Book Reviews From The Bookbag
Hello from The Bookbag, a book review site, featuring books from all the many walks of literary life - fiction, biography, crime, 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 author interviews, and all sorts of top tens - all of which you can find on our features page. If you're stuck for something to read, check out the recommendations page.
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Blockade Runner by David Kent-Lemon
London shipbroker's clerk Tom Wells is hungry for promotion. Seeking responsibility where ever possible he's still unprepared for a proposition from his employer Mr Pembroke. The company is to operate five cargo ships, shuttling between the Bahamas and America's southern states and he wants Tom to be on board as shipping agent; a dangerous enterprise. Why? It's 1861 and the south is at war with the Yankee north. President Lincoln has blockaded ports like Charleston and Wilmington in the Carolinas in an attempt to prevent revenue-providing cargo leaving or supplies (including uniforms and arms) arriving. Mr Pembroke plans to illegally 'run' the blockade, something not unattractive to Tom partially due to the vastly increased wage attached but mostly because he has a certain interest in a certain American lady. Full review...
The Dressmaker by Kate Alcott
I’ve always avoided stories with a strong link to the Titanic; it’s such a depressing and distressing topic, especially for those of us with an active imagination! However, I was attracted to this novel for different reasons. Telling the story of Tess, a talented seamstress looking for a break, the core relationship is one that is not often explored – that between employee and employer. Designer Lady Duff Gordon takes Tess on as her maid on the Titanic and quickly becomes a mentor and example as Tess develops her craft. But what happened on the voyage threatens their relationship and Tess finds herself facing all kinds of moral dilemmas. Full review...
Glass Thorns - Touchstone by Melanie Rawn
Cayden is a hybrid being part elf, fae and human but all wizard. He also has a day job as a tregetour or playwright with his own touring company, Touchstone. They're ambitious and planning to get through the trials and into the upper flight. As you would expect from a wizard, this troupe doesn't just act; they also weave magic imbued in hallucinations and encased in glass withies. The problem is they're short of a glister, a troupe's wielder of withies. Or rather they were until Mieka arrives. Actually short's a good world as he's an elf but he also happens to be the best glister anyone's ever seen, thorns permitting. With one problem solved, another remains. Namely prophetic dreams that have haunted Cade since boyhood and they aren't improving, in fact they're more like nightmares. Full review...
The Aylesford Skull by James P Blaylock
Langdon St. Ives, renowned scientist and adventurer, returns home from the hubbub and grime of Victorian London to his tranquil residence in rural Aylesford where he lives with his wife Alice and their two young children. Weary of the city, having survived a devastating explosion and particularly vicious attempt on his life, he is hoping for some repose and a chance to work quietly on his latest project; a dirigible airship. Full review...
The Phlunk by Lou Rhodes and Tori Elliott
What is a Phlunk? I know that you're wondering. Well, wonder no more for this book will tell you all about the Phlunk, who lives on a planet shaped like a spoon, looks a bit like a cat but who has very, very large ears. Why, you're now asking, does he have such very large ears? Well, it's all the better to hear you with, of course! And the Phlunk hears everything, from everybody, all over the world! Full review...
Flying to Neverland with Peter Pan by Betty Comden, Adolph Green, Carolyn Leigh and Amy June Bates
There's something perennially magical about the story of Peter Pan. It's timeless, this story of a little boy who doesn't want to grow up, and who lives in a land full of pirates and fairies and mermaids and crocodiles. It's one of those stories that stays with you, which is why it's a classic, I suppose! In this version part of the story is told through the lyrics of two songs from the musical Peter Pan. The songs I'm Flying and Never Never Land are combined together to tell the story as far as the children flying to Neverland. Full review...
Honey Brown is Married by Sara Judge
Honey Brown had been a foundling, but fortune - and a benefactress - had smiled on her and she became a dancer at the Windmill Theatre. Then she met August Blake, farmer and the two married and Honey left the theatre to live on the Sussex farm. After a week's honeymoon she was largely left to her own devices. How would she cope with married life, the local community and being a farmer's wife? Well, it was a steep learning curve, but there's more to Honey than meets the eye. There's more to August, too. Full review...
