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<metadesc>Book review siteExpert, with books full book reviews from most walks of literary life; fiction, biographynon-fiction, crime, cookery and children's books & self-published books plus author interviews and & top tens.</metadesc><h1 id="mf-title">The Bookbag</h1>Hello from The Bookbag, a site featuring books from all the many walks of literary life - [[:Category:Fiction|fiction]], [[:Category:Biography|biography]], [[:Category:Crime|crime]], [[:Category:Cookery|cookery]] and anything else that takes our fancy. At Bookbag Towers the bookbag sits at the side of the desk. It's the bag we take to the library, the charity shop and the bookshop. Sometimes it holds the latest releases, but at other times there'll be old favourites, books for the children, books for the home. They're sometimes our own books or books from the local library. They're often books sent to us by publishers and we promise to tell you exactly what we think about them. You might not want to read through a full review, so we'll give you a quick review which summarises what we felt about the book and tells you whether or not we think you should buy or borrow it. There are also lots of [[:Category:Interviews|author interviews]], and all sorts of [[:Category:Lists|top tens]] - all of which you can find on our [[features]] page. If you're stuck for something to read, check out the [[Book Recommendations|recommendations]] page.

Reviews by readers from all the many walks of literary life. With author interviews, features and top tens. You'll be sure to find something you'll want to read here. Dig in! Find us on [[File:facebook.gif|link=https://www.facebook.com/TheBookbagCoUk|alt=Facebook]] [https://www.facebook.com/TheBookbagCoUk '''Facebook'''], [[File:twitter.gif|link=http://twitter.com/TheBookbag|alt=Follow us on Twitter]] [http://twitter.com/TheBookbag '''Twitter'''], [[File:instagram_classic_logo.png|link=https://www.instagram.com/thebookbag.co.uk/|alt=Follow us on Instagram]] [https://www.instagram.com/thebookbag.co.uk/ '''Instagram'''] and [[File:LinkedIn.png|link=https://www.linkedin.com/in/the-bookbag-1b12a264/|alt=LinkedIn]] There are currently '''{{PAGESINCATEGORY:Reviews}}''' [[:Category:Reviews|reviews ]] at TheBookbag.

==Reviews of the The Best New Books==

'''Read [[Forthcoming Publications|reviews of books about to be published]].{{Frontpage|class-"wikitable" cellpaddingauthor="15" <!-- INSERT NEW REVIEWS BELOW HERE--> <!-- Carlie Sorosiak -->Onyi Nwabineli|-title=Allow Me to Introduce Myself| stylerating="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|4.5[[image:178800387X.jpg|linkgenre=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/178800387X/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] General Fiction| stylesummary="vertical-align: top; textAnuri spent her childhood on display to the world, thanks to her step-align: left;"|===[[Imother Ophelia's increasingly popular presence on social media, Cosmo by Carlie Sorosiak]]=== [[image:4where she posted every step of Anuri's childhood for sponsorships and influencer deals and, basically, monetary gain.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Confident Readers|Confident Readers]] Cosmo's family is in crisis. Mom and Dad argue all Now Anuri is in her twenties and she is slowly trying to regain her confidence and to get her life back, suing her step-mother to take down the timecontent about her. Emmaline doesn't quite understand it because she's too little but she feels it. And Max Anuri is battling alcoholism, who is biggerfailing to start her PhD, does understand it undergoing therapy and secretly abusing people online and is terrified by it. Long agoreceiving money from them for doing so. Most importantly, when Max was just a babyshe is desperately worried about her little sister, Cosmo made a promise to protect Max forever and so he sets about his mission who is the new focus of repairing the family with everything heOphelia's gotonline empire... [[I Can she save her sister, Cosmo by Carlie Sorosiakand perhaps herself and her relationship with her father at the same time?|Full Review]]isbn=0861546873}}<!-- Fegan -->{{Frontpage|-author=David Chadwick| styletitle="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|Headload of Napalm[[image:1925810097.jpg|linkrating=http://www4.amazon.co.uk/dp/1925810097/ref5|genre=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] Thrillers| stylesummary="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"| ===[[DonIt't Drink the Pink by B C R Fegan]]=== [[image:4stars September 1973 in Hicks, California.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:For Sharing|For Sharing]] Madeline is very fond Hicks is a Mojave desert town of a few thousand people with its nearest neighbours of Grandfather GilderberryLA and Las Vegas both a significant drive away. He's always busy Not much happens in his workshop, creating crazy potions, Hicks. A silver mine and he always has a smile on his face. Madeline's dad thinks he's a bit bonkers and Madeline's mum thinks defence contractor are the same main local employers but gives him a pass because heotherwise, there's oldnot much of note other than dive bars and Joshua trees. But Madeline? She thinks Grandfather Gilberberry Life is just great. Particularly on her birthday when he unfailingly arrives with a selection of potions and allows her to choose one as a giftquiet, until. And he always says the same thing... [[Don't Drink the Pink by B C R Fegan|Full Review]]||isbn= B0D321VJ76}}<!-- Averill -->{{Frontpage|-author=Tom Percival| styletitle="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"The Wrong Shoes|rating=5[[image:1077651538.jpg|linkgenre=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1077651538/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] Confident Readers| stylesummary="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"| ===[[The Years Will's life is difficult, in a multitude of Fading Magic by Kenelm Averill]]=== [[image:4starways.