When is a mystery not a mystery? Is it when you can work out the killer in the first third of the book and (rarely) doubt that you’re wrong? Or is it when you’re always several steps ahead of the main investigative character, rendering much of their hypothesising redundant? Maybe it’s when you aren’t convinced […]
Trust. Love. Honesty. These are all important ingredients in a happy marriage. You might think all those ingredients are present in your marriage, but could you be deceiving yourself? What if you couldn’t trust your favourite person in the world? This is Iris’ dilemma in Kimberley Belle’s suspenseful third novel, ‘The Marriage Lie’. What’s it […]
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*;Â 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 […]
You might think this story is about a ring. That’s only the lure. It’s a story about deception, myth, manipulation and family feuds, and it positively seethes with blackmail and corruption. What’s the story? Tim Harding agrees to do a favour for a friend by bidding on his behalf at an auction for an ancient […]
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’, […]
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 […]