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WORK TITLE: The Girlfriend
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE: 1975
WEBSITE: https://sarahjnaughton.com/
CITY: London
STATE:
COUNTRY: United Kingdom
NATIONALITY: British
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born 1975, in England; married; husband’s name Vince; children: two.
EDUCATION:Attended University College London.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer. Worked as an advertising copywriter for ten years.
AWARDS:Costa Book Awards shortlist for The Hanged Man Rises.
WRITINGS
Also author of novella, The Last Gift, Orion, 2017.
SIDELIGHTS
British writer Sarah J. Naughton worked in advertising for a decade before taking the leap into fiction writing, debuting with the young adult thriller, The Hanged Man Rises, which was shortlisted for the prestigious Costa Book Awards. She followed up that success with another young adult novel, The Blood List in 2014, and has since turned to adult suspense thrillers including Tattletale (published in the United States as The Girlfriend), and the 2018 novel, The Other Couple.
“I have loads of advice for aspiring writers,” Naughton noted in a Book Babblers website interview. “Most importantly of all: write every day, even when you’d rather be bleaching the toilet seat. Write in a genre you like … . Avoid using verbs like ‘persuaded’, ‘cajoled’, etc.–‘said’ is far less clunky and the rest should be communicated by the dialogue itself. Some advice I’ve chosen to ignore is write for your readers not yourself. I write for me: I couldn’t do it any other way.”
The Hanged Man
Naughton’s first novel is set in the slums of Victorian London and features orphaned siblings Titus and and his yonger sister Hannah Adams. After their parents are killed in a fire, they manage to find shelter with their friend, Inspector Pilbury. All is not well in the city, even though the Inspector has managed to catch an infamous child killer who has been hanged for his crimes. But the murders have not stopped and now everyone is a suspect, even the Inspector. Titus must find a way to end these killings or risk losing all that is dear to him. However, he faces a supernatural foe who seemingly cannot be stopped, even by death.
School Librarian reviewer Alison Hurst hade praise for The Hanged Man Rises, commenting: “With some grotesque imagery, this book is not for the faint-hearted. Detailed and vivid descriptive writing, plus a strong storyline, will pull readers in.” Similarly, Bookbag website contributor Jill Murphy noted: “The book has a credible Gothic feel but is still accessible. Something I particularly enjoyed was the historical accuracy. … This stuff never gets in the way of the story, which is intense and unnerving. … The Hanged Man Rises is absolutely great.”
Blood List
Naughton’s second novel, The Blood List, is also targeted at young adult readers. Set in 1646 during a time of witch fever, the novel focuses on young Barnaby Nightingale, who is in many ways the perfect son for the father: brave, handsome, and strong. However, Barnaby’s mother, Frances, believes that her real son was taken away from her at birth by the villagers as a changeling. Barnaby can never please his mother and is hated by his younger brother, Abel. Then Barnaby meets the myserious Naomi, who later is accused of being a witch. Barnaby himself is also accused, as fear and suspicion take hold of his village. Now he must face an ultimate test to prove his innocence or die trying.
School Librarian reviewer Peter Hollindale felt that The Blood List “will appeal to teenage readers as a period horror story, but has a point about ugly human behaviour which sadly still has modern parallels.” Online Bookbag contributor Robert James had a more varied assessment, complaining, on the one hand, of a slow beginning. However, James felt that “once I finally got to the part which I didn’t know about from reading the back of the book, things improved dramatically.” James added: “As well as it becoming genuinely difficult to guess what would happen, with a stunning, powerful ending which had me changing my mind over what would happen right up until the last chapter or two, Barnaby develops a lot more positive qualities and becomes someone worth cheering for.”
Tattletale
Naughton’s third novel, Tattletale, or The Girlfriend in its 2018 U.S. edition, is a psychological thriller for a general audience. The novel focuses on two women with troubled pasts and the brother of one who now lies in a coma. Jody has shut herself down emotionally after traumatic experiences and is unable to trust anyone. Then she meets her neighbor Abe, and her life suddenly opens again and she is full of hope for the future. Mags is the other female lead, and she has been estranged from her family for years. Then one day she receives a call that stuns her into action. Her brother Abe is lying in a coma and going to his side, she meets his fiancée, Jody. No one knows what happened to Abe, and now Mags tries to get to the bottom of things, but nothing seems to make sense, as everyone comes under suspicion.
A Book Review Cafe contributor had praise for Tattletale, noting: “As the plot unfolds I did find myself wondering who was the more reliable narrator, as both women have issues and secrets they would prefer to keep hidden. I do love an unreliable narrator and the author uses this to good effect. The author expertly draws you into her character’s lives, creating tension and layers of suspense as she goes.” Similarly, an Aust Crime website writer commented: “For this reader, nothing in Tattletale was quite what it seemed, nobody quite who they were supposed to be and everything just slightly worse than you could have hoped it would turn out to be. It was therefore, compelling and frequently discomforting reading.” Reviewing the U.S. edition, a Publishers Weekly reviewer had a more ambivalent assessment, observing: “Naughton’s narrative asks intriguing questions about overcoming past traumas and the desire for revenge, but the twists that come with the answers never quite satisfy.” A higher evaluation was offered by Booklist critic Karen Keefe, who concluded: “There are plenty of satisfying twists here to help scratch the itch for impatient suspense readers. Naughton … shows promise in the ever-expanding field of women-centered suspense.”
