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<metadesc>Book review site, with books from most walks of literary life; fiction, biography, crime, cookery and children's books plus author interviews and top tens.</metadesc>
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<metadesc>Expert, full book reviews from most walks of literary life; fiction, non-fiction, children's books & self-published books plus author interviews & 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. We can even direct you to help for [https://www.easywritingservice.com/custom-book-review/ custom book reviews]! Visit [http://www.everychildareader.org www.everychildareader.org] to get free writing tips and
 
[http://www.genecaresearchreports.com www.genecaresearchreports.com] will help you get your paper written for free.
 
  
There are currently '''{{PAGESINCATEGORY:Reviews}}''' reviews at TheBookbag.
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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!
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There are currently '''{{PAGESINCATEGORY: Reviews}}''' [[:Category:Reviews|reviews]] at TheBookbag.
  
 
Want to find out more [[About Us|about us]]? __NOTOC__
 
Want to find out more [[About Us|about us]]? __NOTOC__
  
==Reviews of the Best New Books==
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==The Best New Books==
  
 
'''Read [[:Category:New Reviews|new reviews by category]]. '''<br>
 
'''Read [[:Category:New Reviews|new reviews by category]]. '''<br>
'''Read [[:Category:Features|the latest features]].'''<!-- Remove -->
 
  
{{newreview
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'''Read [[:Category:Features|the latest features]].'''
|author=Laura Lam
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|title=Masquerade (Micah Grey Trilogy)
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'''Read [[Forthcoming Publications|reviews of books about to be published]].
|rating=4
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{{Frontpage
|genre=Teens
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|isbn=1635866847
|summary= It's been a remarkable journey for our young protagonistIt wasn't long ago that Micah Grey was still living the life of Iphigenia Laurus, daughter of a noble family, trapped in a gilded cage forever hiding her true self. Since running away, Micah has managed to reinvent himself, first as a circus acrobat, and then as a magician's apprentice. Along the way he's discovered love and friendships that have helped keep him afloat, even as betrayal and tragedy seem ready to strike at every turn. But there's only so long he can keep running. His powers are growing, the Chimaera are returning, and Ellada is about to reach a violent tipping point.  
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|title=The Lavender Companion
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1509807780</amazonuk>
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|author=Jessica Dunham and Terry Barlin Vesci
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|rating=4.5
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|genre=Lifestyle
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|summary=It's strange, the things that make you ''immediately'' feel that this is the book for youBefore I started reading ''The Lavender Companion'', I visited the author's [https://www.pinelavenderfarm.com/ website] and there's a picture of a slice of chocolate cake on the homepage. I don't eat cakes and desserts - but I wanted that cake viscerally.  (There's a recipe in the book, which I'm avoiding with some difficulty!!) Then I started reading the book and I was told to make a mess of it. Notes in the margins are sanctioned.  You get to fold down the corners of pages.  You suspect that smears of butter would not be a problem.  I ''loved'' this book already.
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author= Amy Licence
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|author=Rob Keeley
|title= The Six Wives & Many Mistresses of Henry VIII: The Women's Stories
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|title=Childish Spirits: 10th anniversary special edition
|rating= 4.5
 
|genre= Biography
 
|summary= According to popular wisdom, Henry VIII had six wives and only two mistresses. The former statement is correct, but the latter only tells part of the story. Even while he was married to his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, there were many more ladies in his life.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1445660393</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Pascale Naessens
 
|title=Pure & Simple: A Natural Food Way of Life
 
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
|genre=Cookery
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|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=The idea of being able to eat what you want without putting on weight seems impossible. If you can do it without counting calories then it seems almost incredible, but that's what Pascale Naessens is offering us in ''Pure & Simple: A Natural Food Way of Life''.  There is, of course a catch to this, but it's just one simple rule: ''do not eat concentrated carbohydrates with concentrated protein in the same meal''. You can eat everything but not together.  It's the science of food combining presented in a very attractive hardback book, complete with recipes and excellent photography.
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|summary=Around here, we're big fans of children's author Rob Keeley. He's a ball of happy positivity, he understands children, and he writes for their pleasure and enjoyment, not to lecture or hector.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>141972617X</amazonuk>
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The ''Childish Spirits'' series is one of his greatest achievements. It's a sequence of ghost stories centring on Ellie, a stalwart young girl who can cope with anything the spirit world throws at her, and Edward, a spoiled lordling and the first spirit Ellie encounters
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|isbn= 1783064617
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author= Neil Gaiman and Divya Srinivasan
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|author=Jenny Valentine
|title=Cinnamon
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|title=Us in the Before and After
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
|genre=For Sharing
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|genre=Teens
|summary=First written in 1995, Cinnamon has hitherto existed as a short story on Neil Gaiman's website or as part of an audiobook collection. Now, it's out as a picture book for us all to share.
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|summary=Elk and Mab are best friends, or more than that even, their friendship is a once in a lifetime connection. They meet as children one day on a trip out but unfortunately they don't get each other's contact details at the time. But then chance brings them back together, and they are inseparable.  Something has happened though, something terrible and tragic, and now they must work through their grief, and their friendship, together.
The story follows Cinnamon, a princess in a small hot country, where everything is very old. Cinnamon was born with pearls for eyes. This means that she is very beautiful but also blind. And Cinnamon won't speak. Her parents, the rajah and rani, offer rich rewards for anyone who can persuade their daughter to talk. People come and go but nobody is successful. Until, one day, a tiger comes...
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|isbn=1471196585
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1408879239</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Ryder Windham
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|author=Kieran Larwood and Joe Todd-Stanton
|title=Star Wars: Return of the Jedi Junior Novel (Star Wars Junior Novel 3)
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|title=Dungeon Runners: Hero Trial
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Confident Readers
 
