Difference between revisions of "Newest Humour Reviews"

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[[Category:Humour|*]]
 
[[Category:Humour|*]]
 
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{{newreview
 
{{newreview
|author=Spadge Whittaker
+
|author= David Jester
|title=Braver Than Britain, Occasionally
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|title= Forever After: a dark comedy
|rating=4
+
|rating= 4
|genre=Humour
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|genre= Paranormal
|summary=In which Spadge researches Britain's top ten fears and faces them all over the course of a year. We're quite a fearful society, you know. And the things we fear most are, in order: heights (acrophobia), snakes (ophidiophobia), public speaking (glossophobia), spiders (arachnophobia), small spaces (claustrophobia), mice (musophobia), needles (trypanophobia), flying (pteromerhanophobia), crowds (agoraphobia) and clowns (coulrophobia).
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|summary= Michael Holland is a cocky and brash young man who dies and gets made the offer of his lifetime; immortality. We follow Michael, a grim reaper and his friends Chip (a stoner tooth fairy) and Naff (a stoner in the records department) as they grapple with their long lives and finding a clean surface to sit on in their flat.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0993429904</amazonuk>
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|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1510704361</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
{{newreview
|author= Mike Bullen
+
|author=Nina Stibbe
|title= Trust
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|title=An Almost Perfect Christmas
|rating= 4
+
|rating=4.5
|genre= General Fiction
+
|genre=Humour
|summary= Greg and Amanda are happy. Unmarried, but together thirteen years and with two young daughters, they are very much in love. Dan and Sarah aren't so fortunate. Their marriage is going through the motions, and they're staying together for the sake of their troubled teenage son. Following a business conference away from home, one bad decision sends a happy couple into turmoil, and turns an unhappy couple into love's young dream. As secrets and betrayals threaten to send both relationships out of control, there's only one thing that can keep everything from falling apart: Trust
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|summary=Christmas – the time of traditional trauma.  You only have to think about the turkey for that – once upon a time it was leaving it sat on the downstairs loo to defrost overnight, and if that failed the hair-dryer shoved inside it treatment was your next best bet. Nowadays it's all having to make sure it's suitably free-range and organic – but not too organic that you can go and visit it, and get too friendly with it to want to eat it.  Christmas, though, is of course also a time of great boons.  It's cash in hand for a lot of plump people who can hire red suits and beards, it was always a godsend for postmen with all the thank-you letters to aunties you saw twice a decade that your parents made you write out in long-hand as a child, and as for the makers of Meltis Newberry Fruits – well, did they even try and sell them any other time of the year?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0751559253</amazonuk>
+
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0241309824</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
{{newreview
|author=Dan Rhodes
+
|author=Ian Doescher
|title=When the Professor Got Stuck in the Snow
+
|title=William Shakespeare's the Force Doth Awaken: Star Wars Part the Seventh
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
|genre=General Fiction
+
|genre=Science Fiction
|summary= Two people are on a train on their way to, of all things, a WI meeting where the ladies of All Bottoms will be lectured on the non-existence of GodOne of the two people is Professor Richard Dawkins, rampant atheist, hectoring scientist chappie, and all-round devotee of ''Deal or No Deal''.  The other is Smee, his mono-named assistant, amanuensis or 'male secretary'.  Smee will come to the fore when the weather sets in and the train journey has to be abandoned some way short of its ultimate destination, Upper Bottom.  Instead the pair fetch up at the isolated yet friendly community of Market Horton, and the only option for accommodation is taken – yes, the died-in-the-wool non-believer has to be housed by a retired vicar and his wifeThis clash of titanic opinions, peppered with social faux pas aplenty will provide for a particularly English kind of farcical comedy, but one with the legs to go as far as any other Good Books have reached in the past…
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|summary=A long time ago, in a galaxy far away, there was a man called William Shakespeare, who was able to create a series of dramatic histories full of machinations most foul, rulers most evil and rebellious heroes and heroines most sturdyYou may or may not have noticed the cinematic version of his original stage play for ''The Force Doth Awaken'', but here at last we get the actual script, complete with annoying-in-different-ways-to-before droids anew, returning heroes from elsewhere in his oeuvre, and people keeping it in the family til it hurtsAnd if you need further encouragement, don't forget his audience only demanded three parts of Henry VI – here the series is so popular we're on to part seven – surely making this over twice as good…
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1910709018</amazonuk>
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|amazonuk=<amazonuk>159474985X</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
{{newreview
|author=Rob Temple
+
|author=James Goss and Russell T Davies
|title=Very British Problems Abroad
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|title=Doctor Who: Now We Are Six Hundred: A Collection of Time Lord Verse (Dr Who)
|rating=4
+
|rating=4.5
|genre=Humour
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|genre=Children's Rhymes and Verse
|summary=Meet, if you haven't already, the phenomenon of the Very British ProblemIn this format they're in pithy little comments (of, ooh, about 140 characters in length, for some reason…) and detail the minor things in life that we like nothing more than to inflate to a major factor of lifeThey can involve manners, staring at things until they mend themselves, hitting things ditto, or the fact that nobody apart from you and I know how to queue properly.  And if the idea hits the world outside our shores, then – well, you certainly have a book full of content regarding our attitude and ineptitude abroad.
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|summary=Consider the DoctorJust how many birthday and Christmas gifts must he have to hand out each year, were he to keep in touch with even half of his companions?  He would certainly need a few novelty gifts for some of them, say, for example, whimsical books of verse that pithily encapsulate the life of a Time Lord and that of some of his friends and enemiesAs luck would have it, he has the space in his TARDIS to stock up in advance, so my advice to him – sorry, her – would be to pop along to his local Earth-based book emporium and get himself ready.  And if you're working on a shorter timescale, with a shorter lifespan, and thinking perhaps just one gift season ahead, well my advice is pretty much the same.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0751558494</amazonuk>
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|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1785942719</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
{{newreview
|author=Fraser McAlpine
+
|author=Annie Ingram
|title=Stuff Brits Like
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|title=Conversations with Kammie
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
|genre=Humour
+
|genre=Pets
|summary= With over 100 chapters on different aspects of Britain and Britishness, this book is both fascinating and hilariousJust looking at the list of subjects is enough to produce a sardonic twist of that stiff upper lip: the chapters cover topics that range from offal to curry, from pedantry to banter, from conkers to rugby. There may be many chapters but this is no academic tome - each chapter is just two to three pages long, each is written with endearing affection, each is easy and satisfying - and quirkily funny - to read.
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|summary=It was something of a relief when I encountered Annie Ingram and her cocker spaniel KammieYou see, Annie knows something which has been self-evident to me for a long time: dogs are perfectly capable of communicating with humans and not just on a level of ''food!'', ''walk!'' or ''play!''.  You do require extensive training to become fluent, but most dogs will be perfectly willing to give their time to teach you and all you have to do is listen.  Annie has studied hard: Kammie has trained her well and the pair have allowed us to share some of their conversations.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1857886348</amazonuk>
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|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1785451995</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
{{newreview
|author= John Samuel
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|author= Charles Harris
|title= What I Tell You in the Dark
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|title= The Breaking of Liam Glass
|rating= 3.5
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|rating= 3
|genre= Humour
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|genre=Crime
|summary=A man called Will is fighting fiercely against corruption – desperate to expose his company's dodgy dealings to the press. Overcome with doubt and fear, he goes to kill himself. But, at the exact moment he attaches his noose to the back of the door, he is saved. By a curious housemate or a concerned girlfriend? No, by an Angel. Not the white-feathered guardian Angel you may expect, but one who wishes to help Will achieve his ends, and so possess the body of the hapless Will in order to finish what he started. It goes without saying that the Angel is hoping things go better than they did with the last guy he possessed – a hapless young man from Galilee called Jesus…
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|summary= A flawed but reasonably entertaining swipe at modern media. There's plenty here to like, and plenty not to. But good structure and scramjet pace keep this one flying to the final page.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0715650505</amazonuk>
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|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1908943823</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
{{newreview
|author= John Niven
+
|author= Fred Van Lente
|title= The Sunshine Cruise Company
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|title= Ten Dead Comedians: A Murder Mystery
|rating= 4.5
+
|rating= 4
 
