|summary=As a journalist and broadcaster, Gavin Esler has interviewed everyone from Bill Clinton to Angelina Jolie, and now he’s taking what he’s learned from those chats to bring us ''Lessons from the top…how successful leaders tell stories to get ahead – and stay there''.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1846684994</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Alan Early
|title=Arthur Quinn and the Fenris Wolf (The Father of Lies Chronicles)
|rating=4.5
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=It's been 3 months since Arthur Quinn and his friends, Ash, Max and an army of dead Vikings, handed an amazing defeat to the trickster god, Loki, and saved the world from the threat of certain annihilation. Everything is back to normal and all but a very few even remember. But Loki has not been resting idle. After the destruction of the Jormungand at Arthur’s hands, he now seeks the Fenris Wolf. Amassing an army of vicious wolves to do his bidding, he will take back the world this time and have his revenge. So Arthur, finally settled into his new life in Dublin, is enjoying time away in the countryside with Ash and her family. But it’s all about to begin again… Arthur’s visions return as his pendant glows stronger than before. Max’s nightmares of the past begin again. There are strange stirrings among the Viking army and a growing unease surrounds our hero. Exactly who are these two new classmates in Arthur and Ash’s school? Why is Arthur so suspicious of Ash's new puppy? What is Loki after at the National Museum? Once again, it's all down to Arthur and his friends to save the world from the Father of Lies… but this time, Loki has help.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1856359980</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Fuminori Nakamura
|title=The Thief
|rating=5
|genre=Crime
|summary=The Thief is content roaming the streets of Tokyo, living on the contents of its wealthier citizens' pockets until, his original partner in crime (literally) introduces him to Kizaki, a local shady big shot. Kizaki wants the Thief's help on a straightforward job. He will just be one of a team tasked with breaking into a rich speculator's home, scaring him a little, taking the contents of his safe and departing. No rough stuff and the financial settlement Kizaki offers will more than compensate the pickpocket for his time.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1780339135</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Andre Brink
|title=Philida
|rating=4.5
|genre=Historical Fiction
|summary=Philida falls in love with Frans, the son of Cornelis Brink and they have four children together creating a tragedy on two counts: only two children survive and their love is troubled. For this is South Africa in 1830 and Philida is only the Brinks' 'knit girl': a slave specialising in the family's knitting.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1846557046</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Cathy Bussey
|title=What to Do When You Win the Lottery
|rating=4
|genre=Business and Finance
|summary=You might wonder quite why someone who doesn't play the lottery is reading a book called ''What to Do When You Win the Lottery''. Well, the answer is simple: it struck me that winning the lottery was not the only way in which people were likely to come into a large sum of money - there are other forms of gambling, inheritance or even redundancy, to name but a few. My inner money person mentioned that most people think that coming into money is the answer to ''all'' their problems without realising that it needs active management just like any other life-changing event.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1780950012</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=A N Wilson
|title=The Potter's Hand
|rating=4
|genre=Historical Fiction
|summary=The man of clay that A N Wilson throws onto his storytelling wheel in ''The Potter's Hand'' is the great Josiah Wedgwood, but this is much more than a historic telling of his life. Indeed, Josiah already has a thriving business at the start of the book. What Wilson does particularly impressively is to put Wedgwood's achievement and works into the context of the politics and social philosophy of the times, sandwiched between the two great revolutions in America and France. In order to do this, Wilson has to play slightly loose with artistic licence by altering dates and time lines a bit, but it works well. He also balances the real historic figures with several key figures of his own invention and where the historic figures don't quite fit with his narrative, he alters their ages and invents 'facts' to the benefit of the fictional narrative.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1848879512</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=John Buchan
|title=The Gap in the Curtain
|rating=3
|genre=Historical Fiction
|summary=A short stay with friends in society for Sir Edward Leithen is just what he needs, being an overworked MP and lawyer. Among the collection of fellow guests, some of whom he knows and some he doesn't, is the extraordinary mind of Professor Moe, a scientist who decides to select some of the houseguests as subjects for his latest experiment. He declares that he can make sure they can see into the future, and the people he chooses – for various reasons – do indeed get a mental snatch of The Times newspaper exactly a year into their future, and what's more, one that comes completely true – either for good or bad…
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1846972248</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Clara Vulliamy
|title=Muffin and the Expedition
|rating=3.5
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Muffin the bear has a hankering for an expedition, so he packs three honey sandwiches and some grapes. He shoots past Fizz, Flora and the three chicks, explaining that he's going to a very special place. He wanders around, trying to find something fun to do on his expedition, and then is treated to his friends joining him.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1408312433</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Miriam Moss and Joanna Mockler
|title=Wibble Wobble, My Loose Tooth
|rating=4.5
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=I don't know about your family, but my five year old is desperate for a wobbly tooth! She has already written to the tooth fairy several times and they've built up quite a relationship with discussions about why no money is left if there are no teeth, what the fairies do with all those teeth and it is certainly a hot topic of conversation in our house as we receive regular updates about whose tooth came out at school! Indeed, the other day her best friend lost his first tooth and when I told my daughter about this she burst into tears claiming, dramatically, that her teeth would ''never'' fall out and she'd never get any big teeth! Well, as you can probably imagine, any story about wobbly teeth was going to go down well in our house and this is certainly a good one!
