Snap decisions can be dangerous. We never meet Eileen Bright. Instead, we begin with a hot, airless car and her three small children: Jack, Joy and Merry. They fuss and bicker exactly as you would expect, but underneath their casual cruelties there is a deep fog of unease: their mother went to get help, but […]
You know a book is good when you start reading it again by accident. I picked up ‘dummy’ to refresh my memory before committing myself to starting this review…and emerged midway through chapter two, having giggled and chuckled so much that my husband felt compelled to leave the comfort of the sofa and TV to […]
“There were no fines, but the negative feedback in SleepAdvisor could impact upon the following year’s popularity – and rates.” The wonderfully inventive sci-fi / fantasy / literary / comic genius Jasper Fforde is back with a standalone novel introducing the Winter Consul Service and Charlie Worthing: novice Consul, ethical thinker and reluctant dreamer… What’s […]
Children: mostly adorable or frequently irritating? I’m sure most parents would admit to finding their own Precious Moppets (never mind anyone else’s) a Bit Much sometimes, so I’m sure most of us can understand Why Mummy Drinks. Now it’s time to find out Why Mummy Swears… What is this? If you haven’t yet discovered the […]
I loved ‘Crimes Against a Book Group’. It’s fun, funny and sweet, featuring a cast of mostly rich characters who are about to be swindled – and enjoy it. What’s it about? Annie and Sarah are best friends with problems. Annie discovers her young son is autistic and decides she needs to pay a ton […]
Ah, small towns. Everyone knows everything about everybody. Except when they don’t. Murder in Dulwich means secrets in Dulwich and secrets mean that someone needs to investigate. In Alice Castle’s new London Murder Mystery series, that someone is Beth, mother, journalist, odd-jobber and, suddenly, amateur investigator. What’s it about? Meet Beth Haldane, thirty-something single mum. […]
Five Go…Parenting? If you’re at all familiar with Enid Blyton’s Famous Five books, then the title above is likely to give you pause. I’ve not spotted these in the shops (which tells me I’ve spent too little time browsing books lately!) but I imagine they occupy a similar POS to the new Ladybird ‘How it […]
I’ve always enjoyed fiction written in, about or around the Victorian period. This means I was delighted to discover Octavius Guy, known as ‘Octopus’ to his friends, developing his detective skills in a convincingly imagined Victorian London. Author Michael Gallagher has published two mysteries following Octopus’ adventures and the third instalment in the series, ‘Big […]
Last year I read and LOVED ‘Gooseberry: The Case of The Thieving Maharajah’. Since then, I have been waiting as patiently as possible for author Michael Gallagher to release the next in the series. Today, it is finally published in full (the first few chapters have been steadily made available over the last few weeks […]
Forgetting what you did on a drunken night out is bad enough. Forgetting what you’ve done for the last ten years must be terrifying. This is the problem facing Alice Love in Liane Moriarty’s intriguing novel, ‘What Alice Forgot’. What’s it about? Alice bumps her head at the gym and is utterly astonished to find […]