Cross Roads by Wm Paul Young
Wm. Paul Young's debut novel The Shack was a revelation in many ways. Whilst many disagreed with his theology, it was refreshing to see such an overtly faith based book on the bestseller lists. Personally, I found it a very moving story and whilst I thought it helpful on some points, it tended to skim over others. Now we get to see if Young can repeat his success with his new novel, Cross Roads. Full review...
How We Met by Katy Regan
At the start of 'How We Met', a group of friends - Fraser, Mia, Anna, Melody and Norm - are all meeting up in order to celebrate their friend's birthday. There would be nothing unusual about this apart from the fact that the friend is dead. Liv died tragically after falling from a balcony when they were all on holiday in Ibiza. The remaining friends feel that they need to honour her birthday but of course it is going to be a poignant occasion. As they are remembering their friend, Norm produces something that he found in the pocket of a coat he once lent Liv. It's a list of all of the things that she wanted to do before she was thirty, such as, learn a foreign language, swim naked in the sea at dawn and go to an airport and pick a random destination to travel to! As it would have been Liv's thirtieth the following year, the group decide to share out and complete all the activities on the list as a tribute to their friend. Full review...
I Hear the Sirens in the Street by Adrian McKinty
Detective Sergeant Sean Duffy's next case begins with a case - specifically an old suitcase containing the torso of an unknown victim. The setting is Northern Ireland in 1982. 'The Troubles' are at their height, the British army are heading to the Falklands and John DeLorean is producing 'Back to the Future' sports cars. Duffy is something of an anomaly - a Catholic officer in the predominantly Protestant RUC - which places him in a precarious position. Full review...
Tommy Cooper 'Jus' Like That!': A Life in Jokes and Pictures by John Fisher
I grew up watching Tommy Cooper, and watching my dad do impressions of Tommy Cooper. I thought he was hilarious (the real Tommy!) and loved his expressions as he repeatedly tried and failed to do magic tricks! This book is rather unusual as although it is a biography of sorts, giving information about Tommy's life and his history in the world of entertainment, it isn't text heavy, and so mostly Tommy's story is told through photographs and pictures. Full review...
The Diamond Rosary Murders: An Inspector Angel Mystery by Roger Silverwood
Detective Inspector Michael Angel found himself very busy in December 2011. First it was the report of a body seen behind a local hotel but it had disappeared before Angel arrived. There was a suggestion that the girl had been involved in the theft of a rosary belonging to Mary Tudor. Before long he also had to deal with the death of local brewing millionaire, Haydn King who was found face down in his swimming pool - but two days before he'd told Superintendent Harker that he'd been tormented by a persistent nightmare that he died face down in his swimming pool. All this happened before the body count started mounting. Full review...
Jack the Ripper: CSI: Whitechapel by John Bennett and Paul Begg
He was an avenging doctor, he was a foreign madman, he was royalty, he was a she – he was even Sherlock bleeding Holmes. Whoever the actual Jack the Ripper was I doubt will ever be known. What is for sure is that new books that cover the subject with any conviction have to fall into one of two camps – those positing a new suspect, or those presenting the known facts about the crimes and their victims in a new fashion. This book is definitely in the latter category. Full review...
The Horologicon: A Day's Jaunt Through the Lost Words of the English Language by Mark Forsyth
This book just had to be called The Horologicon. Originally it meant a daily diary of devotion for a priest or monk. Our author knows it is a rare word these days and gives it to his modern Book of Hours, which is a guide to similarly obsolete, charming or unusually whimsical words set out, not as others do, as a dictionary, but in essays for every waking hour of the day, and the subject they're most likely to cover. Full review...
Better Than Great by Arthur Plotnik
Better Than Great is a bravura, ingeniously inventive, roaringly intelligent thesaurus of praise and acclaim - oh, momma! Where has this paean-worthy, distressingly excellent book, which certainly goes the whole hog, been all my life? Full review...
Newcomers' Lives: The Story of Immigrants as Told in Obituaries from The Times by Peter Unwin (editor)
I think I was not the only person who at first glance found the title and sub-title slightly misleading. For me it conjured up visions of those who came across on the ‘Windrush’ in 1948 and the life they led on settling in Britain – and, perhaps, the lives of the more famous (assuming there were some) in obituary form. Full review...