|genre= Humour
 
|genre= Humour
|summary= Susan Frobisher and Julie Wickham live in a small Dorset town. Friends since school, they live fairly uneventful lives – Susan has a lovely house and a lengthy marriage to accountant Barry, whereas Julie is doing slightly less well – living in a council flat and working in an old people's home. When Barry is found dead trussed up in a sex dungeon, it transpires that he has been leading a hidden life for years, and his expensive fetishes lead to the bank moving to take Susan's home. Struck by both desperation and a sense of injustice, Sue and Julie conspire to rob a bank, taking along their friend Jill – a devout Christian conflicted due to lack of money and a terminally ill grandson, and Ethel – a foul mouthed resident of the nursing home longing for adventure.
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|summary= Nine comedians are invited to a remote Caribbean island under the guise of working with Dustin Walker, a comedic legend. Each fits neatly into one of the archetypal comic stereotypes: Steve, the washed-up has-been who has fallen far from his early days; Zoe, the rising female star with a new stand-up special coming soon; Dante, who went from being a kid on the streets to the hardest working road comic in the business; Oliver, the child-like prop comic who can't get any respect from his peers; Janet, the insult comic who is past her prime;  TJ, the nightly variety show host with a reputation for harassing his female colleagues and guest acts; Ruby, the ultra-feminist YouTuber and Blogger with a chip on her shoulder; and William, whose redneck character ''Billy the Contractor'' is a far cry from his real personality as a posh millionaire. Of course, all nine agree because ''when God almighty walks down on a beam of light and asks for your help, what the hell else are you going to say?''
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0434023183</amazonuk>
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|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1594749744</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
{{newreview
|author=Marie Phillips
+
|author=S Lynn Scott
|title=The Table Of Less Valued Knights
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|title=Elizabeth, William... and Me
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
|genre=Fantasy
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|genre=Humour
|summary=Sir Humphrey has been demoted from King Arthur's Round Table to the Table of Lesser Valued Knights.  The only way to get his comfier seat back is to redeem himself via a questTherefore when damsel Elaine seeks help to find her kidnapped fiancé, Humphrey and his ward, the teenage giant Conrad, eagerly set forthMeanwhile in the kingdom of Tuft, new Queen Martha has run away after a disastrous wedding to… a… well… disastrous Prince EdwinShe may not realise it yet, but she too will have a job for Humphrey!
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|summary=Ally is an ordinary woman with teenage children, a husband and a jobThen comes the day when ordinariness flies out of the windowIt's not a coincidence that it's the same day she finds Queen Elizabeth I in the pantry and the Bard of Avon in her bathWhat's she going to do?  Well, Elizabeth and Will have their own ideas about that!
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099555875</amazonuk>
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|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1788037006</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
{{newreview
|author=Tim Flannery
+
|author= E G Rodford
|title=The Mystery of the Venus Island Fetish
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|title= The Surgeon's Case: George Kocharyan Mystery 2
|rating=3
+
|rating= 4
|genre=Historical Fiction
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|genre= Crime
|summary=Meet Archie Meek.  He's about to leave the Venus Islands, where he's lived for the last five years, and return to Sydney, where he'll take his office in the museum and fill it with all the cultural artefacts he's found and wildlife he's plucked or pickled.  That's not to ignore the fact he'll count as something quite alien himself, with his filled-out frame, nearly all-over suntan and totemic tattoo, in amongst other changes to his body.  But what's this?  When he gets back, he finds one of the main Venus Islands artefacts that caused him to go there in the first place, a huge, macabre ceremonial fetish mask, purloined as corporate artwork.  And some of the curators he wishes to work alongside have vanished.  Is the weird society of the museum he's returning to, perchance, even weirder, stranger and more violent than the cannibalistic society he's waving farewell to?
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|summary=In the second instalment of this series, Private Investigator George Kocharyan has been hired by a well-known local man to track down some missing valuables. Bill Galbraith, a world-famous surgeon at Cambridge's Addenbrooke's Hospital who hosts a popular medical television programme, has had his briefcase stolen by his live-in domestic servant, Aurora. According to Galbraith, this briefcase contains confidential notes concerning an important patient of his at the hospital. George agrees to look into the theft, assuming it will be a relatively easy and straightforward case – little does he know, he's about to enter a world of deceit and dysfunction.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1922079308</amazonuk>
+
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>178565005X</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
{{newreview
|author=Roman Dirge
+
|author=Toni Jordan
|title=The Cat with a Really Big Head
+
|title=Our Tiny, Useless Hearts
|rating=3.5
+
|rating=5
|genre=Graphic Novels
+
|genre=Women's Fiction
|summary= How many picture books are there about cats?  And how many do you know that you would really NOT prefer your children to see?  If the answer to the second question is 'none – yet', scratch that last wordThe title piece in this collection is, by the author's own admission, his imagining of the Joseph Merrick (the 'Elephant Man') of the feline world – who struggles to sneak up behind a mouse when the shadow of his head is a total giveaway, and who can hardly even eat with dignity as bending down to his bowl would break his neckIf that's too dark or oddball for you, try the second major piece, which has a most revealing foreword – ''Dedicated to a certain girl… I hope your life is filled with wonderful accomplishments, love and all the magic you desire… - But I hope your death is slow and horrible.''
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|summary=As predicted by Caroline and Janice's mother on Caroline and Henry's wedding day, their marriage is over, albeit 15 years and two daughters further along than predictedIndeed, this is definitely not a good weekend for Janice to be babysitting at Caroline's house.  There's the split and the awkwardness of the girls' schoolteacher being the other woman for a startThen there's that mistaken identity moment involving the neighbours.  At least Janice is well adjusted and over her ex-husband Alec. She still dreams of him, yes, but it's so over!  Just as well really… guess who's at the door?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1782762876</amazonuk>
+
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1760293814</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
{{newreview
|author=Val Hennessy
+
|author=Colin Taylor
|title=Not Far From Dreamland
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|title=The Life of a Scilly Sergeant
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
|genre=General Fiction
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|genre=Travel
|summary=Ronald Tonks has reached that stage in life which I call upper middle age: you've qualified for your pension but not yet got to the free television licence barrierWhat Ronald ''has'' got is a roof that leaks (there's good reason why his home is called 'the shack'), a dog who is going bald (in patches) and money that's in very short supplyOn the plus side he has friends, mostly platonic and usually in much the same boat as RonaldBut are they downhearted?  Well, they are occasionally, but mostly they're generously optimistic and out to make the most of what they've got, usually bought from charity shops and jumble sales''Not Far From Dreamland'' is the story of a year (2012) in the life of Ronald Tonks, his friends and relatives.
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|summary=Meet the Isles of Scilly.  (I know they should be called that – the author provides a handy guide to the etiquette of their name, their nature and location, etc.) For our more distant readers, they're several chunks of granite rock out in the Atlantic, where Cornwall is pointing, with just 2,200 permanent residentsThey're big on tourism, and big on growing flowers in the tropical climate the Gulf Stream bequeaths them – although the weather is bad enough to turn any car to a rust bucket within yearsThey're so wee, and so idyllic-seeming, especially at night, you can be mistaken for thinking there would be no need for a police presenceBut there is – at least two working at any one time.  And one of them in recent years has been Colin Taylor, who has done his official duty – alongside maintaining a well-known online existence, which has brought to life all the whimsical comedy of his work.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0704373874</amazonuk>
+
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>178475515X</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
{{newreview
|author=Harry Harrison
+
|author=Josie Lloyd and Emlyn Rees
|title=Bill, the Galactic Hero
+
|title='Twas the Fight Before Christmas: A Parody
 
