Jennifer Barraclough

Good idea at the heart of this novel from NZ author Jennifer Barraclough. Hilda is a reclusive, single woman, living in a ramshackle cottage on the North Kent marshes with her rescue cats. Her father has recently died, and her brother Dunstan is struggling with that death, the breakdown of his own marriage and financial problems. When a young woman arrives on Hilda's doorstep announcing she is their half-sister, the love child of their now dead father, Dunstan doesn't cope - already on the verge of collapse, he turns to desperate measures. Which leads Hilda to seek the truth behind their father's past and their mother's untimely death.

Both Hilda and Dunstan are damaged people, and it appears right from the outset that their father is probably a lot to blame for that damage. The question marks over his past, and their mother's death are only part of the struggle for these siblings, although Dunstan is obviously designed to be a lot less sympathetic than Hilda - who is sort of plucky classically slightly batty cat lady to start out with, becoming increasingly interesting as she takes to her quest.

The very formal style and slightly stilted delivery caused some engagement issues for this reader, although overall YOU YET SHALL DIE does explore some really interesting ideas - delving into people's pasts, finding out the truth about parents, the fall out from poor parenting into adulthood and the difference that taking ownership of your own destiny can make in somebody's life.

https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/you-yet-shall-die-jennifer-barraclough… (meer)

The unaware, vaguely idiotic central character provides a deep mine of material for any type of slightly tongue in cheek story-telling, and UNFAITHFUL UNTO DEATH uses the premises in setting up Dr Cyril Peabody from the outset of the novel. Cyril is perpetually disappointed in life. He has been stymied in his career path, forced to take a (in his opinion) menial job as a country GP, married a woman who is only just satisfactory, and generally living a life that he feels has been affected constantly by the wilfulness of others. Obviously he's completely incapable of seeing that he's the problem. He's boorish, prissy and prone to conflation of his own worth. He's basically a tiresome individual.

Writing about these sorts of characters is a tricky undertaking, as balance between time spent with somebody who is absolutely slappable and actual advancement of plot, hopefully to where Dr Cyril gets his comeuppance, has to remain engaging for the reader. Alas UNFAITHFUL UNTO DEATH dwells a lot on the man, which whilst you can see there is humour there, the joke becomes thin quickly. There's even something oddly off-putting about wife Rosamund, who if anybody had a right to some happiness, alas has her own overly annoying quirks without enough of the humour to humanise her.

It has to be noted that humour of this type is a difficult undertaking as a reader's experience is greatly affected by their relationship with the Rosamund and Dr Cyril. Overall, a little more acuity and balance between the ego of Cyril, the passivity of Rosamund and plot advancement would have helped this reader a lot.

https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/review-unfaithful-unto-death-jennifer-ba...… (meer)

"Complementary" therapies such as acupuncture, aromatherapy and spiritual healing are now being offered within many oncology and palliative care settings. Benefits of improved symptom control, quality of life and patient satisfaction have been demonstrated, but various questions remain. Is further integration with mainstream medicine desirable? What are the priorities for service provision and research? Are the specific techniques as important as their shared "holistic" context? Can they have significant unwanted effects? And besides making patients feel better, can they help to improve survival from cancer? Such questions are considered in this book. Jennifer Barraclough, former director of psycho-oncology at the Churchill Hospital in Oxford, has assembled specialist contributions from oncology and palliative care, complementary therapy, general practice, healthcare planning and research. Academic reviews are balanced by personal accounts from patients. The book is relevant to all stages of the "cancer journey" and includes a chapter on childhood cancer. This overview of a controversial and evolving field will interest those with professional or personal involvement in oncology or palliative care.
Review: I would recommend this book to all interested in finding out about complementary therapies and cancer care, and also as a guide when looking to provide such services within the conventional medical setting. National Association of Cancer Counsellors' Newsletter… (meer)