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<metadesc>Book review site, with books from the many walks of literary life - fiction, biography, crime, cookery and anything else that takes our fancy. There are also lots of author interviews and top tens.</metadesc>
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<metadesc>Expert, full book reviews from most walks of literary life; fiction, non-fiction, children's books & self-published books plus author interviews & top tens.</metadesc>
Hello from The Bookbag, a book review 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.
 
  
There are currently '''{{PAGESINCATEGORY:Reviews}}''' reviews at TheBookbag.
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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!
  
Want to find out more [[About Us|about us]]?
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There are currently '''{{PAGESINCATEGORY: Reviews}}''' [[:Category:Reviews|reviews]] at TheBookbag.
  
==New Reviews==
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Want to learn more [[About Us|about us]]? __NOTOC__
'''Read [[:Category:New Reviews|new reviews by genre]].'''
 
  
'''Read [[Features|new features]].'''
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==The Best New Books==
__NOTOC__
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{{newreview
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'''Read [[:Category:New Reviews|new reviews by category]]. '''<br>
|author=Geraldine McCaughrean
 
|title=King Arthur and a World of Other Stories
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Confident Readers
 
|summary=The prolific, award winning author Geraldine McCaughrean has collected together twenty four stories from around the world in this highly impressive collection, garnered from four earlier collections. It includes the familiar from the Western tradition (Wilhelm Tell, Pygmalion, King Arthur) to those that are completely new to me, from Bolivia, Togo, Japan, the Middle East. The stories are no more than five pages long, making them ideal for bedtime reading (or hometime reading in a school).
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1444002376</amazonuk>
 
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{{newreview
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'''Read [[:Category:Features|the latest features]].'''
|author=Alice LaPlante
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{{Frontpage
|title=Turn of Mind
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|author=Jen Beagin
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|title=Big Swiss
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
|genre=Literary Fiction
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|genre=Humour
|summary=This is a beautifully-presented book with its eye-catching front cover and poetic title. Jennifer has had a busy and fulfilling professional life as a well-respected medical surgeon. Until now. She's gradually losing bits of her mind to Alzheimer's. Her family is supportive and keep popping in on a regular basis plus there's now a live-in carer, Magdalena, so that daily life and daily chores are just about covered.
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|summary=I found the premise of this book totally original and addictive. Greta possesses the power to know the population of Hudson, New York's darkest secrets, their intimate lives, their fetishes and fears. How? Her job is to transcribe their sex therapy sessions. Sure, there's a confidentiality agreement, as the sex coach who calls himself Om keeps reminding her, but that just makes it more exciting. Like we've all probably wished for at some point in life, Greta can exist passively, placidly, as a fly on the wall. That is, until Greta decides to unglue her fly-feet from the safety of the wall and buzz far too close to the sun. The sun in this analogy is the sex coach's newest patient, who Greta dubs 'Big Swiss', and who, like the sun, is bright, blonde and beautiful - and irresistible to Greta. Suddenly, the confidentiality agreement, the ethics of her professional position, her loyalties to Om, fly out of the window. She's in too deep.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1846554632</amazonuk>
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|isbn=0571378579
 
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}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1529077745
|author=Jose Saramago and Margaret Jull Costa
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|title=The Dark Wives (D I Vera Stanhope)
|title=The Elephant's Journey
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|author=Ann Cleeves
|rating=3.5
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|rating=4.5
|genre=Literary Fiction
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|genre=Crime
|summary=This novel is inspired by a real event – the marriage gift of an elephant from Dom João III of Portugal to his cousin Maximilian, the Hapsburg Archduke of AustriaWhen the gift was accepted, the elephant Solomon, his mahout Subhro and numerous soldiers, oxen and porters, walked from Lisbon to Vienna to deliver the present, arriving in 1552This is the story of that journey.
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|summary=A man walking his dog in the early morning discovered the body of a man in the park near Rosebank, a care home for troubled teens.  The dead man was Josh - one of the care workers who was due to work a shift the night before but who had never turned upD I Vera Stanhope is called in to investigate the murder - but her only clue is the disappearance of one of the residents, fourteen-year-old Chloe SpencerSome people believe that Chloe was responsible for the death but Vera thinks this is unlikely as the girl's diary makes it clear that she adored Josh. She knows that she has to find Chloe to discover what happened to Josh.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099546884</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1399613073
|author=Lindsey Fraser
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|title=Moral Injuries
|title=J K Rowling: the Mystery of Fiction
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|author=Christie Watson
|rating=4
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|rating=4.5
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
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|genre=Thrillers
|summary=Easily one of the most renowned authors of the 21st century, J.K. Rowling's incredibly successful Harry Potter series shook the core of the literary world. It provoked a reaction, the likes of which have never been seen before, and likely never will. A unique set of factors combined in order for the Harry Potter books to reach the level of success they enjoyed, and these factors are explored in this biography of RowlingIt is difficult not to be fascinated by the person who is responsible for the phenomenon that is Harry Potter, and although writing is a profession that doesn't have a typical path by which it can be reached, Rowling's story is anything but orthodox, and her personal 'rags to riches' story only enhances the Harry Potter legacy.
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|summary=Olivia, Laura 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, which 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 going to end in tragedy. We don't know who suffered the tragedy or the consequencesTwenty-five years later there will be an eerily similar event that will impact the three friends.  This time, it's their teenage children who are involved.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1906134693</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=0241636604
|author=Sara Stockbridge
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|title=The Trading Game: A Confession
|title=Cross My Palm
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|author=Gary Stevenson
|rating=4
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|rating=4.5
|genre=Historical Fiction
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|genre=Autobiography
|summary=Fortune teller Rose Lee lives on the edge of London society in 1860, making her living by entertaining (and sometimes deceiving) the rich by reading their palmsShe fears the fate she has read for herself in her own palm which is perhaps what makes her cautious of delivering the whole truth to the ladies that employ herOn one particular night Rose is called to the house of Lady Quayle, a woman of high society, who delights in having her fortune read, taking everything Rose tells her as gospelOne of the guests present is Emily, a young girl and friend of Lady Quayle's daughter Tabitha.
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|summary=If you were to bring up an image of a city banker in your mind, you're unlikely to think of someone like Gary StevensonA hoodie and jeans replaces the pin-stripe suit and his background is the East End, where 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 EconomicsStevenson is bright - extremely bright - and he has a facility with numbers which most of us can only envy.  He also realised that most rich people expect poor people to be stupid.  It was his ability at what was, essentially, a card game which got him an internship with CitibankEventually, this turned into permanent employment as a trader.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>070118504X</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|author=Leanne Egan
|author=Julia Jones and Claudia Myatt
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|title=Lover Birds
|title=Strong Winds Trilogy: The Salt-Stained Book
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|rating=4.5
|rating=5
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|genre=Teens
|genre=Confident Readers
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|summary=When new girl, Isabel, moves to Lou's hometown of Liverpool from London Lou immediately feels Isabel's disdain for everything around herA misunderstanding between them leaves them hating each other, but Lou feels her pulse racing every time she looks at Isabel or speaks with her, and that's definitely because Isabel makes her feel so cross, isn't it? Because Lou is straight, isn't she?  Even though none of her relationships with boys have gone very well so far, and she's never had a good kiss with any of themSo she just finds herself watching Isabel, and wanting to hang out with her because fighting with her is fun, and she definitely just hates Isabel, doesn't she?
|summary=Donny and his mother left their bungalow on the outskirts of Leeds and headed off to Suffolk to meet Donny's great aunt.  It was never going to be easy as Skye, Donny's mother, was deaf and just about muteShe and Donny communicated by signing and usually they managed quite well, but when Skye had a breakdown in a car park in Colchester, their camper van was towed away and fourteen-year-old Donny was taken into care. He couldn't understand why none of the officials would believe him – in fact, were they all that they seemedAnd why will no one let him see his mother?
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|isbn=000862657X
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1899262040</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
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{{Frontpage
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|author=Jacqueline Rose
 +
|title=Women in Dark Times
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|rating=4
 +
|genre=Biography
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|summary=''The world of the unconscious is not the antagonist of political life, but its steadfast companion, the hidden place or backdrop where any true revolution must begin…''
  