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=We open here with the Rebellion in disarray, and our heroes separated.  Obviously they need to rescue the ones imprisoned, liaise with the ones acting as secret agents, and get back to what they do bestFor the Empire are doing the same – they are building another Death Star – a new, bigger, quicker one without a piddly little hole in it that just happens to allow the goodies the chance to destroy it at the first attemptOh, and our main hero, Luke, still has the matter of who he should count as a family member to settle… Yes, this is the third film made in the ''Star Wars'' universe, in a handy form for the eager junior novelisation reader.
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|summary=Meet Kit.  Like most of the people in his world, it seems, he is an avid fan of Dungeon Running – the sport where a team of warrior, mage and healer enter specially prepared, century-old, magical mazes, and race to the exit, perhaps bothering with the treasure or the big bad and the points they grant you along the wayUnfortunately for Kit, the only thing he's seen of the latest race on the inn TV equivalent is that one team has been retired, eaten, and a new trio of questors is neededPossibly very unfortunately indeed for Kit, he has taken to the goading from the token bully of his world and stumbled into declaring he'll enter as a team. What chance does this friendless, muscle-free-zone have in actually managing that, and how could he possibly hope to succeed?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1405285443</amazonuk>
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|isbn=1839945184
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Alice Bowsher
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|author=Saima Mir
|title=Lift-the-Flap and Colour: Ocean
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|title=Vengeance
|rating=4
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|rating=3.5
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
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|genre=Thrillers
|summary=When you think about it, it's quite startling that oceans cover most of our planet and they're home to nearly half of all species, apart from humans.  We don't know a lot about the oceans either - less than 5% of the area has been explored, but it is an area of outstanding beauty. With Alice Bowsher's ''Lift-the-Flap and Colour: Ocean'' children as young as two have the opportunity to do a little exploration and to colour their own pictures.  The flaps are a stroke of genius: when we look at the sea we see little more than the movement of the water, but how different it would be if you could see a little of what is going on underneath.
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|summary= I was instantly intrigued by the premise of this novel – an organised crime syndicate in the north of England run by a Muslim woman. The fact that it was the second in a series I hadn't read didn't stop me – I've jumped midway into a few series before (on page and screen) and it needn't be a hindrance if it's good enough. And that wasn't a problem here. Vengeance swiftly brings you up to speed, and I never felt lost.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1847809294</amazonuk>
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|isbn=0861541561
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview <!-- remove 6/5 -->
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|author=Dr Mark Pearce
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{{Frontpage
|title=A Biblical Theology Behind Music, Praise, and Worship
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|author=Stuart Douglas
|rating=4
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|title=Lowe and Le Breton Mysteries - Death at the Dress Rehearsal
|genre=Spirituality and Religion
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|rating=3.5
|summary=Music used in religions and worship itself goes back to the beginning of humankindIn this book musician and theological academic [[:Category:Dr Mark Pearce|Dr Mark Pearce]] explores its Biblical history in a Christian context as well as providing tips and suggestions for those involved in worship in the present day.
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|genre=Crime
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1524677280</amazonuk>
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|summary=During location filming for his 1970's sitcom 'Floggit and Leggit', leading man Edward Lowe stumbles across the dead body of a woman on the edge of a reservoir.  The police seem happy to assign it as an accidental death, but something about the whole thing bothers Lowe, and he enlists the help of a fellow actor, John Le Breton to help him investigate matters furtherThey travel across the country during their days off filming, uncovering more possible murders and, seemingly, a link to death during the Second World War. But is there really a link between the deaths?  And will they manage to uncover who is responsible before more people lose their lives?
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|isbn=1803368209
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author= Julia Golding
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|isbn=B0CYV674G2
|title= The Diamond of Drury Lane
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|title=Swanton Morley (John Tanner)
|rating= 4
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|author=David Blake
|genre= Confident Readers
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|rating=3.5
|summary= Set in 18th Century London, this historical thriller captures all the rawness of life in the grimy city. A young girl, Cat, who was orphaned at birth, is taken under the wing of a kind benefactor, Mr Sheridan, who found her abandoned on the steps of his theatre. The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, is an exciting place to grow up, and Cat becomes a well-loved member of the staff behind the scenes. While running errands in the theatre, she dreams of being a famous writer herself one day. Before her dream is realised though, Cat has an important role to play in solving a mystery - the mystery of a diamond hidden in the Theatre Royal itself.
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|genre=Crime
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1405285303</amazonuk>
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|summary=It seemed like an open-and-shut case. A man, covered in mud and blood - and carrying a knife, comes into the police station shouting that he hasn't killed the man. A body at the bottom of a freshly dug grave at Swanton Morley church - he's been stabbed to death. DCI John Tanner is just back from his honeymoon, which coincided with the birth of his daughter Samantha. You would think he'd be grateful for an easy answer but the words 'perverse' and 'John Tanner' were made for each other. He's sleep-deprived to the point of falling asleep at work but he's determined to keep going - probably because he can't get any sleep at home.
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Gavin Scott
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|isbn=1787333175
|title=The Age of Olympus (Duncan Forrester Mystery 2)
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|title=You Don't Have to be Mad to Work Here
|rating=4
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|author=Benji Waterhouse
|genre=Crime (Historical)
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|rating=5
|summary=Whilst part of an SOE mission to kidnap a German commander in Greece during the war, Duncan Forrester came across an ancient Cretan stone, which he hoped could lead to the deciphering of Linear B.  The war is now officially over (although a lot of people are still fighting it, mentally if not physically) and Forrester has returned to Athens with his lover, Sophie Amfeldt-Laurvig, intent on getting the necessary permissions to go to Crete and retrieve the stoneIt was whilst they were in Athens that Forrester was the unwitting witness to the poisoning of a Greek poet and where he found himself pursued by a man wearing a mask.  Strange as all this might seem, Forrester is convinced that the poet was not the intended victim: it should have been a general who has been approached to lead ELAS, the military arm of the Greek communists. He's the sort of charismatic man who could sway a lot of people to follow him adn that would mean certain war.
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|genre=Popular Science
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1783297824</amazonuk>
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|summary=I was tempted to read ''You Don't Have to be Mad to Work Here'' after enjoying Adam Kay's first book {{amazonurl|isbn=1509858636|title=This is Going to Hurt}}, a glorious mixture of insight into the workings of the NHS, humour and autobiography.  ''You Don't Have to be Mad...'' promised the same elements but moved from physical problems to mental illness and the work of a psychiatristI did wonder whether it was acceptable to be looking for humour in this setting but the laughter is directed at a situation rather than a person and it is always delivered with empathy and understanding.  
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=John Kelly and Steph Laberis
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|author=Onyi Nwabineli
|title=Can I Join Your Club?
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|title=Allow Me to Introduce Myself
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
|genre=For Sharing
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|genre=General Fiction
|summary=Duck just wants to join a club.  Any club would be fine, but he would really like to be a part of something, so he tries the Lion Club, and the Snake Club, and even Club Elephant, but it seems like duck won't ever fit in anywhere…
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|summary=Anuri spent her childhood on display to the world, thanks to her step-mother Ophelia's increasingly popular presence on social media, where she posted every step of Anuri's childhood for sponsorships and influencer deals and, basically, monetary gain.  Now Anuri is in her twenties and she is slowly trying to regain her confidence and to get her life back, suing her step-mother to take down the content about her. Anuri is battling alcoholism, failing to start her PhD, undergoing therapy and secretly abusing people online and receiving money from them for doing soMost importantly, she is desperately worried about her little sister, who is the new focus of Ophelia's online empire. Can she save her sister, and perhaps herself and her relationship with her father at the same time?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1848694369</amazonuk>
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|isbn=0861546873
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author= Tormod V Burkey
 
