The Villa by Rosanna Ley

Ebook: .1115KB, 577 pages

Genre:  Contemporary Romantic Fiction.
Publisher: Quercus (31 May 2012)
Source: Amazon
First Sentence: Tess didn't open the letter until later, when she was sitting on the beach.
Review Quote: 'Beautifully written, warm and romantic ... The perfect holiday read' Rachel Hore, author of A Gathering Storm.
My Opinion:A perfect summer read and set in Italy, what more could I ask for.

I was not aware of this author until very recently, when her writing was recommended to me. Unfortunately I cannot recall who it was that suggested I might enjoy her novels. Well whoever it was you were right! As soon as I looked her up I immediately purchased the three titles available on Amazon. This is the first one I have read, earliest one published in 2012. A perfect summer read and set in Italy, what more could I ask for. A delightful read and I will be reading the next two just as soon as I can. 

Three intertwining stories of three generations of women, Tess Angel the main protagonist, her mother Flavia and her daughter Ginny.  The novel begins as Tess receives a solicitors letter telling her that she has inherited a villa in Sicily.  Despite her mother being Sicilian this comes as a complete shock as her mother Falvia left the island as a young girl and has never returned, so why has Tess been left a villa.  One of the conditions of the inheritance is that she has to go over there, despite her mothers reservations this is of course what she does. She falls in love with the villa and meets some interesting Sicilians that will be able to help her unravel the mystery of why her mother cut all ties with her homeland during World War II. Meanwhile back in the UK we have the parallel stories of Tess's mother and daughter both of whom are stressed out, the former with secrets she has long kept from her daughter and the latter with the difficulties of becoming a young woman with lots of questions that she cannot get the answers to. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this very readable story devouring it on the plane on a recent trip and am already planning to read two more novels by this author, that I have already purchased for my Kindle. Bay of Secrets and Return to Mandalay what more recommendations do you need to try this author for yourself.


Author Profile

I have been able to find out very little biographical information on Rosanna Ley, the information shared here is taken directly from her biography on her website.

Rosanna Ley has worked as a creative writing tutor for over 15 years. Affiliated to several colleges and universities in England, she also runs her own writing courses in the UK and abroad. She has worked with community groups in therapeutic settings and completed an MA in creative writing for personal development in order to support this. Her writing holidays and retreats take place in stunning locations in Italy and Spain and whilst not teaching or writing she mentors and appraises the work of new writers. Rosanna has had numerous articles and short stories published in UK magazines, and 12 novels of contemporary fiction published in the U.K, Germany, Greece and the U.S.A under a pseudonym. Her books are inspired by the culture and landscapes of Italy, Sicily and the Canary Islands and feature strong female voices from the past and present, along with an intense undercurrent of mystery and romance. Rosanna spends some time every year travelling around Europe looking for writing inspiration and more tranquil settings for writing holidays. She loves cliff walking and her favourite writing place is somewhere with a sea view. When she is not travelling, Rosanna lives with her artist husband in a Victorian cottage in West Dorset by the sea. 

The biographical information and photo used in this post are with thanks to the following websites, where you can also find more information about the author and her writing.

Facebook - Rosanna Ley Novels  Author's Official Website   Rosanna Ley - Twitter  

 Goodreads Profile  Amazon Author Profile

A Commonplace Killing by Sian Busby

Paperback: 271 pages.

Genre:  Murder Mystery Fiction.
Publisher:  Short Books Ltd (2 Jan 2014)
Source: Tywyn Public Library.
First Sentence: That neglected triangle, where the Camden, Holloway and Caledonian  Roads intersect, long oppressed by sot and the continuous rumble of the railway, its bounds set by the gloomy bulk of the women's prison and the desolation of the empty Livestock Market, had been done for long before the Hitler War blasted every last vestige of respectability to smithereens.
Review Quote:  "Brilliantly evoked" --Sunday Times
My Opinion: Well written but not one for me.


A novel I only read because it was a Book club choice, which I think may have been picked because the author had a deep pride in her Welsh farming roots. After all we are a Welsh based book club group. Murder stories are not a genre I read very often and if I do read one I prefer it to be a psychological thriller. No surprise then that I did not really enjoy this, although it is well written but not one for me, I actually found the Introduction and background information I have since read about Sian Busby much more interesting, than the novel itself. Setting my personal opinion aside, 'A Commonplace Killing' portrays the London of the postwar era really well, the character portrayals felt realistic as I was drawn into their world.


