The Travelers - Chris Pavone

I've read and enjoyed Chris Pavone's previous two books, his award winning debut novel, The Expats and The Accident.

His latest book is The Travelers.

Travelers is a travel/lifestyle magazine. It has correspondents (travelers) traipsing across the globe writing and experiencing. And some of those correspondents are carrying out their other assignments. For you see, Travelers Magazine is a front for a spy organization.

Will doesn't know that. He only knows that his boss asks him to drop off sealed envelopes on certain trips. But on a trip to Argentina, Will makes a bad decision - he sleeps with a beautiful woman who turns out to be more than a one night stand. To protect his marriage, he agrees to her terms. And he is thrust into a different web of international intrigue. Who works for who? Who is legit? Government sanctioned? Rogues? Demands and tension ratchet up as competing organizations cross paths.

Pavone incorporates his own experience into his books. He's a former book editor and has lived abroad for years.  He does the international/espionage thing very well. I enjoyed the premise and thought it was quite clever. What better cover than a person paid to travel and write about it? But it took me a bit to finish the book - I found myself getting bogged down and losing interest. The same thing seemed to happen more than once, just in a different setting. The random sexual scenes thrown in seemed gratuitous. I wanted a quicker paced read than the slow pace The Travelers was offering. I did finish the novel and appreciated the plotting, but this one was just an okay read for me. Read an excerpt of The Travelers.

The Quality of Silence - Rosamund Lupton

The Quality of Silence is the third book from Rosamund Lupton. I've quite enjoyed her previous two books.

Yasmin leaves England to connect with her wildlife photographer husband Matt, currently in Alaska. The visit was planned, but Yasmin moved up the timetable after the two argued on the phone. With Yasmin is their ten year old daughter Ruby. But, when they arrive, Yasmin is told that her husband has died in a terrible accident. She refuses to accept this and instead sets out to find him or more concrete answers as to what happened. She takes Ruby with her. Ruby is profoundly deaf...

"My name is a shape, not a sound. I am a thumb and fingers, not a tongue and lips. I am ten fingers raised old - I am a girl made of letters. R-U-B-Y. And this is my voice."

Lupton's previous books have featured a female protagonist thrust into extraordinary circumstances, going beyond what they thought they could do.

Yasmin is thrust into that position as well as she attempts to navigate the unyielding cold and darkness of the Alaskan winter, searching for answers. This made for an excellent backdrop for the story - the dark, the danger and the unknown. The desolation of the landscape mirrors Yasmin's angst and fears. But Alaska is beautiful as well and this is mirrored in Ruby's observations and hopes. Lupton does a great job describing her setting. The cold became a palpable entity, chilling me as I read. But, I did have some reservations ....Spoiler alert - stop here.

Could Yasmin really have really driven a heavy duty hauler loaded with a pre-fab house over the treacherous ice roads that are the Alaskan winter? In a storm? Risking their lives? When the 'real' drivers pull over? Yep, I've watched Ice Road Truckers.

It seems someone is just as determined that Yasmin not search for Matt. Again, Lupton does a great job building tension making an ordinary pair of headlights quite ominous.

For me, The Quality of Silence belonged to Ruby. She was a wonderfully engaging character, I loved her outlook on life and her determination to decide how her 'voice' is heard. Her emails to her missing father are quite heartbreaking. I had a hard time with Yasmin - quite frankly, I just didn't like her.

Lupton ramps up the tension as the book progresses. I was invested in the journey - and then the road to the final answers came (too) quickly into view - and I was slightly disappointed. I guess I was looking for more a traditional thriller ending - which was there. But, I thought it too stretched credibility.

Still, The Quality of Silence kept me reading to the last pages. Not my fave of Lupton's three books, but I will pick up the next one without question. Read an excerpt of The Quality of Silence.

You can connect with Rosamund Lupton on her website, on Twitter as well as on Facebook.

The News Where You Are - Catherine O'Flynn

I really enjoyed Catherine O'Flynn's debut novel What Was Lost (my review) and was looking forward to her second - The News Where You Are.

Frank is a television news presenter. Viewers enjoy him, but it is the bad puns and jokes (penned by odd duck Cyril - inherited from former presenter and star Phil) that are the appeal for many of the viewers. He lives in a house that he's having trouble selling as it's removed from everything. He loves his wife Andrea who loves him just as much. They have a young daughter Mo who is a breath of fresh air with her sunny view and outlook. Frank's mother Maureen lives in a Seniors development and can only seem to see the worst in everything. Frank questions the verdict of accidental death in Phil's case and does some investigating on his own.

Back cover blurbs include the phrases 'brilliantly funny and heartbreakingly sad and spirited literary mystery". I must say I really didn't find the book funny at all. I did find sadness though. Frank is a multi leveled character. By turns he seems lost, but he's a fantastic father, devoted son and faithful friend. Yet is all seems to be done with a sense of obligation. Frank's father was an architect and the demolition of many of his buildings seems to be an allegory for the breaking down of many barriers in Frank's life, past and present. O'Flynn uses architecture and descriptions of same to mirror many characters' moods and feelings.

The character of Mo stole the show for this reader. Her determined attempts to cheer up her grandmother, her vibrant imagination and her love of life and everything in it were a high point for me.

The 'spirited mystery' wasn't there for this reader. The mystery surrounding Phil's death certainly is an impetus in Frank rediscovering his life but did not fit the 'mystery' tag for me.

O'Flynn has a way with words and many of her scenarios and descriptions are quite eloquent in their simplicity. But the novel moved along quite slowly in the first half for me - the second half was less meandering. I wanted to love this book as much as I did her first one, but for me it was just an okay read.

A Field Guide to Burying Your Parents - Liza Palmer

I first discovered Liza Palmer when I read her debut novel Conversations with the Fat Girl. Chick lit with charm that I really enjoyed. So I was looking forward to reading A Field Guide to Burying Your Parents - and I wasn't disappointed.

Grace's father took off when she was young and her mother raised her and her three siblings single handed. And did a great job. But when Grace was thirty her beloved mother was killed unexpectedly. Grace can't handle it and takes off, literally leaving everything behind. A devoted boyfriend, her two brothers and sister. For five years she has no contact with them. Until her sister calls and says that their father - the one who left them - is dying and needs to see them.

What follows is an absolutely charming tale of the tenacity of family bonds. How far they'll stretch and how much strength they really have. Palmer explores the complicated relationships between parent and child and between siblings with both humour and pathos. You may find yourself thinking about your own family relationships. There's a delicious sub plot in the form of the evil step family that I won't giveaway.

A fast read that I really couldn't put down and thoroughly enjoyed (but you might want to have a tissue handy......) Read an excerpt.