Melody
Bantam Press | December 2018 | 320 pgs
Source: Library

"Rumours are like seeds, scattered on the wind. There's no telling where they'll land, but land they will. Settling in cracks and crevices, the roots take hold. The seeds sprout. It doesn't matter if they're true or false. The more times they're spoken, the faster and stronger they grow. Like beanstalks, waving in the air." ~ Pg 74


Single mum Joanna Critchley and her six-year-old son, Alfie, live in a small town in Flinstead. Joanna works as an estate agent and although she and Alfie's father are cities apart, she sometimes wonders if things would be different if they are married. Joanna rarely mix around with other mothers when bringing Alfie to school, partly because she has no time to gossip around but most of all, she doesn't want people to be curious of her status.

Then on one occasion she happens to hear a casual comment from one mother. There is a rumour about a notorious child killer is living in their small town under a new identity. Forty-eight years ago, ten-year-old Sally McGowan stabbed a five-year-old boy. The news shocked the nation and though she was believed to come from a shattered family with an abusive father, not all are willing to forgive and forget the crime she committed.

With the years passed and no photos of her exist since her release as a young woman, no one really knows about her whereabouts until this rumour arises. Now Joanna doesn't want to be sucked into this gossipy circle, but Alfie is having trouble socialising in school and Joanna knows one way is to mingle with the mothers' group so hopefully this will help Alfie to be closer with their children. Joanna intends to forget about that rumour, but a conversation at a little book club she's in had made her brought up the issue and soon Joanna finds it has got out of hand as the thought began to take root in everyone's mind. Did Sally McGowan really exist among them under a new identity? If the rumour is true, then who is she and how far will Joanna go to protect her family when she realises what it is she's unleashed? 

The Rumour was one addictive and an unputdownable book which had my attention from the beginning till the end (also a reminder how scary a rumour can be and how it'd hurt people, no matter the purpose is intentional or not). Throughout the book, the reader get to see through things from Joanna's perspective, but I felt there are also many points are seen through a mother's perspective generally. The fear and worry, as well as the care and concern a mother has for a child are all well depicted not only between Joanna and Alfie but Joanna and her mother as well. Onto the plot, there are enough red herrings that will make you suspect anyone; and as if that's not enough the author throw in not one but two twists which had me shaking my head in wonder at the outcome. A great read for a debut novel and I'll be looking forward to the author's next release.


© 2019 Melody's Reading Corner (https://mel-reading-corner.blogspot.sg/), All Rights Reserved. If you are reading this post from other site(s), please take note that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.
Melody

G.P. Putnam's Sons | March 2019 | 368 pgs
Source: Publisher via Edelweiss 

"There is a stranger inside everyone, an animal that doesn't think but responds only to its instincts and impulses." ~ Chapter 6


Seventeen-year-old Kate Bennet has no recollection of what happened on that fateful night or why she is kept isolated in a cabin in a remote beach town in New Zealand. Jim, the man who's with her, has claimed she's done something terrible back home in Melbourne and the reason why they're running away is so that no one could trace them and connect her with what happened that night. He had even chopped off her hair bald and given her a new identity - Evie. 

Through fragments of Kate's shattered memories, all she remembers is she has a best friend named Willow and that she's in a relationship with Thom. What happened in between remains fuzzy and although Jim said he'll help her fill in the blanks as the days go, Kate couldn't help but to wonder if it's all lies since he's also been feeding her with pills, saying it's for her own good. Is Jim really claims who he is - a benefactor or is he a captor with a mysterious agenda? Or is it Kate that is the unstable one after what happened that night? 

This debut novel by J.P. Pomare is nothing I've read from the other psychological suspense genre. Slow burned and consisted of unreliable and a few unlikeable characters, I've to admit I was quite frustrated by the first half of the story as it seemed to be getting nowhere (and oh the teenage angst before something nasty happened). However, it is for good reason since it is focused much on the characters development and the interactions between Kate and Jim also leave the reader wandering about their credibility. The shifting between the "Before" and "After" is another common style in allowing the reader to see perspectives from a different time frame as the story progresses and perhaps leaving some clues for the reader to guess but in this one I wasn't expecting the big twist until it hit me towards the end. A riveting novel and will make you question about the fragility of one's mind and memory and how far one would go to protect the secrets. 


