Once upon a time I thought I was tired. I worked hard. I worked long hours, during term time at least. I loved my job and, as a teacher, I worked daily with groups of up to 31 children, who mostly did what I asked them to do. Then I had children of my own […]
How do we ever reach the truth? In Riku Onda’s deliciously disturbing tale, multiple narrators seek to bear witness to a terrible event, but it is clear that each brings their own prejudices and preoccupations to their retelling. How then, does one achieve clarity and understand the heart of the matter? Perhaps the emotions and […]
The detective and the celebrity blogger. Together, can they catch a serial killer? ‘Death Deserved’, the first collaboration between two well established authors of Nordic Noir, Jorn Lier Horst and Thomas Enger, is a brilliantly engaging tale of a police man hunt that seeks to apprehend a flamboyant serial killer who’s determined to manipulate the […]
One crossed wire. Three dead bodies. Six bottles of bleach. What a strapline! I was sold, but if you want more… What’s it about? Where to begin? Insomniac Seth, who is married to borderline-alcoholic Maeve, gets to know suicidal Hadley as a result of a crossed phone wire and a weird late night hobby. Hadley […]
How do you investigate a crime the Stasi don’t want you to solve? This is a problem Oberleutnant Karin Muller is familiar with. David Young’s first thrilling crime novel, ‘Stasi Child‘, saw Karin investigate the mysterious death of a teenage girl who appeared to be escaping from West to East Berlin, and ‘Stasi Wolf‘, our […]
Today I am delighted to welcome top writer and all round lovely bloke G. J. Minett to the blog to discuss his books, characters and future plans. The blurb for Anything for Her tells us that: You’d do anything for the one that got away . . . wouldn’t you? When Billy Orr returns home […]
It’s every parent’s nightmare: your child, taken. Missing. Years later the case is still unsolved, your child’s whereabouts still unknown, your arms still empty. Now rub salt in the wound: everyone, including you, thinks it was your own fault. Meet Caroline Shipley. This is her living nightmare. What’s it about? Fielding has evidently taken Madeline […]
Sea levels have risen. The last ship has sailed. Who gets to decide what we will become? Water & Glass was always going to be a beautiful novel. Written by Abi Curtis, poet and creative writing professor, it possesses a lyrical beauty that makes reading it a genuine pleasure. The pleasant surprise is that it’s […]
I LOVE this book. This is a grower. I thoroughly enjoyed ‘The Perfect Victim’ while I was reading it, but it’s only when you reach the explosive finale that you can fully appreciate just how cleverly Corrie Jackson has pulled this story together. As soon as I finished it I was desperate to discuss it: […]
The Parthenon Marbles are a controversial subject. In her new novel, Joanna D’Este Clark aims to take the debate out of the political arena and into readers’ hearts, with the ultimate desire of inspiring readers to argue for the restoration of the marbles to Greece. What’s it about? In ‘Plunder with Intent’… In 5th century […]