Only two books from my reading this month - one very long!

Kirsty Wark – The House by the Loch
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This is the second novel written by the Scottish broadcaster. A deep and intricate story about three generations of a family whose home is in Galloway, south-west Scotland. An incident on Loch Doon involving the boy Walter in 1941 holds a grip on him that reverberates down the years. In present day, Walter’s children hold a family gathering at the houses he gifted them on the loch side. Their own children are present – Patrick’s two daughters, Carson and Iona, and Fiona’s son Pete. As the story of Walter’s grandchildren unfolds, there are flashbacks to his own youth as an engineer at the Loch, and his marriage to bright spark Jean from nearby Ayr. Jean’s fragility also has long-reaching effects on the family. Following a sudden tragedy, each member of the family struggles to find a way to go on, and there are many secrets still to be revealed. A good read, though for me it sagged a little in the second half of the book, before picking up pace again towards the end.

Sarah Harrison - A Flower that's Free

This is the sequel to 'The Flowers of the Field', and follows the story of Kate, Thea's adopted daughter. Early in the book we learn who her real mother is, and this creates a thread of tension running through the novel. Always rather a rebel, feeling she doesn't fit in, Kate travels from her Kenyan home to London where she meets Thea's family. She strives to find fulfillment for herself in the world. Then she finds love but there are difficult choices to make as the story moves into World War II. The author doesn't hold back on depicting some of the horrors of the war, in several different countries. Despite it being a very long book it kept my interest up to the end. I read it originally when it was first published in 1985, and it's interesting to see how writing styles have changed over the years. I reckon that the stories of some minor characters would not be included in a more recent novel. But very well written, full of tension, with a great sense of place and immediacy.

Fern Britten – The Postcard

Penny has an enviable marriage to vicar Simon, with a gorgeous baby daughter, Jenna. She lives in an idyllic part of Cornwall, and can’t understand why she feels a total failure. To make matters worse, the successful career she had in television seems to be in trouble. The final straw comes when her estranged younger sister, Suzie, turns up, stirring up the difficult family memories that Penny had thought she’d escaped. The novel continues the stories of people first met in other novels by the author, and introduces more intriguing characters. Village life is drawn colourfully, creating a mix of emotions in another of the author’s tales of Cornish village life. Warm and sympathetic.

Danielle Girard – Whiteout

A thriller set in USA. Lily wakes up in crashed car, beside an unconscious man she doesn’t know – and can’t recall her own identity or what happened. There are only disjointed flashbacks in her mind, and she can make no sense of it. She finds out her name from the driving licence in her bag. From this point she begins a journey of discovery and terror as she tries to piece together her life and keep safe from someone who seems to want her dead. Ambitious detective Kylie is also on a quest, to find the killer of another young woman whose body appeared in a local dumpster. But her attempts to solve the crime seem to be thwarted at every turn – who is sabotaging her investigation? She believes there’s a connection to Lily, and the two women’s lives begin to converge as leads are woven in confusion. A lot of suspense, many threads to untangle, but overall a satisfying read.

Elle Newmark – The Sandalwood Tree

A fascinating weaving of tales from two turbulent times in the history of India. In 1947, on the eve of Partition, American Evie arrives in northern India with her husband Martin and their five-year-old son Billy. Martin served in World War II and came back altered, with hidden demons he cannot speak about. Now he’s studying the momentous changes in India for a history PhD, and Evie hopes that during their time there, they will rediscover the closeness of their early marriage. But he remains locked in his personal nightmare. Her curiosity is roused when she discovers letters hidden in their Victorian house – correspondence between two young Englishwomen, Adela and Felicity in 1855. As Evie follows a trail which gradually reveals the secrets of their lives in India during the Sepoy Rebellion, she experiences more of the realities and history of the people inhabiting this exotic country. Their stories also help her to learn more about herself and how she can face the future. A deeply emotional and engrossing read.