‘Chains of Sand’ opens with a girl trapped in the rubble of her house. This perfectly constructed chapter illustrates the key themes of the book in slightly less than two full pages: loyalty, fear, peace, conflict, violence, feminism, extremism, the quest for knowledge, and the senseless brutality of every life lost. This girl, we will […]
I loved the premise of this book. Missing schoolgirl Bethan Avery suddenly seems to be writing letters to an agony aunt asking to be rescued, but Bethan went missing nearly twenty years ago and is presumed dead, so this must be a hoax, surely? The police dismiss the letters as a cruel joke, but when […]
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, […]
40 Lime Park Road has sold. So why is the estate agent still visiting? When I learned Louise Candlish had written a short story featuring characters from ‘The Sudden Departure of the Frasers‘, I was intrigued. What’s it about? Estate agent Ryan is so taken by the gorgeous Amber Fraser when he shows her around […]
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 […]