© 2019 Melody's Reading Corner (https://mel-reading-corner.blogspot.sg/), All Rights Reserved. If you are reading this post from other site(s), please take note that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.
Melody
Lake Union Publishing | September 2018 | 364 pgs
Source: Library



The year is 1850, New York. Cora Lee, born out of wedlock to a wealthy socialite and a nameless immigrant, is no ordinary girl like the others. Aside from her mixed lineage, she was born with two hearts. She was raised by her late mother's cousin who had then passed, with only her maid Leah as companions. Since a girl, she was told not to disclose her "ailment" to anyone. Even now as the only female resurrectionist in New York, she would disguise herself as a man in dusk for procuring bodies afflicted with strange anomalies. After all, there are anatomists who are willing to pay exorbitant sums for such specimens, either for medical studies or displaying them for the public like "treasures" in museums. 

However, Cora doesn't do it entirely for money. Like those deceased with strange anomalies, she knew she herself is a prize to fellow resurrectionists and anatomists alike and her profession not only help her in disguising her identity but also keep her in the loop when the jobs are concerned. Despite the news of the girl with two hearts is a legend, Cora knows she has to be extra vigilant and make sure that the legend remains as it is. 

As there is a rise in bodies and competitions among resurrectionists, Cora couldn't help but to suspect if the deceased are murdered instead of passing due to their ailments. To complicate matters, she finds herself attracted to Theodore Flint, a medical student who is interested in learning the trade. But of course Flint doesn't know of her double identity; he knows Cora as a lady but he is more familiar with her "twin" Jacob Lee; the other identity Cora took both for protection as well as her resurrectionist role. As a series of murders unfolds, Cora doesn't know if she could trust anyone, including Flint. 

I've no idea how to articulate my thoughts without giving too much of the story away. I loved this book. It has a combination of historical, mystery, romance and a medical aspect of the human anomalies and the likes. While I loved the time period and the setting, what really stands out to me is the author's writing and the characterisations. The characters are fleshed out and the more I read about them, the more I felt for them. I enjoyed knowing more about the role of a resurrectionist, despite the mobidness and all. Also, women physicians back then aren't as recognised as their male counterparts and this gender inequality is well captured in the story based on one character's situation. Overall what I liked most about this book is Cora - an impossible girl who is brave, opiniated and accepting herself as who she is. 


© 2019 Melody's Reading Corner (https://mel-reading-corner.blogspot.sg/), All Rights Reserved. If you are reading this post from other site(s), please take note that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.
Melody
Chatto & Windus | January 2018 | 320 pgs
Source: Library



I liked the title of this book, but the subjects covered and the story are both sad and heartbreaking. 

Set alternatively between the time period 1943 and 2011, this story follows two sisters who are separated by World War II and their struggle in living their life amid the difficult times. Sixteen-year-old Hana comes from a family of haenyeo and like other women of the island community in Jeju, they earn their living as female divers. Because of their profession, they're usually strong willed and determined and young Hana is no exception. One day while diving she sees a Japanese soldier heading to her younger sister, Emi, where she guards the day's catch on the beach. Remembering her mother's words about not getting caught by the soldiers, Hana swims as fast as she could to the shore. She managed to divert the soldier's attention to Emi, but unfortunately she did so by sacrificing herself as the bait. And this begins Hana's harrowing journey as a "comfort woman" in a Japanese military brothel; she is one of many girls and women who are taken and forced into sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese army. 

Fast forward to 2011, Seoul. Emi is an elderly woman who is blessed with children and grandchildren. However, there is never a single day that she wouldn't think of her beloved elder sister and think of the sacrifice she'd made so many years ago. None of her family knew about her painful past; and till present she still harbours the hope that she'd be able to reunite with Hana one day, though it seem impossible given the time span. 

I've learnt a bit about haenyeo and even seen a few of them in action when I'd the chance to visit Jeju a few years back. Most of the women are fit and agile despite they're at least in their fifties and above. I was in awed of their physique and most of all, the determination and the perseverance they radiated. Reading about Hana reminded me of them; and I could imagine how those traits reflected in our young Hana when she tried to protect Emi. The author captured the characters' emotions beautifully; and she has done a great job in balancing fiction and history in this book. There are some scenes which are horrific and gruesome, yet I feel it isn't right to omit them either and that it is to acknowledge what they'd gone through would never be forgotten. 


© 2019 Melody's Reading Corner (https://mel-reading-corner.blogspot.sg/), All Rights Reserved. If you are reading this post from other site(s), please take note that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.