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>140831956X</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Gillian Philip
|title=Wolfsbane (Rebel Angels)
|rating=5
|genre=Teens
|summary=After the terrible events at the end of the [[Rebel Angels: Bloodstone by Gillian Philip|second book]] in Gillian Philip's ''Rebel Angels'' sequence, we move on a decade or so. Finn is back in the mortal world. But Rory and Jed have stayed with Seth, now the captain of the MacGregor clann's dun. Faerie queen Kate NicNiven continues to plot against Seth and to wrest Rory, the Bloodstone and prophesied saviour, from him. She is as determined as ever to destroy the veil separating the mortal and faerie worlds.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1905537352</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Ann Wroe
|title=Orpheus, The Song Of Life
|rating=4.5
|genre=History
|summary=Orpheus is one of the most memorable and recognisable figures of Greek mythology. He was a legendary musician and poet, whose song could charm all living things and indeed the very stones of the earth. He had a dramatic life, including joining the Argonauts as they searched for the golden fleece. Most memorably, he travelled to Hades to rescue his dead wife Eurydice from the underworld. However, he was unable to obey Pluto’s command not to look at her. He couldn’t resist turning around, only to see her sucked back into the depths and death. This tale of romantic tragedy and thwarted love has intrigued and delighted artists and writers through the centuries, and they have portrayed Orpheus and his life in music, paintings, plays, poems, operas and films ever since.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1845951689</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Clive Stafford-Smith
|title=Injustice: Life and Death in the Courtrooms of America
|rating=5
|genre=Politics and Society
|summary=On 16 October 1986, Derrick and Duane Moo Young were shot and killed, in Miami. British businessman Kris Maharaj was arrested, and in 1987 he was convicted of their murders and sentenced to death. His defence lawyer, Eric Hendon, took the unusual line of offering no defence at all - when it came time to present his case, he simply rested. Kris protested his innocence throughout, and continues to do so to this day. Despite weighty evidence in support of this, he still languishes in prison 26 years later.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1846556252</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Michelle Robinson and Lauren Tobia
|title=How to Find a Fruit Bat
|rating=3.5
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=A young girl heads out on an expedition to find a fruit bat. After all, who better to eat all the fruit that she doesn't want to eat? She gets her cardboard box boat ready, packing it with everything she'll need (including fruit for the fruit bat). On her expedition, she runs into all sorts of excitement and adventure, then sails home in time for supper.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1408308541</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=B R Collins
|title=Maze Cheat
|rating=4
|genre=Teens
|summary=This fast-paced story, with its overtones of Greek tragedy, is set in a dystopian world where acid rain is so bad people must wear a mask just to go outside. People find distraction in role-play games, particularly the Maze, which is the creation of the immensely powerful conglomerate called Crater. The game taps directly into players' minds, making them feel as if they are really present in the virtual world, and is promoted as being unbeatable, but with the help of people like Ario who make their living by creating and selling cheat codes, it looks as if someone is about to reach the final level. And Crater isn't happy about that.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1408827603</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Cathy Birchall and Bernard Smith
|title=Touching The World: A Blind Woman, Two Wheels and 25,000 Miles
|rating=4.5
|genre=Travel
|summary=Consider the world. There might not be enough of it to go around in some over-crowded places, but there is enough variety in it - and us - for us all to have our own version of it; our own perceptions, experiences and expectations. Those are drastically altered from those of you and I if one is blind, as Cathy Birchall is. But that simple fact did not stop her taking a year out, and starting in August 2008, perch herself on her husband's pillion seat and be taken from one end of the earth to the other and back again.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0956497586</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Chris Worthington