The protagonists all seem to lead a dreary life, lacking in love or humour, not surprising I suppose considering the conditions in post war London in 1946. Crime and corruption were rife and the future was not looking a happy one for any of them. The female protagonist is Lillian Frobisher whose story unfolds in parallel stories of the events leading up to her death and the investigation of her murder. Lillian Frobisher a local wife and mother is found on waste land near her home. When it is discovered that she was not the unwilling victim of a sexual assault, the investigation turns closer to home.

It is a sad story even more so when you bear in mind that the woman writing this novel, knew her own days were numbered. Somehow one just feels this is reflected in the writing, especially the whole pessimistic attitude surrounding the case. What do I mean, well you will have to read the novel to find out the details.

If murder stories are a genre you enjoy then this is worth reading for its realistic and dark truths.


Author Profile

Photo: ANDREW CROWLEY

Siân Elizabeth Busby (19 November 1960 – 4 September 2012) was a British writer. The daughter of the Canadian actor Tom Busby and Wendy Russell, she was educated at Creighton School in Muswell Hill and read English at Sussex University.
Originally embarking in a career in arts television, she later switched to writing. Her first two books were non-fiction. A Wonderful Little Girl (2003) concerned a Welsh child whose apparent ability to survive without nourishment led doctors to term the condition anorexia while The Cruel Mother (2004) was a semi-autobiographical account of child murder by one of Busby's ancestors. McNaughten (2009) concerned a mentally unstable 19th century woodcutter who was accused of attempting to assassinate Sir Robert Peel. 
Sian Busby was diagnosed as suffering from lung cancer in 2007, despite never having been a smoker. She finished her last book, ' A Commonplace Killing', shortly before she died. The book, describing the investigation into the murder of a woman in post-war London, was published in May 2013 and featured as BBC Radio Four's Book at Bedtime in June of the same year. Married to Robert Peston, the BBC's business editor, with whom she had a son. They had known each other since their teens, but rekindled their relationship after her friend, Peston's sister Juliet, was hospitalised after a road accident. Previously she had married and been divorced from the Dutch film maker Kees Ryninks, with whom she also had a son.

Obituary Daily Telegraph where much more can be learnt about her.

The biographical information and photo used in this post are with thanks to the following websites, where you can also find more information about the author and her writing.

Goodreads - Author Profile   Daily Telegraph    Sian Busby - Wikipedia

All Change (Volume 5 in the Cazalet Chronicles) by Elizabeth Jane Howard

Hardback:  572 pages.
Genre: Womens Fiction.
Publisher: Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2013
Source: Tywyn Public Library.
First Sentences: 'Not long now.' 'Duchy, darling!' 'I feel quite peaceful.' The Duchy shut her eyes for a moment: talking - as did everything else - tired her.

Review Quote: ‘Elizabeth Jane Howard is one of those novelists who shows, through her work, what the novel is for . . . She helps us to do the necessary thing – open our eyes and our hearts’ Hilary Mantel.

My Opinion: It was like meeting up with old friends.

In the early 1990's Elizabeth Jane Howard published the first four volumes of 'The Cazalet Chronicles' and they were a treat to read. Even after a gap of 14 years since Volume 4 'Casting Off' was published it was like meeting up with old friends to read the final volume.  I had always wondered how the Cazelets would survive in the new order of things after the Second World War. This final volume in the series covers two years in the fifties and reminds us just how much life changed for families like the 'Cazelets' after the war. A great swansong from a much loved author.

'All Change' begins nine years after 'Casting Off' ended and as the Duchy, beloved matriarch of the family dies in the opening pages. Her death means a huge change for the family as she was the last part of the disappearing world of huge family houses with many servants and oodles of tradition. A lifestyle that most can no longer retain in the nineteen fifties. For her children, Hugh, Edward, Rachel and Rupert there is no doubt that life is never going to be the same again. Now in their fifties and sixties they are going to struggle in the modern world. It is the women that maybe face the greatest challenges, as the new generation of Cazalets meet at the family residence 'Home Place' to discuss the future and how it will impact on all of them, male or female, family or servant, young or old.

If you enjoy a family chronicle then this is one for you. No problem if you have not read the first four volumes, as there is a foreword which gives the reader unfamiliar with the series an excellent précis of the storyline.


Author Profile

Courtesy of  Independent Newspaper 

Elizabeth Jane Howard was born in London, England on 26th March 1923 and she died on January 2nd 2014 in Suffolk, England. Before becoming her novelist she had careers as an actress and a model, Between the years 1942 and 1983 she had three marriages. She had a daughter Nicola with her first husband, the Naturalist Sir Peter Scott and a stepson Martin from her third marriage to Sir Kingsley Amis.