|rating=3.5
 
|rating=3.5
|genre=Science Fiction
+
|genre=Humour
|summary=Meet Bill.  He's a simple farmer – well, he ''is'' taking a correspondence course in being a Technical Fertiliser Operator – but fate has something else in storeAnd so does the mechanised, technological, industrial military, which needs several billion grunts to fight the Chingers, in mankind's first inter-galactic warStill, at least he gets medals just for signing up.  After that it's all downhill, and the likes of Petty Chief Officer Deathwish Drang can only make that a straight line down. Really, what hope is there?
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|summary=It's Christmas Eve and Mum has arranged everythingAll she now has to do is await the arrival of the relatives and the food shopping deliveryLittle does Mum know that those two elements alone have the potential to ruin everything.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>147320531X</amazonuk>
+
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1472125118</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
{{newreview
|author=Ian Doescher
+
|author=Ryan North
|title=William Shakespeare's The Phantom of Menace
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|title=Romeo and/or Juliet
|rating=4.5
+
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=Humour
 
|genre=Humour
|summary= Join us, good gentles, for a merry reimagining of `Star Wars Episode 1' as only Shakespeare could have written it. 'Tis a true Shakespearean drama, filled with sword fights, soliloquies and doomed romance…all in glorious iambic pentameter and coupled with gorgeous illustrations. Hold on to your midichlorians: The plays the thing, wherein you'll catch the rise of Anakin!
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|summary=For all those who think tragedy plots are too restricted and prescribed, read on.  In these pages you too will see that Romeo had lots of options en route to hitting the bottle.  Likewise, she could have turned away from her predestined path at no end of junctures. And to what result?  Well, happy marriage and a kid called Ben, because the leads have just banged people's heads together and stopped the quarrelling, or Death by Tybalt (him) or a long life running an establishment curing murderous women, such as a Lady M (her).
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1594748063</amazonuk>
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|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0356508536</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
{{newreview
|author=Attaboy
+
|author= Gervase Phinn
|title=The Book of Hugs
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|title= The Virgin Mary's Got Nits
|rating=4
+
|rating= 4.5
|genre=Humour
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|genre= Humour
|summary=A hug's a hug, OK?  You either do, or you don't.  Some people might be a little more enthusiastic about the process whilst others are more elegant in the execution of the hug, but basically you just get on and do it and then forget about it, right?
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|summary= Christmas in our house is the time we tend to get on a plane and head to either sun or snow, anywhere that is far, far away from the madness at home, last minute dashes to the shops on Christmas Eve, and food cupboard stockpiles that would imply supermarkets are shutting for a month, nor a mere 36 hours. But I do remember the feeling of Christmas when I was younger, back when it was magical, and back when you knew exactly what the season would bring with carol concerts and school nativities and Christmas parties. This book is an anthology of those moments, and it took me right back to the wonder of Christmas as a child.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0867197978</amazonuk>
+
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1444779400</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
{{newreview
|author= Christopher Fowler
+
|author= Kieran Crowley
|title= Bryant and May – The Burning Man
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|title= Shoot
|rating=4
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|rating= 4
|genre=Crime
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|genre= Crime
|summary= The Peculiar Crimes Unit (PCU) has a new set of overlordsFor reasons that were explored in the previous couple of outings they have been transferred to the City Of London Police.  The Met are still the big players in the area.  City of London Police only police the old city, the square mile, the financial district in other words, that has very little in the way of street crime, because no-one lives there anymore and the people who work there are, by and large, either too rich to need to steal, or too smart to have to do so on the streets.
+
|summary= I make something of a habit of being late to discover good writers, in this case getting to Crowley after he is no longer with usThe result is that what is billed as ''an F.X. Shepherd mystery'' with all the optimism of there being more to come has the poignancy of being, if not the last of a short line, certainly one of a few.  F.X. Shepherd – he doesn't like his first name and prefers just "Shepherd" is, technically, a columnist.  He's been sacked by one New York newspaper and is writing a weekly column for another.  I don't know much about journalism, but I'm guessing one column a week doesn't pay much as a rule…which explains why Shepherd's soap-washed-foul-mouthed editor (read the book, you'll see what I mean) expects him to turn in some genuine journalism as well: front page, seat of your pants stuff.  
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0857522043</amazonuk>
+
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1783296518</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
{{newreview
|author=Catharina Ingelman-Sundberg
+
|author=Gray Jolliffe
|title=The Little Old Lady Who Struck Lucky Again!
+
|title=The First Ever Christmas: And Who to Blame
|rating=3.5
+
|rating=5
 
