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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--><!-- Motayne -->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:147367591X.jpg|linkgenre=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/147367591X/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;"|===[[Nocturna by Maya Motayne]]=== [[image:4star14 Wasted Years?''.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Fantasy|Fantasy]] If you're looking for an easy read which will deliver the inside story about what ''really'' happened on certain occasions, [[:Category:Teens|Teens]] A thief without a facethen this isn't the book for you. If that's what you're looking for, a prince who was never meant to be kingI don't think Anthony Seldon's book, Finn and Alfie collide{{amazonurl|isbn=B0BH7SKG2S|title=Johnson at 10}}, as if thrown together by fate, to bring about can be bettered for those tumultuous years. It's a series of catastrophes and set in motion the release of a darkness that seeks compelling read and should be compulsory for anyone who thinks Johnson should return to consume all the goodness and magic in the worldpolitics. These two unlikely allies must try to put their own personal battles behind them ''The Conservative Effect'' is an entirely different beast. It's the seventh book in a series which looks at the impact a government has made and join forces to stop co-editor Sir Anthony Seldon regards this as the evil from destroying everything they hold dearmost important. [[Nocturna by Maya Motayne|Full Review]] <!This book follows the well-- Eagle -->|-| style="widthestablished format: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"a series of experts from various fields review the state of the nation when the coalition took over in 2010, the changes that occurred and the situation in 2024.}}{{Frontpage|author=Max Boucherat|title=The Last Life of Lori Mills[[image:0571346308|rating=4.jpg5|linkgenre=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0571346308/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] Confident Readers| stylesummary="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Secret Starling by Judith Eagle]]=== [[image:4We 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-breaking eleven year old, on her lonesome.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Confident Readers|Confident Readers]]Clara has lived in the crumbling Braithwaite Manor owned by her guardian What could possibly go wrong? Snuggled in a blanket fort, she has one main intention, Uncle Edwardand that is to log on to Voxminer, since she was a baby. It the world-building, critter-collecting game that is a hit in Lori's world. But first Lori has been a lonely life as tiny inkling that this stormy night doesn't find herself entirely on her uncle is strict and forbidding own, and then she has been home schooledfinds something even more spooky. Her only friend is Cook who looks after Clara with kindness For the server she and tells her stories bestie and nobody else should be able to enter shows signs of tampering. When malevolent eyes spark up on her own family phone screen, and their adventures. Clara her safe place in the game has recently become aware that something been doctored – well, where is wrong as many of the prized possessions such as paintings and porcelain are disappearing and then cook is dismissed. Shortly afterwards Uncle Edward abandons Clara in the local village with a fistful of money and disappears. Clara is now totally alone. [[The Secret Starling by Judith Eaglegirl to turn?|Full Review]]isbn=0008666482}}<!-- Leah Hazard -->{{Frontpage|-author=Jenny Lecoat| styletitle="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|Beyond Summerland[[image:1786331608.jpg|linkrating=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1786331608/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] 4| stylegenre="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"General Fiction|summary===[[Hard Pushed: A MidwifeJean lives on Jersey with her mother where they are celebrating the end of the occupation. During the war, Jean's Story by Leah Hazard]]=== [[image:4starfather was arrested for listening to a banned radio and soldiers took him away one night, leaving Jean and her mother waiting for years for news of him.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Lifestyle|Lifestyle]] As the British finally free the Channel islands from the Nazis, [[:Category:Politics and Society|Politics and Society]] Over the past few years we've had a rash (sorry - no pun intended) war is finally over, their hopes rise that they will finally learn what became of books by medical practitionershim. Doctors have been at But will the forefronttruth come as a relief, but ''Hard Pushed'' is or will it raise further questions around what else happened during the first book I've seen by a midwife. war? It's an unusual profession in that it's one of Who was the few callings within informer who told the medical system where most of Nazis about the patients are healthy and radio? And what other secrets have been kept throughout the only one where one person comes into the system and (for the most part) more than one goes out. It's an amazing thing to be able to do - to escort new life into occupation?|isbn=1846976537}}{{Frontpage|isbn=1529428289|title=A Grave in the world - and an enormous responsibility. Leah Hazard came to it after a career in television and ''Hard Pushed'' is the story Woods (A Bruno, Chief of her career as a midwife - and the title tells more than one story. [[Hard Pushed: A Midwife's Story by Leah Hazard|Full Review]] <!