Anya and Zach have broken up for the summer. Matthew has 2 more days next week but I don’t think much work will be done! It feels like a big week as the kids are getting so grown up. Zach was invested in Cubs and finished his first year at junior school. Anya has now finished primary school and Matt is ready for his GCSEs and received an award for Geography.
I am exceptionally proud of them all even as they take another step on their journeys away from me. I remember my own mum saying that if my sister and I didn’t move on then she would have failed as a mother. Our job is to prepare them for the future but it doesn’t mean my heart isn’t breaking at the same time.
Speaking of growing up quickly, Patch’s babies are 23 days old but already so big!
Mitza Maric faces prejudice due to her disability, her gender and her Serbian nationality. Luckily she has self belief and a supportive father so is able to follow her dream of attending Zurich University to study physics. One of her fellow students catches her eye: Albert Einstein…
The Other Einstein is an historical novel beginning in the 1890s as Mitza heads to university. It is a fictional account based on the lives and relationship of the Einsteins.
Mitza has been dealt a tough hand in life but has the determination and passion to succeed in life. She overcomes adversity but can she let love stand in her way as well? I found myself so angry at Albert for the way he increasingly marginalised her, and then angry with her for tolerating his behaviour. I always think it is a sign of good characterisation when you feel strongly about them!
This book is fiction and offers the perspective that Mitza was actually a better scientist than her husband and he took her work and passed it off as his own. I thought that the depiction of both Mitza and Albert was fascinating, based on evidence whilst also presenting the characters in a way that suits the intended narrative. Class, gender and race all combined to restrict Mitza’s opportunities and I felt that this was an accurate representation of opinions of the time.
The Other Einstein is an interesting perspective on two incredible scientists.
The Other Einstein book blurb:
In the tradition of The Paris Wife and Mrs. Poe, The Other Einstein offers us a window into a brilliant, fascinating woman whose light was lost in Einstein’s enormous shadow. This is the story of Einstein’s wife, a brilliant physicist in her own right, whose contribution to the special theory of relativity is hotly debated and may have been inspired by her own profound and very personal insight.
Mitza Maric has always been a little different from other girls. Most 20-year-olds are wives by now, not studying physics at an elite Zurich university with only male students trying to outdo her clever calculations. But Mitza is smart enough to know that, for her, math is an easier path than marriage. And then fellow student Albert Einstein takes an interest in her, and the world turns sideways. Theirs becomes a partnership of the mind and of the heart, but there might not be room for more than one genius in a marriage.
Two families whose lives have been intertwined over the decades. They have shared the happy and sad times together but nothing prepares them for a murder in their midst…
The House Across The Street is a psychological thriller and murder mystery set in the UK.
Anna and Lily are best friends as well as neighbours. During a party, Anna sees a strange light in the Taylors’ house opposite and goes to investigate. She finds Lily’s dad murdered and has to break the terrible news to her friend. But this is only the start of the secrets that begin to unravel…
The book is written from multiple third person perspectives as well as Lily’s in the first person. This allows little hints to be given to the reader which is great for raising the tension and anticipation for future plot developments. Anna and Lily have been through a lot together and their friendship has endured through past tragedies. I liked both women’s characters and felt attuned to their emotions.
The style of writing is easy to read and the chapters are quite short so the plot develops reasonable speedily. The mystery of the murder is well maintained and there are some clever red herrings. There are some massive secrets revealed and, although I guessed some of them, most were a complete surprise, even up until the final page!
The House Across The Street is an enjoyable psychological thriller with a murder mystery at its heart.
I feel so lucky to live in a gorgeous house with my precious daughter on Riverside Road, surrounded by green hills and well-tended gardens. I’m just across from the Taylors, who were a second family to me when I was growing up. But late at night, I spot someone in the house across the street. Someone who shouldn’t be there…
Lily Taylor and I are best friends and closer than sisters, but life in our idyllic neighbourhood comes to a shuddering halt when I find Lily’s father murdered in his own bed. As I break the news to Lily, I swear to her that I’ll do everything I can to help her family. Who could possibly have done this?
I tell the police, but while they’re trying to find the killer, I start getting threatening notes that leave me shaking with fear. Then someone throws a brick through my eleven-year-old daughter Cassie’s bedroom window, covering her in shards of broken glass. As I stand in her wrecked bedroom, I make a choice. I am desperate to help Lily get justice, but my daughter’s safety has to come first.