|genre=Humour
 
|genre=Humour
|summary=Following the success of ''The Little Old Lady Who Broke All the Rules'', the League of Pensioners are back – and this time, they’re in Vegas! I haven’t read the first book but it was on my list when the opportunity arose to review this one. The idea of the League of Pensioners marching towards a fairer world through fun and frolics was hugely appealing to me and this is a stand alone novel so I thought I would dive straight in with this one.
+
|summary=If I tell you a secret, will you promise not to tell anyone?  Well, I really don't like Christmas: it's my least favourite time of year and whilst some people count down to the day itself, I look forward to that point when I can say that it's all over for another year.  It's all too commercialised for me, with a coating of faux religion.  I've never found it in the least funny - that is, until I found Gray Jolliffe's ''The First Ever Christmas: And Who's to Blame''. Amazingly, I'd never encountered Gray Jolliffe either, but I'm a convert to his skills as a cartoonist (if not to the idea of Christmas) after reading this collection of Christmas-themed cartoons from his archive.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1447274903</amazonuk>
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|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1445663503</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
{{newreview
|author=Winshluss
+
|author=Jonathan Pugh
|title=In God We Trust
+
|title=Pugh's New Year's Resolutions
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
|genre=Graphic Novels
+
|genre=Humour
|summary=To start with, a rhetorical testHow about God and Adam playing badminton day in and day out, until one gets bored and decides to create Eve? Or the defeater of Goliath and the saviour of the Israelites being one Conan the Barbarian?  Or this as a test Jesus Himself failing to have a successful session of tequila slammers with Gabriel due to the holes through His hands?  I barely need mention that in these pages God does battle with Superman, for you to have answered the test and put yourself firmly in one of two camps for this book – one very much opposed to buying it, and one very much in favour.
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|summary=If there's one thing that's for certain, it's that the world is changingWe're dating online, we're communicating in ways that make email seem redundant, and when we're shopping we just tell a website where and when it can be delivered, and how much leeway they have to swap our wishes for whatever it is they do bring us. But those changes are also supposed to be affecting us we're supposed to use a smart watch to tell us if we're moving or not, we have to keep up with the latest fads, and we're supposed to prick our ears up and take note when the proverbial 'they' change their minds about what we're supposed to eat.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0861662350</amazonuk>
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|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1780722885</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
{{newreview
|author=David Walliams and Tony Ross
+
|author= Luke Rhinehart
|title=The Queen's Orang-Utan
+
|title= Invasion
|rating=5
+
|rating= 4.5
|genre=For Sharing
+
|genre= Humour
|summary=The Queen felt trapped in the palace with all those stuffed animals which she has been given on foreign tours. There are mountains of them and every night she would dream of escaping. When her birthday drew near the family dutifully asked her what she would like as a present.  The Prince was thinking of a gold, diamond encrusted stairlift whilst the Duke was considering a great big bottle of brandy.  The Royal Baby had some decorated thimbles in mind, but the Queen became just a little snappish as she explained that what she really wanted was 'One's own orang-utan'.  And she didn't mean a stuffed one, either.
+
|summary=Super-intelligent furry aliens suddenly appear from another universe. And they've come to earth to have fun. Alien Louie follows fisherman Billy Morton home one day, and he and his family quickly come to love the playful alien. But when Louie starts using their computer to hack into government and corporate networks, stealing millions from banks to give to others, they realise that Louie and his friends mean trouble. As Billy and his family begin a roller coaster ride of fame and fortune, as well as a ranking high on the FBI's most wanted list, the Government soon decides that these aliens are terrorists, and must be eliminated. Whilst the aliens are playing games they hope will help humans to see the insanity of the American political, economic and military systems, they soon come to realise that the Powers that Be don't play games: they make war. |amazonuk=<amazonuk>1785651757</amazonuk>
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0008135134</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
{{newreview
|author=Jack Sheffield
+
|author=Rod Green
|title=Silent Night
+
|title=Only Fools and Horses: The Peckham Archives
|rating=3.5
+
|rating=4
|genre=General Fiction
+
|genre=Entertainment
|summary=I read a couple of Jack Sheffield’s books about five years ago, and enjoyed them very much. They were written in a similar style to those popularised by, for instance, James Herriot or [[:Category:Gervase Phinn|Gervase Phinn]], told mostly in the first person, describing the author’s first couple of years as Headmaster at a small village primary school in Yorkshire. The village of Ragley is fictional, as are most of the characters, but the incidents and situations encountered are based on the author’s experience.
+
|summary=We are in the world of one of the country's most famous and well-loved sitcoms – even if it was sort-of killed off for Christmas 2003.  Yes, there have been specials since, and more repeats to clog up the BBC schedules than is really pukka, but very few people failed to succumb to its charms at one time or another.  I'm sure there have been books before now celebrating the stony-faced reception of ''that'' drop through the open bar hatch, and ''that'' chandelier scene, but this is much more meaty. Purporting to be the family archives, found dumped in Nelson Mandela House, the documents here were passed from pillar to post, from one council worker in a department with a clumsy acronym to another, from them to the police – and now here they are being published for their social history worth. Will enough readers find them of worth, as the series quietly celebrates its 35th birthday?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0552167045</amazonuk>
+
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1849909245</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
{{newreview
|author=J Robert Lennon
+
|author= Mara Wilson
|title=See You In Paradise
+
|title= Where Am I Now?: True Stories of Girlhood and Accidental Fame
|rating=3
+
|rating= 5
|genre=Short Stories
+
|genre= Autobiography
|summary=Lennon writes with a relaxed, easy style and his characters are instantly recognisable as people from everyday walks of life, without being in any way stereotypical. Many of the people in these stories are dealing with normal frustrations, and Lennon is cleverly detached enough not to make them individuals that you're obviously supposed to root for (the only exception is the industrialist in the eponymous tale, who is an archetypal capitalist fat cat). There are some very clever characterisations – in ''Weber’s Head'', for example, the narrator is a flawed individual whose opinions of his housemate are gradually revealed to be unreliable and unfair. For me, the most unsettling story is ''No Life'', because it portrays a decent couple at the mercy of people more powerful and influential than them. There is no supernatural or bizarre element at work here, just ordinary characters at the mercy of social power.
+
|summary= Mara Wilson has always felt a little young and a little out of place: as the only child on a film set full of adults, the first daughter in a house full of boys, the sole clinically depressed member of a cheerleading squad, a valley girl in New York and a neurotic in California, and an adult the world still remembers as a little girl. Tackling everything from how she first learned about sex on the set of ''Melrose Place,'' to losing her mother at a young age, to getting her first kiss (or was it kisses?) on a celebrity canoe trip, to not being cute enough to make it in Hollywood, these essays tell the story of one young woman's journey from accidental fame to relative obscurity, but also illuminate a universal struggle: learning to accept yourself, and figuring out who you are and where you belong.  
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781253358</amazonuk>
+
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0143128221</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
{{newreview
|author=Lynne Truss
+
|author= Tony Stuart
|title=Cat out of Hell
+
|title= Writing Lines
|rating=3
+
|rating= 4.5
|genre=Horror
 
|summary=Meet Alec Charlesworth.  He's retired and decamped to an isolated coastal cottage with just his dog and loving memories of his colleague wife, now that she has died before her time.  But the fusty librarian cannot rest too long before engaging in exploring some unusual computer files that were pinged across by someone at the college he worked at, just before he left.  Bizarrely they show photographic and audio evidence of a talking cat called Roger, replete with Vincent Price voice – although they are also damaged by being included alongside some bad screenplay attempts about said cat.   Worryingly, we soon see what at the most only a few of the characters can, that this cat is being accompanied by unusual and unexpected death – much like Alec's wife.  It's only when Roger testifies to having been pushed through the ends of endurance and out the other side that we begin to doubt where the true evil in this story lies…
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099585340</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Jimmy Hansen and Mychailo Kazybird
 
