Stella Mitchell-Voisin recommends
Managing Director and co-founder of Summit Trust International, Stella Mitchell-Voisin is our second MTG Recommends guest. Stella began her career with NatWest bank as a graduate trainee in 1991 and quickly moved into the Coutts private banking and trust subsidiary in Jersey before moving to Geneva in 1996. Stella is a law graduate of King’s College, London (LLB Hons), an associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers (ACIB) and a Member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP). A much sought-after speaker at trust conferences worldwide, Stella shares the six books which have accompanied her travels…
“I feel rather a lightweight following in the book choice footsteps of Gilead Cooper last month, and reading his erudite suggestions filled me with horror as I contemplated my own. Reading for me is an opportunity for escapism, a stress release after a busy day or a way to relax on a long flight perhaps. I tend therefore to make a beeline for the ‘airport exclusives’ and devour forensic anthropology thrillers by Kathy Reichs, Patricia Cornwell and the like. Probably because I know the recipe, it feels like an easy read, and I can switch off and immerse myself in the fictional surroundings without having to work too hard to do so. I have steered clear of Cornwell and Reichs here, and my suggestions below are books that I have read more recently as business travel has ramped up again and I have found myself whiling away time in the air…”
The Girl on the Train
Paula Hawkins
This is a super psychological thriller told from the point of view of Rachel, a divorced alcoholic narrator who continues the pretence of a daily commute having lost her job due to alcoholic binges and the subsequent blackouts she suffers. The journey takes her past her old house, which her ex-husband now shares with a new wife and daughter, and begins to build a fantasy life for the apparently perfect couple who live close by. On one journey, watching her perfect couple, Rachel witnesses the wife, Megan, kissing someone Rachel knows is not her husband. The next morning Rachel wakes from a drinking binge battered and bruised, Megan is missing, and witnesses put Rachel in the vicinity of the last sighting of Megan. Rachel tries to piece together the puzzle not only of what happened to Megan but also what she herself was doing on the evening in question, finding murder, infidelity and unlikely alliances along the way. I found this quite a compulsive page turner!
A Beautiful Spy
Rachel Hore
This novel begins in 1928 and tells the story of Minnie Gray who shuns the expectation of a life of married boredom, and takes an opportunity that sees her begin a life in London working undercover for the British Government, as a spy. She discreetly infiltrates the Communist movement and elegantly navigates her way around her dangerous double life, falling for her handler along the way. The suspense builds around the possibility of discovery, and the emotional journey through love and loss woven in amongst the adrenaline of living on a knife edge, which makes for a compelling read.
When She Was Good
Michael Rowbotham
Evie Cormac or Angel Face, is found as a young girl after an horrific murder, hiding in a secret room. Nobody knows who she is or where she has come from, and those who try to unlock the secrets of her identity end up dead. One man, Cyrus Haven, will not give up on the quest and the tension and suspense builds as he inadvertently leads powerful and corrupt people, who want Evie dead because of her horrific past, straight to her. The narration flips between Evie and Cyrus which keeps you turning the pages of this clever story which conveys in parts deep terror in the writing.
The Midnight Line
Lee Child
This is the 22nd Jack Reacher novel and frankly Lee Child simply doesn’t write them fast enough for me! Whilst the notion of ‘do gooder thug’ of herculean strength who travels the US taking little more than a toothbrush with him seems a little unlikely, the stories are always good, easy to read and pacy. This one is no different. Reacher sees a ring in a pawnshop that he recognises as being a West Point class ring, to fit a female finger, and realises that there is no way that anyone would voluntarily give up such a priceless item. He sets about finding the owner which takes us on a journey of punch ups, crime, broken families and drug addiction. An excellent untaxing read for a long-haul flight!
Becoming
Michelle Obama
Rather a departure from my normal book choice, I picked this up recently not expecting to enjoy the read quite as much as I did. The book is an autobiography that takes the reader on Mrs Obama’s life journey, and is a fabulous window on what first class education, hard work and determination can help you achieve even in the face of obstacles which to some would be unsurmountable. It is a human story of family life in front of the world’s cameras and critics and the ‘soft side’ of politics shines through in stories of the vegetable garden at the White House and tender moments with the President. It is easy to see how Mrs Obama has become such an icon and role model, particularly for young women from less privileged backgrounds around the world.
The Good Liar
Nicholas Searle
This is the story of a dapper gentleman con-man hoping to pull off the last ‘pre-retirement’ con by romancing a wealthy older woman out of her life savings. There are bluffs and double bluffs woven into the plot to keep the reader guessing, however I would say that whilst for a debut novel this is impressive, I found it a little slow to come together. That said, by the end I was gripped and thoroughly enjoyed pulling together all the strings in the final chapters.