There are some books you know you should own. Jenny Blackhurst’s deeply intriguing debut novel, ‘How I Lost You’, is one of them. I couldn’t fathom how I didn’t possess a copy of this intriguing book and was convinced I must have bought one and mislaid it. I was right*; having searched my study for it […]
“I did something terrible, Grace. I hope you can forgive me.”‘ Charlie’s last words to best friend Grace have haunted her since Charlie died four months ago. What can Charlie possibly have done? It can’t be worse than what Grace did…can it? What’s it about? After her best friend dies, Grace feels set adrift. In […]
So you’re an apartment manager and you blog about your experiences. What’s the logical next step? Writing a story about an apartment manager, of course. Heck, why not be ambitious and aim for a whole series of books? As Erin Huss, owner of The Apartment Manager’s Blog, says on her Goodreads page, “I have a […]
Autism is everywhere. Regardless of the cause(s), diagnoses are increasing and, having grown up with two autistic siblings, I was keen to read Keith Stuart’s ‘A Boy Made of Blocks’, which promised to be ‘an astonishingly authentic story of love, family and autism‘. What’s it about? Alex hates his job and, essentially, his life. He loves his […]
It’s any parent’s greatest fear: losing their child. Unfortunately, such a devastating loss can also lead to couples losing each other, and that’s certainly the case with Lola and Duncan Drummond, the married couple at the center of Colette Dartford’s debut novel ‘Learning to Speak American’. What’s it about? Since they lost their young daughter, […]
It seems many journalists harbour a desire to branch out into fiction. Today on Buried Under Books I’m privileged to be interviewing journalist and prize-winning short-story writer turned debut novelist Mary McCluskey about her emotionally complex novel, ‘Intrusion’. In this dark and psychologically acute tale, a once happily-married couple are struggling to cope with the […]
I’m always a little dubious when I’m told that ‘only’ one person can join the dots. What, exactly, makes DS Aector McAvoy so special that he is the only police officer able to see a connection between three seemingly disparate murders? It seems to be his conscience and a determination, sadly not shared by all […]
Jane Austen knew what she was doing when she made the relationship between sisters central to her novels. Elizabeth Bennet needs Jane’s gentle reminders that people are capable of more than Lizzy is minded to give them credit for, and Jane needs periodic, pragmatic dousing with Lizzy’s realism. Marianne and Elinor are even more obviously […]
Obsession can be innocent or deadly. With Joe, it’s deadly. When Guinevere Beck enters Joe Goldberg’s bookshop, she has no notion of the consequences their mildly flirtatious banter will enable. Joe ought to know better. Joe has experienced consequences before. But from the moment he sees Beck and salivates that ‘You’re so clean you’re dirty’, […]
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 […]