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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.
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==Reviews of the The Best New Books==
'''Read [[:Category:New Reviews|new reviews by category]]. '''<br>
'''Read [[:Category:Features|the latest features]].''' <!-- INSERT NEW REVIEWS BELOW HERE--> '''Read [[Forthcoming Publications|reviews of books about to be published]].
{{Frontpage
|authorisbn= Alexandra Christo152919640X|title= Into the Crooked PlaceThe Suspect|author=Rob Rinder|rating= 4.5|genre= TeensCrime|summary= In The nation's favourite daytime TV presenter, Jessica Holby, was murdered live on television and it seems that there's only one suspect. He's celebrity chef Sebastian Brooks and his contract stated that he must not serve anything containing miso to Jessica Holby. She's seriously allergic and carries an EpiPen in case of emergencies. Everything seemed as normal - as normal as they can be in a world thriving with black magicbusy, four young crooks embark on live television studio - and Brooks served a quest ragout to take down their criminal leader after they discover the plot behind his dangerous new magicHolby. Her EpiPen was nowhere to be found and she was dead within minutes. It was soon clear that this was no accident.|isbn=1250318378
}}
{{Frontpage
|authorisbn=Kathlaine C Gill and D Clark Gill0008385068|title=Madness Between Light and DarkThe Midnight Feast|author=Lucy Foley|rating=34.5|genre=FantasyThrillers|summary=It's 1912, midsummer on the Dorset coast and guests gather at New Hope Sanatorium, Christine Agnes Tupper is fast growing The Manor. It's their opening weekend and splendid celebrations are promised. It's all headed upby Francesca Meadows. Abandoned there by parents who were ashamed of The Manor was her hunchback, ancestral home and she's nevertheless grown up to converted it into an intelligent girl with a good heartimpressive retreat for the wealthy and famous. Her encounters with husband, Owen, was the inhabitants architect and work is still ongoing on parts of the asylum swiftly take her on a fascinating, thrilling site. The heat is oppressive and sometimes terrifying journey of self discovery, allowing Agnes amongst the guests are enemies as well as friends. Old scores are going to prove that, even with be settled and it won't be long before a twisted spine, her heart body is in the right place!|isbn=1641110708found.
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{{Frontpage
|isbnauthor=190874572XAshley Hickson-Lovence|title=Letters from Tove|author=Tove Jansson (Author), Boel Westin (Editor), Helen Svensson (Editor), Sarah Death (Translator)Wild East|rating=4.5|genre=AutobiographyTeens|summary=Back Written in verse, this is Ronny's story, a young black fourteen year old boy from Hackney who suddenly has to move to Norwich and start at the beginning of the century I went on holiday a mostly white school. The move is initiated by Ronny's mum who is worried for Ronny's safety after a tragic event, and so Ronny finds himself trying to Nepal. I met settle in a new town, a wonderful Finnish woman new school, and we became sort keep himself out of friendstrouble. I can't remember if it was on that holiday or He listens to music constantly, and has always dreamed of being a later one that Paula told me I really had to read Tove Janssonrapper. I do know that it was four years later that I finally acquired an English translation But now, in this new school, his teacher encourages him to be part of The Summer Booka poetry writing workshop group and, slowly, Ronny begins to see the connections between rap and poetry, and that I eagerly awaited the ''Sort Of'' translations power of the rest of Jansson's work creativity and devoured them as soon as I could get my hands on themcrafting your words.|isbn=0241645441
}}
{{Frontpage
|isbn=17847427831635866847|title=The Benefit of Hindsight (Simon Serrailler)Lavender Companion|author=Susan HillJessica Dunham and Terry Barlin Vesci|rating=4.5|genre=CrimeLifestyle|summary=A superficial look would suggest to It's strange, the things that make you ''immediately'' feel that Simon Serrailer has been lucky and - all things considered - his life this is as good as it could bethe book for you. HeBefore I started reading 's back at work after a long break to recuperate from 'The Lavender Companion'', I visited the violent incident which cost him his arm and almost his life. When heauthor's not at work he's spending his time in the cathedral roof drawing the medieval angels which are being restored[https://www.pinelavenderfarm. Therecom/ website] and there's talk a picture of an exhibition a slice of his drawingschocolate cake on the homepage. Lafferton seems to be quite settled as far as crime is concerned until one night when two local men open their front door to a couple seeking shelterI don't eat cakes and desserts - but I wanted that cake viscerally. It(There's a recipe in the usual story of a broken-down carbook, and a phone which wonI't m avoiding with some difficulty!!) Then I started reading the book and I was told to make a callmess of it. The man are generous and welcoming and have no suspicions that Notes in the couple margins are simply there sanctioned. You get to plan fold down the corners of pages. You suspect that smears of butter would not be a robberyproblem. ItI ''loved''s a serious error of judgement in the course of this investigation which will throw Simon Serrailler's future into doubtbook already.