|title=Ethics for a Full World or, Can Animal-Lovers Save the World?
 
|rating=4
 
|genre= Animals and Wildlife
 
|summary= Burkey argues that man's current practices are outside the realms of nature. He is no longer part of the ecosystem, but instead exists above it through his dominating ways. He is himself distanced even further by advancement in technologies, industry, money and all the pollution that comes with them.  The natural world, Burkey argues, no longer exists for man because he has altered it by such things. Indeed, global warming has caused climate change, which, if it continues, will make the world unrecognisable. For the world to become fuller, for it to be a world that seeks to provide for the needs of every living thing, then it needs to change.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1905570856</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Joyce Dunbar and Claire Fletcher
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|author=David Chadwick
|title=Tibs the Post Office Cat
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|title=Headload of Napalm
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
|genre=For Sharing
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|genre=Thrillers
|summary=Set in the 1950's, this is a story about a cat called Tibs (who was a real cat) who was born in a post office, and who had a job to keep all the rats and mice under control. Rather than killing and eating all the mice, however, Tibs befriends them, and with their help he is able to apprehend some thieves, becoming the hero of the day!
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|summary= It's September 1973 in Hicks, California. Hicks is a Mojave desert town of a few thousand people with its nearest neighbours of LA and Las Vegas both a significant drive away. Not much happens in Hicks. A silver mine and a defence contractor are the main local employers but otherwise, there's not much of note other than dive bars and Joshua trees. Life is quiet, until....
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1910277207</amazonuk>
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|isbn= B0D321VJ76
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview<!-- remove 4/5 -->
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{{Frontpage
|author=S Lynn Scott
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|author=Tom Percival
|title=Elizabeth, William... and Me
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|title=The Wrong Shoes
|rating=4.5
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|rating=5
|genre=Humour
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|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=Ally is an ordinary woman with teenage children, a husband and a jobThen 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 bathWhat's she going to do? Well, Elizabeth and Will have their own ideas about that!
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|summary=Will's life is difficult, in a multitude of waysHe 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 accidentThrow into that mix the fact that his mum and dad are separated, and Will's life seems bleak in every direction.  And yet, he still has a tiny amount of hope. He is good at art, and clings to the moments of joy when he is drawing, that feel like a light at the end of a long, dark tunnel.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1788037006</amazonuk>
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|isbn=1398527122
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author= Bobbie Peers
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|author=Sylvie Cathrall
|title= William Wenton and the Luridium Thief
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|title=A Letter to the Luminous Deep
|rating= 4
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|rating=5
|genre= Confident Readers
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|genre=Science Fiction
|summary= Bobbie Peers is a pretty talented guy. Not only did he win a ''Palme d'Or'' award for a film he wrote and directed in 2006, but with this, his first book, he's turned his hand to writing for young people. And the list of awards he's collecting in his native Norway are testament to his vivid and entertaining imagination.  
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|summary= There are few greater joys than a book which lives up to a compelling premise. And this is one of them.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>140637170X</amazonuk>
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|isbn= 0356522776
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Twigs Way
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|isbn=0008517061
|title=Allotments (Britain's Heritage Series)
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|title=Death in a Lonely Place
 +
|author=Stig Abell
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
|genre=Lifestyle
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|genre=Crime
|summary=Allotments came about originally from the enclosure of land, primarily for sheep pasture. Fearing that the enclosures would leave peasants unable to feed themselves, Elizabeth I issued an act requiring all new cottages to have four acres of ground, something which has been honoured more by history than by Elizabeth's contemporariesIt was the first in a long line of legislation with that aim in mind - which largely failed to achieve their aims.
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|summary= Former Metropolitan Police detective, Jake Johnson, has settled into his rustic life at Little SkyThere’s perhaps a little uncertainty about the future of his life with his vet girlfriend, Livia and her daughter Diana, as moving in together would mean a lot of compromise: does Jake give up his off-grid and relaxing life to move in with Livia or does Livia move to Little Sky despite her reservations about whether or not this is the future she wants for herself and her daughter?  For the moment they’re enjoying life in the present and putting the future on the back burner.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1445665700</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview <!-- remove 4/5 -->
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{{Frontpage
|author=Dr Sunil C Gebalanage
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|isbn=1786482126