|title=Setting The Record Straight
|rating=3
|genre=General Fiction
|summary=When he was twelve Geoff Dealer returned to his Texas home and walked in on what looked like a frightening situation. A man, trousers round his ankles was pushing his mother up against a wall and she was squealing. Mindful of his father's advice about using a gun Geoff grabbed it from the gun cabinet and injured the man with his first shot. The second killed him. It was their neighbour and his father's best friend - who'd obviously been more than a friend to his mother. Lizzie Dealer took the blame - saying that she'd been attacked and had grabbed the gun from her son - but her husband was arrested and was killed in prison a couple of days later.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1848767080</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=The Secret Footballer
|title=I Am The Secret Footballer: Lifting The Lid On The Beautiful Game
|rating=4.5
|genre=Sport
|summary=In the 2012 Olympic Games the UK delighted in the skills shown by our athletes. We were - naturally - pleased by the medals, but what impressed was the training and dedication of people who were frequently fitting what they did around the day job or study. For the most part they weren't reaping much in the way of financial rewards from what they did - but they shone. The exceptions were the footballers. I forget (and that might well be Freudian) ''exactly'' who beat us, but I doubt that there are many people pleased by the show they made. It's now the beginning of the Premier League season and ''I Am the Secret Footballer'' has arrived at the perfect moment.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0852653085</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross
|title=Mammoth Pie
|rating=4.5
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=''On top of a mountain there lived a fat mammoth.''<br>
''Down in the valley there lived a thin caveman.''<br>
''The caveman was hungry. Very, very hungry.''<br>
''He saw the mammoth and licked his lips.''
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1842707574</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Alison Maloney
|title=Bright Young Things
|rating=4
|genre=History
|summary=According to the summary I read of ''Bright Young Things'' before choosing the book to read, it 'takes a sweeping look at the changing world of the Jazz Age'. I was expecting it to be something of a narrative account of the Roaring Twenties – in actual fact, it's set out as a collection of trivia about the decade. Similarly, the 'first person accounts' mentioned on the inside front cover are limited to two or three sentence quotes.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0753540975</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Herman Koch
|title=The Dinner
|rating=4.5
|genre=General Fiction
|summary=Serge Lohman, presidential candidate, is not the kind of man to frequent the cafés of ordinary people, and so when his brother Paul and his wife Claire join Serge and wife Babette for dinner, it can only be at the fanciest of locales, and for 'fanciest' read poshest, snootiest, and most overpriced. And while they may be in Holland, going Dutch is not on the menu. This is not Serge’s story, however. It is Paul’s, and what he lacks in terms of income, power and influence compared to his brother, he more than makes up for with dry humour and astute observations.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1848873824</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Tracey Garvis Graves
|title=On The Island
|rating=5
|genre=Women's Fiction
|summary=High school teacher Anna has been hired as a tutor for the summer, helping 16 year old T.J. who has missed a fair amount of school due to illness. Leaving the USA behind, the two of them head over to the Maldives where his parents have hired a holiday home, but instead of gracefully descending into paradise, they crash land, quite literally, into a nightmare. Their pilot has a heart attack, their sea plane plummets into the ocean, and they wash up on a deserted desert island. The unlikely twosome has to band together to survive and wait out their rescue, but as weeks and then months pass, hope fades and they have to wonder what will happen if no one ever finds them.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1405910216</amazonuk>
}}