{{newreview
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Women in Dark Times is Jacqueline Rose's homage to courageous women throughout history, particularly women of the 21st, 20th and 19th centuries. Her historical and political backdrop is, thus, expansive, yet she navigates it with intelligence and an acknowledgment that feminism's lengthy mission is a testament to its successes, and not its failures: ''the ongoing force of feminism''.
|author=Michael Brooks
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|isbn=1804271713
|title=Free Radicals
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Popular Science
 
|summary=We often have an image of scientists as quietly plodding away, with small breakthrough after small breakthrough. When the big breakthroughs come, they downplay things, and insist upon logical and level-headed caution. It's all very mild-mannered and polite. ...Or is it? The history of science is splattered with radicals, who'll do anything for success. There are those who mercilessly put down their rivals, those who use drugs to stimulate their breakthroughs, those who put themselves in harm's way in the pursuit of truth, and those who just plain go about things their own way, regardless of what anyone else says.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1846684056</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|author=Sally Rooney
|author=Ross Raisin
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|title=Intermezzo
|title=Waterline
 
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
|genre=Literary Fiction
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|genre=General Fiction  
|summary=Raisin has an enviable portfolio for one so young, having been named ''Sunday Times Young Writer Of The Year 2009'' and his [[God's Own Country by Ross Raisin|previous novel]] receiving fulsome praise. No pressure then with this book.  The story opens with all members of the Little family paying their respects to Cathy. Some have travelled further than others as they all squeeze into Mick's modest house, somewhere in Glasgow.  A less-than-posh part.  Mick is obviously numb with the shock of it all (even although his wife's death was not sudden - she had been ill for some time). It's clear that some of the family, distant members, feel uncomfortable and don't quite know how to act.
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|summary=Sally Rooney has studied the chessboard of life and is something of a grandmaster at putting it into words. Her dialogue is gripping and so brilliantly frustrating, as her characters never quite say exactly what they feel. Among the many relationships woven into this story, the central one for readers to unravel is the fraternal connection—or lack thereof—between Ivan and Peter Koubek. Ivan, a socially awkward chess prodigy, contrasts sharply with his older brother Peter, a successful lawyer living in Dublin. Following their father's passing after a long battle with cancer, the brothers' already strained relationship faces new trials.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0670917354</amazonuk>
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|isbn=0571365469
 
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}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1009473085
|author=Fiona Roberton
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|title=The Conservative Effect 2010 - 2024
|title=Wanted: The Perfect Pet
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|author=Anthony Seldon and Tom Egerton (Editors)
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
|genre=For Sharing
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|genre=Politics and Society
|summary=What Henry wants most in the world, more than chips, more than a trip to the moon, is a dogHe has 27 different sorts of frogs but they, he claims, are boringWhat he really, really wants is a dog, and so he decides to advertise to try and find one.
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|summary=Sometimes it's simpler to explain a book by describing what it ''isn't'' and that applies to ''The Conservative Effect: 2010-2024 - 14 Wasted Years?''.  If you're looking for an easy read which will deliver the inside story about what ''really'' happened on certain occasions, then this isn't the book for youIf that's what you're looking for, I don't think Anthony Seldon's book, {{amazonurl|isbn=B0BH7SKG2S|title=Johnson at 10}}, can be bettered for those tumultuous yearsIt's a compelling read and should be compulsory for anyone who thinks Johnson should return to politics.  ''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 co-editor Sir Anthony Seldon regards this as the most important. This book follows the well-established format: 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.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1444902628</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
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{{Frontpage
 +
|author=Mark Lingane
 +
|title=Chimera
 +
|rating=4.5
 +
|genre=Science Fiction
 +
|summary=''The survivor stumbles forward, her steps echoing in the oppressive silence. Her heart pounds like a jackhammer. She doesn’t know where she’s heading. All she remembers is running. Terror chasing. Everything lost.''
  
{{newreview
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''Broken and fragmented recollections tumble around her head. Fear courses through her body. Her breaths come in shallow, ragged gasps as desperation claws at her throat. Dehydration consumes her, and a raging thirst feels unquenchable.''
|author=Joss Stirling
 
|title=Stealing Phoenix
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Teens
 
|summary=Phoenix is a thief. She's a very good one, thanks to having some rather useful psychic abilities. Working for the cruel and dominating Seer, she's forced to follow his instructions to bring him whatever he wants – just as the rest of their community of savants are. Then she's told to get something from Yves Benedict, and for the first time in her life, fails to take what she wants. Yves has powers of his own… and he may be the one who's stolen her heart. Can Yves and his family rescue her from the Seer?
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0192756583</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
  
{{newreview
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''There must be a way out. As she moves through the foreign area, memories begin to gel. Disaster had ploughed through her life—not just hers, everyone’s.''
|author=Kes Gray and Mary McQuillan
 
|title=Get Well Friends
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=Nurse Nibbles has a hospital full of patients - who can we see who is poorly?  There's a hamster whose whiskers got caught up in his wheel, and a centipede who sprained 98 ankles playing hockey!  Will Nurse Nibbles be able to make them feel better?
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1444903810</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
  
