THE LAKE HOUSE CHILDREN by Gregg Dunnett

 4* Excellent introduction to this author. Not the suspension of disbelief tale that I expected.

This is nicely written, told in part in the present, in the aftermath of a fire that killed 4 people, and in events that led to the fire. It was plausible, and the author's clearly done research into people who claim to remember past lives and reincarnation (that Hindus and others believe is what happens when you die. Your soul is reincarnated in another body). 

The start of the tale totally had me going in one direction and tbh, that part felt completely divorced from the rest of the story, but it gave an opening to how matters came to a head. I'm not entirely sure why the author included what he did, as it had no relevance to the tale - unless an ulterior motive was to maybe give the subject matter some attention? Make people think? But, I digress.

If you've watched Bollywood, then you naturally suspend disbelief a little. If you've watched Om Shanti Om, you'll remember that bad guys get their just desserts, often at their own hands, and in fire, and so this will probably feel quite believable. 

The tale ends with a now-retired detective McGee visiting Kate, the storyteller, with a theory about who set the fire. I'm again OK going with the flow, because I'm not sure if Kate played a part from a distance and judged things to perfection, or if the detective could've been right about the person found dead in a certain place. 'Bollywood justice' got done. 

ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Storm Publishing for my reading pleasure.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

THE SECOND GRAVE by Jeffrey B Burton

 4* Good intro to this series, and it didn't matter that I'm late to the party. This is an engrossing and engaging tale, partly because of the dynamics of the brother-sister duo, partly because of the brother's telling of the tale, partly because of the storyline but mostly because there are dogs in it, dogs that save the day, literally, and that don't get hurt. It's easy to start and there's enough told that I didn't find myself wondering about the previous book. It's quite fast paced and Cory is unaffected and literal and his 'voice' is youthful and believable and carries the tale well. The storyline is sad at the start, but that's just a facilitator for the plot, which is a good one. A sad one for some of the people involved, and boy is it good that justice of a sort, the type I find satisfying when someone's gotten away with something for too long, got done. 'Al' definitely deserved what they got. But those involved in the dec...
Read more

ALWAYS YOU AND ME by Dani Atkins

5* Even though I don't believe in HEAs anymore, this book had me crying because of THAT ending. I'm going to try and review without spoilering, but ugh, I started the book almost in tears and ended it in actual tears, and with hope that sometimes love does last.  This book is so much more than a second chance at love. It's about loving and loved but flawed characters whose lives with each other had their time, and when that time was gone, the love continued. Like Finn and Matt by Charlie Winters, this is a book I loved but won't ever read again. A part of me can't believe the author went there with the ending, but another part of me, the romantic-but-hurt part, wants to believe in the power of everlasting love.  ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for my reading pleasure. 
Read more

THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY by Mike Gayle

3* A pleasant enough 15-minute deckchair read. This isn't a deep novel with a big plot, but pretty much what the blurb offers. I didn't feel much for either character but the tale ended well for both - not going to spoiler, but it wasn't what I expected and it didn't quite ring true. 
Read more