-- Lucinda Riley -->Police Novel)|author=Martin Walker|rating=4|-genre=Crime| stylesummary="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1529014980Because of various property transactions, people were searching for the grave but when they found it, it came with three sets of bones.jpg|link=http://www They dated back to World War II and it fell to Bruno, the Chief of Police for St Denis, to discover the identities of the bodies and establish whether or not a crime had been committed.amazon.co.uk/dp/1529014980/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag As if this isn't enough to worry about, the Dordogne River -21]]  | style="verticalnormally tranquil -alignis flowing at record levels. It's not just the local autumn rains that have caused the problem: top; text-align: left;"various dams upstream on another river have had to release water and St Denis faces the possibility of a devastating flood.}}{{Frontpage|isbn=152919640X|title===[[The Butterfly Room by Lucinda Riley]]=Suspect|author=Rob Rinder|rating=4.5|genre=Crime[[image:4star.jpg|linksummary=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:WomenThe nation's Fiction|Women's Fiction]] Paradisefavourite daytime TV presenter, Jessica Holby, was murdered live on television and it seems that there's only one suspect. ThatHe's what it seemed like celebrity chef Sebastian Brooks and his contract stated that he must not serve anything containing miso to nine-year-old Posy AndersonJessica Holby. Her father delighted She's seriously allergic and carries an EpiPen in indulging her and playing with hercase of emergencies. Together Everything seemed as normal - as normal as they caught butterflies can be in a busy, live television studio - and examined them before her father took them off Brooks served a ragout to let them go freeHolby. Her mother EpiPen was rather distant, but her father more than made up for thatnowhere to be found and she was dead within minutes. The only blot on the horizon It was soon clear that her father this was a spitfire pilot, recovering from an injury, and it seemed likely that he would have to go back to the war. Everyone thought that it was drawing to a close, but men still had to go and fight - and risk their livesno accident.}}{{Frontpage|isbn=0008385068|title=The Midnight Feast|author=Lucy Foley|rating=4. Posy was staying with her grandmother in Cornwall when 5|genre=Thrillers|summary=It's midsummer on the news came through that her father had been killed in actionDorset coast and guests gather at The Manor. Her mother had travelled from Suffolk to tell her what was going to happen to herIt's their opening weekend and splendid celebrations are promised. [[ It's all headed up by Francesca Meadows. The Butterfly Room by Lucinda Riley|Full Review]] <!-- Carroll -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1471160645Manor was her ancestral home and she's converted it into an impressive retreat for the wealthy and famous.jpg|link=http://www Her husband, Owen, was the architect and work is still ongoing on parts of the site.amazon The heat is oppressive and amongst the guests are enemies as well as friends. Old scores are going to be settled and it won't be long before a body is found.co.uk/dp/1471160645/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]}}{{Frontpage| styleauthor="verticalAshley Hickson-align: top; text-align: left;"Lovence|title=Wild East|rating=4.5|genre==[[The Words That Fly Between Us by Sarah Carroll]]===Teens [[image:5star.jpg|linksummary=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Confident Readers|Confident Readers]] Lucy is living in 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 a beautiful, expensive house along with her joking, playful dad and her lovely mostly white school. The move is initiated by Ronny's mum. Everything should be perfect. Her dad who is worried for Ronny's safety after a property investor, making millionstragic event, and she and her mum don't lack for anything in their livesso 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. But stillnow, Lucy lives her life on edgein this new school, controlled by the words around herhis teacher encourages him to be part of a poetry writing workshop group and, whether they are spokenslowly, or unspoken. You Ronny begins to seethe connections between rap and poetry, her dad is a bully, edging closer and closer towards physically abusing her mum, the power of creativity and Lucy is manipulated by him, unable to express her true feelings, or fully develop her artistic side which is where she feels her talents lie but her dad says won't ever lead to her having a successful lifecrafting your words. [[The Words That Fly Between Us by Sarah Carroll|Full Review]]|isbn=0241645441}}<!-- Kan -->{{Frontpage|-isbn=1635866847| styletitle="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"The Lavender Companion|author=Jessica Dunham and Terry Barlin Vesci[[image:1911115847.jpg|linkrating=http://www4.amazon.co.uk/dp/1911115847/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] 5| stylegenre="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"Lifestyle|summary===[[Nights of It's strange, the things that make you ''immediately'' feel that this is the Creaking Bed by Toni Kan]]=== [[image:4starbook for you.