|title=Wallace & Gromit : The Complete Newspaper Strips Collection Vol 2
 
|rating=4
 
 
|genre=Humour
 
|genre=Humour
|summary=For me there are two important areas of the cover of this book where three letters are arranged in meaningful ways.  The first is with the S-U-N in their obligatory red and white font. No minor paper could hold Wallace and Gromit, their adventures have to be in what is (unfortunately) the most widely read tabloid in the country. And elsewhere is C-B-E, suggesting that even the storytellers at Aardman Animations who are not household names are feted and revered as artistic experts, raising many laughs and much money for the country courtesy of their creative output. Together these short collections of letters show just how much WaG are major creations, and if the proof was needed this much longer collection of their daily comic strips provides it in spades.
+
|summary= George Gordon Wentworth (1946-2011) lived a humdrum life. He was a barely adequate teacher in a fairly world renowned independent school in Kent and kept a copious diary of his quotidian existence. Most of what he recorded was dross. However, amongst all the utterly uninteresting tailings of his life there were some nuggets and grains to catch the attention. Author Tony Stuart has created these amusing anecdotes, panning them out over twenty six episodes which give us the best of Wentworth – comedy gold. From losing all the pupils in his charge on a school trip to being arrested on suspicion of terrorism; from waking up in bed between the married couple the morning after their wedding, to destroying a ski run; from appearing full-frontal naked in a sheep-farmers' gazette to triggering an air-sea rescue; Wentworth was, blinkered and befuddled, the subject – of these and so many more unlikely but highly amusing events.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1782760822</amazonuk>
+
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1524634441</amazonuk>
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|title=Dear Committee Members
 
|author=Julie Schumacher
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=General Fiction
 
|summary=Jason Fitger (Jay) is a Professor of creative writing and literature at a small university in the American mid-west. He is also a frustrated novelist with a colourful personal history, much of which bleeds into his professional life, with interesting results.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0007586345</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
{{newreview
|title=Mapp and Lucia Omnibus
+
|author=Graham Fulbright
|author=E F Benson
+
|title=Driving Mad: Maniacs, Morons and the Advanced Motorist's Club
 
|rating=3.5
 
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=Humour
 
|genre=Humour
|summary=Miss Elizabeth Mapp rules the town of Tilling - she is the centre of the social life, and spends her days enjoying bridge, polite conversation and civilised painting. When Mrs Emmeline Lucas arrives in town (known to all as Lucia), Miss Mapp finds her life truly shaken up, as the cultured, fashionable and progressive Lucia makes her home in the town, and swiftly rises to the top of the ranks amongst the social scene in Tilling.
+
|summary=I passed my driving test when John F Kennedy was in the White House and I've recently had to reapply for my driving licence having achieved a venerable age. When I started driving the roads were kinder, more forgiving places - or put another way, the idiots were fewer and further between.  I don't know how long Graham Fulbright has been driving, but he certainly knows his motoring morons and in ''Driving Mad'' he brings us a fictional sample of their eccentricities.  Well, I'm pretty certain that they're fictional - but these days you never know...
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1849908478</amazonuk>
+
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1783062584</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
{{newreview
|title=Encyclopedia Paranoiaca
+
|author=Mario Giordano
|author=Henry Beard and Christopher Cerf
+
|title=Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
|genre=Popular Science
+
|genre=Crime
|summary=We're screwedWherever we look, whatever we think of doing, there is a reason why we shouldn't be doing it, and people to back that reason up with scientific dataTake any aspect of your daily life – what you eat, how you work, how you rest even, what you touch – all have problems that could provoke a serious illness or worseAnd outside that daily sphere there are economic disasters, nuclear meltdowns, errant AI scientists and passing comets that could turn our world upside down at the blink of an eyePerhaps then you better read this book first – for it may well turn out to be your last…
+
|summary=Poldi had not long been widowed when she decided to move from Bavaria to Sicily with the intention of drinking herself to deathShe could, of course, have done this in Germany, but she felt that a sea view was essentialOnce there, new friends, family already resident on the island and the corpse of a young man, his face blown off by a shotgun, whom she found on the local beach, intervened to give her life some meaningFor a while she was a suspect, but that (and her wig) were no obstacle to her falling for Commissario Vito Montana who was assigned to investigate the case.  Assisting him (or having him assist her) came naturally to Poldi and before long there was an investigative and personal partnershipAt least so far as Poldi was concerned.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0715649213</amazonuk>
+
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1908524693</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
{{newreview
|title=Diary of a Mad Diva
+
|author= Grady Hendrix
|author=Joan Rivers
+
|title= My Best Friend's Exorcism
|rating=3.5
+
|rating= 5
|genre=Humour
+
|genre= Horror
|summary=The late Joan Rivers was, without a doubt, a character. Actress, comedian, writer, director, presenter, she was well known in the USA and beyond for her sharp tongue and no holds barred persona. This was the last of the dozen books she published, her final title before her death in September 2014.
+
|summary=1988, Charleston, South Carolina. High school sophomores Abby and Gretchen have been best friends since fourth grade. But after an evening of skinny-dipping goes disatrously wrong, Gretchen begins to act...different. She's moody. She's irritable. And bizarre incidents keep happening whenever she's nearby. Abby's investigation leads her to some startling discoveries - and by the time their story reaches its terrifying conclusion, the fate of Abby and Gretchen will be determined by a single question: Is their friendship enough to beat the devil?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0425269027</amazonuk>
+
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1594748624</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
{{newreview
|title=The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy - The Nearly Definitive Edition
+
|author= Kevin MacNeil
|author=Douglas Adams
+
|title=The Brilliant and Forever
|rating=5
+
|rating= 3.5
|genre=General Fiction
+
|genre= Humour
|summary=There are few series that have garnered such a cult following as 'The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy'. Whether the fans have come from the radio series, the (impossibly hard) computer game, or the (well intentioned but not particularly good) film, they are everywhere.  Ask a room of people what the meaning of life is, and you can be pretty sure a good few will pipe up with '42' as the answer.
+
|summary= You know sometimes when someone tells a joke, everyone else laughs, and you're sat there wondering what was so funny?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0434023396</amazonuk>
+
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1846973376</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
{{newreview
|title=Quick Pint After Work
+
|author= Christopher Fowler
|author=Luke Lewis
+
|title= Bryant and May: Strange Tide
|rating=4
+
|rating= 3.5
|genre=Humour
+
|genre= Crime
|summary=BuzzFeed is one of the world’s best time sucks, and I’m regularly directed to the site by links from Facebook and Twitter, in between browsing the app on my phone. According to the author bio on this book, BuzzFeed is 'a social news and entertainment company', which is a fancy way of describing lots of fun lists that speak to the readership (20 words that have a completely different meaning in Manchester, 30 Things all ex-gymnasts know to be true, 40 Very British problems, yadda yadda yadda). These list work well on line when you want a quick distraction, and they’re easy to flip through, looking at the attached photos or video clips. The question then, is whether or not BuzzFeed the book will have the same appeal.
+
|summary= The thirteenth outing for Bryant and May is looking very much like it will be their last. Arthur Bryant is on compassionate leave whilst tests are continuing, which are likely to confirm that he is suffering from Alzheimer's.  His condition is worsening almost by the day, memory lapses are morphing into full-scale hallucinations.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0751557730</amazonuk>
+
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0857523422</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
{{newreview
|author=Graeme Simsion
+
|author=Kevin Smith
|title=The Rosie Effect
+
|title=The Voyage of the Dolphin
|rating=4
+
|rating=5
|genre=Humour
+
|genre=Historical Fiction
|summary=Following inadvertent success with the Wife Project, Professor Don Tillman and his new bride Rosie have moved from Australia to New YorkAlthough Don's position on the autistic scale is subjective, he still operates on a daily basis of structured procedures, lists and logicRosie can generally handle that but there are choppy waters aheadWith the patter of tiny feet imminent logic goes out the window as she struggles with her PhD while Don struggles to find his place in the baby production processAt least he has his drinking buddies to support him – an aging rock drummer and a friend whose wife has thrown him out for infidelity. What could possibly go wrong?
+
|summary=Dublin 1916: Among the unrest and anti-British feeling worsened by the threat of conscription into a war seen as nothing to do with the Irish, Trinity College faculty has other distractionsThey'd like a trophy; the skeleton of an Irish 'giant' to be precise.  The only glitch is that the main trophy contender, Bernard MacNeill's skeleton, is somewhere difficult to access and all seasoned explorers are otherwise engagedThere may be hope thoughThey turn to Fitzmaurice, a student not good enough for anything elseFitzmaurice agrees, picking his friends Crozier and Rafferty to go with him.  So… ''Gentlemen, lace up your strongest boots and pack your warmest underwear we're all off to the bloody Arctic!''  Whether battle cry or epitaph, three men and a dog… and an iguana… are going anyway.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0718179471</amazonuk>
+
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1910124826</amazonuk>
 +
|amazonus=<amazonus>1910124826</amazonus>
 