Me Myself Milly by Penelope Bush
Like so many twins, Milly and Lily might look identical but have very different personalities. Lily had always been the unruly extrovert, while timid Milly was content to be her twin's cautious shadow. But ever since 'The Incident', Milly has been forced into the forefront. When this is combined with a decision to change school and the arrival of new tenants to her house, including an unfriendly and enigmatic American boy her own age, Milly finds her life changing faster than she can keep up with it. Embracing her new life will mean letting go of the bottled up memory of The Incident, but will she ever be strong enough to do so? Full review...
Jane Eyrotica by Charlotte Bronte and Karena Rose
Jane Eyre is a classic I studied to death in high school, but I didn’t mind because it’s a book I enjoyed then and still enjoy now. Jane Eyrotica is, to put it simply, a smutty version of the classic. Hot on the heels of the likes of Fifty Shades Of Grey by EL James this is a reworking in which the once demure Jane beds anything with a pulse. Full review...
Blood Bonds: The Caravan by Rosanne Licata
Raj is part Arab, part Roman. She's independent and strong-willed - too independent and strong-willed to fit well into a society where women belong in the home and only men can bring change to the world. So she runs away. Disguised as a boy, she is roaming the streets of Antioch when she encounters Bjornolf, a Danish king. Drawn to him in a way she can't explain, Raj stows away on the caravan he is guarding. As the journey continues, Raj must decide whether the terrible dangers to both Bjornolf and herself are worth risking if she reveals her true nature to him... Full review...
Black Vodka by Deborah Levy
Black Vodka is a collection of ten previously published short pieces of writing by Deborah Levy, many first published in the early 2000s. The most recent is the piece from which this collection gains its title which has been shortlisted for the 2012 BBC International Short Story Award. As a compilation of her writing, obviously these were not written to appear together, but some clear themes emerge from the collection, namely a deeply disturbing look at the search for love, particularly amongst those on the edge of society Full review...
The Diamond Thief by Sharon Gosling
Sixteen–year–old orphan Rémy Brunel is the headline act at a small, shabby travelling circus. Her grace and extraordinary ability on the high wire and trapeze ensure that she is highly prized by her cruel master, Gustave, but her skills as a jewel thief are what make her invaluable to him. Full review...
No! I Don't Need Reading Glasses! by Virginia Ironside
Marie is enjoying the sort of hectic retirement that makes her wonder how she found the time to work. However, not everything is rosy. Her son and daughter-in-law are thinking about moving abroad, taking Marie's beloved grandson, Gene. Meanwhile Marie's partner, Archie, is becoming worryingly forgetful. On top of this, the derelict patch of 'park' at the top of the road may be replaced by a hotel. It's amazing how attractive it's seemed to become once it's under threat. But 'attractive' isn't the word that comes to mind when describing the resulting action group. Thank goodness there are always wine and good friends. Full review...
The Perfect Present by Karen Swan
What do you buy for the woman who has everything? Rob Blake thinks he has it cracked when he commissions a piece of jewellery for his wife Cat’s birthday. But this is no ordinary necklace. The bespoke bling will be like nothing she’s seen before, because he is paying the designer, Laura, a small fortune to dedicate all her time to it. She will interview Cat’s nearest and dearest, and design a charm that tells the story of each relationship. Full review...
Strong in the Rain: Surviving Japan's Earthquake, Tsunami, and Fukushima Nuclear Disaster by Lucy Birmingham and David McNeill
In 2011, Japan was hit by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake, followed by a tsunami and a nuclear meltdown. The tale of this devastating trio of tragedies is told by two journalists who've lived in Tokyo for years, and the pairing of Birmingham and McNeil give us a real insight into just how this could have happened and the way that half a dozen people, from all walks of life, responded to it. Full review...
Shadows by Paula Weston
It's been a year since Gaby's twin brother, Jude, died in a horrific car accident. The sun, sea and sand of Pan Beach have done a lot to heal her body, but her mind is still raw with grief. Grief that manifests itself as terrifying nightmares of hunting and killing demons with a mysterious boy. So when Gaby meets Rafa, the boy of her dreams, literally, it raises a lot of questions about who she thought she and her brother were. Because Rafa claims to be Jude's best friend, and has the pictures on his phone to prove it. So why can't Gaby remember who he is? Full review...
