David Hewson has worked as a journalist for most of his life and has written several travel and crime fiction books. This is the second book in a crime series which features Detective Nic Costa and is set in Rome. Personally, I didn’t find the title or the brilliant green cover appealing and only read […]
Having previously read and enjoyed Grenville’s 2006 novel ‘The Secret River’ I was pleased to be given ‘The Lieutenant’ as a book group read. Grenville is an Australian author whose fiction has won national and international awards. The copy I read was an uncorrected proof copy. What’s it about? Daniel Rooke is an outsider from […]
Sophie Hannah is a published poet and an established crime fiction author. ‘Lasting Damage’ is her sixth psychological crime thriller and is similar in style and approach to her previous offerings. Now you see it… At 1.15am, after waiting for her husband to fall asleep, Connie Bowskill begins to watch a virtual tour of a […]
The image of an animal’s skull on the cover promised mystery and death. Add that to a recommendation by Val McDermid and I was quite happy to read Bauer’s debut crime novel. The idea: writing to a serial killer Bullied at school, ignored by teachers and overlooked at home, Steven Lamb is not enjoying his […]
I had never heard of this book until it was selected as a book group read. The plaudits on the back cover suggested it was written in a similar style to ‘Atonement’ so, having loved that book, I was keen to read this. The premise Under the neat façade of the church-going, lunch-attending 1950s middle […]
When a publisher chooses to distinguish a book from others by bragging on the front cover about how many awards it has (nearly) won I am always a tad sceptical. I can’t help but feel that a good book should sell itself, although I acknowledge the commercial realities publishers face. Longlisted for this award and […]
I LOVE Jane Austen’s works, so when I saw this book of Austen focused essays in a local charity shop I knew I wasn’t leaving without it. Pretending to my husband that this was a vital teaching resource, I dashed to the til and nearly skipped out the shop. Interestingly, my copy hails from America […]
Running a book group for teens means that I read a fair amount of teen fiction: some good, some bad, some indifferent. While I probably wouldn’t have selected ‘The Death Defying Pepper Roux’ to read without this prompt, I was anticipating an entertaining read since the cover design made the tale appear to be a […]
What would you do to protect your child? An overly dramatic title, a grim cover picture and the fact that this was a seriously hefty hardback (536 pages) were overlooked as I read the intriguing blurb for my crime reading group’s latest pick. What’s it about? As a shocking story grips the newspapers in Brighton, […]
Dowd’s first novel, ‘A Swift Pure Cry’, was published in 2006 and received an extremely positive reception. It won the 2007 Branford Boase Award and the Eilis Dillon Award, and it was short listed for the Carnegie Medal and the Booktrust Teenage Prize. Her second novel was also very well received, so when I tentatively […]