}}
{{Frontpage
|author=Rob Keeley
|title=Childish Spirits: 10th anniversary special edition
|rating=4
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=Around here, we're big fans of children's author Rob Keeley. He's a ball of happy positivity, he understands children, and he writes for their pleasure and enjoyment, not to lecture or hector.
The ''Childish Spirits'' series is one of his greatest achievements. It's a sequence of ghost stories centring on Ellie, a stalwart young girl who can cope with anything the spirit world throws at her, and Edward, a spoiled lordling and the first spirit Ellie encounters
|isbn= 1783064617
}}
{{Frontpage
|isbnauthor=140638853XJenny Valentine|title=Somebody Give This Heart a Pen|author=Sophia ThakurUs in the Before and After
|rating=5
|genre=AnthologiesTeens|summary=Sophia Thakur's debut anthology Elk and Mab are best friends, or more than that even, their friendship is a collection of poems that are all unique, whether once in relation to their style, length or themea lifetime connection. The collection is split into four sections, titled They meet as children one day on a trip out but unfortunately they don'growt get each other's contact details at the time. But then chance brings them back together,'wait'and they are inseparable. Something has happened though,'break'something terrible and 'grow again'tragic, guiding you and now they must work through a process which is one of the foundations that the anthology is built on. Each section begins with a foregrounded title page containing various small pieces of writingtheir grief, ranging from a quote by a Nigerian playwrightand their friendship, to African proverbs. This provides a nice introduction to the section before you are immersed into the beautifully written and eloquent poems that Thakur has clearly put her heart and soul intotogether.|isbn=1471196585
}}
{{Frontpage
|isbnauthor=1910989460Kieran Larwood and Joe Todd-Stanton|title=FlemberDungeon Runners: The Secret Book|author=Jamie SmartHero Trial|rating=54
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=A mysterious islandMeet Kit. A strange Like most of the people in his world, it seems, he is an avid fan of Dungeon Running – the sport where a team of warrior, mage and mystical power called Flember. A boyhealer enter specially prepared, century-inventor called Devold, magical mazes, and race to the exit, who uncovers a long forgotten secretperhaps bothering with the treasure or the big bad and the points they grant you along the way. And Unfortunately for Kit, the only thing he's seen of the latest race on the inn TV equivalent is that one team has been retired, eaten, and a giant, red robot bear?! The sleepy village new trio of Eden questors is about needed. Possibly very unfortunately indeed for Kit, he has taken to descend the goading from the token bully of his world and stumbled into hilarious chaos declaring he'll enter as a team. What chance does this friendless, muscle- can disastrous Dev save his brand new best friendfree-zone have in actually managing that, and how could he possibly hope to succeed? Find out |isbn=1839945184}}{{Frontpage|author=Saima Mir|title=Vengeance|rating=3.5|genre=Thrillers|summary= I was instantly intrigued by the premise of this novel – an organised crime syndicate in the north of England run by a Muslim woman. The fact that it was the second in this fully illustrated mad-cap adventurea series I hadn't read didn't stop me – I've jumped midway into a few series before (on page and screen) and it needn't be a hindrance if it's good enough. And that wasn't a problem here. Vengeance swiftly brings you up to speed, and I never felt lost.|isbn=0861541561
}}
{{Frontpage
