Blog tour: Conviction by Denise Mina

I was thrilled to be invited to take part in the blog tour for 'Conviction' by Denise Mina. Thank you to Vintage who gifted me a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis:
It’s just a normal morning when Anna's husband announces that he's leaving her for her best friend and taking their two daughters with him.

With her safe, comfortable world shattered, Anna distracts herself with someone else's story: a true-crime podcast. That is until she recognises the name of one of the victims and becomes convinced that only she knows what really happened.

With nothing left to lose, she throws herself into investigating the case. But little does she know, Anna's past and present lives are about to collide, sending everything she has worked so hard to achieve into freefall.

Review:
'Conviction' by Denise Mina arrived at the perfect time. I'm currently immersed in a murder mystery fiction obsession, so I'm keen to discover new authors within the crime genre and I can't get my hands on enough of these books at the moment. Mina is an author that hasn't been on my radar until now but her latest novel is the co-winner of the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year 2019, as well as having been selected for Reese Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine Book Club.

I started reading it on a rainy Sunday morning and literally couldn't put it down. I finished it the same day and would definitely recommend clearing your schedule for this one. It's compulsive reading and the fast-pace of the story makes you want to consume it in one go. Packed full of suspense, the story traverses multiple locations across Europe as the characters go on a rollercoaster ride.

The story starts with the main character confessing that she's not who everyone thinks she is. She once had a different name and a different life and she became used to telling lies about everything. However, now her life has imploded and nothing will ever go back to the way it was before. After the opening prologue, the next time we see Anna she is with her husband and children, listening to a true crime podcast and trying to find escape from her day to day life. She becomes immersed in episode 1 of Death and the Dana until she unexpectedly hears a name from her past; someone who she used to know who is now both a victim and implicated in the crime.

As Anna's life falls to pieces, she seeks an escape in the case and throws herself into investigating the mysterious sinking of the Dana, following multiple threads of evidence which take her from Scotland to Italy and beyond. I was absolutely hooked on this book. I was desperate to know the big secret that Anna was hiding and couldn't wait to discover what she was trying to conceal about her past. I was also intrigued and puzzled about the true and unsolved crime that is at the heart of the novel. I had a lot of theories about what might have happened, none of which I was right about. Denise Mina is a genius at throwing lots of twists and turns into the mix and then wrong-footing you just when you think you have it all worked out.

This is a crime novel that ticks all my boxes. It's exciting, intriguing, suspenseful, chock full of twists and turns that have you on the edge of your seat the whole way through and with a main character whose storytelling draws you deeper and deeper into the mystery. It's intricately plotted and so gripping that you are desperate to keep reading. I wanted to not only find out the truth about Anna's mysterious past but also whether or not she could uncover the real secret about the Dana. There are shadowy evil figures hovering in the background throughout the novel and this adds another layer of danger and tension to the story.

I'm thrilled to have discovered such a brilliant author and I'll definitely now be checking out her back catalogue. I'm also really excited about her next book 'The Less Dead' which sounds fantastic. If you're a fan of this genre or just looking for a compulsive, fast-paced read then get yourself a copy of 'Conviction'. You won't regret it.

Top 10 Agatha Christie books

2019 has been the year that I've discovered the genius and ingenuity of Agatha Christie, the undisputed Queen of Crime. I really don't know why it took me so long to actually pick up one of her books because I love whodunits and murder mysteries. Every year I watch the BBC TV Agatha Christie adaptations and last Christmas I also read 'The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle' by Stuart Turton which was AMAZING. In the notes at the end of the book, he said that he had always wanted to write a mystery as clever as Agatha Christie, so I think that sparked my desire to read the original novels. I started with 'And Then There Were None' which I absolutely loved and then decided to make a list of all of Christie's books which I faithfully hunted for in the library every week (with the help of my Dad!)

I've had a wonderful time binging on all of her stories, as well as watching as many TV adaptations as I could and visiting some of the famous Agatha Christie literary landmarks. The books have given me hours and hours of pleasure and in the future I'm looking forward to rereading them all over again.

I thought I would compile a list of my top ten Agatha Christie books but it's been so hard to narrow it down. I keep on changing my mind! I'm sure everyone has a different selection of favourites but after lots and lots of thought, I'm going to share mine. This is in no particular order as that would have been impossible to do!

1. The Mysterious Affair at Styles  

Poirot's very first case and one featuring a wealthy heiress, a murder and a locked room mystery. Hercule Poirot is at his detecting best in this ingenious story which is an absolute classic.  

 

 

2. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

Roger Ackroyd is murdered in his locked study. Who could have done it? Wickedly clever! About two-thirds through I had a crazy suspicion about who the murderer was and it turned out to be right...which believe me, surprised me too as I never normally guess right. Even then, the ending was still gasp-worthy and audacious, making me want to go right back to the beginning to read the book again.

 

 

3. Taken at the Flood

Another Poirot mystery featuring a family in a small English village where anyone could be the murderer. I was completely wrong-footed the whole way through and the story kept me on the edge of my seat. 

 

 

4. After the Funeral

Absolutely fantastic! A totally engrossing read with twists and turns at every corner. Definitely one of the best Agatha Christie books I’ve read. Several deaths, a murder or two to investigate and a whole host of intriguing suspects (including one that I really didn't want to be guilty!)

 

 

5. Crooked House

The patriarch of an affluent family is poisoned and found dead. Suspicion falls on his various family members, including his much younger widow, any one of whom could have wanted him dead. Agatha Christie said that this was one of her favourite books to write and it's not hard to see why.  

