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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 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" cellpaddingisbn="15" <!-- INSERT NEW REVIEWS BELOW HERE--><!-- Cercas -->1009473085|title=The Conservative Effect 2010 -2024| styleauthor="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"Anthony Seldon and Tom Egerton (Editors)|rating=5[[image:0857058320.jpg|linkgenre=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0857058320/refPolitics and Society|summary=nosim?tag=thebookbagSometimes it's simpler to explain a book by describing what it ''isn't'' and that applies to ''The Conservative Effect: 2010-21]]  | style="vertical2024 -align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Lord Of All 14 Wasted Years?''. If you're looking for an easy read which will deliver the Dead by Javier Cercas and Anne McLean (translator)]]=== [[image:4starinside story about what ''really'' happened on certain occasions, then this isn't the book for you.jpg|link=Category:{ If that's what you're looking for, I don't think Anthony Seldon's book, {{ratingamazonurl|isbn=B0BH7SKG2S|title=Johnson at 10}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:History|History]], [[:Category:Biography|Biography]] , can be bettered for those tumultuous years. It''Lord Of All the Dead'' is s a journey to uncover the authorcompelling read and should be compulsory for anyone who thinks Johnson should return to politics. ''The Conservative Effect's lost ancestor's life and deathis an entirely different beast. Cercas is searching for the meaning behind his great uncle It's death the seventh book in a series which looks at the Spanish Civil War. Manuel Mena, Cercas' great uncle, is the figure who looms large over impact a government has made and co-editor Sir Anthony Seldon regards this as the most important. This book. He died relatively young whilst fighting for Francisco Franco's forces. Cercas ruminates on why his uncle fought for this dictator. The question at follows the well-established format: a series of experts from various fields review the centre state of this book is whether it is possible for his great uncle to be a hero whilst having fought for the wrong side. [[Lord Of All nation when the Dead by Javier Cercas coalition took over in 2010, the changes that occurred and Anne McLean (translator)|Full Review]]the situation in 2024.}}<!-- Pearson -->{{Frontpage|-author=Max Boucherat| styletitle="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"The Last Life of Lori Mills|rating=4.5[[image:1401286399.jpg|linkgenre=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1401286399/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] Confident Readers| stylesummary="verticalWe meet Lori on the first evening she's got the house to herself – no neighbour to pop in, babysitter poorly, mother at work, just an avidly rule-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Super Sons: The PolarShield Project by Ridley Pearson and Ile Gonzalez]]=== [[image:4starbreaking eleven year old, on her lonesome.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Graphic Novels|Graphic Novels]] What could possibly go wrong? Snuggled in a blanket fort, she has one main intention, and that is to log on to Voxminer, [[:Category:Confident Readers|Confident Readers]] It's the near futureworld-building, and every coastal city – including Metropolis – critter-collecting game that is a hit in need of a huge flood barrier, built on its coast by Wayne EnterprisesLori's world. But the rising sea levels have put even those constructions under threat, forcing many people to relocate in Americafirst Lori has a tiny inkling that this stormy night doesn's biggest exodus for decades. Superman is helping outt find herself entirely on her own, of course – first he was patching and then she finds something even more spooky. For the server she and her bestie and nobody else should be able to enter shows signs of tampering. When malevolent eyes spark up on her phone screen, and her safe place in the damsgame has been doctored – well, but now he's mining the asteroid belt for where is a rare dust that's perfect for blocking the solar energy from making further polar ice melt. Inland, in Wyndermere, the refugees from girl to turn?|isbn=0008666482}}{{Frontpage|author=Jenny Lecoat|title=Beyond Summerland|rating=4|genre=General Fiction|summary=Jean lives on Jersey with her mother where they are celebrating the coast are suffering bigotry and intolerance for being newcomers, but something else is much worse. A major bout end of food poisoning is hitting the cityoccupation. But it can During the war, Jean't possibly have anything s father was arrested for listening to do with what looks like sabotage of a banned radio and soldiers took him away one night, leaving Jean and her mother waiting for years for news of him. As the British finally free the Channel islands from the flood barriers Nazis, and the efforts to correct the climatewar is finally over, can it? Four young children begin to piece together clues their hopes rise that it can… [[Super Sons: The PolarShield Project by Ridley Pearson and Ile Gonzalez|Full Review]] <!