Newest General Fiction Reviews
General fiction
The Child Who by Simon Lelic
Simon Lelic's third book, The Child Who, takes him back to the format that worked so successfully with his first novel, Rupture, avoiding the near-future angle he took, less successfully I felt, with his second book. Lelic's themes are always inspired by real events that have been in the news. Here, he tackles the murder of an 11 year old child by Daniel, a 12 year old. The creative inspiration is surely the James Bulger case and he acknowledges the creative debt to Blake Morrison's As If on that very subject. Full review...
All To Play For by Heather Peace
Back in August 1985 at the time of the Edinburgh Festival a group of people met in what could have been difficult circumstances. They were arrested for causing a disturbance despite the fact that they weren't really involved in the fracas and it was all a misunderstanding. Little did they know that in the following decade they would all be involved - one way and another - in producing drama for the BBC as it went through one of the toughest periods in its history. The tale is told - mainly - by Rhiannon, but we hear the stories of Nicky, Maggie, Jill, Jonathan and Chris. Names will change, but they'll all wander the circular corridors of power in Langford Place. Full review...
Twisted Agendas by Damian McNicholl
Writing about Ireland and the Irish, especially the dimension of the Troubles and the IRA, from a third hand American perspective is a recipe for cliché and stereotype. Balancing and interweaving the story of American journalist Piper with that of Irishman Danny's search for independence in London does enable McNicholl in some part to achieve a wry and knowing stance, making us hope for a clever twist away from the predictably which always seems so close. Full review...
City of Bohane by Kevin Barry
Bohane is a thoroughly lawless town, set in what would appear to be some kind of parallel universe. We are told it is set in 2053, but it's a town without any technology or modern luxuries. It's a violent place fuelled by alcohol, drugs and lust with a patois style language that takes a little work to get into. Novels with this kind of premise have to be beyond good if they are to interest the annual literary prize judges; this is one such book and City of Bohane is nominated for this year's Costa First Novel prize. It is stunningly good. Full review...
Pao by Kerry Young
In her Costa Prize short-listed first novel, Kerry Young brings together a huge number of elements that make up a good story. Set in Jamaica, the time period covers 1938 to almost present day, it is the political backdrop of independence and control over Jamaica's assets that informs much of the story. But while the politics of Jamaica resound throughout the book, it's also a very personal story about the life of the eponymous Yang Pao. Issues of race, class, love, family, ambition and business philosophy - Pao's guiding light is Sun Tzu's The Art of War - are skilfully woven into the mix to make this a great book to curl up with on a cold winter's night. Full review...
Made in Britain by Gavin James Bower
The settings of the intertwined tales of Russell, the working class swot trapped by his conditions, Charlie, the heroic 'lad' who gets caught in the drugs scene and Hayley the naïve wannabee with a single parent father are the school rooms and backstreets, flats, pubs and clubs of Every Town, the vision of twenty-first century deprivation that Bower conjures. Or rather fails to conjure, for the device of making the 16 year olds tell the story from their own first person narrative deprives the reader of a genuine sense of the physical reality in which this story unfolds. Full review...
Bloodmining by Laura Wilkinson
Although Wilkinson has placed her story in the near future, for the most part, you wouldn't necessarily be aware of that fact. Personally, I was delighted as I'm not a fan of futuristic fiction. Full review...
The Forgotten Lies by Kerry Jamieson
In the mid-thirties, the golden age of Hollywood, three aspiring starlets shared a studio house on Lantana Drive as they waited to hear if they were going to have a career in the movies – or not. Charlotte (soon to be Carlie for acting purposes), Verbena, known to her friends (and only her friends) as Bee and Ivy were desperate for the role of a lifetime, which would put their name in lights. There was an added appeal. Whoever won would star opposite Liam Malone – good looking, charismatic and very married with six children. It wasn't just a case of being able to act. Their lives would be under intense scrutiny. Full review...
The Cocaine Salesman by Conny Braam
Picture a world of hellish exclusion, nightmarish noise and images, and horrid violence. Picture one person trying to live through the sleepless nights, the isolation among his peers, the permanent sense of dreadful threat. Picture him needing drugs. His best friend might even be called Charlie. But don't picture an inner city slum, 2012, but a man on the front in World War One. Full review...
Sisterwives by Rachel Connor
When I first read the title (I hadn't yet read the back cover blurb) I glibly thought that it was about two sisters and their marriages. Wrong. This debut novel by Connor is about two very different women (one is no more than a girl really) who just happen to 'marry' the same man. I use the word marry very loosely indeed. Their community, their rules, their descriptions etc can be rather quirky. Marriages are normally called 'sealings'.' Full review...
