Anthea Fraser

Rating: 3.5* of five

The Publisher Says: When Rona Parish is asked to write the biography of an acclaimed thriller writer who drowned in unusual circumstances, is she diving into danger?

Biographer Rona Parish is exhausted after finishing her latest project on Arthur Conan Doyle, but her hope for a break between jobs is dashed when the wife of late bestselling thriller writer, Theo Harvey, asks her to write his biography.

Theo Harvey drowned mysteriously six months ago. No one knows why . . show more .

Theo’s inexplicable death six months ago left many unanswered questions. Why did he retreat from the limelight six years ago, only to reappear three years later and produce two outstanding, if much darker, novels? And what is the truth behind his mysterious drowning? Rona Parish is determined to uncover the truth behind his death, but at what cost?

Intrigued, and with her golden retriever Gus by her side, Rona starts to piece together the author’s life. But someone doesn’t want her to uncover Theo’s secrets. And they’ll go to any lengths to make sure they stay hidden . . .

A page-turning cosy mystery set in the fictional English market town of Marsborough in the stunning Chiltern Hills.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.

My Review: First published twenty years ago, this supremely cozy, very definitely page-turning first-in-series mystery introduces a biographer sleuth...first time I've run into that one!...with a happily unconventional home life, a tidy income from her main career, and a bottomless well of curiosity. It felt to me like a story, and is told in a style, from sixty years ago.

I do not intend an insult with this statement of an observation.

Gender politics will derail any discussion of why I personally find myself squicked out by stalkery behavior. The cultural conversation about this behavior was only just getting started back then, so I can't really point a shaming finger at it; just something I myownself find unpleasant to read. This book, like some of the ones we labeled "romantic" many decades ago, valorizes some things I characterize as really stalkery behavior. That's a very big nope from me. I get it, in the sense that, at a point near the end of the story, the plot really needed something to happen at precisely that juncture. Why the other something that was in already set in motion by a different character and was, in fact, in progress and that occurs with near simultaneity wasn't enough for the author only she knows. A choice she made that I was appalled by, and it really caused me to reassess the prior appearances of the stalkery character in a much less flattering (to the author) light.

A trope that just won't die is the villain infodump. There is one of these at the end. I really rolled my eyes so hard I saw my brain as the guilty party settles in for a cozy chat with people whose murders are essential to the sociopath's happy getaway. The sociopaths I've known wouldn't be that careless. This is, from their point of view, a necessary act not to be lingered over because the risk to them getting away with their awful decision decrease with every delay or diversion from its accomplishment. I've never known a stupid sociopath.

The age of the story shows in multiple ways, eg the fact that Rona goes to her publisher's office and hands him an envelope with a printed version of an article she's submitting. Wow, does that take me back...no one even five years later would conceptualize this as a possibility! It's actually a bit wistfully charming. It dates events, but that's not necessarily bad...just a passing note for informative purposes.

The series character's world is most charmingly set up, and I would absolutely love to live in that village. I would be seriously surprised if a revelation that genuinely shocked me regarding Rona's twin wasn't going to loom large in a future installment. The changing technology of the day wasn't ignored, because Rona does look up the subject of her proposed biography on the Internet (still capitalized back then) and discusses what she's found with the subject's widow. Rona also notes the biography subject's lack of a computer to the widow. So it became even more odd in my eyes that she submitted her article on paper.

There is an instance of an animal being harmed, but it is set up so that the event, while bad, doesn't kill the animal in question. It is used, I felt, gratuitously, though it's later revealed to have been the last straw for the one committing the harmful act. It fell short of my slam-the-book-shut threshold because it's clear there's not going to be fatal outcome very soon after it occurs.

What I most want to convey to you is how high my hopes were set up, and then to be let down by the issues I've detailed above was a deep disappointment. There was every reason to think I'd found a ten-book series that's clearly complete (the most recent was published in 2017) to dive into.

Unfortunately that's not to be. I don't care to risk my own money on books that bid fair to repeat these kinds of unwelcome to me tropes. show less

2.5 ⭐

It has been fifteen years since the bodies of Charles and Saran Drummond were discovered in their home with their two young daughters, Abby and Mia, asleep upstairs. It was presumed that Charles had strangled Sarah before stabbing himself to death. The children were taken in by their grandparents who promptly relocated, changed the girls’ surnames to avoid public attention and told them that their parents died in a car crash.

But now, after a freak accident at work Mia starts getting show more flashbacks from her childhood – memories similar to the one her sister Abby has been experiencing. When their grandmother finally shares the truth about what happened to their parents, it is evident that their memories are from that fateful night. When a journalist spots the girls’ grandmother at a seniors’ hotel, the renewed interest in the case fuels the search for new facts and witness statements.

The narrative takes us back and forth between past and present and as the story progresses we get to know the events that led to the night of Charles’ and Sarah’s death. What truly happened that night? Is their parents’ killer still out there? Are Abby and Mia in danger?

Tendrils of the Past by Anthea Fraser has all the components for a gripping thriller – a heinous crime and suppressed memories, secrets and lies and a multitude of characters who are connected to the crime and/or the perpetrator. The writing is good and I liked how the author creates a complex web of connected characters. Unfortunately, this story held absolutely no suspense for me. The culprit was rather obvious from early on and the twist at the end was predictable ( if you follow the narrative carefully), there wasn’t much of a pursuit for the perpetrator till the last quarter of the novel and the ending was convenient and gives no satisfaction whatsoever. I had hoped for a gripping and suspenseful read but was more than a tad disappointed with this one.

Many thanks to Severn House and NetGalley for the digital review copy of this novel. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. This book is due for release on January 03, 2023. show less

Tendrils of the Past by Anthea Fraser is a recommended domestic drama.

The bodies of Sarah and Charles Drummond are discovered while their two daughters, Abby and Mia, are asleep upstairs. It appears that Charles killed Sarah before taking his own life. Cicely Fairfax, the girl's grandmother, whom they go to live with after their parents demise, makes sure the incident is never discussed. She tells the girls their parents died in a car accident. When Mia falls at work and hits her head, she show more has flashbacks from the night her parents died. Abby and Mia begin to share their memories, and talk to Cicely and their uncle, while attempting to uncover the truth of what really happened.

The narrative alternates between the point-of-view of Sarah fifteen years ago and the present day. The girls are still close to their former nanny, Nina, who has some insight into their past. Once the girls begin to talk about their memories, they begin to realize that the answer the police came up with may not be the truth.

The writing is good in this domestic drama that moves along at a fast pace due to the limited page count. The characters are portrayed in a realistic manner and as individuals in both time periods. There aren't any great surprises, thrills or suspense in the novel, but the clues are there to solve the crime, which makes for an acceptable mystery. Following the clues, events of the past, and the memories of Abby and Mia makes for an entertaining mystery and a good way to pass an evening.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Severn House via NetGalley. show less

In this cozy mystery, biographer Rona Parish has been asked to write a biography of artist Elspeth Wilding. She accepts the commission but is worried that, because Wilding has been missing for eighteen months, she might get involved in another crime investigation. Is the biography intended as a ploy to have the disappearance investigated or to create interest in the artist and raise the value of her paintings? It's an implausible story that side-tracks a lot to fill in for the fact that show more nothing much happens. Skip this one. show less