}}
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
{{newreview
|title=Burnt Tongues: An Anthology of Transgressive Short Stories
+
|author=Tony Hawks
|author=Chuck Palahniuk, Dennis Widmyer and Richard Thomas
+
|title=Once Upon a Time in the West… Country
|rating=4
+
|rating=3
|genre=Short Stories
+
|genre=Travel
|summary=Saying certain things out loud just don’t sound right.  Some things are so disturbing or politically incorrect that you are best off leaving them inside your head, or better yet not thinking of them at all.  When these words are spoken they could lead to the sensation of Burnt Tongue; an aftereffect of knowing what you said was wrongAre you prepared to enter the world of Transgressive Fiction that aims to disturb, alienate, disgust and question?
+
|summary=I have often complained in a jokey voice to my partner about life in the sticks, and the way she moved me from an inner-city flat to slumming it in the suburbs with fewer busses, no takeaways within walking-and-keeping-food-hot distance, and no 'Polish' shops for a can of beer whenever you fancy oneThings are different with Tony Hawks, as here he has purposefully decided to up sticks from London to Somewhere, Devon – a tiny village where the people who built their own homes decades ago still live in them, where slugs are a lot more of a problem for the wannabe lettuce-grower than they are for the metropolitan commuter, and where village halls have the power to turn you into both a Pol Pot dictator if you get on their committee and into a quivering, bruise-inducing wreck if you're the wrong gender at a Zumba class…
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>178329552X</amazonuk>
+
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1444794809</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
}}

Revision as of 08:34, 19 November 2017

Forever After: a dark comedy by David Jester

4star.jpg Paranormal

Michael Holland is a cocky and brash young man who dies and gets made the offer of his lifetime; immortality. We follow Michael, a grim reaper and his friends Chip (a stoner tooth fairy) and Naff (a stoner in the records department) as they grapple with their long lives and finding a clean surface to sit on in their flat. Full review...

An Almost Perfect Christmas by Nina Stibbe

4.5star.jpg Humour

Christmas – the time of traditional trauma. You only have to think about the turkey for that – once upon a time it was leaving it sat on the downstairs loo to defrost overnight, and if that failed the hair-dryer shoved inside it treatment was your next best bet. Nowadays it's all having to make sure it's suitably free-range and organic – but not too organic that you can go and visit it, and get too friendly with it to want to eat it. Christmas, though, is of course also a time of great boons. It's cash in hand for a lot of plump people who can hire red suits and beards, it was always a godsend for postmen with all the thank-you letters to aunties you saw twice a decade that your parents made you write out in long-hand as a child, and as for the makers of Meltis Newberry Fruits – well, did they even try and sell them any other time of the year? Full review...

William Shakespeare's the Force Doth Awaken: Star Wars Part the Seventh by Ian Doescher

4.5star.jpg Science Fiction

A long time ago, in a galaxy far away, there was a man called William Shakespeare, who was able to create a series of dramatic histories full of machinations most foul, rulers most evil and rebellious heroes and heroines most sturdy. You may or may not have noticed the cinematic version of his original stage play for The Force Doth Awaken, but here at last we get the actual script, complete with annoying-in-different-ways-to-before droids anew, returning heroes from elsewhere in his oeuvre, and people keeping it in the family til it hurts. And if you need further encouragement, don't forget his audience only demanded three parts of Henry VI – here the series is so popular we're on to part seven – surely making this over twice as good… Full review...

Doctor Who: Now We Are Six Hundred: A Collection of Time Lord Verse (Dr Who) by James Goss and Russell T Davies

4.5star.jpg Children's Rhymes and Verse

Consider the Doctor. Just how many birthday and Christmas gifts must he have to hand out each year, were he to keep in touch with even half of his companions? He would certainly need a few novelty gifts for some of them, say, for example, whimsical books of verse that pithily encapsulate the life of a Time Lord and that of some of his friends and enemies. As luck would have it, he has the space in his TARDIS to stock up in advance, so my advice to him – sorry, her – would be to pop along to his local Earth-based book emporium and get himself ready. And if you're working on a shorter timescale, with a shorter lifespan, and thinking perhaps just one gift season ahead, well my advice is pretty much the same. Full review...

Conversations with Kammie by Annie Ingram

4star.jpg Pets

It was something of a relief when I encountered Annie Ingram and her cocker spaniel Kammie. You see, Annie knows something which has been self-evident to me for a long time: dogs are perfectly capable of communicating with humans and not just on a level of food!, walk! or play!. You do require extensive training to become fluent, but most dogs will be perfectly willing to give their time to teach you and all you have to do is listen. Annie has studied hard: Kammie has trained her well and the pair have allowed us to share some of their conversations. Full review...

