Some Day I'll Find You

Purchased this for my mum, she thoroughly enjoyed it. In her 60s but I’m sure other age ranges will appreciate it.

I am always suspicious when well-known celebrities, presenters and tv personalities start writing fiction. The cynic in me wonders whether it is merely some poorly paid ghost writer who has spent hours churning out the words and plot.The cynic here is not needed, as Richard Madeley's first foray into fiction (as opposed to memoir) is that of genuine storytelling, a good plot, believable characters and the seed that is planted that maybe these fictitious events around World War Two did actually happen. It has to be partly believable to work.Diana has fallen for the charm of brother John's friend and fellow pilot, James Blackwell. The eve of war in Europe means that life is suddenly on fast forward. Love, courtship and marriage are dashed through with speed. However, death can come just as fast.Events move to France, where years later a glimpse of the back of a head, the sound of a voice starts to bring back memories, in the speed that they originally occurred. Can it possibly be? Is it actually believable?What follows is very much a thriller where you are transported from war to warmth in the South of France. I felt that I had been transported as well, with the descriptions of the cafe, the market and the locals as the author brought this to life and with some prior knowledge of the area I am sure.But I also felt this sense of foreboding as Diana and her parents were enthralled as John and James Blackwell embraced life in the RAF and the thrill of being in the skies and even more so the thrill of war. The undercurrent to all this bravado and thrill was the worry of death of no one returning. "War takes the skilled along with the stupid and those in between".This is simply a story which had me hooked as I wanted to know who the voice was, I wanted to believe in a happy ever after always knowing that war and life is not like that. A good novel which explores a different part of World War Two and if you enjoy reading fiction of this era, then this is a book you must read.

I bought this book purely because it was written by someone I have always liked on tv. It was not a good read in my view, I found it quite dull in places. The plot was OK, set in WW11 but I didn't find the characters believable and I was expecting it to be so much better. Rather dissapointing.

I can't imagine this book would have been published if the author wasn't famous. While I have always enjoyed listening to Richard in interviews & find him a charismatic and interesting character himself, I found his characters very basic, the novel quite boring and the whole thing very simplistic to read. The dialogue was very unbelievable & forced. I couldn't imagine hearing the characters utter the sentences I read, not authentic in the slightest. There are a number of inaccurate references to the characters names also - surely basic, basic errors. It was an easy read & I made it to the end which is why I generously gave it 2 stars. The only reason I would imagine that he got 4 or 5 stars from other readers is that they are fans foremost & overlooked his literary ability. I just feel a bit gutted for all those very good unknown authors out there who because they don't have the money and name to back them up will be unable to get published as easily.

I respect Richard and Judy as broadcasters and also respect their opinions on book reviews so thought I would read Richards book out of interest. I was disappointed as I thought it was cliched, hated the characterisations of the main protagonists and the way that Dianas' father was consistently called Mr. Arnold, and why the thing about them changing their names? I thought that would have more prominence as the story went on. Although it became more exiting the plot was pretty predictable. In a way I thought I was reading a book written in the period that it was set. Although I was diappointed with the writing and the plot I would read another book by Richard in the hope that once he got into his stride he would write more of what was in his heart rather than what he thought would sell

I seldom bother to write reviews but I thought I would, to save anyone else wasting their money.I bought this book on my kindle late at night and didn't bother to look at the reviews and stars...boy did I wish I had. I finished it purely as I had nothing else to read! So dull, a strange ending which came at a point I thought maybe the story was going to have some sort of interest/twist, really poorly written and as someone else said, not proof read properly. The lesson here is not to buy a book because it is written by someone famous even if you like them. So dissapointing.

The headline seems a little hard but to start with I thought the characters were rather vacuous. How wrong can one be. As the story develops it becomes more and more gripping with lots of twists and turns and an unexpected ending. A very enjoyable read.

Yes - I agree with many of the reviewers here that this is a well crafted novel - and it is obvious that RM knows what sells!There are well thought out characters (if stereotypical of war-time dramas) - with a wealthy middle class family at the heart of the story, a fiesty beautiful heroine (Diana) and a devilishly attractive hero-turned-baddie,(James).The plot definitely has pace - and very short chapters. I read it in two nights, being an insomniac! I appreciated the dramatic irony and the suspense thus held until the climax of the story - which was kind of - inevitable!To describe the thoughts of a psychopath in such a convincing way, whilst wearing such a charming "mask" as James does, gives the story some substance - echoes of Victor Canning and Sasoon here.The reason I only give this 3 stars is that I think there is too much harking back to the war and post war years.... we should never forget, but I do long for something fresh!