Charlotte Grimshaw

STARLIGHT PENINSULA is about a young woman who, after the breakdown of her marriage, looks back at her life. Particularly to the time when her first real love, Arthur died. Needless to say there's much about this that is reflective, bordering sometimes on melancholy. To match that mood, the location fits perfectly. Eloise Hay lives on the Starlight Peninsula, in Auckland, an odd combination of modern housing and windswept marsh, occupied yet strangely deserted and isolated, it's a quiet show more place, the sort of place that somebody could love to be in, and yet find it's atmosphere overwhelming.

Personal crisis however does not overwhelm all of her life and Eloise, who works in the media supporting a news team of celebrity newsreaders and journalists, has plenty of external things to distract from her own life mess. Those distractions will ring bells with those who follow the daily news - from the larger than life "dotcom" internet hacker who is wanted by the United States, to a prime minister battling poor polls in the face of calls for removal.

In an interesting twist, there's absolutely nothing in STARLIGHT PENINSULA for the longest time that gives the reader any hints on where all this is heading. Because Eloise's focus is backwards for a lot of the time - reflecting back to Arthur's death, the police investigation, and his poking around in others personal lives, the forward connections are a mystery. Everything floats gently on waves of the day-to-day - contact with old friends and long-fought family battles and interactions, occasionally enlivened with something new - a new neighbour, something slightly unexpected at work, something weird in the house, scattered like breadcrumbs on a trail for the very keen eyed.

Which overall adds up to STARLIGHT PENINSULA actually being very clever. Passive people, passive situations and oddly disconnected pathways are combined with sparse and elegant storytelling to expand a central character who on the face of it shouldn't engage. But within that sense of ennui there's something unexpectedly compelling. As passive and drifting as she may be, the way that she drinks too much, avoids decisions and any form of personal resolution, or much in the way of actual action, she's also quite possibly completely unreliable. Needless to say, something about Eloise and her situation might not be what it seems, and that's mesmerising. Which made STARLIGHT PENINSULA the most difficult book to put down for quite a while.

http://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/review-starlight-peninsula-charlotte-grim... show less

When Frances's daughter Maya fails to make contact with her mother for several weeks. Frances becomes worried, but then Frances is a worrier.
Maya was living and working in London with her boyfriend Joe, when communication ceases. Frances is unable to make contact and after discovering her ex, Nick in her home she flees. She seeks out Joe's mother and then impulsively heads to London. Frances is a writer and uses the cover of researching her new novel. She is soon joined by Mazarine, Joe's show more mother. The women's search takes them to Paris and then South America. Their are political implications which adds to the mounting tensions.The two women develop a romantic relationship. The author creates many doubts in the readers mind as to the stability of Frances's mental health and I felt much was unresolved at the close of this novel. Was Nick following her across continents or was this a reflection of her own paranoia? The search is resolved but the unreliable first person narrator was hard to like. show less

This is a satirical book on the New Zealand political scene. I believe the author to have based the character of David Hallwright on New Zealand's present Prime Minister, John Key. The setting is mainly the Prime Minister's holiday home on the coast where a select group of friends and political allies enjoy his hospitality. Dr Simon Lampton and his family are among this group. They are there because their adopted daughter Elke is the natural daughter of the Prime Minister's wife, Roza. show more Initially, all seems harmonious but Simon realises the ulterior motives that are at play in their relationship with the Hallwright's. The story ramps up a notch when Simon is contacted by a young journalist about a secret affair he had had with a young woman a few years earlier. Simon is aware that revelation of this could have a negative impact on all of them.
I believe the author has cleverly highlighted the social and political lifestyle of a stratum in our society and although not always agreeing with Simon's chosen path of behaviour, his anxiety level is almost palpable as he endeavours to manipulate the situation to avoid exposure. I even felt empathy for this character and his family. Most of the characters are portrayed in an unpleasant light and it certainly gives the reader food for thought about the political machinations and aspirations of our present day leaders.
I am off to see the availability of this books predecessor, The Night Book and will keep watch for the obvious sequel. show less

This is the first in a trilogy about David Hallwright's rise to power as the New Zealand Prime Minister. I was drawn to read this having read the second book, which I am now rereading before completing the series. The book focuses on the people behind and around the man. Their desire to bask in the reflected limelight and in the case of his wife, not. The book is loosely based on the recently retired Sir John Key - there doesn't appear to be any similarities between the wives.
I have equally show more enjoyed this first book, which gives you pause for thought on the personal toll on all those involved. show less