|author=Stuart Douglas|title=Lowe and Le Breton Mysteries - Death at the Dress Rehearsal|rating=3.5|genre=Crime|summary=During location filming for his 1970's sitcom 'Floggit and Leggit', leading man Edward Lowe stumbles across the dead body of a woman on the edge of a reservoir. The police seem happy to assign it as an accidental death, but something about the whole thing bothers Lowe, and he enlists the help of a fellow actor, John Le Breton to help him investigate matters further. They travel across the country during their days off filming, uncovering more possible murders and, seemingly, a link to death during the Second World War. But is there really a link between the deaths? And will they manage to uncover who is responsible before more people lose their lives?|isbn=1803368209}}{{Frontpage|isbn=B0CYV674G2|title=Swanton Morley (John Tanner)|author=David Blake|rating=3.5|genre=Crime|summary=It seemed like an open-and-shut case. A man, covered in mud and blood - and carrying a knife, comes into the police station shouting that he hasn't killed the man. A body at the bottom of a freshly dug grave at Swanton Morley church - he's been stabbed to death. DCI John Tanner is just back from his honeymoon, which coincided with the birth of his daughter Samantha. You would think he'd be grateful for an easy answer but the words 'perverse' and 'John Tanner' were made for each other. He's sleep-deprived to the point of falling asleep at work but he's determined to keep going - probably because he can't get any sleep at home.}}{{Frontpage|isbn=02413552221787333175|title=FrostheartYou Don't Have to be Mad to Work Here|author=Jamie LittlerBenji Waterhouse
|rating=5
|genre=Confident ReadersPopular Science|summary=Way out in I was tempted to read ''You Don't Have to be Mad to Work Here'' after enjoying Adam Kay's first book {{amazonurl|isbn=1509858636|title=This is Going to Hurt}}, a glorious mixture of insight into the furthest part workings of the known worldNHS, a tiny stronghold exists all on its own, cut off humour and autobiography. ''You Don't Have to be Mad...'' promised the same elements but moved from physical problems to mental illness and the rest work of human-kin by monsters that lurk beneath a psychiatrist. I did wonder whether it was acceptable to be looking for humour in this setting but the Snow Sealaughter is directed at a situation rather than a person and it is always delivered with empathy and understanding. }}{{Frontpage|author=Onyi Nwabineli|title=Allow Me to Introduce Myself|rating=4. There, a little boy called Ash waits for 5|genre=General Fiction|summary=Anuri spent her childhood on display to the return of his parentsworld, singing a forbidden lullaby thanks to remind him her step-mother Ophelia's increasingly popular presence on social media, where she posted every step of them... Anuri's childhood for sponsorships and influencer deals and doing his best to avoid his very, VERY grumpy yeti guardianbasically, Tobumonetary gain. But life Now Anuri is in her twenties and she is about slowly trying to regain her confidence and to get a whole lot more crazyher life back, suing her step-adventurous mother to take down the content about her. Anuri is battling alcoholism, failing to start her PhD, undergoing therapy and secretly abusing people online and receiving money from them for Ashdoing so. When a brave rescue attempt reveals he has amazing magical powers Most importantly, she is desperately worried about her little sister, hewho is the new focus of Ophelia's whisked aboard online empire. Can she save her sister, and perhaps herself and her relationship with her father at the Frostheartsame time?|isbn=0861546873}}{{Frontpage|author=David Chadwick|title=Headload of Napalm|rating=4.5|genre=Thrillers|summary= It's September 1973 in Hicks, California. Hicks is a Mojave desert town of a few thousand people with its nearest neighbours of LA and Las Vegas both a significant drive away. Not much happens in Hicks. A silver mine and a sleigh packed full defence contractor are the main local employers but otherwise, there's not much of daring explorers who could use his helpnote other than dive bars and Joshua trees. Life is quiet, until.... But can they help him find his family?|isbn= B0D321VJ76