Why Me? The Very Important Emails of Bob Servant by Neil Forsyth
Catchy title and catchy front cover graphics. What's not to like? It takes a lot to make me laugh generally, but as I had an initial flick through this book, things looked promising. And I was also thinking that it's a pleasant change to see another location (other than perhaps the predictable Glasgow and Edinburgh) get an airing. Full review...
Sherry Cracker Gets Normal by D. J. Connell
Whilst it's wrong to judge a book by its cover, a mere sight of D. J. Connell's second novel 'Sherry Cracker Gets Normal' is enough to make me smile. The title is amusing; the colourful design enticing and the effusive praise for Connell's debut 'Julian Corkle is a Filthy Liar' encouraging. Full review...
Ariadne's Thread by Gavin James
Ariadne's Thread is the story of Elena Avgoulas who decided in May 1941 that she would have to leave Chios, the Greek island where she was born, until the war was over. German soldiers had occupied the island and whilst they were there it would not be home to her, her mother and sister and brothers. The brothers were in the Greek army. Her mother would run the family bakery and her sister would support their mother. Elena was a medical student in Athens and had a nursing qualification; she decided that she would make use of this in the war effort. And so began a journey that would take her to Cyprus, Palestine, Egypt, Italy and Germany in the course of the war. Full review...
While the Women are Sleeping by Javier Marias
The first thing the trivially minded will note is that this is not the complete edition of While the Women are Sleeping, for not all the stories in the original Spanish volume are here. You might think that's because some have been hived off for a future 'best of' compilation. But if this isn't the best of Javier Marias, then I don't know what is. Full review...
A Case of Witchcraft by Joe Revill
As Holmes embarks on a journey towards the Northern Isles, we are treated to a comprehensive background of the ways of witches all over the world; all points are pertinent and the history is fascinating as well as necessary. The introduction to the ways of witchcraft demonstrates the worldwide links that will become highly significant later. Revill weaves in the relevant history and all its complications with ease, and the novel flows in spite of having to accommodate this. Full review...
Hunt for the Blower Bentley by Kevin Gosselin
Connecticut innkeeper Faston Hanks is obsessive. He's very keen on food but it's cars – and particularly old cars – which drive him. This time he's involved in the search for the only one of the fifty Blower Bentleys made which remains unaccounted for. SM3912 was originally purchased by Lord Brougham and Vaux and ownership can be traced to one D H Sessions, after which the trail goes cold. We know something which Faston doesn't know though – the Bentley came into the hands of Stephan Sidlow, who was high up in the APR during World War II, by less than honest means. But then Sidlow was less than honest about which side he was supporting in the war. Full review...
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
A short while ago, I stumbled across a highly enjoyable film called Fanboys, about a bunch of Star Wars fans trying to break into George Lucas' mansion to get a sneak preview of the new film. I didn't pay much attention to the name of the writer, until I came across Ernest Cline's author bio in Ready Player One and realised it was written by the same person. This immediately gave me high hopes. Full review...
The Fear Index by Robert Harris
With the FTSE recording its biggest quarterly drop in years, turmoil on the bond markets and the prospect of economic meltdown and the possible disintegration of the euro zone, Robert Harris' new thriller couldn't be more timely. Full review...
Blood Falls by Tom Bale
I read and reviewed Bale's Terror's Reachand enjoyed it. What would I think of his latest? Joe is doing his level best to live an unremarkable (almost invisible) life in Bristol. He uses his brawn to pay his modest bills for rent, food etc. But you could say, once a copper, always a copper so his brain is not idle, it's in constant use. Whirring away in the background and it's just as well. Joe soon senses imminent danger when a couple of blokes stroll by, stop and ask his gaffer a couple of questions. Joe needs to be somewhere else - and fast. Full review...
The Baskerville Legacy: A Novel by John O'Connell
1900, and a man on a ship coming back from the Boer War to edit the Daily Express meets one of his heroes in the form of Arthur Conan Doyle. With similar experiences and interests yet different enough to bounce off each other they take up the idea of collaborating on a plot. When they do fix on time to do so, it leads to literary prospects, which lead to a week's research together on Dartmoor, which leads to The Hound of the Baskervilles. But perhaps in a way that only one of them intended. Full review...
The Drowning Pool by Syd Moore
The book opens with a group of young women out on the town, letting their hair down and having fun. Moore describes all of them in a fresh and modern voice which I really liked. It came across as a breath of fresh air. The story, Sarah's story is told by Sarah herself. But it's told from the perspective of looking back after it's all happened so there's lots of why-didn't-I-see-that-coming language. Hindsight, in a word. Full review...
The Girl on Paper by Guillaume Musso
This is a modern book for modern times. I loved the reader-friendly layout with big, bold type letting the reader know exactly where we were, in terms of storyline and location. But the story itself does jump about a lot and I suspect Musso wants to give a sense of urgency, a sense of frenetic energy at times. Full review...