|title=Beginner's Project Management Handbook: Art of Project Delivery
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|title=The Janus Stone (Dr Ruth Galloway)
|rating=4
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|author=Elly Griffiths
|genre=Reference
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|rating=4.5
|summary=In the last fifteen years I've project managed the construction of an office and the extension of a buildingOn both occasions I looked for a resource which would give me a framework within which to proceed, but whilst I could find several volumes which dealt with individual parts of the project I couldn't find any literature which put it all together.  An additional problem was that what literature there was out there was written with specific professionals in mind and didn't accommodate the generalistIt was with relief for those following me that I discovered ''Beginner's Project Management Handbook: Art of Project Delivery''.
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|genre=Crime
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1524665568</amazonuk>
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|summary=Builders were demolishing an old house in Norwich - the site was going to hold seventy-five 'luxury' apartments - when they discovered the bones of a child beneath a doorwayThere was no skull.  Was this a ritual killing or murder?  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 the one night they spent together some three months agoHer condition will be obvious before long, not least because Ruth is prone to sudden bouts of sickness.
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Amanda Wood, Mike Jolley and Frances Castle
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|isbn=0008551324
|title=Spot the Mistake: Lands of Long Ago
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|title=The Devil You Know (D S Max Craigie)
 +
|author=Neil Lancaster
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
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|genre=Crime
|summary=You'll like as not have seen a children's book before and harangued it for containing errorsThis book has at least two hundred, and that's not a problem.  Yes, in personifying the idea of learning through your mistakes, we get ten large dioramas of historical activity, all containing twenty things that shouldn't be thereYour task, should you choose to accept it, is to try and find them all.  And the learning is also here, as we get text to tell us what the goofs were designed to show usMake no mistake, this is a clever and absorbing read…
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|summary=It's unusual for anyone from the Hardie family to approach the policeNeither side likes or has any respect for the other. But Davie Hardie is struggling in prison and he's prepared to tell the police where the body of a missing person is buried and who was responsible for her deathThis person, he promises, is someone big and it will be worth the police doing what he wants.  And what he wants is to be transferred to an open prison to serve the remainder of his sentence and to get an early parole dateNot 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.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1847809634</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author= Britta Teckentrup
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|isbn=0008405026
|title=Under the Same Sky
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|title=A Stranger in the Family (Maeve Kerrigan 11)
|rating=4.5
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|author=Jane Casey
|genre= For Sharing
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|rating=5
|summary= In this delightfully different book award winning illustrator Britta Teckentrup combines beautiful pictures with a simple yet lyrical text to portray a celebration of global unity. It beautifully depicts how the world's communities are united by the same hopes and dreams.  
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|genre=Crime
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1848575866</amazonuk>
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|summary=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, her mother, Helena, and her father are dead in their bed.  Initially, it looks like a straightforward murder/suicide 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-and-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.
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author= Allie Rogers
+
|isbn=0571379877
|title= Little Gold
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|title=The Kellerby Code
|rating= 5
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|author=Jonny Sweet
|genre= General Fiction
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|rating=3.5
|summary= The heat is oppressive and storms are brewing in Brighton in the summer of 1982. Little Gold, a boyish girl on the brink of adolescence, is struggling with the reality of her broken family and a home descending into chaos. Her only refuge is the tree at the end of her garden. Into her fractured life steps elderly neighbour, Peggy Baxter. The connection between the two is instant, but just when it seems that Little Gold has found solace, outsiders appear who seek to take advantage of her frail family in the worst way possible. In an era when so much is hard to speak aloud, can Little Gold share enough of her life to avert disaster? And can Peggy Baxter, a woman running out of time and with her own secrets to bear, recognise the danger before it's too late?
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|genre=Crime
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1787199959</amazonuk>
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|summary=Edward Jevons is a working-class young man, obsessed with his upper-class friends, Robert and Stanza.  Robert's a theatre director. He's also self-obsessed, demanding, handsome and entitled and uses Edward to run errands for him. Edward has been in love with Stanza since their university days - and he's drunkenly confided how he feels to Robert.  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 two of them kissing in a dark passageway.
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Lesley Thomson
+
|author=Jo Callaghan
|title=The Dog Walker
+
|title=Leave No Trace
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Crime
 