}}
{{Frontpage
|isbnauthor=1913101037Tom Percival|title=The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone|author=Jaclyn MoriartyWrong Shoes
|rating=5
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=Bronte Will's life is difficult, in a multitude of ways. He is bullied because he has 'the wrong shoes', he has the wrong shoes because his dad can't work and doesn't miss her parentshave enough money for even the most basic of things like food, and shehis dad can's not particularly sad when she learns of their terrible fate t work because he lost his job at the hands of piratescollege, was working a cash-in-hand job on a building site and had an accident. Throw into that mix the fact that his mum and dad are separated, and Will's life seems bleak in every direction. And why should she be? After allyet, they just dumped her on Aunt Isabelle (without even asking if it would be he still has a convenient arrangement for either party) when she was a babytiny amount of hope. They swanned off to have adventures He is good at art, and never once came back clings to check if their only child was healthy and happythe moments of joy when he is drawing, that feel like a light at the end of a long, dark tunnel.|isbn=1398527122
}}
{{Frontpage
|isbnauthor=1401280048Sylvie Cathrall|title=Batman: Nightwalker: The Graphic Novel|author=Marie Lu, Stuart Moore and Chris WildgooseA Letter to the Luminous Deep|rating=45|genre=TeensScience Fiction|summary=The young man called Bruce Wayne is There are few greater joys than a very noticeable one – he can hardly go anywhere without people – bystanders, paparazzi, and suchlike – reminding him he's book which lives up to a billionaire at the age of eighteencompelling premise. Feeling rather stuck with the legacy he's inherited from his murdered parents, he wants to do charitable deeds. But one night, when he speeds off in his posh new car in pursuit of a criminal, he goes too far as far as the authorities are concerned, and gets given the most unlikely stretch of community service instead – cleaning in the home for violent criminals that And this is Arkham Asylum. There he learns of some other people who also allege charitable intent – the Nightwalkers, a gang who steal any ten-figure bank account contents they can, and murder the owner. Can he get close to one of them and get the truth of their schemes, or will the manipulative Madeleine be a step too far for the young do-gooder?.|isbn= 0356522776
}}
{{Frontpage
|isbn=B07W4MNBSG0008517061|title=Be Careful Who You MarryDeath in a Lonely Place|author=Lizzy MumfreyStig Abell
|rating=4
|genre=General FictionCrime|summary=It was coming up to Halloween in 1987 and a group of sixth-form schoolgirls wondered what they would be doing when they were fifty. When you're only seventeen that seems positively ancientFormer Metropolitan Police detective, Jake Johnson, but Liz was convinced that ''your entire has settled into his rustic life depends on who you marry''at Little Sky. The only eligible boys were There’s perhaps a little uncertainty about the Young Farmers future of his life with his vet girlfriend, Livia and the idea of living her daughter Diana, as moving in together would mean a farmhouse and having a couple lot of children called Will compromise: does Jake give up his off-grid and Olly appealed relaxing life to Charlotte, move in with Livia or perhaps William and Oliver if you were Elizabeth who was determined does Livia move to marry Little Sky despite her reservations about whether or not this is the rather superior Patrick Shepley-Botham. future she wants for herself and her daughter? The place to start their search was obviously For the Young Farmers' Halloween disco that weekend. There was just one problem - there were too many Elizabeths moment they’re enjoying life in the classpresent and putting the future on the back burner.