{{newreview
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As our survivor struggles to orient herself, she's guided by a robot, which looks human-made, but she can't be sure. It says it is. It says she must try not to injure herself. Guided to an interview with an eerie, terrifying group of aliens, she desperately tries to make sense of flashes of memory - environmental degradation, deals done and then betrayed, horrifying rituals covering desperate attempts to survive - and to attempt to explain how she came to be here, apparently the last human being alive.
|author=Scott Murray and Simon Farnaby
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|isbn=B0DNVWMYP2
|title=The Phantom of The Open: Maurice Flitcroft, the World's Worst Golfer
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Sport
 
|summary=Maurice Flitcroft was forty six when he played his first round of golf.  Most golfers start on the local course and hack around until they develop some skill.  Not Maurice.  That wasn't his way. He borrowed some books on golf from the library and decided that he was going to enter the Open. Yes – the Open.  No starting at the bottom and working his way up – Maurice went straight for the big one.  He ran up a score of 121 and the R&A (that's Royal and Ancient if you're not a golf fan) went ballistic.  It might be said that they lacked a sense of humour but golf at this level is a serious game and Maurice was banned for life.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0224083171</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1784745758
|author=Mark Birchall
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|title=Three Days in June
|title=Copy Cat
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|author=Anne Tyler
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
|genre=For Sharing
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|genre=General Fiction
|summary=''Copy Cat'' begins with the reader being told that:
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|summary=The day before your daughter's wedding will always be busy but Gail Baines got far more than she asked for.  First, it was her job as assistant head at the local school.  There was a moment when she hoped that she would be promoted to head but the discussion moved into the subject of 'people skills' and before she knew what was happening Gail had been sacked or resigned, depending on who was explaining the situation. When she got home (in the middle of the day: who would have thought that could happen?) her ex-husband was there with a cat.  He thinks that he'll be staying and that Gail will be adopting the cat. And that's before Gail discovers that the groom hasn't been entirely honest about his personal life.
 
 
''Cat was small and Dog was big;''<br>
 
''and whatever Dog did, Cat did too''.'
 
 
 
We soon learn that this involves very exciting activities such as dinosaur hunting, balancing on a high wire, digging for pirate treasure and deep sea diving. Although it is perfectly understandable that Cat should want to join in all the fun, Dog does start to get fed up with him always tagging along. That is why, when she decides to explore Space, she makes sure that there is only room for one on her spaceship. You can imagine her annoyance though when Cat shows up in his own spaceship and this leads to her telling him off for being such a copycat.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1846433673</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|author=Eowyn Ivey
|author=Jill Newton
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|title=Black Woods Blue Sky
|title=Don't Wake Mr Bear!
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=Dormouse is the leader of the woodland orchestra, and it is time for the lullaby of the forest to begin.  Softly, gently the animals play and off goes Dormouse to hibernate for the winter, departing with the strict instruction ''remember, WHATEVER you do, don't wake Mr Bear!''  It's not hard to guess what happens next, is it?!
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1405249668</amazonuk>
 
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{{newreview
 
|author=Susan Casey
 
|title=The Wave: In Pursuit of the Oceans' Greatest Furies
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Sport
 
|summary=They're powerful enough to capsize unsinkable ships, wrench oil rigs from their moorings and can destroy vast swathes of coastal regions, flattening everything in their path and killing thousands of people in the process. So what is it that makes some men, and it is mostly men, go in search of these oceanic monsters? That is what Susan Casey tries to find out in this engaging, often awe inspiring and sometimes terrifying look at the world of big wave surfing.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099531763</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=John Yeoman and Quentin Blake
 
|title=Beatrice and Vanessa
 
 
|rating=3.5
 
|rating=3.5
|genre=For Sharing
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|genre=Literary Fiction
|summary=Beatrice (the sheep) and Vanessa (the goat) live together on a farm, staying in the same field, looking out at the same view, and talking together about the same things day after day. One day they find they've run out of things to say, so they decide to take a holiday together.
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|summary=''Black Woods Blue Sky'' tells the story of Birdie, the young mother of toddler Emaleen, who longs for a life beyond the Alaskan lodge where she works as a bar waitress, a setting which enables her bad habits and her accidental neglect of Emaleen. Described as a ''wild card'', she feels stuck in her day-to-day life, and yearns to cross the Wolverine river and live on the North Fork to fulfil her desires of a simple life surrounded by nature. When she meets Arthur Nielson, a strange, taciturn and solitary man, who says he has a cabin over there, she feels called to go - and bring Emaleen with her. Without realising it, this calling will transform hers and Emaleen's lives forever.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1849392692</amazonuk>
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|isbn=1472279042
 
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{{Frontpage
 
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|author=Max Boucherat
{{newreview
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|title=The Last Life of Lori Mills
|author=Damian Dibben
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|rating=4.5
|title=The History Keepers: The Storm Begins
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|genre=Confident Readers
|rating=4
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|summary=We 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. What could possibly go wrong?  Snuggled in a blanket fort, she has one main intention, and that is to log on to Voxminer, the world-building, critter-collecting game that is a hit in Lori's world. But first Lori has a tiny inkling that this stormy night doesn't find herself entirely on her own, and then she finds something even more spooky. For the server she and her bestie and nobody else should be able to enter shows signs of tampering.  When malevolent eyes spark up on her phone screen, and her safe place in the game has been doctored – well, where is a girl to turn?
|genre=Teens
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|isbn=0008666482
|summary=''Imagine if you lost your parents. Not just in place, but in time''
 
 
 
Scary, huh? But this is exactly what happens to Jake Djones (silent D, dears). Believing his parents have gone to a bathroom convention, he's carrying on as usual until they get home. But then he's abducted on his way home from school and taken to a secret base hidden beneath the Monument in London. Jake discovers that his parents have kept a secret from him: they are secret agents working for the History Keepers, working to prevent evil villains from tampering with history itself, and they have gone missing in sixteenth century Venice. B
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0857530534</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=0008385068
|author=Kallie George and Abigail Halpin
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|title=The Midnight Feast
|title=The Melancholic Mermaid
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|author=Lucy Foley
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
|genre=Confident Readers
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|genre=Thrillers
|summary=Maude is a mermaid who was born with two tails.  Her parents tell her it makes her special, stronger and faster, but amongst the other mermaid children it makes her an outcastShe is lonely, and she longs for a friendFeeling sorry for herself one day she isn't paying attention and she is captured by a fisherman who sells her to a circusOn the same day that Maude was born, Tony was born in a cottage by the seaHe has webbed hands and, like Maude, is teased at school and left lonely and sad.  His parents send him to live with the circus, believing he will be accepted and happy there but Tony is still lonely and he misses the seaBut then one day he is put in charge of a new attraction for the circusA mermaid with two tails...
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|summary=It's midsummer on the Dorset coast and guests gather at The ManorIt's their opening weekend and splendid celebrations are promisedIt's all headed up by Francesca MeadowsThe Manor was her ancestral home and she's converted it into an impressive retreat for the wealthy and famousHer husband, Owen, was the architect and work is still ongoing on parts of the siteThe heat is oppressive and amongst the guests are enemies as well as friendsOld scores are going to be settled and it won't be long before a body is found.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1897476531</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|author=James Baldwin
|author=Neil Griffiths and Janette Louden
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|title=Giovanni's Room
|title=Sock It!
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|rating=4.5
|rating=3
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|genre=Literary Fiction
|genre=For Sharing
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|summary=''Giovanni's Room'' follows the narrator David, an American man living in Paris, as he navigates his torturous affair with Giovanni, an Italian bartender he meets in a gay bar. While David is engaged to Hella, who is travelling in Spain, the real tension in the novel arises not from his infidelity but from the deeper conflict within himself. It is David's crippling shame and denial of his sexuality that ultimately dooms his relationship with Giovanni.
|summary=Sock It! is a bit like ''Pants'' by Nick Sharratt, which makes it more of a long entertaining rhyme than a story as such. Because of this I'd say it's one to read together with your child when you want a bit of fun, as opposed to a bedtime story, as it has a very loud feel, with bright illustrations and silly rhymes to make kids giggle and want to join in.
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|isbn=0141186356
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1905434820</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|author=Ashley Hickson-Lovence
|author=Joanna Philbin
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|title=Wild East
|title=Celebriteens: In the Spotlight
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|rating=4.5
|rating=4
 
