'''Read [[Features|new features]].'''
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{{newreview
|author=Margaret Pelling
|title=A Diamond in the Sky
|rating=4
|genre=General Fiction
|summary=We meet Dora in a reflective mood in what used to be the nursery. Well, it still is - except there's no baby there now. Pelling tells us down the storyline exactly what happened and why and the (a bit mushy for me) title of the book is key to the story of Dora. It gets mentions throughout. As Dora sits in the empty nursery she can't help but re-live that tragic event all over again. ''Her arms were wrapping themselves around her so tight that she was having trouble breathing.'' She's now a total mess and that's about the sum total of her life at the moment. Dora now thinks she's a dreadful person. And no one will want to know a dreadful person, will they?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1906784280</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Zoe Heller
|summary=Despite not being 'quoits and gin slings and rubbers of bridge people' Elizabeth and Derek have embarked on a cruise. Derek is probably hoping to propose, but things do not go as planned. From the moment they encounter a stranger as they board the ship, the cruise proves to be revelationary for all concerned.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0224091409</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Robert Muchamore
|title=People's Republic (CHERUB)
|rating=3.5
|genre=Teens
|summary=Wow. CHERUB book number 13 is here. New character Ryan is being sent off to California on his first mission. He must befriend the son of a wealthy entrepreneur with links to a prominent transnational facilitator - a criminal organisation that runs illicit transportation networks and smuggling rings. As Ryan says, the Aramov Clan is ''sort of like FedEx for bad guys''. As you can imagine, the mission proves to be a lot less straightforward than simply befriending a boy on the beach.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1444906879</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Richard Beard
|title=Lazarus is Dead
|rating=5
|genre=Literary Fiction
|summary=The title certainly got my attention and when I read that Beard is the Director of the National Academy of Writing, London I was expecting great things from him. I'm also thinking in the very next breath how audacious to write a fictional book about a towering biblical character but then, many have done just that. Will he pull it off though?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>184655506X</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Judy Bartkowiak
|title=So You've Passed Your Driving Test... What Now? Advanced Driving Skills For Young Drivers
|rating=4
|genre=Home and Family
|summary=It's always struck me that the most difficult time for young drivers is that period just after they pass their driving test. Someone has told you that you're an OK driver, right? ''But'' you're out there, all on your own, without anyone to explain those odd things which you still haven't come across or to be the extra pair of eyes. You've got a sense of freedom, but somehow it's a little bit ''daunting''. Judy Bartkowiak offers something a little bit different. It's not another book about road signs, driving etiquette and stopping distances – it's some ideas for getting into the right mindset to absorb the new experiences and learning some skills which might help you in other areas of your life too.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1908218371</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Gerard Kelly
|title=The Outstanding Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes
|rating=4
|genre=Crime (Historical)
|summary=I'll spare people the details of Holmes and Watson as crime-solvers – I'm assuming anyone likely to pick this one up is probably familiar with the Victorian duo. This is generally very faithful to the Arthur Conan Doyle originals and the best stories in this set of thirteen sound authentic enough to take their place alongside some of the canon.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1908218673</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Kate Workman
|title=Rendezvous at the Populaire : A Novel of Sherlock Holmes
|rating=3.5
|genre=Crime (Historical)
|summary=After chasing his arch-enemy Moriarty without success on a cold night in November 1882, Sherlock Holmes is left maimed and unable to walk without the use of a cane. Despondent, he decides to give up his career as a detective – but is talked into taking an extra special case, as a Madame Giry comes across the Channel to beg his help with the mysterious 'ghost' which is terrorising the Opera Populaire…
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1908218703</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Hayley Long
|title=Lottie Biggs is (Not) Mad
|rating=5
|genre=Teens
|summary=Lottie Biggs is about to turn 15. She has a job which she doesn't mind, as Head Saturday Girl at shoe shop Sole Mates, a fantastic best friend in the ultra-cool Goose, and a crush on the divine Mad Alien (or Neil Adam, as his name reads slightly less-excitingly forwards.) All that her and Goose are thinking about at the moment (except for Neil) is getting their GCSE's so they can get out of the boring suburb of Cardiff they live in. Things are about to change for Lottie, though…
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0330479733</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Asa Larsson and Laurie Thompson (Translator)
|title=Until Thy Wrath Be Past: A Rebecka Martinsson Investigation
|rating=4
|genre=Crime
|summary=When we talk about 'Scandinavian crime fiction' and the name 'Larsson' there's an awful temptation to [[The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets' Nest by Stieg Larsson and Reg Keeland (translator)|jump to conclusions]] about who ''exactly'' the author might be. Slow down though, because there's another Swedish crime writer with that surname and this one is very much alive and writing. Asa Larsson is not down with the southern softies in Stockholm but up in the far north, not far from Norway or Finland, in Kiruna, where she's placed Rebecca Martinsson, who works as a prosecutor, and Inspector Anna-Maria Mella. Those in the know have met them [[The Savage Altar by Asa Larsson|before]] and this is the third book in the series.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0857050729</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Veronyca Bates
|title=Dead on Time
|rating=4
|genre=Crime
|summary=I reviewed Bates' earlier book [[Dead in the Water by Veronyca Bates|Dead in the Water]] and enjoyed it for what it was - a light but enjoyable crime read. This book has the same look and feel about it. Bates has decided to base her crime within the corridors of power, local power that is, the council chambers. And some of us, perhaps many of us, secretly would like to know the ins and outs, the deals made etc by our locally-elected councillors (even although we agree that much of their work can be a tad dull and a tad tedious). But we'll probably shout from the rafters if they happen to get their comeuppance, as happens in this book. Mayor Boot has received his final comeuppance. He's dead.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0709092504</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Anthony T DeBenedet and Lawrence Cohen
|title=The Art of Roughhousing: Good Old Fashioned Horseplay and Why Every Kid Needs It
|rating=4
|genre=Home and Family
|summary=Rather than running around outdoors, going for bike rides and building dens, lots of children nowadays end up spending hours watching TV or playing computer games. Play times in school are often very regimented and in some schools certain games like 'British Bulldog' and 'Leapfrog' and even 'Tag' have even been banned. Children are discouraged from physical play, for fear that they will hurt themselves and also through the fear that those responsible for them will find themselves facing a lawsuit if someone does get hurt. This book aims to support the thinking that very physical play is good for children; that unless they face risks in their lives and learn to assess those risks, or experience a few bumps and bruises and learn to get up and carry on, then they will lack vital life skills for their future adult lives.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1594744874</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Anne-Marie Conway
|title=Star Makers Club: Polly Plays Her Part
|rating=4.5
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=Polly Conway is having to deal with rather a lot at the moment. Her mum has got a fabulous new job – but it’s in Spain! That leaves Polly to live with her dad, her new stepmother who she can’t stand, and her baby brother who’s just annoying. Depressed by the problems in her life, she ignores her dad’s rules and turns to the friend2friend website to find comfort. As she gets increasingly addicted to the
site, she starts to lose focus on the important things in her life – including her family and the Star Makers’ new production.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1409520919</amazonuk>
}}
