The Island by Ben McPherson @TheBenMcPherson #TheIsland @HarperCollinsUK @HarperFiction #BookReview

A shocking act of violence…
It should have been the safest place on earth. A summer camp for teens, on a beautiful island off the coast of Oslo. But what started out as a haven becomes hell on earth as two men start shooting.

A family torn apart…
With Norway in shock, the families gather, desperately hoping their children have survived. Some have their prayers answered. Some must confront their worst nightmare. But for one family, this is just the beginning…

A daughter gone missing…
Cal and Elsa’s daughter Licia was on the island that day. But the police can find no trace of her – dead or alive. Stuck in limbo, Cal and Elsa delve into their daughter’s life. The secrets they uncover are shocking. But they still don’t know – did Licia survive the shooting? Or is she gone forever?

The Island by Ben McPherson was published in hardback on 6 August 2020 by Harper Collins. It's published in the US under the title Love And Other Lies.
I bought my copy.

Way back in February 2015 I read and review Ben McPherson's first novel; A Line Of Blood . That was a novel that captivated me, it's been a long wait for this latest book, but it's worth it.

Elsa and Cal are a happily married couple with three children. They've been together for years, their relationship is strong and is built on truth. They don't lie to each other, and they don't expect their children to lie either. Cal is Scottish, Elsa is Norwegian and they've moved from Washington DC to live in Norway for six months. They are due to return to the States very soon with teenage daughters Licia and Vee and baby son Franklin.

However, a tragic and horrendous incident puts their plans on hold. Licia has recently gone off to summer camp celebrating International Future Females which is held on a small island just off Oslo.

News has just come in about an explosion at the official Government buildings in Oslo and whilst this is shocking and terrifying for the family, it isn't until they hear about a mass shooting on a small island that they realise just how close to home these atrocities are.

Licia is missing. Her body is not found. However, there is camera footage taken from a helicopter flying overhead that shows a girl answering her description in the water, alive. A small boy testifies that he was saved by this girl. Licia becomes the hero of the island, known throughout the country as the girl who selflessly saved others before herself.

Nobody can be unaware of the case of Anders Breivik, the far-right terrorist who committed the appalling acts in Norway in 2011. He planted a bomb in Oslo and then shot dead 69 people on the nearby island of Utoya. Whilst it is clear that Ben McPherson has been influenced by the Breivik case in The Island, this is not that story. This is a completely different story and whilst it has themes of terrorism and white supremacy, this is really a story of a family. Of their relationships and how these are altered by events, combined with a detailed and rich look at how the most ordinary of families can be picked apart by things outside of their control.

Cal and Elsa are extraordinarily well created. The contrast between Cal's warm Scottish nature, his way of using humour to deflect and his consuming love for his family and Elsa's Norwegian iciness is so very well done. Elsa is blunt and to the point, she has relationship rules that she expects others to adhere to, yet she hides so much ... the reader is never quite sure just where Elsa sits within this story.

This author incorporates Cal's ever growing feeling of being an outsider throughout the narrative. Everyone he meets, from the chief of Police to the local reporter comments on the fact that he is not Norwegian, they assume that he's English, and rather than continue to correct them, he just goes with it. Cal is often frustrated by the Norwegian police, he feels as though Licia is being let down, and despite the fact that he has a strong, personal relationship with the Chief of Police, his ever increasing frustration is apparent.

The Island is a chilling psychological thriller that kept me awake at night. The reality is that whilst this is a fictional story, it is taken from the truth, and the horrors of the rise of the white supremacist in Europe is explored in all of its hate-filled fury is laid bare. It's also a study in how young people can be groomed and influenced by this. How families with the best values at their core can be infected by the political ideology that totally goes against what they've always believed.

Ben McPherson is a master story teller. This brilliantly unnerving read leaves the reader in shock, with questions of their own. It is brilliantly and sensitively written. Certainly a contender for my Top Books of the Year list.




Ben McPherson was born in Glasgow and grew up in Edinburgh, but left Scotland when he was eighteen. He studied languages at Cambridge, then worked for many years in film and television in London.


In 1998, after working a forty-eight-hour shift, he went for a drink at the Coach and Horses in Soho and met the woman he would go on to marry. Similarities to the characters in A Line of Blood end there.


