Flora Reviews... The Hidden Legacy by Graham Minett

The Hidden Legacy 

by G.J. (Graham) Minett

Read: 11^th – 17^th October 2015

Format: e-book

My Goodreads Rating:  5 Stars

...So what’s this book about?

This is Mr Minett’s debut novel; a crime/thriller/mystery tale of about 436 pages. Although our main character is Ellen Sutherland, it’s also written from the perspective of various other characters throughout this engaging story.  

The official blurb says:

 1966. A horrifying crime at a secondary school, with devastating consequences for all involved.

2008. A life-changing gift, if only the recipient can work out why . . .

Bearing the scars of a recent divorce - and the splatters of two young children - Ellen Sutherland is up to her elbows in professional and personal stress. When she's invited to travel all the way out to Cheltenham to hear the content of an old woman's will, she can barely be bothered to make the journey.

But when she arrives, the news is astounding. Eudora Nash has left Ellen a beautiful cottage, worth an amount of money that could turn her life around. There's just one problem - Ellen has never even heard of Eudora Nash.

Her curiosity piqued, Ellen and her friend Kate travel to the West Country in search of answers. But they are not the only ones interested in the cottage, and Ellen little imagines how much she has to learn about her past . . .

Graham Minett's debut novel, The Hidden Legacy, is a powerful and suspenseful tale exploring a mysterious and sinister past.

 The publication date for this book is 5^th November 2015 but I was lucky enough to be given this book for free from the publisher (Twenty7 Books) via Netgally.com in exchange for a fair review. Thank you.

  ...So, what did I like about it?

I was very impressed with Mr Minett’s writing style; his use of language, the way he built the plot and added clever twists and turns to his tale. I liked the way this story was told; revealing different aspects of the tale using the viewpoint of his ongoing characters while transporting us to 3 important time frames to expose pertinent situations as they happen.  Don’t worry, I think I’m making it sound more complicated than it is ;-) Mr Minett subtitles each section so that we know who we’re reading about and which time period we’re in. It all flows beautifully allowing the plot to deepen and our connections with, and understanding of, the characters to grow.

I was definitely gripped. I feel as though I’ve been on an amazing journey, I’ve giggled, I’ve cried and I’ve been entertained with a well written mystery that’s also left me asking my own questions about how I choose to treat the people around me. I am the sort of person who sees the glass as being half full rather than half empty so my interpretation of the ending may differ from yours – this is not a definite “happy ever after” ending but it did leave me with a smile on my face. I liked it.

...So, ummm, was there anything I disliked about it?

I must confess that when I read in the blurb that part of this story was about a child who’d killed another child, I was reluctant to start reading (it’s not a theme I feel comfortable with) however this part of the story was very well written and left me questioning how we view these tragic instances and the people involved, how the media almost certainly play their part in these events and how the ripples of that one moment in time can still be felt throughout the decades.

...So, basically what I’m saying is...

I loved this amazing mystery novel. What twists & turns! What raw emotions! I enjoyed every part of this journey! It sort of reminded me of a few of Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple mysteries in that it had a wealth of well written characters and a plot that exposes the human complexities of life while keeping me reading right to the last page. If you’re a fan of mystery stories I’d definitely recommend buying The Hidden Legacy! 

So, have I sparked an interested for THE HIDDEN LEGACY in you? Just click on the links below and check out the book yourself.

See THE HIDDEN LEGACY on Goodreads.com

Buy THE HIDDEN LEGACY on Amazon.com

Buy THE HIDDEN LEGACY on Amazon.co.uk

Flora Reviews.... Raven (The Raven Saga #1) by Suzy Turner

   

Darlings Of Darkness: A Vampire Anthology

By Trina M Lee, Chrissy Peebles, Kristen L Middleton, W.J. May, Suzy Turner, K.C. Blake, Claire Farrell, Dale Mayer, Ally Thomas and S.J. Wright.

...So what’s this book about?

This book is a collection of ten “bestselling” full length urban fantasy and paranormal romance stories with the common theme of all the tales being about vampires. I downloaded this Kindle version for free from Amazon UK in the hope of finding some “new to me” authors. 

I haven't finished the whole book yet but I had to let you know about the story that I've just finished.

Book 3 - "Raven" by Suzy Turner.

This is the first book of a Teen/Young Adult series called “The Raven Saga”. As you all may remember me saying before, teen/YA books are not my choice of reading material, I almost ALWAYS find them tedious, frustrating and it becomes increasingly challenging to care about the characters. 