-- de Bois -->|-they will finally learn what became of him. But will the truth come as a relief, or will it raise further questions around what else happened during the war? Who was the informer who told the Nazis about the radio? And what other secrets have been kept throughout the occupation?| styleisbn="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|1846976537}}{{Frontpage[[image:1785903357.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1785903357/ref=nosim?tagisbn=thebookbag-21]] 1529428289| styletitle="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"A Grave in the Woods (A Bruno, Chief of Police Novel)|author=Martin Walker|rating=4|genre=Crime|summary==[[Confessions Because of a Recovering MP by Nick de Bois]]=== [[image:4starvarious property transactions, people were searching for the grave but when they found it, it came with three sets of bones.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Politics They dated back to World War II and Society|Politics it fell to Bruno, the Chief of Police for St Denis, to discover the identities of the bodies and Society]]establish whether or not a crime had been committed. I should warn you in advance: As if this may not be the best time for me isn't enough to review worry about, the memoir of a Tory MP. Not only am I a leftDordogne River -of-centre normally tranquil - is flowing at record levels. It's not just the local autumn rains that have caused the problem: various dams upstream on another river have had to put it mildly - voter release water and so probably have next to no points St Denis faces the possibility of political agreement with Nick de Bois, but I, along with everyone else, am currently subject to the debacle of parliament, government and Brexit, a dog and pony show currently revealing in hideous technicolour the absolute dearth of competent leadership among our political classes. And yes, opposition parties: I'm looking at you as well. You're just as uselessa devastating flood.}}{{Frontpage|isbn=152919640XSigh.|title=The Suspect|author=Rob RinderDesperate cry into the void over. Sorry about that|rating=4.5 At least Nick de Bois made me laugh! [[ Confessions of a Recovering MP by Nick de Bois |Full Review]]  <!-- Paige -->|-genre=Crime| stylesummary="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:140128339XThe nation's favourite daytime TV presenter, Jessica Holby, was murdered live on television and it seems that there's only one suspect.jpg|link=http://www He's celebrity chef Sebastian Brooks and his contract stated that he must not serve anything containing miso to Jessica Holby.amazon She's seriously allergic and carries an EpiPen in case of emergencies.co.uk/dp/140128339X/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag Everything seemed as normal -21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; textas normal as they can be in a busy, live television studio -align: left;"|===[[Mera: Tidebreaker by Danielle Paige and Stephen Byrne]]===Brooks served a ragout to Holby. Her EpiPen was nowhere to be found and she was dead within minutes. It was soon clear that this was no accident.}}[[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Graphic NovelsFrontpage|isbn=0008385068|title=The Midnight Feast|Graphic Novels]], [[:Category:Teensauthor=Lucy Foley|Teens]], [[:Category:Confident Readersrating=4.5|Confident Readers]]genre=Thrillers Meet Mera|summary=It's midsummer on the Dorset coast and guests gather at The Manor. SheIt's the latest in a line of young women intent on fighting against their intended destiny for one only they can see for themselvestheir opening weekend and splendid celebrations are promised. It's all headed up by Francesca Meadows. Her father, the king of Xebel, sees some cotton wool and a hunky man in an arranged marriage as The Manor was her future – after all, Meraancestral home and she's mother, converted it into an impressive retreat for the territory's warrior queen, is long deadwealthy and famous. Mera doesn't fancy Her husband, Owen, was the cosseting or architect and work is still ongoing on parts of the fella involved at all, site. The heat is oppressive and is in fact trying to get Xebel out from under amongst the cosh of Atlantean power, for Xebel's royalty guests are merely puppets of Atlantean mastersenemies as well as friends. So when she overhears her father request that her intended goes Old scores are going to the world of us air-breathing humans, be settled and kill the Atlantis heir, she rushes off to get the quest (and the promised throne) all for herselfit won't be long before a body is found. But of course, she has no idea what kind of person she will meet, and how hard it will be to get the job done… [[Mera: Tidebreaker by Danielle Paige and Stephen Byrne}}{{Frontpage|author=Ashley Hickson-Lovence|title=Wild East|Full Review]] <!-- Crosskey -->rating=4.5|-genre=Teens| stylesummary="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1789550149Written 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 a mostly white school.