The Good Ones - Polly Stewart

The Good Ones is Polly Stewart's new novel. 

Lauren Ballard was the 'it' girl, the queen bee who ruled her kingdom. She married the rich boy, the football captain, had a beautiful baby. A perfect life...until the day she went missing. Nicola Bennett was a friend to Lauren. Or was she - in Lauren's eyes? Twenty years on, Nicola is still pondering that question. 

We see everything through Nicola's point of view, and come to know her better through her memories. Or we would, if she would admit her part in things. This is where Stewart hooks the reader. Nicola alludes to events in the past, only fully unwrapping them on her timeline. 

Nicola is a complicated character. I was on board with her in the first bit of the book - and felt sorry for her. But as the book progressed, I began to truly dislike her. She's self-serving and is a self described 'wrecking ball.' Lauren is no different for me. She's the quintessential mean girl. Actually she's beyond mean and has both feet firmly planted in cruel. I had a hard time with supporting player's lives being used as fodder for her entertainment. Stewart has done a good job of writing this aspect of the plot. But I questioned if someone would truly put up with her games. 

The book is told in a back and forth, then and now narrative. The question of what happened to Lauren did intrigue me and kept me turning pages until the last chapters. The answers are there, but I will leave you to discover them. 

In addition to the mystery, The Good Ones is an exploration of friendship and relationships that's somewhat uncomfortable to read. See for yourself - read an excerpt of The Good Ones.

The Other Side of Night - Adam Hamdy

The early praise of crime writer Adam Hamdy's new novel, The Other Side of Night, caught my attention. 

Here's the description from the publisher:

"The Other Side of Night begins with a man named David Asha writing about his biggest regret: his sudden separation from his son, Elliot. In his grief, David tells a story. Next, we step into the life of Harriet Kealty, a police officer trying to clear her name after a lapse of judgment. She discovers a curious inscription in a secondhand book—a plea: Help me, he’s trying to kill me. Who wrote this note? Who is “he”? This note leads Harri to David Asha, who was last seen stepping off a cliff. Police suspect he couldn’t cope after his wife’s sudden death. Still, why would this man jump and leave behind his young son? Quickly, Harri’s attention zeroes in on a person she knows all too well. Ben Elmys: once the love of her life. A surrogate father to Elliot Asha and trusted friend to the Ashas."

Initially, this description is what caught my eye. But it's presented differently than I had expected. The plot is intricate, somewhat byzantine, and falls into the literary mystery genre in my opinion. To be fair, I found the book to be a bit overwhelming. The narrative explores a theory I won't name, to prevent a spoiler. What I will say is that it didn't interest me. Given the description, I had expected more of a traditional mystery. That being said, I did finish the book, but in jumps and spurts.  I grew tired of hearing about 'a secret' over and over again, but with no answer. 

I chose to listen to The Other Side of Night. The reader was Justin Avoth. He has a wonderful rich full voice with a wonderfully resonant undertone. He's easy on the ears and his speed of reading was good. He uses his voice effectively to accentuate the author's work. However, the same voice is used for all the characters. I would have preferred a different tone or tenor to discern who was speaking. Hear for yourself - listen to an excerpt of The Other Side of Night. 

I'm in the minority of this one - I encourage you to check out the five star reviews on Goodreads.