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Performance
Overall
Excellent, Unforgettable, Best of the nest
Very good, thoroughly enjoyed,
Good, Solid, Enjoyed many aspects
STAR RATINGS GUIDE
A Heady, Toxic Web of Secrets: Peak Jewell
THE BIRDICT
🧡 There is something about communal gardens. A place where kids have more independence than they normally would. And Jewell smartly weaves a tale that takes this to the extreme.
💚 Jewell is a master of character creation.Each one is complex and authentic, but - and this is where she excels - they evoke polarising views. The homeschooling mum trying to shield her daughters from the world. The tragic femme fatale, The grimy old mysoginist. Each one gives the reader a stake in the story. A team to root for, or against.
💜 I’m not a fan of the child perspective woven throughout. Pip is a bit grating. But I almost think that's the point.
SQUAWKING THE TALK
🎧 NOTE: As I write, the version I listened to is no longer available on Audible. A new version is due out on 17 March 2022. Narrators not yet confirmed.
🎧 A really engaging listen. Easy to follow and brilliant narration by Gabrielle Glaister. She’s particularly suited for the characters of the two mums in the story, but is excellent throughout. I’m a Glaister fan generally from her work on the Why Mummy Drinks series.
BIRDS OF A FEATHER: SIMILAR AUDIOBOOKS
The ending. Hmmm. On one hand, answers were revealed. But I didn’t like the perpetrators going unpunished.
Click For Spoilers
The Girls
THE BLURB
You live on a picturesque communal garden square, an oasis in urban London where your children run free, in and out of other people’s houses.
You’ve known your neighbours for years and you trust them. Implicitly.
You think your children are safe.
But are they really?
Midsummer night: a thirteen-year-old girl is found unconscious in a dark corner of the garden square. What really happened to her? And who is responsible?
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