Bookworm: Eloise by Judy Finnigan

Eloise was another classic lent to me by my Mum.

As Judy Finnigan works alongside her husband Richard Madeley to recommend books through their Book Club (often seen in WHSmith stores), I was interested to see what she could offer herself.

This story tells the tale of Eloise a cancer victim and mother who dies young. The book focuses primarily on best friend Cathy and her struggle to 'help' Eloise after her death after experiencing supernatural occurrences and 'messages'. 

Throughout the book Finnigan obsesses over locations and eateries in Cornwall. She's a big fan of the location and wanted to get that across. Well unfortunately she does that too well and at times I wondered if she was now doing PR for the area. I wouldn't mind if the places added to the story but they don't  and in fact they detract from you getting into the story at times.

Similarly the writing style is not direct enough and often feels like a person's account of a story and so often parts feel rushed or not well described.

There are some parts I was surprised by and found compelling, but unfortunately this was a small occurrence. 

The so-called ghost parts aren't particularly chilling and that comes from someone like me that jumps at everything!

At times I would feel sympathy for the main character and her mental health past, but then this would be short lived because the writing style would take me out of the story again. 

Just when you felt like you were getting into the story and using it as escapism this would keep happening. 

The book is easy to read however and isn't particularly taxing on the brain. So it's ideal for commuting and lunchbreaks when trying to unwind.

Judy says she was inspired to write the book based on the early death of her close friend Caron Keating, daughter of Gloria Hunniford. However none of the story is based on real life and the only other inspiration/reference is the writer's love of Cornwall and books of the thriller and ghost story genres.

Good points

Easy to read

Relatively novel idea for a storyline

Not so great

Too much description of Cornwall restaurants and sights, not enough description of characters and situations

Bit far fetched at times

Often scenes/events are rushed 

None of the characters are hugely likeable

It's not the most awful book I've ever read but I can't imagine I'll be rushing out to buy her next book (if she ever does another one).