The Thread by Victoria Hislop
I read and enjoyed Hislop's 'The Island' so I was looking forward to reading this book. The Prologue is May 2007 and readers are treated to a vivid coastal description of the area which is to play such a big part in the novel. Lines such as 'With the lifting haze, Mount Olympus gradually emerged far away across the Thermaic Gulf and the restful blues of sea and sky shrugged off their pale shroud.' Full review...
Busy Monsters by William Giraldi
Charles Homar loves his Gillian. He's proved it to us, if not to her, by going after her possessive, jealous state trooper of an ex with the intent to kill - if only ended up rescuing a cat instead. But lo and behold, she's declared she's off to discover the real love of her life - the giant squid. Failing to stop this, Charlie spends too long with a Nessie obsessive, then goes on a hunt of his own - for Bigfoot, all the while, chapter by chapter, sending his narrative of the same to a magazine as essays for one of those autobiographical, frivolous columns. Full review...
The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks
Since watching the film of 'The Notebook' years ago I've always fancied reading some Nicholas Sparks books but never quite got around to it until I saw this, his newest offering. Here we have the tale of two childhood sweethearts whose love was always threatened by the fact that they were from opposite sides of the tracks - he from the rough, poor family that is forever on the wrong side of the law, and she from one of the better, respected families in the town. After life forces them apart they go on to live very different lives, but it seems that neither one has ever forgotten that early passion. Drawn back together for the funeral of an old friend they are both forced to look at the choices they've made in their lives and where they go to from here. Full review...
How to Forget by Marius Brill
If you are a fan of the BBC's 'Hustle' series, you will absolutely love Marius Brill’s 'How to Forget'. It’s a funny, clever and twisted tale of grifters and con tricks with a bit of magic thrown in for good measure. Brill gives us a cast of strange characters: there's an ethically dubious brain scientist, a dodgy Derren Brown-type TV celebrity whose interests are guarded by two violent but somewhat hapless Hasidic Jewish thugs, an equally violent FBI agent and a female British copper. At the heart of the story though is an apparently naïve British magician, Peter, and a supreme grifter, Kate, in whose life Peter finds himself entangled. Full review...
Fated by S G Browne
Clever and very funny, this is the sort of book where you immediately feel in safe hands. S.G. Browne has gone to town (New York), satirising just about every aspect of modern life, and my reading was continually interrupted by bells clanging loudly in recognition in my head. Full review...
The House of the Wind by Titania Hardie
I loved the intriguing title of the book and was hoping that Hardie explains it. She does: not only that but the wind element (no pun intended) is mentioned throughout at regular intervals. A nice touch, I thought and not over-played either. The short Prologue describes a young girl on the eve of her 'terrible fate.' But fate seems to have changed its mind at the very last minute. And this strange/weird/scary event happens at the Casa al Vento - 'The House of the Wind.' Full review...
Netherwood by Jane Sanderson
The cover of Netherwood features a bold promise - 'Perfect for fans of Downton Abbey'. The basic features of a reliable 'upstairs/downstairs' saga are all present; the landed gentry enjoying their estate, the staff servicing it and the locals, all relying on the fortunate family for their own income. Full review...
The Kite Runner (Graphic Novel) by Khaled Hosseini
A confession. If there's one book I'm not likely to read, it's that which everyone else is reading. If it turns into a hugely popular film for all the left-wing chattering classes to rave over, then that's just more grist to my mill – I'll always have a chance to catch up on it later on, even if I never take that opportunity. I'm not alone in acting like this – see a friend and colleague's similar admission when reviewing White Teeth by Zadie Smith. But at least, through the medium of the graphic novel, the book reviewing gods have conspired to let me see just what I'm missing, with this adaptation, by Italian artists, of a hugely successful – and therefore delayable – novel. Full review...
Faith by Jennifer Haigh
As a New York Times Bestseller I was expecting great things from this book; coupled with the fact that I really enjoy American fiction, I was itching to get reading. The story is told from the perspective of Sheila, sister to Mike and half-sister to Arthur (he's normally called Art). Art is the priest and who is at the centre of the storm. We go back in time and discover a rather pious woman who has had a hard start to married life. She's now left to bring up her young son, Art, on her own. But things pick up pretty quickly from here and as an attractive woman it's not long before she meets someone else. Two more children are born and they all settle down into a normal, American family unit. Full review...
Lord of Misrule by Jaimy Gordon
West Virginia, 1970. We're at a rundown race track, of the dusty kind rundown horses and their rundown owner/trainers fetch up living in, with the occasional race to interrupt the boredom. Into things comes a young upstart hoping to surprise all with his four unknown quantities and make a packet before fleeing. His girlfriend is here too to help out, and naively eager for success and knowledge, but old hands like Medicine Ed have seen it all before. Also in the background are some small-time gangsters who are not too keen at for once not knowing who is doing what and how races are going to be run and won. Full review...