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category: Literary Fiction| Literary Fiction]], [[:Category:Short Stories|Short Stories]]  Before I started reading ''The Lavender Companion''Nights of , I visited the Creaking Bedauthor's [https://www.pinelavenderfarm.com/ website] and there' is s a collection picture of short stories by Toni Kan. The series of stories tell a slice of chocolate cake on the lives homepage. I don't eat cakes and lusts of an assortment of characters living in and around Lagos, Nigeriadesserts - but I wanted that cake viscerally. Nigeria, (There's a recipe in this collectionthe book, is imbued which I'm avoiding with its very own heart of darkness. Danger stalks some difficulty!!) Then I started reading the shadows book and people I was told to make a mess of it. Notes in the margins are killed for nothing more than a wrong looksanctioned. Kan writes with a vitality and passion that allows these cynical stories You get to achieve a glimmer fold down the corners of hopepages. [[Nights You suspect that smears of the Creaking Bed by Toni Kan|Full Review]]butter would not be a problem. I ''loved'' this book already.}}<!-- Macdibble -->{{Frontpage|-author=Rob Keeley| styletitle="widthChildish Spirits: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"10th anniversary special edition|[[image:1910646482.jpgrating=4|linkgenre=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1910646482/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] Confident Readers| stylesummary="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Dog Runner by Bren MacDibble]]=== [[image:4Around here, we're big fans of children's author Rob Keeley.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Confident Readers|Confident Readers]]He's a ball of happy positivity, he understands children, [[:Category:Teens|Teens]] Set in a dystopian Australia, this is the story of Ella and Emery and and he writes for their dogs travelling across the outback together. A red fungus has wiped out all the crops pleasure and grassesenjoyment, and with the food chain grinding not to a halt, society is collapsing. Ella's mum has been gone for a long time - she left for work one day and then never came home. Ella and her half brother Emery have been living at home with their dad and their dogs, hoping for the best, but one day their dad decides to go out and try to find Ella's mum. When he also fails to return, Emery decides that their best chance of survival is to set out with the dogs to travel across the outback to his grandfather's house where, he believes, there will still be food and a safe place for them to live until their father can find them again. [[The Dog Runner by Bren MacDibble|Full Review]] <!-- Sara Sheridan -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1472127110.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1472127110/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Indian Summer: a Mirabelle Bevan Mystery by Sara Sheridan]]=== [[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime (Historical)|Crime (Historical)]] Life has changed dramatically for Mirabelle, our favourite fifties sleuth, since the war, and not always for the better. When she first settled in Brighton she was alone, rudderless and secretly grieving for Jack, the lover who died before he could leave his wife. As time went by she found in herself an ability to solve crimes, made friends including an ebullient and determined young woman called Vesta who refused to let a little thing like racial prejudice stop her doing what she wanted, and even found consolation in the arms of a rather charming policeman. [[Indian Summer: a Mirabelle Bevan Mystery by Sara Sheridan|Full Review]] <!-- Gomes -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:0008291845.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0008291845/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[We Are Not Okay by Natalia Gomes]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Teens|Teens]], [[:Category:General Fiction|General Fiction]] Set in a typical American town, ''We Are Not Okay'' tells the story of four teenage girls facing the difficulties brought on by high school and growing up as a girl in today's society. The novel is told from four different perspectives, those of Lucy, Ulana, Trina and Sophia, whose friendship statuses vary from BFFs to sworn enemies. The reader is presented with a glimpse into each of their lives, but more importantly their minds, and at times the thoughts of those characters could have been taken directly from my own. Gomes has created a heartbreakingly real and relevant novel that focuses on prominent topic areas which are becoming ingrained in our society, particularly in relation to the ''Me Too Movement''. ''We Are Not Okay'' reminds the reader of the importance of phrases like ''I'm With Her''. [[We Are Not Okay by Natalia Gomes|Full Review]]  <!-- Doescher -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1683691172.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1683691172/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Mean Girls by Ian Doescher]]=== [[image:2.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Humour|Humour]] A long time ago, in a galaxy far away, all the Star Wars films were crunched up against Shakespeare, and the marriage seemed a perfectly suitable one. So much so – so easily did the plots and characters converse in Shakespearean dialogue, and behave with Shakespearean stage directions – that the producers tried again, with [[William Shakespeare's Get Thee Back to the Future! by Ian Doescher|Back to the Future]] no less. And that worked. But simultaneously they put a real test out. A film I can't even really remember seeing was transcribed into the original Elizabethan lingo. A cult following I had never followed whatsoever was given the brand new, yet oh so ancient, dressing. Here was the true challenge – would I manage to enjoy this, based on little foreknowledge? Oh damn those shiny gold stars for letting the game away… [[William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Mean Girls by Ian Doescher|Full Review]] <!