The Other Couple
Naughton again weaves multiple points of view and timelines in The Other Couple, a psychological suspense novel featuring newlyweds Asha and Ollie Graveny who are looking forward to a dream holiday/honeymoon at a five-star resort in Vietnam. They need this escape, as they are trying to recover from a recent tragedy, but there is someone else who has other plans for them. Asha awakens in a hospital after a vicious attack, and her husband Ollie has disappeared.
Reviewing this novel in Liz Loves Books, a website contributor noted: “The Other Couple was a gorgeously twisted psychological thriller, with a mostly warm, idyllic setting which was lovely considering our British weather right now–unfortunately paradise isn’t quite as wonderful as main protagonist Asha hoped when she embarked on the honeymoon of her dreams with the man of her dreams… .” Similarly, a Reading Under the Blankie website reviewer observed: “As we switch back and forth between the present, the time before the wedding and the honeymoon, dread slowly creeps in, making this story a highly uncomfortable, but very thrilling read. Although Asha doesn’t think Ollie had any enemies, you kind of wonder whether maybe she does, after you find out what happened at her wedding.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, January 1, 2018, Karen Keefe, review of The Girlfriend, p. 44.
Publishers Weekly, January 22, 2018, review of The Girlfriend, p. 59.
School Librarian, summer, 2013, Alison Hurst, review of The Hanged Man Rises, p. 118; summer, 2014, Peter Hollindale, review of The Blood List, p. 121.
ONLINE
Aust Crime, http://www.austcrimefiction.org/ (March 9, 2017), review of Tattletale.
Book Babblers, https://www.bookbabblers.co.uk/ (June 18, 2018), “Interview with Sarah Naughton–Author of The Hanged Man Rises,” and “The Blood List Blog Tour: Interview with Sarah Naughton.”
Bookbag, http://www.thebookbag.co.uk/ (February 1, 2013), Jill Murphy, review of The Hanged Man Rises; (February 1, 2014), Robert James, review of The Blood List.
Book Review Cafe, https://thebookreviewcafe.com/ (January 27, 2018), review of Tattletale.
Liz Loves Books, http://lizlovesbooks.com/ (April 8, 2018), review of The Other Couple.
Reading Under the Blankie, https://readingundertheblankie.com/ (April 25, 2018), review of The Other Couple.
Sarah J. Naughton website, https://sarahjnaughton.com (June 18, 2018).
About
IMG_0963
Sarah worked as an advertising copywriter for ten years before her first book was published in 2013. A supernatural thriller for teens, The Hanged Man Rises (Simon and Schuster) was shortlisted for the Costa Book Awards. A second thriller for teens, The Blood List (Simon and Schuster) came out in 2014. Her first adult thriller, Tattletale (Trapeze) is due out in March 2017.
Sarah lives in London with her husband and two sons.
Social Media:
Twitter: @sarahjnaughton
Facebook: sarahjnaughtonauthor
Instagram: @sarah.naughton
Literary Agent:
Eve White
54 Gloucester Street
London
SW1V 4EG
eve@evewhite.co.uk
+44 (0)20 7630 1155
UK Publishers:
Trapeze (The Orion Publishing Group):
Sam Eades, Senior Commissioning Editor
email: sam.eades@orionbooks.co.uk
Tel: 020 31226444
Simon and Schuster
1st Floor
222 Gray’s Inn Road
London WC1X8HB
United Kingdom
Tel: +44(0)20 7316 1900
QUOTE:
I have loads of advice for aspiring writers. Most importantly of all: write every day, even when you’d rather be bleaching the toilet seat. Write in a genre you like (I thought I could make a fast buck writing Mills and Boons but my heroes were too tortured and effeminate). Avoid using verbs like ‘persuaded’, ‘cajoled’, etc – ‘said’ is far less clunky and the rest should be communicated by the dialogue itself. Some advice I’ve chosen to ignore is write for your readers not yourself. I write for me: I couldn’t do it any other way.
Interview with Sarah Naughton – Author of The Hanged Man Rises
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The Hanged Man Rises
I am delighted to welcome Sarah Naughton to Bookbabblers today. Here is our interview with Sarah…
Please tell us a little about yourself
I live in London with my husband and two sons. I came here at the age of 17 to study English and then went on to write adverts for ten years, which was a lot of fun. Like most authors I’ve been writing for years but it took having children to make me knuckle down and get on with it seriously; when they were babies I’d cram in an hour or so after they’d gone to bed. Apparently it’s illegal to leave them in the house while you go to the pub.
