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Lacey House A psychological thrilling and heartwarming read Joanne Graham Books

Download As PDF : Lacey House A psychological thrilling and heartwarming read Joanne Graham Books

Lacey House A psychological thrilling and heartwarming read Joanne Graham Books

A deep dive Into what makes a family and the bonds we form. Enjoyed Lacey and Rachel leave their isolated lives and learn to trust someone else.


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Lacey House A psychological thrilling and heartwarming read Joanne Graham Books Reviews

After reading this book I sat for a while, totally speechless and dumbfounded. It took several minutes, a lot of 'several minutes' actually, to come back to my own life and its immediate demands. I wanted to do it kicking and screaming!

For a debut novel, this is surely one of the best I have ever read! There is so much I want to, and can, say, but somehow my thoughts just drifted off in a multicolored hot air balloon over the Winscombe skies. There was simply none left for me to write a suitable review with.

Two women, young Rachel Moore and 84-year old Tracey Eleanor Carmichael, ended up living side by side in Apple Lane, Winscombe where Rachel moved into Dove cottage next to Tracey. The address was not only words to suit a chocolate-box address. Lacey's House would open up a journey for both to finally rise above electric shock treatments; a lobotomy; a cruel life in an orphanage; an unknown mother who valued her alcohol addiction above everything else; a monstrous doctor; an ignorant vicious community; a village outlay in the form of a question mark; a woman talking to the dead at their graves, planting roses there because it was a hated flower for that particular deceased, since in real life her words was forced inside her head for safety reasons; a cat named Peachy. And then there was Charlie...

"That's the funny thing about small village life, reputations often last longer than the person themselves." But perceptions can be forced to change. When "Albert was dead lying on the floor of his house with his blood serving as a cushion for his head", the increasingly embellished tale of a witch, which was told to children in the dark of night, suddenly took a turn that would change lives forever.

Without the truth, fiction is not possible. "This story... this story is different, tantalizing, compelling" Lacey herself said that, which saves me from using the publishing-industry's neologism to sing the praise of this 2012 Luke Bitmead Bursary Award-winning book. Although there's no love lost for sentimentality in the book, the same compassionate message is present as evident in my speechless state of wonder afterwards!

This tale proves a theory Anything, from an unwanted -ism to an un-addressed emotion, forced underground, takes root and flourish. People sadly and often deny it. And if it is nourished well, deeply loved, it can push up beautiful flowers to face the sun. But to become beautiful, it needs strong roots underground, in the often dark, in the uncompromising toughness of the earth. It is the only way that the perfect flowers can rise above the surface and charm the world. Even well-nourished weeds have beautiful flowers.

This book addresses the wealth and strength of the human spirit in unimaginable ways. The elements used in the book, two vastly opposite life stories, with one common denominator namely the absence of love as children, are not unknown to the world at all, but the combination used in this narrative, makes it stand out way above the average novel in this genre.

The conclusion is surprising and original.

In the end it confronts us all, who we are and how we ended up as human beings and what became of us in the aftermath of those choices. It is not how and where we were planted,but how we utilized the nourishment bestowed on us to paint the picture we would ultimately call our chocolate-box address. What a difference attitude can make! (Margitte)
Once again thank you to Legend Press for the copy of this book to review. UK.

Lacey is the village enigma. Considered to be a mad old lady, ignored by the locals and teased by the children she lives a solitary life. When Rachel moves in next door an unlikely bond forms between the pair...could it be that they have more in common than they realise?

What a pair of amazing female characters Joanne Graham has created here...both with great sadness in their past and worries about their future, watching the friendship develop over the course of this novel was a beautiful thing. Told chapter by chapter with either one or the other taking the lead, we slowly find out what has affected them so deeply and just why they are perfect companions - yes there is a mystery here, the mystery of Lacey and whether or not she can be trusted and just what she might have done but that is really kind of peripheral to the point for me. Its a story of friendship. How the most unlikely people can become the ones closest to your heart - a story of love, of loss and of trust both given and received.

Its a gentle tale but a compelling one. An interesting look at how a less than perfect childhood can affect your whole life - and yet both these ladies are strong in their own way, perhaps because of that. The writing style is easy and flowing with a clever eye to reality. The ups and downs of village life are apparent...and how one rumour can last a lifetime.

I loved it. Insightful and intriguing, heart wrenching and wonderful, keep the tissues handy when you are reading this one. I needed a box full. I can't wait to see what this author gives us next.
A beautifully written, well crafted, debut “Lacey’s house” is a novel told in two voices. Alternate chapters introduce us to Rachel — a young, single, and solitary artist who has just miscarried — and Lacey, an elderly women with a horrific past who is shunned socially. The chapters delve into their characters allowing the reader to know them gradually, much like peeling the many layers of an onion, one by one…

When Rachel suffers a miscarriage, she feels that she is ready for a complete change in her life. Thus, she moves from the bustling city of Birmingham, to rural Devon. She rents a cottage at the furthest end of a small village, and just over the hedge from Lacey Carmichael. Before Rachel rented the cottage it belonged to Albert, an elderly widower who was Lacey’s one and only friend. When Albert passed away, Lacey was under suspicion for his death, partly due to the fact that she found his body, and partly due to the fact that she was viewed as eccentric and was a social outcast. Even after the police proved via forensic evidence that Lacey had nothing to do with his death, the village people still harbored doubts of her innocence.

Over time, Rachel and Lacey become true friends. Their friendship is based on mutual respect, understanding of loss, and a shared joy in the simple magic that can be found in life. Loneliness is not a stranger to either of the women and when their friendship blooms it is a much needed panacea to their solitary lives. Over time they share their life stories with each other. Something neither has every done before… They begin to trust at a time when the concept of trust seemed impossible. Their stories are both tragic ones, with Lacey’s story being both tragic and appalling.

The novel is not a mystery novel, yet the reader realizes early on that there is a mystery contained within it. Not a murder mystery, but one of curiosity as to what really happened in Lacey’s early life. That might sound dull to some, but nothing could be further from the truth. The pages almost turned themselves. The pace of the narrative was faultless. “Lacey’s house” was one of those novels that made me as a reader grateful for having had the opportunity to read it. I loved both characters equally and felt bereft when the last page was turned.
A deep dive Into what makes a family and the bonds we form. Enjoyed Lacey and Rachel leave their isolated lives and learn to trust someone else.