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Hiding Behind The Couch #2
No Time Like The Present
Sometimes a murder mystery is the least of life's challenges...
This sequel to Hiding Behind The Couch finds Josh and The Circle fighting to prove the innocence of one James Brown, a well-liked and respected MD of a pizza restaurant chain.
But his past is far from helpful in freeing him of suspicion, and Eleanor is all set to call it a day.
It's the perfect time to make new friends, make amends...and solve a murder case.
This sequel to Hiding Behind The Couch finds Josh and The Circle fighting to prove the innocence of one James Brown, a well-liked and respected MD of a pizza restaurant chain.
But his past is far from helpful in freeing him of suspicion, and Eleanor is all set to call it a day.
It's the perfect time to make new friends, make amends...and solve a murder case.
- GenresMysteryContemporary
Kindle Edition
First published November 15, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
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September 20, 2016**eBook re-edited + new cover! October 2015**
This is the second book in the series 'Hiding Behind The Couch' (book one is Hiding Behind The Couch). When I wrote this, it was not my intention to create a series. This was going to be the only sequel!
So, what happened?
Well, the characters kind of grew on me. They've now officially earned the name of The Circle - a line from book one spawning this title and being picked up by my readers. And who am I to argue?
By the time I'd written book two, I'd emerged from the period of mental ill-health that had led to the writing of book one, and being the kind of thinker I am (logical analyser, according to the BBC) I needed to understand where these characters had come from. Bearing in mind I set out with the intention of creating a set of characters that were absolutely fictional, with life events that in no way reflected my own personal experiences, these characters therefore had to be unconscious aspects of myself.
I won't analyse the full set of nine characters that make up The Circle here - just those who are more to the fore in this particular installment.
First there's Josh - at the time of penning this 'review' I'm well into writing books 6 and 7 (they run in parallel), and I can look back and see much of myself in Josh, although my first (semi-conscious) intention was to create a therapist whom I could trust. It's an emotionally difficult story that I don't want to get into here, but back in 2007 I did see a psychologist with a view to having therapy - let's just say it didn't go well! So Josh is the seemingly cool, level-headed therapist - professional and aloof...on the surface. It's a surface that starts to crack towards the end of No Time Like The Present.
Then there's George - he's a bit of a working class hero, but it took me a while to realise that, and in No Time Like The Present he's the one who's grounded enough to make quick, sensible decisions. His mantra that 'It's complicated' is true - his life IS complicated, but he is a very straightforward guy - the sort you need in your life as a friend. I guess he's who I wish I could be.
Dan and Andy are my 'eye candy' - two brothers, both tall, muscular, good-looking. Andy's the typical adventure sports, anything for a laugh type. Dan's more into risky business deals and taking matters into his own hands. I wrote the short story prequel Beginnings after book 3 (The Harder They Fall), and this explains more about why Dan is the way he is.
There's also Kris - a reminder of the consequences of trying to be what you're not - that's definitely something I could relate to at the time my imagination gave birth to these characters. It's easy to judge people like Kris as selfish and shallow, but more important to see past their mistakes and understand why they make them.
As well as the 5 men, there are 4 women in The Circle, and Eleanor is really the only one prominent in No Time Like The Present. She's a good Catholic girl (something that causes ructions later in the series) and struggles to reconcile her beliefs and personal morality with the realities her life keeps throwing at her. I can see my past self in Eleanor, when I made the switch from practising Christian to outspoken atheist. I'm not sure she'll ever get that far. We'll see.
There are other 'non-Circle' characters in No Time Like The Present, some of whom stay around afterwards. The psychologist in me wonders if this series is a manifestation of multiple personality disorder, or if I have some kind of link to a parellel dimension and these people are hacking through the divide to send me their story. Potential insanity aside, the stories go where the characters lead - they're people living their lives, and there's nine of them. That's a lot of living and a whole lot of stories to be told!