 
|genre=Teens
 
|genre=Teens
|summary=Girls usually get together because they've got something in common and for Lizzie, Carina and Hudson it's their famous parentsLizzie's mother is a supermodel and even in her thirties she's still one of the most beautiful women in the worldLizzie's – not.  Well, she's not exactly ugly but compared to her mother (and she always is) she just doesn't come up to scratchCarina's dad is a rich (''very'' rich) businessman and he's determined that C (as she's known) is going to join the company and eventually take over.  Carina has other ideas.  Hudson wants to make music and you might think that having a pop diva for a mother is a good start, but Hudson's style is different and her mother can't accept that.
+
|summary=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 mostly white schoolThe move is initiated by Ronny's mum who is worried for Ronny's safety after a tragic event, and so Ronny finds himself trying to settle in a new town, a new school, and keep himself out of troubleHe listens to music constantly, and has always dreamed of being a rapperBut now, in this new school, his teacher encourages him to be part of a poetry writing workshop group and, slowly, Ronny begins to see the connections between rap and poetry, and the power of creativity and crafting your words.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1407121200</amazonuk>
+
|isbn=0241645441
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=1635866847
|author=Helen Grant
+
|title=The Lavender Companion
|title=Wish Me Dead
+
|author=Jessica Dunham and Terry Barlin Vesci
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
 +
|genre=Lifestyle
 +
|summary=It's strange, the things that make you ''immediately'' feel that this is the book for you.  Before I started reading ''The Lavender Companion'', I visited the author's [https://www.pinelavenderfarm.com/ website] and there's a picture of a slice of chocolate cake on the homepage.  I don't eat cakes and desserts - but I wanted that cake viscerally.  (There's a recipe in the book, which I'm avoiding with some difficulty!!) Then I started reading the book and I was told to make a mess of it.  Notes in the margins are sanctioned.  You get to fold down the corners of pages.  You suspect that smears of butter would not be a problem.  I ''loved'' this book already.
 +
}}
 +
{{Frontpage
 +
|author=Jenny Valentine
 +
|title=Us in the Before and After
 +
|rating=5
 
|genre=Teens
 
|genre=Teens
|summary=Rural Germany, in modern times.  Steffi and her five friends lark about in a deserted building to summon a witch and get her to kill a local celebrity - who does indeed dieWhen a repeat attempt gifts a decent amount of cash to Steffi it becomes clear she is alone in having her wishes granted.  So what will happen when she wishes for the town hunk - hasn't Steffi heard to be careful what you wish for? But how on earth can things get so bad she feels her story deserves *that* title?
+
|summary=Elk and Mab are best friends, or more than that even, their friendship is a once in a lifetime connectionThey 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.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0141337702</amazonuk>
+
|isbn=1471196585
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=1529425905
|author=Steve Webb and Katharine McEwen
+
|title=A Voice in the Night (A D I Wilkins Mystery)
|title=Tigerbear
+
|author=Simon Mason
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
|genre=For Sharing
+
|genre=Crime
|summary=I'm a sucker for a good bedtime story and to me ''Tigerbear'' is just that. With the perfect tone for a bedtime read, a small amount of adventure, a nice rhyming pattern and friendly illustrations, I can see this book sending many children off to sleep to have their own adventure in years to come.
+
|summary=There's a new Superintendent in Thames Valley — DCS Wainwright—and she's young, ambitious, and ruthless. She talks a good talk about work/life balance and family values, but as far as she's concerned, she has two main problems, and they're both called DI Wilkins.  Ray Wilkins is of Nigerian descent, Baliol educated and always immaculately dressed.  He's married to Diane and has twin sons.  Management's opinion of him is that he thinks too highly of himself and his last boss felt that he needed more experience at what he called 'the wet end'. Ryan Wilkins comes from a trailer park - in fact, it could be said that he's never really left it.  He lives in shell suits and tracksuits, always in vivid colours.  Previous management was adamant that he should ''never'' be given responsibility.  Wainwright feels that she would be best shut of both of them.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>184939007X</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=1787333175
|author=Jamil Ahmad
+
|title=You Don't Have to be Mad to Work Here
|title=The Wandering Falcon
+
|author=Benji Waterhouse
|rating=4
+
|rating=5
|genre=Literary Fiction
+
|genre=Popular Science
|summary="In the tangle of crumbling, weather-beaten and broken hills, where the borders of Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan meet, is a military outpost…"  Thus begins the tale of Tor Baz, the Black Falcon.   To this desolate place come two wanderers, a man and a woman seeking refuge.  
+
|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 glorious mixture of insight into the workings of the NHS, humour and autobiography.  ''You Don't Have to be Mad...'' promised the same elements but moved from physical problems to mental illness and the work of a psychiatrist. I did wonder whether it was 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.  
 