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1789550149/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Poster Boy by N J Crosskey]]=== [[image:5star 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 settle in a new town, a new school, and keep himself out of trouble. He listens to music constantly, and has always dreamed of being a rapper.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Dystopian Fiction|Dystopian Fiction]] But now, in this new school, [[:Category:Thrillers|Thrillers]] I first read 1984 in schoolhis teacher encourages him to be part of a poetry writing workshop group and, slowly, in Ronny begins to see the late seventies when 1984 still seemed like a long time in connections between rap and poetry, and the futurepower of creativity and crafting your words. It came |isbn=0241645441}}{{Frontpage|isbn=1635866847|title=The Lavender Companion|author=Jessica Dunham and went quickly enoughTerry Barlin Vesci|rating=4. Some of us may have breathed a sigh of relief that Orwell5|genre=Lifestyle|summary=It's nightmare had not (quite) come to pass. Othersstrange, I think, were out there already working on making sure the things that all he got wrong was make you ''immediately'' feel that this is the datebook for you. Crosskey hasnBefore I started reading ''The Lavender Companion''t put a date on the nightmare. If she had, I suspect it would not be as far in visited the author's [https://www.pinelavenderfarm.com/ website] and there's a picture of a slice of chocolate cake on the future are 1984 was when homepage. I first read Orwell. If she had, don't eat cakes and desserts - but I suspect it might hardly be in the future at allwanted that cake viscerally. A lot of what happens (There's a recipe in the book, which I''Poster Boy'' is already happeningm avoiding with some difficulty!!) Then I started reading the book and I was told to make a mess of it. SadlyNotes in the margins are sanctioned. Frighteningly. In You get to fold down the blurb, Christina Racher says "…but keep it far from anyone who might corners of pages. You suspect that smears of butter would not be tempted to turn its fiction into reality"a problem. My only response to that is: too late! [[Poster Boy by N J Crosskey|Full Review]]I ''loved'' this book already.}}<!-- Lucie Whitehouse -->{{Frontpage|-author=Rob Keeley| styletitle="widthChildish Spirits: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|10th anniversary special edition[[image:0008268991.jpg|linkrating=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0008268991/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] 4| stylegenre="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"Confident Readers|summary===[[Critical Incidents by Lucie Whitehouse]]=== [[image:4Around here, we're big fans of children's author Rob Keeley.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|Crime]] When you reach a certain stage in life the phrase 'going home' when it refers to your childhood home is best if it means a short He's a ball of happy positivity, he understands children, and he writes for their pleasure and hopefully harmonious visit. The woman who used enjoyment, not to be DCI Robin Lyons, but was now just Robin Lyons, went home with her thirteen-year-old daughter after she was dismissed from the Metlecture or hector. She was going home to the room which she'd had as a child: she would have the bottom bunk and Elena - Lennie to those who knew her well - would have the top bunk. The room was redolent of the time she'd shared the room with her brother Luke - and they weren't good memories. [[Critical Incidents by Lucie Whitehouse|Full Review]] <!-- Martine -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1529001579.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1529001579/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine]]=== [[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Science Fiction|Science Fiction]] The problem with Martine's fiction debut is that she makes the two commonest errors in SF writing: she tries to be too clever and she wants her fictional languages to be complex and rich and errs on the side of making them unpronounceable by most readers. I can see why she does both, but it's a disappointment because they're the blocks against which the brilliance of the book stumbles. [[A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine|Full Review]] <!-- Lee -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:0874869722.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0874869722/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[When Spring Comes to the DMZ by Uk-Bae Lee]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:For Sharing|For Sharing]], [[:Category:Confident Readers|Confident Readers]] There is a place on this earth that, at the time of writing, is resplendent with life. In the spring seals gambol in the river – not venturing too far, for fear of being slashed open on the razor wire the humans have put in place. In the autumn, salmon come upstream, looking doleful as well they might, for they will spawn and die, if they reach their birthing grounds. Mountain goats gambol prettily among the hills – if the landmines men left behind do not prevent them from doing so. This is a snapshot of life in the DMZ, the demilitarized zone between the two countries with Korea in their name, and it's the world's least welcome wildlife sanctuary. [[When Spring Comes to the DMZ by Uk-Bae Lee|Full Review]] <!