YvonneThis week’s latest new find, came to me courtesy of Ellen Williams, Senior Publicity Manager, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. Thanks to her for making my complimentary copy available and as usual, thanks also to the folks at NetGalley for facilitating the download.
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‘KEEP YOU CLOSE‘
When the artist Marianne Glass falls to her death, everyone insists it was a tragic accident. Yet Rowan Winter, once her closest friend, suspects there is more to the story. Ever since she was young, Marianne had paralyzing vertigo. She would never have gone so close to the roof’s edge.
Marianne — and the whole Glass family — once meant everything to Rowan. For a teenage girl, motherless with a much-absent father, this lively, intellectual household represented a world of glamour and opportunity.
But since their estrangement, Rowan knows only what the papers reported about Marianne’s life: her swift ascent in the London art world, her much-scrutinized romance with her gallerist. If she wants to discover the truth about her death, Rowan needs to know more. Was Marianne in distress? In danger? And so she begins to seek clues — in Marianne’s latest work, her closest relationships, and her new friendship with an iconoclastic fellow artist.
But the deeper Rowan goes, the more sinister everything seems. And a secret in the past only she knows makes her worry about her own fate . .
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LUCIE WHITEHOUSE
Lucie Whitehouse was born in the Cotswolds in 1975 and grew up in Warwickshire.
Having married in 2011, Lucie now divides her time between the UK and Brooklyn, where she lives with her husband. She writes full time and has contributed features to the Times, the Sunday Times, the Independent, Elle and Red Magazine.
Check in with Lucie on Facebook
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Train yourself really to see things. A good way to do this is to pick an object at random once or twice a day and describe it to yourself in a way that feels fresh. Watch people carefully: the smallest actions (the apparently confident man who tugs constantly at a T-shirt that rides up over his stomach) can reveal a huge amount about a person’s dreams and fears, his vanities and insecurities, and often contradict what he or she is saying. Actions do speak louder than words. That said, listen too. When something strikes you as interesting, write it down. Even if you don’t know why it interests you now, there’ll be a reason.
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Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house during the last week. Be warned that Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.
Mailbox Monday now has a permanent home, where links may be added each week. So why not stop by, leave a link to your own Mailbox Monday post, oh! and don’t forget to leave a comment for our three new joint administrators, after all, we all like to receive them … ‘Mailbox Monday’
Leslie of ‘Under My Apple Tree’
Serena of ‘Savvy Verse & Wit’
Vicki of ‘I’d Rather Be At The Beach’
This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from!
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As someone who struggles with vertigo, I can relate. I hate heights and won’t go to the edge either. I’m very curious about the book and hope you love it.
Hi Kathy,
I can’t say that I am a huge fan of heights, however I will tend to walk as close to the edge of the coastline as I dare, before hubbie goes completely mental and hauls me back!
I don’t mind looking out of a high up window, or walking across an open bridge, however I can’t even begin to see what Marianne was thinking about when she got close to the edge of a roof! … Murder? … Suicide? …
I can’t wait to find out 🙂
Sounds like it could be good, Yvonne!
Hi Mary,
‘Keep You Close’ has the potential to be a real page turner, if the questions raised in the synopsis form a solid basis for the ensuing storyline.
Thanks for visiting this week and ‘Happy Reading’ 🙂
Ah… this sounds interesting! I, too, have a fear of heights and just reading about getting too close to the edge of something makes my heart race!
I have three new books! 🙂 All are additions to series I read. The first was a soft-cover preorder that arrived and the others I added to my Kindle.
As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust by Alan Bradley
Falling in Love by Donna Leon
The Ghost Fields by Elly Griffiths
Hi Kelly,
Dave used to have an almost paralysing fear of heights, until he decided to study for a coaching qualification, part of which involved NLP training and mentoring. As part of the class, a ‘guinea pig’ with a big phobia was required to practice techniques on …. You guessed it, Dave was volunteered and taken out onto an overhanging balcony, where he was asked to look over the edge. After the NLP techniques were used on him by the group tutor, he felt all his fear dissipating and now, whilst not completely cured, in most circumstances he can cope with and manage his phobia. It means that we can now walk over suspended bridges and stay in high up hotel rooms with floor to ceiling windows!!
I’m still not certain that either of us would be comfortable if confronted with the edge of a roof though and it probably wouldn’t take much coercion to have us topple over … Is this what happened to Marianne, I wonder?