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Fantasy|Fantasy]]   He is bullied because he has 'the wrong shoes''What if you could subtly change , he has the lives of ordinary people around you?wrong shoes because his dad can't work and doesn' Jessica Turner was one of t have enough money for even the more radical teens to come out most basic of Eastfield. A youth spent hanging out with a close crowd of friends was characterised by Jessica's role as trendsetter, as influencer, as leader. Strangely charismaticthings like food, Jessica invited fascination and obsession. Nobody who met her, forgot her. Or his dad can't work because he lost his job at the days they spent in the Enclosurecollege, was working a clearing cash-in Eastfield woods that Jessica felt gave her power. But -hand job on a building site and had an accident. Throw into that mix the group went its separate ways, as adolescent groups dofact that his mum and dad are separated, and her influence fadedWill's life seems bleak in every direction...[[The Years And yet, he still has a tiny amount of hope. He is good at art, and clings to the moments of joy when he is drawing, that feel like a light at the end of Fading Magic by Kenelm Averilla long, dark tunnel.|Full Review]]isbn=1398527122}}<!-- Paula Daly -->{{Frontpage|-author=Sylvie Cathrall| styletitle="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"A Letter to the Luminous Deep|rating=5[[image:1787632105.jpg|linkgenre=http://wwwScience Fiction|summary= There are few greater joys than a book which lives up to a compelling premise.amazonAnd this is one of them.co.uk/dp/1787632105/ref|isbn=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]0356522776}}{{Frontpage| styleisbn="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"0008517061|title=Death in a Lonely Place|author=Stig Abell|rating=4|genre=[[Clear My Name by Paula Daly]]===Crime [[image:4.5star.jpg|linksummary=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|Crime]]Former Metropolitan Police detective, Jake Johnson, [[:Category:Thrillers|Thrillers]] Tess Gilroy works for Innocence UKhas settled into his rustic life at Little Sky. There’s perhaps a little uncertainty about the future of his life with his vet girlfriend, Livia and her daughter Diana, as moving in together would mean a charity investigating the cases lot of prisoners who can convince them that they've been wrongly convicted compromise: does Jake give up his off-grid and they're just moving on relaxing life to move in with Livia or does Livia move to their next case. She's somewhat surprised when Clive, Little Sky despite her reservations about whether or not this is the head of the charity, announces that future she'll have someone shadowing wants for herself and her. daughter? Avril's For the moment they’re enjoying life in her mid twenties the present and rather gauche as well as prone to putting her foot in itthe future on the back burner. One of the reasons they're now going to look at the case of Carrie Kamara is that she's female and Innocence have never yet taken up the case of a woman: such impressions matter. [[Clear My Name by Paula Daly|Full Review]]}}{{Frontpage<!-- Georgianne Landy-Kordis -->|isbn=1786482126|-title=The Janus Stone (Dr Ruth Galloway)| styleauthor="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"Elly Griffiths|rating=4.5[[image:1072549271.jpg|linkgenre=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1072549271/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] Crime| stylesummary="verticalBuilders were demolishing an old house in Norwich -align: top; textthe site was going to hold seventy-five 'luxury' apartments -align: left;"|===[[The Simple Act when they discovered the bones of Self-Publishing With Amazon: A Simple Step by Step Guide by Georgianne Landy-Kordis ]]=== [[image:4a child beneath a doorway.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Business and Finance|Business and Finance]] There was no skull. Was this a ritual killing or murder? Inevitably, [[:Category:Reference|Reference]], [[:Category:Self-Publishing|Self Publishing]] I frequently meet authors who are struggling to be published by the traditional housesDr Ruth Galloway finds herself working with DCI Harry Nelson. It's difficult as Ruth knows, but when I suggest self-publishing they explain that they don'Nelson doesn't have the big bucks required to go down , that road she is pregnant with Author Solutions or Matador or their likehis child as a result of the one night they spent together some three months ago. I then ask if they've considered Kindle and the answer Her condition will be obvious before long, not least because Ruth is inevitably that they wouldn't know where prone to startsudden bouts of sickness. I can empathise with that. Despite having used a computer }}{{Frontpage|isbn=0008551324|title=The Devil You Know (D S Max Craigie)|author=Neil Lancaster|rating=4.5|genre=Crime|summary=It's unusual for about thirty years, running most of my life ''and'' a website on line, I'm still nervous when it comes anyone from the Hardie family to starting something newapproach the police. I like someone to hold my hand as I go through it Neither side likes or has any respect for the first timeother. That was why I was very interested when But Davie Hardie is struggling in prison and he''The Simple Act s prepared to tell the police where the body of Self Publishing With Amazon'' came across my deska missing person is buried and who was responsible for her death. Author Georgianne Landy-Kordis doesn't profess to be a computer expert: she's simply This person, he promises, is someone who has done this many times big and she's giving us it will be worth the benefit of her experience and without any added chitchatpolice doing what he wants. [[The Simple Act And what he wants is to be transferred to an open prison to serve the remainder of Self-Publishing With Amazon: A Simple Step by Step Guide by Georgianne Landy-Kordis |Full Review]] <!