Please tell us about The Hanged Man Rises and your inspiration for the book
London is my inspiration, although I must admit we’ve had our ups and downs. There are aspects of the city that I’m madly in love with, and other aspects that make me want to run screaming back to Dorset. I’ve tried to capture something of this dichotomy in the book: London’s intoxicating atmosphere and vibrancy versus its violence and squalor. Victorian London vividly illustrates the extremes of these highs and lows: these days we can rely on the welfare state to help us when we fall on hard times, then there was the workhouse or starvation. Setting Titus’s story in those harsh, unforgiving days added a sense of urgency to his plight.
I loved your description of Victorian London. How did you research this period?
I tended to do my research as I went along, reading up on things like spiritualism, the workhouse and the police when I was writing the passages that dealt with those subjects. Victorian London is a pretty popular topic and it seems as if most authors have tackled it at some time or other, so there was lots of material to immerse myself in (although I have to confess I’ve never got through an entire Dickens…). And for accuracy of costume and props you can usually rely on the BBC.
What are you working on now?
I’ve got a lot of ideas buzzing around my head at the moment. They’ve mostly got either supernatural or historical elements or both. I’ve recently finished a grisly horror story that I hope will get your flesh crawling, and have begun something for slightly older teens, featuring a time-jump romance (with all the difficulties that entails…). I’m a sucker for romance, as long as it’s tortured, bloody and preferably doomed.
Where is your favourite place to write?
My favourite place to write would be a tumbledown bothy overlooking a storm-tossed sea with my trusty wolfhound dozing by the fire. Unfortunately I have to make do with my kitchen table, accompanied by chocolate hobnobs and gallons of green tea.
Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?
I have loads of advice for aspiring writers. Most importantly of all: write every day, even when you’d rather be bleaching the toilet seat. Write in a genre you like (I thought I could make a fast buck writing Mills and Boons but my heroes were too tortured and effeminate). Avoid using verbs like ‘persuaded’, ‘cajoled’, etc – ‘said’ is far less clunky and the rest should be communicated by the dialogue itself. Some advice I’ve chosen to ignore is write for your readers not yourself. I write for me: I couldn’t do it any other way. My final tip is: choose very carefully whose advice you listen to. My friend Dave is always telling me to ‘put a dragon in it.’ Come to think of it, maybe he’s right.
Thanks Sarah! The Hanged Man Rises is available to buy now. Scroll down to read my review.
The Blood List Blog Tour: Interview with Sarah Naughton
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Blood List
I am really excited to welcome Sarah Naughton to Bookbabblers today. I loved reading The Hanged Man Rises last year and The Blood List is an absolutely fantastic read. Look out for my review of The Blood List, which will be up later this week.
1. Please tell us a little about yourself
I live in London with my husband and two sons and have wanted to be a writer since primary school although sadly my early endeavours (heavy on wimples and dragons) have been lost to the winds of time. For about ten years I was rather distracted by my career in advertising, but finally knuckled down to writing when my first son arrived to decimate my social life. My debut novel, The Hanged Man Rises was published at the beginning of last year and ended up being nominated for a few awards, including the Costa. My second, The Blood List, came out a couple of weeks ago and is starting to attract some nice reviews, which is a great relief. Those first few weeks after publication are a bit nerve racking, I can tell you.
2. Please tell us about The Blood List and your inspiration for the book
The Blood List is set during the witch fever of the 17th century. My hero, Barnaby Nightingale, finds himself accused of witchcraft, thanks to his apparently charmed life and the strange events surrounding his birth. I won’t tell you what happens at the end, but it all gets a bit grisly, involving torture, murder and a very, very wicked brother. I can remember the exact moment the idea came to me. I was watching a programme about mediaeval beliefs which described the fate of babies considered changelings. People were extremely superstitious in those days, and if a baby did not fit the narrow confines of what they considered ‘normal’, they would suspect fairies had stolen their real child and replaced it with a geriatric fairy or perhaps an enchanted block of wood. The symptoms they considered evidence of this we can now ascribe to conditions like autism, deafness or cerebral palsy. These ‘changelings’ would either be left on the midden heap for the night, in the hope that the fairies would replace them with the ‘true child’ (usually dying of exposure or attack by animals) or placed on a shovel then held over the fire (and usually scalded to death). Another method was to force them to drink foxglove tea, an anathema to fairies: but unfortunately also to humans – it would have burned out the child’s throat. With two young children of my own I found these fates almost unbearable to contemplate and I started thinking about how one of these babies could have be saved. That gave me the start of my story and, having researched the period, I realised that having such apparently magical beginnings would put you in real danger once the witch trials really got going.
3. What was your journey to publication like?
I had just finished the final edit of The Blood List when I heard that The Hanged Man Rises had been shortlisted for the Costa, so it’s all a bit of a blur really. Thanks to the efforts of my Simon and Schuster team it all seemed to run pretty smoothly, and I was very excited to see the cover at the end of last year. That’s always my favourite part of the whole process, and Paul Coomey’s designs are always fantastic.
4. Do you have any tips for aspiring writers?
I do think aspiring writers are absolutely bombarded with tips, and sometimes you have to just get on with it and learn what works and what doesn’t as you go along. Stephen King wrote an excellent and easy to follow handbook called ‘On Writing’, and I know several writers who have benefited from creative writing courses/classes (personally I didn’t), but otherwise I would just say, give your right brain some breathing space. Go swimming, walk the dog, make a toothpick model of Big Ben. You’ll be surprised the ideas that ping into your head when you’re occupied with something mind-numbingly mundane.
