Book Reviews From The Bookbag
The Bookbag
Hello from The Bookbag, a book review site, featuring books from all the many walks of literary life - fiction, biography, crime, cookery and anything else that takes our fancy. At Bookbag Towers the bookbag sits at the side of the desk. It's the bag we take to the library and the bookshop. Sometimes it holds the latest releases, but at other times there'll be old favourites, books for the children, books for the home. They're sometimes our own books or books from the local library. They're often books sent to us by publishers and we promise to tell you exactly what we think about them. You might not want to read through a full review, so we'll give you a quick review which summarises what we felt about the book and tells you whether or not we think you should buy or borrow it. There are also lots of author interviews, and all sorts of top tens - all of which you can find on our features page. If you're stuck for something to read, check out the recommendations page.
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Stalemate by Alan Hamilton
In the summer of 1930 Walter Bruce was told that he had an incurable illness. With nursing care and an easier job he might have a few more years to live - but without them he had a matter of months. The solution would seem straightforward but Bruce had a wife - and she demanded to be kept and was far too selfish to be his nurse. Life might have continued much as it was, but Bruce discovered that his wife had been deceiving him about her age and background - and with two of his business colleagues. The solution was obvious: he would devise the perfect murder and then live out his final years in comfort. Bruce was a chess player and he approached the problem much as he would a game of chess - but even the best plans rarely survive contact with reality. Full review...
Marshmallows for Martians by Lee Wildish, Adam Guillain and Charlotte Guillain
What kid doesn't like sweets or aliens? This book combines the two as George packs up and leaves his house on a mission to Mars to find out what sweets aliens love best. He builds a spaceship and takes off, meeting some very surprising aliens along the way. From the first page, I knew I would enjoy this story and I wasn't disappointed at all. I laughed throughout and looked forward to turning each page to find out what happened next. Full review...
Angela Merkel: The Chancellor and Her World by Stefan Kornelius
You have to admire the lady, this rather awkward and shy daughter of a staunch Lutheran pastor who himself had been born as a Polish Catholic. His daughter studied with such intelligence and application that soon brought her academic success particularly in Russian and finally in Quantum Chemistry. At the age of 26, she obtained her doctorate and - in passing, it rather seems - her first husband, the physicist Ulrike Merkel. Her rise to power was rapid and took place through the period in which the DDR collapsed as Russian policy under Gorbachev changed. Along with a wry and dry sense of humour Angela Merkel’s personality is the embodiment of the characteristic known in German as fleissig - hardworking, sedulous, diligent and assiduous. Full review...
Blazing Star: The Life and Times of John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester by Alexander Larman
John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester, was the ultimate 'live fast, die young' icon of the Stuart age, the seventeenth-century embodiment of 'Hope I die before I get old'. Restoration dandy, satirist and pornographic poet, he died a lingering death at the age of 33, racked by venereal disease and alcoholism. If he is remembered at all these days, except by those familiar with the history or literature of the age, it is as the James Dean or the Keith Moon of his day, a hellraiser whose poetry was heavily suppressed for many years by the censors. In fact much of his verse was not published under his name until long after his death, and as most of it was only circulated in manuscript form during his lifetime and a good deal destroyed by his mother after his death, it is uncertain how much does still survive. Full review...
The Care and Management of Lies by Jacqueline Winspear
The long hot July of 1914 is a good one for friends Kezia and Thea. Kezia marries Thea's brother, Tom, bringing them even closer as life-long friends. Kezia then learns how to be a farmer's wife, translating her love into imaginative meals – sometimes overly so. Out of the two friends, Thea is the passionate one, fighting for women's universal suffrage and, as war approaches, pacifism. However, when war starts, Thea goes to the front as well as Tom, leaving Kezia at home to be more than the farmer's wife; necessity dictates she's now the farmer. Full review...
Shadow of the Wolf by Tim Hall
The child Robin Loxley is mysteriously separated from his father during what had been a routine foray into the forest. In grief and bewilderment Robin becomes a loner, choosing to raise himself. He's more than happy with the solitary lifestyle until he meets Marian Delbosque, spoilt daughter of local gentry. Their friendship is cemented as they play together but their future won't all be childish games. They have a quest and Robin, as a winter-born, has a destiny that he can't begin to guess. The clue is in the mysterious words he heard whispered in the forest after his father's disappearance: Not yet. Too soon. He must suffer the wounds. Full review...
