Iris Costello

The Story Collector is a triple timeline story set in 1915, 1918 and the present day. In wartime London Katerina is trying to keep her father's bakery going whilst also using her gift for tarot readings to help people, especially the women whose husbands are away fighting. In a German prisoner-of-war camp, researcher Miriam is helping a professor to undertake a linguistics project when she meets mute Prisoner X. And in modern day Cornwall Edie, having fled London after the death of her husband, comes across a box in a cavity in the wall of her cottage which contains some very interesting items indeed.

Despite the 1915 and 1918 timelines being so close to each other in time, they're on a quite different trajectory to each other and for much of the book it's not clear how the three strands are going to be connected. Iris Costello did an amazing job at plotting this book and gradually bringing all the pieces together like a jigsaw puzzle. I loved being kept guessing, trying to work it all out and not quite succeeding. I was just completely along for the ride and loved every minute of it.

For me, this book has everything I want. It has the multiple threads, both historical and modern, family secrets, sweet treats, tarot cards and visions, and a stunning love story. The writing is utter perfection, just so beautifully executed and vivid, and the settings are full of atmosphere, thoroughly transporting me to the different locations. As each chapter ended I was plunged into another time, each as strong and as compelling as the one before it and I was quite simply engrossed from beginning to end. The Story Collector is absolutely glorious, with characters that jump off the page and a long-hidden mystery at its heart. Looking back at my review of The Secrets of Rochester Place, Costello's previous book, I can see I said some very similar things. I loved that book but I loved The Story Collector even more.… (mehr)

The first chapter of The Secrets of Rochester Place really thrilled me. What a brilliant start which set the tone for a whole book of mysteries and revelations! Corinne in the present day timeline is an emergency call handler, taking calls from people in dire situations and talking them through it until the emergency services arrive. A call she gets one particular night is different though. It's from a woman called Mary, asking her to save her daughter who is trapped at Rochester Place but when the emergency services get there there's no sign of Mary…..or the house. Was it a hoax? Corinne is used to them but something feels different this time.

There are two other timelines. One is Mary's diary and the other is that of Teresa, an 8 year old girl fleeing the Spanish Civil War and the bombing of Guernica in 1937. The latter storyline is by far the more detailed and is the stronger of the three, but I did enjoy Corinne's and Mary's stories and the way they all became more and more entwined as the book progressed.

One aspect I particularly liked was Rochester Place itself, a Georgian house in a rural setting right in the middle of a bustling part of London. I love the idea of little pockets with hidden gems like that. The three central women characters were all wonderful, although I perhaps liked Mary most of all because of her strength of character and her kindness.

I thought this was a beautifully written book, plotted to perfection so that all the threads came together skilfully and magnificently. I've read this author's psychological thrillers before (as Nuala Ellwood) and really enjoyed them. This book has a different focus, a historical and family mystery, but the same fantastic writing is in evidence. I hope there will be more in a similar vein from Iris Costello. I absolutely adored finding out The Secrets of Rochester Place.… (mehr)