5. What are you working on now?
I’m in discussions over a book of a slightly different genre to The Hanged Man Rises and The Blood List. It has some of the same supernatural elements of the Hanged Man, but is set in the present day (at least partly), with an older heroine. I love it, and would be extremely excited to see it in print, fingers crossed. Aside from that I’ve got about 25 works-in-progress on my computer, all waiting for that vital spark of inspiration. Now where did I put those toothpicks…?
Thanks, Sarah!
QUOTE:
Naughton's narrative asks intriguing
questions about overcoming past traumas and the desire for revenge, but the twists that come with the
answers never quite satisfy.
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Print Marked Items
The Girlfriend
Publishers Weekly.
265.4 (Jan. 22, 2018): p59+.
COPYRIGHT 2018 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
The Girlfriend
Sarah J. Naughton. Sourcebooks, $15.99 trade paper (368p) ISBN 978-1-4926-5124-6
In this stirring but unwieldy novel, Naughton (Tattletale) introduces two women intent on avoiding and
covering up traumatic moments from their pasts. Mags takes time off from her corporate job in Las Vegas to
visit her long estranged brother, Abe, in London. When she arrives, she learns that Abe is in a coma after a
fall down stairs. Immediately, she begins to suspect that the fall was not suicidal (as the police believe) but
that his girlfriend, Jody, may be to blame'. Naughton alternates chapters between Jody, Mags, and Mira, a
neighbor of Abe's. While readers will delight in Mags's nuanced struggle with her emotions regarding her
brother and her suspicions of Jody, many sections are cliched, such as those from the perspective of Mira,
who knows more than she's saying. Sections told in third person are scattered throughout the book,
amplifying the cat-and-mouse feel of Mags' investigations and muddying the water of what really happened
by creating an undercurrent of unreliability. Although the investigation into Abe's fall drives the narrative,
the nature of Mags and Abe's past falling-out is a subject of intrigue. Naughton's narrative asks intriguing
questions about overcoming past traumas and the desire for revenge, but the twists that come with the
answers never quite satisfy. (Mar.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"The Girlfriend." Publishers Weekly, 22 Jan. 2018, p. 59+. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A525839760/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=32ba4325.
Accessed 4 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A525839760
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QUOTE:
there are plenty of satisfying twists here to help scratch the
itch for impatient suspense readers. Naughton, primarily known as a children's author, shows promise in the
ever-expanding field of women-centered suspense.
The Girlfriend
Karen Keefe
Booklist.
114.9-10 (Jan. 1, 2018): p44.
COPYRIGHT 2018 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
Full Text:
The Girlfriend.
By Sarah J. Naughton.
Mar. 2018.368p. Sourcebooks/Landmark, paper, $15.99 (9781492651246).
Other than the fact that both she and her estranged brother, Abe, hate their parents, Mags can't understand
why Abe would have listed her as next of kin. Sure, she's a fancy Las Vegas attorney, but what good will
that do her as she stands at her brother's bedside in London, looking at his comatose body, broken by a 40-
foot fall. Abe's girlfriend, Jody, would be much better suited to make the decisions that must be made. But
there's something about Jody that doesn't feel quite right. Anonymous notes slipped under Mags' door and a
conversation with Jody's former foster mother make Mags even more suspicious. Naughton parcels out a
revealing backstory eventually, but she is less successful than, say, Ruth Ware or Paula Hawkins at keeping
readers on edge as they wait for answers. Still, there are plenty of satisfying twists here to help scratch the
itch for impatient suspense readers. Naughton, primarily known as a children's author, shows promise in the
ever-expanding field of women-centered suspense.--Karen Keefe
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Keefe, Karen. "The Girlfriend." Booklist, 1 Jan. 2018, p. 44. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A525185606/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=cb78fba2.
Accessed 4 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A525185606
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QUOTE:
It will appeal to teenage readers as a period horror story, but has a point about
ugly human behaviour which sadly still has modern parallels.
Naughton, Sarah: The Blood List
Peter Hollindale
School Librarian.
62.2 (Summer 2014): p121.
COPYRIGHT 2014 The School Library Association
http://www.sla.org.uk/school-librarian.php
Full Text:
Naughton, Sarah
The Blood List
Simon & Schuster, 2014, pp289, 7.99 [pounds sterling]
978 0 85707 866 7
This macabre thriller is set in an imaginary English village and nearby town at the time of the Civil War, in
1646. Apart from a few passing references to the King and Cromwell, however, it is solely concerned with
the period's hysterical fear of witchcraft, and derives from works such as the film Witchfinder General.
Sixteen-year-old Barnaby Nightingale was supposedly replaced at birth by a fairy changeling, and
recovered by his parents in a supernatural night-time exchange. This superstitious nonsense at his birth
pursues him into adolescence, when he becomes the victim (along with several girls and harmless old
women) of his village's fear of witches. Worst of all his enemies is his younger brother Abel (a misnomer if
ever there was one for a sanctimonious and vindictive hypocrite). Barnaby and Naomi, the servant girl who
loves him, narrowly escape with their lives.
