Difference between revisions of "Book Reviews From The Bookbag"

It all begins with a bank robbery. Only this isn't your typical sort of bank robbery since the robber demands not money but instead each person in the bank must give him the item of most sentimental value that they have with them. These range from photographs and a key through to a calculator...and on taking these items he says he is also taking fifty percent of their souls, and it is up to the victims to find the way to get their souls back, or to die trying. Full review...

A Cupboard Full of Coats by Yvvette Edwards

He just knocked, that was all, knocked and the front door and waited, like the fourteen years since I'd killed my mother hadn't happened...

Jinx is cold and she knows it. She cleans obsessively - a largely pointless task, since there is little mess to clean since her husband and young son, tired of her frigidity, moved out. She cooks beautifully balanced meals that look aesthetic on the plate. But her food offers sustenance, not comfort. In fact, Jinx feels most at home amongst the dead people she works with as a funeral home cosmetologist. Full review...

Wilma Tenderfoot and the Case of the Rascal's Revenge by Emma Kennedy

Wilma Tenderfoot, assistant to the great Detective Theodore P. Goodman, is off to solve another case with the help of her loving dog, Pickle. The future of Copper Island hangs in the balance, and Wilma thinks it's possible that she may just yet discover who her parents really are...make sure you're sitting comfortably, you won't want to put this one down! Full review...

Far South by David Enrique Spellman

'Far South' is a highly unusual book. It's published as 'crime fiction' but this is really only part of the story. It's also a collection of creative endeavours that combines narrative with web-based content. We are told that 'David Enrique Spellman is the voice for the Far South Project. The Far South Collective is a loosely affiliated group of artists, writers, actors, filmmakers musicians and dancers. He works in close collaboration with Esko Tikanmäki Portogales, a Uruguayan web designer'. While I applaud its ambition in trying to add something more creative to the novel concept, I have slightly more mixed views about the success of this. Full review...

The Breakers by Claudie Gallay

The book is in the first person, told by a woman who is a relative newcomer to this tiny village, no more than a cluster of homes and a few basic amenities. The story opens in the lead-up to a horrendous storm. The narrator has seen nothing like it before and is both afraid and excited. The locals take it all in their stride. They're a hardy bunch of disparate individuals and we get to know more them, one by one, as the story develops. Full review...

44 Scotland Street: Bertie Plays the Blues by Alexander McCall Smith

In this seventh outing to Scotland Street we're back with the cast of familiar characters. Matthew and Elspeth have had their triplets and must now face the trials of being new parents, with three times the trouble! Angus and Domenica are attempting to resolve the tricky issue of where they will live once they're married. And what of dear Bertie? Well, he's finally reached a point of having had enough of his mother so, with the help of his friend, he puts himself up for adoption on Ebay! Full review...

Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick

Half a century into our future, a journalist called Eric Seven scents a story on a small, isolated island and goes to investigate. Rumours have spread, saying that people there never age, and that there are no children. He has barely set foot on the quay when he sees, and to his surprise falls in love with, a girl called Merle. But almost immediately we, the readers, realise that there is more than one mystery in this strange place. Why are the inhabitants so overwhelming in their welcome to him? What is happening on the other half of the island? And, most worryingly, why is Eric sleeping so much, and forgetting his reason for coming to the island for hours on end? From the very first page there are signs of menace and disorientation, and at last Eric overcomes his torpor and comes to understand that something is badly wrong. He endures terrible nightmares, full of blood and violence, and at the last, just as the islanders drag him to a stone table to kill him, things become clear in his mind. He has been here before. In fact, he has been here many, many times. Full review...

Wuthering Hearts by Kay Woodward

book a real pain, she still wants to be Cathy in the school production - who wouldn't, especially with the utterly gorgeous new boy Robert as leading man? Robert, though, resembles Wuthering Heights' moody Heathcliff in more ways than just being good-looking, and Emily finds it very hard to get to know him properly, even after a development which means they're spending much more time together. Can two people find romance on the Yorkshire moors? Full review...

The Woman in Black by Susan Hill

Arthur Kipps is a young solicitor working in a fog-bound London and soon to be married. All looks rosy for Arthur until one day he is called into his boss' office where he is tasked with the affairs of the deceased recluse Alice Drablow. Alice Drablow had lived in the melancholy village of Crythin Gifford in an isolated house on the remote Eel Marsh, a house only accessible by a strange causeway when the tide is out. It is here Arthur must travel to firstly represent his firm at her funeral and then to sift through Mrs Drablow's house to ensure all her legal paperwork is in order. Full review...

