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<metadesc>Book review siteExpert, with books full book reviews from most walks of literary life; fiction, biographynon-fiction, crime, cookery and children's books & self-published books plus author interviews and & top tens.</metadesc><h1 id="mf-title">The Bookbag</h1>Hello from The Bookbag, a site featuring books from all the many walks of literary life - [[:Category:Fiction|fiction]], [[:Category:Biography|biography]], [[:Category:Crime|crime]], [[:Category:Cookery|cookery]] and anything else that takes our fancy. At Bookbag Towers the bookbag sits at the side of the desk. It's the bag we take to the library and the bookshop. Sometimes it holds the latest releases, but at other times there'll be old favourites, books for the children, books for the home. They're sometimes our own books or books from the local library. They're often books sent to us by publishers and we promise to tell you exactly what we think about them. You might not want to read through a full review, so we'll give you a quick review which summarises what we felt about the book and tells you whether or not we think you should buy or borrow it. There are also lots of [[:Category:Interviews|author interviews]], and all sorts of [[:Category:Lists|top tens]] - all of which you can find on our [[features]] page. If you're stuck for something to read, check out the [[Book Recommendations|recommendations]] page.

Reviews by readers from all the many walks of literary life. With author interviews, features and top tens. You'll be sure to find something you'll want to read here. Dig in! Find us on [[File:facebook.gif|link=https://www.facebook.com/TheBookbagCoUk|alt=Facebook]] [https://www.facebook.com/TheBookbagCoUk '''Facebook'''], [[File:twitter.gif|link=http://twitter.com/TheBookbag|alt=Follow us on Twitter]] [http://twitter.com/TheBookbag '''Twitter'''], [[File:instagram_classic_logo.png|link=https://www.instagram.com/thebookbag.co.uk/|alt=Follow us on Instagram]] [https://www.instagram.com/thebookbag.co.uk/ '''Instagram'''] and [[File:LinkedIn.png|link=https://www.linkedin.com/in/the-bookbag-1b12a264/|alt=LinkedIn]] There are currently '''{{PAGESINCATEGORY:Reviews}}''' [[:Category:Reviews|reviews ]] at TheBookbag.

==Reviews of the The Best New Books==

'''Read [[Forthcoming Publications|reviews of books about to be published]].{{Frontpage|class-"wikitable" cellpaddingauthor="15" <!-- INSERT NEW REVIEWS BELOW HERE-->Tom Percival<!-- Pickles --> |title=The Wrong Shoes|-rating=5| stylegenre="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|Confident Readers[[image:1787112926.jpg|linksummary=http://wwwWill's life is difficult, in a multitude of ways.amazon.co.uk/dp/1787112926/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Worzel goes He is bullied because he has 'the wrong shoes', he has the wrong shoes because his dad can't work and doesn't have enough money for a Walk. Will you come too? by Catherine Pickles even the most basic of things like food, and Chantal Bourgonje]]=== [[image:5starhis dad can't work because he lost his job at the college, was working a cash-in-hand job on a building site and had an accident.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:For Sharing|For Sharing]] Throw into that mix the fact that his mum and dad are separated, and Will's life seems bleak in every direction. And yet, [[:Category:Pets|Pets]] When we [[Worzel says hello! Will you be my friend? by Catherine Pickles and Chantal Bourgonje|last met Worzel Woolface]] he was still has a rather frightened dog who had difficulty meeting peopletiny amount of hope. He's a bit better now is good at art, and something which clings to the moments of joy when he really enjoys is going for drawing, that feel like a walk. It's not just a case light at the end of attaching a lead and heading for your favourite spot - there are a lot of other things to think about first. [[Worzel goes for a Walk. Will you come too? by Catherine Pickles and Chantal Bourgonjelong, dark tunnel.|Full Review]]isbn=1398527122}}{{Frontpage<!-- Kearsley -->|author=Sylvie Cathrall|-title=A Letter to the Luminous Deep| stylerating=''width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;''5|genre=Science Fiction[[image:1492687863.jpg|linksummary=http://wwwThere are few greater joys than a book which lives up to a compelling premise.amazonAnd this is one of them.co.uk/dp/1492687863/ref|isbn=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]0356522776}}{{Frontpage| styleisbn=''vertical-align: top; text-align: left;''0008517061|title=Death in a Lonely Place|author=Stig Abell|rating===[[Bellewether by Susanna Kearsley]]===4 [[image:4.5star.jpg|linkgenre=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:ThrillersCrime|Thrillers]]summary= Former Metropolitan Police detective, [[:Category:Historical Fiction|Historical Fiction]]Jake Johnson, [[:Category:Paranormal|Paranormal]] Flitting between has settled into his rustic life at Little Sky. There’s perhaps a little uncertainty about the present day future of his life with his vet girlfriend, Livia and mid 16thcenturyher daughter Diana, ''Bellewether'' tells the fascinating tale as moving in together would mean a lot of the Wilde House compromise: does Jake give up his off-grid and all its inhabitants. In the present tense aspects, the Wilde House relaxing life to move in with Livia or does Livia move to Little Sky despite her reservations about whether or not this is being turned into a museum due to the legacy left by Captain Benjamin Wilde. It is told from future she wants for herself and her daughter? For the perspective of Charley, moment they’re enjoying life in the museum curator, who is intrigued by present and putting the ghost who haunts future on the house and their story; a tale that ends in tragedy involving Benjamin Wilde's sister, Lydia, and a French-Canadian lieutenant, Jean-Philippe who was sent to live there. back burner.