Ben now lives in Oslo with his wife and their two sons. He is a columnist for Aftenposten, Norway's leading quality daily newspaper.

Twitter @TheBenMcPherson
Author Page on Facebook 

A Line of Blood by Ben McPherson

You find your neighbour dead in his bath.
Your son is with you. He sees everything.

You discover your wife has been in the man’s house.
It seems she knew him.

Now the police need to speak to you.

One night turns Alex Mercer’s life upside down. He loves his family and he wants to protect them, but there is too much he doesn’t know.

He doesn’t know how the cracks in his and Millicent’s marriage have affected their son, Max. Or how Millicent’s bracelet came to be under the neighbour’s bed. He doesn’t know how to be a father to Max when his own world is shattering into pieces.

Then the murder investigation begins…

A Line of Blood by Ben McPherson is published in hardback and ebook by Harper Collins on 26 March 2015, and is the author's debut novel.

Scottish Alex, his American wife Millicent and their eleven-year-old son Max live in an area of Finsbury Park, London that is known as 'Crappy'. Alex and Millicent married quickly thirteen years ago, they both work from home in the media industry. From the outside they appear to be a regular, modern family. They are untidy, they swear in front of their son, they spend time apart, but on the whole, things seem to be going well.

Until the day that Alex and Max find their next door neighbour dead in his bath, with an erection, and an electric iron submerged alongside him. Alex's initial thoughts are for Max, no father wants his young son exposed to that sort of thing, what will it do to him? It soon becomes apparent that this is no straightforward suicide, the police are looking for a murderer, and Alex discovers that Millicent and the dead man had a little more than the usual neighbourly relationship.

As the investigations continue and the police question Alex and Millicent, more truths are uncovered. Max knows much more about his parents than they realised, he's an astute little boy, at times he shows intelligence and maturity far beyond his years, whilst at others, his childish reasoning is at the forefront.

Every now and again, a story comes along that grips me, shakes me and totally messes with my head. A Line of Blood is one of those books. With the exception of Max, and maybe Alex's friend Fab5, we are introduced to a bunch of particularly loathesome and selfish characters, whose actions create waves affecting those around them. The author's ability to create these people, yet to also ensure that the reader finds them compulsive enough to continue reading is incredible. I was hooked totally, the plot weaves and twists and turns with an increasing pace. Just when you feel as though you've guessed exactly what has happened, Ben McPherson throws another curve ball your way, and another, and another.

The central theme of A Line of Blood is the damage that can be done to young minds, not intentionally, for Alex and Millicent are loving and open parents, but their young son has seen and heard things that no child of that age should. Max thinks he understands these things, but he also thinks that he has a solution, he wants to help and to make things better - and despite his above average intelligence, he is is still a child, and it is his child-like reasoning that consumes this novel.

This is not an easy read, and it is dark and it is disturbing, but Ben McPherson has such a talent that he holds the reader entralled through each and every unsavoury episode, raising questions along the way, questions that will buzz in the reader's head long after turning the final page.

A Line of Blood is a complex, subtle and captivating psychological thriller, with characters who are flawed, dangerous and at times incredibly vulnerable.

My thanks to Lovereading.co.uk who sent my copy for review.

Ben McPherson is a television producer, director, and writer. He studied Modern Languages at King’s College, Cambridge, and worked for many years in film and television production. From 1998 to 2007 Ben worked as a director and producer for the BBC.

Ben currently lives in Oslo with his wife and son. He has lived in Norway since 2012 and speaks the language fluently. He is the features editor of the Norwegian internet newspaper TheForeigner.no, and is a columnist for Aftenposten, Norway’s leading quality daily newspaper.

Ben’s first novel, A LINE OF BLOOD, was sold at auction to Julia Wisdom at HarperCollins as part of a two-book deal. It is due to be published in the UK in Spring 2015. Dutch and Italian rights were pre-empted at Frankfurt by Luitingh-Sijthoff and Rizzoli. 

My Top Reads of 2020 #AmReading #TopReads2020 #TopBooks2020 #BookBlogger

 

My Top Reads of 2020

2020 .... what a year! I can say nothing that hasn't already been said.

It's been a year like no other in our life times. It's been a year of disruption and sorrow. It's been a year of unease and unrest. I hope I never have to live through another year like it.

I have continued to read. I have continued to shout about books. Luckily, I didn't lose my reading mojo, in fact I probably read more, and I certainly read a wider range of books.

I read around 140 books in total. Most of them have been reviewed on this blog. I rarely finish a book that I'm not enjoying, so picking out my top reads of a year is always incredibly difficult. I have 25 books on my list, there could have been so many more.

As always, my list is split into three sections; I start with some of the 2020 books that I read in 2019. I mentioned them last year and hoped that they would be huge.

The second part is my list of  Top Books of 2020

Finally, I'll give a mention to some 2021 publications that I've read early.

I really think that 2021 is going to be another fabulous book year!

Enjoy! 

2020 books that I predicted would do well

At the end of last year, I'd read these 2020 books pre-publication, and predicted that they would do well. I'm still recommending them, twelve months later.  (click on the title for my full review).

A Dark Matter by Doug Johnstone published by Orenda Books on 23 January 

The Home by Sarah Stovell published by Orenda Books on 22 January 

It Started With A Secret by Jill Mansell published by Headline on 23 January 

Mix Tape by Jane Sanderson published by Bantam Press on 23 January 

The First Time I Saw You by Emma Cooper published by Headline on 9 January 

My Top Reads of 2020

My Top Reads of the year are listed in order of reading. The list contains some favourite authors who pop up year after year, and also some debuts. I think it's a great list, with something for everyone. I heartily recommend all of these books.  (click on the title for my full review)

Firewatching by Russ Thomas published on 20 February by Simon & Schuster

Firewatching is smart, it's suspenseful yet considered. The plotting is so intricate and the pace is absolutely perfect.

I Am Dust by Louise Beech published on 16 February by Orenda Books

There's a tenderness to this author's writing that brings a lump to the throat, and the final scenes are heart-stopping in their beauty.

The River Home by Hannah Richell published on 19 March by Orion

The writing is captivating, the sense of place is incredible and the story itself is intricate and perfectly woven. The River Home is beautifully and insightfully written, this probably one of the most beautiful books that I will read this year.

Little Disasters by Sarah Vaughan published 2 April by Simon & Schuster

It is so carefully crafted, with multiple threads and so many shocks revealed. It is a story that haunts the reader as more is revealed. I was totally gripped throughout.

Our Little Cruelties by Liz Nugent published 26 March by Penguin Ireland 

I was left breathless by this novel and I have so much respect for an author who can create characters who evoke so many feelings in a reader.
Sublime and really just brilliant.  Highly recommended

The Secrets of Strangers by Charity Norman published 7 May by Allen & Unwin

A novel that looks at perception and belief. A story that is so powerfully moving, from an author who really is at the top of her game.  Highly recommended.

The Waiting Rooms by Eve Smith published 9 July by Orenda Books

This novel is shockingly brilliant, and I devoured it. It is thought provoking yet written with such an exquisite touch and is a devastating yet eye-opening story of how humanity and science merge.

Watch Him Die by Craig Robertson published 11 June by Simon & Schuster

Watch Him Die is absolutely absorbing. The sense of place, of LA and of Glasgow is perfect. It's unsettling yet compelling. Totally unputdownable.  Highly recommended by me

The Curator by MW Craven published on 4 June by Constable

Masterful and quite brilliant, this is an extraordinary story. It is an intelligent and  exhilarating read. Craven has done it again. Another pitch perfect addition to this top class series. Now I need the next one please.

The Shadow Friend by Alex North published 9 July by Michael Joseph

This is an ambitious story that is told incredibly well. It is dark, creepy and at times, a little bit terrifying. I found it really difficult to put down, and impossible to forget.

Quiet Acts of Violence by Cath Staincliffe published 2 July by Constable

This is a powerful story, excellently written with compassion and painful honesty. Outstanding and highly recommended by me.

Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers published 9 July by W&N

This author writes magnificently. Her prose is just sublime, from the descriptions of everyday things such as the falling rain and a suburban living room, to the more complicated affairs of heart and emotion, she never puts a word wrong.

Finders Keepers by Sabine Durrant published 9 July by Hodder

Finders Keepers is mesmerising and mysterious. I was absolutely gripped throughout. This author really cannot put a foot wrong, in my view. Highly recommended 

Below The Big Blue Sky by Anna McPartlin published 23 July by Bonnier Zaffre

This is a captivating and heart-rending story and I was totally involved and immersed. It really is just beautiful; sensitive, empathic and polished to perfection

The Seven Doors by Agnes Ravatn published 17 September by Orenda Books

The writing is skilled and the plotting seems effortless, yet is so dramatic, leading the reader to the final, shocking reveal.

Imperfect Women by Araminta Hall published 20 August by Orion

The novel is structured perfectly, it is a dark but very powerful read and the characterisation is quite fabulous.  This is a first-class read 

The Island by Ben McPherson published on 6 August by Harper Collins

Ben McPherson is a master story teller. This brilliantly unnerving read leaves the reader in shock, with questions of their own. It is brilliantly and sensitively written

Fifty Fifty by Steve Cavanagh published 3 September by Orion Books

An intense and powerful crime thriller, populated by characters who are totally believable and who the reader will invest in. Yet another tense and inventive story from one of the most talented crime authors around.

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo published 5 March by Penguin

Girl, Woman, Other is an important book, it's a revelation for those of us that have little knowledge of the worlds inhabited by the characters within it. It is compassionate and moving, and filled with life.

The Big Chill by Doug Johnstone published 20 August by Orenda Books

This talented author can do no wrong in my eyes. His depiction of the complexities of a the female family relationship is wonderfully done, with empathy, warmth and some deliciously dark humour

Burning Island by by Suzanne Goldring published 20 January by Bookouture

Burning Island is an absorbing and emotionally charged read and I learnt so much about parts of Corfu's history that I had no idea about before. It is so well researched and the sense of place is so well portrayed

The Housewarming by SE Lynes published 21 October by Bookouture

The frailties of human kind are laid bare, and the long term damage caused by impetuous and quite selfish acts are laid out starkly.

The Housewarming is a gripping thriller but is also a mediative look at the nature of community and close relationships. 

When The Music Stops by Joe Heap published on 29 October by Harper Collins

This is bold, inventive and perceptive. Dazzlingly good, this one will stay with me forever. Highly recommended. 

Sins of the Father by Sharon Bairden published 27 November by Red Dog Press

I am in awe of this writing, and the story. It's heart-breaking and brutal and filled with characters who are far more than they appear to be on the surface. 

Tough, emotional, raw and shocking. The Sins of the Father is an outstanding read. Highly recommended from me. 

And so, I come to my final choice; my favourite book of 2020. 

This is the only the second time that I've ever singled out an individual  book in my favourites list in over 10 years of compiling one. 

There is just something about this book; the writing, the characters, the plot. It has stayed with me ever since I turned the last page. 

I will shout about this one for a long time.

There's Only One Danny Garvey by David F Ross

published by Orenda Books on 21 November, digitally - the paperback will be published on 21 January 2021

It's an exploration of family, of community and of how the past is not always another country. A book filled with honesty and written with a tenderness that is faultless. 

There's Only One Danny Garvey is one of the best books I've read for years.

Books to look out for in 2021 ....

I've already made a start on the 2021 books, and if the ones that I've read already are anything to go by, we are in for another outstanding book year.

Here are a few tips; books that I think will be huge next year. 

The Push by Ashley Audrain - 7 January 2021 from Michael Joseph

It is an exceptional debut novel. Raw and honestly brutal. Highly recommended. 

The Last Thing To Burn by Will Dean - 7 January 2021 from Hodder & Stoughton

An extraordinary book. One that will haunt me for a very long time. A masterpiece.

Daughters Of Night by Laura Shepherd-Robinson - 18 February 2021 from Mantle/Pan Macmillan

This impressive story will have you on the edge of your seat. What an incredibly talented author she is. I really want more now.

The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles - 9 February 2021 from Two Roads

My review of this one has not been published yet. Look out for my thoughts which will be in the Daily Express in January

Everything Happens For a Reason by Katie Allen - 10 April (digital), 10 June (paperback) from Orenda Books

My review of this one has not been published yet.  I read this really early, on submission and fell for it hook, line and sinker. I intend to read the finished version and review very soon.

That's 2020 over and done with. Thank goodness!

It's been a fabulous year for books, but very little else has been joyful.

I want to wish everyone the VERY BEST for next year - let's hope that we can all meet again very soon.

In the meantime, thank you to everyone who reads my reviews and puts up with my book shouting.