The Breaking of Liam Glass by Charles Harris

3star.jpg Crime

A flawed but reasonably entertaining swipe at modern media. There's plenty here to like, and plenty not to. But good structure and scramjet pace keep this one flying to the final page. Full review...

Ten Dead Comedians: A Murder Mystery by Fred Van Lente

4star.jpg Humour

Nine comedians are invited to a remote Caribbean island under the guise of working with Dustin Walker, a comedic legend. Each fits neatly into one of the archetypal comic stereotypes: Steve, the washed-up has-been who has fallen far from his early days; Zoe, the rising female star with a new stand-up special coming soon; Dante, who went from being a kid on the streets to the hardest working road comic in the business; Oliver, the child-like prop comic who can't get any respect from his peers; Janet, the insult comic who is past her prime; TJ, the nightly variety show host with a reputation for harassing his female colleagues and guest acts; Ruby, the ultra-feminist YouTuber and Blogger with a chip on her shoulder; and William, whose redneck character Billy the Contractor is a far cry from his real personality as a posh millionaire. Of course, all nine agree because when God almighty walks down on a beam of light and asks for your help, what the hell else are you going to say? Full review...

Elizabeth, William... and Me by S Lynn Scott

4.5star.jpg Humour

Ally is an ordinary woman with teenage children, a husband and a job. Then comes the day when ordinariness flies out of the window. It's not a coincidence that it's the same day she finds Queen Elizabeth I in the pantry and the Bard of Avon in her bath. What's she going to do? Well, Elizabeth and Will have their own ideas about that! Full review...

The Surgeon's Case: George Kocharyan Mystery 2 by E G Rodford

4star.jpg Crime

In the second instalment of this series, Private Investigator George Kocharyan has been hired by a well-known local man to track down some missing valuables. Bill Galbraith, a world-famous surgeon at Cambridge's Addenbrooke's Hospital who hosts a popular medical television programme, has had his briefcase stolen by his live-in domestic servant, Aurora. According to Galbraith, this briefcase contains confidential notes concerning an important patient of his at the hospital. George agrees to look into the theft, assuming it will be a relatively easy and straightforward case – little does he know, he's about to enter a world of deceit and dysfunction. Full review...

Our Tiny, Useless Hearts by Toni Jordan

5star.jpg Women's Fiction

As predicted by Caroline and Janice's mother on Caroline and Henry's wedding day, their marriage is over, albeit 15 years and two daughters further along than predicted. Indeed, this is definitely not a good weekend for Janice to be babysitting at Caroline's house. There's the split and the awkwardness of the girls' schoolteacher being the other woman for a start. Then there's that mistaken identity moment involving the neighbours. At least Janice is well adjusted and over her ex-husband Alec. She still dreams of him, yes, but it's so over! Just as well really… guess who's at the door? Full review...

The Life of a Scilly Sergeant by Colin Taylor

4.5star.jpg Travel

Meet the Isles of Scilly. (I know they should be called that – the author provides a handy guide to the etiquette of their name, their nature and location, etc.) For our more distant readers, they're several chunks of granite rock out in the Atlantic, where Cornwall is pointing, with just 2,200 permanent residents. They're big on tourism, and big on growing flowers in the tropical climate the Gulf Stream bequeaths them – although the weather is bad enough to turn any car to a rust bucket within years. They're so wee, and so idyllic-seeming, especially at night, you can be mistaken for thinking there would be no need for a police presence. But there is – at least two working at any one time. And one of them in recent years has been Colin Taylor, who has done his official duty – alongside maintaining a well-known online existence, which has brought to life all the whimsical comedy of his work. Full review...

'Twas the Fight Before Christmas: A Parody by Josie Lloyd and Emlyn Rees

3.5star.jpg Humour

It's Christmas Eve and Mum has arranged everything. All she now has to do is await the arrival of the relatives and the food shopping delivery. Little does Mum know that those two elements alone have the potential to ruin everything. Full review...

Romeo and/or Juliet by Ryan North

3.5star.jpg Humour

For all those who think tragedy plots are too restricted and prescribed, read on. In these pages you too will see that Romeo had lots of options en route to hitting the bottle. Likewise, she could have turned away from her predestined path at no end of junctures. And to what result? Well, happy marriage and a kid called Ben, because the leads have just banged people's heads together and stopped the quarrelling, or Death by Tybalt (him) or a long life running an establishment curing murderous women, such as a Lady M (her). Full review...

The Virgin Mary's Got Nits by Gervase Phinn

4.5star.jpg Humour

Christmas in our house is the time we tend to get on a plane and head to either sun or snow, anywhere that is far, far away from the madness at home, last minute dashes to the shops on Christmas Eve, and food cupboard stockpiles that would imply supermarkets are shutting for a month, nor a mere 36 hours. But I do remember the feeling of Christmas when I was younger, back when it was magical, and back when you knew exactly what the season would bring with carol concerts and school nativities and Christmas parties. This book is an anthology of those moments, and it took me right back to the wonder of Christmas as a child. Full review...

Shoot by Kieran Crowley

4star.jpg Crime

I make something of a habit of being late to discover good writers, in this case getting to Crowley after he is no longer with us. The result is that what is billed as an F.X. Shepherd mystery with all the optimism of there being more to come has the poignancy of being, if not the last of a short line, certainly one of a few. F.X. Shepherd – he doesn't like his first name and prefers just "Shepherd" is, technically, a columnist. He's been sacked by one New York newspaper and is writing a weekly column for another. I don't know much about journalism, but I'm guessing one column a week doesn't pay much as a rule…which explains why Shepherd's soap-washed-foul-mouthed editor (read the book, you'll see what I mean) expects him to turn in some genuine journalism as well: front page, seat of your pants stuff. Full review...

The First Ever Christmas: And Who to Blame by Gray Jolliffe

5star.jpg Humour

If I tell you a secret, will you promise not to tell anyone? Well, I really don't like Christmas: it's my least favourite time of year and whilst some people count down to the day itself, I look forward to that point when I can say that it's all over for another year. It's all too commercialised for me, with a coating of faux religion. I've never found it in the least funny - that is, until I found Gray Jolliffe's The First Ever Christmas: And Who's to Blame. Amazingly, I'd never encountered Gray Jolliffe either, but I'm a convert to his skills as a cartoonist (if not to the idea of Christmas) after reading this collection of Christmas-themed cartoons from his archive. Full review...

Pugh's New Year's Resolutions by Jonathan Pugh

4.5star.jpg Humour

If there's one thing that's for certain, it's that the world is changing. We're dating online, we're communicating in ways that make email seem redundant, and when we're shopping we just tell a website where and when it can be delivered, and how much leeway they have to swap our wishes for whatever it is they do bring us. But those changes are also supposed to be affecting us – we're supposed to use a smart watch to tell us if we're moving or not, we have to keep up with the latest fads, and we're supposed to prick our ears up and take note when the proverbial 'they' change their minds about what we're supposed to eat. Full review...

