Same for me. I mean I knew it was a story about new mums but I guess I thought there would be more to it than that ie the promised secret. But, the (fairly obvious) secret isn't revealed until the latter part of the book, with the first half of really about the strain of parenthood on relationships from the decision to have children and get pregnant through to caring for said baby. That said, Nixon has created an enjoyable, electric mix of characters in the baby group. But, sadly this just wasn't my thing whereas Nixon's previous #TheStylist books definitely are.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read these books prior to publication.