This is the second book in the series 'Hiding Behind The Couch' (book one is Hiding Behind The Couch). When I wrote this, it was not my intention to create a series. This was going to be the only sequel!
So, what happened?
Well, the characters kind of grew on me. They've now officially earned the name of The Circle - a line from book one spawning this title and being picked up by my readers. And who am I to argue?
By the time I'd written book two, I'd emerged from the period of mental ill-health that had led to the writing of book one, and being the kind of thinker I am (logical analyser, according to the BBC) I needed to understand where these characters had come from. Bearing in mind I set out with the intention of creating a set of characters that were absolutely fictional, with life events that in no way reflected my own personal experiences, these characters therefore had to be unconscious aspects of myself.
I won't analyse the full set of nine characters that make up The Circle here - just those who are more to the fore in this particular installment.
First there's Josh - at the time of penning this 'review' I'm well into writing books 6 and 7 (they run in parallel), and I can look back and see much of myself in Josh, although my first (semi-conscious) intention was to create a therapist whom I could trust. It's an emotionally difficult story that I don't want to get into here, but back in 2007 I did see a psychologist with a view to having therapy - let's just say it didn't go well! So Josh is the seemingly cool, level-headed therapist - professional and aloof...on the surface. It's a surface that starts to crack towards the end of No Time Like The Present.
Then there's George - he's a bit of a working class hero, but it took me a while to realise that, and in No Time Like The Present he's the one who's grounded enough to make quick, sensible decisions. His mantra that 'It's complicated' is true - his life IS complicated, but he is a very straightforward guy - the sort you need in your life as a friend. I guess he's who I wish I could be.
Dan and Andy are my 'eye candy' - two brothers, both tall, muscular, good-looking. Andy's the typical adventure sports, anything for a laugh type. Dan's more into risky business deals and taking matters into his own hands. I wrote the short story prequel Beginnings after book 3 (The Harder They Fall), and this explains more about why Dan is the way he is.
There's also Kris - a reminder of the consequences of trying to be what you're not - that's definitely something I could relate to at the time my imagination gave birth to these characters. It's easy to judge people like Kris as selfish and shallow, but more important to see past their mistakes and understand why they make them.
As well as the 5 men, there are 4 women in The Circle, and Eleanor is really the only one prominent in No Time Like The Present. She's a good Catholic girl (something that causes ructions later in the series) and struggles to reconcile her beliefs and personal morality with the realities her life keeps throwing at her. I can see my past self in Eleanor, when I made the switch from practising Christian to outspoken atheist. I'm not sure she'll ever get that far. We'll see.
There are other 'non-Circle' characters in No Time Like The Present, some of whom stay around afterwards. The psychologist in me wonders if this series is a manifestation of multiple personality disorder, or if I have some kind of link to a parellel dimension and these people are hacking through the divide to send me their story. Potential insanity aside, the stories go where the characters lead - they're people living their lives, and there's nine of them. That's a lot of living and a whole lot of stories to be told!
March 15, 2013
I found this 2nd installment of the Hiding Behind The Couch saga even more fun than the first! The adventures of Alice, Dan, Josh, Adele, Eleanor, James, Shauna and the rest continue as they try to unravel the details of a suspicious death in their midst. Once again, Debbie McGowan's love for writing and creating memorable characters shines here, with richly detailed descriptions of every physical setting as well. I enjoyed this one so much I had to loan it to a couple of buddies, and plan to add this and the prequel to my collection of paperbacks!
November 17, 2012
No Time Like the Present is the latest outing of what is fast becoming my favourite group of friends to read about, the characters of Debbie McGowan's Hiding Behind the Couch.
Set over the Christmas period, this novel picks up nearly a year after the explosive conclusion of the first novel.
The author manages to write this story in one of my favourite styles - everything seems to happen without giving you a clue in what direction it is actually headed; there are no clues as to how the ending will come about, and at 90% of the way through the e-book, I was panicking about how the end would be wrapped up! The present (if you'll excuse the pun) was actually wrapped up effectively, succinctly and leaving me hungry for even more!
