I Am Watching You by Teresa Driscoll

I Am Watching You
Teresa Driscoll
2017
4/5 stars

Ella witnesses two fresh-from-prison men chatting up two teenaged girls, thinks about stepping in, but doesn't.  When one of the girls, Anna, goes missing, Ella blames herself.  A year later, Ella begins to receive threatening postcards from someone else who blames her.  In the meantime, Anna's family issues another appeal for help, and this time new witnesses step forward, involving Anna's family and friends, showing that they all had something to lie about during the investigation.

While one of the premises of the story is flimsy, the rest of the plot is strong.  Driscoll is a fine writer, neatly combining thrills with every day occurrences.  The slow way that the backstory was shared was particularly effective.  Overall, with the one flaw, it's a suspense novel that is a solidly good read.

A note on the audiobook: Elizabeth Knowelden is an excellent narrator, with varied voices and well-expressed emotions.

Goodbye to All That by Robert Graves

Goodbye to All That
Robert Graves
1929, updated 1957
Everyman's Library Contemporary Classics Series
4/5 stars

This autobiography tells briefly of Graves' early life, in depth about his experiences in World War I, and then quickly covers the ten years following the War, when he wrote the book.  He writes frankly about the War, sharing the tragedies, stupidities, and horrors of trench warfare.  His prose is engaging, drawing the reader into the events.  While the War episodes are the most absorbing, it was still interesting to read about the before and after years.  It will appeal most to those researching WWI, but the average reader will also find it fascinating as the documentation of the formative years of a famous author.

Note: This edition was updated by Graves in 1957, and according to the Introduction, some changes were made.

Silent Child by Sarah A. Denzil

Silent Child
Sarah A. Denzil 
2017
4/5 stars

Emma's six-year-old son Aiden, is drowned in a flood, his body never recovered.  Shockingly, ten years later, he stumbles out of the woods, mute from the trauma of a decade of abuse.  With Aiden not talking, Emma suspects everyone of the heinous crime, and her life becomes a mess of fear and doubt, distrusting those closest to her.

This thriller is tense and stressful, and completely compelling.  The reader is gripped from early on, and the first-person narration adds to the experience.  Denzil is a talented writer, and Silent Child is hard to put down, giving multiple surprises and twists, and delivering a satisfying ending. 

A note on the audiobook: Joanne Froggart is a masterful narrator, who delivers a stunning, emotional performance.

Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare

Isabella by Francis William Topham (1888)

Measure for Measure
William Shakespeare
c. 1603-04
4/5 stars

Antonio, left in charge by the Duke of Vienna, resurrects an old law that makes fornication punishible by death, and arrests Claudio under said law.  Claudio's sister, Isabella (a novice nun), comes to Antonio to plead for her brother's life.  Antonio becomes obsessed with her, and offers her Claudio's life for her virginity.

This play discusses corrupt government, attitudes toward sex and morality, and mercy versus judgement.  Antonio has an excellent soliloquy in which he turns from an upright man into a man consumed with lust.  The ending makes everything come right, but leaves the viewer wondering if it is really a happy ending.


Read for the Classics Club.

Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh

Decline and Fall

Waugh

Evelyn Waugh
1928
4/5 stars

Paul Pennyfeather is, by no fault of his own, sent down from Oxford for indecent behavior.  His only recourse is to get a job teaching at a less-than-prestigious boarding school.  While there, he meets the widowed mother of a student, Margot Beste-Chetwynde, with whom he falls in love.  This starts a chain of events leading to his decline and fall.

This, Waugh's first published novel, shows him already a master of  black humor, satire, and the absurd.  The plot is unpredictable, the prose excellent, and the entire book truly funny.  While it's not perfection, it is a great, quick read that will have the reader laughing out loud.