Once again, I've put my thoughts about some of the books I've read into words then forgotten to post to my blog - doh!  So the following observations were written earlier this month.

8th January 2021

To round of my review of of 2020, I'd like to finish with three novels that really captured my imagination in different ways.

Diane Setterfield: Once Upon a River

In the tradition of all great fairy tales, Once Upon a River tells an epic story of heroes and villains where good triumphs over evil but it is peopled, not with princes, goblins and wicked witches, but with the ordinary folk who live near the banks of the Thames: an innkeeper, a photographer, a farmer, a nurse and a host of other characters just going about their daily business along the upper reaches of the river towards the end of the 19th Century. This is a beautifully written novel with characters, scenes and the river itself coming to life under Setterfield's deft touch; with a little bit of magic and hints of the supernatural mixed in, it is story telling at its very best. I loved it.

Tracey Chevalier: the Girl with a Pearl Earring

Beautifully imagined story of the girl behind Vermeer's evocative painting: Griet joins his household as a junior maid but quickly becomes involved in his work as she has the painter's instinctive eye for detail. She longs to remain close to him and to remain part of his world despite her blossoming relationship with Pieter, the handsome son of a local butcher but a jealous wife and a sly daughter conspire against her whilst Griet and the reader never know Vermeer's true feeling for her as Chevalier skilfully keeps us guessing as she brings the city of Delft to life whenever Griet ventures out. A novel as gorgeous as the pearl itself.

Kate Mosse: The Taxidermists Daughter

Determined to find out the truth behind the murder of a local woman whose body she discovers, Connie Gifford will also unlock the door to her own missing past, lost to her after a terrifying fall robbed her of her memory as a child. As her father and other notable 'gentlemen' go missing, Connie enlists the help of doctor's son Harry Woolston, her young maid and an even younger urchin who roams the salt marsh and knows most of its secrets, putting her own life in danger as a result. An atmospheric gothic novel featuring an admirable heroine, some graphic descriptions of taxidermy and some gruesome deaths, it's a thoroughly enjoyable read but not for the faint-hearted.