Cuckoo [Paperback]

CUCKOO tells the story of Rose and Polly. When Polly's husband dies in a car accident, Rose invites her friend into her house, telling her she should stay with her family until she has got herself back on track. Then, unsurprisingly, Rose begins to regret her decision.

Without wanting to give too much away, even when Rose is beginning to have doubts about her friend, there are reasons why she does not just ask her to leave. All of the characters in this book have some kind of back story, making them far more complex than they at first appear. However, this does not make them any more likeable. I think, for me, this was the main problem with the book - although I read on until the end, it wasn't because I really cared about Rose. In fact, as the book progresses, I began to doubt to Rose. Because not much of the action is definite - you are never sure, really, if Rose is right to think that Polly is trying to take her place or whether Rose is paranoid - by the end of the book you are hoping for some kind of resolution to this. However, this does not happen. By the end of the book, you still don't know if Rose was right or just paranoid, plus the ending is an anticlimax, in my opinion.

After reading this book I would not rush to pick up Crouch's next offering. Although there were moments of tension, by the last third of the book or so I was just becoming frustrated with it. The tension was wound up only to be slowed down by Crouch describing in minute detail the layout of the house for the umpteemth time, or talking about what Rose was going to cook for them all, and who was going to help her etc, etc. Although the characters had background stories, Crouch didn't do enough for me to care about them - by the end of the book, if Polly was trying to take Rose's place, I really wasn't that bothered about if she succeeded or not.
Unfortunately, I wouldn't recommend this book and I doubt I shall read her next one.

I bought this book to feed my addiction to them, and because I was intrigued by the title, tag line and the few pages I read in the shop.
I was absolutely glued; looked forward to finishing work or any other task so I could curl up and be furious at the twisted beauty that is Polly, equally sympathetic and dying to slap Rosie around the head.
You know that feeling when the pages ahead are less then the ones you've read...what is again?...oh that's right...dread. I really didn't want it to end. And by God, you should have just stopped, because the ending was pretty crap. I'm sorry Ms. Crouch, I hate to "poop" all over your work but that ending was more disappointing then finding out that Father Christmas and the Easter Bunny weren't real. I mean WTF?? You just left us all hanging there. I actually threw the book across the room and was fuming all day!
I have never done an Amazon review I just had to let you know that, Cuckoo could have been great! I totally understood Rosie, haven't we all at some point in our lives had a "friend" that we know is so very bad for us, but they are a reminder of good times so, we hang on until we eventually learn. But that last couple chapters made me want to slap someone.
I hope your next books ending will be better.

At first glance you can't help but think it's going to be one of those books that you get to the final few chapters and you could predict the end and I don't think the phrase on the cover "their first mistake was inviting her in..." helps it.

But I am happy to say that I made that fatal mistake of thinking I could predict the end and I even said to my partner - 'I so know where this is going' - which would have been a shame but I should have known better because nothing in the book had been a formula, nothing had been predictable. Every scene was set beautifully and I was able to envisage the house, the setting and characters as if I was looking at a film of my feet through the water of a Caribbean beach. Crouch really did her research as the details are amazing!

The book was captivating and always left me wanting more and more and more. I read this book in four sittings (without doubt a record for me) and I finished if off with a bottle of 'good' wine! The use of the word 'good' will become apparent when you read the book.

Crouch's command of English and her imagination works incredibly well together. I had my partner as a 'on-tap' dictionary as I needed his help with the meaning of some of the words as I had not come across them before. This for me was great as one of the reasons I read is to broaden my vocabulary. I found myself discovering things about the main characters in the middle of the book which would have normally been mentioned at the start. I liked this aspect of the way she developed characters and wanted to read more to see what new information I could find out.

The main character grew up in Brighton together with Polly her best friend so it was nice to see some familiar places featured (The Pier, The Honey Club, Queens Park where I used to live) just to name a few. The book has all the making of an excellent read, main characters that you love and can relate to, family life including love, disappointment and even being abandoned, strong friendship, love, sex, guns, drugs, and 'good' wine to name a few.

Crouch has created an amazing debut book! I don't want to give anything away, but all I can say is if you love reading and you love the idea of celebrating excellent work get a copy of this book as I'm sure you'll be talking about for weeks to come and getting it for friends as presents! It's just one of those books!

I woke this morning with the thought of the book still fresh with me and a craving to read the book again in a week's time to ensure I got everything. I look forward to reading more from this author in years to come.

§ham