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{{Frontpage
|authorisbn=Michael J Malone1786482126|title=In The Absence of MiraclesJanus Stone (Dr Ruth Galloway)|author=Elly Griffiths|rating=4.5|genre=ThrillersCrime|summary=John DochertyBuilders were demolishing an old house in Norwich - the site was going to hold seventy-five 'luxury's mother has been taken into apartments - when they discovered the bones of a nursing home following child beneath a massive strokedoorway. There was no skull. Was this a ritual killing or murder? Inevitably, Dr Ruth Galloway finds herself working with DCI Harry Nelson. It is thought unlikely 's difficult as Ruth knows, but Nelson doesn't, that she will ever be able to live independently again. Faced is pregnant with having to sell the family home in order to pay for her nursing care, Docherty starts the clear out. In the attic he finds his child as a childhood picture result of himself, holding a toddler – a toddler he knows nothing aboutthe one night they spent together some three months ago. He also finds a blood-stained shoeHer condition will be obvious before long, not least because Ruth is prone to sudden bouts of sickness.|isbn=191237479X
}}
{{Frontpage
|isbn=06928535450008551324|title=The Things We DoDevil You Know (D S Max Craigie)|author=Kay PfaltzNeil Lancaster|rating=4.5|genre=ThrillersCrime|summary=It's 2015 and Dr Eleanor Hartley is a prison psychologist at unusual for anyone from the state penitentiary and she knows that her next patient is not going Hardie family to be easyapproach the police. Neither side likes or has any respect for the other. But Davie Hardie is struggling in prison and he'Jane Doe' has been convicted of s prepared to tell the police where the murder body of two men - one a police officer. She pleaded guilty missing person is buried and since then has been silent: even who was responsible for her identity is in doubtdeath. She was carrying identification as Jane Dunlap when she was arrestedThis person, he promises, but is someone big and it's been proved to will be falseworth the police doing what he wants. There seem And what he wants is to be no family or friends who are missing hertransferred to an open prison to serve the remainder of his sentence and to get an early parole date. EleanorNot much to ask, is it? The new Deputy Police Constable doesn't think so and she's task even prepared to do the other thing that Hardie demanded - make certain that DS Max Craigie and anyone who works with him is to get Jane talking, to find out why a seemingly normal young woman would murder two menkept well away from what's happening.
}}
{{Frontpage
|authorisbn=Patti Smith0008405026|title=Year of A Stranger in the MonkeyFamily (Maeve Kerrigan 11)|author=Jane Casey|rating=45|genre=BiographyCrime|summary=On the coast of Santa Cruz, Patti Smith enters the lunar It's sixteen years since nine-year of the monkey - old Rosalie Marshall disappeared from her bed one packed with mischiefsummer night. She was never found and the investigation ground to a halt. Now, sorrowher mother, Helena, and unexpected momentsher father are dead in their bed. In a stranger's words, ''Anything is possible: after all Initially, itlooks like a straightforward murder/suicide but there's something about the year positioning of the monkey''. As Smith wanders the coast of Santa Cruz in solitude, she reflects on a year bodies that brings huge shifts in makes DS Maeve Kerrigan and her life boss DI Josh Derwent suspicious. What looked as though it was going to be an open- loss and aging are faced head on, as it -shut case is now a complex double murder. Kerrigan is convinced that the shifting political waters explanation lies in AmericaRosalie's disappearance: others (such as Derwent's boss, Una Burt) are less convinced. |isbn=1526614758
}}
{{Frontpage
|authorisbn=Margaret Atwood0571379877|title=The TestamentsKellerby Code|author=Jonny Sweet|rating=43.5|genre=Dystopian FictionCrime|summary= Finally! Almost forty years onEdward Jevons is a working-class young man, we have a sequel to obsessed with his upper-class friends, Robert and Stanza. [[The HandmaidRobert's Tale by Margaret Atwood|The Handmaida theatre director. He's Tale]]also self-obsessed, demanding, handsome and entitled and uses Edward to run errands for him. I don Edward has been in love with Stanza since their university days - and he't want s drunkenly confided how he feels to tell you too much about the plot because itRobert. Most men in Robert's a novel that is entirely plot driven. Suffice it to say position would stay away from Stanza or tell Edward that ''The Testaments'' takes place fifteen years later, fifteen years after Offred gets into a van, not knowing what will happen next. Itrelationship had begun between them but he's told by three narratorsnot like most men: Aunt Lydia, who Edward is secretly writing her memoirs left to stumble upon the two of them kissing in Ardua Hall; Agnes, a girl brought up in Gilead with the expectation she will marry a commander; Daisy, a rebellious teenage girl in Canada who knows of Gilead only from school lessons and its Pearl Girl missionaries who occasionally call into the store owned by her parentsdark passageway...|isbn=1784742325