-- Jane Casey -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:0008149038.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0008149038/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Cruel Acts by Jane Casey]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|Crime]] They called him 'the white knight' because he picked the women up when they were in difficulties. But they called him a serial killer too, because he murdered them and everyone heaved a sigh of relief when he went down for life. Then one of the jurors self-published his story of the trial which explained how he and another juror had looked up Stone's history and found a trail of violence. After that, he explained, they knew that Stone was guilty. The juror got two months for contempt of court and Stone was released on bail pending a retrial. [[Cruel Acts by Jane Casey|Full Review]] <!-- Doescher -->|-| style=''width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;''|[[image:168369094X.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/168369094X/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style=''vertical-align: top; text-align: left;''|===[[William Shakespeare's Get Thee Back to the Future! by Ian Doescher]]=== [[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Humour|Humour]], [[:Category:Science Fiction|Science Fiction]] A long time ago, in a publishing house far away, [[:Category:Ian Doescher|someone]] thought it wonderfully wacky to rewrite the story of Star Wars in Shakespearean pentameter, colliding two entirely different genres and styles in such a clever way they seemed perfectly suited. It was then duly repeated for all the other films in the main Star Wars cycle, and clearly someone's buffing their quills ready for Episode Nine, the title of which became public knowledge the day before I write. In the hiatus, however, the effort has been made to see if the same shtick works with other texts, and to riff on other seemingly unlikely source materials in iambs. And could we have anything more suitably unsuitable-seeming than Back to the Future, with its tales of time travel, bullying, and parent/child strife like no other? [[William Shakespeare's Get Thee Back to the Future! by Ian Doescher|Full Review]] <!-- Crossan -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1408868121.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1408868121/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"| ===[[Toffee by Sarah Crossan]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Teens|Teens]] ''I am not who I say I am,'' ''and Marla isn't who she thinks she is. ''  ''I am a girl trying to forget.'' ''She is a woman trying to remember.'' Allison has finally had enough and has run away from home. The burning red weal on her face provides a clue to why. She's on her way to Bude to find Kelly-Anne, who was the first to run away from home, but Kelly-Anne isn't answering her phone. Night is closing in and so Allison takes refuge in a shed in the garden of what looks to be an empty house. But the house isn't empty. Marla lives in it and Marla doesn't remember things very well. She mistakes Allison for her friend, Toffee. And because Allison doesn't much want to be Allison any more and because Marla is so happy to see Toffee - why shouldn't Allison ''become'' Toffee? [[Toffee by Sarah Crossan|Full Review]]<!-- Bowling -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1911077686.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1911077686/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[In The Shadow of Heroes by Nicholas Bowling]]=== [[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Confident Readers|Confident Readers]] Life as a slave in ancient Rome could be harsh and degrading, but Cadmus has it much easier than most. Taken into the household of the scholar Tullus when he was a baby, his keenness to learn and his excellent memory have made him invaluable to his master, who treats him more like a secretary and perhaps even a member of the family, rather than a despised, barely human creature. [[In The Shadow of Heroes by Nicholas Bowling|Full Review]] <!-- Golding -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:0008293678.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0008293678/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Little Darlings by Melanie Golding]]===[[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Thrillers|Thrillers]]Lauren Tranter and her husband have just welcomed the arrival of children – twin boys, who they decide to name Riley and Morgan. But something's wrong. While everyone else is celebrating, Lauren starts to worry – that someone out there is coming to take her children away, and if she looks away for even a second, they'll strike… [[Little Darlings by Melanie Golding|Full Review]] <!-- Alice Feeney -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:0008236070.