Authors beginning with the letter F

Image credited to Amazon.uk

Sunshine on a rainy day

Bryony Fraser

Synopsis

Zoe and Jack have only been married for a year, but announce their divorce at the party amongst family. Zoe receives the counselling of her three sisters, and Jack's best friend attempts to help him through it.

This book has a different slant on relationships to others in this genre, and it drew me in for that reason. Fraser opts to show both Zoe and Jack's perspective on their relationship, which was a little confusing at the start, but was easier to follow when I got used to their differing voices. She also gives us snapshots of different time periods in Zoe and Jack's relationship, such as seven years before the marriage, in a non linear manner not unlike Quentin Tarantino's earlier films. Although there's very little of the violence and explicit language he employs.

It also reminded me a little of the plot of a Vince Vaughan and Jennifer Aniston movie, as that movie's plot centred on a couple breaking up, but unwilling to move out of their shared home. Zoe and Jack both refuse to be the one to search for a new place to live, and are reduced to making a weekly rota for their bed. The supporting characters such as Benni, Zoe's boss and Chuck, her sister's current boss to name but two, all have a different slant on what they want from a romantic partner.

The history between Zoe and Chuck is evident throughout the novel, but Fraser allows the truth of the past unhealthy relationship to unfold slowly in the background. Fraser writes Zoe as being a woman influenced but not overwhelmed by her former relationship, which made her a endearing and likable character.

It's a lighthearted and less predictable addition to the 'chick lit' genre, and definitely worth packing for holiday reading.

Authors beginning with the letter F

Karin Fossum

The Murder of Harriet Krohn

Fossum is a recent discovery of mine, I had never heard of her before this year. I happened to come across one of her books on the Lancashire library website  and decided that I would go to see if it was in Heysham library my go-to place for books, and a bit of quiet inspiration when writing my novel.

Anyway, I was in luck because there was a copy. It had been the blurb on the website which first sparked my interest, which went as follows

 Charles Olav Torp has problems. He's grieving for his late wife, he's lost his job, and gambling debts have alienated him from his teenage daughter. Desperate, his solution is to rob an elderly woman of her money and silverware. But Harriet Krohn fights back, and Charlo loses control. Wracked with guilt, Charlo attempts to rebuild his life and regain his dignity. But the police are catching up with him, and Inspector Konrad Sejer has never lost a case yet. Told through the eyes of a killer, 'The Murder of Harriet Krohn' poses the question: how far would you go to turn your life around, and could you live with yourself afterwards?

Within a few pages I was hooked, Fossum alternates between the motivations of the murderer and the motivations of the inspector. She gives an insight into the workings of the killer's mind, and offers a rounded picture of Torp, as the horrendous act is purported to happen because the murderer is trying to create a better life for his daughter. He is not painted as someone without a conscience, which can happen in the hands of less adept crime writers, the relationship between him and his daughter giving Torp a realism which I really appreciated.

Her skill is such that, despite myself I felt a twinge of sympathy for Torp at the end of the book. I think it was, by and large, the way that the connection between him and his daughter was painted, his frantic and well-meaning attempts to correct the sins of the past, leading him to make an even greater mistake.

My advice is, if you enjoy crime stories, or even just well-crafted fiction in general, give this one a try.