}}{{Frontpage|isbn=1786482126|title=The perspective of the book is continuously shifted between Charley, then Lydia and JeanJanus Stone (Dr Ruth Galloway)|author=Elly Griffiths|rating=4.5|genre=Crime|summary=Builders were demolishing an old house in Norwich -Philippe. The latter two tell the truth about what site was happening during this chaotic time in history, just as Charley is beginning going to unravel it herself. [[Bellewether by Susanna Kearsley|Full Review]] <!hold seventy-five 'luxury' apartments - Reeve -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:0192766082when they discovered the bones of a child beneath a doorway. There was no skull.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0192766082/ref=nosim Was this a ritual killing or murder?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Legend Inevitably, Dr Ruth Galloway finds herself working with DCI Harry Nelson. It's difficult as Ruth knows, but Nelson doesn't, that she is pregnant with his child as a result of Kevin: A Roly-Poly Flying Pony Adventure (Legend of Kevin 1) by Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntyre]]==the one night they spent together some three months ago. Her condition will be obvious before long, not least because Ruth is prone to sudden bouts of sickness.}}{{Frontpage|isbn=0008551324 [[image:4star.jpg|linktitle=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Confident ReadersThe Devil You Know (D S Max Craigie)|Confident Readers]]author=Neil Lancaster|rating=4.5Meet Kevin. He|genre=Crime|summary=It's a flying pony, unusual for anyone from the Hardie family to approach the police. Neither side likes or has any respect for the other. But Davie Hardie is struggling in prison and he's a little on prepared to tell the plump sidepolice where the body of a missing person is buried and who was responsible for her death. He loves biscuits too much is why This person, but he's happily living in the middle of nowherepromises, in is someone big and it will be worth the wild, wet hills of the Outermost Westpolice doing what he wants. Now meet Max. He's a simple human being, not flying anywhere, and wishing for a pet And what he wants is to be transferred to an open prison to share serve the remainder of his time in his top-floor flat withsentence and to get an early parole date. Not much to ask, something his Byronically goth sister and parents donis it? The new Deputy Police Constable doesn't agree with. One night, however, the wild think so and wet hills are wilder and wetter than usual, and an enormous storm blows Kevin out of his nest, and on she's even prepared to do the balcony outside other thing that Hardie demanded - make certain that DS MaxCraigie and anyone who works with him is kept well away from what's windowhappening. The two are bound to become friends, but they might not be able to relax just yet, for }}{{Frontpage|isbn=0008405026|title=A Stranger in the bad weather has not finished… [[The Legend of Kevin: A Roly-Poly Flying Pony Adventure (Legend of Kevin 1) by Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntyreFamily (Maeve Kerrigan 11)|Full Review]]author=Jane Casey <!-- Elizabeth Haynes --> |rating=5|-genre=Crime| stylesummary="width: 10%; verticalIt's sixteen years since nine-align: top; textyear-align: center;"|[[image:191240804Xold Rosalie Marshall disappeared from her bed one summer night.jpg|link=http://www She was never found and the investigation ground to a halt.amazon.co.uk/dp Now, her mother, Helena, and her father are dead in their bed. Initially, it looks like a straightforward murder/191240804X/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="verticalsuicide but there's something about the positioning of the bodies that makes DS Maeve Kerrigan and her boss DI Josh Derwent suspicious. What looked as though it was going to be an open-align: top; textand-align: left;"|shut case is now a complex double murder. Kerrigan is convinced that the explanation lies in Rosalie's disappearance: others (such as Derwent's boss, Una Burt) are less convinced.}}{{Frontpage|isbn=0571379877|title=The Kellerby Code|author=[[The Murder of Harriet Monkton by Elizabeth Haynes]]Jonny Sweet|rating=3.5|genre==Crime[[image:5star.jpg|linksummary=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime (Historical)|Crime (Historical)]]Edward Jevons is a working-class young man, obsessed with his upper-class friends, [[:Category:True Crime|True Crime]] ''But that's just it'', she saidRobert and Stanza. ''ItRobert's ''not'' Harriet, is it? Not our Harrieta theatre director. ItHe's some manufactured creaturealso self-obsessed, that exists only for this blessed inquest: something to be summed up like a spiritdemanding, to be examined handsome and entitled and pored over, uses Edward to be sneered at and judgedrun errands for him. Harriet deserves to be remembered as she was Edward has been in love with Stanza since their university days - and he's drunkenly confided how he feels to us, not picked at like carrionRobert. Most men in Robert'' And s position would stay away from Stanza or tell Edward that was a relationship had begun between them but he's not like most men: Edward is left to stumble upon the problem: it seemed that there were two Harrietsof them kissing in a dark passageway. There was the one her friends - }}{{Frontpage|author=Jo Callaghan|title=Leave No Trace|rating=4|genre=Crime|summary=When a man is found crucified on the top of a fellow teacherhill in Nuneaton, her would-be loverDCS Kat Frank finds herself assigned to the case alongside her sidekick, her seducer and the man who was her landlord who was also her lover - knewAI detective Lock. Some spoke of her as kindlyIt's their first live case together, virtuous and pious, but that was before her having previously been very successful with several cold cases. But when there is a second body was found behind the chapel which she regularly attended in Bromley. She'd been poisoned - or had taken her own lifecrucified a few days later, Kat is suddenly struggling with a potential serial killer and a very high profile case that draws a lot of unwanted attention to their AI Future Policing project. After Will they be able to solve the inquest was opened another Harriet would emergecase in time, one who was about six months pregnant or will Kat find herself taken off the case and who had obviously not been living the chaste life expected , potentially, out of a young, unmarried woman in 1843. [[The Murder of Harriet Monkton by Elizabeth Haynescareer?|Full Review]]isbn=139851120X}}<!-- Vallance -->{{Frontpage|-isbn=1399613073| styletitle="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"Moral Injuries|author=Christie Watson[[image:1848126603|rating=4.jpg5|linkgenre=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1848126603/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] Thrillers| stylesummary="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[You Only Live Once by Jess Vallance]]=== [[image:4starOlivia, Laura and Anjali met on the first day of medical school and their friendship would keep them inseparable for a quarter of a century.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Teens|Teens]] Gracie Dart Olivia is ruthlessly ambitious, which is a bonus when you aim to be a cardiothoracic surgeon. Laura is a studious, responsible student with perfectionist and a colour coded timetable and French verbs covering her wallstrauma doctor. She's hardworking Anjali is the free spirit of the group and smart but once her final school exams are over, Gracie has she becomes a revelationGP. After she mistakenly thinks she When we first meet them they're at a drug and alcohol-fuelled party and it's contracted a fatal illness (the perils of looking up symptoms on the internet) Gracie decides going to start living her lifeend in tragedy. Her studies are finished for the summer so Gracie wants to say yes to every opportunity that comes her way, and just like her meticulous study timetable, Gracie Dart doesn We don't do anything by half measuresknow who suffered the tragedy or the consequences. [[You Only Live Once by Jess Vallance|Full Review]] <! Twenty-- Bennett -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"five years later there will be an eerily similar event that will impact the three friends. This time, it's their teenage children who are involved.}}{{Frontpage|isbn=0241636604[[image:1786487861.jpg|linktitle=httpThe Trading Game://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1786487861/refA Confession|author=nosim?tagGary Stevenson|rating=thebookbag-21]] 4.5| stylegenre="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"Autobiography|summary===[[Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett]]=== [[If you were to bring up an image:5starof a city banker in your mind, you're unlikely to think of someone like Gary Stevenson.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Fantasy|Fantasy]] Sancia Grado A hoodie and jeans replaces the pin-stripe suit and his background is just about to pull off the biggest heist of her fugitive life for more money than she has ever seen before in all her gruelling years East End, where he was familiar with violence, poverty and injustice. There was no posh public school on Tevanne's streets. The job: steal a small wooden box from a safe deep inside the Waterwatchhis CV -patrolled harbour and deliver it untouched but he had been to the clientLondon School of Economics. Fearless and quick, she Stevenson is the best thief Foundryside has to offer bright - extremely bright - and he has never interfered a facility with jobs before. Yet once she has the box in her possession, she numbers which most of us can't shake the uneasy apprehensive feeling of what lies withinonly envy. For Sancia is no ordinary thief He also realised that most rich people expect poor people to be stupid. It was his ability at what was, essentially, a card game which got him an internship with the magical ability to scrive and understand everything she touches sheCitibank. Eventually, this turned into permanent employment as a trader.}}{{Frontpage|isbn=1035021803|title=The Antique Hunter's about Guide to discover a secret that will sent her fleeing for her life, unearthing myths that are it transpires more truth than fairy-taleMurder|author=C L Miller|rating=3. Working against the clock, Sancia will work to save her world and prevent a descent into destruction. [[Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett5|Full Review]]genre=Crime <!-- Stone -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1789014921|summary=It's twenty years since Freya Lockwood has been back to the English country village where she grew up.jpg|link=http://www She's back now because of a request for help from her beloved aunt, Carole.amazon.co.uk/dp/1789014921/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align Freya's former mentor and Carole's close friend, Arthur Crockleford, is dead and the circumstances seem suspicious, to say the least. Arthur was the reason why Freya had not been back to the village: top; text-align: left;"| ===[[What's Left Unsaid by Deborah Stone]]=== [[image:4starArthur, she feels, let her down badly.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:General Fiction|General Fiction]]  Sasha Even though they were in business together as antique hunters, she has a lot on her platenot felt able to be near the man or pursue the profession she loved. Husband Jeremy is distant and absent and After the marriage needs work. Son Zac is entering split, she worked in a rebellious adolescent phase cafe, met and it's hard to know how to redirect him. Mother Annie, an alcoholic, is beginning the journey into dementia and has never been an easy person at the best married James (on the rebound from the love of times. Thank heavens for her lovely dog, Sebastianlife, who was murdered) and Freya and his unconditional loveJames have now divorced. [[What's Left Unsaid by Deborah Stone|Full Review]] <!-- Marion Leigh -->}}{{Frontpage|-isbn=AllTomorrowsFutureCover| styletitle="widthAll Tomorrow's Futures: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|Fictions that Disrupt[[image:1789014190.jpg|linkauthor=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1789014190/refBenjamin Greenaway and Stephen Oram (Editors)|rating=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] 5| stylegenre="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"Science Fiction|summary===[[A Holiday ''Opening up new ways of thinking about the shape of things to Die For by Marion Leigh]]=== [[image:4starcome.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Thrillers|Thrillers]] It was the holiday of a lifetime: Petra Minx was accompanying her childhood friend, Carlo, to his cousin's wedding in South Africa and taking the opportunity to see as much of the country as she could whilst she was there. Petra works for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Carlo is from Interpol, so they're hoping for a holiday free from crime, although Carlo does seem to have rather more interest in diamond smuggling than the average tourist and Petra's boss doesn't seem to appreciate that she's on vacation. It's not asking much for her to track down a young girl who's the daughter of an influential friend and check that she's OK, is it? Then there are Megan and Hilary: they're on a gap year, but Petra can't help but think that they're getting themselves into dangers they don't understand. Still, it's not going to spoil a wedding in a vineyard, is it? The bride does seem strangely uninvolved in the proceedings, though... [[A Holiday to Die For by Marion Leigh|Full Review]] <!-- Ellis -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1789014204.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1789014204/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"| ===[[The Place Where Love Should Be by Elizabeth Ellis]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:General Fiction|General Fiction]]  ''Edward is six weeks old and I’ve had no sleep. I had thirty stitches in my perineum, the wounds still tug and itch. They had to do the stitches twice because the first lot became infected. The old-school midwife told me I wasn’t paying enough attention to personal hygiene. I must shower twice a day, or better still, take a salt bath. Do they really expect me to do that? Have they ever tried to shower when a baby is crying and you’re so tired you can barely stand and your partner is banging around downstairs because he’s late for work again?'' I think most women have felt like this shortly after having a baby. Many of them simply managed to put one foot in front of the other until things calmed down but some will have found it harder and developed post-natal depression[[The Place Where Love Should Be by Elizabeth Ellis|Full Review]] <!-- Stein -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1912624044.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1912624044/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Unrest by Jesper Stein]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|Crime]], [[:Category:Thrillers|Thrillers]] DCI Steen is assigned a puzzling case – the tortured body of a man found in a cemetery in Copenhagen but left there during a riot – a riot that had the area swarming in police. How could anyone have been murdered and left in the open with so many police on site? Unless the killer is one of them… As the case becomes more and more complicated, it soon begins to take a toll on Steen's already troubled personal life. He won't stop until the killer is caught, whatever the consequences. But the consequences may turn out to be greater than expected – especially for Axel himself… [[Unrest by Jesper Stein|Full Review]] <!-- Watson -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:0993454682.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0993454682/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Rockstar Retirement Programme: How to retire like a rockstar by Dominic Watson]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Lifestyle|Lifestyle]] Even with a birthday fast approaching, I'm still a bit young to be reading about retirement. My next life change in the pipeline will be a big one, and it does involve leaving the 9 to 5 behind for a yacht and the silky blue waters of the Caribbean, but only for a year, and then I will be back, tanned and refreshed but barely 40 and with many working years still to come. Also, I like work. My job is interesting, I get to travel, what we do matters and it's not badly rewarded. So no, I'm not planning to retire just yet. But as the premise of this book is about planning (and if not now, then when?) I was still intrigued. [[Rockstar Retirement Programme: How to retire like a rockstar by Dominic Watson|Full Review]] <!-- Lynda La Plante -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1785764667.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1785764667/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Murder Mile (Jane Tennison 4) by Lynda La Plante]]=== [[image:3.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|Crime]] It was February 1979 in the strike-ridden 'Winter of Discontent' when a body was discovered in Peckham. It was to be the first of two bodies in two days, but the first - that of a young woman - would remain unidentified for some time. The second - an older lady - was found in the boot of her car by her son. Jane Tennison has been promoted to Sergeant and finds herself in the midst of an investigation hindered by press articles about police incompetence and pressure to get a quick result. Four days later and another body to add to the count, the police have named their suspect, but Tennison has her doubts. [[Murder Mile (Jane Tennison 4) by Lynda La Plante|Full Review]] <!-- Val McDermid -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:140870935X.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/140870935X/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Broken Ground by Val McDermid]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|Crime]] As the Officer in Charge of the Historic Cases Unit, DCI Karen Pirie rarely finds herself at the scene of the crime, but for once, she's in the right place at the right time when a body is dug up in the Highlands. Initially it looks as though the death dates back to WWII, but the fact that the dead man is wearing a pair of Nikes means that the case is Karen's. A little while later she'd come to think that she'd been in the wrong place at the wrong time when she overheard a conversation in a cafe. Intervening, she thought that she'd prevented a crime, but what she said would come back to haunt her. [[Broken Ground by Val McDermid|Full Review]] <!-- LaPlante -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1785659626.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1785659626/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Half Moon Bay by Alice LaPlante]]=== [[image:3.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|Crime]], [[:Category:Thrillers|Thrillers]] Half Moon Bay is a small town on the west coast of America, a little down from San Francisco. Jane has just moved there, to start a new life after losing everything when her teenage daughter was killed and her husband left her. Although she has begun to find a little peace in the quiet, seaside town, one day a child goes missing, bringing back painful memories for Jane of her grief and loss and, also, rousing the suspicions of the local townsfolk that she is somehow involved in the disappearance. [[Half Moon Bay by Alice LaPlante|Full Review]] <!-- Hunt -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:B079RJSJS7.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B079RJSJS7/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"| ===[[Phantom by Leo Hunt]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Teens|Teens]]  Sixteen-year-old Nova is an undercity dweller and a leecher - a futuristic kind of pickpocket who uses tech hacks to steal byts from hapless corps workers. The higher up in the city you live, the more sunlight you see and the easier your life. For leechers like Nova, four hundred storeys below the surface, life is tough. But with the help of the hacking program Phantom, invented by legendary anti-corps hacker the Moth, Nova can sneak up to the city, leech some byts and at least make rent. v[[Phantom by Leo Hunt|Full Review]] <!-- Claire Askew -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:147367302X.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/147367302X/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[All the Hidden Truths (Three Rivers) by Claire Askew]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|Crime]] As a news item, school shootings always terrify me: the deaths are bad enough, but even the young people who survive are always going to be scarred by the fact that this was done to them by one of their number. It doesn't end on the day, either. School shootings cast a very long shadow. May the 14th had the makings of being a normal day until Ryan Summers used three modified starting pistols to shoot thirteen fellow students - and one last bullet to kill himself. We follow the story through the lives of three women: Moira Summers, the mother of the murderer, Helen Birch, the newly-promoted detective inspector who will investigate the killings and Ishbel Hodgekiss, the mother of one of the victims. [[All the Hidden Truths (Three Rivers) by Claire Askew|Full Review]] <!-- Aaron -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1683690613.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1683690613/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Garrison Girl (Attack on Titan) by Rachel Aaron]]=== [[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Dystopian Fiction|Dystopian Fiction]] ''You want me to be like everyone else and spend my life hiding inside the walls where it's safe, but that's an illusion. So long as there are titans out there… no one is safe'' In the dystopian world of Attack on Titan, humanity hides behind the safety of high impenetrable walls to keep out the enemies outside. Known as titans, these enemies are impossibly tall human like creatures, with sharp hungry teeth and regenerative powers. Difficult to kill and innumerable they roam the Earth looking for prey, and whilst the walls have always kept them out, that has begun to change… [[Garrison Girl (Attack on Titan) by Rachel Aaron|Full Review]]  <!-- Bennett -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1471407535.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1471407535/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Island by M A Bennett]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Teens|Teens]], [[:Category:General Fiction|General Fiction]] A contemporary take on the savage classic ''Lord of the Flies'': a group of mismatched, modern-day teenagers must fight to survive on a deserted island. Link is a fish out of water. Newly arrived from America, he is finding it hard to settle into the venerable and prestigious Osney School. Who knew there could be so many strange traditions to understand? And what kind of school ranks its students by how fast they can run round the school quad - however ancient that quad may be? When Link runs the slowest time in years, he immediately becomes the butt of every school joke. And some students are determined to make his life more miserable than others... [[The Island by M A Bennett|Full Review]] <!-- Ruffles -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1444937685.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1444937685/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]'

I've heard it said that 'technology' is what happens after you're eighteen. Well, I must confess that there have been more than a few decades of technology in my lifetime. I've kept up reasonably well with what's advantageous to me but I'm left with the feeling that it's all getting away from me. Some of it is - frankly - quite frightening. Of course, I could research the possibilities and the probabilities and end up down rabbit holes without really understanding whether I'm reading someone who knows what they're talking about or the latest conspiracy theorist. I needed people I knew I could trust and who could deliver information in a way I could understand.}}{{Frontpage|author=Sunny Singh|title=Hotel Arcadia|rating=3.5|genre=Thrillers | stylesummary="verticalThe Hotel Arcadia is a luxury hotel in an unnamed city that has suddenly been violently taken over by a terrorist group. Hiding from the terrorists who are rampaging through, killing everyone on site, there is Sam, a wartime photographer and Abhi, the hotel manager. As Abhi continues to try to care remotely for the residents who are still alive in the hotel, he forms a bond with Sam who refuses to be cowed by events, and keeps on venturing out of her room to try to capture what's happened through her photography. Although they only ever talk over the phone, their friendship grows as Abhi tries to help her keep safe and they both wait to see if they will be rescued before they are discovered by the terrorists.|isbn=086154742X}}{{Frontpage|isbn=1529153298|title=The List of Suspicious Things|author=Jennie Godfrey|rating=5|genre=General Fiction|summary=It's 1979 and Margaret Thatcher is Prime Minister. (A woman? I mean, honestly...) She's not what's worrying Miv's family, though. Women have been disappearing. Well, they've been murdered, but to have 'disappeared' doesn't sound quite so frightening. Miv's upset because she's overheard that her father wants to move the family 'Down South'. When you're from Yorkshire, Down South is a frightening, foreign place, best avoided. For Miv, the move would mean leaving her best friend, Sharon, and she'll do anything to prevent that. She's not worried about the dangers or that her Mum's stopped talking -align: top; textto anyone.}}{{Frontpage|isbn=1398524085|title=Has Anyone Seen Charlotte Salter?|author=Nicci French|rating=5|genre=Crime|summary=Charlotte Salter was expected at her husband's fiftieth birthday party but never turned up. Her children, sons Niall, Paul and Ollie and her daughter, Etty. are all worried but - strangely -align: left;"her husband, Alec, is not. Shortly afterwards, Etty and Greg, find the body of Greg's father, Duncan Ackerley, in the river. It was an easy assumption for the police to make that Duncan had murdered Charlie and then committed suicide when he couldn't stand the guilt. The Salter children are not convinced but there's little else they can do but get on with their lives and wonder about what really happened.}}{{Frontpage|isbn=1035906708|title=Diva|author=Daisy Goodwin|rating=4.5|genre=General Fiction|summary=[[Colour Me In We tend to think of Maria Callas as Greek, but she was born to Greek parents in Manhattan, New York, in December 1923 and only moved to Athens when she was thirteen. Her original surname was Kalogeropoulos but her father changed it to 'Callas' to make it more manageable in the States. When she was back in Athens - supposedly so that she could get appropriate training for her voice - she was raised under the Nazi occupation by Lydia Ruffles]]a mother who mercilessly exploited her and made no secret of her preference for her elder sister, Jackie.}}{{Frontpage|author=Christopher Edge|title=Black Hole Cinema Club|rating=4|genre=Confident Readers|summary=Lucas and his friends are all booked in for a movie marathon at their local cinema, a place that has the nickname of 'The Black Hole'. All big movie fans, they're looking forward to lots of exciting films, and many, many snacks! However, as the movie starts, they very quickly realise that something about this new film format is very different, and they are swept up into an adventure they couldn't even imagine. But as they lurch from one film genre to the next, can they figure out what on earth is going on? Will they ever get back to the cinema, and to their real lives?|isbn=1839942738}}{{Frontpage|author=Rachel Greenlaw|title=Compass and Blade|rating=3.5|genre=Teens|summary=''I can hear the song of the sea. The call of the deep, the answering beat in my heart.''