-- O'Reilly -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:147367235X.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/147367235X/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[M for Mammy by Eleanor O'Reilly]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:General Fiction|General Fiction]] The Augustts are, like all families, a bit complicated. A loving irish family, their love binds them together – but all express that in very different ways. However, when misfortune strikes the family they are forced to work together in order to understand each other again, as with a family as complicated as the Augustts it's not always what is spoken that makes the most sense. Things are shaken up further when Granny Mae-Anne moves in and takes charge. Full of stern words and common sense, she's a force of nature who must try her hardest to hold the family together. [[M for Mammy by Eleanor O'Reilly|Full Review]] <!-- James Wallman -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:0753552655.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0753552655/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Time and How to Spend It: The 7 Rules for Richer, Happier Days by James Wallman]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Lifestyle|Lifestyle]] Most things you can replace, but one of the things which you simply can't replace is time. Even though we know this, we fail to use what we have wisely. We have more leisure time, but that's not how it feels: a high value is put on how we spend our working hours, but there's a low value on leisure. Unfortunately we now know how to work and not how to ''live'': we need to ''learn'' how to spend our leisure time wisely and James Wallman has taken on the onerous task of teaching us how to do this. [[Time and How to Spend It: The 7 Rules for Richer, Happier Days by James Wallman|Full Review]] <!-- Jonnes -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1609809173.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1609809173/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Eiffel's Tower for Young People by Jill Jonnes]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Children's Non-Fiction|Children's Non-Fiction]] Brash and elegant, sophisticated, controversial and vibrant, the 1889 World's Fair in Paris encompassed the best, the worst and the beautiful from many countries and cultures. The French Republic laid out model villages from all their colonies, put on art shows, dance performances, food festivals and concerts to stun the senses. And towering above it all, the most popular and the most hated monument to French accomplishment and daring – the Eiffel Tower. [[Eiffel's Tower for Young People by Jill Jonnes|Full Review]] <!-- Johnson -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1471178471.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1471178471/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Magnificent Mrs Mayhew by Milly Johnson]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Women's Fiction|Women's Fiction]] I liked this book. Whilst not necessarily a page-turner, this was a thoroughly enjoyable heart-warming read from the Queen of chick lit, Milly Johnson. [[The Magnificent Mrs Mayhew by Milly Johnson|Full Review]] <!-- Kate Tough -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:034914365X.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/034914365X/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Keep Walking Rhona Beech by Kate Tough]]=== [[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:General Fiction|General Fiction]], [[:Category:Women's Fiction|Women's Fiction]] Life has just hidden behind a corner and stuck a foot out as Rhona Beech came past. She and Mark had been together for nine years and it was beginning to feel ''settled''. Then Mark announced that he'd got a job in Canada and he was going whether Rhona wanted to come with him or not. The ''not'' bit of the sentence was the way it worked out and Rhona was left on her own. Well, she wasn't completely on her own: she had friends and family, but it's not the same as having that special someone in your life, that someone who makes you part of a couple. So Rhona had to start again, rejoining a world that bore little resemblance to the one she'd left nine years ago - and there's a lot of difference between being in the middle of your twenties and the middle of your thirties. [[Keep Walking Rhona Beech by Kate Tough|Full Review]] <!-- Kerry Watts -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1786817926.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1786817926/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Heartlands (D I Jessie Blake) by Kerry Watts]]=== [[image:3.