This novel is sheer melodrama packed with gruesome (and perhaps gratuitous) physical detail. Although it
strains too hard for its effects, it does give a vivid picture of the superstition, cruelty, and repressive fear of
girls and women, which can overtake religious bigotry, not only in seventeenth-century England, but in
various present-day cultures. It will appeal to teenage readers as a period horror story, but has a point about
ugly human behaviour which sadly still has modern parallels.
Hollindale, Peter
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Hollindale, Peter. "Naughton, Sarah: The Blood List." School Librarian, Summer 2014, p. 121. General
OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A376205609/ITOF?
u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=99b0511f. Accessed 4 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A376205609
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QUOTE:
With some grotesque imagery, this book is not for the faint-hearted. Detailed and
vivid descriptive writing, plus a strong storyline, will pull readers in.
Naughton, Sarah: The Hanged Man Rises
Alison Hurst
School Librarian.
61.2 (Summer 2013): p118.
COPYRIGHT 2013 The School Library Association
http://www.sla.org.uk/school-librarian.php
Full Text:
Naughton, Sarah
The Hanged Man Rises
Simon & Schuster, 2013, pp235, 6.99 [pounds sterling]
978 0 85707 864 3
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
This first novel certainly lives up to its description of 'A creepy supernatural thriller'. The story of Titus and
Hannah, orphaned in the wretched slums of Victorian London, is multi-layered and full of graphic detail.
Together with the children's struggle for survival, the tale of the pursuit and conviction of a notorious child
murderer is played out. The horror of life for London's underclass at that time and the horror of the
continuing murders of children are chillingly conveyed.
There are some annoying, careless typographic errors and I often felt uneasy about the eloquence of Titus.
He is meant to be a bright boy, but with a minimal education, the sophistication of his vocabulary and
sentence structure stretches credulity some way.
This book is intense and includes a narrative strand that involves a child medium who becomes possessed
by the spirits of dead people, particularly evil, dead people. Another protagonist is, unwittingly, taken over
by a malevolent spirit and this has terrifying consequences. There is an unequivocal assumption that such
events have taken place. With some grotesque imagery, this book is not for the faint-hearted. Detailed and
vivid descriptive writing, plus a strong storyline, will pull readers in.
Hurst, Alison
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Hurst, Alison. "Naughton, Sarah: The Hanged Man Rises." School Librarian, Summer 2013, p. 118.
General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A336603968/ITOF?
u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=98255b81. Accessed 4 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A336603968
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QUOTE:
The book has a credible Gothic feel but is still accessible. Something I particularly enjoyed was the historical accuracy.
this stuff never gets in the way of the story, which is intense and unnerving.
The Hanged Man Rises is absolutely great.
The Hanged Man Rises by Sarah Naughton
The Hanged Man Rises by Sarah Naughton
085707864X.jpg
Buy The Hanged Man Rises by Sarah Naughton at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: Teens
Rating: 4/5
Reviewer: Jill Murphy
Reviewed by Jill Murphy
Summary: Dark, creepy, Gothic story of crime and possession set in Victorian London. A super and shivery tale for all those who like things that go bump in the night.
Buy? Yes Borrow? Yes
Pages: 240 Date: February 2013
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 085707864X
Share on: Delicious Digg Facebook Reddit Stumbleupon Follow us on Twitter
2013 Costa Children’s Book Award shortlist
The Wigman is at large, murdering children. You'd think this would be the first concern for Titus Adams, as he's only fifteen, his parents are incorrigible drunks and he has a young sister, Hannah, to look out for. But in London in the late 1800s, there are more pressing concerns than serial killers on the loose. Like how to pay the rent. Like where the next meal is coming from. Like staying out of the workhouse. Like keeping your sister on the right side of the law. Thankfully, Titus has a friend in Inspector Pilsbury. He doesn't arrest Hannah when she's caught with pickpockets. He feeds her and keeps her safe at the station until Titus comes to collect her.
But then, everything goes wrong. Titus's parents die in a fire. And even after the Wigman is arrested, the murders continue. Now everyone is a suspect - even the good inspector himself. If Titus can't find a way to end the killings, he will lose everything...
Ooh, this was a truly creepy story. There's murder and mayhem, spirit possession, and putrid ectoplasm on almost every page. And, set against the murky background of Victorian London, the whole thing has an air of rottenness, against which the fight for good is a hard one. But the good in the story shines very brightly, so we can hold on to hope - always a good thing. Titus is a great central character. He is brave and loyal and intelligent, but he is so taken up with the business of trying to survive that he has no idea of just how great he really is. We love reluctant and unassuming heroes here at Bookbag, and Titus is a perfect example.
The book has a credible Gothic feel but is still accessible. Something I particularly enjoyed was the historical accuracy. There are all sorts of details - from Ragged Schools to bare feet with soles so worn and thick that nails barely penetrate - that build up a vivid picture of what life was really like for London's poor in the nineteenth century. Even better, this stuff never gets in the way of the story, which is intense and unnerving.