She is best known for the series of books telling of the changing fortunes of an upper-middle-class English family, the Cazalets, before and after the Second World War. The first four books in the Cazalet Chronicles - The Light Years (1990), Marking Time (1991), Confusion (1993) and Casting Off (1995) were all written and published close together. The final volume being released just a year before her death earlier this year. Established as modern classics they have been adapted for a BBC television series and in2012 for BBC Radio 4. In 2002 Macmillan published her autobiography,Slipstream, that same year she was awarded a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List.

A full list of her works can be found here

Her obituaries published in the Daily Telegraph and The Independent in January 2014 make interesting reading. 

The biographical information and photo used in this post are with thanks to the following websites, where you can also find more information about the author and her writing.

Daily Telegraph      Wikipedia - Elizabeth Jane Howard   The Independent   

Amazon - Elizabeth Jane Howard

The Flavours of Love by Dorothy Koomson

Hardback: 440 pages

Genre:  Contemporary Fiction.
Publisher: Quercus 2013
Source: Tywyn Public Library.
First Sentence:  Prologue: 'Are you going to tell the police?' she asks
Review Quote: 'Another moving and thought-provoking read, this lives up to expectations' Cosmopolitan.
My Opinion: A psychological thriller of a tale with plenty of twists and turns to keep you thinking.


It was in 2010 that I last read any novels by Dorothy Koomson, I did not rate either of them very highly, probably why I still have some of her titles sitting on my bookshelves unread. Having now read ' The Flavours of Love' I need to look at them again. Yes this was better than anticipated I am glad I decided to give this author another try. After all the ones I read previously were written over ten years ago and writers do change their writing style over the years, like us all they are maturing.  My introduction to her writing had been back in 2006 when I read and enjoyed My Best Friend's Girl, maybe it was a mistake to add her back catalogue to my wishlist at that time. Never mind her writing has taken a change of direction and is now classed as 'emotional thrillers' so she is back on my reading list and The Flavours of Love did not disappoint me. 

The Flavours of Love deals with how the protagonist Saffron copes with becoming a widow after the murder of her husband. It is eighteen months since her husband was murdered and she has decided to finish writing a cookbook that he had been working on when he died. Through past and present we gradually learn what was and in fact still is going on in her family's life life, all is not as it seems. Both she and her daughter are keeping secrets that may well ruin their lives, but of course the truth will come out in the end. How though? That is for me to know and you to find out when you read the novel for yourself.

A psychological thriller of a tale with plenty of twists and turns to keep you thinking. Recommended to fans of this genre, although rather different from Sophie Hannah I think it may well appeal if you enjoy her novels.

This is a great radio interview about the novel with Dorothy Koomson.



I have read three of Dorothy Koomson's earlier novels and reviewed two of them on this blog. 
The Cupid Effect and The Chocolate Run  The first one I read was from 2006 My Best Friends Girl was reviewed on Bookcrossing.


Author Profile

I have taken the liberty of using the authors own words and photo below from her website. The only thing she does not tell us is when she was born although I did discover it was in 1971.

Bio

Posted on April 18, 2012

Hello, my name’s Dorothy Koomson and I’ll try to make this bit that’s all about me as interesting as possible.

I wrote my first novel called There’s A Thin Line Between Love And Hate when I was 13. I used to write a chapter every night then pass it around to my fellow convent school pupils every morning, and they seemed to love it.

I grew up in London and then grew up again in Leeds when I went to university. I eventually returned to London to study for my masters degree and stayed put for the following years. I took up various temping jobs and eventually got my big break writing, editing and subbing for various women’s magazines and national papers.

Fiction and storytelling were still a HUGE passion of mine and I continued to write short stories and novels every spare moment that I got. In 2001 I had the idea for The Cupid Effect and my career as a published novelist began. And it’s been fantastic. In 2006, third novel, My Best Friend’s Girl was published. It was incredibly successful – selling nearly 90,000 copies within its first few weeks on sale. Six weeks later, it was selected for the Richard & Judy Summer Reads Book Club and the book went on to sell over 500,000 copies. Oh, there I go again, this is meant to be about me, not my novels.

Okay, back to me. I recently spent two years living in Sydney Australia, and now I’m back in England, living on the south coast and still writing books.

The biographical information and photo used in this post are with thanks to the following websites, where you can also find more information about the author and her writing.


Dorothy Koomson - Official Website   Amazon - Author Profile  Goodreads - Author Profile

Facebook Page - Dorothy Koomson    You Tube Interview    Wikipedia Profile   Twitter Profile