'Edge of your seat stuff' in new Charlie Parker thriller
Political conflict features in two of this week’s books and there’s also a new Charlie Parker thriller, a mystery set in early America, a book about open marriages and one for older children.
Niramaya: A Female Medic’s War Journey, Sean C Ward, Troubador, €14.50
Sean C Ward from Laytown, County Meath, volunteered in India in the wake of the Bangladesh Liberation War, and this book is a blend of fact and fiction that tells the story of the fictional Dr Meena, who courageously insisted on providing medical assistance to those who needed it, regardless of which side they fought for. There are countless accounts of what war means for men, but the women’s stories are rarely, if ever, told. This novel is a reminder that it’s not only soldiers who suffer (as Gaza reminds us daily). In a recent interview for the Independent, Ward said: ‘Any villages I visited, it always seemed to be the women who were at the forefront of building health centres or schools, so the book is a composite of those really strong women I have met.’
Good Friday 1998, John Andrew Murray, Independent, €12.99
The author, from West Belfast, recounts the days running up to the Good Friday Agreement, in a city where tensions are high and a fragile ceasefire could be easily broken. The story involves a young couple, Ruby and Tom. Ruby is a successful logistics officer by day but leads a double life. Outside of work she’s a ruthless terrorist and head of the newly formed ILA (Irish Liberation Army), intent on as much destruction as possible. Tom is a fledgling Belfast journalist, finally given his big break, but unaware that he’s living with a terrorist. There’s quite a big cast in the novel, so you may find yourself returning to the helpful Dramatis Personae at the start of the book. This novel is a convincing depiction of what life was like in the Troubles.
The Children of Eve, John Connolly, Hodder and Stoughton, €22.99
In his 22nd Charlie Parker thriller, Connolly looks at what can happen when seemingly good people give in to temptation. Parker is no longer a young man and figures that it’s probably time he was looking at retirement, as he’s in constant pain from previous injuries and his stalwarts are mostly retired. When a young woman approaches him to find her missing boyfriend, he figures it won’t be too strenuous a case and agrees to take it on. And it becomes too strenuous a case! Or at least too strenuous for some, but as Parker gets sucked into a vortex of illegal drugs trading, violence and the trafficking of children from Mexico, he’s already in too deep and there’s no chance of backing out. There’s a touch of magical realism in this book too, which adds to the mystery and intrigue. Like all Parker novels, the tension ramps up from the get-go and Connolly doesn’t look like he’ll run out of steam anytime soon. This is edge of your seat stuff.
Ask me How it Works, Deepa Paul, Penguin Viking, €19.99
Having moved to Amsterdam with her husband and new baby, Deepa Paul got a rare night off from domestic bliss and met a guy in a bar and one thing led to another. Her husband was furious at first but later warmed to the idea of an open marriage and that’s how this book got written. Subtitled ‘Love in an Open Marriage’ it’s a chronicle of sexual encounters with randomers, while the author remains in a committed marriage. And prudes be warned, the detail is graphic. Paul currently has, besides her husband, an intimate relationship with an Irishman (but does his mother know?). She maintains that this is all she wants now, and that her polyamorous days are behind her (she’s now 43) but insists that it was a worthwhile series of adventures. This could have been a boring litany of slap-and-tickle if Paul was not such an honest and engaging writer, so if this is your idea of a life of adventure, it’s in the shops now.
The Frozen River, Ariel Lawhorn, Swift, €18.49
In a vivid and evocative piece of historical fiction, the author recalls the life of Martha Ballard, a New England midwife and healer who in her long career delivered all the babies in the town of Hallowell, Maine. She boasted 1,000 deliveries and not one mother lost, a miraculous record in the late 1700s. When a dead body is washed up in Hallowell after the river thaws, it’s discovered to be that of Joshua Burgess. He is one suspect, along with a Colonel North, accused of raping local woman Rebecca Foster. Martha is required to give evidence at the trial, but that will involve entries from the personal diary being exposed in public. And Col North happens to be the landowner from whom she’s leased her land and home. Ballard is a real-life figure in history, and her life has already been outlined in a biography published in 1990. Here, the author makes no apologies for some details having been changed, but her fictional story is inspired by real events. An eye-opener of a novel, with a gripping plot and a fascinating depiction of what life was like for women in misogynistic 18th century America. And everywhere else.
The Brightest Star, Meg Grehan, Little Island, €10.99
A sequel to her first children’s novel, The Deepest Breath, this continues the story of Stevie, Chloe and Andrew, all best friends about to start secondary school. Told entirely in verse, it focuses on Stevie’s love for her friend Chloe and her feelings of abandonment when Andrew appears to pull away and make new friends. Recommended for age 9+, I think it requires an older reader as this is a story involving LGBT relationships and self-acceptance.
Footnotes
Hot on the heels of this weekend’s Hinterland Festival in Kells, the Mullingar Literary Festival runs from July 4 to 6 and some of the big names include Patricia Gibney, Nicole Flattery, Anne Griffin and Victoria Mary Clarke, among many others. Sure where else would you be? Tickets and programme from mullingarliteraryfestival.com.