This type of traditional Gothic horror is very popular at the moment and if you are a fan, then you'll think The Hanged Man Rises is absolutely great. We certainly did!
If you like Gothic stories, I think you might also enjoy The Undrowned Child by Michelle Lovric, which is set in Venice. And there's also the fantastic The Eyeball Collector by F E Higgins which has a beautifully classical style.
Buy The Hanged Man Rises by Sarah Naughton at Amazon You can read more book reviews or buy The Hanged Man Rises by Sarah Naughton at Amazon.co.uk
Buy The Hanged Man Rises by Sarah Naughton at Amazon You can read more book reviews or buy The Hanged Man Rises by Sarah Naughton at Amazon.com.
QUOTE:
once I finally got to the part which I didn't know about from reading the back of the book, things improved dramatically. As well as it becoming genuinely difficult to guess what would happen, with a stunning, powerful ending which had me changing my mind over what would happen right up until the last chapter or two, Barnaby develops a lot more positive qualities and becomes someone worth cheering for.
The Blood List by Sarah Naughton
The Blood List by Sarah Naughton
0857078666.jpg
Buy The Blood List by Sarah Naughton at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: Teens
Rating: 3.5/5
Reviewer: Robert James
Reviewed by Robert James
Summary: After a dull start this really picks up in the last third. Worth a look for fans of historical fiction.
Buy? Maybe Borrow? Yes
Pages: 304 Date: February 2014
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Books
External links: Author's website
ISBN: 978-0857078667
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In the mid-seventeenth century, the world is filled with tales of witches, murder and changelings. Sixteen-year-old Barnaby is strong and handsome. His father is a wealthy landowner who indulges his desires, and while his mother doesn't love him - believing him to be merely a replacement for her own baby, who the villagers thought was a changeling and who was mysteriously switched - he's popular with everyone else he knows. Until dark happenings start occurring, which will change Barnaby's life - or possibly even end it.
I have several issues with the start of this one, the first being that Barnaby bored the living daylights out of me as a character in the first half or so. He's spoilt, moderately unpleasant, and his best quality is that he's significantly less of an idiot than his brother Abel. Given Abel's a religious maniac, this is hardly a glowing recommendation. It was becoming a slog to get through the book because I couldn't bring myself to care about what happened to him. (To be fair to author Sarah Naughton, a seriously over-descriptive blurb which gave away things that didn't happen until well past the halfway point didn't help here. I felt like I was wading through too many pages just to get to the point where the main, less predictable, part of the story happened. Why do publishers do this?) Similarly the rest of the characters struggle to be fleshed out early on, with Abel a cartoonish villain, their parents rather one-dimensional, and only girls Naomi and Juliet feeling particularly well-rounded.
Having said that, once I finally got to the part which I didn't know about from reading the back of the book, things improved dramatically. As well as it becoming genuinely difficult to guess what would happen, with a stunning, powerful ending which had me changing my mind over what would happen right up until the last chapter or two, Barnaby develops a lot more positive qualities and becomes someone worth cheering for. (It's worth noting that it took me perhaps an hour to read the last 100 pages, after spending five days struggling through the first 180 or so.)
Overall perhaps a mild recommendation on the strength of the last third, especially as Naughton captures her time period and the villagers' beliefs really well. I'll check out her debut The Hanged Man Rises when I get a chance.
I think fans of this one will really enjoy Witch Finder by Ruth Warburton, another mixture of historical fiction and magic.
Buy The Blood List by Sarah Naughton at Amazon You can read more book reviews or buy The Blood List by Sarah Naughton at Amazon.co.uk
QUOTE:
s the plot unfolds I did find myself wondering who was the more reliable narrator, as both women have issues and secrets they would prefer to keep hidden. I do love an unreliable narrator and the author uses this to good effect. The author expertly draws you into her character’s lives, creating tension and layers of suspense as she goes.
Tattletale by Sarah J Naughton #Review
11 Replies
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Book description
The perfect brother. The perfect fiancee. The perfect revenge.
A thriller you won’t be able to predict.
One day changes Jody’s life forever.
She has shut herself down, haunted by her memories and unable to trust anyone. But then she meets Abe, the perfect stranger next door and suddenly life seems full of possibility and hope.
One day changes Mags’s life forever.
After years of estrangement from her family, Mags receives a shocking phone call. Her brother Abe is in hospital and no-one knows what happened to him. She meets his fiancé Jody, and gradually pieces together the ruins of the life she left behind. But the pieces don’t quite seem to fit…
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Tattle Tale by Sarah J Naughton Is a book I nearly gave up on as the first few chapters left me bewildered, the chapters moved between events and characters with no explanation but I persevered and once I had worked out who the characters were in relation to the story it made for a quick and enjoyable read. I’m not going to say much about the plot as I hate spoilers but Abe is lying in a coma and for his sister Mags and fiancée Jody the nightmare is just beginning, what follows is a twisted tale of two damaged women, lies, abuse, and mental health issues.
