The best popular fiction to round off January: SIX POPPIES by Lisa Carter, NESTING By
SIX POPPIES by Lisa Carter (Michael Joseph £16.99, 400pp)
A WARM, emotional roller-coaster of a read for this cold and miserable time of year. Nurse Sarah and soldier Carl first lock eyes in Camp Bastion, Afghanistan.
They fall for each other on the spot but Sarah is with another soldier, Danny, and, therefore, off limits. Four years later, back in the UK, the wedding of two Army colleagues reunites them.
The connection is as strong as ever, but poor Danny is now struggling with PTSD and Sarah can’t bring herself to leave him, tempted though she is.
Carl, by contrast, moves to (a beautifully evoked) Yorkshire, starts a dog-walking business and copes with his traumatic past by having a poppy tattooed for each fallen comrade.
During his sessions at the parlour he reflects upon each friend lost, and what happened to them, as well as upon the woman he still hopes to win: Sarah, stuck in Cardiff with the now-violent Danny. They should be together, but how?
This small cast and the ties that bind them are powerfully conveyed as the story moves between Carl and Sarah and between Camp Bastion and the present. We experience all the camaraderie and danger of army life, but also delve into the soldiers’ backgrounds, the ordinary places and people they come from.
Lisa Carter has a real gift for creating sympathetic characters; you root for practically everyone in this novel. Cherub and Jenni, the cheerful, capable couple who look out for everyone else, were my favourites. But the predicament of
Danny is shown with understanding too. Everyone is in the grip of forces bigger than themselves.
But there’s love and friendship among the sadness, like poppies among the stones. Tragedy and difficulty are interwoven with the will they, won’t-they dance of Sarah and Carl’s relationship. I adored this sweepingly romantic debut.
Sweeping love story born in hell of war
NESTING By Roisin O’Donnell (Scribner £16.99, 400pp)
I loved this brilliant debut about breaking free from a toxic partner.
Ciara, a pregnant mother of two, has been abused for years by controlling husband Ryan.
When, finally, she escapes, she is homeless and dependent on Dublin’s social services.
In emergency hotel accommodation she makes sustaining friendships. But ruthless Ryan is closing in, scheming to get the children.
This ever-present threat makes for compelling drama, as does the struggle for survival at the bottom of the social heap.
Here’s hoping for a sequel.
THE CLEANER By Mary Watson (Penguin £16.99, 400pp)
To the wealthy family she works for, new housekeeper Esmie is a treasure.
She’s submissive, efficient and from some distant country they can’t quite pinpoint.
But Esmie isn’t really here to clean at all. One of her pampered employers destroyed her beloved brother’s life.
She has vowed to find out whom and avenge him. Will she discover the culprit before they unmask her? And what other sleazy secrets are being kept?
A heart-thumping thriller packed with exciting twists.