Unusual Uses for Olive Oil: A Von Igelfeld Novel by Alexander McCall Smith
Following on from The 2½ Pillars of Wisdom which was a compilation of three shorter volumes, this book sees Professor Dr Von Igelfeld still dealing with his academic colleagues but also with the prospect of a love interest, a recently widowed lady, Frau Benz, who has inherited the large Schloss in Regensburg. Is love in the air? Or will his arch rival, Unterholzer interfere once again? Full review...
The Generation Game by Sophie Duffy
Do you remember The Generation Game TV show, with old Brucie and then Larry Grayson managing the mayhem? Where were you when Charles and Di got married? What about when Diana died? There's plenty of reminiscing to be done in this book as Sophie Duffy takes us from the 1960's to 2006 through the life of her character, Philippa, in a book that fleets from funny, heartwarming moments to real sadness. Full review...
Future King by Larry Pontius
It's the near future and King Charles III has ascended the throne of the United Kingdom with Camilla as his Queen Consort. The country is in a mess with rampant inflation, unemployment, a crumbling infrastructure and riots: the people have taken to calling this time The Troubles. Such situations breed power-hungry politicians and Prime Minister Alistair Saxon has plans to become the dictator of the country. When the King refuses to give his assent to the Emergency Powers Act, Saxon and his fellow-conspirators kidnap the Royal family to prevent Charles speaking against the EPA. Full review...
The Legacy by Kirsten Tranter
This is quite a chunky book so Tranter has given herself plenty of space and time to build up a nice level of suspense here as well as putting some flesh on the bones of her central characters. The book opens - towards the end of the story. So we have firm, but platonic friends, Julia and Ralph both very concerned about their mutual friend, Ingrid. She supposedly died on 9/11 - but with no remains, no burial, their grief hasn't an outlet. They need (to quote that much used word) closure. Full review...
The Sound of Gravity by Joe Simpson
Patrick is climbing in the Alps with his girlfriend. They are taking an unusual and difficult ascent, and it is winter. A storm blows up. Whilst they are camping overnight, Patrick's girlfriend loses her footing. He manages to catch her hand, and then she slips through his fingers and falls into a chasm. The novel details the days and hours in the run-up to this tragedy, and the aftermath, both immediate and long term. Full review...
The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson
Annie Fang and her brother Buster are back living at home with their parents - where they never thought they'd ever be again. But it has come to this - her film actress career is on the rocks with the kind of self-destruction so much enjoyed by tabloid writers, and he - well, he's here because of a jumbo spud gun. Neither want life back at home, as throughout their childhood they were used by their parents - without much planning, without any consideration of feelings, or consent - in a whole career of performance art pieces, designed to enact a point of life or just cause havoc. Full review...
Nemesis by Philip Roth
1944, Newark, New Jersey. Summer. Hot. Bucky Cantor, a young Jewish man, is gym teacher and playground attendant-cum-sports instructor for the district, helping all those interested become fit young men, able to do what his eyesight prevents him from doing - serving in the forces. Things would be fine if his girlfriend were closer at hand, if it were cooler, and if there were no polio epidemic happening. But there is, and nobody knows what is causing it. Is it flies? Is it a gang of taunting Italian kids spreading it from neighbourhood to neighbourhood? Is it blacks, germs on money - is it in fact Cantor himself, draining all the youthful vigour from his charges under a blistering sun? Full review...
The Empty Nesters by Nina Bell
With their children all off to university (most from the same school year, plus an erroneous one who took a handy-for-the-sake-of-the-story gap year), it's all change for the parents in this book – for Clover and George, and Laura and Tim, and Alice. Though some of the fathers are present, as you'd expect this is a tale told mainly from the eyes of the mothers. Clover and Laura have been friends forever, while Clover and Alice's relationship is more recent. As for Laura and Alice, well they really don't get on, making life a little tricky at times for Clover, stuck somewhere in the middle. Full review...
The Shadows in the Street by Susan Hill
This is the fifth novel in Susan Hill's series about the detective Simon Serrailler. Although you could probably follow the story without knowing the previous books I think it does help to have some background on who all the characters are. I really love the way Hill weaves her story around some wonderful character studies. Simon is actually hardly in this novel, and the focus instead is on the 'extras', with a lot of details being put into characters who will only be around for this particular novel but who live and breathe through it wonderfully well. Full review...
Into Dust by Jonathan Lewis
The front cover graphics leave the reader in no doubt that this is a thriller and the blurb on the back cover mentions the troubles in Afghanistan, deadly bombs, sniffer dogs, so the theme here is bang up to-date and many would possibly say, relevant. Full review...
