TITLE:  Song for a Whale

AUTHOR:  Lynne Kelly

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DESCRIPTION:

"The story of a deaf girl's connection to a whale whose song can't be heard by his species, and the journey she takes to help him.

From fixing the class computer to repairing old radios, twelve-year-old Iris is a tech genius. But she's the only deaf person in her school, so people often treat her like she's not very smart. If you've ever felt like no one was listening to you, then you know how hard that can be.

When she learns about Blue 55, a real whale who is unable to speak to other whales, Iris understands how he must feel. Then she has an idea: she should invent a way to "sing" to him! But he's three thousand miles away. How will she play her song for him?"

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REVIEW:

I'm not an expert, but to me this book and its predecessor is just quintessentially English.  I've been a fan of Truss' non-fiction for years, and always found her writing and wit excellent, and I genuinely enjoyed her first Constable Twitten book A Shot in the Dark. So I snapped up this sequel as soon as I heard about it.  

If you've ever watched Yes, Minster, or Black Adder, or even Benny Hill, and laughed, you may enjoy this mystery series.  But you absolutely have to suspend disbelief because there's a lot of silliness and dry mockery; the reward is not only the chance to be amused in a time of little amusement, but an impressive, intricately plotted mystery.  There were so many balls in the air, and Truss kept them all up there without any apparent effort or stumbling.  It started slow for me, but it gained momentum as this complexity revealed itself.  

A lot of fun and I remain a big fan of Truss.  

Excerpt, THE INNOCENT’S FORGOTTEN WEDDING by Lynne Graham

Early the following morning, alarm bells rang and lights flashed from the machinery by the bed. The woman came awake and went into panic, eyes focusing on an unfamiliar room and then on the arrival of two nurses, their faces both concerned and excited at the same time. She clawed at the breathing tube in her throat because she couldn’t speak and the women tried to both restrain and soothe her, telling her over and over again that the doc-tor was coming, everything would be all right and that there was nothing to worry about. She thought they were crazy. Her body wouldn’t move. She could only move one hand and her arm felt as if it didn’t belong to her. How could she possibly have nothing to worry about? Why were they talking nonsense? Did they think she was stupid?

The panic kept on clawing at her, even after the doctor arrived and the breathing tube was re-moved. He kept on asking her questions, questions she couldn’t answer until she couldn’t hide from the truth any longer. She didn’t know who she was. What was her name? She didn’t know why she was lying in a hospital bed. She didn’t have a last memory to offer because her mind was a blank, a complete blank. It was a ridiculous relief to receive an approving nod when she evidently got the name of the Prime Minister right and contrived to name colors correctly.

‘What happened to me?’ she whispered brokenly, her breath rasping. ‘Have I been ill?’

‘You were in an accident.’ The doctor paused there, exchanging a glance with the staff surrounding the bed.

‘What’s my name?’ she asked shakily.

‘Your name is Brooke… Brooke Tassini.’ The name meant absolutely nothing to her, didn’t even sound slightly familiar.

‘Your husband will be here very soon.’ Brooke’s eyes widened to their fullest extent in shock. ‘I have a husband?’

For some reason, the nurses smiled. ‘Oh, yes, you have a husband.’

‘A very handsome husband,’ one of the women added.

Brooke stared down at her bare wedding finger. She was married. Oh, my goodness, she was married. Did she have children? she asked. No…no children as far as they knew, they said, and a tinge of relief threaded through the panic she was only just holding at bay. Then she felt guilty about that sense of relief. She liked children, didn’t she? But it was scary enough to have a husband she didn’t remember—it would be simply appalling if she had contrived to forget her children as well.

The Italian husband she can’t remember…or resist! 
After a terrible car crash, Brooke can’t remember her own name—much less her wedding day! Finding irresistible Lorenzo Tassini at her bedside—and a gold band on her finger—is shocking. 
Honor-bound to care for his estranged wife, Lorenzo whisks her to his luxury Tuscan villa. But Brooke’s nothing like Lorenzo remembers! Her sweetness surprises him, as does the chemistry between them, blazing like never before. Stunned to discover her virginity, Lorenzo must uncover the secrets of the woman wearing his ring… 

It was a fast, easy romantic read. I loved Lorenzo and Milly together. I loved the ending and how everything turned out. I felt this was a feel-good romance. I didn’t like Brooke’s character at all, but I don’t believe we were supposed to. She was selfish and only cared about herself, didn’t even care about her half-sister, who so desperately wanted her to love her. I loved this book and its characters. I highly recommend it. Great summer read.  

**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book 

The idea behind this short story, that the apple of Snow White is cursed, is a really good one. And the opening of the book, the first section, is pretty good. But then there is a jump, a time jump, and it is jarring and forces the reader out of the story.