|genre=Crime
|summary=In January 1987 it was only joggers and dog walkers who went on to the Thames towpath after dark.  Estate agent Helen Honeysett left the riverside cottage she shared with her husband and never came home.  A neighbour returned their dog who was found wandering, but Helen's body was never discoveredIn 2016 Helen's husband, Adam, still wants to know what happenedHe has an alibi, albeit a somewhat dubious one, but another neighbour was suspectedSteve Lawson couldn't stand the constant suspicion and drowned himself in the Thames: over the years that came to be accepted as an admission of guilt and even one of his children is certain that he was responsible.
+
|summary=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, the AI detective LockIt's their first live case together, having previously been very successful with several cold casesBut when there is a second body found crucified 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 projectWill they be able to solve the case in time, or will Kat find herself taken off the case and, potentially, out of a career?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1784972258</amazonuk>
+
|isbn=139851120X
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Ryder Windham
+
|isbn=1399613073
|title=Star Wars: A New Hope Junior Novel (Star Wars Junior Novel 1)
+
|title=Moral Injuries
|rating=4
+
|author=Christie Watson
|genre=Confident Readers
+
|rating=4.5
|summary=It takes a greater mind than mine to keep track of all the different versions of ''Star Wars – A New Hope'' that there have beenThat was never the name it was known under at the start, for one thing, but beyond the exuberant cinema classic known to so many, you get the digitally retouched version, then the DVD version, which both added to and took away some of those changesAnd as it is with the film, so it is with the novelsThis new presentation of the YA trilogy, while bearing the 2017 Copyright mark, is the 2004 children's novelisations, as far as I can make out, minus the picturesYou do get, on this first one, a '40 years of Star Wars' sticker, which is proof this is a classic we're looking at, but more than that, just goes to make me feel old…
+
|genre=Thrillers
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1405285427</amazonuk>
+
|summary=Olivia, Laura and Anjali met on the first day of medical school and their friendship would keep them inseparable for a quarter of a centuryOlivia is ruthlessly ambitious, which is a bonus when you aim to be a cardiothoracic surgeon.  Laura is a perfectionist and a trauma doctorAnjali is the free spirit of the group and she becomes a GPWhen we first meet them they're at a drug and alcohol-fuelled party and it's going to end in tragedy.  We don't know who suffered the tragedy or the consequencesTwenty-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.
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Matthew Clark Smith and Matt Tavares
+
|isbn=0241636604
|title=Lighter than Air: Sophie Blanchard, the First Woman Pilot
+
|title=The Trading Game: A Confession
 +
|author=Gary Stevenson
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
+
|genre=Autobiography
|summary=We're in Paris, and – not to be too rude about things – we seem surrounded by idiotsFor one, it seems they think the perfect place to experiment with manned hot air balloon flights is in the middle of the biggest city in the worldFor another, they think only men could suffer the slightly colder and slightly thinner air experienced on such an adventure – women would never be able to copeMeanwhile, a young girl is dreaming of flight, as so many are wont to do, completely unaware that she will soon marry one of the most famed balloonistsThey will have joint journeys skyward, before his early demise – leaving the young woman, Sophie Blanchard, to go it alone and become the first female pilot.
+
|summary=If you were to bring up an image of a city banker in your mind, you're unlikely to think of someone like Gary StevensonA hoodie and jeans replaces the pin-stripe suit and his background is the East End, where he was familiar with violence, poverty and injusticeThere was no posh public school on his CV - but he had been to the London School of EconomicsStevenson is bright - extremely bright - and he has a facility with numbers which most of us can only envy.  He also realised that most rich people expect poor people to be stupidIt 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.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0763677329</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview <!-- remove 2/5 -->
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Clair Iles
+
|isbn=1035021803
|title=The Thoughts and Inner Journey of Dr. John Dee
+
|title=The Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder
 +
|author=C L Miller
 
|rating=3.5
 
|rating=3.5
|genre=Spirituality and Religion
+
|genre=Crime
|summary=[[:Category:Clair Iles|Clair Iles]] is, in her own words, a normal person who was educated at a normal comprehensive schoolHowever, she's a normal person who hears dead peopleYes, Clair is a spiritualist with ability to hear from those who have passed onIn the past they had generally been relatives or everyday folkImagine, then, her surprise when she felt she was hearing from Elizabethan court polymath John DeeOver a period of time she could feel his dictated thoughts and ideas in her mind and this book of the channelled words is the result.
+
|summary=It's twenty years since Freya Lockwood has been back to the English country village where she grew upShe's back now because of a request for help from her beloved aunt, CaroleFreya's former mentor and Carole's close friend, Arthur Crockleford, is dead and the circumstances seem suspicious, to say the leastArthur was the reason why Freya had not been back to the village: Arthur, she feels, let her down badlyEven though they were in business together as antique hunters, she has not felt able to be near the man or pursue the profession she lovedAfter the split, she worked in a cafe, met and married James (on the rebound from the love of her life, who was murdered) and Freya and James have now divorced.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1524676691</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview <!-- remove 2/5 -->
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Nicos Nicolaou
+
|isbn=AllTomorrowsFutureCover
|title=The Anxiety-Elimination System
+
|title=All Tomorrow's Futures: Fictions that Disrupt
|rating=4
+
|author=Benjamin Greenaway and Stephen Oram (Editors)
|genre=Lifestyle
+
|rating=5
|summary=Nick Nicolau suffered a major panic attack and was told by his doctor that he would need medication to control the attacks and that there wasn't much more that he could do - apart that was, from going home to sleepThe next morning he had another attack which he could neither stop nor control and before long was having panic attacks every day and developed generalised anxiety and phobiasAfter a great deal of work and research he discovered how to control his anxiety - and now he helps others to do the same.  No one is born with a chemical imbalance in the brain and genes do not determine behaviour. The proof of the efficacy of his system is that through the course of a particularly challenging life event - his divorce - he didn't slip back into inappropriate anxiety.
+
|genre=Science Fiction
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1524667412</amazonuk>
+
|summary=''Opening up new ways of thinking about the shape of things to come.''
 +
 