-- S Kensington his sentence and to get an early parole date. Not much to ask, is it? The new Deputy Police Constable doesn't think so and she's even prepared to do the other thing that Hardie demanded -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"make certain that DS Max Craigie and anyone who works with him is kept well away from what's happening.}}{{Frontpage|isbn=0008405026[[image:1789018625.jpg|linktitle=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1789018625/refA Stranger in the Family (Maeve Kerrigan 11)|author=nosim?tagJane Casey|rating=thebookbag-21]]5|genre=Crime| stylesummary="verticalIt's sixteen years since nine-align: top; textyear-align: left;"|===[[Just Another Girl on old Rosalie Marshall disappeared from her bed one summer night. She was never found and the Road by S Kensington]]=== [[image:4starinvestigation ground to a halt.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Historical Fiction|Historical Fiction]] When Sergeant Farr Now, her mother, Helena, and Corporal Valentine first encountered Katrinka Badeau she was just eighteen years old and fleeing from her father are dead in their bed. Initially, it looks like a farmhouse straightforward murder/suicide but there's something about the positioning of the bodies that makes DS Maeve Kerrigan and a group of German deserters who had raped herboss DI Josh Derwent suspicious. Despite being outnumbered she What looked as though it was giving just about as good as she got when Farr going to be an open-and Valentine intervened and finished the group off-shut case is now a complex double murder. It was 1944 and Farr and Valentine were part of Kerrigan is convinced that the Jedburgh unit, EDMOND, lead by Major Willoughby Nye. Nye recognised Katrinka immediately - heexplanation lies in Rosalie'd worked on her fathers disappearance: others (such as Derwent's merchant ship and Katrinka had once had a crush on Nye. When he offered her a job with his unitboss, she acceptedUna Burt) are less convinced. [[Just Another Girl on the Road by S Kensington|Full Review]]}}<!-- Patrice Lawrence-->{{Frontpage|-isbn=0571379877| styletitle="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"The Kellerby Code|author=Jonny Sweet[[image:1444940651|rating=3.jpg5|linkgenre=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1444940651/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  Crime| stylesummary="verticalEdward Jevons is a working-align: top; textclass young man, obsessed with his upper-align: left;"|===[[Roseclass friends, Interrupted by Patrice Lawrence]]=== [[image:4starRobert and Stanza. Robert's a theatre director.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Teens|Teens]]  Rose He's also self-obsessed, demanding, handsome and entitled and her brother Rudder have recently escaped from cult-like fundamentalist Christian sect, the Pilgrims, along uses Edward to run errands for him. Edward has been in love with Stanza since their mother. While Mum works endless hours at agency cleaning jobs trying to keep the rent paid on their tiny flat, Rose university days - and Rudder are trying he's drunkenly confided how he feels to navigate the worldly worldRobert. It Most men in Robert's position would stay away from Stanza or tell Edward that a relationship had begun between them but he's not easy when everything like most men: Edward is new and left to stumble upon the rigid rules you've always lived by are suddenly missingtwo of them kissing in a dark passageway. [[Rose, Interrupted by Patrice Lawrence|Full Review]]}}<!-- David Edwards -->{{Frontpage|-author=Jo Callaghan| styletitle="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"Leave No Trace|rating=4[[image:1789018870.jpg|linkgenre=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1789018870/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] Crime| stylesummary="vertical-align: When a man is found crucified on the top; text-align: left;"|===[[Something of a hill in Nuneaton, DCS Kat Frank finds herself assigned to Tell You by David Edwards]]=== [[image:4starthe case alongside her sidekick, the AI detective Lock. It's their first live case together, having previously been very successful with several cold cases.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Dystopian Fiction|Dystopian Fiction]] Sam Murray But when there is a second body found crucified a few days later, Kat is suddenly struggling with a potential serial killer and Bert Leinster had been friends for a long timevery high profile case that draws a lot of unwanted attention to their AI Future Policing project. Bert was Sam's boss at CERN, but this never seemed Will they be able to affect solve the way that case in time, or will Kat find herself taken off the families got on. Bert's wife, Natalia, was Russian case and seriously rich. Their twins, fifteen-year-olds Allie and Joshpotentially, went to out of a private boarding school, but at weekends they were great friends with Sam's two childrencareer?