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|Crime]] The story had begun some twenty years earlier when two boys raped and killed Sophie Nicholl. Jack Mackay was - on the face of it - from a decent family, but he was the ringleader. Daniel Simpson was a follower, but he still raped Sophie and he could have stopped what happened but didn't. Sophie's body was found in a shallow grave by an enthusiastic cocker spaniel a few days later and the boys were arrested, tried and sentenced to five years in a young offenders institution. There were those who thought that the sentence was too lenient, even for fifteen-year-old boys and Sophie's elder brother, Tom, was one of these. He wasn't going to let the matter rest. [[Heartlands (D I Jessie Blake) by Kerry Watts|Full Review]] <!-- Hitchcock -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1788004388.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1788004388/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"| ===[[The Boy Who Flew by Fleur Hitchcock]]=== [[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Confident Readers|Confident Readers]]   Athan Wilde earns some money to supplement his family's meagre income by working for Mr Chen who is both mentor and friend. Mr Chen's wonderful imagination and sense of the future has led him to create some fantastic inventions for making life easier and work less back breaking. His latest endeavour is something on an entirely different level, however - it's a.... ''flying machine''! Imagine that! [[The Boy Who Flew by Fleur Hitchcock|Full Review]] <!-- David Hewson -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:178029106X.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/178029106X/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Savage Shore by David Hewson]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|Crime]] Reggio, in Calabria. It's a strange place, closer to Africa than Rome as Emmanuel kept reminding himself. He was an illegal immigrant and like most of his kind he was simply looking for a way to earn a decent living with a little dignity. Back in Nigeria he was an independent man and now he is no better than the monkey who sits in a cage on the bar he tends. The area is ruled by the Mafia. Further afield there are the Camorra and the Cosa Nostra, but here it's the 'Ndrangheta and the local boss is known as Lo Spettro - the ghost - as he's rarely seen, but he's one of the Bergamotti clan, but even that's not their real name. [[The Savage Shore by David Hewson|Full Review]] <!-- Cara Hunter -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:0241283493.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0241283493/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[No Way Out by Cara Hunter]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|Crime]] It was the end of the Christmas holidays and Felix House in an elite area of Oxford was on fire. Two children were dragged from the inferno: one, a toddler, was pronounced dead at the scene and the other, a boy on the cusp of his teens, died in hospital some days later. But where were the parents? Were their bodies in what remained of the house and which was being steadily cleared, or had they left the children at home alone? For DI Adam Fawley it's one of his most disturbing cases. He's still not got over the death of ''his'' son and there's every sign that his marriage is on the rocks. For his team it's just a heartbreaking, exhausting case. [[No Way Out by Cara Hunter|Full Review]] <!-- Reeves -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1788312201.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1788312201/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Women of Westminster: The MPs Who Changed Politics by Rachel Reeves]]===

[[image:5starThe ''Childish Spirits'' series is one of his greatest achievements.jpgIt'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|linkisbn=Category:{1783064617}}{{Frontpage|author=Jenny Valentine|title=Us in the Before and After|rating=5|genre=Teens|summary=Elk and Mab are best friends, or more than that even, their friendship is a once in a lifetime connection. They meet as children one day on a trip out but unfortunately they don't get each other's contact details at the time. But then chance brings them back together, and they are inseparable. Something has happened though, something terrible and tragic, and now they must work through their grief, and their friendship, together.|isbn=1471196585}}} Star Reviews]] [[{{Frontpage|author=Kieran Larwood and Joe Todd-Stanton|title=Dungeon Runners:Category:Politics Hero Trial|rating=4|genre=Confident Readers|summary=Meet Kit. 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 healer enter specially prepared, century-old, magical mazes, and race to the exit, perhaps bothering with the treasure or the big bad and the points they grant you along the way. 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 new trio of questors is needed. Possibly very unfortunately indeed for Kit, he has taken to the goading from the token bully of his world and stumbled into declaring he'll enter as a team. What chance does this friendless, muscle-free-zone have in actually managing that, and Societyhow could he possibly hope to succeed?