Invasion by Luke Rhinehart

4.5star.jpg Humour

Super-intelligent furry aliens suddenly appear from another universe. And they've come to earth to have fun. Alien Louie follows fisherman Billy Morton home one day, and he and his family quickly come to love the playful alien. But when Louie starts using their computer to hack into government and corporate networks, stealing millions from banks to give to others, they realise that Louie and his friends mean trouble. As Billy and his family begin a roller coaster ride of fame and fortune, as well as a ranking high on the FBI's most wanted list, the Government soon decides that these aliens are terrorists, and must be eliminated. Whilst the aliens are playing games they hope will help humans to see the insanity of the American political, economic and military systems, they soon come to realise that the Powers that Be don't play games: they make war. Full review...

Only Fools and Horses: The Peckham Archives by Rod Green

4star.jpg Entertainment

We are in the world of one of the country's most famous and well-loved sitcoms – even if it was sort-of killed off for Christmas 2003. Yes, there have been specials since, and more repeats to clog up the BBC schedules than is really pukka, but very few people failed to succumb to its charms at one time or another. I'm sure there have been books before now celebrating the stony-faced reception of that drop through the open bar hatch, and that chandelier scene, but this is much more meaty. Purporting to be the family archives, found dumped in Nelson Mandela House, the documents here were passed from pillar to post, from one council worker in a department with a clumsy acronym to another, from them to the police – and now here they are being published for their social history worth. Will enough readers find them of worth, as the series quietly celebrates its 35th birthday? Full review...

Where Am I Now?: True Stories of Girlhood and Accidental Fame by Mara Wilson

5star.jpg Autobiography

Mara Wilson has always felt a little young and a little out of place: as the only child on a film set full of adults, the first daughter in a house full of boys, the sole clinically depressed member of a cheerleading squad, a valley girl in New York and a neurotic in California, and an adult the world still remembers as a little girl. Tackling everything from how she first learned about sex on the set of Melrose Place, to losing her mother at a young age, to getting her first kiss (or was it kisses?) on a celebrity canoe trip, to not being cute enough to make it in Hollywood, these essays tell the story of one young woman's journey from accidental fame to relative obscurity, but also illuminate a universal struggle: learning to accept yourself, and figuring out who you are and where you belong. Full review...

Writing Lines by Tony Stuart

4.5star.jpg Humour

George Gordon Wentworth (1946-2011) lived a humdrum life. He was a barely adequate teacher in a fairly world renowned independent school in Kent and kept a copious diary of his quotidian existence. Most of what he recorded was dross. However, amongst all the utterly uninteresting tailings of his life there were some nuggets and grains to catch the attention. Author Tony Stuart has created these amusing anecdotes, panning them out over twenty six episodes which give us the best of Wentworth – comedy gold. From losing all the pupils in his charge on a school trip to being arrested on suspicion of terrorism; from waking up in bed between the married couple the morning after their wedding, to destroying a ski run; from appearing full-frontal naked in a sheep-farmers' gazette to triggering an air-sea rescue; Wentworth was, blinkered and befuddled, the subject – of these and so many more unlikely but highly amusing events. Full review...

Driving Mad: Maniacs, Morons and the Advanced Motorist's Club by Graham Fulbright

3.5star.jpg Humour

I passed my driving test when John F Kennedy was in the White House and I've recently had to reapply for my driving licence having achieved a venerable age. When I started driving the roads were kinder, more forgiving places - or put another way, the idiots were fewer and further between. I don't know how long Graham Fulbright has been driving, but he certainly knows his motoring morons and in Driving Mad he brings us a fictional sample of their eccentricities. Well, I'm pretty certain that they're fictional - but these days you never know... Full review...

Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions by Mario Giordano

4star.jpg Crime

Poldi had not long been widowed when she decided to move from Bavaria to Sicily with the intention of drinking herself to death. She could, of course, have done this in Germany, but she felt that a sea view was essential. Once there, new friends, family already resident on the island and the corpse of a young man, his face blown off by a shotgun, whom she found on the local beach, intervened to give her life some meaning. For a while she was a suspect, but that (and her wig) were no obstacle to her falling for Commissario Vito Montana who was assigned to investigate the case. Assisting him (or having him assist her) came naturally to Poldi and before long there was an investigative and personal partnership. At least so far as Poldi was concerned. Full review...

My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

5star.jpg Horror

1988, Charleston, South Carolina. High school sophomores Abby and Gretchen have been best friends since fourth grade. But after an evening of skinny-dipping goes disatrously wrong, Gretchen begins to act...different. She's moody. She's irritable. And bizarre incidents keep happening whenever she's nearby. Abby's investigation leads her to some startling discoveries - and by the time their story reaches its terrifying conclusion, the fate of Abby and Gretchen will be determined by a single question: Is their friendship enough to beat the devil? Full review...

The Brilliant and Forever by Kevin MacNeil

3.5star.jpg Humour

You know sometimes when someone tells a joke, everyone else laughs, and you're sat there wondering what was so funny? Full review...

Bryant and May: Strange Tide by Christopher Fowler

3.5star.jpg Crime

The thirteenth outing for Bryant and May is looking very much like it will be their last. Arthur Bryant is on compassionate leave whilst tests are continuing, which are likely to confirm that he is suffering from Alzheimer's. His condition is worsening almost by the day, memory lapses are morphing into full-scale hallucinations. Full review...

The Voyage of the Dolphin by Kevin Smith

5star.jpg Historical Fiction

Dublin 1916: Among the unrest and anti-British feeling worsened by the threat of conscription into a war seen as nothing to do with the Irish, Trinity College faculty has other distractions. They'd like a trophy; the skeleton of an Irish 'giant' to be precise. The only glitch is that the main trophy contender, Bernard MacNeill's skeleton, is somewhere difficult to access and all seasoned explorers are otherwise engaged. There may be hope though. They turn to Fitzmaurice, a student not good enough for anything else. Fitzmaurice agrees, picking his friends Crozier and Rafferty to go with him. So… Gentlemen, lace up your strongest boots and pack your warmest underwear – we're all off to the bloody Arctic! Whether battle cry or epitaph, three men and a dog… and an iguana… are going anyway. Full review...

Once Upon a Time in the West… Country by Tony Hawks

3star.jpg Travel

I have often complained in a jokey voice to my partner about life in the sticks, and the way she moved me from an inner-city flat to slumming it in the suburbs with fewer busses, no takeaways within walking-and-keeping-food-hot distance, and no 'Polish' shops for a can of beer whenever you fancy one. Things are different with Tony Hawks, as here he has purposefully decided to up sticks from London to Somewhere, Devon – a tiny village where the people who built their own homes decades ago still live in them, where slugs are a lot more of a problem for the wannabe lettuce-grower than they are for the metropolitan commuter, and where village halls have the power to turn you into both a Pol Pot dictator if you get on their committee and into a quivering, bruise-inducing wreck if you're the wrong gender at a Zumba class… Full review...