Lucy Clarke (1)

I needed something fast to read and entertaining and this book completely worked. In [The Hike], four friends vacation in Norway for a four day challenging hike over a mountain. They have been friends since high school and meet up every year for a vacation together. They are, of course, all dealing with large life events, which makes the book interesting.

As they hike, the book becomes a thriller. They have to combat the terrain, the weather, and stumble upon a mystery that puts them all in show more danger. I thought Clarke did a great job of creating fun characters and relationships and putting them in a situation that enhance the character building she was doing. I'd definitely read more by her when I'm looking for a diversion. show less

Looking at the elements of 'No Escape', it should have been a five-star read. A prologue that starts the book with a body in the water. A mystery disclosed over two intercut timelines Now and Then where the Now is in crisis and who, if anyone, survived is unknown and you know the Then is doomed even before you have any idea of why. Secrets on boar. Beautiful people in a gorgeous location living a life away from care. Two young worsen, best friends since childhood, escape from their cares in show more the UK and reinvent themselves on a gorgeous yacht, All of which is spiced up by deadly violence, betrayals of trust, a covert romance and crewmates with dark pasts and deep secrets.

Despite all that, I nearly set this book aside a couple of times and, although I finished it, I found it unsatisfying, like a sponge cake that hasn't risen properly where knowing what it could have been only deepens your disappointment.

So what was it that didn't work?

irstly, the pace: it drags at times. I felt the book could have been a third shorter. I could see that information was being held back to create suspense but it just made me want to get one with things. The narrative seemed to me to meander rather than move forward.

Secondly, the main characters, Lana and Kitty, were not very interesting. They were two slightly shallow young women who ran away from their lives: Kitty because she likes to party and be where Lana is and Lana because -boo hoo- her daddy lied to her - how unbearably sad is that? OK, maybe I'm lacking a little empathy here, but if The Blue had been my boat, neither one of them would have been invited to join the crew. The problem for me was that the story is told from Lana's point of view and I was clearly meant to share her joy and pain, not be sitting there wondering when she would grow up.

Thirdly, too much of what makes the plot work is disclosed in a confessional rush in the final chapters. I thought it was a clever and plausible plot that got buried under Lana's overwrought angst and then suffered from being disclosed as a tell rather than a show.

Still, I'm sure it will make a good TV mini-series for Paramount+: beautiful locations, beautiful people, a little sex, a little violence, secrets and lies. With the right director and camera work, it should be fun. show less

Oh, you're going to want to get your hands on a copy of Lucy Clarke's new novel - One of the Girls. It's a fantastic read!
Six women head off to an isolated villa in Greece. Bella, one of the six has arranged for a bachelorette party in anticipation of Lexi's wedding. Robyn, Ana, Fen and Eleanor round out the six.

One of the six (we don't know which) acts as a narrator for some short italicized inserts between some chapters. The foreshadowing in those short missives just fueled the fire for show more me.

"We all had different reasons for being there. But one of us - well, she had a very specific reason for saying yes to the hen weekend. The problem was, none of us realized until it was too late."

On the surface, the relationships between the women are good - old friends meet new, memories are recounted, new ones are being made and more. But there are undercurrents, tendrils that have been hidden, but are slowly but inexorably making their way to the surface. Planting roots and changing how the dynamic of the women changes. Incidents from the past, suspicions, jealousy. Revenge perhaps?

Clarke has done an amazing job creating her characters. I could mentally see each one very clearly in my mind. Their thinking and actions ring true and are very believable. I know who I liked and who I would avoid in real life. Each player is given a voice with their own chapters.

And this is where the unravelling begins. Those tendrils start winding themselves together. The connections were ingenious and surprising. I really enjoyed being got off guard. I hadn't imagined the ending at all and truly thought things would play out a different way. But, I was quite satisfied with how things turned out.

Clarke's prose are effortless and make for addictive reading. And easy five stars to One of the Girls. show less

"People go travelling for two reasons: because they are searching for something, or they are running from something."

That quote is an excellent introduction to Lucy Clarke's novel - Swimming at Night.

The opening pages introduce us to Katie - who has just received news that her younger sister Mia is dead. Mia took off six months ago to travel the world. The police say she committed suicide in Bali, but Katie cannot accept that verdict. When the police return Mia's backpack, Katie discovers show more Mia's travel journal inside. Impulsively, she decides to travel in Mia's footsteps, hoping to find some answers.

Clarke tells the story of these two sisters in alternating chapters. This format consistently grabs me - I always want to read just another chapter to see what happens next.

Clarke explores relationships in Swimming at Night - friends and lovers but most significantly - that of the sisters. Each sister remembers their childhood, their growing up years and their relationship as adults. Katie is the sensible, stable sister - Mia is the wild child. With every chapter, Clarke drops a few more hints as to what triggered the rift between the two.

"She hadn't told him about the terrible argument she's had with Mia. She hadn't told him of the hateful, shameful things she'd said. She hadn't told him about the anger and hurt that had been festering between them for months. She hadn't told Ed any of this because there are some currents in a relationship between sisters that are so dark and run so deep, it's better for the people swimming on the surface never to know what's beneath."

Excerpts from Mia's journal exposes even more - lies, secrets, hopes, dreams and - more clues as to what really happened to Mia.

I'm sure Clarke must have a sister - her exploration of this often complicated dynamic rings true. Both of the sister's narratives were equally compelling and well written. Certainly, I stopped more than once to consider my own relationship with my own sister. Clarke is an avid traveller herself and this showed in the lush descriptions of settings of Australia and Bali. Water is used very effectively as a metaphor for many aspects of the sister's relationship.

Definitely a recommended read - and especially for book clubs show less