Julia Crouch

Ever read a novel where the 'protagonist' is just so horrifically obnoxious that you hope they will soon suffer an inventive and drawn out demise? That was me with Rose Cunningham, the saggy housewife who finds her dull domestic existence taken over by her creepy and cadaverous best friend Polly. The first half of the novel reminded me of the daytime TV show Escape to the Country, where pretentious city 'bankers' decide they would like to invest obscene amounts of money in a rural retreat, show more but never buy anything because their demands are so ridiculous and contrary, like a spacious cottage or modern period features. Rose the drippy housefrau and her 'troubled' husband Gareth the 'cerebral artist' would be right at home on that programme, raising chickens and popping out in the people carrier to Waitrose. (Rose actually has a 'special wicker basket' for shopping at the farmers' market, so she feels like a proper 'village woman'!) I was sort of glad when Polly the drug-raddled, skinny and self-absorbed 'heroin' appeared on the scene to destroy the dream.

Crass characters and product placement aside, Julia Crouch's debut novel is a fast-paced and strangely engrossing read - I got through the whole sorry saga in a day. Rose, Gareth and Polly also carry enough 'emotional baggage' to save any of them from complete lifelessness - Rose is a born victim, which goes some way to explaining the monumentally stupid decisions she keeps making, like trusting Polly again and again, and Gareth has issues from the start, so nobody really notices him getting stranger under Polly's spell. And even though the dialogue is trite, Crouch injects just enough middle-class realism into her writing to make the story convincing.

Really, though, what spurred me on towards the end was hoping that either Rose would get some sense knocked into her - stop drinking and take better care of your children, woman! - or meet a satisfyingly sticky end. The sudden switches in her personality from capable mum to paranoid victim and back to resourceful heroine made my head spin, but hoping that she would learn her lesson was too much to expect. The final chapters were equally random, including a flying visit to Brighton and my favourite use of caps, 'SHOPPING AT WAITROSE'. As Rose herself says, 'We've all been idiots. It's like we're making it up as we go along'.

The messy ending also left me with a few unanswered questions, like what did they find down the drain if not the cat, what happened to the replacement kitten, and is what Gareth did to Rose in bed even physically possible? If she was that accommodating, then no wonder he wanted to jump Polly's protruding bones! show less

When I sat down to start reading Julia Crouch's debut novel I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. The synopsis appears to give you an idea of what the book is but as you get drawn deeper and deeper within the book the plot almost seems to swallow you in. I found that the further into the book I got the harder it was to put down, I was more and more gripped with the more I read.

The major characters are all really well written. I found them to be very three dimensional, no character was all show more good or all bad. I loved that it was written from Rose's perspective, I found that when she was wondering about what was going on I was wondering too. Within in this I liked the fact it was written in the third person rather than the first - for me this helped to build the suspense.

Cuckoo feels very realistic as you read it. I think it taps into the world of friendship so well, most people will find thoughts that resonate with how they've felt about a friendship in the past. I think the fact it is so believable makes it all the more creepy. There are twists and turns throughout the book, but the ending still managed to blow me away. This was a book that stayed with me for days, I kept catching my thoughts wandering back to it.

If this is what Julia Crouch writes for a debut novel I'm very excited to see what's going to come next. show less

Cuckoo tells the story of Rose, a woman who seems to have it all. She’s put a difficult past behind her, and has worked hard to build her perfect life. She has her husband, two children she adores, and the country house she’s always dreamed of.

This life is soon interrupted by a call from Greece, when her best friend Polly calls to say her husband has died. Rose immediately invites her to stay with them, against her own husband’s wishes, but has she made a big mistake?

Polly is obviously show more very troubled, and whilst they seem complete opposites, they obviously shared a troubled past, and there are very close ties.. although some of those ties appear to include subtle blackmail!

Rose’s life gradually falls apart.. her baby becomes ill, her husband becomes distant, then Rose herself falls ill. Just how much of this is being caused by Polly is unclear.. and for me, that’s the genius of this book. The whole story is told purely from Rose’s point of view, and we are never shown what others are truly doing or thinking. This means we share with her every step of her uncertainty, confusion, and growing fear.

Cuckoo is a dark, unsettling read. As Rose’s life spirals out of control, you share every step. It’s very hard to put down, and has stayed with me since finishing. It’s a brilliant debut, which is highly recommended. show less

The Surprise Party by Julia Crouch is a highly recommended spin on a locked room murder mystery taking place on a Greek island.

Eve and her husband Will are taking a two week vacation to Loutrò, the Greek island village where they went for their honeymoon. They are there to celebrate her fiftieth birthday, but Eve wants to take this opportunity to tell Will something important she has needed to tell him for years and now is the time. Much to her chagrin, the next day the ferry arrives with show more her family and friends aboard. Will has apparently planned a surprise party for her and now her secret must wait.

Poppy, a young A&E doctor met Eve and Will on the ferry to the island and had dinner with the two that night. She is there with a secret of her own. Now she also gets pulled into the family's celebration and the murder investigation that follows. It is clear that almost everyone loves Eve but not so much each other.

Events move a little slowly at the beginning of this spin on a locked room murder mystery. Once the murder takes place, all the suspects are on the island and must stay there. Conveniently, Poppy speaks Greek and as a doctor helps the police, both as a translator and medically. This was just a bit too convenient, but easy to accept as the conflicts between family members explode. Once the pace picks up and the action and plot twists begin to happen the pages will fly by.

Characters in the novel are more caricatures of different types of people. Some are written to be disagreeable and some are likable. Eve and Poppy are the two narrators who share their points-of-view in the novel and are both likable characters. Will is a complete jerk right from the start and, along with the other characters that are clearly written to be disagreeable, readers will clearly expect poor behavior from all of them.

This is an entertaining locked-room murder mystery that explores the relationship between a mother and her children. 3.5 rounded up. Thanks to Bookouture for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.
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