Wolves of Mercy Falls: Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

Spring is in the air at Mercy Falls, and for Sam Roth that means a chance to be reunited with his girlfriend Grace, who has spent the cold winter as a wolf in the forests near the town. Grace's transformations are tied to the temperature – and Sam knows only too well how hard it can be to hold on to your humanity, because he was once a wolf too, before he was cured. Full review...

The Diana Chronicles by Tina Brown

Biography

The Diana Chronicles was first published in 2007, ten years after Diana's untimely death (forgive me if I proffer information that you already know, but prior to reading this book, I was one of the small group of people in this country happily oblivious to the Princess Diana industry). The book has been re-released in shocking pink, white and gold livery, as a 'commemorative edition' to coincide with The Royal Wedding. A fanciful Foreword now imagines Diana's life and reaction to Will and Kate's marriage, had she survived. Full review...

The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes

'The Sense of an Ending' is almost more of a novella - it's a slim volume but exquisitely written, as you might expect from Julian Barnes. It starts off describing the relationships between four friends at school, narrated by one of the friends, Tony Webster, but quickly it becomes clear that this is written many years later. Barnes has long been a terrific observer of the English middle classes and his style invariably contains satire and dry humour. And this being Barnes, this school clique is intellectual in interest, as the narrator recalls English and History teachers and student philosophising. Full review...

The Instructions by Adam Levin

Now, I know that size isn't everything, but the first thing that strikes you about 'The Instructions' is that it is a brick of a book. It comes in at a wrist-challenging 1030 pages that almost encourages me to invest in an e-reader. It's also hugely ambitious for a first time writer not least that the book's action takes place over just a few days and the narrator is a ten year old child. While it starts encouragingly, it too rapidly becomes repetitive and dull and I found it a slog to get through. There are some great passages but these get too easily lost in this huge tome. Full review...

The Golden Cage: Three Brothers, Three Choices, One Destiny by Shirin Ebadi

Politics and Society

Dr Ebadi is currently living in exile, fearing for her safety, should she return to Iran in the foreseeable future. Her Prologue describes a violent and bloody reaction to what was a peaceful situation involving wives, mothers and sisters. Boulders and large stones were thrown at elderly, defenseless women without a moment's hesitation. A taste of things to come? Full review...

The Raising by Laura Kasischke

Craig is returning to university, where he is widely viewed as being responsible for the death of his girlfriend Nicole, in a road accident. Suffering from post-traumatic stress and memory loss as a result of the accident, Craig is an obvious candidate to fall victim to the hauntings that start to occur around the campus. But it's not just Craig who is seeing inexplicable things happen at the university. Full review...

Shadowfall: A Novel of Sherlock Holmes by Tracy Revels

Crime (Historical)

You remember Sherlock Holmes, yes? Deerstalker, pipe, leetle grey cells… (Oh, sorry, that was Poirot, but same kind of deductive ability), naked winged-woman on, or at least floating above, the sofa in Baker Street… wait a minute? Seriously? Full review...

The Baby of Belleville by Anne Marsella

Women's Fiction

Jane de Rochefoucault, an expat living in Paris with her aristocratic husband, is just an ordinary mother fighting her way through the challenges of early parenthood from nursing to itsy-bitsy-spidering. However, Jane's life certainly isn't all about diaper-changing and Tupperware. Far from it. When three of her Muslim friends decide to organise a highly dangerous slave emancipation Jane is forced to rely on her family's history of law-breaking and dodgy contacts to make sure the plan succeeds. And on top of all her maternal and culinary responsibilities Jane becomes the interpreter/secretary/personal shopper for a celebrity intellectual employer which isn't all it's cracked up to be. Full review...

No More Bingo Dresses: Using NLP to cope with breast cancer and other people by Rosie O'Hara

Lifestyle

I'd love to meet Rosie O'Hara. She sounds like a full-on, earthy lady who has more than a few tales to tell about her life to date. Rosie is a professional neuro-linguistic programming trainer in the Highlands of Scotland, and has already published an NLP-based self-help book. At the beginning of 2009, a routine mammogram turned up 'a little breast cancer'. Rosie set out in her very direct and determined way to put the cancer in its rightful place as a challenge in her life rather than a defining disaster and this feisty diary is the result. Full review...

Terra Incognita: The Key to Creation by Kevin J Anderson

Fantasy

As the two opposing armies of Tierra and Uraba, both fighting for control of the holy city they each believe belongs to their religion, march towards a final battle, two Arkships – one Tierran, one Uraban – are having their own race to the legendary land of Terravitae.

Both armies and both Arkships have suffered much in their time. From run ins with powerful witches, mutinies and sabotage, the Arkships are battered and their crews weary. The armies have both suffered and delivered atrocities and hate in the decades-long war that has gone on between them. Full review...

