With so many potentially brilliant books I want to read, sometimes choosing the next one feels like a challenge. So, as this year’s Crimefest approaches, I’ve set myself an actual challenge: to read some of the books by the panellists which are already gracing my shelves (some of which I doubtless picked up at the […]
Would you play a game to save your life? I’m a big fan of psychological thrillers and the premise for ‘Play for me’ was definitely intriguing: ‘LJ must give the performance of a lifetime, if she wants to avoid a deadly final curtain call…’ What’s it about? LJ’s life is going downhill – fast. She […]
‘Dark, disturbing and authentic.’ This was the CWA judging panel’s judgement and I completely agree with this description (whilst noting that I don’t know enough about prisons to comment accurately on the third, but the officers’ attitudes feel plausible). So why did ‘The Woman Before Me’ win the CWA’s debut dagger? What’s it about? Rose […]
‘Like a good detective story myself,’ remarked Miss Howard. ‘Lots of nonsense written, though. Criminal discovered in last chapter. Every one dumfounded. Real crime – you’d know at once.’ In renowned Belgian detective Hercule Poirot’s debut outing (in novel form, at least), everyone involved thinks they know at once who the killer is, but do […]
I’m going to start with an unusual disclaimer here… If you already know you want to read this book, don’t read my review – don’t read any reviews – and definitely don’t read the praise inside the front cover! What’s it about? Sal and Charlie are married. They love each other – supposedly – but […]
Sisters. Love them or hate them, it’s awful to lose them. Lucy Clarke’s debut novel explores the tensions between one set of sisters in a dramatic novel that roams from Cornwall to California, to Maui and Australia, then finally to Bali. Can following Mia’s footsteps help Katie understand what happened to her sister? What’s it […]
‘The Devil’s Dice’ by Roz Watkins You know it’s a good book when you giggle out loud three times during the first chapter. You know it’s a fabulous book when it just gets more and more interesting as you get to the heart of the plot. What’s it about? A lawyer is found dead in […]
‘Little Bones’ by Sam Blake. I really wanted to love this. I’ve wanted to read it for ages: I’ve heard nothing but praise for the author, and the idea of a baby’s bones sewn into the hem of a wedding dress is disturbingly intriguing. I bought a copy for a friend, and was delighted when […]
Schooldays. Whether you loved them or loathed them, their impact on your life can last well beyond the 13 years you actually have to attend. In her debut novel, Laura Marshall explores the after effects of one schoolgirl’s determination to get in with the in crowd – and whether we can ever really know another […]
Very hyped books. You know those books. The ones EVERYONE is talking about? The one even your non-book-reading friends have read? Yeah, that one. And you find yourself wondering, how is it possible that I’ve not read this? Why don’t I possess a copy yet? If you’re a book blogger there might even be a […]