I was both delighted and frustrated by this installment - it wraps up a few loose ends left at the end of Hiding Behind the Couch, and elaborates on things you wanted to know more about, but then leaves open even more avenues that I'd love to see explored. All I can hope is for the possibility that Debbie McGowan might like to make this into a trilogy, or even a series that I can keep indulging in for either the rest of my own or the characters' lives!!
I can't recommend this highly enough - there is no way you could fail to fall in love with these characters and be sucked into their lives as I have been - this magnificent piece of writing almost dares you to try and NOT be affected by them! So I dare you too, I dare you to read this and tell me that you didn't enjoy it even half as much as I did (and trust me, half as much would be PLENTY).
Set over the Christmas period, this novel picks up nearly a year after the explosive conclusion of the first novel.
The author manages to write this story in one of my favourite styles - everything seems to happen without giving you a clue in what direction it is actually headed; there are no clues as to how the ending will come about, and at 90% of the way through the e-book, I was panicking about how the end would be wrapped up! The present (if you'll excuse the pun) was actually wrapped up effectively, succinctly and leaving me hungry for even more!
I was both delighted and frustrated by this installment - it wraps up a few loose ends left at the end of Hiding Behind the Couch, and elaborates on things you wanted to know more about, but then leaves open even more avenues that I'd love to see explored. All I can hope is for the possibility that Debbie McGowan might like to make this into a trilogy, or even a series that I can keep indulging in for either the rest of my own or the characters' lives!!
I can't recommend this highly enough - there is no way you could fail to fall in love with these characters and be sucked into their lives as I have been - this magnificent piece of writing almost dares you to try and NOT be affected by them! So I dare you too, I dare you to read this and tell me that you didn't enjoy it even half as much as I did (and trust me, half as much would be PLENTY).
January 3, 2014
Sometimes a Murder Mystery is the Least of Life’s Challenges
The circle of friends from Hiding Behind the Couch returns with a crisis, as one of them is betrothed to a man accused of murder. But even though the mystery of who murdered Alistair Campion provides a suspenseful backdrop to Debbie McGowan’s second installment of this series, No Time Like the Present succeeds primarily in taking us deeper into the lives and relationships of the principal characters. And what characters these principals are! McGowan’s gift is in creating a cast damaged by life yet driven by deep-seated bonds of affection. Misjudgments abound, but the friends pull through their many difficulties because they are always there for each other. This story focuses primarily on Josh, George, and Eleanor, whose portraits become particularly granular. If you like your suspense drawn with a literary flair, this book is well worth an investment of your time. I would strongly recommend starting this series from the beginning, however, because having already been introduced to the characters will make reading No Time Like the Present that much more rewarding.
The circle of friends from Hiding Behind the Couch returns with a crisis, as one of them is betrothed to a man accused of murder. But even though the mystery of who murdered Alistair Campion provides a suspenseful backdrop to Debbie McGowan’s second installment of this series, No Time Like the Present succeeds primarily in taking us deeper into the lives and relationships of the principal characters. And what characters these principals are! McGowan’s gift is in creating a cast damaged by life yet driven by deep-seated bonds of affection. Misjudgments abound, but the friends pull through their many difficulties because they are always there for each other. This story focuses primarily on Josh, George, and Eleanor, whose portraits become particularly granular. If you like your suspense drawn with a literary flair, this book is well worth an investment of your time. I would strongly recommend starting this series from the beginning, however, because having already been introduced to the characters will make reading No Time Like the Present that much more rewarding.
June 9, 2014
This episode of our 'friends soap opera' is kind of like a who dunnit. While we get to meet some new characters our old friends have lots of drama going on in their own lives too. Limits will be tested and friendships will change. the question is will the circle stay connected?
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews