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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<!-- Wooding -->|title=The Wrong Shoes|-rating=5| stylegenre="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|Confident Readers[[image:147321484X.jpg|linksummary=http://wwwWill's life is difficult, in a multitude of ways.amazon.co.uk/dp/147321484X/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Ember Blade by Chris Wooding]]=== [[image:5star 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 even the most basic of things like food, and his 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:Fantasy|Fantasy]] A land under occupation. A legendary sword. A young man Throw into that mix the fact that his mum and dad are separated, and Will's journey to find his destinylife seems bleak in every direction. Aren And yet, he still has lived by the rules all his lifea tiny amount of hope. He's never questioned it; that's just is good at art, and clings to the way things are. But then his father moments of joy when he is executed for treasondrawing, and he and his best friend Cade are thrown into that feel like a light at the end of a prison minelong, doomed to work until they dropdark tunnel. Unless they can somehow break free . . But what lies beyond |isbn=1398527122}}{{Frontpage|author=Sylvie Cathrall|title=A Letter to the prison walls is more terrifying still. Rescued by a man who hates him yet is oath-bound Luminous Deep|rating=5|genre=Science Fiction|summary= There are few greater joys than a book which lives up to protect him, pursued by inhuman forces, Aren slowly accepts that everything he knew about his world was a liecompelling premise. The rules are not there to protect him, or his people, but to enslave And this is one of them. A revolution is brewing, and Aren is being drawn into it, whether he likes it or not. The key to the revolution is the Ember Blade. The sword of kings, the Excalibur of his people. Only with the Ember Blade |isbn= 0356522776}}{{Frontpage|isbn=0008517061|title=Death in hand can their people be inspired to rise up a Lonely Place|author=Stig Abell|rating=4|genre=Crime|summary= Former Metropolitan Police detective, Jake Johnson, has settled into his rustic life at Little Sky. . . but it's locked in an impenetrable vault in There’s perhaps a little uncertainty about the most heavily guarded fortress future of his life with his vet girlfriend, Livia and her daughter Diana, as moving in the land. All they have together would mean a lot of compromise: does Jake give up his off-grid and relaxing life to do now move in with Livia or does Livia move to Little Sky despite her reservations about whether or not this is steal it... the future she wants for herself and her daughter? [[The Ember Blade by Chris Wooding|Full Review]]For the moment they’re enjoying life in the present and putting the future on the back burner.}}<!-- Felix Francis -->{{Frontpage|-isbn=1786482126| styletitle="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|The Janus Stone (Dr Ruth Galloway)[[image:1471173119.jpg|linkauthor=http://wwwElly Griffiths|rating=4.amazon.co.uk/dp/1471173119/ref5|genre=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] Crime| stylesummary="verticalBuilders were demolishing an old house in Norwich -align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Crisis by Felix Francis]]=== [[image:4the site was going to hold seventy-five 'luxury' apartments - when they discovered the bones of a child beneath a doorway.5star There was no skull.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Thrillers|Thrillers]] By training Harrison Foster is Was this a lawyerritual killing or murder? Inevitably, but heDr Ruth Galloway finds herself working with DCI Harry Nelson. It's working difficult as a crisis manager for a London firm. He was called to Newmarket after a fire in a stable killed six very valuable horses, including the Derby favourite. On the surface it looked like a simple fireRuth knows, but it wasnNelson doesn't long before Harrison discovered , that all was not she is pregnant with his child as it seemed, not least because there were human remains along with the charred bodies a result of the horsesone night they spent together some three months ago. As all the staff were accounted forHer condition will be obvious before long, who was the human victim? Harrison was completely new not least because Ruth is prone to the world sudden bouts of thoroughbred racing: in fact he knew little about horses and positively disliked themsickness. [[Crisis by Felix Francis|Full Review]]}}<!-- Thompson -->{{Frontpage|-isbn=0008551324| styletitle="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"The Devil You Know (D S Max Craigie)|author=Neil Lancaster[[image:0356511367|rating=4.jpg5|linkgenre=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0356511367/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  Crime| stylesummary="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Rosewater by Tade Thompson]]=== [[image:5starIt's unusual for anyone from the Hardie family to approach the police. Neither side likes or has any respect for the other.