When I Was You by Minka Kent

3.5 Stars

I am a bad reviewer, it is a good 3 weeks since I finished the book but things got away from me and I am only now starting to catch up on my reviewing.  The thing that mainly stuck with me about this book is the setting - or, more accurately, the Queen Anne House that Brienne lives in and where the majority of the "action" takes place.  There is a lot of love lavished on the house by the author, so much so it becomes another character in the book.  Sadly, it is a character that has little to add to the overall tale.

There is no real suspense in this tale, the author clearly explains what is going on and then allows us to see things from the protagonists point of view as well as the victims.  There is an attempt at ascribing a motive to the protagonist but it is never really fleshed out enough and there are some glaring inconsistencies.  Still, read it quick enough and you can give them the side eye as you skate on past.  Works for me.  In retrospect the book is full of plot holes and raises so many questions about this purported situation that are never satisfactorily answered.  Whilst I can appreciate where the author wants the tale to go it never successfully achieves the final result as too much is left flapping in the wind like forgotten laundry.  The whole premise is on shaky ground virtually from the get go and even as there is an attempt to ratchet up tension and make you wonder if Brienne is imagining things, going crazy or if there is something more sinister going on you know exactly what is happening - and this is before the author blows the whole thing up at the start of Part Two and explains exactly what is going on.

From the notes in my little aide de memoir there must have been things I enjoyed about this book as I have given it a slightly above average score.  My recall tells me that it was mainly enjoyable because the old grey matter could (indeed needed to) disconnect and it was a generally throw away tale that flowed nicely in the telling and provided light entertainment.  Not exactly a good recommendation I know but it all depends what you want from your read at that moment in time.  Overall, escapist tale that does not bear scrutiny of the most cursory kind but it does entertain.