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I know that you like to read your favourite authors as a series and in sequence, but all three of your new books look to me as though they could be read as stand alone stories 🙂 Whilst they all sound really good, I have only added the Elly Griffiths title to my own list, as this storyline stood out from the rest and grabbed my attention.
Thanks for sharing, I really needed another book on my TBR 😉
I’ve heard of combatting fears by exercises in facing them. What drastic measures, though! While I do have a fear of heights, it varies in its manifestation. It’s not nearly as bad if I have the “security” of being closed in. For example… I hate a Ferris Wheel (especially if the buggy swings!), but something like the London Eye is fine (for the most part). I learned to pilot small planes when I first married and it never bothered me being up in the air in a two or four seater. Now a rooftop with an open ledge? No way! I’m hyperventilating at the thought!
All of these series pretty much have self contained mystery plots, but so much is lost when you don’t get the ongoing character development.
I do get your point about ongoing character development, which is why on the whole, I do tend to stick to genuine stand alone stories and to be honest, there are more than enough of those about, to keep my reading schedule full for ever !
Dave used to be in the R.A.F. although as ground crew, so he has flown in a couple of small planes, although I’m not altogether sure that he enjoyed the experience much. He used to work on ground radar, which meant him working up at quite a height and as this was before his “cure”, I know that too used to stress him out quite a lot.
I hate fairground or theme park roller coasters, but that’s more of a stomach churning reason, rather than a fear of heights! I don’t think you would get me in a small plane either, but once again, that’s more a fear of crashing, rather than a height issue.
Back here on terra firma – Have a good weekend 🙂
I will admit that the main reason I learned to fly was because my husband was so determined to get his license – and there is a history of heart disease in his family! I wanted to be able to land the plane should I ever need to! Even though neither of us have kept our licenses current, it gave me enough knowledge that I have no real fears of flying.
Keep You Close sounds like an exciting read. Enjoy!
Hi Lucy,
It certainly sounds as though there are going to be plenty of twists and turns in this story, before we finally discover what really happened to Marianne Glass! … How much do I enjoy a good thriller? 🙂
Have a good week and thanks for stopping by.
Not an author I’ve heard of, but ‘Keep You Close’ sounds like a good read 🙂
Hi Nikki,
This is Lucie’s fourth published novel, so she is by no means a ‘newbie’ on the circuit, although like yourself, I hadn’t come across her name or books before.
Ratings and reviews have been rather mixed over the years, although the trend is upward with each new book that comes along, so that bodes well for ‘Keep You Near’, apart from the fact that I am simply a sucker for a good thriller!
Nice to have you stop by and I hope that your week has got off to a good start 🙂
This sounds like another interesting read, enjoy!
Hi Mary Ann,
Yet another fairly unique premise, which has the potential for an interesting storyline. I wish that I had such a vivid imagination and a keen eye for detail 🙂
Thanks for stopping by, as usual I value and appreciate your comments.
Heights are tough for me….but this sounds like a good book. Happy reading
Hi Serena,
I am wondering just what was so sinister about the Glass family and Marianne’s death in particular. I think this one is going to keep me glued to the pages and not wanting to take a break from finding out the awful truth!
Thanks for stopping by and continuing to help keep Mailbox Monday so successful and such fun 🙂
Ooh, I often find ‘secrets in the past’ scenarios make for good reading. This definitely sounds like a book with potential.
Hi Tracy,
I wonder if this particular secret had something to do with Marianne’s death, making murder much more of a possibility then a straightforward fall from the roof.
I also wonder why Rowan has decided to come back on the scene after the period of estrangement, especially if she now fears for her own safety – you would have thought she would have stayed well away until the dust settled!
As you say, great potential for a page-turner here. Thanks for your lovely comments and for taking the time to visit 🙂
Love secrets…another good book for you.
You find the best-sounding mysteries, Yvonne.
ENJOY your week.
Elizabeth
Silver’s Reviews
My Mailbox Monday
Hi Elizabeth,
Perhaps it was too big a secret for Rowan to keep from the Glass family, thus causing the estrangement.
However I can’t help wondering why Rowan’s fate may now be compromised and does this mean something big … like her life is in danger?
Also is it this same secret which in some way cost Marianne her life?
There is definitely a mystery of huge proportions building here 🙂
I hope that all is well with you and thanks for stopping by.
I like books about friends, or in this case used to be friends.
Hi Vicki,
Yes, I wonder why Rowan has estranged herself from the Glass family, or was it vice versa?
Was it as a result of the secret Rowan held about them, or did she discover the secret after the estrangement?
“Curiouser and Curiouser”
Thanks for stopping by 🙂