The two women have disturbing pasts which at times made for a difficult read, (some readers maybe upset by some of the content) although I felt some empathy for Mags and Jody they were difficult characters to like. Both have issues which are evident in their actions, and although they both have very different personalities I couldn’t for the life of me find any endearing qualities in either of them. As the plot unfolds I did find myself wondering who was the more reliable narrator, as both women have issues and secrets they would prefer to keep hidden. I do love an unreliable narrator and the author uses this to good effect. The author expertly draws you into her character’s lives, creating tension and layers of suspense as she goes.
As Mag’s investigates her brothers accident everyone comes under suspicion, as the plot progressed and Mag’s attempts to unravel the truth from the lies, the reader gets a sense of unease and foreboding. I did find myself wondering where the plot was leading, there were a few surprises along the way, a couple of which I guessed. Although I wasn’t prepared for the dark and disturbing turn it took, and although perhaps a little unbelievable it was a suitable and apt ending.
If I’m honest Tattletale is a slow starter, but the author builds on the intrigue and suspense making for an enjoyable read. I thought this was going to be a five star read but unfortunately it didn’t quite meet the mark, because Tattletale is told in short sharp chapters that cut from past to present and character to character, it didn’t read as fluidly as I would have liked. I’m sure there will be plenty of readers who will love this taut psychological thriller, for me it was a throughly enjoyable read but not one I loved.
4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐out of 5
Publisher: Trapeze (23 Mar. 2017)
QUOTE:
For this reader, nothing in TATTLETALE was quite what it seemed, nobody quite who they were supposed to be and everything just slightly worse than you could have hoped it would turn out to be. It was therefore, compelling and frequently discomforting reading.
REVIEW - TATTLETALE, SARAH J. NAUGHTON
HideBook Cover
HideAuthor Information
Author Name:
Sarah J. Naughton
Author's Home Country:
United Kingdom
HidePublication Details
Book Title:
Tattletale
ISBN:
9781409166948
Year of Publication:
2017
Publisher:
Hachette Australia
Publisher Website:
Hachette Australia - Tattletale (link is external)
HideCategories & Groupings
Category:
Crime Fiction
Sub Genre:
Psychological Thriller
Location:
United Kingdom
HideBook Synopsis
Once upon a time, there was a little girl who believed in fairytales. Now she is out to get your happy ending.
One day changes Jody's life forever.
She has shut herself down, haunted by her memories and unable to trust anyone. But then she meets Abe, the perfect stranger next door and suddenly life seems full of possibility and hope.
One day changes Mags' life forever.
After years of estrangement from her family, Mags receives a shocking phone call. Her brother Abe is in hospital and no-one knows what happened to him. She meets his fiance Jody, and gradually pieces together the ruins of the life she left behind.
But the pieces don't quite seem to fit...
HideBook Review
If you happen to find yourself feeling slightly confused and muddled in the early chapters of TATTLETALE - hang in there. It takes a while for everyone and everything in this novel to fall into place, but once they do - hang on for the rest of the ride.
Using an unusual structure, and some really complicated character back-stories, TATTLETALE starts out with Mags receiving an unexpected phone call. Her estranged brother Abe is in hospital back in their native UK, and no-one seems to know what was behind his fall from the 4th floor of the converted church that he, Jody his fiancé and an array of neighbours all have flats within.
Megs feels compelled to head back to the UK, after many years working as a lawyer in the US, for reasons which are complicated and very emotional. It's obvious right from the start that the story of Mags and Abe's childhood is going to be fraught, but it seems that everybody here has similar baggage that they are lumping around. The woman by Abe's bedside - his fiancé Jody has her own troubled past, and she and Mags not only have to find a way to come to terms with Abe's condition, but with each other.
TATTLETALE has an intriguing plot, as Mags tries to find out more about the brother she hardly knows, and the truth behind the fall - was it suicide, an accident or an attempt on his life. All the while the crime may or may not be what happened to Abe. It could be part of the harrowing child sexual abuse and rape stories that are revealed as the narrative continues. It could really be a lot of other possibilities as things progress. One thing that TATTLETALE does particularly well is confuse and bewilder. An emotion the reader is quite free to assume that Mags is experiencing as well.
The character's portrayed are also complex and extremely believable. Mags is prickly, moody and wildly unpredictable at points. She's unsympathetic and yet she's there - at the side of a brother she's not seen for many years. There is much in her background that is revealed as the novel proceeds - and readers are left to decide if those revelations are enough to excuse the difficult persona. Jody is different, almost passive, and obviously profoundly troubled. Her concern and affection for Abe could be touching, or it could be uncomfortably cloying - it's left up to the reader to decide. Even the snippets of Abe's life, prior to the coma, are left open to reader interpretation. It seems he might possibly be hiding something - but whether or not you'll guess what that is before it's revealed is a combination of a keen eye for obscure details and a willingness to extrapolate.