|isbn=139851120X}}{{Frontpage|isbn=1399613073|title=Moral Injuries|author=Christie Watson|rating=4.5|genre=Thrillers|summary=Olivia, Liam Laura and Hannah. Sam's wife, Briony, was head Anjali met on the first day of product research at Nestlé. Life was good medical school and their friendship would keep them inseparable for all eight a quarter of them, until Sam - a particle physicist - spotted that the rate at which Higgs Boson particles were hitting the earth had risen exponentiallycentury. It's enough of Olivia is ruthlessly ambitious, which is a problem for Sam and Bert bonus when you aim to drag the head of CERN, Prof Ralph Moyeur, out of be a family lunchcardiothoracic surgeon. Then Bert started having conversations with Laura is a perfectionist and a plant called Lilytrauma doctor. [[Something to Tell You by David Edwards|Full Review]] <! Anjali is the free spirit of the group and she becomes a GP. When we first meet them they're at a drug and alcohol-- Behrend -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1789016789fuelled party and it's going to end in tragedy.jpg|link=http://www We don't know who suffered the tragedy or the consequences. Twenty-five years later there will be an eerily similar event that will impact the three friends. This time, it's their teenage children who are involved.amazon.co.uk/dp/1789016789/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]}}{{Frontpage|isbn=0241636604| styletitle="vertical-alignThe Trading Game: top; text-align: left;"A Confession|author=Gary Stevenson|rating=4.5|genre=Autobiography|summary==[[You're the Froth On My Soy Cappuccino: Poems for If you were to bring up an image of a city banker in your mind, you're unlikely to think of someone like Gary Stevenson. A hoodie and jeans replaces the pin-stripe suit and his background is the Present by Don Behrend]]=== [[image:4starEast End, where he was familiar with violence, poverty and injustice.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Anthologies|Anthologies]]  ''You're There was no posh public school on his CV - but he had been to the Froth On My Soy Cappuccino'' begins London School of Economics. Stevenson is bright - extremely bright - and he has a facility with ''A Modern Love Story'': ''You’re the froth on my soy cappuccino''<br>''You’re the spread on my paleo toast''<br>''You’re the nose of my GM-free Pinot''<br>''You’re organic, my lovenumbers which most of us can only envy. You’re the He also realised that most!''<br> Ha! How can you not laugh rich people expect poor people to be stupid. It was his ability at what was, essentially, a card game which got him an internship with Citibank. Eventually, this gently mocking take on love in the hipster world? [[You're the Froth On My Soy Cappuccino: Poems for the Present by Don Behrend|Full Review]] turned into permanent employment as a trader.}}<!-- Mary Scott Huff -->{{Frontpage|-isbn=1035021803| styletitle="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"The Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder|author=C L Miller[[image:1419726625.jpg|linkrating=http://www3.amazon.co.uk/dp/1419726625/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] 5| stylegenre="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"Crime|summary===[[The Mitten Handbook: Knitting Recipes It's twenty years since Freya Lockwood has been back to Make Your Own by Mary Scott Huff]]=== [[image:4starthe English country village where she grew up.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crafts|Crafts]] I love mittens - they She're so convenient and much easier to get onto (and off) cold hands than s back now because of a pair of fiddly glovesrequest for help from her beloved aunt, Carole. TheyFreya're not something you regularly see in shopss former mentor and Carole's close friend, Arthur Crockleford, is dead and the circumstances seem suspicious, so I knew that if I wanted new pairs I would have to knit them myselfsay the least. WellArthur was the reason why Freya had not been back to the village: Arthur, actuallyshe feels, that's my rationalisation of the situation: in truth I love knitting mittenslet her down badly. They have just enough technique Even though they were in business together as antique hunters, she has not felt able to make them satisfyingbe near the man or pursue the profession she loved. After the split, plenty of quick work and a pair of warm mittens she worked in a few days. Patternscafe, though - where do you get them met and married James (on the rebound from? [[The Mitten Handbook: Knitting Recipes to Make Your Own by Mary Scott Huff|Full Review]]the love of her life, who was murdered) and Freya and James have now divorced.}}<!-- Evan Winter -->{{Frontpage|-isbn=AllTomorrowsFutureCover| styletitle="widthAll Tomorrow's Futures: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"Fictions that Disrupt|author=Benjamin Greenaway and Stephen Oram (Editors)|rating=5[[image:0356512940.jpg|linkgenre=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0356512940/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] Science Fiction| stylesummary="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Rage ''Opening up new ways of Dragons by Evan Winter]]=== [[image:5starthinking about the shape of things to come.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Fantasy|Fantasy]] Every so often, as a reader, a book comes along that is utter and complete perfection. This book is one of those. Utter and complete perfection. Winter has created an absolute masterpiece of a novel, set in the fantasy land of Uhmlaba the reader is instantly thrown into war, a battle for survival for the Omehi people. Fleeing their homeland, they have to fight to remain on the only scrap of land they can reach. The culture of the Omehi people is rich and deep but not perfect, not sanctimonious. They have villains, they have faults, they are the invaders after all, but Winter creates a realistic and honest portrayal of a people desperate to survive, to save themselves and their culture for future generations. [[The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter|Full Review]] <!-- Sorosiak -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:178800387X.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/178800387X/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"| ===[[I, Cosmo by Carlie Sorosiak]]=== [[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Confident Readers|Confident Readers]]  Cosmo's family is in crisis. Mom and Dad argue all the time. Emmaline doesn't quite understand it because she's too little but she feels it. And Max, who is bigger, does understand it and is terrified by it. Long ago, when Max was just a baby, Cosmo made a promise to protect Max forever and so he sets about his mission of repairing the family with everything he's got... [[I, Cosmo by Carlie Sorosiak|Full Review]]<!