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Science Fiction|Science Fiction]] Rosewater is a town on But Davie Hardie is struggling in prison and he's prepared to tell the edge. A community formed around police where the edges body of a mysterious alien biodome, its residents comprise the hopeful, the hungry missing person is buried and the helpless - people eager who was responsible for a glimpse inside the dome or a taste of its rumoured healing powersher death. Kaaro This person, he promises, is a government agent with a criminal past. He has seen inside someone big and it will be worth the biodome, and doesn't care police doing what he wants. And what he wants is to again - but when something begins killing off others like himself, Kaaro must defy his masters be transferred to search for an answer, facing open prison to serve the remainder of his dark history sentence and coming to a realisation about a horrifying future. [[Rosewater by Tade Thompson|Full Review]] <!-- von Doviak -->|-get an early parole date. Not much to ask, is it? The new Deputy Police Constable doesn't think so and she's even prepared to do the other thing that Hardie demanded - make certain that DS Max Craigie and anyone who works with him is kept well away from what's happening.}}{{Frontpage| styleisbn="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"0008405026|title=A Stranger in the Family (Maeve Kerrigan 11)[[image:1785657178.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1785657178/refauthor=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] Jane Casey| stylerating="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"5|===[[Charlesgate Confidential by Scott Von Doviak]]==genre=Crime [[image:3star.jpg|linksummary=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|Crime]]It's sixteen years since nine-year-old Rosalie Marshall disappeared from her bed one summer night. She was never found and the investigation ground to a halt. Now, [[:Category:Crime (Historical)|Crime (Historical)]] In 1946 a gang of criminals pull off an audacious art heisther mother, Helena, making off with priceless works of art from a Boston Museumand her father are dead in their bed. These missing art works are never found. In 1988 Initially, it looks like a student finds himself caught up in straightforward murder/suicide but there's something about the mystery positioning of the missing art bodies that makes DS Maeve Kerrigan and hot on the trail of the multiher boss DI Josh Derwent suspicious. What looked as though it was going to be an open-millionand-dollar reward. In 2014, the art shut case is still missing and now dead bodies are turning up at the eponymous Charlesgate, filled with alumni celebrating their 25th reuniona complex double murder. As Kerrigan is convinced that the body count risesexplanation lies in Rosalie's disappearance: others (such as Derwent's boss, will we discover the truth behind the art theft decades earlier? [[Charlesgate Confidential by Scott Von Doviak|Full Review]]Una Burt) are less convinced.}}<!-- Minette Walters -->{{Frontpage|-isbn=0571379877| styletitle="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"The Kellerby Code|author=Jonny Sweet[[image:1760632163.jpg|linkrating=http://www3.amazon.co.uk/dp/1760632163/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] 5| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Turn of Midnight by Minette Walters]]==genre=Crime [[image:4star.jpg|linksummary=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Historical Fiction|Historical Fiction]] At the beginning of 1349 there is a glimmer of a hope that the ravages of the Black Death might be passing. Edward Jevons is a working-class young man, obsessed with his upper-class friends, Robert and Stanza. Robert's a theatre director. In Devilish in Dorset the population is well, because of Lady AnneHe's strict rules about quarantinealso self-obsessed, which are regarded as heresy as they go against the strict rules of the churchdemanding, but handsome and entitled and uses Edward to run errands for him. Edward has been in love with Stanza since their stores of food are dwindling university days - and they know that when they are exhausted they will have no choice but he's drunkenly confided how he feels to leaveRobert. What will they find on Most men in Robert's position would stay away from Stanza or tell Edward that a relationship had begun between them but he's not like most men: Edward is left to stumble upon the outside? Are they the only survivors? [[The Turn of Midnight by Minette Walters|Full Review]]two of them kissing in a dark passageway.}}<!-- Hendrix -->{{Frontpage|-author=Jo Callaghan| styletitle="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"Leave No Trace|[[image:1683690122.jpg|linkrating=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1683690122/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] 4| stylegenre="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"Crime|summary===[[We Sold Our Souls by Grady Hendrix]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Horror|Horror]]When a man is found crucified on the top of a hill in Nuneaton, DCS Kat Frank finds herself assigned to the case alongside her sidekick, [[:Category:Thrillers|Thrillers]] The night manager of the AI detective Lock. It's their first live case together, having previously been very successful with several cold cases. But when there is a second body found crucified a Best Westernfew days later, Kris Pulaski Kat is washed up suddenly struggling with a potential serial killer and unhappy. Few know of her past as guitarist a very high profile case that draws a lot of 90's Heavy Metal band Dürt Würk – a band once tipped for greatness, but destined unwanted attention to obscurity after lead singer Terry Hunt embarked on a solo career, rocketing their AI Future Policing project. Will they be able to stardom as ''Koffin''. When a shocking act of violence turns Kris's life upside down – she is forced to look back to a past she has tried to forget – solve the case in time, or will Kat find herself taken off the case and to , potentially, out of a deal Hunt made that may have sabotaged more than just the bandcareer?|isbn=139851120X}}{{Frontpage|isbn=1399613073|title=Moral Injuries|author=Christie Watson|rating=4. In a journey that will take Kris from a dusty hotel to a hellish music festival5|genre=Thrillers|summary=Olivia, she's determined to face the man who ruined her life. But with dark forces rising Laura and threatening everything Kris holds dear, will Kris be able to defeat the odds? Or will Hell truly be unleashed Anjali met on the Earth…? [[We Sold Our Souls by Grady Hendrix|Full Review]] <!-- Steve Burrows -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1786074389first day of medical school and their friendship would keep them inseparable for a quarter of a century.jpg|link=http://www Olivia is ruthlessly ambitious, which is a bonus when you aim to be a cardiothoracic surgeon.amazon Laura is a perfectionist and a trauma doctor.co Anjali is the free spirit of the group and she becomes a GP.uk/dp/1786074389/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag When we first meet them they're at a drug and alcohol-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[A Tiding of Magpies: A Birder Murder Mystery by Steve Burrows]]===fuelled party and it's going to end in tragedy. We don't know who suffered the tragedy or the consequences. Twenty-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[[image:3.5star.jpg|linkisbn=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[0241636604|title=The Trading Game:Category:CrimeA Confession|author=Gary Stevenson|Crime]]rating=4.5|genre=AutobiographyDCI Domenic Jejeune's most celebrated case was his rescue |summary=If you were to bring up an image of the Home Secretarya city banker in your mind, you's daughter when she was kidnappedre unlikely to think of someone like Gary Stevenson. It's always been A hoodie and jeans replaces the pin-stripe suit and his deep regret that background is the East End, where he failed to rescue the man who was kidnapped familiar with her violence, poverty and this has all resurfaced now that the case is being reviewedinjustice. LongThere was no posh public school on his CV -buried secrets are bound but he had been to come to light, even though the officer reviewing the case, DC Desdemona Gill, is a fan London School of his to the extent that it's almost embarrassingEconomics. The review isn't the only problem Stevenson is bright - extremely bright - and he has though: a body has been found on some waste ground, but it's so badly burned that identification is difficult - and made more difficult by the indecision facility with numbers which most of the Medical Examinerus can only envy. [[A Tiding of Magpies: A Birder Murder Mystery by Steve Burrows|Full Review]] <!-- Neil White -->|- 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 Citibank. Eventually, this turned into permanent employment as a trader.}}{{Frontpage| styleisbn="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|1035021803[[image:1785764608.jpg|linktitle=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1785764608/refThe Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder|author=nosim?tagC L Miller|rating=thebookbag-21]] 3.5| stylegenre="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"Crime|summary===[[The Darkness Around Her by Neil White]]=== [[image:4starIt's twenty years since Freya Lockwood has been back to the English country village where she grew up.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|Crime]] Lizzie Barnsley was escaping She's back now because of a request for help from her abusive boyfriend when she was murdered on the canal towpath on New Year's Evebeloved aunt, Carole. It obviously wasnFreya't the boyfriend as he was still being held by Lizzies former mentor and Carole's friends at close friend, Arthur Crockleford, is dead and the pubcircumstances seem suspicious, but before long Peter Box was arrested and chargedto say the least. He'd sought treatment at Arthur was the local hospital for an injury reason why Freya had not been back to his head which was the same shape as the heel of Lizzie's shoe - and village: Arthur, she feels, let her blood was on the shoedown badly. Dan Grant was called Even though they were in business together as antique hunters, she has not felt able to represent Box, but there's a problembe near the man or pursue the profession she loved. Box won't talk - won't talk to After the police or to Grantsplit, so how is he to represent she worked in a cafe, met and married James (on the rebound from the man? And had Box killed Lizzie? It love of her life, who was obvious that he hadn't known her - so why would he kill her? [[The Darkness Around Her by Neil White|Full Review]]murdered) and Freya and James have now divorced.}}<!-- Connors -->{{Frontpage|-isbn=AllTomorrowsFutureCover| styletitle="widthAll Tomorrow's Futures: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"Fictions that Disrupt|author=Benjamin Greenaway and Stephen Oram (Editors)[[image:1724588303.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1724588303/refrating=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] 5| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"| ===[[Blue Sky Black by John Connors]]==genre=Science Fiction [[image:4star.jpg|linksummary=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Teens|Teens]]  ''When Tom Allenby, ''Opening up new ways of thinking about the 14 year-old boy who can control the elements, sees metal objects and cars rising into the air one night he knows he is facing a powerful enemy. The trail leads shape of things to stolen magnetic stones, sinister experiments in an old country house and a village hiding a secret. As each of his friends faces challenges of their own, can Tom fight a force which knows all about them?'' Of course he can! [[ Blue Sky Black by John Connors |Full Review]] <!-- Melissa Leet -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1943826331.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1943826331/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Landslide by Melissa Leet]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:General Fiction|General Fiction]], [[:Category:Women's Fiction|Women's Fiction]] The area where Jill and Susie lived wasn't highly populated so it was fortunate that they became such good friends, despite the fact that Susie was a year older than Jill. Susie lived with her mother, an alcoholic, and Jill lived with ''her'' mother, who dedicated herself to her garden. Jill's father was Jay Tutle, the photographer, but he spent much of his time working away - often for months on end. In reality there was little difference between the two families: Mrs Smith's alcoholism caused serious illness whilst Susie was still young. Joy and tragedy would visit Jill's home. ''Landslide'' is the story of how what happened determined the course of Jill's life and how great tragedy can breed resilience and hope. [[Landslide by Melissa Leet|Full Review]] <!-- Pearse --> |-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:0718189248.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0718189248/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The House Across the Street by Lesley Pearse]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|Crime]], [[:Category:Thrillers|Thrillers]] Have you ever found yourself staring out the window slightly longer than needed to see what your neighbours are up to? This is a common occurrence for Katy Speed who regularly watches 'The House Across the Street' as a frequent stream of women are brought there in the same black hummer and seen leaving a short while later. Although slightly unusual, not much is said aside from your typical neighbourhood gossip, that is until Katy is woken up in the early hours one morning to find out that the same house has been burnt to the ground, along with the woman who lives there. This situation is made a whole lot worse for Katy when her father is arrested for starting the fire. What follows is an engrossing depiction of Katy's quest to prove her father's innocence whilst dealing with her unbearable mother and ultimately having the safety of many people's lives in her hands. [[The House Across the Street by Lesley Pearse|Full Review]] <!-- Maitland -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1472235878.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1472235878/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[A Gathering of Ghosts by Karen Maitland]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Paranormal|Paranormal]], [[:Category:Thrillers|Thrillers]], [[:Category:Historical Fiction|Historical Fiction]] Witchcraft, the supernatural and the will to survive at all costs collide in a story that never shies away from the darker side of human nature. The land is unhappy, the old spirits want revenge and famine is kindling a resurgence of the old faith. As fear rises, it is increasingly difficult for Prioress Johanne to ignore that something rotten has taken root. The sacred well is tainted, its healing waters run red with blood and strangers are blowing in on a wind of change. [[A Gathering of Ghosts by Karen Maitland|Full Review]] <!-- Sedgwick -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1788542304.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1788542304/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Monsters We Deserve by Marcus Sedgwick]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Teens|Teens]], [[:Category:Horror|Horror]] Two hundred years ago, bad weather, bad company (well, the kind that is also mad, and dangerous to know), a spooky reading list and a few chance topics of discussion all led a young woman to start writing her first, and definitely her most famous ever, book. The narrator of this novel has brought himself to a remote Alpine building, in the centre of that first novel's world, to revisit it in honour of its bicentenary. He hates it, for he sees it as badly written and with some unwelcome biases. He seems to only be there and doing this for the publisher to whom he addresses a lot of the script we read. But what if some greater force wanted him there too? [[The Monsters We Deserve by Marcus Sedgwick|Full Review]] <!