[[image:4starRosevear, a remote and partially forgotten island, survives on luring ships into the rocks and plundering the wrecks.jpgMira, like her mother before her, is one of the seven who swim out to survey the ruins – rescuing any survivors and any treasure that lies within. But when the Council Watch lays a trap to end the wrecking, they capture the island's leader and Mira's father. Desperate to save him from death, Mira makes a bargain with a wreck survivor who is as charming as he is secretive and with only coordinates to guide her, she sets off in search of a family secret that lies buried deep in the sea. With only nine days to unearth what might save her father, as her journey takes her from the watched streets of foreign islands to the heart of the smuggler's territory, Mira must be determined to stop at nothing to save the future of her home and the ones she holds most dear.|linkisbn=Category:0008664730}}{{Frontpage|author=James Sherwood Metts|title=Planet Storyland|rating=4.5|genre=Confident Readers|summary= Things have been a bit sticky for the Earthlings. AI and automation have been proceeding apace, often replacing jobs they're paid to do and other tasks that took time to accomplish. Just as they were beginning to get used to all this technological change and starting to think of other, new ways to spend time, along came an awful pandemic. Life was pretty much shut down and, along with it, all the many daily social interactions on which they depend so heavily.|isbn=1736128426}}{{Frontpage|author=Matthew Tree|title=We'll Never Know|rating=4.5|genre=Literary Fiction|summary= Timothy Wyndham wants nothing more than to be different from his father, a drunk and chronic underachiever whose dreams of being exceptional at any of his artistic passions all failed miserably and who had endless crises of self confidence. So Tim applied himself to his studies, cultivated his abilities rather than his daydreams and set himself high but achievable ambitions.|isbn= B0CVFXPGP8}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Teens{{Frontpage|author=A G Slatter|title=The Briar Book of the Dead|rating=5|genre=Fantasy|Teens]]summary='' There's a part of me that wants to keep this just to myself for however long I can. This secret magic of my own, all mine, at last. I just want to enjoy it for a while.''

Within a remote mountain pass, far away from the world, lies Silverton; a town under the protection of the Briar's, a family of witches who protect the town and the wider world from the Darklands. Though she has always wished for magic, Ellie Briar is the first non-witch to be born into her family for generations and as such since she was young, her training as a steward revolved around letters and administration rather than spells and potions. When her grandmother suddenly dies, Ellie's cousin Audra becomes the Briar Witch, the town's leader, and Ellie takes her place beside her. As challenges come her way left, right and centre, Ellie uncovers the rare ability to communicate with the dead, putting her at the heart of a maelstrom of chaos. Reeling from one family secret to another, Ellie must decide who to trust and determine what to do as the Briar witches' legacy, everything they have sacrificed to survive, is under threat.|isbn=1803364548}}{{Frontpage|isbn=1529900360|title=The Ghost Orchid|author=Jonathan Kellerman|rating=4|genre=Crime|summary=It hadn't been Lt Milo Sturgis's fault that Alex Delaware had been badly injured but he felt responsible and even after Alex recovered, Sturgis was reluctant to ask for his help on difficult cases. His assertions that there were only open-and-shut cases which didn't need the help of a psychologist only worked for a while. Finally, it was Robin, Delaware's partner, who nudged Milo into asking for help again. She knew that the involvement was something that the man she loved needed. The next case did look simple, though. Two lovers were murdered in the swimming pool of a remote property in Bel Air. He was the heir to an Italian shoe empire and she is married to an extremely rich man and it's not the Italian. But which of them was the primary target?}}{{Frontpage|isbn=1529395224|title=Letting the Cat Out of the Bag: The Secret Life of a Vet|author=Sion Rowlands|rating=3.5|genre=Animals and Wildlife|summary=Siôn Rowlands fell into veterinary science accidentally. His father was a GP and Rowlands didn't want to follow in his footsteps, particularly when he considered the strain that being on-call put on his father's life. When he was seventeen he took the opportunity of doing work experience with a family friend who was a vet and was convinced this was the job for him. Before long, he was at Liverpool University. It hadn't - as with so many students - been his dream since he was a child. If anything, he'd wanted to be a professional footballer.