|summary=Janie Ryan is born into a definitely underprivileged family. Despite a mother who tries to make the right decisions, growing up becomes a fight for survival (both figuratively and literally) as Janie encounters social services, tough schools, domestic violence and an array of 'uncles', all promising a better future that seems as tangible as the holy grail.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0701186399</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Helen MacInnes
|title=Above Suspicion
|rating=4
|genre=General Fiction
|summary=In the summer of 1939 Oxford professor Richard Myles and his wife Frances were preparing for their annual European holiday when they were visited by an old friend who had a request for them. Would they start their holiday in Paris, meet a man there and then continue their holiday as he directed? There was a great deal of tension in Europe and Richard Myles was reluctant to undertake the task, mainly because he didn't want to put his wife at risk. Frances had other ideas, but not even they were above suspicion. At first they were watched but the attentions of some shadowy figures became more pressing as they realised that pre-war Germany was not a comfortable place to be.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781161534</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Drew Thomas
|title=Curtains
|rating=5
|genre=General Fiction
|summary=Danny is a performer on London’s cabaret circuit, but his hard work isn’t doing much for his status. When he meets Veronica, who promises to make him a star, he never guesses that this might be too good to be true. Rapidly falling in love with her – or so he thinks – soon his life revolves around doing her bidding. But Veronica is a more complex individual than Danny could ever have imagined - and her forcefulness will lead them both down an unimaginable path.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0957187807</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Joanna Kavenna
|title=Come to the Edge
|rating=4.5
|genre=General Fiction
|summary=If you are fortunate enough to own a rural second home hideaway in the UK, this beautifully written book will probably give you nightmares. For the rest of us, it's a great read. The target for Joanna Kavenna's satire is the unused property, owned by the wealthy, depriving the local population of anywhere to live in the places they have grown up.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1780872135</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Simon Denman
|title=Connected
|rating=3.5
|genre=General Fiction
|summary=Doug, a maths and computing undergraduate at Essex University, has just pulled the most amazing girl. So he's not really that interested in the file of fractals research best friend Kal has just sent him. But while Doug and Cindy are busily getting it on, something has gone horribly wrong for Kal and Doug emerges from afternoon delight to the horrific discovery that his friend has committed suicide. Miles away in the countryside, Peter is attending his brother's funeral. Martin was a musician but not a tortured artist and it seems inconceivable that he too would take his own life. But the trip, for Peter, is more than a family obligation - it's the chance of a break from a stale marriage and an opportunity to indulge in some guilty proximity to his newly-bereaved sister-in-law.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>B0089YQPI0</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Jane Feaver
|title=An Inventory of Heaven
|rating=4
|genre=General Fiction
|summary=Mavis Gaunt was evacuated to Shipleigh in Devon during World War II and went to live with her aunt. It wasn't just an escape from the dangers of London - it was a welcome relief from her parents' loveless marriage and in her mind it became a heavenly retreat. In her twenties and with her mother dead there was nothing to keep her in London so she headed back to Shipleigh. She struck up an unlikely friendship with Frances Upcott, one of three children of a reclusive farmer and, almost against her will, found herself drawn into the life of the farm. It gave her a sense of belonging but it ended in tragedy.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1780330006</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Martin Amis
|title=Lionel Asbo
|rating=3.5
|genre=Literary Fiction
|summary=Martin Amis can be relied upon to create some pretty nasty, self-centred central characters. Usually they are upper class cads and bounders but in Lionel Asbo his central character is at the polar opposite in terms of class. He's violent, uncouth and ignorant. He's a criminal whose usual sidekicks are a pair of vicious pit bulls. His 'manner' is a fictitious down trodden area of London called Diston Town where he lives in a tower block with his nephew, Des, who in fact is the central character in the book. Des, in contrast is far more sympathetic - intelligent and kind, that is if you overlook the fact that as a 15 year old he had an affair with his grandmother, Lionel's mother. Hey, no one's perfect.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0224096206</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Ben Fountain
|title=Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk
|rating=4.5
|genre=General Fiction
|summary=In Ben Fountain's ''Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk'', Billy and what is left of his Bravo troop colleagues are back from the war in Iraq following a brave firefight caught on camera by embedded journalists. The US army, keen to gain PR from the event has brought them back on an optimistically titled 'Victory Tour' despite the fact that they are all to be re-deployed the next week. The majority of the book takes place on the last day of this tour when Billy is in his home-state of Texas, where the Bush link makes it even more pro-war, as the boys are invited to attend that most American of PR events, the Thanksgiving football game at the Dallas Cowboys stadium. Accompanying the troop is a veteran Hollywood producer who has promised the soldiers that he can sell their story to a movie studio for mega-bucks. If only it were that simple.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0857864386</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Shams Uddin
|title=The Year from Jahannam
|rating=3.5
|genre=General Fiction
|summary=The Wright family begin a blog in January 2011. They all want to celebrate a new start after the turmoil of recent years. Father Richard had been a casualty of the financial crisis, working for Lehman Brothers at the time of its collapse, and the ensuing chaos had affected the entire family one way or another. But Richard retrained, secured a new job and has recently earned a huge bonus. At last the family are back on track and enjoying the fruits of hard labour.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0957175205</amazonuk>}}
{{newreview
|author=Jan Wallentin
|title=Strindberg's Star
|rating=3.5
|genre=General Fiction
|summary=Just as he is preparing for an appearance on a television show, a stranger approaches Don Titelman and asks for his help. This man, Erik Hall, has recently discovered a mysterious body at the bottom of a flooded mine shaft. Whilst perfectly preserved, medical checks confirm the man had been dead for nearly a hundred years. The deceased apparently committed suicide whilst holding on to a metal ankh with some strange writings on it.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1848879873</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Natasa Dragnic and Liesl Schillinger (translator)
|title=Every Day, Every Hour
|rating=4.5
|genre=Humour
|summary=Dora and Luka meet and become firm friends. In normal situations one might add ''and a whole lot more'' to that sentence, but Dora and Luka are in Kindergarten, which makes their intense relationship hard to define. As they grow into adults, however, it becomes obvious that there is something between them and no matter how much they, or their circumstances, try to fight this it is there and is not going to fade away. Dora’s parents move her across the continent, careers develop and flourish, out of nowhere they are enveloped by family lives, but still there is an invisible bond that draws them back to one another.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0701186941</amazonuk>
}}