In a novel that's likely to polarise opinions, there are a lot of twists and turns, and a lot of opportunities for the reader to like, dislike, feel sorry for and want to throttle so many of the characters that it becomes quite the roller-coaster ride. For this reader, nothing in TATTLETALE was quite what it seemed, nobody quite who they were supposed to be and everything just slightly worse than you could have hoped it would turn out to be. It was therefore, compelling and frequently discomforting reading.
QUOTE:
The Other Couple was a gorgeously twisted psychological thriller, with a mostly warm, idyllic setting which was lovely considering our British weather right now – unfortunately paradise isn’t quite as wonderful as main protagonist Asha hoped when she embarked on the honeymoon of her dreams with the man of her dreams…
Latest Reads: The Other Couple Sarah J Naughton
By LizLovesBooks | April 8, 2018 | Latest Reads
Publication Date: Available Now from Trapeze
Source: Netgalley
This was meant to be the perfect honeymoon.
A five-star beach resort in Vietnam, with white sands, private villas and world-class cuisine.
A chance for newlyweds Asha and Ollie Graveney to recover from a tragedy that has left them on the verge of collapse.
Except things don’t go as planned.
When Asha wakes up in hospital after a brutal attack, her husband is nowhere to be found.
And paradise has turned into a nightmare…
Having been a huge fan of “TattleTale” I was looking forward to more from Sarah Naughton and I wasn’t disappointed. The Other Couple was a gorgeously twisted psychological thriller, with a mostly warm, idyllic setting which was lovely considering our British weather right now – unfortunately paradise isn’t quite as wonderful as main protagonist Asha hoped when she embarked on the honeymoon of her dreams with the man of her dreams…
I love the way this author writes such great character drama – weaving intriguing and often thought provoking relationships around a rather horrific happening. Asha has married into wealth, the divide between how she thinks and how her never wanting for anything new husband thinks is cleverly done – yet you still feel they could be the perfect couple, if only Ollie wasn’t suddenly acting so strangely…and if only they hadn’t already suffered a tragedy that would tend to tear couples apart…
I was with Asha all the way as she tried to work out what was wrong, her frustration at both Ollie and the fact that even on their honeymoon they are drafted into social interactions with other couples at the resort resonated. The old adage “trust no-one” will serve you well whilst reading this – there are some socially relevant aspects to it that were compelling (bankers anyone?) and after a twist fueled ride to resolution, the author throws in what I hope will become her trademark – the unexpected, not in a necessarily “whodunnit” way ending.
Overall The Other Couple was a great read. Great writing, an atmospheric and unpredictable plot and some great scene setting and characterisation. Loved it.
Recommended.
QUOTE:
As we switch back and forth between the present, the time before the wedding and the honeymoon, dread slowly creeps in, making this story a highly uncomfortable, but very thrilling read. Although Asha doesn’t think Ollie had any enemies, you kind of wonder whether maybe she does, after you find out what happened at her wedding.
The Other Couple by Sarah J. Naughton
Combining foggy memories, alternating timelines between the now and the before and something sinister lurking around the edge of remembering, Sarah J. Naughton weaves a dark mystery that might give you second thoughts about your upcoming summer holiday.
The Other Couple by Sarah J. Naughton
Genres: Mystery, Thriller
Published: 22nd March, 2018
Goodreads | | Amazon UK
Series: N/A
Rating: 4
This was meant to be the perfect honeymoon.
A five-star beach resort in Vietnam, with white sands, private villas and world-class cuisine.
A chance for newlyweds Asha and Ollie Graveney to recover from a tragedy that has left them on the verge of collapse.
Except things don’t go as planned.
When Asha wakes up in hospital after a brutal attack, her husband is nowhere to be found.
And paradise has turned into a nightmare…
Oh, you guys! This was one of those books… I knew pretty much from the first page that I’m in for something something good. I’m usually pretty chill when I’m reading, but I found myself frantically poking at my kindle to turn the pages and find out every little dirty detail.
The author creates suspense with the classic use of “that thing that happened in July“, and similar hints, which I know some of you might not like, but I’m a sucker for it. If it’s done well, that is, and damn it was a pretty stressful read, and I mean it in the best possible way.
Asha and Ollie make a lovely couple. Even though they come from different social backgrounds, their love is strong, and they don’t seem to give a shit about disapproving parents, or Ollie’s banker wanker friends who dislike Asha for seemingly no reason whatsoever, other than not being a pretentious toff like them.
On their honeymoon however, Ollie starts acting weird. The lack of intimacy and his insistence of making friends with other couples at the resort and spending all their time with them is driving Asha nuts. Is Ollie hiding something? The poor woman can’t remember. Barely surviving the attack herself, her memories are questionable.
As we switch back and forth between the present, the time before the wedding and the honeymoon, dread slowly creeps in, making this story a highly uncomfortable, but very thrilling read. Although Asha doesn’t think Ollie had any enemies, you kind of wonder whether maybe she does, after you find out what happened at her wedding.
But why is she still alive?
The Other Couple captures the holiday feeling to the point where you can almost feel the sand under your toes, just so it can throw you in utter desperation to figure out what the actual fuck just happened.
A great book to take to the beach with you. Just watch your back!