Star for a Day by Jean Ure
Lucy French (Luce to her grandad) is thirteen and she lives with said Grandad, Mum - and eleven-year-old Lola. Lola's the one who gets all the attention, is able to loosen Mum's purse strings with a pout of her lip and who was upset when she only got Highly Commended in last year's Talent Show. This year she will, of course, require a completely new outfit and the undivided attention of the family - and that not long after she's had a new outfit to go to a party. Lola is gorgeous, bubbly and brims over with confidence.
Lucy isn't - and doesn't. Full review...
Revenge by Yoko Ogawa and Stephen Snyder (translator)
A woman waits for a long time at a village bakery, her mind only on the strawberry shortcakes she wants to buy, and the strange reasons that make the purchase so important to her. A boy is invited by a girl at school to a posh French restaurant – with strawberry shortcakes on the menu – in order for him to provide moral support as she meets her estranged father for the first time. Nearby, a woman enjoys an unusual relationship with her elderly landlady, who keeps finding unusually-shaped carrots in her vegetable garden. A man reflects on an unusual relationship with a writer who for a couple of years at least was a step-mum to him, even as she went dotty in talking to herself. Unusual relationships, vegetables, motives – and strawberry shortcakes – are prevalent in this fascinating look at a sunlit yet dark world, which makes for a superlatively clever read. Full review...
The Spider of Sarajevo by Robert Wilton
Four enterprising free thinking people are invited to speak to the military in London: James Cade (fiercely independent business man), David Duval (ladies' man and occasional cad), Fiona Hathaway (a young woman too intelligent to squander in marriage) and Ronald Ballentyne (anthropologist and Balkans expert). It's spring 1914 and their military hosts are actually recruiting spies on behalf of the Comptroller General for Scrutiny and Survey. The four think that they're serving their country and they are, but not in the way they think: they're bait. They are the flies that the high-ups hope will lead British intelligence to the anonymous phantom figure that is the Spider of Sarajevo. Full review...
Cat and Dog by Michael Foreman
Cat is only doing the motherly thing and looking after her kittens when tragedy strikes. As she goes off to find them food, she accidentally gets whisked away in the fishmonger’s van. How will they survive? When night falls, who will protect them from the baddies that lurk on the streets? Sometimes, though, friends can come in the most unlikely of forms, and in this case it’s Dog. He’s no substitute mum, though. Will Cat find her way back to her brood? Full review...
Bluebird by Bob Staarke
Comic strips are supposed to be exciting, action packed adventures. Full of bright colours, buzzing characters and onomatopoeia. This book is different in every way. For a start, there are no words. Not one single bang or crash or wallop. Then there’s the colour scheme. I think muted describes it best. This is a book of blacks, whites and greys and just a subtle touch of blue. Wow, does that blue pop though. And then there’s the theme, at which point things get really interesting. Full review...
The Killing Room: A Sandro Cellini Mystery by Christobel Kent
Work had been a bit thin on the ground for private investigator Sandro Cellini and it was the only reason that he agreed to become head of security for a luxurious private residence which overlooked Florence. The previous occupant of the job had been 'let go'. It wasn't long before Sandro realised that his predecessor had also been murdered. It was this that worried his wife, Luisa - but Sandro was more concerned with establishing who was responsible for a series of dirty tricks which had occurred at the Palazzo San Giorgio. And on top of this he has to sort out the problems without antagonising the wealthy residents. Full review...
The Tornado Chasers by Ross Montgomery
There are a lot of violent storms in the valley where Owen lives, and almost as bad are the bears that roam the countryside. Naturally, his parents decide there's only one thing to do: the family must move to the small village of Barrow. Here, everything is planned to keep children safe from harm. They're only allowed out of the house in pairs, curfew is at four o'clock and lights out is at six. And for children who don't follow orders, there's always the County Detention Centre, a grim prison-like structure presided over by the mysterious – and terrifying - Warden. Full review...
