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

A challenge to read more.... Who's Your Author A-Z Paranormal Characters Challenge 2015

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 annual reading challenge that the “Who’s Your Author” Group have set for the whole of this year…

WYA 2015 A-Z Paranormal Characters
Duration: 1 January - 31 December 2015

Rules: Read 26 books, one paranormal character per book, either male or female, using either first or last names. Any paranormal character is acceptable. For those hard to find letters Q, U & X, names which include those letters, including middle initial will be acceptable.

A – ALENA KORNOV – “Of Swine and Roses” by Ilona Andrews
B – DR SLADE BUCHANAN – “Slade – The Protectors #6” by Teresa Gabelman
C - CELIA ALBRIGHT “Bound by the Vampire – Blood and Absinthe #3” by Chloe Hart
D – DUNCAN ROARK – “Duncan - The Protectors #3” by Teresa Gabelman
E – ELIJAH ROSS – “Darkness Surrendered – Order of the Blade #3” by Stephanie Rowe
F – FOREST – “Forbidden Forest – The Legends of Regia #1” by Tenaya Jayne
G – GIDEON ROARKE “Darkness Seduced – Order of the Blade #2” by Stephanie Rowe
H – HAWKE BLAKESTONE – “Claiming the Vampire – Blood and Absinthe #3” by Chloe Hart
I – IOLANTHE – “Hunted by a Jaguar – Eternal Mates #4” by Felicity Heaton
J – JARED KINCAID – “Jared – The Protectors #2” by Teresa Gabelman
K – KADE ISSACSON – “Kade’s Dark Embrace (Immortals of New Orleans #1) by Kym Grosso
L – LILY HARPER – “To Hell and Back – Lily Harper Series #3” by H P Mallory
M – MARCUS GRADEN – “Night Reigns – Immortal Guardians #2” by Dianne Duvall
N – SEBASTIEN (BASTIEN) NEWCOMBE – Phantom Shadows (Immortal Guardians #3) by Dianne Duvall
O – JOSEPHINE O’CONNOR – “Grumpy Old Wizards” by John O’Riley
P – PAULIE – “Jonas (Darkness #7) by K.F. Breene
Q – DEVINSHEA QUINN – “Steal The Light (Thieves #1) by Lexi Blake
R – WILLOW RHOWSEN – “Influential Magic (Crescent City Fae #1) by Deanna Chase
S – SID SINCLAIR – “Sid – The Protectors #4” by Teresa Gabelman
T – TENZIN – “Shadows and Gold – Elemental Legacy #0.5” by Elizabeth Hunter
U – DRACULA – “Fear The Light” by William Massa
V – VAIL – “Tempted by a Rogue Prince – Eternal Mates #3” by Felicity Heaton
W – ROLAND WARBROOK – “Darkness Dawns – Immortal Guardians #1” by Dianne Duvall
X - ALEXA O’BRIEN – “Huntress & Stunner – Alexa O’Brien Huntress Series #0.5 & #0.75” by Trina M Lee
Y – YVAINE – “Stardust” by Neil Gaiman
Z – ZACH – “The Druid Series, 1-3: Reapers, Bled & Harvest” by Marata Eros

Who's Your Author Group (A-Z Paranormal Character Challenge 2015) Book Montage

*flora*'s favourite books »

So, have you read any of these books? I am a happy girl because I found a new favourite author or two working my way through this challenge!! You can click on any of the authors' names above and you'll be taken to their website in a new tab.

Oh, and after I read each of the above books, I posted a little review on Goodreads, if you want to know what I thought of them click here.

 

Flora Reviews... Mammoth Books presents Mami Wata by Simon Kurt Unsworth

Mammoth Books presents Mami Wata

by Simon Kurt Unsworth

Read: 27^th September 2015

Format: Kindle

My Goodreads Rating:  5 Stars

...So what’s this book about?

This is a short horror/paranormal story, about a jaded English business man who travels to a mine in Zambia to find out why production is down but finds the answer far from normal.

The blurb says:

When I was first asked to contribute to Exotic Gothic 3 (which was to feature Gothic-influenced stories in non-Gothic environments), I agreed without really thinking about it," Unsworth explains, "and then spent a long time struggling, trying to work out how, precisely, I was going to manage it or quite how to make a start. "I knew what I wanted to do, sort of, but not exactly how to do it, so one day alarmingly close to the deadline I did a fun thing: I freewheeled through Google. Using a small document about Zambian myths and cultures I found online (I set the story in Zambia for no reason other than an old family friend lives there and it seemed exotic in Gothic terms), I used one Zambian word from it as a search term and read what came up, took one intriguing Zambian term from the search results and searched for that, etc, and disappeared into Google's merry depths. "I ended up with an academic paper about a particular myth, a travel blog about a sort of beer made from corn and a weird little 'my God's better than your God' blog by a kid in Africa, and somewhere in the middle of that, the story appeared.

I was lucky enough to find this book for 99p from Amazon UK – what a bargain!!

 ...So, what did I like about it?

I thought that this story was very well written; I found Mr Unsworth’s writing style easy to read and thought the pace was spot on and well balanced plus I never got lost in his plot.

The world building and scene descriptions throughout this story were very realistic without hindering the pace; they transported me directly to the mining town in Zambia; the heat, dirt and weariness of the miners, the social separation and lack of understanding of the expat managers and the local supervisors and miners.  Our main character, Thorley, was completely believable; a very ordinary man thrown into an extremely extraordinary situation. All of the supporting cast were also written with a depth that added a further realism to this tale.

The story kept me guessing and I was on the edge of my seat wondering what would happen next and how it would all end. I really liked the “Twilight Zone” style ending.

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

Nope.

This horror story is more mystery and tension than blood and guts gore which is perfect for my over active imagination. ;-)

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

I haven't read anything by Simon Kurt Unsworth before but I have been impressed with his ability to spin his tale, completely engrossing me in his world in so few pages and the horror/supernatural twist added a tense thrilling edge to the tale and left me with a sense of wonder.

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

See MAMMOTH BOOKS PRESENTS MAMI WATA on Goodreads.com

Buy MAMMOTH BOOKS PRESENTS MAMI WATA on Amazon.com

Buy MAMMOTH BOOKS PRESENTS MAMI WATA on Amazon.co.uk