Terry Pratchett - goodbye and thank you for the joy that is Discworld!

The Half-Life of Hannah - light and airy

I have been experiencing disrupted sleep over the last few days, and to while away some of the wee wakeful hours in the morning, I needed a book that wasn't going to tax me too much, or require a great deal of concentration. In this frame of mind, I happened upon The Half-Life of Hannah, by Nick Alexander which I had purchased on Kindle ages ago for just 20p (can't really go wrong at that price can you?) and, for some reason, its cover spoke to me at 3am. For my energy levels right now, I could hardly have chosen better. Hannah Parker is on holiday in the South of France with her husband - the boring Cliff - and her beloved son Luke. The rest of the party is made up of her wild sister, Jill, together with her grumpy, teenage daughter and their gay friend Tristan. Things are going okay, with the sister setting her cap at the "pool guy" and Tristan (a chef by trade) cooking up tasty meals to help the holiday go with a swing. So far, so good. However, mixed in to the "now" are some vignettes from Hannah's past, specifically the time when she and Cliff were about to get married ... and Cliff's brother James bounced into their home and almost changed her life completely ... almost! When James disappeared, went travelling and then was killed overseas, Hannah put all those "what if" thoughts behind her and got on with her married life. When the villa receives a phone call, from James, to ask if he can come to see them, Hannah is more than a little gobsmacked, and things start to unravel. This is a very quick read, light and airy, but totally enjoyable. A bit of fluff it may be, but this book got me just at the right time. The bickering between the two sisters is totally believable, as is the tension between Hannah and Cliff, who try to keep up appearances in front of the others, particularly the children, but the stress and strain of doing so soon bubbles up. Whilst I might have guessed where some of the story was going, it didn't detract too much from my enjoyment of the book. A great book if you are on holiday, or, like me, too tired to be doing with Dickens! I will definitely look out for the sequel, Other Halves, as I would like to know what happens next.

My STAR rating: THREE.

Length: 256 print pages.
Price I paid: £0.20.
Formats available: print; ebook.

Without Fail - Jack Reacher on cracking form

I was a little disappointed by the previous book in the Jack Reacher series, so I approached Without Fail, by Lee Child, with a little trepidation. I need not have worried. This is an excellent thriller, with the action coming thick and fast. When threats are made against the new Vice-President of the USA, his protection detail are, understandably worried. His head of security, M.E. Froelich, wants someone from outside the services to test how tight their security really is, and she hunts down Jack Reacher and persuades him to take on the role. Why Jack? Well, M.E. had dated his brother Joe for a number of years and had heard tales of our favourite maverick's prowess at handling difficult and dangerous situations. Reacher decides to help - for a fee - and asks an old colleague to tag along. Almost as soon as they take on the project, things start to escalate and the body count begins! But can the threat be coming from inside the Security Services, or is it something more personal? This is a taut tale and pushes many of the right buttons to keep the reader gripped from the outset. Amongst the action, the thorny issue of Jack's estranged relationship with his brother Joe, and his guilt over Joe's death are tackled. Jack is forced to confront these by M.E. who, it seems, hasn't really got over Joe. The only weak element for me is the "romantic interest" - though it could hardly be called that - which I felt was not entirely believable and was the weakest part of the book. Unfortunately, this is often the case within thrillers ... the writer seems to feel obliged to let the male lead, no matter how unlikeable they might be, to be a wow with the ladies and always manage to get someone into bed. There is no heart in this particular element of the story and I think it could have been omitted completely. That aside, this is definitely one of the better books in this series to date (this is number 6) and had a few surprises and I especially enjoyed the interaction with the female sidekick who I hope we'll see again. This has put Lee Child back in my good books and he will now rest on my "go to" pile for when I want to be pulled along at breakneck speed by a man who travels so light that he regularly has to stop and buy new clothes (surely he could invest in a couple of changes of outfit?)

My STAR rating: FOUR.

Length: 560 print pages.
Price I paid: free, borrowed from library as an ebook.
Formats available: print; unabridged audio download; unabridged audio CD; ebook.

Me Before You - surprisingly enjoyable

Anyone who has read this blog for any length of time will have got the distinct impression that the books that tick all my boxes are more than likely going to be either a good thriller, fantasy, crime procedural or a humorous tome. However, it is always good to branch out now and again and for this reason, I delved into a book that kept popping up on bestseller lists over the last couple of years and slowly attracted my attention. Me Before You, by Jojo Moyes is, at its basic level, a romance. However, it is so much more. Louisa Clarke is a home loving girl, still living with her parents, still with her boyfriend of 7 years and still working in the local cafe. She is comfortable with her life. This all changes when the cafe closes and, with limited employment opportunities available, she accepts a 6-month contract as the daytime carer of Will Traynor, a quadriplegic who is tired of his life. Once a high-flying all-action business man, Will cannot come to terms with how his life has changed. Louisa is at first scared of him, but then determines to try and make his life a bit more bearable in her own inimitable fashion. Slowly but surely, they start to enjoy each other's company and form a real bond. When Louisa finds out however, that her contract is only for 6 months because Will is planning to commit suicide at the end of this time frame, she is devastated. Can she change his mind? At first, I wasn't at all sure about this book and thought I knew exactly where it was going, but as I persisted, it slowly got under my skin and I started to care about the characters. This is a romance with a real difference, and tackles very challenging issues, such as disability and assisted suicide. At times uncomfortable and at others uplifting, this is not always an easy book to read, but is one that will surprise and touch the heart of anyone who tackles it. Oh, and it may not sound like it, but there is plenty of humour in it too. I read the audio edition, which had multiple narrators, not all of whom I liked, which I think detracted from the story for me, it might be better to stick with the print or ebook editions for this one so that you can create your own voice for the characters. Have just found out that there is a sequel planned for Autumn 2015, which I might delve into.

My STAR rating: THREE (due to the narration).

Length: 528 print pages.
Price I paid: £4.00.
Formats available: print; unabridged audio download; ebook.