The Blue Book by A L Kennedy

Despite not being 'quoits and gin slings and rubbers of bridge people' Elizabeth and Derek have embarked on a cruise. Derek is probably hoping to propose, but things do not go as planned. From the moment they encounter a stranger as they board the ship, the cruise proves to be revelationary for all concerned. Full review...

People's Republic (CHERUB) by Robert Muchamore

Wow. CHERUB book number 13 is here. New character Ryan is being sent off to California on his first mission. He must befriend the son of a wealthy entrepreneur with links to a prominent transnational facilitator - a criminal organisation that runs illicit transportation networks and smuggling rings. As Ryan says, the Aramov Clan is sort of like FedEx for bad guys. As you can imagine, the mission proves to be a lot less straightforward than simply befriending a boy on the beach. Full review...

Lazarus is Dead by Richard Beard

The title certainly got my attention and when I read that Beard is the Director of the National Academy of Writing, London I was expecting great things from him. I'm also thinking in the very next breath how audacious to write a fictional book about a towering biblical character but then, many have done just that. Will he pull it off though? Full review...

So You've Passed Your Driving Test... What Now? Advanced Driving Skills For Young Drivers by Judy Bartkowiak

Home and Family

It's always struck me that the most difficult time for young drivers is that period just after they pass their driving test. Someone has told you that you're an OK driver, right? But you're out there, all on your own, without anyone to explain those odd things which you still haven't come across or to be the extra pair of eyes. You've got a sense of freedom, but somehow it's a little bit daunting. Judy Bartkowiak offers something a little bit different. It's not another book about road signs, driving etiquette and stopping distances – it's some ideas for getting into the right mindset to absorb the new experiences and learning some skills which might help you in other areas of your life too. Full review...

The Outstanding Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes by Gerard Kelly

Crime (Historical)

I'll spare people the details of Holmes and Watson as crime-solvers – I'm assuming anyone likely to pick this one up is probably familiar with the Victorian duo. This is generally very faithful to the Arthur Conan Doyle originals and the best stories in this set of thirteen sound authentic enough to take their place alongside some of the canon. Full review...

Rendezvous at the Populaire : A Novel of Sherlock Holmes by Kate Workman

Crime (Historical)

After chasing his arch-enemy Moriarty without success on a cold night in November 1882, Sherlock Holmes is left maimed and unable to walk without the use of a cane. Despondent, he decides to give up his career as a detective – but is talked into taking an extra special case, as a Madame Giry comes across the Channel to beg his help with the mysterious 'ghost' which is terrorising the Opera Populaire… Full review...

Lottie Biggs is (Not) Mad by Hayley Long

Lottie Biggs is about to turn 15. She has a job which she doesn't mind, as Head Saturday Girl at shoe shop Sole Mates, a fantastic best friend in the ultra-cool Goose, and a crush on the divine Mad Alien (or Neil Adam, as his name reads slightly less-excitingly forwards.) All that her and Goose are thinking about at the moment (except for Neil) is getting their GCSE's so they can get out of the boring suburb of Cardiff they live in. Things are about to change for Lottie, though… Full review...

Until Thy Wrath Be Past: A Rebecka Martinsson Investigation by Asa Larsson and Laurie Thompson (Translator)

When we talk about 'Scandinavian crime fiction' and the name 'Larsson' there's an awful temptation to jump to conclusions about who exactly the author might be. Slow down though, because there's another Swedish crime writer with that surname and this one is very much alive and writing. Asa Larsson is not down with the southern softies in Stockholm but up in the far north, not far from Norway or Finland, in Kiruna, where she's placed Rebecca Martinsson, who works as a prosecutor, and Inspector Anna-Maria Mella. Those in the know have met them before and this is the third book in the series. Full review...

Dead on Time by Veronyca Bates

I reviewed Bates' earlier book Dead in the Water and enjoyed it for what it was - a light but enjoyable crime read. This book has the same look and feel about it. Bates has decided to base her crime within the corridors of power, local power that is, the council chambers. And some of us, perhaps many of us, secretly would like to know the ins and outs, the deals made etc by our locally-elected councillors (even although we agree that much of their work can be a tad dull and a tad tedious). But we'll probably shout from the rafters if they happen to get their comeuppance, as happens in this book. Mayor Boot has received his final comeuppance. He's dead. Full review...

