Gareth Rubin

Interesting pair of linked novellas where the physical book is turned over to read the other one: a work apparently referred to as a tete-beche. The blue side (cover) is set in the late 19th century, about a doctor Simeon Lee, who is called to examine a distant relation, a parson called Oliver Hawes, who believes he is being poisoned. On arrival at the remote house, on a small island off the coast of Essex, linked by a causeway to the mainland at one end and a larger island on the other, he discovers that Oliver is in charge of Florence, his sister-in-law who was implicated in the death of the parson's brother. She apparently threw a heavy object at him which cut him on the cheek, and the wound subsequently became infected. It is implied that she also did other things, resulting in her incarceration behind a wall of glass in the large upstairs library. This was the alternative than sending her to an unpleasant lunatic asylum.

Gradually, Simeon discovers that there is more behind this story than Oliver admits. It's a very murky story of opium dens and other ills of the period including the subservient position of women. The motif of a book that can be read in two ways features in the story itself, when Simeon reads a book which is, at one end, a story set in the then-future of 1938 and in California, and at the other an incriminating journal. I did find the ending odd in that Simeon had destroyed one piece of evidence, and they were talking about destroying the journal, when surely those could have been used to exonerate Florence.

The other (red cover) end of the book is the story set in California in 1938 when Oliver Tooke, celebrated author and son of the state governor, befriends a young man called Ken Kourian. When Oliver is murdered, Ken sets out to discover the killer and finds his own life in jeopardy. The solution involves the story in the 'blue' half of the book, in which Oliver has placed various clues. I must admit to guessing the big twist quite a bit before the end. I also found the scene where the police nearly murder Ken in a jail cell not terribly convincing as there didn't seem to be a reason for going so far.

One distraction for me was the name Simeon Lee immediately conjured up the association with the character of the same name in 'Hercule Poirot's Christmas' by Agatha Christie. The writing was creaky in places - I especially found parson Oliver's journal unconvincing. On the positive side, the non-stop action of the California segment resembled a 1930s pot-boiler crime novel in contrast to the slow burn of the tale in Victorian England. Despite that it seemed the 'real' story and the Victorian one the pastiche by Oliver Tooke.

On balance, I would award this four stars. I'd like to thank the publishers and author for a free copy of the hardcover obtained in a giveaway.… (mer)

In the Republic of the United Kingdom in 1952 the people work hard to support the communist ideals that they are exposed to. Jane Cawson is married to a doctor who deals with members of the Party and who has a glamorous ex-wife. Suspecting her husband of cheating on her with his ex, Jane goes to her house and finds her dead. Her husband is arrested and Jane starts to unravel the secret deals that he is involved with, deals that are treachery to the State but which also involve influential politicians. Naive Jane and a supportive police officer realise what is going on but can they prove anything?
The best part of this book is the setting. Rubin has imagined an alternative ending to the Second World War where D-Day was a failure and the Russians managed to reach Britain. London is segregated by a 'Berlin Wall' and Britain is the former Germany. This is very well done and creatively imagined. Beyond that the book is a fairly decent period thriller.… (mer)

I was in the mood for something frivolous after plodding through Book 3 of Kristin Lavransdatter, and I succumbed to impulse buying when I saw this book on the stands in the bookshop at Palmerston North.
The premise, an alternative history of postwar Britain, could have worked really well.
But alas, it's a very silly book. The plot is an awful muddle of completely unbelievable events, tangled into a plot that's hard to follow (if, that is, the reader can be bothered to invest time in trying). In a book with multiple flaws, the biggest one is that Rubin chose to narrate the book through a female character, and he doesn't seem to have any idea about how women think and behave.
I came to the conclusion that the author wrote it because he was a bit alarmed by the popularity of Jeremy Corbyn's 'democratic socialism' and wanted to show his idealistic adherents what they would be letting themselves in for. The central character Jane believes the Soviet rhetoric about a fairer society with better housing, free health care and education, but as the plot progresses and she witnesses the privileges, the corruption, and the excessive power that the Soviet leadership has, lo! she realises that it's not a utopia after all.
I left the book in the airport lounge at Napier.… (mer)