Ballarat Writers

Month: April 2022

Book review – Something to Hide, by Elizabeth George

April 29, 2022 / / 1 Comment

Title: Something to Hide

Author: Elizabeth George

Publisher:  Hachette Australia, 2022; RRP $32.99

Elizabeth George is the bestselling author of British crime novels featuring Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley and his partner, Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers. Her crime novels have been translated into 30 languages and developed into a television series by the BBC. Something to Hide is number 21 in the series.

George is also the author of a young adult series set on the island where she lives in the state of Washington. She has taught creative writing at colleges, universities, writers’ retreats, and conferences internationally. Her awards include the Anthony Award, the Agatha Award, France’s Grand Prix di Litterature Policiere, and Germany’s MIMI.

This novel is set in London where DI Lynley, DS Havers and Detective Sergeant Winston Nkata investigate the death of a Nigerian-born fellow officer. This leads the detectives into the world of the Nigerian community and a way of life that is both foreign and challenging to them. They uncover a controversial practice, accepted in parts of Nigeria but illegal in England. This practice causes trauma and conflict and touches upon all who are involved.

Further investigation leads the detectives to discover the murdered police officer had gone undercover into that community. As they delve deeper into the murder, it becomes evident there are major problems within her family as they uncover secrets and lies and a family in disarray. This leads to further complications for the detectives as they face a case that has multiple issues, twists and turns, and experiences they have not faced before.

This is a story dealing with many characters and multiple facets of human behaviour. Elizabeth George has taken a controversial subject and written a disturbing and thrilling crime novel. It moves along at a rapid pace and keeps the reader engaged. This novel opened my eyes to a practice I knew little about. The author has managed to achieve this with great sensitivity and skill.

Reviewed by: Linda Young

Ballarat Writers Inc. Book Review Group

Review copy supplied by the publisher

Book review – Mother’s Boy, by Patrick Gale

April 15, 2022 / / 0 Comments

Title: Mother’s Boy

Author: Patrick Gale

Publisher: Tinder Press (UK)/Hachette, March 2022; $32.99

Patrick Gale was born on the Isle of Wight and grew up in Winchester before attending Oxford University. Gale is well known and revered for his popular works of fiction with over 20 titles to his name. Gale lives in Cornwall.

This novel, set in Cornwall and spanning both WW1 and WW2, is based around the similar circumstances of the Cornish poet Charles Causley and his mother Laura.

The story begins with Laura, a poor working-class girl, who marries Charlie. They have a child before he goes off to war in 1918. He returns a changed man, becomes ill and dies, leaving Laura to raise their son, Charles. Laura works as a laundress, and this sustains their meagre village lifestyle. Of particular delight in this book is the Cornish lifestyle and the local characters.

Charles is all that Laura lives for. Charles is considered to be a boy of immense talent and Laura makes it possible for him to develop his musical skills in playing the piano. Despite their obvious closeness, as Charles matures, he remains distant and secretive toward his doting mother. He is always polite but subtly withholds from her.

Joining the navy in 1941 marks a turning point for Charles. He establishes himself and earns a rank as a coder. This world, far removed from his Cornish village and his adoring mother, allows Charles to explore and take risks with his sexuality and to search for love in his own way. It is a harsh and dangerous time as he becomes closer to the war front and experiences the death of navy personnel and friends.

Patrick Gale talks to Valerie Khoo about Mother’s Boy and other things

at the Australian writers centre

The story turns full circle when Charles eventually returns to his village in Cornwall where he once again resumes living with, by now, his elderly mother. She knows nothing of Charles’ personal life in the navy and is simply satisfied just to have her son back home. Charles carries a life within that can never be shared with Laura and she never intrudes. At times Charles seems aloof. Or is it a manifestation of wanting to protect his mother from a truth that he feels is too complex for her to comprehend or accept?

Mother’s Boy is a story about challenges, identity, sexuality and the hardship of class and societal expectations within a small community. And it’s a story about the love a parent has for her child and the fierceness of strong mothering.

Patrick Gale is a master storyteller. His ability allows the reader to experience a closeness with the characters, their sadness, and small joys along the way. This is a historical novel that’s engaging and full to the brim with substance.

Reviewed by: Heather Whitford Roche

Ballarat Writers Book Review Group 2022

Review copy provided by the publisher

Book review – Missing, by Tom Patterson

April 1, 2022 / / 0 Comments

Title: Missing

Author: Tom Patterson

Publisher: Allen & Unwin, January 2022; RRP: $32.99

Missing is the first book for Tom Patterson, who grew up in the New England region of New South Wales. A hiker himself, he spent time in the gorge country, but he never saw or met Mark May, the man whose true story he tells with compassion and insight.

The author pays tribute to the May family, especially Peter May, Mark’s brother who provided Tom with documents, photos, and details of Mark’s life. Peter even spent time with Tom in the Gorge where Mark lived for thirty-five years.

Born into a Catholic family in the fifties, Mark was the second of seven boys. They lived in Armidale before moving to a fifty-acre property called Bynalong, just outside of town. Their father, Phil, along with the boys established the property from scratch. Mark was never a willing participator and avoided his father. Mark and his brothers became familiar with the rugged terrain and often camped out, becoming accustomed to the tough conditions.

Mark’s rebellion started early, and his school days were marked with difficult encounters. He was an unsettled student but bright. Drugs and drink became problematic until Mark decided to put things right. It didn’t last long. He and two of his brothers went away to boarding school where Mark’s problems surfaced but he managed to sit his Higher School Certificate. He obtained entry to Australian National University to study law but continued to heavily use drugs. Mark eventually took to the life of a hermit, only coming out of the remote gorge country to collect supplies and sometimes to have fleeting contact with family members.

In 2017, after not sighting Mark for many months, his brothers Pete and Steve with two other family members decided to search for him. Their suspicions and concerns were well-founded when they found one of Mark’s campsites and discovered his remains.

Tom Patterson talks about Missing with Deborah Knight

at 2GB

Tom Patterson has structured this book in a way that gives Mark’s life understanding, an understanding that we are often not privileged to see. Mark, through his letters to friends and family in the earlier years, showed his emotional state at the time, his ongoing struggle and his fine and clever mind. He had extreme reactions to the norms of society; living a life as a hermit may have been his only workable choice. It’s hard to imagine such a tormented mind and not want to reach out to him. But Mark was also strong. He lived for three and a half decades in survival mode in extremely rough terrain.

I recommend Missing, a sad and unique story of a man and his unconventional life.

Reviewed by: Heather Whitford Roche, February 2022

Ballarat Writers Book Review Group

Review copy provided by the publisher

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