 +
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 frighteningOf 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
 +
|summary=The Hotel Arcadia is a luxury hotel in an unnamed city that has suddenly been violently taken over by a terrorist groupHiding 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
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Lorraine Gregory
+
|isbn=1529153298
|title=Mold and the Poison Plot
+
|title=The List of Suspicious Things
 +
|author=Jennie Godfrey
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
|genre=Confident Readers
+
|genre=General Fiction
|summary=Mold's mum abandoned him in a dustbin when he was a baby but the binmen didn't want him. Luckily old Aggy gave him a home and, with a crusty one-legged sailor as a friend, Mold is happy. Happy until Aggy is accused of poisoning the King. Suddenly Mold finds himself alone and thrust into the unlikely role of hero. He sets off to rescue Aggy and along the way finds himself trying to save the King and prevent a war with the Boggers. It's a lot for one small boy with an enormous nose but luckily he finds he's uniquely fashioned to sniff out danger.  
+
|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.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0192745824</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Nancy Revell
+
|isbn=1398524085
|title=Shipyard Girls at War: (Shipyard Girls 2)
+
|title=Has Anyone Seen Charlotte Salter?
 +
|author=Nicci French
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
|genre=Women's Fiction
+
|genre=Crime
|summary=Warning: This review contains spoilers for [[The Shipyard Girls by Nancy Revell|Book 1]] in the series from the beginning.
+
|summary=Charlotte Salter was expected at her husband's fiftieth birthday party but never turned upHer children, sons Niall, Paul and Ollie and her daughter, Etty. are all worried but - strangely - her husband, Alec, is not.  Shortly afterwards, Etty and Greg, find the body of Greg's father, Duncan Ackerley, in the riverIt 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.
The war bites deeper and the shipyard girls at Thompsons have more to contend with than a heavier workloadThe Elliott household is in mourning now Teddy has been killed in Africa, muting the celebrations when his twin, Joe, comes home, albeit injured.  Rosie is getting over her horrendous episode with her murderous uncle but she's still not back to full healthWorking shifts at the yard during the day and secretly by night as a brothel manager to afford her little sister's school fees is a bit of a strain at times but the worst seems to be overThe complications in Rosie's life aren't over yet though.  A complication of the heart is on the horizon: can she afford to fall in love with a police detective?  Meanwhile Gloria attempts to move on from her abusive husband aren't that easy.  The war is taking more than its share of casualties but then so is life.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1784754641</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview <!-- remove 2/5 -->
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Akon Margaret Kalu
+
|isbn=1035906708
|title=Eat With Pleasure
+
|title=Diva
|rating=3
+
|author=Daisy Goodwin
|genre=Lifestyle
+
|rating=4.5
|summary=When you think about a certified nutrition coach you probably imagine someone who is going to be very strict with you about what you should or shouldn't be eating.  You visualise someone who will insist that you eat worthy (and probably tasteless) food and completely avoid those foods which you really love.  Gone will be the bar of chocolate and possibly even the mug of coffee which gets you going in the morningIt was particularly refreshing and something of a relief to encounter Akon Margaret Kalu - certified nutrition coach and food blogger at [http://www.therealakon.co.uk www.therealakon.co.uk].  She's outspoken.  She believes that the occasional treat does you no harm so long as you don't make it a regular habitIn fact you're better having a small, occasional, indulgent snack than resisting and finally giving into cravings and ''binging''.  In other words, she lives in the real world with the rest of us imperfect beings.
+
|genre=General Fiction
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1524676942</amazonuk>
+
|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 thirteenHer original surname was Kalogeropoulos but her father changed it to 'Callas' to make it more manageable in the StatesWhen she was back in Athens - supposedly so that she could get appropriate training for her voice - she was raised under the Nazi occupation by a mother who mercilessly exploited her and made no secret of her preference for her elder sister, Jackie.
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author= Malin Persson Giolito
+
|author=Christopher Edge
|title= Quicksand
+
|title=Black Hole Cinema Club
|rating= 5
+
|rating=4
|genre= Crime
+
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary= Is there something about Scandinavia, that makes its inhabitants identify with quicksand? This is the second book with the same title by northern writers that I've read this year, and we're only into AprilFor clarity from the outset, this has nothing to do with Henning Mankell's conversational memoir reviewed elsewhere on here, but we are back in territory he would probably have been familiar with.  We're in a Scandinavian courtroom, Swedish to be precise – we're about to begin the trial of Maja Norberg.
+
|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 imagineBut 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?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1471160327</amazonuk>
+
|isbn=1839942738
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author= Chris Packham
+
|author=Rachel Greenlaw
|title= Fingers in the Sparkle Jar: A Memoir
+
|title=Compass and Blade
|rating= 4
+
|rating=3.5
|genre= Autobiography
+
|genre=Teens
|summary=''Everything seemed alive in that scintillating moment and as the gleams gyrated and glittered I imagined I could see their tiny twinkling hearts, seeding the sparks that made them so very vivid. And then I wiped away the spilled slop of the river, polished the glare and thrust my fingers into the sparkle jar to stir the soft tickles of the swirling tinsel of fishes.''
+
|summary=''I can hear the song of the sea. The call of the deep, the answering beat in my heart.''
  