 

 

6. Curtain

Poirot's very last case where he returns to Styles with Hastings by his side. Even though Poirot is at the end of his illustrious career, he still has his 'grey cells' working and he's still cleverer than any other character I've ever come across. The great detective remains great until the very end.

 

 

7. Endless Night

When I started reading this book, I was surprised about the change of direction that Christie seemed to have gone in. A happy marriage between a wealthy heiress and the man she meets didn't seem like it would lead to death and destruction. However, the twist when it comes is diabolical. You have to just keep on reading.

 

 

8. A Murder is Announced

The only Miss Marple mystery to make my top 10 but it's a good un'. When a murder is announced in the newspaper of the small town Chipping Cleghorn, it's handy that Miss Marple is around to help investigate. I made a guess early on about who I thought the murderer was and then was proven completely wrong when they turned up dead. Hmmm. I decided I didn't have a clue who was responsible for the crimes and so made an outlandish, wild guess and it turned out to be right! 

 

 

9. Murder on the Orient Express

All the key ingredients are there in this Poirot murder mystery aboard the famous Orient Express. After a man is found murdered on the train, the question is which of the passengers is the guilty party? Everyone seems to have an alibi and someone seems to want to pin the crime on Poirot himself. I loved everything about this book, including the fact that I didn't have a clue how the story was going to conclude.   

 

 

10. And Then There Were None

A small island off the coast of Devon and ten strangers who end up stranded together with a murderer on the loose. This is classic Agatha Christie from start to finish. You won't be able to put it down.

 

 

So many wonderful books from one author! I love the fact that Agatha Christie wrote such a colossal number of novels and short stories because it's meant that I've been able to binge on and devour her entire back catalogue. I need recommendations now for other books in a similar style. I've read 'The Hunting Party' by Lucy Foley and 'The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle' by Stuart Turton but if anyone knows of clever whodunits by other authors then please let me know.

 

Have you read any Agatha Christie books? If so, what are your favourites?

 

Review: The Hunting Party - Lucy Foley

The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley, published by HarperCollins on 24th January 2019

Synopsis:
During the languid days of the Christmas break, a group of thirtysomething friends from Oxford meet to welcome in the New Year together, a tradition they began as students ten years ago. For this vacation, they’ve chosen an idyllic and isolated estate in the Scottish Highlands—the perfect place to get away and unwind by themselves.

They arrive on December 30th, just before a historic blizzard seals the lodge off from the outside world. Two days later, on New Year’s Day, one of them is dead.

The trip began innocently enough: admiring the stunning if foreboding scenery, champagne in front of a crackling fire, and reminiscences about the past. But after a decade, the weight of secret resentments has grown too heavy for the group’s tenuous nostalgia to bear. Amid the boisterous revelry of New Year’s Eve, the cord holding them together snaps.

Now one of them is dead . . . and another of them did it.

Keep your friends close, the old adage goes. But just how close is too close?  

Review:
I wanted to read 'The Hunting Party' after I heard it described as 'like Agatha Christie on acid'. Since I'm knee-deep in the middle of a huge binge on Christie's books, I decided that I absolutely had to read Lucy Foley's debut crime novel.

The story is set around New Year's Eve, when a group of old school friends gather in the Scottish Highlands at the remote Loch Corrin Estate. They've known each other for 10 years and always gather once a year on a celebratory getaway trip. The location is remote, they are practically the only guests there and with the snow falling heavily, they have no way out. The celebrations seem to be in full swing until a body is found in midst of a thick blizzard and all signs point to the fact that this was not an accidental death. There is a murderer among them.

The narrative switches between various characters in the book, giving differing perspectives on events. There's the glamorous Miranda, who always seems to get everything she wants and who loves making a project of those who are less fortunate than her. Then there's Emma, who is a slightly less polished version of Miranda, hasn't always been a part of the group but who this year, has planned the whole trip. And finally, Katie, who was one of my favourites. She is the quiet one, the odd one out among all of the other couples and the person who came across as having changed the most since their school days at Oxford. In addition, the narrative is also shared between Heather, who manages the Estate and the gamekeeper Doug. Everyone seems to have their own secret and it was interesting trying to work out what they were all hiding.

I thought it was a stroke of genius, not to reveal immediately who the dead guest was. I made my own guess (which turned out to be right) but I enjoyed the not knowing at the start. I also loved trying to work out who the murderer could be and why. It kept me absolutely gripped and even when I briefly put the book down, I was still thinking about the story and trying to puzzle the mystery out.

The setting was brilliant and reminded me exactly of an Agatha Christie novel. The remote setting seems at first to be a wonderful spot for a getaway but eventually the silence and claustrophobia surrounding the place, begins to expose all the cracks in the relationships between the old friends. There is no where for them to escape each other and being in close confinement means old wounds being opened, secrets being brought to light and their true feelings about one another finally being exposed. I could easily picture the snowy wilderness and feel the chilling atmosphere, as the sense of fear begins to surround them.

This was exactly my kind of book. Lucy Foley keeps the tension and suspense high throughout the story, proceeding to turn it up a notch when the murderer starts to get desperate and things begin to spin out of control. The storytelling was fast-paced and I was gripped by intrigue from the very first page. I loved this book so much and I hope that Foley will stick to this winning recipe in the future. If she does, I'll be first in line to get my hands on her next offering.

Also, I'm thrilled to discover that the TV rights to the novel have been sold, so we should see 'The Hunting Party' in the future, on the small screen. Great news!