|isbn=1839945184}}{{Frontpage|author=Saima Mir|title=Vengeance|rating=3.5|Politics 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 a 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 Society]]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 'Women 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 Westminster have changed 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 culture birth of politics 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 perception point of what women falling asleep at work but he's determined to keep going - probably because he can do't get any sleep at home.}}{{Frontpage|isbn=1787333175|title=You Don't Have to be Mad to Work Here|author=Benji Waterhouse|rating=5|genre=Popular Science|summary=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 workings of the NHS, humour and autobiography. ''You Don't Have to be Mad...''promised the same elements but moved from physical problems to mental illness and the work of a psychiatrist. I did wonder whether it was acceptable to be looking for humour in this setting but the laughter 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=4.5|genre=General Fiction|summary=Anuri spent her childhood on display to the world, thanks to her step-mother Ophelia's increasingly popular presence on social media, where she posted every step of Anuri's childhood for sponsorships and influencer deals and, basically, monetary gain. 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 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 doing so. Most importantly, she is desperately worried about her little sister, who is the new focus of Ophelia's online empire. Can she save her sister, and perhaps herself and her relationship with her father at the same 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 defence contractor are the main local employers but otherwise, there'Women s not much of Westminster: note other than dive bars and Joshua trees. Life is quiet, until....|isbn= B0D321VJ76}}{{Frontpage|author=Tom Percival|title=The MPs Who Changed PoliticsWrong Shoes|rating=5|genre=Confident Readers|summary=Will's life is difficult, in a multitude of ways. He is bullied because he has ' chronicles the battles wrong shoes', he has the 491 women who wrong shoes because his dad can't work and doesn't have been elected over enough money for even the course most basic of things like food, and his dad can't work because he lost his job at the past century have fought college, 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 highlights their victoriesWill's life seems bleak in every direction. And yet, he still has a tiny amount of hope. It He is good at art, and clings to the moments of joy when he is remarkable drawing, that feel like a light at the history end of female Members a long, dark tunnel.|isbn=1398527122}}{{Frontpage|author=Sylvie Cathrall|title=A Letter to the Luminous Deep|rating=5|genre=Science Fiction|summary= There are few greater joys than a book which lives up to a compelling premise. And this is one of Parliament began them.|isbn= 0356522776}}{{Frontpage|isbn=0008517061|title=Death in 1918a Lonely Place|author=Stig Abell|rating=4|genre=Crime|summary= Former Metropolitan Police detective, Jake Johnson, has 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 lot of compromise: does Jake give up his off-grid and relaxing life to move in with Livia or does Livia move to Little Sky despite her reservations about whether or not this is the same year future she wants for herself and her daughter? For the moment they’re enjoying life in which women the present and putting the future on the back burner.}}{{Frontpage|isbn=1786482126|title=The Janus Stone (Dr Ruth Galloway)|author=Elly Griffiths|rating=4.5|genre=Crime|summary=Builders were first given demolishing an old house in Norwich - the right site was going to vote hold seventy-five 'luxury' apartments - when they discovered the bones of a child beneath a doorway. There was no skull. Was this a ritual killing or murder? Inevitably, Dr Ruth Galloway finds herself working with DCI Harry Nelson. It's difficult as Ruth knows, but Nelson doesn't, that she is pregnant with his child as a decade result of the one night they spent together some three months ago. Her condition will be obvious before all women were given suffrage on equal terms with menlong, not least because Ruth is prone to sudden bouts of sickness.}}{{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 anyone from the Hardie family to approach the police. Neither side likes or has any respect for the other. Although Constance de Markievicz But Davie Hardie is struggling in prison and he's prepared to tell the police where the body of a missing person is buried and who was responsible for her death. This person, he promises, is someone big and it will be worth the first female elected police doing what he wants. And what he wants is to be transferred to an open prison to serve the remainder of his sentence and to get an early parole date. Not much to Parliamentask, is it ? The new Deputy Police Constable doesn't think so and she's even prepared to do the other thing that Hardie demanded - make certain that DS Max Craigie and anyone who works with him is kept well away from what's happening.