I love curling up with a good book, whatever the season. You might find me on a sun lounger in summer or on a park bench in Autumn, but you’ll never find me without a book in my hand and another in my bag. (You never know when you’ll get Bonus Reading Time.) In Winter […]
Ancient. Unstoppable. Unleashed. This might initially sound like a strap line more suited to a fantasy novel, or perhaps one set in ancient Egypt, but this is a thriller firmly rooted in a very modern and deeply frightening scenario. I’m delighted to be hosting a stop on the blog tour for L.A. Larkin’s ‘Devour’, an […]
In 1989, someone murdered 20 year-old Lucie Martin and put her body in a lake. Fourteen years later, her bones were discovered during a heatwave, but her murderer remained unknown and a source of intense speculation in Western France. Cue forensic expert Enzo MacLeod, who wants to conclusively solve the cold case so Lucie’s parents can […]
When is a mystery not a mystery? Is it when you can work out the killer in the first third of the book and (rarely) doubt that you’re wrong? Or is it when you’re always several steps ahead of the main investigative character, rendering much of their hypothesising redundant? Maybe it’s when you aren’t convinced […]
Ah, Brexit. Whether you love it, hate it, want it or are just thoroughly sick of hearing about it, you can’t avoid it. And nor, it seems, can the Famous Five. This is one of five books in Quercus’ ‘Enid Blyton for Grown-Ups’ series, a collection which aims to entertain nostalgic readers by embroiling the (now […]
I LOVED this book. ‘The One Memory of Flora Banks’ features an unreliable narrator, a touching coming of age tale and a bit of a mystery. What’s it about? Flora is 17 and has retrograde amnesia as a result of a brain tumour she had removed when she was ten. This means she is unable […]
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 […]
Trust. Love. Honesty. These are all important ingredients in a happy marriage. You might think all those ingredients are present in your marriage, but could you be deceiving yourself? What if you couldn’t trust your favourite person in the world? This is Iris’ dilemma in Kimberley Belle’s suspenseful third novel, ‘The Marriage Lie’. What’s it […]
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 […]
Some books you choose; some books choose you. ‘The Lonely Life of Biddy Weir’ chose me; there’s no doubt about that. It wasn’t a book that held an immediate appeal for me, perhaps because the slightly odd name of the protagonist suggested a dated storyline, perhaps because of the floral cover design, or perhaps simply […]