''Fingers in the Sparkle Jar'' is a unique memoir, written in a distinct style quite unlike any other. Chris Packham, well-known TV presenter and wildlife expert, takes us back to his childhood in 1960s Southampton, and we meet a curious child who doesn't quite fit in to the societal norm. Fast forward a few years, and the chasm widens, leading to bullying, name-calling and beatings at the hands of the local thugs at his comprehensive school.
+
Rosevear, 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. 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.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1785033506</amazonuk>
+
|isbn=0008664730
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author= Benjamin Wittes and Gabriella Blum
+
|author=James Sherwood Metts
|title= The Future of Violence - Robots and Germs, Hackers and Drones: Confronting the New Age of Threat
+
|title=Planet Storyland
|rating= 4
+
|rating=4.5
|genre=Politics and Society
+
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=Looking back over this month, April 2017, the news has been full of terrorist attacks perpetrated by lone individuals. A suicide bombing on the St Petersburg Metro killed 15 people and injured 64 more. In Stockholm, Sweden, a hijacked truck steered into a pedestrian shopping area and department store. Most recently, a shooting in Paris just two days ago, claimed the life of a police officer and injured several others. Whilst it is true that governments have access to impressive, cutting-edge technology to combat terrorism, it is also a fact that these resources are becoming increasingly available to individuals. At what cost?
+
|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.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1445655934</amazonuk>
+
|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
 
}}
 
}}

Latest revision as of 16:45, 12 June 2024

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Review of

The Lavender Companion by Jessica Dunham and Terry Barlin Vesci

  Lifestyle

It's strange, the things that make you immediately feel that this is the book for you. Before I started reading The Lavender Companion, I visited the author's website and there's a picture of a slice of chocolate cake on the homepage. I don't eat cakes and desserts - but I wanted that cake viscerally. (There's a recipe in the book, which I'm avoiding with some difficulty!!) Then I started reading the book and I was told to make a mess of it. Notes in the margins are sanctioned. You get to fold down the corners of pages. You suspect that smears of butter would not be a problem. I loved this book already. Full Review

 

Review of

Childish Spirits: 10th anniversary special edition by Rob Keeley

  Confident Readers

Around here, we're big fans of children's author Rob Keeley. He's a ball of happy positivity, he understands children, and he writes for their pleasure and enjoyment, not to lecture or hector.

The Childish Spirits series is one of his greatest achievements. It's a sequence of ghost stories centring on Ellie, a stalwart young girl who can cope with anything the spirit world throws at her, and Edward, a spoiled lordling and the first spirit Ellie encounters Full Review

 

Review of

Us in the Before and After by Jenny Valentine

  Teens

Elk and Mab are best friends, or more than that even, their friendship is a once in a lifetime connection. They meet as children one day on a trip out but unfortunately they don't get each other's contact details at the time. But then chance brings them back together, and they are inseparable. Something has happened though, something terrible and tragic, and now they must work through their grief, and their friendship, together. Full Review

 

Review of

Dungeon Runners: Hero Trial by Kieran Larwood and Joe Todd-Stanton

  Confident Readers

Meet Kit. Like most of the people in his world, it seems, he is an avid fan of Dungeon Running – the sport where a team of warrior, mage and healer enter specially prepared, century-old, magical mazes, and race to the exit, perhaps bothering with the treasure or the big bad and the points they grant you along the way. Unfortunately for Kit, the only thing he's seen of the latest race on the inn TV equivalent is that one team has been retired, eaten, and a new trio of questors is needed. Possibly very unfortunately indeed for Kit, he has taken to the goading from the token bully of his world and stumbled into declaring he'll enter as a team. What chance does this friendless, muscle-free-zone have in actually managing that, and how could he possibly hope to succeed? Full Review

 

Review of

Vengeance by Saima Mir

  Thrillers

I was instantly intrigued by the premise of this novel – an organised crime syndicate in the north of England run by a Muslim woman. The fact that it was the second in a series I hadn't read didn't stop me – I've jumped midway into a few series before (on page and screen) and it needn't be a hindrance if it's good enough. And that wasn't a problem here. Vengeance swiftly brings you up to speed, and I never felt lost. Full Review

 

Review of

Lowe and Le Breton Mysteries - Death at the Dress Rehearsal by Stuart Douglas

  Crime

During location filming for his 1970's sitcom 'Floggit and Leggit', leading man Edward Lowe stumbles across the dead body of a woman on the edge of a reservoir. The police seem happy to assign it as an accidental death, but something about the whole thing bothers Lowe, and he enlists the help of a fellow actor, John Le Breton to help him investigate matters further. They travel across the country during their days off filming, uncovering more possible murders and, seemingly, a link to death during the Second World War. But is there really a link between the deaths? And will they manage to uncover who is responsible before more people lose their lives? Full Review

 

Review of

Swanton Morley (John Tanner) by David Blake

  Crime

It seemed like an open-and-shut case. A man, covered in mud and blood - and carrying a knife, comes into the police station shouting that he hasn't killed the man. A body at the bottom of a freshly dug grave at Swanton Morley church - he's been stabbed to death. DCI John Tanner is just back from his honeymoon, which coincided with the birth of his daughter Samantha. You would think he'd be grateful for an easy answer but the words 'perverse' and 'John Tanner' were made for each other. He's sleep-deprived to the point of falling asleep at work but he's determined to keep going - probably because he can't get any sleep at home. Full Review

 

Review of

You Don't Have to be Mad to Work Here by Benji Waterhouse

  Popular Science

I was tempted to read You Don't Have to be Mad to Work Here after enjoying Adam Kay's first book This is Going to Hurt, a glorious mixture of insight into the workings of the NHS, humour and autobiography. You Don't Have to be Mad... promised the same elements but moved from physical problems to mental illness and the work of a psychiatrist. I did wonder whether it was acceptable to be looking for humour in this setting but the laughter is directed at a situation rather than a person and it is always delivered with empathy and understanding. Full Review

 

Review of

Allow Me to Introduce Myself by Onyi Nwabineli

  General Fiction

Anuri spent her childhood on display to the world, thanks to her step-mother Ophelia's increasingly popular presence on social media, where she posted every step of Anuri's childhood for sponsorships and influencer deals and, basically, monetary gain. Now Anuri is in her twenties and she is slowly trying to regain her confidence and to get her life back, suing her step-mother to take down the content about her. Anuri is battling alcoholism, failing to start her PhD, undergoing therapy and secretly abusing people online and receiving money from them for doing so. Most importantly, she is desperately worried about her little sister, who is the new focus of Ophelia's online empire. Can she save her sister, and perhaps herself and her relationship with her father at the same time? Full Review

