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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|class-"wikitable" cellpadding="15" <!-- INSERT NEW REVIEWS BELOW HERE-->reviews of books about to be published]].<!-- Sheridan -->{{Frontpage|-author=Sylvie Cathrall| styletitle="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"A Letter to the Luminous Deep|rating=5[[image:1472122372.jpg|linkgenre=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1472122372/refScience Fiction|summary=nosim?tagThere are few greater joys than a book which lives up to a compelling premise. And this is one of them.|isbn=thebookbag-21]]0356522776}}{{Frontpage| styleisbn="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"0008517061|title=Death in a Lonely Place|author=Stig Abell|rating=4|genre=Crime|summary=[[Russian Roulette by Sara Sheridan]]=== [[image:4Former Metropolitan Police detective, Jake Johnson, has settled into his rustic life at Little Sky.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[ 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:Category:|genre= Crime (Historical)||genre= Crime (Historical)]] It makes a pleasant change does Jake give up his off-grid and relaxing life to move in with Livia or does Livia move to have a female detective who isn't a slightly eccentric grandma, a world-weary cop with as many hang-ups, bad habits Little Sky despite her reservations about whether or not this is the future she wants for herself and family traumas as her male colleagues, or a slick, skinny, sharp-shooting type who lives daughter? For the moment they’re enjoying life in a loft the present and works out in putting the future on the gym after work, boxing with back burner.}}{{Frontpage|isbn=1786482126|title=The Janus Stone (and trouncingDr Ruth Galloway) every big burly bloke they can throw at her|author=Elly Griffiths|rating=4. Mirabelle may have somehow got herself involved 5|genre=Crime|summary=Builders were demolishing an old house in crimeNorwich -fighting, with all the requisite tropes of climbing through unguarded windows, contacts who are not one hundred per cent on site was going to hold seventy-five 'luxury' apartments - when they discovered the right side bones of the law, and a refusal to faint at the sight of blood, but she is, as everyone around her will attest, first and foremost child beneath a ladydoorway. Indeed There was no skull. Was this a ritual killing or murder? Inevitably, the first encounter we have Dr Ruth Galloway finds herself working with her in thisDCI Harry Nelson. It's difficult as Ruth knows, the sixth book in this excellent seriesbut Nelson doesn't, sees her giving that she is pregnant with his child as a police superintendent an icy stare for his lack result of mannersthe one night they spent together some three months ago. No matter what the life-and-death crisis Her condition will be obvious before long, there's no reason not least because Ruth is prone to be polite, is there? [[Russian Roulette by Sara Sheridan|Full Review]]sudden bouts of sickness.}}{{Frontpage<!-- Ramirez -->|isbn=0008551324|-title=The Devil You Know (D S Max Craigie)| styleauthor="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|Neil Lancaster[[image:ETDWB.jpg|linkrating=http://www4.amazon.co.uk/dp/ETDWB/ref5|genre=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] Crime| stylesummary="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Even The Dead Will Bleed: Book 3 of Tell Me When IIt'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'm Dead by Steven Ramirez]]=== [[image:4s prepared to tell the police where the body of a missing person is buried and who was responsible for her death.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Horror|Horror]] In the third This person, he promises, is someone big and final part of it will be worth the ''Tell Me When I'm Dead'' series, Dave Pulaski police doing what he wants. And what he wants is headed to Los Angeles – seeking revenge and retribution. With be transferred to an open prison to serve the events remainder of book two still weighing heavily on Dave, he struggles against the rage burning inside him his sentence and saves Sasha – a young escapee from the secret testing facilityto get an early parole date. As events come Not much to a climaxask, is it? The new Deputy Police Constable doesn't think so and Dave finds himself pursued by both an exshe's even prepared to do the other thing that Hardie demanded -military sociopath make certain that DS Max Craigie and a group of scientifically engineered humans anyone who flay their victims alive, the stakes are higher than ever before – will Dave make it out of this alive? And works with him is kept well away from what kind of world will he have left? [[Even The Dead Will Bleed: Book 3 of Tell Me When I'm Dead by Steven Ramirez|Full Review]]'s happening.}} <!-- Ramirez -->{{Frontpage|-isbn=0008405026| styletitle="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"A Stranger in the Family (Maeve Kerrigan 11)|author=Jane Casey[[image:DIAYG.jpg|linkrating=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/DIAYG/ref5|genre=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] Crime| stylesummary="verticalIt's sixteen years since nine-align: top; textyear-align: left;"|===[[Dead Is All You Get: Book Two of Tell Me When I'm Dead by Steven Ramirez]]=== [[image:4old Rosalie Marshall disappeared from her bed one summer night. She was never found and the investigation ground to a halt.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Horror|Horror]] Now, her mother, Helena, [[:Category:Thrillers|Thrillers]] Still battling the zombie hordes who first appeared in and her father are dead in their bed. Initially, it looks like a straightforward murder/suicide but there''Tell Me When I'm Dead'', Dave Pulaski thinks his prayers have been answered when s something about the Black Dragon Security team show up to rescue him and his wife Holly. But things only get worse – with positioning of the virus mutating, bodies that makes DS Maeve Kerrigan and the infected getting smarterher boss DI Josh Derwent suspicious. When Dave discovers the truth behind the contagion What looked as though it will drive him past all limits of faith or reason – but will he able to manage dealing with this knowledge whilst protecting Holly was going to be an open-and those closest to him? [[Dead Is All You Get: Book Two of Tell Me When I'm Dead by Steven Ramirez|Full Review]] <!