Legacy Of Kings (Magister 3) by Celia Friedman
Three years is a long time to wait between parts of a trilogy, especially one as good as Celia Friedman's Magister Trilogy. I'm not someone blessed with great patience, which has made the wait interminable, but finally I get to find out what happened to Kamala and the other Magisters and to see how Salvator Aurelius is coping with being the first Penitent King. Full review...
What's Up With Jody Barton? by Hayley Long
Jody and Jolene are very alike. They have brown hair and dimples, they're both left-handed and they have feet which makes them look, according to Jody, like long-toed mutants. But in lots of ways they are very, very distinct. In fact, despite the fact that they're twins, they were born on different days and are different ages (because of the leap year thing. Read the book if you don't believe it). And as for their taste in music, school subjects and pretty well everything else . . . poles apart. Useful, though, as they divvy up their homework according to preference! Full review...
In Caddis Wood by Mary Francois Rockcastle
Middle-aged, married and (comparatively speaking) middle class Americans Hallie and Carl seem, at first glance, to be happy. Hallie (a poet) and Carl (an architect) have all the trappings of success including two adult twin daughters and a holiday home in the beautiful Caddis Wood. However, Carl becomes a little shaky on his feet and, while he's able to shrug it off for a while, he begins to realise that something's seriously wrong. As his health deteriorates other cracks materialise as he realises his marriage isn't as steady as he thought and so he and Hallie must come to terms with her past and, indeed, future. Full review...
The Innocents by Francesca Segal
Francesca Segal's debut novel, The Innocents is set in upper class, Jewish, North London. Adam is about to marry his childhood sweetheart, Rachel, and is working as a lawyer in her father's business. Into this romantic idyl though comes Ellie, Rachel's wayward cousin who has been forced to flee the US following an appearance in an 'art house' movie of dubious repute and, it turns out, further scandal. Ellie is everything that Rachel is not; a model, worldly, sexy and tempting. As Adam gets drawn into wanting to 'rescue' her and look after her, his whole future with Rachel is thrown into doubt and the story becomes a will they, won't they get together narrative. Full review...
Winter of the World (Century of Giants Trilogy 2) by Ken Follett
The world of 1933 seems to be about to disprove the idea that WWI was the war to end all wars. German politician Walter von Ulrich and his wife (and former English aristocrat) Maud watch in horror as Adolf Hitler's National Socialists increase their hold; a rise in popularity that invigorates their son Erik. After visiting the von Ulrichs, young Lloyd Williams takes mental images of the brutality gripping Germany home to England, images that fire him up to fight against the fascist threat elsewhere in Europe. Meanwhile young socialite Daisy Peshkov has marriage on her mind but isn’t considered a respectable prospect in her native USA. (Blame her thuggish father, movie magnate Lev.) This doesn't stop her though; if she can't have a rich American husband, there's still a bit of money left in Britain. Full review...
Birds in a Cage by Derek Niemann
Birds in a Cage introduces the reader to John and his fellow officers: Peter Conder, George Waterston and John Henry Barrett and shows how their shared love of birds enabled them to create an emotional escape from the gruelling conditions that surrounded them in the prisoner of war camp at Warburg. The men banded together to form a birdwatching society within the camp, making meticulous observations of the lives of the birds nesting in and around the area. These detailed records went on to become valuable scientific documents, as they recorded the lives and habits of birds in painstaking detail, revealing previously unknown facts about species such as the redstart and goldfinch. Full review...
Sword At Sunset by Rosemary Sutcliff
Every country has its myths and legends: those stories that are told and re-told. Stories that have any number of re-interpretations. Stories, a belief in which becomes part of our national identity, even if we hold them to be true, purely because we want them to be true. Part of them, at any rate. Those parts of our favourite retelling that speak most to us as individuals. In England, Robin Hood and his merry men, is one such. The other is King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Full review...
