 review of the novels of marianne wheelaghan marianne wheelaghan novelist and writing tutor has written two books  the blue suitcase and food of ghosts  and is currently writing sequels to both the blue suitcase was her first novel published in 2010 based on the wartime experiences of marianne s mother the novel uses diary fragments and letters to tell the story of antonia an ordinary german girl the novel opens with her diary as a child and we see her sulking hoping and wondering about perfectly normal things will she win the writing prize at school what will she get for her birthday suddenly a huge shadow is cast over her life as the nazis seize power and everything normal is shaken the diary is forced to abandon the pleasant childhood trivia her ambitious mother is forced out from her job as a doctor one brother who supports the communists is viciously beaten whereas the other is filled with an unsettling fervour and adoration for hitler antonia struggles with this as she is still young and centred on her own concerns and initially resents how the adult attention is wrested away from her however when war is declared she is forced to grow up and face the increasing horrors she moves fast from being a sulky teenager pinching cash from her parents and sneaking out to drink and becomes a wartime worker she is posted back to her city of birth breslau to work for the reich as the war gets bloodier and closer she ends up working amidst rubble unexploded mines the dying and the dead all the while utterly terrified of the approaching russians this book was a fascinating read as we sympathise with antonia how can we help but do otherwise when we ve been reading her diary having access to all her terrors hopes and worries but we are seeing the war from the opposite perspective to which we are accustomed it was odd to view it from the perspective of a young decent ordinary german girl who hopes her country and our lads will win so the book forced me to look at the war from this strange unnatural angle and it was an angle wholly removed from politics history and jingoism it was simply that of a young girl wishing she had a heavier coat wondering what she d eat tonight wishing her fingers weren t raw and bleeding how refreshing it was to see things from this new perspective the second novel  food of ghosts  is as far removed from the blue suitcase as it s possible to get and i admire marianne wheelaghan s literary confidence in making such a leap food of ghosts is a crime novel set on the sweltering pacific island of tarawa with the current fashion for tartan noir novels set in dark gothic edinburgh or tough gutsy glasgow it was pleasing to find one set in this most unusual location the novel tells the story of detective sergeant louisa townsend who has left edinburgh to take up a post on tarawa helping shake up the island police force amidst the glorious white beaches blazing sun and waving palm trees she soon finds herself dealing with some particularly gruesome murders made all the more horrifying because they are occurring in this seemingly innocent island paradise we feel louisa s frustration and impatience with the islanders who allow tradition and superstition to get in the way of her quick practiced police methodsmeanwhile the officers on tarawa don t take kindly to a woman and an outsider telling them how to operate louisa desperately needs to prove herself to the islanders and to her bosses and struggles under the sweltering sun although the novel is a good read and packed with luxurious description of the island i feel it would have benefited a great deal from some backstory we are told that louisa was born on the island so this explains why she may have applied for this unusual post but how did her island upbringing shape her does she consider herself tarawan or scottish what was her life in edinburgh before she left was she fleeing something we get hints that she has a strained relationship with her mother and we are told she slept with her boss which she regrets but tell us more why has she fled halfway across the world with both novels the main word which sprang to my mind was refreshing the first gives us a new perspective and the second gives us an unusual setting both are invigorating books and good reads which leave you keen to see where the author takes them next the blue suitcase and food of ghosts are published by pilrig press book review marianne wheelaghan archive w review of the novels of marianne wheelaghan permalink submitted by marianne wheelaghan not verified on march 16 2013 1338 hi i m delighted for my novels to be reviewed in the exciting puffin review a big big thanks regards food of ghosts i appreciate your point about more backstory on louisa but you ll be pleased to know all will be revealed in the follow up thanks again for such considered and insightful reviews marianne mwheelaghan wwwmariannewheelaghancouk reply 