...but boy, was I pleasantly surprised by this book! I loved everything about it; very easy to read and beautifully written from the viewpoint of our thirteen year old main character, Lilly Taylor, but without being juvenile in plot. This story is about family relationships, dealing with tragedy, experiencing first love and heartache, with a paranormal twist that includes werewolves, shifters, witches, vampires and, of course, magic. 

This book made me laugh as well as shed a few tears, I really got involved with Lilly and all of the supporting characters. I liked that some of the story’s mysteries were solved by the end of this book with some happy endings while letting others mysteries remain elusive.

I am duly impressed & will put book 2 “December Moon” and Book 3 “The Lost Soul” on my Goodreads.com “want to read” list. 

A February Reading Challenge!

A challenge to read more…

Since joining Goodreads.com I have found many “new to me” authors and series. I took the site’s general “2014 Reading Challenge” and have signed up again this year. In addition to that I decided to sign up for a few reading challenges that the groups I belong to set. This post is all about the monthly reading challenge that the “Paranormal Romance & Urban Fantasy” Group have set…

PNR & UF Group - February 2015 Challenge

1. Aphrodite was the Greek goddess of love and beauty. In the story of the Trojan War, the Trojan Paris awarded Aphrodite the Apple of Discord after judging her to be the most beautiful of the goddesses. She then sided with the Trojans throughout the war: Read a book where a war or battle takes place or a book where main characters fight over a love interest.

“Heart of Darkness” by Felicity Heaton in Eternal Love: Vampire Romance Box set

2. Ishtar is the Babylonian goddess of love, procreation, and war. When the love of her life, the farm god Tammuz, died, she followed him to the Underworld: Read a book involving demons or a book where at least part of the story takes place in an underground realm.

“Darkness Reborn – Order of the Blade #5” by Stephanie Rowe

3. Inanna was the oldest of the love goddess of the Mesopotamian region. She was a Sumerian goddess of love and war. Although she is regarded as a virgin, Inanna is a goddess responsible for sexual love, procreation, and fertility: Read a book where a wedding takes place, or where someone is having a baby, or a book where one of the characters is a virgin.

“To Hell and Back (Lily Harper Series #3)” by H.P. Mallory

4. Ashtart/Astarte is a Semitic goddess of sexual love, maternity and fertility. She is also a war goddess and is associated with leopards or lions. Sometimes she is two-horned: Read a book about shifters.

“Hunted By A Jaguar (Eternal Mates #4)” by Felicity Heaton

5. Venus was the Roman goddess of love and beauty. She was originally an Italic goddess of vegetation and patron of gardens: Read a book involving any woodland creatures, Fairies, Elves, Fae, Dryads, Satyrs, Gnomes, Nymphs, etc.

“Claiming The Vampire (Blood and Absinthe #3)” by Chloe Hart

6. Hathor is an Egyptian goddess who sometimes wears a sun disk with horns on her head: Read a book where a main character has powers similar to the sun, some sort of fire power or pyrokinetics, dragon shifter, fire demon, etc.

“Whisper Cape (Whisper Cape #1)” by Regan Walsh

7. Isis is the Egyptian goddess of magic: Read a book where a main character is some kind of magic user, spellcaster, sorcerer, or mage.

“Of Swine and Roses” by Ilona Andrews

8. Freya was a beautiful Vanir Norse goddess of love, magic, and divination, who was called upon for help in matters of love: Read a book where a character has the power of divination or foretelling the future or a book where at least part of the story involves time travelling to another time or place.

“Darkness Dawns (Immortal Guardians #1)” by Dianne Duvall

9. Nügua was primarily a Chinese creator goddess, but after she populated the earth, she taught mankind how to procreate, so she wouldn't have to do it for them: Read a book where at least one character is of Asian descent, or a book where there’s some sort of Asian martial arts fighting, or a book where part of the story takes place in an Asian named place or city.

“Shadows and Gold (Elemental Legacy #0.5)” by Elizabeth Hunter

10. Tlazolteotl is the Aztec goddess of fertility, sex, childbirth and love. She appears in four forms that correspond to the phases of the moon: Read a book where at least one main character is a werewolf.

“Huntress & Stunner (Alexa O’Brien Huntress Series #0.5 & #0.75)” by Trina M Lee