M. Thornton

Not quite "Gone Girl" but still very good., 9 Feb 2014

I've seen this marketed as "the British version of Gone Girl" and whilst it does not quite stand up to this comparison, it is a very good read - in fact, I enjoyed it more. The narrative grabs you straight away and the book is extremely difficult to put down. Lucie Whitehouse takes a normal girl doing a normal thing (picking her boyfriend up from Heathrow) and develops this into a twisting and turning plotline. Her lead character of Hannah is very believeable and I think what makes the book so gripping is that it is easy to identify with her because her life is so normal. I found myself trying to imagine what I would do if the same thing happened to me. The atmosphere is… Read more

Gripping read, 27 Sep 2013

I have read several of Harriet Evans' books before and enjoyed them but this one felt like a step up from her earlier work. The plot was very original and switched between one character in 1950s Hollywood and another in the present day. I found both stories equally gripping and couldn't put it down. Sophie was flawed without being annoying and I liked the way the author dealt with serious issues such as mental illness. The story is not at all predictable and is quite dark in places but ultimately is a very satisfying read. A cut above the usual boy-meets-girl chick lit and on a par with my other favourites Lisa Jewell and Jojo Moyes. I am looking forward to the next one.

Something to sing about, 2 Jun 2013

As a long standing Thea Gilmore fan I listened to the initial previews of this album with some trepidation. A Thea Gilmore album... with strings?! I was worried that Thea had made a more commercial record at the expense of the raw, edgy sound heard on her earlier albums. However after a couple of listens I found myself humming several of the songs and the album as a whole has definitely grown on me. I'm still not totally convinced by the strings but there are some great tunes on this album that sound fabulous with Thea's beautiful voice and sharply observed lyrics. It certainly doesn't feel like a sell out: it's a genuine progression in her work that reflects the changes taking place… Read more