+
}}
Refuge is denied them, since it places duties that the fort commander cannot accept, but instead he offers them shelter from the wind of a hundred and twenty days.  For as long as they want it. Shelter, and food.
+
{{Frontpage
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0241145155</amazonuk>
+
|author=Mariana Enriquez
 +
|title=A Sunny Place for Shady People
 +
|rating=5
 +
|genre=Short Stories
 +
|summary=Mariana Enriquez writes horror that is disturbingly real, achieving this uncanny familiarity by basing her paranormal plots on gritty realities: her settings include an abandoned field full of disused refrigerators due to an urban planning mishap, an overcrowded homeless shelter and a crime-ridden neighbourhood where safety meetings are routine - all within Argentina. The circumstances of her characters are so plausible that the supernatural or otherworldly horror which seeps into these spaces adopts a similarly tangible texture.  
 +
|isbn=1803511230
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|author=Onyi Nwabineli
|author=Simona Sanfilipo
+
|title=Allow Me to Introduce Myself
|title=Rapunzel
+
|rating=4.5
|rating=4
+
|genre=General Fiction
|genre=For Sharing
+
|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?
|summary=A poor villager and his wife are expecting a baby. However, when the man steals some rapunzel from a witch's garden and is caught, she insists that she be given the baby when it is born. That baby turns out to be a girl called Rapunzel, and as she grows up she is imprisoned in a tall tower by the witch. Her hair grows incredibly long and the witch uses this as a means of reaching Rapunzel in her room at the top. A passing prince hears her sweet singing and seeing what the witch does, also calls to Rapunzel to let down her hair. They form a friendship but before the prince can help Rapunzel to escape, the witch discovers what has been going on and cuts off Rapunzel's hair and banishes her to a lonely desert. The prince searches for her, albeit rather hazily, as he has lost his glasses. Will he find her so that they can live happily ever after? Well it is a fairy tale so what do you think?
+
|isbn=0861546873
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1846432499</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|author=David Chadwick
|author=Caro King
+
|title=Headload of Napalm
|title=Kill Fish Jones
 
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
 +
|genre=Thrillers
 +
|summary= It's September 1973 in Hicks, California. 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 defence contractor are the main local employers but otherwise, there's not much of note other than dive bars and Joshua trees. Life is quiet, until....
 +
|isbn= B0D321VJ76
 +
}}
 +
{{Frontpage
 +
|author=Tom Percival
 +
|title=The Wrong Shoes
 +
|rating=5
 
|genre=Confident Readers
 
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=There are plenty of books around where the main character has to escape the murderous clutches of a magical or supernatural being. There are even a few which look at things from the demon's point of view. But it's rare to find a book which not only recounts the adventures of the intended victim, but also presents the demon as a complex and sympathetic personality in his own right. And which, as a bonus, allows the demon to grow as a character during the course of the story. A difficult challenge for any writer, but 'Kill Fish Jones' by Caro King manages to pull it off with panache and humour.
+
|summary=Will's life is difficult, in a multitude 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 most basic of things like food, and his dad can't work because he lost his job at the college, was working a cash-in-hand job on a building site and had an accident.  Throw into that mix the fact that his mum and dad are separated, and Will's life seems bleak in every direction. And yet, he still has a tiny amount of hope.  He is good at art, and clings to the moments of joy when he is drawing, that feel like a light at the end of a long, dark tunnel.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0857381466</amazonuk>
+
|isbn=1398527122
 
}}
 
}}
  
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Jean Ure
+
|author=Sylvie Cathrall
|title=Skinny Melon and Me
+
|title=A Letter to the Luminous Deep
|rating=4
+
|rating=5
|genre=Confident Readers
+
|genre=Science Fiction
|summary=After Mrs James at school suggests writing a diary is a healthy and cathartic activity, Cherry decides to chronicle her own life. She's of the view that her mental cupboard is in definite need of a good clear out. This is not an entirely surprising view: Cherry's parents went through an acrimonious divorce and things were just getting back to normal when Slimey Roland appeared. Can you believe it, but Cherry's mother only went and married this chinless wonder! And then she moved him in. And then she reneged on her promise to buy Cherry a dog because Roly had ''allergies''!
+
|summary= There are few greater joys than a book which lives up to a compelling premise. And this is one of them.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>000742485X</amazonuk>
+
|isbn= 0356522776
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=1786482126
|author=John Hart
+
|title=The Janus Stone (Dr Ruth Galloway)
|title=Iron House
+
|author=Elly Griffiths
|rating=4
+
|rating=4.5
|genre=General Fiction
+
|genre=Crime
|summary=Hart is already a best-selling author so he has a lot to live up to with his latest book.  At over 400 pages it's a big, meaty readThe story opens with Michael, now an adultIn his prime, with the woman he loves and about to become a father:  life is looking very rosy indeedHe thinks that he's left his shady past behind him forever.  He's wrong.  Hart gives his readers a little background info on Michael, the central character, just enough to whet our appetitesIt worked for me and I was eager to keep turning the pages.  At the start of the book there's a definite sense of something catastrophic about to happen and that it involves Michael in some way.
+
|summary=Builders were demolishing an old house in Norwich - the site was going to hold seventy-five 'luxury' apartments - when they discovered the bones of a child beneath a doorwayThere was no skullWas this a ritual killing or murder?  Inevitably, Dr Ruth Galloway finds herself working with DCI Harry NelsonIt's difficult as Ruth knows, but Nelson doesn't, that she is pregnant with his child as a result of the one night they spent together some three months agoHer condition will be obvious before long, not least because Ruth is prone to sudden bouts of sickness.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1848541791</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|author=Joan Didion
|author=Anthony Burgess
+
|title=The Year of Magical Thinking
|title=A Clockwork Orange
+
|rating=4.5
|rating=4
+
|genre=Autobiography
|genre=Literary Fiction
+
|summary=This book is Joan Didion's heartbreaking autobiographical account of the grief she endured following her husband's sudden death. Books that shed light on taboo topics like death are such a beautiful and necessary resource to help people feel less alone. Didion unpicks unpleasant feelings surrounding death like self-pity, denial and delusion and makes them utterly normal, lends them a human face to wear.
|summary=A Clockwork Orange comes under the heading of "books you feel you ought to have read by now". Mostly these are books that you don't necessarily want to read, but are considered such classics that an inability to pass any kind of comment upon them suggests a gaping hole in your education.
+
|isbn=0007216858
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0241951445</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|author=Samantha Harvey
|author=Charlotte Frost
+
|title=Orbital
|title=Sir William Knighton: The Strange Career of a Regency Physician
+
|rating=4.5
|rating=3
+
|genre=General Fiction
|genre=Biography
+
|summary=In 2024, Samantha Harvey won the Booker Prize for ''Orbital'', a compact yet profound work that unfolds over a single day in the lives of a group of astronauts aboard the International Space Station. Through a narrative lens that mirrors the astronauts' orbital perspective, Harvey invites readers to see our planet in a wholly new light.
|summary=Sir William Knighton came from humble beginnings: in later life the memories of his mother selling butter and eggs from a market stall would frequently be brought up and it was never to illustrate just how well he'd done.  The fact that he became a physician would normally be quite an achievement, but his baronetcy and fame didn't come from his work as a physician but from his less well-publicised work for George IV.  Although his work at court would span just over a decade it was far from being what he wanted to do – and for the most part it would not bring him a great deal of happiness. At the end of his career as a physician he simply wanted to retire to his cottage in the country - but found himself unable to desert a king who had become dependent on him.
+
|isbn=1529922933
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0755213017</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=0008551324
|author=Alison Bruce
+
|title=The Devil You Know (D S Max Craigie)
|title=The Calling
+
|author=Neil Lancaster
|rating=4
+
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Crime
 