-- Denzil Meyrick -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1846974127.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1846974127/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Relentless Tide (DCI Daley) by Denzil Meyrick]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|Crime]] The site was rumoured to have been the home of Viking warlord Somerled so the discovery by Professor Francombe and her team of archaeologists of the graves of three women initially caused great excitement, which rapidly turned to horror when they realised that the women had died just over twenty years ago. The graves would bring some closure though - these were the bodies of the three missing victims of the 'Midweek Murderer' who operated in Glasgow in the early to mid nineties. It was also an opportunity for DCI Jim Daley to confront a failure in his past. He'd been on the original case and the murderer had never been found. He'd also lost a close friend and made some enemies, one of whom would return to taunt him when Police Scotland's Cold Case Unit arrived on the scene. [[The Relentless Tide (DCI Daley) by Denzil Meyrick|Full Review]] <!-- Yuval Noah Harari -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1787330672.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1787330672/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari]]=== [[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Politics and Society|Politics and Society]] Yuval Noah HarariIf gave us ''Sapiens'', which told the history of mankind and then ''Homo Deus'' which looked at mankind's future. Now we have ''21 Lessons for the 21st Century'' which looks at the challenges we currently face and it's enlightening, thought-provoking and occasionally just a little bit frightening. It's unlikely that mankind will face what - eighty years ago - would have been thought of as a traditional war, with armies, navies and air forces fighting it out hand to hand. It's much more likely that the threats we'll face will be relatively new. Harari looks at them in some depth. [[21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari|Full Review]] <!-- Wilson -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1786496038.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1786496038/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Aftershocks by A N Wilson]]=== [[image:3.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Literary Fiction|Literary Fiction]], [[:Category:General Fiction|General Fiction]] In a country very much like New Zealand, but at the same time most avowedly not, two women will find love. Strong love too, for our narrator will say that her first attraction for her partner was the only thing to make sense of all those exaggerated songs she'd heard, and books and poems she'd read, and plays she'd acted in – works of art that had until then seemed sheer hyperbole. It was entirely unrequited love for quite some time, but it does burgeon, or so we're promised from the off, because of something quite drastic – a major earthquake very much like the one that hit Christchurch, but at the same time most avowedly not. This book then is the combined exploration of the lovers and the story of the quake. [[Aftershocks by A N Wilson|Full Review]] <!-- Torday -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1786540517.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1786540517/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Lost Magician by Piers Torday]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Confident Readers|Confident Readers]] In a world ravaged by the horrors of the Second World War, two boys and two girls move to the countryside to stay with a professor. They find a secret door and then a strange and enthralling world where they are needed, to play a major role in an epic battle. Sound familiar? [[The Lost Magician by Piers Torday|Full Review]] <!-- Bowden -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:B07FRH481F.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07FRH481F/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"| ===[[The Amber Maze by Christopher Bowden]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:General Fiction|General Fiction]]  Hugh Mullion goes away to Dorset for the weekend and, while waiting for his wife to arrive, finds a mysterious key down the back of an antique chair. The grubby and torn label to which is attached reads... [[The Amber Maze by Christopher Bowden|Full Review]] <!-- Pickles --> |-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1787112926.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1787112926/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Worzel goes for a Walk. Will you come too? by Catherine Pickles and Chantal Bourgonje]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:For Sharing|For Sharing]], [[: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 a rather frightened dog who had difficulty meeting people. He's a bit better now and something which he really enjoys is going for a walk. It's not just a case of attaching a lead and heading for your favourite spot - there are a lot of other things to think about firstcome. [[Worzel goes for a Walk. Will you come too? by Catherine Pickles and Chantal Bourgonje|Full Review]]  <!