}}{{Frontpage|isbn=0861541774|title=A Nye of Pheasants|author=Steve Burrows|rating=4|genre=Crime|summary=DCI Domenic Jejeune's close friend and former colleague, Danny Maik, has taken a short holiday in Singapore to meet up with an old ally, Guy Trueman. Maik was involved in a street brawl - he would later maintain that he was facing a man armed with a knife - and he killed a Ghurka. Initially, he faced a charge of manslaughter but evidence came to light that suggested that he might have planned to murder the man. Now he could be facing the death penalty. Domenic Jejeune can do nothing to help as any interference from another police force could provoke a diplomatic incident and wouldn't help Danny at all.}}{{Frontpage|author=Alexander McCall Smith|title=The Perfect Passion Company|rating=4.5|genre=General Fiction|summary=The Perfect Passion Company is a tragedy dating agency in Edinburgh, run by Ness and unable operating as an alternative to copeall the online apps in providing a more personal, unemployed actor Arlo decides tailored service. Ness has asked her younger cousin Katie if she could come and look after the business, as Ness is planning to take a trip to Canada to get on away for a while. Katie is coming out of a break up with a plane bad boyfriend, and go somewhere so jumps at the chance to come home to Edinburgh. And so begins this newstory from Alexander McCall Smith, bringing us to an Edinburgh we already love, thanks to 44 Scotland Street and the Isabel Dalhousie novels, but with some new characters who quickly begin to charm. [[Colour Me In Katie has no experience in running a business, or in match-making, but Ness has full confidence in her abilities, and there's always her very helpful (and rather handsome) neighbour, William, to lend a hand…|isbn=1846976596}}{{Frontpage|isbn=0811771741|title=InstaKnits for Baby|author=Melissa Leapman|rating=4|genre=Crafts|summary=Melissa Leapman's ''InstaKnits for Baby'' gives us a collection of knits from toys to blankets. Some will be quick knits - others are of the 'long, cosy afternoons in front of the fire' variety. The projects are divided by Lydia Rufflesthe time they'll take to complete - less than five hours, five to ten hours, ten to twenty hours and more than twenty hours. All the projects are attractive, modern and useable. I perhaps show my age when I wonder about 'social-media-worthy projects' but that's me being picky.}}{{Frontpage|author=Dean Koontz|title=The Bad Weather Friend|rating=4.5|genre=Paranormal|summary=Benny is having a terrifically bad day. He loses his job, he loses his fiancee, and his house gets trashed. Oh, and someone has delivered a really weird, disturbing coffin-sized object to his home, and it's possible that whoever or whatever was inside is the thing that has trashed his house! The thing is, Benny is the very last person to deserve all this bad luck. He is a nice person. A really nice person. So fortunately for Benny it turns out that the delivery to his house is a new friend, a bad weather friend called Spike, who has been sent to help him since Benny is clearly under attack from nefarious forces for being a good person. Spike is going to take care of Benny, and will certainly take care of Benny's enemies, if he, Benny, and Harper (a waitress slash Private Investigator who finds herself roped into Benny's wild adventure) can figure out who exactly they are.|Full Review]]isbn=1662500491}}{{Frontpage|author=Adam Stower|title=Murray and Bun|rating=4.5|genre=Confident Readers |summary=Murray is supposed to be a humble, tidy and friendly cat, one who is able to sleep and eat and eat and sleep and, well, whatever takes his fancy next of the two. But he's a bad magician's cat, so his favourite bun has been turned into a hyperactive sticky rabbit called Bun, and the catflap they both use can chuck them out, not into the regular back garden, but into a world of frightening adventure and whiffs. This time round it drops them into a Viking land, where a troll hunter is expected – well, one much bigger than Murray was, to be honest, but he's turned up and he'll have to do…|isbn=0008561249}}{{Frontpage|isbn=B0C47LV1PC|title=Fragility|author=Mosby Woods|rating=4|genre=Literary Fiction|summary= Can you make a ''Yo birthing person'' joke? And if you could, is the question should you make it? Or is the question if you did, would it land? The catch is that the answer for both could well be.... no.

<!-- DO NOT REMOVE ANYTHING BELOW THIS LINE -->''Fragility'' is set as the city of Portland, Oregon, cautiously begins to emerge from the restrictions imposed during the covid pandemic}}{{Frontpage|isbn=1529431735|title=The Winter Visitor|author=James Henry|rating=4|genre=Crime|}summary=It's February 1991 and Essex is bitingly cold, which made Bruce Hopkins' return all the more surprising. He'd been exiled on the Costa del Sol as a wanted drug smuggler for a decade. The return has come about because he's had a letter from his ex-wife, saying that she's ill and hasn't long to live. It's hard to feel any sympathy when Hopkins is abducted, stripped to his underwear and sent to a watery grave in the boot of a stolen Ford Sierra. Is it a warning from a Spanish gang or a problem closer to home?