-- Linda Jones -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1999324803.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1999324803/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Deadwood Hall by Linda Jones]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Confident Readers|Confident Readers]] In late December Dylan Beaumont and his sister Emily were on their way to spend the week before Christmas at their grandfather's house. It was snowing heavily and you could sense that their parents were becoming annoyed at the bickering in the back of the car. Emily was rather brusque with her nine-year-old brother's behaviour, but then that's your prerogative when you're a grown-up eleven year old. The snow was getting heavier and the journey longer when Emily opened the car window just a couple of inches. There was a dreadful smell and Dylan saw a horrible, snake-like figure clawing at the car window. [[Deadwood Hall by Linda Jones|Full Review]] <!-- Denzil Meyrick -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1846974755.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1846974755/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[A Breath on Dying Embers (DCI Daley) by Denzil Meyrick]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|Crime]] Few government trade missions arrive by luxury liner, but the cruise ship ''Great Britain'' is berthed in Kinloch harbour and on board are high-powered international delegates. It's hard to avoid the suspicion that it's not ''entirely'' about work as the billionaires, entrepreneurs and their civil service minders tour the country, golfing and sightseeing with their entourage of security personnel. It's an event which DCI Daley hopes will pass quickly, particularly as his formal uniform is far too tight for comfort, but it's not long before one of the crew members and a local bird watcher go missing. [[A Breath on Dying Embers (DCI Daley) by Denzil Meyrick|Full Review]] <!-- James -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1781128952.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1781128952/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Starlight Watchmaker by Lauren James]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Dyslexia Friendly|Dyslexia Friendly]], [[:Category:Teens|Teens]] This is a dyslexia-friendly, science fiction novella for young adults. It tells the tale of Hugo, an unwanted and rather lonely android, who makes a living for himself mending time-travel watches. When one of his clients demands that his broken watch be mended, Hugo realises there is a mystery to be solved, and is only too ready to help. An exciting journey of discovery unfolds, which takes Hugo out of his drab attic workroom and into a scary adventure with some amazing new friends, exploring regions of the planet never before known to exist. [[The Starlight Watchmaker by Lauren James|Full Review]] <!-- Stuart MacBride -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:0007419449.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0007419449/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Cold Granite (Logan McRae) by Stuart MacBride]]=== [[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|Crime]] DS Logan McRae is just back from a year's sick leave after he was attacked by a killer. He's just about OK and he's supposed to be easing himself back into the swing of the job in a gentle way - until three-year-old David Reid's body is discovered in a ditch. He'd been missing for some time and it came as no surprise that he was dead but he's the first of several child murders. To add to the complications the police even have a body but no child reported missing. A serial killer, a child killer and abuser, is on the loose in Aberdeen and the press are missing no opportunity to bay for blood. As if that wasn't bad enough there seems to be a leak from within Force Headquarters: a local journalist, Colin Miller, quickly finds out everything that's happening. [[Cold Granite (Logan McRae) by Stuart MacBride|Full Review]] <!-- Angela Marsons -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:B07QPKB7N7.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07QPKB7N7/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Child's Play (D I Kim Stone) by Angela Marsons]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|Crime]] There's a prologue and we know that we're dealing with someone who is very disturbed. The descriptions are horrifying, but worst of all is the coldness of the killer. [[Child's Play (D I Kim Stone) by Angela Marsons|Full Review]] <!-- Chiang -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1529014484.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1529014484/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Exhalation by Ted Chiang]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Science Fiction|Science Fiction]], [[:Category:Short Stories|Short Stories]] Over the past twenty-eight years Ted Chiang has published fifteen science fiction short stories. These magnificent stories have won twenty-seven major science fiction awards so if you are a science fiction fan it is likely that you have already come across some of the work by Ted Chiang. I cannot speak highly enough of this collection of short stories, they are so wide ranging in their themes and so beautifully written, Chiang has written an absolute masterpiece of a collection. If you come across Chiang's work before, take this opportunity to do so now. Trust me; your imagination will be grateful. [[Exhalation by Ted Chiang|Full Review]] <!-- Lawrence -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1444940651.