-- Kearsley -->|-| style=''width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;''|[[image:1492687863.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1492687863/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| styleauthor=Sunny Singh|title=Hotel Arcadia|rating=3.5|genre=Thrillers |summary=The 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 - to 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'verticals fiftieth birthday party but never turned up. Her children, sons Niall, Paul and Ollie and her daughter, Etty. are all worried but -align: top; textstrangely -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=[[Bellewether General Fiction|summary=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 Susanna Kearsley]]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:4Rosevear, a remote and partially forgotten island, survives on luring ships into the rocks and plundering the wrecks. Mira, 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.5starWith 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.jpg|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}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Thrillers{{Frontpage|author=Matthew Tree|title=We'll Never Know|rating=4.5|Thrillers]], [[:Category:Historical genre=Literary Fiction|Historical 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, [[:Category:Paranormalcultivated his abilities rather than his daydreams and set himself high but achievable ambitions.|Paranormal]]isbn= B0CVFXPGP8}}{{Frontpage|author=A G Slatter|title=The Briar Book of the Dead|rating=5|genre=Fantasy|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.''

Flitting between 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 present day 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 mid 16thcenturypotions. When her grandmother suddenly dies, Ellie''Bellewether'' tells s cousin Audra becomes the fascinating tale of Briar Witch, the Wilde House town's leader, and all its inhabitantsEllie takes her place beside her. In As challenges come her way left, right and centre, Ellie uncovers the rare ability to communicate with the present tense aspectsdead, putting her at the Wilde House is being turned into heart of a museum due 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 left by Captain Benjamin Wilde, 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 is told from 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 perspective help of Charleya 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 museum curatorman she loved needed. The next case did look simple, who 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 intrigued by 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 ghost who haunts Cat Out of the house Bag: The Secret Life of a Vet|author=Sion Rowlands|rating=3.5|genre=Animals and their story; Wildlife|summary=Siôn Rowlands fell into veterinary science accidentally. His father was a tale GP and Rowlands didn't want to follow in his footsteps, particularly when he considered the strain that ends in tragedy involving Benjamin Wildebeing on-call put on his father's sisterlife. 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, Lydiahe 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 French-Canadian lieutenantshort holiday in Singapore to meet up with an old ally, JeanGuy Trueman. Maik was involved in a street brawl -Philippe who he would later maintain that he was sent 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 live therehelp 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 perspective Perfect Passion Company|rating=4.5|genre=General Fiction|summary=The Perfect Passion Company is a dating agency in Edinburgh, run by Ness and operating as an alternative to all the online apps in providing a more personal, 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 away for a while. Katie is coming out of a break up with a bad boyfriend, and so jumps at the book is continuously shifted between Charleychance to come home to Edinburgh. And so begins this new story from Alexander McCall Smith, bringing us to an Edinburgh we already love, then Lydia thanks to 44 Scotland Street and Jeanthe Isabel Dalhousie novels, but with some new characters who quickly begin to charm. Katie has no experience in running a business, or in match-Philippemaking, 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 latter two tell projects are divided by the 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 truth projects are attractive, modern and useable. I perhaps show my age when I wonder about what '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 happening during inside is the thing that has trashed his house! The thing is, Benny is the very last person to deserve all this chaotic 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.|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 in historyround it drops them into a Viking land, just as Charley where a troll hunter is beginning expected – well, one much bigger than Murray was, to unravel 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 herselfland? The catch is that the answer for both could well be.... no. [[Bellewether by Susanna Kearsley|Full Review]]

<!-- 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?