The Engagements - J. Courtney Sullivan

From the moment I picked up this book I was hooked. It is beautifully written and each chapter is a different character which is a structure I love. The book primarily is all about the concept of marriage and the all important engagement ring. You are transported through time and through different eras, learning about the different attitudes to marriage as well as learning in detail the 5 characters which have been chosen to tell this evolving concept.

As you are reading each chapter, you can tell that J. Courtney Sullivan has conducted an awful lot of research into a variety of areas to enable her to add credence to her notions. I was aware while reading, the passion Sullivan has for her writing and also the subject she had chosen. The characters are lovingly developed and the twists of each story are wonderfully delivered.

However, like most books which are about love and marriage, the story of some of the characters were predictable but this was contradicted brilliantly by the developments that Sullivan had carefully woven into the stories which you did not expect.

Not to be cliché or cheesy but this book had me gasping in shock, laughing out loud and, more importantly, it made me question whether marriage is really as important as it used to be. I guess this is Sullivan’s aim; to draw attention to the evolution of marriage and how future generations may feel about such an old tradition in comparison to what previous generations believed.

As cliché as it is, I could not put the book down and found the entire 379 pages to be an absolute delight. It is a book I will read again and again and would recommend it to anyone who is in need of a pick-me-up.

Although cheesy in places, this book will provide you with information regarding marriage and the production of the diamonds in those all important engagement rings that you never knew before. It will also open your eyes to the other options you have in relation to marriage. Sullivan even dares to go as far as discussing gay marriage which I commend highly and this added a higher level of respect for the up and coming writer.

As previously stated, Sullivan’s writing style is beautiful and will keep you captivated until you suddenly realise the book is about to end. 

What are your thoughts?

Thank you for reading my review.

Next book review: "The Secret Keeper - Kate Morton"

The Evil Within - Trevor Marriott

This was one of the first books I bought when my interest in Serial Killers increased whilst at University. With time constraints, I never quite got around to reading it..... until now.

If you are new to the area of Serial Killers then this is a perfect choice as it is the basic overview of some of the most famous serial killers throughout history as well as introducing some other serial killers who are less well known. Trevor Marriott is a retired murder squad detective who appears to have an aim of assessing whether the relevant police forces involved with capturing the killers could have done more in each case. This is certainly the case when he describes The Yorkshire Ripper.

The book is split into countries and Marriott investigates each country in turn. Each country has a number of serial killers and therefore reads like an encyclopaedia. This makes the book easy to put down and return to if you live a busy life. Obviously the USA and the UK have the most pages included as these countries have had more cases of known serial killers.

Marriott writes in a very methodical way and details each case in all of their gruesome details. He describes each killer in minute detail including their childhoods and even continues after they were caught, giving a well rounded view of what happened. It was interesting to learn what happened to them after they were arrested and also the way the court proceedings occurred.

This book got rather tiresome, however, as the way he describes the cases are too methodical and, for me, I needed a bit more regarding the psychological make up of the individual and not just the history. The book is a perfect reference document for those who may be studying criminology and need to know details about a case quickly. However, with my knowledge of certain cases, notably The Moors Murders and others, I noticed that there were some details which were missing which would have been known at the time of writing.

As previously stated, it is an excellent choice when picking a book to introduce you to the interesting and complex area of serial killers and is highly recommended.

What are your thoughts?

Thank you for reading my review.

Next book review: "The Engagements - J. Courtney Sullivan"