In 1965, Annie Cradock is a 10 year old girl, living in the quiet village of Muningstock with her strict parents, and spending most of her free time with her best friend and next door neighbour, Babette. When a series of murders rocks the village, and Mrs Clitheroe, a local lady beloved of both Annie and Babette, is a victim, Annie’s world turns upside down.

More than 30 years later, Annie is a music teacher, living in London with her second husband Alan, who wants to move to New York. Annie’s marriage is in trouble, she cannot make up her mind whether to stay in London or move to the USA, and the strange events of 1965, still haunt her. Only when Annie has come to terms with what happened in her past will she be able to face her future.

Annie narrates both the events that happened when she was 10, and the problems which she is facing as an adult, and the narrative cuts between the past and the present.

I quite enjoyed this book, but cannot say that it was one of those occasional, almost magical reads that you fall in love with. I liked the character of Annie, both as an imaginative child, and an intelligent woman, but sometimes I did feel like shaking her and telling her not to be so silly. The author did portray the confused mind of a frightened child very well however, and I preferred the parts of the story that were set in the past more than those set in more recent times.

The mystery of the murders is not fully solved until the end of the book. I won’t give away the ending, but suffice to say that while I was confident that I had worked it all out, the story threw me a curveball, and I was surprised when the story resolved itself.

Despite the subject matter, the book is not a depressing or miserable read. There’s actually a lot of humour within, thanks to Annie’s narration, but while some parts did actually make me laugh out loud, at other times the humour seemed somewhat forced.

So, while this was not a book that set my world alight, there was quite a lot to enjoy in this story. It’s a book that I liked, but which I doubt would make any lasting impression in my memory. ( )

It is the summer of 1965. Annie Cradock, the only child of exacting parents who run the village school, is an imaginative girl with a head full of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. Annie whiles away the school holiday with her friends: Ollie the rag-and-bone man (and more importantly his dog); the beautiful piano-playing Mrs Clitheroe who turns Beethoven into boogie-woogie (and like Annie sees music in colour); and Annie's best friend Babette - streetwise, loyal, and Annie's one solid link with common sense. But everything changes when the village is rocked by a series of murders and the girls know something they've no intention of telling the police. In the present day, adult Annie is a successful singing coach in a stifling marriage. Her ambitious American husband, impatient with his quirky wife, is taking a job in New York - but is she staying with him? As Annie struggles with her future, she first has to come to terms with the bizarre events of 1965.

My Thoughts:

Just a quick review for this book.

I have suffered this book to page 184, and that was only because husband was watching Chelsea on tv and I didn’t want to start a new book as I had one to pick up from the library.

This book was ridiculous and irrated me. It was funny in places but then the humour wore off.

Another rubbish read for book group I’m afriad. ( )

Shelved by W H Smith along with the chicklit, heaven knows why. The voice in this reminded me of 'Behind the Scenes at the Museum'. A convincing child’s eye view of a grown-up world that’s completely beyond understanding, and an interesting, flawed adult perspective. ( )