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1444940651/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"| ===[[Rose, Interrupted by Patrice Lawrence]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Teens|Teens]]  Rose and her brother Rudder have recently escaped from cult-like fundamentalist Christian sect, the Pilgrims, along with their mother. While Mum works endless hours at agency cleaning jobs trying to keep the rent paid on their tiny flat, Rose and Rudder are trying to navigate the worldly world. It's not easy when everything is new and the rigid rules you've always lived by are suddenly missing. [[Rose, Interrupted by Patrice Lawrence|Full Review]]<!-- Kate Atkinson -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:9780552772464.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0552772461/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Started Early, Took My Dog (Jackson Brodie) by Kate Atkinson]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|Crime]]''

I guess 've heard it said that 'technology' is what happens after you're eighteen. Well, I must confess that most there have been more than a few decades of us have made the odd impulse purchase technology in my lifetime. I've kept up reasonably well with what's advantageous to me but Tracy Waterhouse, security chief at I'm left with the Merrion Centre in Leeds, blew most peoplefeeling that it's ideas of an impulse purchase out all getting away from me. Some of it is - frankly - quite frightening. Of course, I could research the possibilities and the probabilities and end up down rabbit holes without really understanding whether I'm reading someone who knows what they're talking about or the water one morninglatest conspiracy theorist. Seeing I needed people I knew I could trust and who could deliver information in a way I could understand.}}{{Frontpage|author=Sunny Singh|title=Hotel Arcadia|rating=3.5|genre=Thrillers |summary=The Hotel Arcadia is a known prostitute dragging luxury hotel in an unnamed city that has suddenly been violently taken over by a toddler terrorist group. Hiding from the terrorists who are rampaging through , killing everyone on site, there is Sam, a wartime photographer and Abhi, the hotel manager. As Abhi continues to try to care remotely for the residents who are still alive in the shopping mall whilst cursing at hotel, he forms a bond with Sam who refuses to be cowed by events, and keeps on venturing out of her room to try to capture what's happened through herphotography. Although they only ever talk over the phone, Waterhouse followed the woman their friendship grows as Abhi tries to help her keep safe and bought they both wait to see if they will be rescued before they are discovered by the girl for £3000terrorists. |isbn=086154742X}}{{Frontpage|isbn=1529153298|title=The difficulty List of a purchase like this Suspicious Things|author=Jennie Godfrey|rating=5|genre=General Fiction|summary=It's 1979 and Margaret Thatcher is knowing Prime Minister. (A woman? I mean, honestly...) She's not what 's worrying Miv's family, though. Women have been disappearing. Well, they've been murdered, but to have 'disappeared' doesn't sound quite so frightening. Miv's upset because she's overheard that her father wants to move the family 'Down South'. When you're from Yorkshire, Down South is a frightening, foreign place, best avoided. For Miv, the move would mean leaving her best friend, Sharon, and she'll do next anything to prevent that. She's not worried about the dangers or that her Mum's stopped talking - to anyone.}}{{Frontpage|isbn=1398524085|title=Has Anyone Seen Charlotte Salter?|author=Nicci French|rating=5|genre=Crime|summary=Charlotte Salter was expected at her husband's fiftieth birthday party but never turned up. Her children, sons Niall, Paul and Ollie and her daughter, Etty. are all worried but - strangely - her husband, Alec, is not. Shortly afterwards, Etty and Greg, find the body of Greg's father, Duncan Ackerley, in the river. It was an easy assumption for the police to make that Duncan had murdered Charlie and Tracythen committed suicide when he couldn't stand the guilt. The Salter children are not convinced but there's humdrum life is replaced little else they can do but get on with one their lives and wonder about what really happened.}}{{Frontpage|isbn=1035906708|title=Diva|author=Daisy Goodwin|rating=4.5|genre=General Fiction|summary=We tend to think of stressMaria Callas as Greek, but she was born to Greek parents in Manhattan, New York, fear in December 1923 and an overwhelming love only moved to Athens when she was thirteen. Her original surname was Kalogeropoulos but her father changed it to 'Callas' to make it more manageable in the States. When she was back in Athens - supposedly so that she could get appropriate training for fourher voice -year-old Courtneyshe was raised under the Nazi occupation by a mother who mercilessly exploited her and made no secret of her preference for her elder sister, Jackie.}}{{Frontpage|author=Christopher Edge|title=Black Hole Cinema Club|rating=4|genre=Confident Readers|summary=Lucas and his friends are all booked in for a movie marathon at their local cinema, a place that has the nickname of 'The Black Hole'. All big movie fans, they're looking forward to lots of exciting films, and many, many snacks! However, as the movie starts, they very quickly realise that something about this new film format is very different, and they are swept up into an adventure they couldn't even imagine. [[Started Early But as they lurch from one film genre to the next, can they figure out what on earth is going on? Will they ever get back to the cinema, Took My Dog (Jackson Brodie) by Kate Atkinsonand to their real lives?|isbn=1839942738}}{{Frontpage|author=Rachel Greenlaw|title=Compass and Blade|rating=3.5|genre=Teens|Full Review]]summary=''I can hear the song of the sea. The call of the deep, the answering beat in my heart.''