The Art of Roughhousing: Good Old Fashioned Horseplay and Why Every Kid Needs It by Anthony T DeBenedet and Lawrence Cohen

Home and Family

Rather than running around outdoors, going for bike rides and building dens, lots of children nowadays end up spending hours watching TV or playing computer games. Play times in school are often very regimented and in some schools certain games like 'British Bulldog' and 'Leapfrog' and even 'Tag' have even been banned. Children are discouraged from physical play, for fear that they will hurt themselves and also through the fear that those responsible for them will find themselves facing a lawsuit if someone does get hurt. This book aims to support the thinking that very physical play is good for children; that unless they face risks in their lives and learn to assess those risks, or experience a few bumps and bruises and learn to get up and carry on, then they will lack vital life skills for their future adult lives. Full review...

Star Makers Club: Polly Plays Her Part by Anne-Marie Conway

Polly Conway is having to deal with rather a lot at the moment. Her mum has got a fabulous new job – but it’s in Spain! That leaves Polly to live with her dad, her new stepmother who she can’t stand, and her baby brother who’s just annoying. Depressed by the problems in her life, she ignores her dad’s rules and turns to the friend2friend website to find comfort. As she gets increasingly addicted to the site, she starts to lose focus on the important things in her life – including her family and the Star Makers’ new production. Full review...

Mist by Kathryn James

Thirteen year old Nell Beecham is nowhere near as cool or pretty as her glamorous sister Gwen. But when Gwen goes missing after a sweet sixteen party in the woods, and Nell realises her new friend Evan River is somehow linked to the kidnapping, it's left to the younger girl to try to save the day. Full review...

The Captain Jack Sparrow Handbook: A Guide to Swashbuckling with the Pirates of the Caribbean by Jason Heller

Children's Non-Fiction

You don't see pirates reading many books. If you ask me, it's because their hooks make the pages hard to turn. Of course, the salty damp air would do nothing for a book's longevity, just one more reason to make sure you've read and understood this before you take to the ocean wave and set sail on your adventures. Full review...

A Kiss Before Dying by Ira Levin

I haven't read any of Levin's books to date although I know various titles from television and films etc. And what struck me straight away was the terrific introduction by Chelsea Cain. Most intros can be rather dull and pedantic but this one is refreshingly different. It starts with the eye-catching line 'I could kill Ira Levin' and left me eager, very eager to get on and read the book. Full review...

Teach Us to Sit Still: A Sceptic's Search for Health and Healing by Tim Parks

Autobiography

Self-help books are pretty polarising when you think about it. I mean, would you tell somebody that you were reading a self-help book if you had no idea how they were going to react? On the one hand there must be people who devour these kinds of books one after the other, searching for that mystical formula that will bring about profound inner change. At the other end of the scale are readers that steer well clear of self-help or anything else that isn't rational and based on proper scientific research and evidence. Entrenched views are what makes this title an interesting proposition. A sceptic's search for health and healing which alludes to meditation? Surely much more interesting than a new age guru who already believes wholeheartedly that their insights will transform YOUR life and enrich their bank balance. I want to know how the sceptic was convinced, not the guy who entered the room wearing healing crystals. Full review...

Dead Water by Simon Ings

The standard advice to artists has always been "don't gild the lily". For those writers who appear not to understand how this relates to their art form, let me offer up a basic translation: don't complicate a brilliant plot!

Dead Water suffers from such gilding. Full review...

The Gloomster by Ludwig Bechstein, Axel Sceffler and Julia Donaldson

We've all been there. Finding fault with everything around us, and perhaps picking on one particular irritant that gets us so rattled, tetchy and narked all we can do is invoke "Hell and damnation!" down on all creation - including, of course, ourselves. After all, our lot is so bad it won't make anything much worse. Full review...

Soul Beach by Kate Harrison

Alice's older sister Meggie, a university student and erstwhile reality show star, was found dead 4 months ago. Murdered. After prolonged Police investigations and appeals it's time, finally, for the funeral, a chance to put Meggie to rest. But for Alice, this is just the beginning. As she's getting ready to bury her sister, she receives an odd email that's claiming to be from said sister. It's clearly a joke, and one in very bad taste at that, but when you're 16 years old and your best friend and confidante has been ripped viciously out of your life, you'll cling to just about anything. The invitation invites Alice to 'join' Meggie on Soul Beach…a Social Networking site for the young and the dead. And though she's sure it's a ruse, Alice cannot help clicking through to see who or what awaits her. Full review...

Neversuch House: Mask of the Evergones by Elliott Skell

The Halibuts are an extraordinary family. Almost two centuries ago the Captain used his immense wealth to buy up land and surround it by a high wall. He took a wife, and employed families of servants to serve his every need. Money was no object, and subsequent generations of Halibuts had anything they desired on one condition: if they ever left the grounds of the House, they could never return. Full review...

Isabel Dalhousie: The Charming Quirks of Others by Alexander McCall Smith