 

Review of

Headload of Napalm by David Chadwick

  Thrillers

It's September 1973 in Hicks, California. Hicks is a Mojave desert town of a few thousand people with its nearest neighbours of LA and Las Vegas both a significant drive away. Not much happens in Hicks. A silver mine and a defence contractor are the main local employers but otherwise, there's not much of note other than dive bars and Joshua trees. Life is quiet, until.... Full Review

 

Review of

The Wrong Shoes by Tom Percival

  Confident Readers

Will's life is difficult, in a multitude of ways. 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. Throw into that mix the fact that his mum and dad are separated, and Will's life seems bleak in every direction. And yet, he still has a tiny amount of hope. He is good at art, and clings to the moments of joy when he is drawing, that feel like a light at the end of a long, dark tunnel. Full Review

 

Review of

A Letter to the Luminous Deep by Sylvie Cathrall

  Science Fiction

There are few greater joys than a book which lives up to a compelling premise. And this is one of them. Full Review

 

Review of

Death in a Lonely Place by Stig Abell

  Crime

Former Metropolitan Police detective, Jake Johnson, has settled into his rustic life at Little Sky. There’s perhaps a little uncertainty about the future of his life with his vet girlfriend, Livia and her daughter Diana, as moving in together would mean a lot of compromise: does Jake give up his off-grid and relaxing life to move in with Livia or does Livia move to Little Sky despite her reservations about whether or not this is the future she wants for herself and her daughter? For the moment they’re enjoying life in the present and putting the future on the back burner. Full Review

 

Review of

The Janus Stone (Dr Ruth Galloway) by Elly Griffiths

  Crime

Builders were demolishing an old house in Norwich - the site was going to hold seventy-five 'luxury' apartments - when they discovered the bones of a child beneath a doorway. There was no skull. Was this a ritual killing or murder? 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 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. Full Review

 

Review of

The Devil You Know (D S Max Craigie) by Neil Lancaster

  Crime

It's 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 prepared to tell the police where the body of a missing person is buried and who was responsible for her death. This person, he promises, is someone big and it will be worth the police doing what he wants. And what he wants is to be transferred to an open prison to serve the remainder of his sentence and to 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. Full Review

 

Review of

A Stranger in the Family (Maeve Kerrigan 11) by Jane Casey

  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, her mother, Helena, and her father are dead in their bed. Initially, it looks like a straightforward murder/suicide 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-and-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. Full Review

 

Review of

The Kellerby Code by Jonny Sweet

  Crime

Edward Jevons is a working-class young man, obsessed with his upper-class friends, Robert and Stanza. Robert's a theatre director. He's also self-obsessed, demanding, handsome and entitled and uses Edward to run errands for him. Edward has been in love with Stanza since their university days - and he's drunkenly confided how he feels to Robert. 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 two of them kissing in a dark passageway. Full Review

 

Review of

Leave No Trace by Jo Callaghan

  Crime

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, 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 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. Will they be able to solve the case in time, or will Kat find herself taken off the case and, potentially, out of a career? Full Review

 

Review of

Moral Injuries by Christie Watson

  Thrillers

Olivia, Laura and Anjali met on the first day of medical school and their friendship would keep them inseparable for a quarter of a century. Olivia is ruthlessly ambitious, which is a bonus when you aim to be a cardiothoracic surgeon. Laura is a perfectionist and a trauma doctor. Anjali is the free spirit of the group and she becomes a GP. When we first meet them they're at a drug and alcohol-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. Full Review

 

Review of

The Trading Game: A Confession by Gary Stevenson

  Autobiography

If you were to bring up an image of a city banker in your mind, you're unlikely to think of someone like Gary Stevenson. A hoodie and jeans replaces the pin-stripe suit and his background is the East End, where he was familiar with violence, poverty and injustice. There was no posh public school on his CV - but he had been to the London School of Economics. Stevenson is bright - extremely bright - and he has a facility with numbers which most of us can only envy. 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. Full Review

 

Review of

The Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder by C L Miller

  Crime

It's twenty years since Freya Lockwood has been back to the English country village where she grew up. She's back now because of a request for help from her beloved aunt, Carole. 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: Arthur, she feels, let her down badly. Even though they were in business together as antique hunters, she has not felt able to be near the man or pursue the profession she loved. After the split, she worked in a cafe, met and married James (on the rebound from the love of her life, who was murdered) and Freya and James have now divorced. Full Review

 

Review of

All Tomorrow's Futures: Fictions that Disrupt by Benjamin Greenaway and Stephen Oram (Editors)

  Science Fiction

Opening up new ways of thinking about the shape of things to come.

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. Full Review

 

Review of

Hotel Arcadia by Sunny Singh

  Thrillers

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. Full Review

 

Review of

The List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey

  General Fiction

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. Full Review

 

Review of

Has Anyone Seen Charlotte Salter? by Nicci French

  Crime

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 - 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. Full Review

 

Review of

Diva by Daisy Goodwin

  General Fiction

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 a mother who mercilessly exploited her and made no secret of her preference for her elder sister, Jackie. Full Review

 

Review of

Black Hole Cinema Club by Christopher Edge

  Confident Readers

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? Full Review

 

Review of

Compass and Blade by Rachel Greenlaw

  Teens

I can hear the song of the sea. The call of the deep, the answering beat in my heart.

Rosevear, 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. 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. Full Review

 

Review of

Planet Storyland by James Sherwood Metts

  Confident Readers

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. Full Review

 

Review of

We'll Never Know by Matthew Tree

  Literary Fiction

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. Full Review