Even when I stop helping with the investigation, the messages keep coming. Someone knows what I saw, and I’m terrified they’ll come for my little girl next. But they’ve underestimated me.
No matter how far I have to go, I’ll always protect the people I love…
An astonishingly gripping psychological thriller with a truly shocking twist from USA Today bestseller Jill Childs! If you love Sally Hepworth, The Woman in the Window or Liane Moriarty, you’ll adore this up-all-night, addictive thriller.
Author Bio:
Jill has always loved writing – real and imaginary – and spent 30 years travelling the world as a journalist, living overseas and reporting wherever the news took her. She’s now made her home in London with her husband and twin girls who love stories as much as she does. Although she’s covered everything from earthquakes and floods, riots and wars, she’s found some of the most extraordinary stories right here at home – in the secrets and lies she imagines behind closed doors on ordinary streets, just like yours.
If you’ve enjoyed reading one of Jill’s books, please do leave a review.
A plane crashes onto a holiday site in Dorset. Nell is distraught with guilt at her brother’s life changing injuries but is also hiding a terrible secret…
One Girl, One Summer is a mix of family drama and police procedural set in the UK. There are some big issues dealt with in this book but they are handled sensitively. The writing style is engaging and I was immediately drawn into the lives of the Gale family.
Nell was supposed to take her brother to his tennis lesson but she was late due to her emotional turmoil following a sexual encounter. She is horrified that a video of the incident is circulating and devastated for her brother who suffers catastrophic injuries in the plane crash. Her family need to adjust to the change in circumstances but will Nell find the courage to speak out about the attack?
Meanwhile, the police are investigating the plane crash. The pilot escaped with severe burns and amnesia, and he doesn’t remember that he had a child in the plane with him who died. Who is the pilot and was he related to the child? The police gradually become aware of another series of crimes as young women are being attacked and filmed and DS Ali Samson is determined to resolve both cases urgently. I really liked Ali’s character which I felt balanced the emotion of the Gales.
The drama of the opening chapters sets the tension and mystery for the whole book. Poor Nell is going through something truly dreadful and is afraid of revealing the truth. However the unfortunate events do bring her closer to her adopted cousin Dylan and I liked the way that the family relationships are explored as the plot progresses. I thought that the portrayal of Nell’s alcoholic uncle was sympathetic whilst also showing the wider impact on the whole family.
Nell’s mum Cathy goes on the biggest emotional journey as she deals with her own past trauma which she has hidden for decades. This has dictated her relationships with others but now she is forced to confront it as she deals with her son’s physical injuries and her daughter’s emotional distress. She is fiercely protective of her children but her softer side is shown when she shows compassion to the injured pilot.
One Girl, One Summer is an emotional family drama with the added elements of the plane crash and police investigation which add tension and mystery.
Book blurb:
Some summers cast long shadows…
On a peaceful hilltop campsite in the heat of summer, a private plane crash-lands. Several are killed, and many more lives are shattered – including those of the Gale family who own the site. For single parent Cathy Gale, her everyday struggles are eclipsed by the tragedy, as her boy Albie is one of the victims. He hangs onto life, while 18-year-old sister Nell, who was meant to be looking after him, is overcome with guilt.
As DS Ali Samson leads the investigation, locals are scandalised to learn that the amnesiac pilot has plans to stay on in the community. As dark secrets come to light, teenager Nell goes into freefall. What is it she’s so desperate to conceal? And exactly who is the Unknown Pilot?
The weather hasn’t been great. The saga of my car windscreen continued. The cat I was looking after became ill.
But the kids have been fab. Anya had her Year 6 leavers’ play performances and received amazing SATs results (may actually be a genius!) Matt went to a robotics workshop at Legoland and Zach learned some circus skills with Cubs. All of my jobs have been appreciative and embarrassingly complementary to me this week and my friend was grateful I spotted her cat’s illness so quickly and bought me these gorgeous sunflowers.
Now the weekend is here and it’s all about sport! The ladies’ and gentlemen’s Wimbledon finals were excellent. And then there’s the footie…
Not the result that I wanted but I’m so proud of what Southgate’s England squad have achieved in recent years and surely a trophy will be ours soon! Zach has been singing ALL versions fo Three Lions all week. We still believe…it’s coming home!