<!-- Chloe Daykin -->Rosevear, a remote and partially forgotten island, survives on luring ships into the rocks and plundering the wrecks. Mira, like her mother before her, is one of the seven who swim out to survey the ruins – rescuing any survivors and any treasure that lies within. But when the Council Watch lays a trap to end the wrecking, they capture the island's leader and Mira's father. Desperate to save him from death, Mira makes a bargain with a wreck survivor who is as charming as he is secretive and with only coordinates to guide her, she sets off in search of a family secret that lies buried deep in the sea. With only nine days to unearth what might save her father, as her journey takes her from the watched streets of foreign islands to the heart of the smuggler's territory, Mira must be determined to stop at nothing to save the future of her home and the ones she holds most dear.|-isbn=0008664730}}{{Frontpage| styleauthor="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"James Sherwood Metts|title=Planet Storyland[[image:0571349439|rating=4.jpg5|genre=Confident Readers|linksummary=http://wwwThings have been a bit sticky for the Earthlings. AI and automation have been proceeding apace, often replacing jobs they're paid to do and other tasks that took time to accomplish.amazonJust as they were beginning to get used to all this technological change and starting to think of other, new ways to spend time, along came an awful pandemic.coLife was pretty much shut down and, along with it, all the many daily social interactions on which they depend so heavily.uk/dp/0571349439/ref|isbn=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]1736128426 }} {{Frontpage| styleauthor="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"Matthew Tree|title=We'll Never Know|rating=4.5|genre=Literary Fiction|summary=[[Fire GirlTimothy Wyndham wants nothing more than to be different from his father, a drunk and chronic underachiever whose dreams of being exceptional at any of his artistic passions all failed miserably and who had endless crises of self confidence. So Tim applied himself to his studies, Forest Boy by Chloe Daykin]]cultivated his abilities rather than his daydreams and set himself high but achievable ambitions.|isbn=B0CVFXPGP8}}{{Frontpage|author=A G Slatter|title=The Briar Book of the Dead |rating=5[[image:5star.jpg|linkgenre=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Confident Readers]]Fantasy Maya has to escape. She|summary='' There's on the run in a country she doesn't know and has no idea who part of me that wants to trust. Raul is escaping too - travelling back keep this just to his home where a terrible tragedy happened, ready to stir up troublemyself for however long I can. When their paths collide in the middle This secret magic of the junglemy own, all mine, the sparks begin at last. I just want to flyenjoy it for a while. As modern world corruption meets the magic and legends of ancient times, can Maya draw on her hidden light to find the way through to the truth? [[Fire Girl, Forest Boy by Chloe Daykin|Full Review]]''

<!Within a remote mountain pass, far away from the world, lies Silverton; a town under the protection of the Briar's, a family of witches who protect the town and the wider world from the Darklands. Though she has always wished for magic, Ellie Briar is the first non-witch to be born into her family for generations and as such since she was young, her training as a steward revolved around letters and administration rather than spells and potions. When her grandmother suddenly dies, Ellie's cousin Audra becomes the Briar Witch, the town's leader, and Ellie takes her place beside her. As challenges come her way left, right and centre, Ellie uncovers the rare ability to communicate with the dead, putting her at the heart of a maelstrom of chaos. Reeling from one family secret to another, Ellie must decide who to trust and determine what to do as the Briar witches' legacy, everything they have sacrificed to survive, is under threat.|isbn=1803364548}}{{Frontpage|isbn=1529900360|title=The Ghost Orchid|author=Jonathan Kellerman|rating=4|genre=Crime|summary=It hadn't been Lt Milo Sturgis's fault that Alex Delaware had been badly injured but he felt responsible and even after Alex recovered, Sturgis was reluctant to ask for his help on difficult cases. His assertions that there were only open-and-shut cases which didn't need the help of a psychologist only worked for a while. Finally, it was Robin, Delaware's partner, who nudged Milo into asking for help again. She knew that the involvement was something that the man she loved needed. The next case did look simple, though. Two lovers were murdered in the swimming pool of a remote property in Bel Air. He was the heir to an Italian shoe empire and she is married to an extremely rich man and it's not the Italian. But which of them was the primary target?