Little Lost Hedgehog (RSPCA Fiction) by Jill Hucklesby
Grace Fallon was out in her garden one evening, doing what she did every night - making certain that her pet rabbits were fed, watered and safe. When she saw a movement in the flower bed she went to investigate and found a baby hedgehog - or a hoglet as they're correctly called. Wisely she didn't attempt to touch the animal but told her parents and then kept watch from inside the house. When the hoglet reappeared and looked rather distressed her mother rang the RSPCA and was told to give it some food - dog food and crushed dog biscuits (NEVER milk as it can make any hog very sick). Later someone from the RSPCA came round to collect the hoglet and take it to their centre for care. Full review...
Pantomime by Laura Lam
Pantomime is almost certainly the best fantasy of the year. That's virtually all I can say about it without getting deep into spoiler territory, which as regular readers will know, I hate. (Oh, actually, I can probably just about tell you that there's a circus in there as well without completely ruining it for you.) I'm not sure whether to praise LR Lam for writing such a phenomenal book or curse her for writing one that's almost completely unreviewable. There's such a big twist early on (which, admittedly, I guessed), that I can't even really say much about the start. Full review...
The Disappeared by C J Harper
Jackson is self-confident, motivated and happy. After all, he attends one of the top Learning Communities and has an AEP score of 98.5. He is destined to become an important part of the Leadership some day. You and I might see Jackson as an insufferable, pompous ass but, since he is surrounded by people like him, Jackson doesn't see it like that.
But then a seemingly random violent attack leaves Jackson battered and bloody and his best friend Wilson dead. When police return him to the Learning Community, Jackson finds his teachers claim not to recognise him and all his records wiped. Dumped in an Academy - a school purportedly for those with lower AEP scores - Jackson's life becomes a hell. Academy students are known as Specials. They're disciplined by electric shocks distributed by teachers in cages. They're fed slop through nozzles in slots. They're encouraged to fight. And they're kept in line by Reds - nominated Specials who get extra food and pride of place in the violent Academy pecking order. Full review...
Sea of Whispers by Tim Bowler
Hetty has grown up on the remote island of Mora. Communication with the outside world is limited and the island relies on its boat, The Pride of Mora. But Hetty herself communicates in another way. She sees visions in the pieces of sea glass washed up on Mora's beaches. Sometimes, too, she hears whispers from the sea. Hetty's visions aren't universally popular with all the islanders but Grandy and Tam and Mackie and her other close friends at least try to understand them. Full review...
Turn of the Tide by Margaret Skea
Family and clan count in 16th century Scotland as Munro discovers. His allegiance lies with the Clan Cunninghame and therefore he's involved in their bloody feud with the Montgomeries. It should be straightforward but sometimes feelings don't run along genealogical lines and loyalties are torn. Munro's wife Kate finds this as difficult to live with, sharing the hardships of a life on the edge whilst trying to protect their children. Unfortunately the Cunninghames' victory at the Annock massacre has created greater problems than it solved and no one knows which side fate will eventually favour. Meanwhile King James' presence creates a temporary respite, but revenge can't be side-lined forever. Full review...
Would I Lie To You? by Clare Dowling
Hannah, Ellen and Barbara have been friends ever since they shared a house at university. They are now in their late thirties and over the years have always been there for each other. This year though, as both Hannah and Ellen prepare to celebrate their thirty eighth birthdays, they all seem to have a bit more stress in their lives than usual. Hannah’s partner, Ollie, has left her and their seven year old daughter, Cleo; Barbara is preparing to adopt a Russian baby on her own; and Ellen and her husband Mark are struggling to ‘live the dream’ that was theirs when they moved to France a few years earlier. Added to this, when Hannah and Barbara spend a couple of weeks with Ellen and her family, something happens that shocks Hannah. If she tells Ellen, it could wreck their friendship. However, if she keeps quiet, she runs the risk of Ellen finding out anyway which could make things even worse. Full review...
Kel Gilligan's Daredevil Stunt Show by Michael Buckley and Dan Santat
Kel Gilligan is a daredevil. He... wait for it... eats BROCCOLI! He even does his poos on the potty. What a brave soul! What a hero! Kel faces all the traumas of childhood, with aplomb. Full review...