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0008236070/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[I Know Who You Are by Alice Feeney]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Thrillers|Thrillers]] Aimee Sinclair is just on the edge of making it big time as an actor. Right now she's the sort of person whom you think you know but can't quite remember where from, but that's all about to change. That's a little worrying for Aimee as life has changed for her before and she knows that she's not really Aimee Sinclair, she's Ciara: Aimee is simply the name she was forced to take when she was snatched as a child. That's not at the front of her mind though when she comes home one day and finds that her husband, Ben Bailey, has disappeared. Disappeared completely. Along with considerable funds from their current account [[I Know Who You Are by Alice Feeney|Full Review]] <!-- Rubin -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:0718187091.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0718187091/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Liberation Square by Gareth Rubin]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Thrillers|Thrillers]], [[:Category:Historical Fiction|Historical Fiction]], [[:Category:General Fiction|General Fiction]] In an alternate 1952, Soviet Troops control British Streets. After D-Day goes horribly wrong, Britain is first occupied by Nazi Germany – only to be rescued by Russian soldiers from the East, and Americans from the west. Dividing the nation between them, London soon finds itself split in two, a wall running through it like a scar. When Jane Cawson's husband is arrested for the murder of his former wife, Jane is determined to clear his name. In doing so, Jane follows a trail of corruption that leads her right to the highest levels of the state – and soon finds herself desperate to stay one step ahead of the murderous secret police… [[Liberation Square by Gareth Rubin|Full Review]] <!-- Howe -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1788002865.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1788002865/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"| ===[[Not My Fault by Cath Howe]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Confident Readers|Confident Readers]]  ''Maya and Rose won't talk to each other. Even though they are sisters. Not since the accident. Maya is turning wild and Rose doesn't know what to do. And now Maya and Rose have to go away together on a week-long school trip. Will the trip fix their sibling bond... or break it for good?'' [[Not My Fault by Cath Howe|Full Review]]<!-- Lupo -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1408898055.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1408898055/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"| ===[[We Are Blood And Thunder by Kesia Lupo]]=== [[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Teens|Teens]]  ''In a sealed-off city, a young woman, Lena, is running for her life. She has been sentenced to death and her only way to survive is to trust those she has been brought up to fear - those with magic.'' ''On the other side of the locked gates is a masked lady, Constance, determined to find a way back in. Years ago she escaped before her own powers were discovered. But now she won't hide who she is any longer.'' So, Lena is a cryptling - a low caste individual living in the city of Duke's Forest.[[We Are Blood And Thunder by Kesia Lupo|Full Review]]  <!-- Kidd -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1786893762.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.colecture or hector.uk/dp/1786893762/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Things in Jars by Jess Kidd]]===

[[imageThe ''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|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}}{{Frontpage|author=Kieran Larwood and Joe Todd-Stanton|title=Dungeon Runners:Hero Trial|rating=4|genre=Confident Readers|summary=Meet Kit.5star 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.jpg 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 how could he possibly hope to succeed?|linkisbn=Category:{1839945184}}{{Frontpage|author=Saima Mir|title=Vengeance|rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime =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 a series I hadn't read didn't stop me – I've jumped midway into a few series before (Historicalon 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.|Crime (Historical)]]isbn=0861541561}}

A child has gone missing{{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 detective asked 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 take on 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 still struggling just back from his honeymoon, which coincided with the shame birth of his daughter Samantha. You would think he'd be grateful for an easy answer but the words 'perverse' and frustration left by '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=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 previous caseglorious mixture of insight into the workings of the NHS, where humour and autobiography. ''You Don't Have to be Mad...'' promised the same elements but moved from physical problems to mental illness and the child work of a psychiatrist. I did wonder whether it was not found 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. Hardly original themes for 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 private eye thrillerdefence contractor are the main local employers but otherwise, there's not much of note other than dive bars and Joshua trees. And yet Life is quiet, until. . . take another look. This detective |isbn= B0D321VJ76}}{{Frontpage|author=Tom Percival|title=The Wrong Shoes|rating=5|genre=Confident Readers|summary=Will's life is difficult, in a womanmultitude 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 have enough money for even the setting is Victorian Londonmost basic of things like food, with all and his dad can't work because he lost his job at the rich college, was working a cash-in-hand job on a building site and colourful paradoxes of had an accident. Throw into that mix the fact that era: technical his mum and scientific progress jostling for space beside superstition dad are separated, and Will's life seems bleak in every direction. And yet, he still has a fascination with tiny amount of hope. He is good at art, and clings to the bizarre and moments of joy when he is drawing, that feel like a light at the downright hideousend of a long, dark tunnel. And before you're more |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 couple book which lives up to a compelling premise. And this is one of pages them.