}}{{Frontpage|isbn=1529395224|title=Letting the Cat Out of the Bag: The Secret Life of a Vet|author=Sion Rowlands|rating=3.5|genre=Animals and Wildlife|summary=Siôn Rowlands fell into veterinary science accidentally. His father was a GP and Rowlands didn't want to follow in his footsteps, particularly when he considered the strain that being on-call put on his father's life. When he was seventeen he took the opportunity of doing work experience with a family friend who was a vet and was convinced this was the job for him. Before long, he was at Liverpool University. It hadn't - as with so many students - been his dream since he was a child. If anything, he'd wanted to be a professional footballer.}}{{Frontpage|isbn=0861541774|title=A Nye of Pheasants|author=Steve Burrows|rating=4|genre=Crime|summary=DCI Domenic Jejeune's close friend and former colleague, Danny Maik, has taken a short holiday in Singapore to meet up with an old ally, Guy Trueman. Maik was involved in a street brawl - he would later maintain that he was facing a man armed with a knife - and he killed a Ghurka. Initially, he faced a charge of manslaughter but evidence came to light that suggested that he might have planned to murder the man. Now he could be facing the death penalty. Domenic Jejeune can do nothing to help as any interference from another police force could provoke a diplomatic incident and wouldn't help Danny at all.}}{{Frontpage|author=Alexander McCall Smith|title=The Perfect Passion Company|rating=4.5|genre=General Fiction|summary=The Perfect Passion Company is a dating agency in Edinburgh, run by Ness and operating as an alternative to all the online apps in providing a more personal, tailored service. Ness has asked her younger cousin Katie if she could come and look after the business, as Ness is planning to take a trip to Canada to get away for a while. Katie is coming out of a break up with a bad boyfriend, and so jumps at the chance to come home to Edinburgh. And so begins this new story from Alexander McCall Smith, bringing us to an Edinburgh we already love, thanks to 44 Scotland Street and the Isabel Dalhousie novels, but with some new characters who quickly begin to charm. Katie has no experience in running a business, or in match-making, but Ness has full confidence in her abilities, and there's always her very helpful (and rather handsome) neighbour, William, to lend a hand…|isbn=1846976596}}{{Frontpage|isbn=0811771741|title=InstaKnits for Baby|author=Melissa Leapman|rating=4|genre=Crafts|summary=Melissa Leapman's ''InstaKnits for Baby'' gives us a collection of knits from toys to blankets. Some will be quick knits -others are of the 'long, cosy afternoons in front of the fire' variety. The projects are divided by the time they'll take to complete - DO NOT REMOVE ANYTHING BELOW THIS LINE less than five hours, five to ten hours, ten to twenty hours and more than twenty hours. All the projects are attractive, modern and useable. I perhaps show my age when I wonder about 'social-media->worthy projects' but that's me being picky.}}{{Frontpage|author=Dean Koontz|title=The Bad Weather Friend|rating=4.5|genre=Paranormal|summary=Benny is having a terrifically bad day. He loses his job, he loses his fiancee, and his house gets trashed. Oh, and someone has delivered a really weird, disturbing coffin-sized object to his home, and it's possible that whoever or whatever was inside is the thing that has trashed his house! The thing is, Benny is the very last person to deserve all this bad luck. He is a nice person. A really nice person. So fortunately for Benny it turns out that the delivery to his house is a new friend, a bad weather friend called Spike, who has been sent to help him since Benny is clearly under attack from nefarious forces for being a good person. Spike is going to take care of Benny, and will certainly take care of Benny's enemies, if he, Benny, and Harper (a waitress slash Private Investigator who finds herself roped into Benny's wild adventure) can figure out who exactly they are.|isbn=1662500491}}{{Frontpage|author=Adam Stower|title=Murray and Bun|rating=4.5|genre=Confident Readers |summary=Murray is supposed to be a humble, tidy and friendly cat, one who is able to sleep and eat and eat and sleep and, well, whatever takes his fancy next of the two. But he's a bad magician's cat, so his favourite bun has been turned into a hyperactive sticky rabbit called Bun, and the catflap they both use can chuck them out, not into the regular back garden, but into a world of frightening adventure and whiffs. This time round it drops them into a Viking land, where a troll hunter is expected – well, one much bigger than Murray was, to be honest, but he's turned up and he'll have to do…|isbn=0008561249}}