|genre=Crime
|summary=The story's location is in and around Cambridge and we get the blow-by-blow account as DC Goodhew meets the different members of Kaye's family in order to build up a picture of her recent comings and goingsKaye's mother seems particularly upsetA nice and effective touch by Bruce is that each chapter heading is simply that day's date.  Kaye disappeared in March 2011 so that the reader feels a sense of the  clock ticking - and still no Kaye.
+
|summary=It's 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 he's prepared to tell the police where the body of a missing person is buried and who was responsible for her deathThis person, he promises, is someone big and it will be worth the police doing what he wantsAnd what he wants is to be transferred to an open prison to serve the 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'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.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1849012040</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=0241678412
|author=Neil Griffiths and Janette Louden
+
|title=The Proof of My Innocence
|title=Sneezy Bear
+
|author=Jonathan Coe
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
|genre=For Sharing
+
|genre=Thrillers
|summary=At the beginning of 'Sneezy Bear', we meet Bear who is enjoying a soak in the river. Although he would be happy to luxuriate in the water all day, he starts to feel hungry so decides that he needs to go in search of some food. First he spots some tasty looking salmon but just as he is about to grab one, he lets out an almighty sneeze that causes a huge splash which allows all of the fish to escape. Next he spots a cherry tree, but before he can taste the juicy fruit, he sneezes yet again and the cherries explode everywhere leaving nothing to eat.
+
|summary=Life after university hasn't worked out quite the way that Phyl anticipated.  She's back home, living with her parents and on a zero-hours contract serving sushi to tourists at terminal 5 of Heathrow Airport. All those ideas of becoming a writer seem to have come to nothing.  The situation improves when 'Uncle' Chris comes to stay and introduces Phyl to his adopted daughter, Rashida. Christopher Swann (described by some as a lefty blogger) is investigating a think tank which originated at Cambridge University in the 1980s.  It plans to push the government in a more extreme direction and is ready to act.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>190543426X</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=1739526910
|author=Hiawyn Oram and Satoshi Kitamura
+
|title=Where I've Not Been Lost
|title=In The Attic
+
|author=Glen Sibley
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=For Sharing
 
|summary=''I had a million toys and I was bored,'' exclaims the unnamed protagonist of ''In The Attic''. Rather than moaning about his boredom, he does something about it, so he climbs into the attic and into his imagination. He finds little creatures, miraculous worlds, an old engine, and a tiger to be his friend. He fills his day with miraculous and dreamy adventures, then heads back home to report back to his mum.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1849392986</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Keris Stainton
 
|title=Jessie Hearts NYC
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Teens
 
|summary=After splitting up with Taylor, Jessie is desperate to forget about him, so her first ever trip to New York is heaven-sent – even if it does mean having to stay with her mother. Emma, her best friend, is equally thrilled to be coming with her. While Jessie is still upset at her mother’s decision to move to America, New Yorker
 
Finn is facing problems of his own with his controlling family. Railroaded into working in his dad's insurance company during his summer holiday, he dreams of being an architect. He's also fallen hard for a girl - who happens to be his best friend's girlfriend. What will happen when these two meet?
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1408304287</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Kate Costelloe
 
|title=The Breakfast Club
 
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
|genre=Confident Readers
+
|genre=General Fiction
|summary=Billie and her three best friends have grown to love the breakfast club they've formed, meeting every Saturday morning to pass the time and discuss the week they've had. Mario's is the perfect venue for it - so it's a huge shock when they find it's closing down! In addition, Billie's mother is adamant that she shouldn't pursue the career in music she wants more than anything, and Billie can't understand why. Can the girls find somewhere else to spend Saturday mornings, and can they persuade Billie's mum that music is what really matters to her?
+
|summary=''One year after a suicide attempt blows apart musician Brian O’Malley's life, he arrives in an unfamiliar Devon town to recover. Living with an unexpected housemate at his former manager’s holiday home, he dreams of reconnecting with everything he has lost. But as those tentative plans falter, he becomes swept up in a local world of unlikely friendships, mobile discos and surprising romantic possibilities.''
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1444902857</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=0008405026
|author=Tim Thornton
+
|title=A Stranger in the Family (Maeve Kerrigan 11)
|title=Death of an Unsigned Band
+
|author=Jane Casey
|rating=3.5
+
|rating=5
|genre=General Fiction
+
|genre=Crime
|summary=Russell knows that his band is going nowhere, and the prospect of a life consisting only of a grim day job and some depressing creative exercises is getting him down. But when Josh turns up with a potential way out, it's not quite the way Russell, or any of the other band members, would have envisaged.
+
|summary=It's sixteen years since nine-year-old Rosalie Marshall disappeared from her bed 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, 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 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's boss, Una Burt) are less convinced.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099531879</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}

Latest revision as of 14:35, 10 March 2025

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!

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0571378579.jpg

Review of

Big Swiss by Jen Beagin

4.5star.jpg Humour

I found the premise of this book totally original and addictive. Greta possesses the power to know the population of Hudson, New York's darkest secrets, their intimate lives, their fetishes and fears. How? Her job is to transcribe their sex therapy sessions. Sure, there's a confidentiality agreement, as the sex coach who calls himself Om keeps reminding her, but that just makes it more exciting. Like we've all probably wished for at some point in life, Greta can exist passively, placidly, as a fly on the wall. That is, until Greta decides to unglue her fly-feet from the safety of the wall and buzz far too close to the sun. The sun in this analogy is the sex coach's newest patient, who Greta dubs 'Big Swiss', and who, like the sun, is bright, blonde and beautiful - and irresistible to Greta. Suddenly, the confidentiality agreement, the ethics of her professional position, her loyalties to Om, fly out of the window. She's in too deep. Full Review

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Review of

The Dark Wives (D I Vera Stanhope) by Ann Cleeves

4.5star.jpg Crime

A man walking his dog in the early morning discovered the body of a man in the park near Rosebank, a care home for troubled teens. The dead man was Josh - one of the care workers who was due to work a shift the night before but who had never turned up. D I Vera Stanhope is called in to investigate the murder - but her only clue is the disappearance of one of the residents, fourteen-year-old Chloe Spencer. Some people believe that Chloe was responsible for the death but Vera thinks this is unlikely as the girl's diary makes it clear that she adored Josh. She knows that she has to find Chloe to discover what happened to Josh. Full Review

