A lamb is dead. It isn’t what you might think. Although this is the fourth installment in Aline Templeton’s police procedural series set in Scotland, this is the first book in the series I’ve read. I’ll certainly be trying another. What’s it about? An old man is shot on his doorstep, inspiring fear in the […]
Occasionally, a book can become a victim of its own publicity. Clare Mackintosh’s dramatic debut novel, ‘I Let You Go’, has been extensively marketed and reviewed as containing an ‘astonishing‘ and ‘shocking‘ twist. So, as a reader of many crime thrillers and psychological suspense stories containing big twists, I was obviously On Guard for hints […]
Chris Whitaker’s debut novel, ‘Tall Oaks’, is a book I’ve wanted to get my hands on for ages. After waiting (im)patiently for a paperback copy to wend its way to me, I can happily confirm that it was well worth the wait. What’s it about? When three-year-old Harry first disappears, everyone is eager to help, […]
Who would you become if you could be a different you? For one heady summer, sensible school teacher Natalie takes the plunge to find out. But could the reappearance of Nasty Nat spell disaster for her real life when the sunshine fades? Louise Candlish presents Natalie’s growing desire for a more glamorous life in suspenseful […]
I was fascinated by the premise of this book. Why? Well, where to start? The title is intriguing enough in itself, (departure, not disappearance, a choice which highlights that they made a remarkably abrupt decision to leave, rather than being (say) spirited away by kidnappers, and ‘The Frasers’, creating a sense of unity (against who?) […]
One of the best things about running this blog is discovering brilliant authors I didn’t know existed. Shamim Sharif is an award winning novelist, screenwriter and film director. She has written, adapted and directed her first two novels, ‘The World Unseen’ and ‘I Can’t Think Straight’, which have won international awards. ‘Despite the Falling Snow’, […]
Some titles are designed to be opaque. To tease you slightly. Perhaps to hint at myriad thematic concerns. Others are less subtle and reveal an awful lot about the story within. Take ‘You Are Next’, for instance. There’s a strong implied threat, but it also feels rather cliched and a reader might justifiably anticipate that […]
Sarah Beresford has forgotten everything: who she is, what happened to her and – crucially – why. Worse than that, Sarah is immersed in a coma, leaving her unable to communicate with those around her. She can hear, and what she hears is deeply disturbing. As her family bicker at her bedside, hinting at old […]
Are you ready to go on an adventure? 69 year old Yorkshireman Arthur Pepper isn’t. Since his wife died exactly one year ago, he’s clung to his routines and his house plant like life rafts and gradually lost meaningful contact with his children and the outside world. Then a chance discovery awakens a questing spirit […]
What’s the worst thing you’ve ever done to another person? If your actions resulted in catastrophe, could you bear to face the consequences? Journalist Rebecca Thornton’s debut novel, ‘The Exclusives’, explores the consequences when best friends Josephine and Freya betray one another in their final year at boarding school. What’s it about? Archaeologist Josephine Grey […]