Eye Spy by Tessa Buckley
Twins Alex and Donna live in a somewhat unusual household. Their mum died when they were tiny so they live with their father and grandmother. Nan does all the heavy lifting in the household - she cooks, cleans, works, goes to parents evenings at school. Dad spends most of his time in his workshop - a converted railway carriage at the end of the garden. Dad, you see, is an inventor - and a rather eccentric and preoccupied inventor at that. Full review...
The Marathon Conspiracy by Gary Corby
Nicolaos has a lot on his mind. His wedding is only a few weeks away and he still has no real means of supporting a wife and family. The investigating game, it seems, doesn't pay too well. So when his patron Pericles asks him to investigate the murder of a young child, Nico is a little reticent, especially since he is still waiting to be paid for his previous assignment. Deciding that he can't afford to be picky, Nico accepts a case which will see him, amongst other things, fending off street thugs, diving for treasure in a sacred spring, going on a bear hunt, rescuing a pair of fighting cocks and consulting a strange priestess who has a habit of running around the woods naked...At least he can't complain that his work is boring. Full review...
Tales From Hans Christian Andersen by Naomi Lewis and Emma Chichester Clark
As a child, fairy tales for me were synonymous with the Ladybird Classics series. Whilst the memory of the stories and the accompanying paintings remains very fresh, I don’t recall any mention being made of the original authors. I was eager then to read Tales from Hans Christian Andersen, a collection of nine stories, and identify which classic tales from my childhood he wrote. Full review...
My Amazing Dad by Ross Collins
Snip the little crocodile is worried. He doesn't know what his dad does all day. All his friends seem to have really cool dads. Monkey's dad is super fast at swinging through the trees. Little zebra's dad is excellent at hiding, and Snip's elephant friend's dad is amazing at spraying water higher than the highest tree. Poor Snip doesn't think that his dad can do any of those things. Full review...
Supertato by Sue Hendra
Oh my goodness, whatever can we do? There's an evil pea on the loose in the supermarket, causing havoc wherever he goes! He has sticky-plastered poor carrot to the conveyor belt, and drawn a mustache and glasses on broccoli, and poor old cucumber has been mummified with a bandage! Still, try to calm your frayed nerves because, never fear, Supertato is here to save the day! Full review...
Chicken Clicking by Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross
Chick has a problem. Every night, when the farmer and his wife are asleep, she sneaks into their house and goes online on their computer to order things. She starts with a teapot, and a motorbike! Soon she's buying diamond watches and a hundred handbags, for which the farmer blames his wife - she, of course, gets angry and blames his dodgy software since she certainly didn't order those things! Chick starts to buy gifts for all her farm animal friends, but all too soon she realises she's alone on the farm and in need of a friend. Can she find one online? Full review...
Succession by Livi Michael
15 year old Margaret of Anjou is brought to England to marry King Henry VI, little realising she'll rule in his stead in all but name. Then little 3-year-old Margaret Beaufort marries John de la Pole, son of the Duke of Suffolk. This is the first of three marriages she'll embark on by the time she's 14, one of which will produce a king and all will produce suffering. The War of the Roses and the Tudor dynasty are both waiting in the wings; these are the women who will raise the curtain. Full review...
Wild Wood by Jan Needle and Willie Rushton
Bank clerk Kenneth Grahame’s 1908 classic Wind in the Willows, populated with lovable anthropomorphic characters, started life as a bed time story for his son Alistair. He fused these adventurous tales with later descriptive epistles for a holidaying Alistair to create a tale which was, as Grahame described in a letter to Teddy Roosevelt, an expression of the very simplest joys of life as lived by the simplest beings. Indeed the four iconic protagonists - the outrageous, irrepressible toad, the loyal and humble mole, the brave and paternalistic badger and the resourceful and determined rat have a fond place in many childhood memories but are they as valiant as they seem? What if they were suddenly recast as the villains of the piece? Full review...
Shifting Colours by Fiona Sussman
Celia works as a maid for the Steiners in South Africa; a safe job in a white household for a 'black' to have at a time when the country lurches from suspicion to brutality and back again. At least it was a safe job. The Steiners have decided to move to England and, after difficulty in having their own children, want to adopt Miriam, Celia's youngest child. For so many reasons Celia can't refuse. Rita Steiner promises Miriam an exciting adventure and she promises Celia regular contact. When mother and daughter are miles apart, they both come to realise the same thing: sometimes promises are only as good as the people making them and that goes for promised lands too. Full review...