1399613073.jpg

Review of

Moral Injuries by Christie Watson

4.5star.jpg Thrillers

Olivia, Laura 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, which 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 going to end in tragedy. We don't know who suffered the tragedy or the consequences. Twenty-five years later there will be an eerily similar event that will impact the three friends. This time, it's their teenage children who are involved. Full Review

0241636604.jpg

Review of

The Trading Game: A Confession by Gary Stevenson

4.5star.jpg Autobiography

If you were to bring up an image of a city banker in your mind, you're unlikely to think of someone like Gary Stevenson. A hoodie and jeans replaces the pin-stripe suit and his background is the East End, where 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 realised that most rich people expect poor people to be stupid. It was his ability at what was, essentially, a card game which got him an internship with Citibank. Eventually, this turned into permanent employment as a trader. Full Review

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Review of

Lover Birds by Leanne Egan

4.5star.jpg Teens

When new girl, Isabel, moves to Lou's hometown of Liverpool from London Lou immediately feels Isabel's disdain for everything around her. A misunderstanding between them leaves them hating each other, but Lou feels her pulse racing every time she looks at Isabel or speaks with her, and that's definitely because Isabel makes her feel so cross, isn't it? Because Lou is straight, isn't she? Even though none of her relationships with boys have gone very well so far, and she's never had a good kiss with any of them? So she just finds herself watching Isabel, and wanting to hang out with her because fighting with her is fun, and she definitely just hates Isabel, doesn't she? Full Review

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Review of

Women in Dark Times by Jacqueline Rose

4star.jpg Biography

The world of the unconscious is not the antagonist of political life, but its steadfast companion, the hidden place or backdrop where any true revolution must begin…

Women in Dark Times is Jacqueline Rose's homage to courageous women throughout history, particularly women of the 21st, 20th and 19th centuries. Her historical and political backdrop is, thus, expansive, yet she navigates it with intelligence and an acknowledgment that feminism's lengthy mission is a testament to its successes, and not its failures: the ongoing force of feminism. Full Review

0571365469.jpg

Review of

Intermezzo by Sally Rooney

4.5star.jpg General Fiction

Sally Rooney has studied the chessboard of life and is something of a grandmaster at putting it into words. Her dialogue is gripping and so brilliantly frustrating, as her characters never quite say exactly what they feel. Among the many relationships woven into this story, the central one for readers to unravel is the fraternal connection—or lack thereof—between Ivan and Peter Koubek. Ivan, a socially awkward chess prodigy, contrasts sharply with his older brother Peter, a successful lawyer living in Dublin. Following their father's passing after a long battle with cancer, the brothers' already strained relationship faces new trials. Full Review

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Review of

The Conservative Effect 2010 - 2024 by Anthony Seldon and Tom Egerton (Editors)

5star.jpg Politics and Society

Sometimes it's simpler to explain a book by describing what it isn't and that applies to The Conservative Effect: 2010-2024 - 14 Wasted Years?. If you're looking for an easy read which will deliver the inside story about what really happened on certain occasions, then this isn't the book for you. If that's what you're looking for, I don't think Anthony Seldon's book, Johnson at 10, can be bettered for those tumultuous years. It's a compelling read and should be compulsory for anyone who thinks Johnson should return to politics. 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 co-editor Sir Anthony Seldon regards this as the most important. This book follows the well-established format: 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. Full Review

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Review of

Chimera by Mark Lingane

4.5star.jpg Science Fiction

The survivor stumbles forward, her steps echoing in the oppressive silence. Her heart pounds like a jackhammer. She doesn’t know where she’s heading. All she remembers is running. Terror chasing. Everything lost.

Broken and fragmented recollections tumble around her head. Fear courses through her body. Her breaths come in shallow, ragged gasps as desperation claws at her throat. Dehydration consumes her, and a raging thirst feels unquenchable.

There must be a way out. As she moves through the foreign area, memories begin to gel. Disaster had ploughed through her life—not just hers, everyone’s.

As our survivor struggles to orient herself, she's guided by a robot, which looks human-made, but she can't be sure. It says it is. It says she must try not to injure herself. Guided to an interview with an eerie, terrifying group of aliens, she desperately tries to make sense of flashes of memory - environmental degradation, deals done and then betrayed, horrifying rituals covering desperate attempts to survive - and to attempt to explain how she came to be here, apparently the last human being alive. Full Review

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Review of

Three Days in June by Anne Tyler

4star.jpg General Fiction

The day before your daughter's wedding will always be busy but Gail Baines got far more than she asked for. First, it was her job as assistant head at the local school. There was a moment when she hoped that she would be promoted to head but the discussion moved into the subject of 'people skills' and before she knew what was happening Gail had been sacked or resigned, depending on who was explaining the situation. When she got home (in the middle of the day: who would have thought that could happen?) her ex-husband was there with a cat. He thinks that he'll be staying and that Gail will be adopting the cat. And that's before Gail discovers that the groom hasn't been entirely honest about his personal life. Full Review

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Review of

Black Woods Blue Sky by Eowyn Ivey

3.5star.jpg Literary Fiction

Black Woods Blue Sky tells the story of Birdie, the young mother of toddler Emaleen, who longs for a life beyond the Alaskan lodge where she works as a bar waitress, a setting which enables her bad habits and her accidental neglect of Emaleen. Described as a wild card, she feels stuck in her day-to-day life, and yearns to cross the Wolverine river and live on the North Fork to fulfil her desires of a simple life surrounded by nature. When she meets Arthur Nielson, a strange, taciturn and solitary man, who says he has a cabin over there, she feels called to go - and bring Emaleen with her. Without realising it, this calling will transform hers and Emaleen's lives forever. Full Review

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Review of

The Last Life of Lori Mills by Max Boucherat

4.5star.jpg Confident Readers

We 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. What could possibly go wrong? Snuggled in a blanket fort, she has one main intention, and that is to log on to Voxminer, the world-building, critter-collecting game that is a hit in Lori's world. But first Lori has a tiny inkling that this stormy night doesn't find herself entirely on her own, and then she finds something even more spooky. For the server she and her bestie and nobody else should be able to enter shows signs of tampering. When malevolent eyes spark up on her phone screen, and her safe place in the game has been doctored – well, where is a girl to turn? Full Review

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Review of

The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley

4.5star.jpg Thrillers

It's midsummer on the Dorset coast and guests gather at The Manor. It's their opening weekend and splendid celebrations are promised. It's all headed up by Francesca Meadows. The Manor was her ancestral home and she's converted it into an impressive retreat for the wealthy and famous. Her husband, Owen, was the architect and work is still ongoing on parts of the site. 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. Full Review