}}
{{Frontpage
|author=Anne BodenJo Callaghan|title=The Money RevolutionLeave No Trace
|rating=4
|genre= Business and FinanceCrime|summary= Money When a man is changingfound crucified on the top of a hill in Nuneaton, DCS Kat Frank finds herself assigned to the case alongside her sidekick, the AI detective Lock. It might not be in the ways you think's their first live case together, having previously been very successful with several cold cases. We’re not But when there is a second body found crucified a few days later, Kat is suddenly getting struggling with a 3p or £3 coin (potential serial killer and have you ever even found a country very high profile case that offers anything different to the 1, 2, 5 model?) We’re getting draws a lot more digital with payments, which seems of unwanted attention to their AI Future Policing project. Will they be able to suit most people apart from charity collectors and solve the homeless on case in time, or will Kat find herself taken off the streetcase and, but although this book has the subtitle that includes the word ‘’digital’’potentially, it’s not really about this either. Instead it’s about the ‘’management’’ out of your finances, and how to take control.a career?|isbn=1789660610139851120X
}}
{{Frontpage
|isbn=147117316X1399613073|title=Guilty Not GuiltyMoral Injuries|author=Felix FrancisChristie Watson
|rating=4.5
|genre=Thrillers
|summary=The Honourable William Herbert Millgate Gordon-Russell (Bill Russell Olivia, Laura and Anjali met on the first day of medical school and their friendship would keep them inseparable for a quarter of a century. Olivia is ruthlessly ambitious, which is a bonus when you aim to those who knew him well) was acting as be a cardiothoracic surgeon. Laura is a perfectionist and a volunteer steward at Warwick Racecourse when he was told trauma doctor. Anjali is the free spirit of the violent death of his muchgroup and she becomes a GP. When we first meet them they're at a drug and alcohol-loved wifefuelled party and it's going to end in tragedy. It would get worse though: We don't know who suffered the tragedy or the successful insurance actuary would consequences. Twenty-five years later there will be accused an eerily similar event that will impact the three friends. This time, it's their teenage children who are involved.}}{{Frontpage|isbn=0241636604|title=The Trading Game: A Confession|author=Gary Stevenson|rating=4.5|genre=Autobiography|summary=If you were to bring up an image of a city banker in your mind, you're unlikely to think of killing her someone like Gary Stevenson. A hoodie and hounded by jeans replaces the mediapin-stripe suit and his background is the East End, where he was familiar with violence, poverty and injustice. Then There was no posh public school on his CV - but he had been to the London School of Economics. Stevenson is bright - extremely bright - and he would lose has a facility with numbers which most of us can only envy. He also realised that most rich people expect poor people to be stupid. It was his job and his homeability at what was, essentially, a card game which got him an internship with Citibank. His best friends would turn against himEventually, this turned into permanent employment as they came a trader.}}{{Frontpage|isbn=1035021803|title=The Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder|author=C L Miller|rating=3.5|genre=Crime|summary=It's twenty years since Freya Lockwood has been back to believe him guilty the English country village where she grew up. She's back now because of a request for help from her beloved aunt, Carole. Freya's former mentor and Carole's close friend, Arthur Crockleford, is dead and the circumstances seem suspicious, to say the murderleast. Yet there Arthur was no really compelling evidence that he the reason why Freya had not been back to the village: Arthur, she feels, let her down badly. Even though they were in business together as antique hunters, she has not felt able to be near the man or pursue the profession she loved. After the split, she worked in a cafe, met and married James (on the rebound from the love of her life, who was guiltymurdered) and Freya and James have now divorced.