}}{{Frontpage|isbn=0008405026|title=A Stranger in the Family (Maeve Kerrigan 11)|author=Jane Casey|rating=5|genre=Crime|summary=It's sixteen years since nine-year-old Rosalie Marshall disappeared from her bed one summer night. She was only in 1919 that Nancy Astor became never found and the first women investigation ground to take a halt. Now, her mother, Helena, and her seat father are dead in their bed. Initially, it looks like a straightforward murder/suicide but there's something about the House positioning of Commons the bodies that makes DS Maeve Kerrigan and pave her boss DI Josh Derwent suspicious. What looked as though it was going to be an open-and-shut case is now a complex double murder. Kerrigan is convinced that the way explanation lies in Rosalie's disappearance: others (such as Derwent's boss, Una Burt) are less convinced.}}{{Frontpage|isbn=0571379877|title=The Kellerby Code|author=Jonny Sweet|rating=3.5|genre=Crime|summary=Edward Jevons is a working-class young man, obsessed with his upper-class friends, Robert and Stanza. Robert's a theatre director. He's also self-obsessed, demanding, handsome and entitled and uses Edward to run errands for women him. Edward has been in love with Stanza since their university days - and he's drunkenly confided how he feels to Robert. 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 like most men: Edward is left to stumble upon the two of them kissing in a dark passageway.}}{{Frontpage|author=Jo Callaghan|title=Leave No Trace|rating=4|genre=Crime|summary=When a man is found crucified on the futuretop of a hill in Nuneaton, DCS Kat Frank finds herself assigned to the case alongside her sidekick, the AI detective Lock. It was not long after 's their first live case together, having previously been very successful with several cold cases. But when there is a second body found crucified a few days later, Kat is suddenly struggling with a potential serial killer and a very high profile case that draws a lot of unwanted attention to their AI Future Policing project. Will they be able to solve the case in 1924 that time, or will Kat find herself taken off the first female MPcase and, Margaret Bondfieldpotentially, was appointed into out of a cabinet position career?|isbn=139851120X}}{{Frontpage|isbn=1399613073|title=Moral Injuries|author=Christie Watson|rating=4.5|genre=Thrillers|summary=Olivia, Laura and Anjali met on the first day of medical school and since then women MPs have endeavoured their friendship would keep them inseparable for a quarter of a century. Olivia is ruthlessly ambitious, which is a bonus when you aim to fight gender inequality be a cardiothoracic surgeon. Laura is a perfectionist and campaign for female rightsa trauma doctor. 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-fuelled party and it's going to end in tragedy. We don't know who suffered the tragedy or the consequences. Within 100 Twenty-five years later there has been will be 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 gradual revolution city banker in your mind, you're unlikely to think of change in politics someone like Gary Stevenson. A hoodie and jeans replaces the pin-stripe suit and his background is the East End, where he was familiar with violence, poverty and injustice. There was no posh public school on his CV - but he had been to date Britain the London School of Economics. Stevenson is bright - extremely bright - and he has been led by two female Prime Ministersa facility with numbers which most of us can only envy. He also realised that most rich people expect poor people to be stupid. However It was his ability at what was, such great landmarks have overshadowed the other female MPs whose early achievementsessentially, a card game which have paved the way for subsequent women politiciansgot him an internship with Citibank. Eventually, are consistently overlookedthis turned into permanent employment as a trader.}}{{Frontpage|isbn=1035021803|title=The Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder|author=C L Miller|rating=3. In 5|genre=Crime|summary=It's twenty years since Freya Lockwood has been back to the English country village where she grew up. She'Women s back now because of Westminster: The MPs Who Changed Politicsa request for help from her beloved aunt, Carole. Freya's former mentor and Carole' Rachel Reeves brings s close friend, Arthur Crockleford, is dead and the forgotten stories into circumstances seem suspicious, to say the least. Arthur was the spotlight reason why Freya had not been back to document the history of British female political history from 1919 village: Arthur, she feels, let her down badly. Even though they were in business together as antique hunters, she has not felt able to 2019be near the man or pursue the profession she loved. [[Women After the split, she worked in a cafe, met and married James (on the rebound from the love of Westminsterher life, who was murdered) and Freya and James have now divorced.}}{{Frontpage|isbn=AllTomorrowsFutureCover|title=All Tomorrow's Futures: The MPs Who Changed Politics by Rachel ReevesFictions that Disrupt|author=Benjamin Greenaway and Stephen Oram (Editors)|rating=5|genre=Science Fiction|Full Review]]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 - DO NOT REMOVE ANYTHING BELOW THIS LINE -->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}}