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Review of

Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin

4.5star.jpg Literary Fiction

Giovanni's Room follows the narrator David, an American man living in Paris, as he navigates his torturous affair with Giovanni, an Italian bartender he meets in a gay bar. While David is engaged to Hella, who is travelling in Spain, the real tension in the novel arises not from his infidelity but from the deeper conflict within himself. It is David's crippling shame and denial of his sexuality that ultimately dooms his relationship with Giovanni. Full Review

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Review of

Wild East by Ashley Hickson-Lovence

4.5star.jpg Teens

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 mostly white school. The move is initiated by Ronny's mum who is worried for Ronny's safety after a tragic event, and so 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 now, in this new school, his teacher encourages him to be part of a poetry writing workshop group and, slowly, Ronny begins to see the connections between rap and poetry, and the power of creativity and crafting your words. Full Review

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Review of

The Lavender Companion by Jessica Dunham and Terry Barlin Vesci

4.5star.jpg Lifestyle

It's strange, the things that make you immediately feel that this is the book for you. Before I started reading The Lavender Companion, I visited the author's website and there's a picture of a slice of chocolate cake on the homepage. I don't eat cakes and desserts - but I wanted that cake viscerally. (There's a recipe in the book, which I'm avoiding with some difficulty!!) Then I started reading the book and I was told to make a mess of it. Notes in the margins are sanctioned. You get to fold down the corners of pages. You suspect that smears of butter would not be a problem. I loved this book already. Full Review

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Review of

Us in the Before and After by Jenny Valentine

5star.jpg Teens

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. Full Review

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Review of

A Voice in the Night (A D I Wilkins Mystery) by Simon Mason

4.5star.jpg Crime

There's a new Superintendent in Thames Valley — DCS Wainwright—and she's young, ambitious, and ruthless. She talks a good talk about work/life balance and family values, but as far as she's concerned, she has two main problems, and they're both called DI Wilkins. Ray Wilkins is of Nigerian descent, Baliol educated and always immaculately dressed. He's married to Diane and has twin sons. Management's opinion of him is that he thinks too highly of himself and his last boss felt that he needed more experience at what he called 'the wet end'. Ryan Wilkins comes from a trailer park - in fact, it could be said that he's never really left it. He lives in shell suits and tracksuits, always in vivid colours. Previous management was adamant that he should never be given responsibility. Wainwright feels that she would be best shut of both of them. Full Review

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Review of

You Don't Have to be Mad to Work Here by Benji Waterhouse

5star.jpg Popular Science

I was tempted to read You Don't Have to be Mad to Work Here after enjoying Adam Kay's first book This is Going to Hurt, a glorious mixture of insight into the workings of the NHS, humour and autobiography. You Don't Have to be Mad... promised the same elements but moved from physical problems to mental illness and the work of a psychiatrist. I did wonder whether it was 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. Full Review

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Review of

A Sunny Place for Shady People by Mariana Enriquez

5star.jpg Short Stories

Mariana Enriquez writes horror that is disturbingly real, achieving this uncanny familiarity by basing her paranormal plots on gritty realities: her settings include an abandoned field full of disused refrigerators due to an urban planning mishap, an overcrowded homeless shelter and a crime-ridden neighbourhood where safety meetings are routine - all within Argentina. The circumstances of her characters are so plausible that the supernatural or otherworldly horror which seeps into these spaces adopts a similarly tangible texture. Full Review

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Review of

Allow Me to Introduce Myself by Onyi Nwabineli

4.5star.jpg General Fiction

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? Full Review

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Review of

Headload of Napalm by David Chadwick

4.5star.jpg Thrillers

It's September 1973 in Hicks, California. 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 defence contractor are the main local employers but otherwise, there's not much of note other than dive bars and Joshua trees. Life is quiet, until.... Full Review

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Review of

The Wrong Shoes by Tom Percival

5star.jpg Confident Readers

Will's life is difficult, in a multitude 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 most basic of things like food, and his dad can't work because he lost his job at the college, was working a cash-in-hand job on a building site and had an accident. Throw into that mix the fact that his mum and dad are separated, and Will's life seems bleak in every direction. And yet, he still has a tiny amount of hope. He is good at art, and clings to the moments of joy when he is drawing, that feel like a light at the end of a long, dark tunnel. Full Review

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Review of

A Letter to the Luminous Deep by Sylvie Cathrall

5star.jpg Science Fiction

There are few greater joys than a book which lives up to a compelling premise. And this is one of them. Full Review

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Review of

The Janus Stone (Dr Ruth Galloway) by Elly Griffiths

4.5star.jpg Crime

Builders were demolishing an old house in Norwich - the 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 result 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. Full Review

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Review of

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

4.5star.jpg Autobiography

This book is Joan Didion's heartbreaking autobiographical account of the grief she endured following her husband's sudden death. Books that shed light on taboo topics like death are such a beautiful and necessary resource to help people feel less alone. Didion unpicks unpleasant feelings surrounding death like self-pity, denial and delusion and makes them utterly normal, lends them a human face to wear. Full Review

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Review of

Orbital by Samantha Harvey

4.5star.jpg General Fiction

In 2024, Samantha Harvey won the Booker Prize for Orbital, a compact yet profound work that unfolds over a single day in the lives of a group of astronauts aboard the International Space Station. Through a narrative lens that mirrors the astronauts' orbital perspective, Harvey invites readers to see our planet in a wholly new light. Full Review

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Review of

The Devil You Know (D S Max Craigie) by Neil Lancaster

4.5star.jpg Crime

It's 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 he's prepared to tell the police where the body of a missing person is buried and who was responsible for her death. This person, he promises, 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 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'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. Full Review

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Review of

The Proof of My Innocence by Jonathan Coe

4star.jpg Thrillers

Life after university hasn't worked out quite the way that Phyl anticipated. She's back home, living with her parents and on a zero-hours contract serving sushi to tourists at terminal 5 of Heathrow Airport. All those ideas of becoming a writer seem to have come to nothing. The situation improves when 'Uncle' Chris comes to stay and introduces Phyl to his adopted daughter, Rashida. Christopher Swann (described by some as a lefty blogger) is investigating a think tank which originated at Cambridge University in the 1980s. It plans to push the government in a more extreme direction and is ready to act. Full Review

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Review of

Where I've Not Been Lost by Glen Sibley

4.5star.jpg General Fiction

One year after a suicide attempt blows apart musician Brian O’Malley's life, he arrives in an unfamiliar Devon town to recover. Living with an unexpected housemate at his former manager’s holiday home, he dreams of reconnecting with everything he has lost. But as those tentative plans falter, he becomes swept up in a local world of unlikely friendships, mobile discos and surprising romantic possibilities. Full Review

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Review of

A Stranger in the Family (Maeve Kerrigan 11) by Jane Casey

5star.jpg Crime

It's sixteen years since nine-year-old Rosalie Marshall disappeared from her bed 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, 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 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's boss, Una Burt) are less convinced. Full Review