AT THE WATER'S EDGE by Sarah Gruen

I loved this book. The only other Sara Gruen book I have read is "Water for Elephants" which I thoroughly enjoyed. The book was an eyeopener regarding circus life but what stuck with me of course was the elephant in the story. I have since discovered that Sara Gruen's passion is writing about animals and I believe all her other books reflect that. "At the Water's Edge" however, seemed to have bypassed her animal obsession and instead delivered a great story with believable characters, a look into the world of the privileged and stark and heart wrenching realities of World Ward II. Sara Gruen's style of writing made this book very real to me and even though the ending was predictable and neatly sewn up, I felt like clapping when I came to the last page. After all, who doesn't love a happy ending, especially when our heroine more than deserves it? This book goes deeper than a romance novel as it brings together people who have emerged from painful life experiences to see past their own tragedies and dare to forge a life together that would reflect what is truly important. The story is narrated by a young female socialite, Maddy, who is married to a privileged Ellis, who has evaded war service on account of his colour blindness. When they disgrace themselves and their close friend Hank in a social gathering, the couple find themselves without a home and in disfavour with Ellis' family. Together they embark on a trip to Scotland during World Ward II, in search of the Loch Ness monster, the discovery of which could reinstate Ellis into his family's good graces. There, instead of finding the sea monster, they discover a monster of a different kind. At first glance the plot of this story seems trivial and lacking plausibility but as the story unfolds, it becomes not only plausible but very real and highly captivating.

THE STRANGER by Harlan Coben

I read this book in 1 day. It was racy, incredibly clever and suspenseful. And all with no bad language, a sure sign of a good writer. This was my first book by Harlan Coben and it won't be the last. I can see why he has been called 'master of the plot twist'. While this story is about a stranger, it shows that none of us are really strangers in 21st century where we are all vulnerable through technology which can trace anyone, find anyone and expose anyone.  This means that in a world such as ours, secrets are fragile and fair game. While we all have them, this novel asks us to examine to what extent we would go to keep them from others and how far we would go to protect our families from knowing the truth? By the end of the book you cannot help but conclude that it is best not to know some things. The story of this book is intriguing and the plot brilliant and far too complex to summarise. I look forward to reading more of Harlan Coben. He is clearly the writer to turn to when you want a good adrenalin rush.

THE HUSBAND'S SECRET by Liane Moriarty

This is an excellent book, literally unputdownable, if there is such a word. Liane Moriarty did a fantastic job not just with the subject matter but with the plot of this book and the depth of the characters. Whereas Big Little Lies allowed the reader to see the characters through imagery, The Husband's Secret delved more into their hearts and the emotions relative to their lives' tragedies, current events and future hopes. I loved the way the character were cleverly intertwined and the stark awareness of how our lives have a bearing on others forming an almost invisible connectivity. It also highlights important choices we have to make in consideration of other's lives like our children. For this reason I loved the character of Tess and the forgiveness and sacrifice she made to preserve her family. This book presents important truths like the damage we suffer when we are do not accept accountability for our actions as is witnessed in John-Paul Fitzpatrick's character. His lack of accountability gave birth to karma culminating in tragedy suffered by his daughter Polly.The most startling realisation the book brings to light is that we will never know some facts and secrets which impact our lives and send us in different directions, some of which we are meant to take and others maybe not.