‘Dark, disturbing and authentic.’ This was the CWA judging panel’s judgement and I completely agree with this description (whilst noting that I don’t know enough about prisons to comment accurately on the third, but the officers’ attitudes feel plausible). So why did ‘The Woman Before Me’ win the CWA’s debut dagger? What’s it about? Rose […]
Parenting. It’s a daily battle – but does it have to be? In ‘The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read (and Your Children Will be Glad That You Did)’, psychotherapist Phillipa Perry explores parent-child relationships with a view to encouraging parents to relate more effectively to their children. What’s it about? I’m going to […]
Sisters. Love them or hate them, it’s awful to lose them. Lucy Clarke’s debut novel explores the tensions between one set of sisters in a dramatic novel that roams from Cornwall to California, to Maui and Australia, then finally to Bali. Can following Mia’s footsteps help Katie understand what happened to her sister? What’s it […]
I love Liane Moriarty’s books. I think my favourite is ‘Big Little Lies’, but I also loved ‘What Alice Forgot’ and enjoyed ‘The Husband’s Secret’ despite a truly divisive ending. The moment I spotted this in the bookshop I knew I would be setting all other books aside to devour this, and so I did. […]
A mother knows her daughter. Doesn’t she? Obviously, Hanna knows her youngest daughter, Dawn, isn’t perfect, but who is? Hanna is determined to give her the benefit of the doubt, even when no-one else will – even when everyone else believes Dawn was involved in a plot to murder Hanna and her husband, Joe. Let’s […]
How far would you go to protect your family? Could you forgive those who have wronged you? And even if you could, can you ever truly go home? Billed as a novel for those who enjoy books by Raymond Chandler and John Grisham, John Hart’s second book, ‘Down River’, is a dark and atmospheric trip […]
I love unreliable narrators. So when I saw this story in which the main character openly announces, ‘Sometimes I lie’, well, I was hooked even before I read the rest of the blurb. This is journalist Alice Feeney’s debut novel and, yes, for fans of psychological thrillers, it is absolutely as good as it promises. What’s it about? […]
Sometimes it’s good to read something a little different. Having enjoyed a range of psychological crime fiction lately, I was in the mood to try something different when I spotted ‘The Food of Love’ by Amanda Prowse. What’s it about? Freya and her husband, Lockie, are happily married with two teenage daughters. Both are creative […]
“I did something terrible, Grace. I hope you can forgive me.”‘ Charlie’s last words to best friend Grace have haunted her since Charlie died four months ago. What can Charlie possibly have done? It can’t be worse than what Grace did…can it? What’s it about? After her best friend dies, Grace feels set adrift. In […]
Autism is everywhere. Regardless of the cause(s), diagnoses are increasing and, having grown up with two autistic siblings, I was keen to read Keith Stuart’s ‘A Boy Made of Blocks’, which promised to be ‘an astonishingly authentic story of love, family and autism‘. What’s it about? Alex hates his job and, essentially, his life. He loves his […]