Friend and Foe (A Hew Cullan Mystery) by Shirley McKay
1583 and King James VI of Scotland is paranoid and, after the events of the Ruthven raid the year before, who can blame him? Surely this won't affect humble academic lawyer Hew Cullen? Oh but it will, eventually causing more turmoil than even he is used to. Back at the beginning though, while Hew continues, unaware of what's to come, he has more pressing domestic worries that, for once, don't affect his herbalist sister Meg or his doctor brother-in-law Giles. Indeed, this time the concern is the love of Hew's own heart. Full review...
The City by Stella Gemmell
The City has been fighting for centuries, be it the recognised war of Red versus Blue fuelled by the mysterious Emperor or the daily fight of the Dwellers struggling for existence in the sewer settlements. Such oppression breeds unlikely heroes. A former general, now a fugitive from a questionable justice, a 16 year old soldier trying to out-run her father's reputation, a famed Red army leader and a little girl who believes in someone whom others hardly notice any more; these carry hope for the City, whether the City realises it or not. Full review...
The Secret Dinosaur: Giants Awake by N S Blackman
When Marlin Maxton goes on a school visit to the local museum, he is looking forward to seeing Protos - the dinosaur that his Uncle Gus remembers so fondly. But Protos is nowhere to be seen and the museum's Mr Grubbler seems to be doing his utmost to take all the fun out of the school visit Marlin had been anticipating with such excitement. So Marlin sneaks off to explore by himself... Full review...
The Axeman's Jazz by Ray Celestin
Based on a true story, The Axeman's Jazz is scriptwriter Ray Celestin's debut novel. It tells of a serial killer in New Orleans in 1919 - the Axeman - who torments the city and has everyone talking; it seems that everyone has their theories and yet no meaningful leads are presenting themselves, as the police and citizens of New Orleans begin to despair of ever catching the killer. Full review...
Dead But Not Forgotten by Charlaine Harris and Toni LP Kelner (Editors)
Dead But Not Forgotten returns to Sookie Stackhouse's world, exploring the lives and misadventures of some of the more minor characters in the series. The collection features stories about Pam Ravenscroft, Adele Hale Stackhouse, Luna, Diantha, Bubba and many of the other colourful characters from Bon Temps and the wider universe of Sookie's story, written by authors such as Seanan McGuire, Rachel Caine, Nicole Peeler, Christopher Golden and many more. Full review...
Before You Die by Samantha Hayes
A stolen bike, a crash, a death.
Anywhere else it would be a catastrophic accident. Here, it's suicide. Another one. Please don't let it be starting all over again.
D.I. Lorraine Fisher is one of those rare creatures in modern detective fiction. She's normal. Married, with two daughters who she only partly understands, and a husband who she loves to bits, and not enough time to spend with any of them. She has a good career, because it's clearly what she was born to do. No quirks, no hang-ups, she's just good at her job, because she thinks like a copper – which means she doesn't give up at the first hurdle. When things nag at her, she lets them, until she can hear what it is they are trying to tell her. Full review...
The Tropic of Serpents (A Memoir by Lady Trent) by Marie Brennan
We are in sequel territory, so we must hope that things have escalated for Lady Trent, and that she is finding life even harder than before. And it is – as much as she would like to go dragon hunting with her husband she cannot. (And by dragon hunting I don't mean killing them, I mean being a natural historian for the species in a world that would rather massacre them for industrial purposes). Here, repressed by the Victorian society she lives in, she can just about raise another exhibition together, to a different corner of the world, but she won't find herself with the possibility of observing dragons – she is instead faced with the demand that she MUST hunt dragons… Full review...
I, Hogarth by Michael Dean
How similar in many ways was Hogarth’s London in the middle of the Eighteenth Century to the London of today. A city where it was easy enough to end up in debtor’s prison, as indeed did Hogarth’s beloved and unworldly father, having been condemned to the Fleet; a sad fate for a brilliant Latin scholar and writer of erudite texts. He opened a Latin speaking coffee house in St John’s Gate. Here the governor and authorities were open to high levels of corruption, as later in Dickens time and very reminiscent of the scandals of G4S today. Full review...
