🍓🍓🍓 Thursday’s Treat 🍓🍓🍓
My thoughts on The Strawberry Thief by Joanne Harris
Whilst I’ve not read books two and three in this series*, after a quick Wikipedia summary of both plots I was up to speed and ready to read The Strawberry Thief.
*Note, I didn’t do this on purpose, I’d fallen for the book during the social media campaign and wasn’t aware I’d missed two in between Chocolat and The Strawberry Thief!
Vianne is back in Lansquenêt-sous-Tannes in her chocolaterie, now she is only with her younger daughter – Rosette, whilst Anouk remains in Paris with her boyfriend.
Once she was an outsider, now she seems to be accepted as one in the community. Now it seems the town needs someone new to gossip about and Harris fulfils this itch with Morgane Dubois. It appears that history is repeating itself, as the mystery and magic we felt when Vianne opened her store, is happening again with Morgane.
Whilst the reader can notice many similarities between the two women, Vianne takes a dislike to Morgane instantly and seems almost fearful of what this woman could do to the town. She reaches out to Francis Reynaud; the priest whom she had so many disagreements with in the past, but as I’ve said the atmosphere is different, now they are friends. Reynaud is intrigued by Morgane also and feels that same sense of fear, but he’s distracted by something else…
You see, the shop Morgane is renting, used to be Narcisse’s florist but sadly he has passed away. His will brings shock and outrage to his family on how he wishes to distribute his assets, but Narcisse has written ‘his story’, which may explain his decisions, except only Reynaud is allowed to read it.
Reynaud becomes absorbed in the pages but shocked by the events Narcisse depicts, and so he needs time to let the words on each page sink in before he continues. Harris allows Narcisse’s story to weave its way throughout the pages, providing a further timeline and more intrigue.
Rosette also has a POV, and her chapters help the reader understand her, allowing us to read her thoughts, even if she doesn’t vocalise them.
BLOG TOUR DAY!!
REVIEW: Dead Inside by Noelle Holten
RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Well I can tell you straight out, this is a cracking read, by far the best crime thriller I’ve read so far this year. There’s so much going on, different POVs and a never ending supply of action and twists.
The prologue lets us in on Lucy’s darkest secret – her troubled marriage. We’re introduced to Patrick; Lucy’s husband, and discover his aggression, his anger and his utter disrespect for women. He has to be one of the most disturbing and terrifying characters I’ve ever read about, his poisonous thoughts are felt throughout the book, to the point that I was nervous of what I’d read when a chapter was from his perspective. Holten did an excellent job of bringing this damaged relationship to life through the pages, as my sympathy towards Lucy was instant and I felt her fear every time she had to be in Patrick’s presence, actually I more than felt it, it was as if I was living through it too.
Aside from Lucy’s home life, her work life is causing her never ending headaches, as a probation officer, she’s dealing with some of the worst kinds of people – domestic abusers, rapists, aggressive alcoholics… the irony was not lost on me, that she had to deal with this both in work and at home.
Meanwhile the story is also unfolding the activities of the DAHU team (Domestic Abuse & Homicide Unit), where DC Maggie Jameson is just starting her new role. The call has come in for a rather gruesome murder.
When Lucy’s next appointment fails to show up she has no idea that his reason is… because he’s dead, and so the two storylines begin to weave themselves closer and closer together.
Patrick’s frequency in the local pub introduces numerous other characters, including Shell, who holds the power of destroying Patrick and Lucy’s marriage. Little does she know how much Lucy would love that, as she’s blindsided with Patrick’s cunning charm. I was nearly screaming at the book as Shell fell for Patrick’s tricks, with her damaging childhood, I thought she’d see past him. ⬇️ continued in comments xx