|isbn= 0356522776}}{{Frontpage|isbn=0008517061|title=Death ina Lonely Place|author=Stig Abell|rating=4|genre=Crime|summary= Former Metropolitan Police detective, Jake Johnson, you realise just how much more unusual our heroine 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 than you expectedthe future she wants for herself and her daughter? For the moment they’re enjoying life in 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. Bridie Devine may dress 5|genre=Crime|summary=Builders were demolishing an old house in halfNorwich -mourningthe site was going to 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 widowresult of the one night they spent together some three months ago. Her condition will be obvious before long, 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 cap unusual for anyone from the Hardie family to approach the police. Neither side likes or has any respect for the other. But Davie Hardie is struggling in prison and stouthe's prepared to tell the police where the body of a missing person is buried and who was responsible for her death. This person, shiny bootshe promises, but is someone big and it will be worth the police doing what he wants. And what he wants is to be transferred to an open prison to serve the tobacco remainder of 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 smokes '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 pipe (my dearbed one summer night. She was never found and the investigation ground to a halt. Now, her mother, Helena, and her father are dead in their bed. Initially, what it looks like a straightforward murder/suicide but there's something about the positioning of the bodies that makes DS Maeve Kerrigan and her boss DI Josh Derwent suspicious. What looked as though it was going to be an utterly open-and-shut case is now a complex double murder. Kerrigan is convinced that the explanation lies in Rosalie's disappearance: others (such as Derwent'fasts 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' thing s also self-obsessed, demanding, handsome and entitled and uses Edward to run errands for 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 top of a lady hill in Nuneaton, DCS Kat Frank finds herself assigned to do!) the case alongside her sidekick, the AI detective Lock. It'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 mixed suddenly struggling with a nugget potential serial killer and a very high profile case that draws a lot of somethingunwanted attention to their AI Future Policing project. Will they be able to solve the case in time, or will Kat find herself taken off the case and, potentially, out of a career?|isbn=139851120X}}{{Frontpage|isbn=1399613073|title=Moral Injuries|author=Christie Watson|rating=4.5|genre=Thrillers|summary=Olivia, wellLaura 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, letwhich is a bonus when you aim to be a cardiothoracic surgeon. Laura is a perfectionist and a 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 say recreational, created by her chemist friend Prudhoegoing to end in tragedy. We don't know who suffered the tragedy or the consequences. The fact Twenty-five years later there will be an eerily similar event that will impact the three friends. This time, it's actually meant 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 cure bronchial problems think of someone like Gary Stevenson. A hoodie and jeans replaces the pin-stripe suit and his background is by the by. Her housemaidEast End, being seven foot tallwhere he was familiar with violence, poverty and injustice. 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 has a facility with numbers which most of us can only envy. He also somewhat remarkablerealised that most rich people expect poor people to be stupid. And then It was his ability at what was, essentially, of coursea card game which got him an internship with Citibank. Eventually, therethis turned into permanent employment as 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 the ghostEnglish country village where she grew up. Ruby Doyle, world famous tattooed boxer (deceased) accompanies Bridie all through She's back now because of a request for help from her investigationbeloved aunt, Carole. Freya's former mentor and itCarole's clear he close friend, Arthur Crockleford, is dead and the circumstances seem suspicious, to say the least. Arthur was 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 soft spot for cafe, met and married James (on the rebound from the determined young womanlove of her life, who was murdered) and Freya and James have now divorced. If he really exists, }}{{Frontpage|isbn=AllTomorrowsFutureCover|title=All Tomorrow's Futures: Fictions that isDisrupt|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. [[Things in Jars by Jess Kidd|Full Review]]''

<!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}}