}}
{{Frontpage
|isbn=AllTomorrowsFutureCover
|title=All Tomorrow's Futures: Fictions that Disrupt
|author=Benjamin Greenaway and Stephen Oram (Editors)
|rating=5
|genre=Science Fiction
|summary=''Opening up new ways of thinking about the shape of things to come.''
I've heard it said that 'technology' is what happens after you're eighteen. Well, I must confess that there have been more than a few decades of technology in my lifetime. I've kept up reasonably well with what's advantageous to me but I'm left with the feeling that it's 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 latest conspiracy theorist. 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 luxury hotel in an unnamed city that has suddenly been violently taken over by a 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 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 her photography. Although they only ever talk over the phone, their friendship grows as Abhi tries to help her keep safe and they both wait to see if they will be rescued before they are discovered by the terrorists.|isbn=086154742X}}{{Frontpage|isbn=19087458191529153298|title=SurfacingThe List of Suspicious Things|author=Kathleen JamieJennie Godfrey
|rating=5
|genre=HistoryGeneral Fiction|summary=Sometimes when people suggest that you read a certain bookIt's 1979 and Margaret Thatcher is Prime Minister. (A woman? I mean, they tell you honestly...) She's not what'this one has your name on it's worrying Miv's family, though. Women have been disappearing. Mostly we take them at their word Well, or notthey've been murdered, but rarely do we ask them why they thought so, unless it turns out that we didnto have 'disappeared' doesn't like the booksound quite so frightening. That Miv's a rare experienceupset because she's overheard that her father wants to move the family 'Down South'. People who are sensitive to hearing When you're from Yorkshire, Down South is a book calling your namefrightening, foreign place, rarely get it wrongbest avoided. In this case I was told why For Miv, the move would mean leaving her best friend, Sharon, and she'll do anything to prevent that. The blurb speaks of 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 considering =Nicci French|rating=5|genre=Crime|summary=Charlotte Salter was expected at her husband''an older, less tethered sense of herselfs fiftieth birthday party but never turned up.'' OlderHer children, sons Niall, Paul and Ollie and her daughter, Etty. Less tetheredare all worried but - strangely - her husband, Alec, is not. That Shortly afterwards, Etty and Greg, find the body of Greg's not a bad description of where I amfather, Duncan Ackerley, in the river. Add It was an easy assumption for the police to make that my love of Duncan had murdered Charlie and then committed suicide when he couldn't stand the natural world, of those aspects of the poetic and lyrical that guilt. The Salter children are about style not form, convinced but there's little else they can do but get on with their lives and substance most 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 allMaria Callas as Greek, but she was born to Greek parents in Manhattan, New York, about connectionin December 1923 and only moved to Athens when she was thirteen. Of course this book had my name on Her original surname was Kalogeropoulos but her father changed it to 'Callas' to make itmore manageable in the States. It When she was back in Athens - supposedly so that she could get appropriate training for her voice - she was written raised under the Nazi occupation by a mother who mercilessly exploited her and made no secret of her preference for meher elder sister, Jackie. It would have found its way to me eventually}}{{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'. I am pleased All big movie fans, they're looking forward to have it fall onto my path so lots of exciting films, and many, many snacks! However, as the movie starts, they very quicklyrealise that something about this new film format is very different, and they are swept up into an adventure they couldn't even imagine. 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, and to their real lives?|isbn=1839942738
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