-- Ramirez -->shut case is now a complex double murder. Kerrigan is convinced that the explanation lies in Rosalie's disappearance: others (such as Derwent's boss, Una Burt) are less convinced.}}{{Frontpage|-isbn=0571379877| styletitle="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"The Kellerby Code|author=Jonny Sweet[[image:TMWImD.jpg|linkrating=http://www3.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00ESNCNG4/ref5|genre=nosim?tagCrime|summary=thebookbagEdward Jevons is a working-21]]  | style="verticalclass young man, obsessed with his upper-align: top; textclass friends, Robert and Stanza. Robert's a theatre director. He's also self-align: left;"|===[[Tell Me When Iobsessed, 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'm Dead: Book One of Tell Me When Is drunkenly confided how he feels to Robert. Most men in Robert'm Dead by Steven Ramirez]]=== [[image:4.5stars 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.jpg}}{{Frontpage|linkauthor=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:HorrorJo Callaghan|Horror]]title=Leave No Trace|rating=4A recovering alcoholic, Dave Pulaski has had |genre=Crime|summary=When a long road to recoveryman is found crucified on the top of a hill in Nuneaton, but finally feels like he's getting his life back. Then - a plague hits DCS Kat Frank finds herself assigned to the towncase alongside her sidekick, turning the majority of the population into flesh-hungry monsters who crave the taste of humansAI detective Lock. Fighting to survive - Dave It's urge to hide away and drink is strong - will he fight to their first live case together, having previously been very successful with several cold cases. But when the chances of survival are so slim? With the hordes of the undead growing there is a second body found crucified a few days later, Kat is suddenly struggling with a potential serial killer and the security forces outnumbered, it seems a very high profile case that hell has arrived for Davedraws a lot of unwanted attention to their AI Future Policing project... [[Tell Me When I'm Dead: Book One Will they be able to solve the case in time, or will Kat find herself taken off the case and, potentially, out of Tell Me When I'm Dead by Steven Ramireza career?|Full Review]]isbn=139851120X}}<!-- Brooke Fieldhouse -->{{Frontpage|-isbn=1399613073| styletitle="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"Moral Injuries|author=Christie Watson[[image:1789013992.jpg|linkrating=http://www4.amazon.co.uk/dp/1789013992/ref5|genre=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] Thrillers| stylesummary="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Gilded Ones by Brooke Fieldhouse]]=== [[image:4starOlivia, Laura and Anjali met on the first day of medical school and their friendship would keep them inseparable for a quarter of a century.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|Crime]], [[:Category:Literary Fiction|Literary Fiction]] It was a hot day in 1984 and Pulse had two job interviews for 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 day, but free spirit of the heat wasn't the only reason why he wasn't feeling on top form. He'd had group and she becomes a disturbing dream the night beforeGP. HeWhen we first meet them they'd been following re at a Porsche on a difficult route, probably somewhere drug and alcohol-fuelled party and it's going to end in tragedy. We don't know who suffered the Alps when tragedy or the Porsche went off consequences. Twenty-five years later there will be an eerily similar event that will impact the roadthree friends. The passengerThis time, a man, was dead, but the woman was still alive. it''I'm Freias their teenage children who are involved.}}{{Frontpage|isbn=0241636604|title=The Trading Game: A Confession|author=Gary Stevenson|rating=4..'', she said. ''It5|genre=Autobiography|summary=If you were to bring up an image of a city banker in your mind, you's spelled the German wayre unlikely to think of someone like Gary Stevenson.'' Of A hoodie and jeans replaces the two job interviews, pin-stripe suit and his background is the first East End, where he was familiar with an up-and-coming design studio in Brighton violence, poverty and it would almost certainly be good for Pulse's careerinjustice. The second There was with a runno posh public school on his CV -down practice based in an old London house and headed by Patrick Lloyd-Lewis, whose wife, Freia, but he had recently died in unexplained circumstances. The link with the dream of the night before was too much for Pulse been to refuse the offer London School of a jobEconomics. He couldn't resist the lure Stevenson is bright - extremely bright - and he has a facility with numbers which most of the mysteryus 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. [[The Gilded Ones by Brooke Fieldhouse|Full Review]] <!-- Jule -->|-}}{{Frontpage|isbn=1035021803| styletitle="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"The Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder|author=C L Miller[[image:1783099593.jpg|linkrating=http://www3.amazon.co.uk/dp/1783099593/ref5|genre=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] Crime| stylesummary="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Speaking Up by Allyson Jule]]=== [[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:Popular Science|Popular Science]]  She's back now because of a request for help from her beloved aunt, Carole. Freya'Speaking Ups former mentor and Carole' has a fascinating subject matter - how language reflects and shapes our notions of gender. It looks at our use of language in medias close friend, educationArthur Crockleford, religion, the workplace is dead and personal relationships. Author Allyson Jule calls on an encyclopedic body of research from the mid twentieth century circumstances seem suspicious, to say the present dayleast. Reading it Arthur was the reason why Freya had not been back to the village: Arthur, we feel that she has studied everything that has ever been said on gendered linguistics; she references Foucault and the Kardashians with equal rigourfeels, let her down badly. [[Speaking Up by Allyson Jule|Full Review]] <!-- Sacks -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:0008261245 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.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co 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.uk/dp/0008261245/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]}}{{Frontpage| styleisbn="vertical-alignAllTomorrowsFutureCover|title=All Tomorrow's Futures: top; text-align: left;"Fictions that Disrupt|author=Benjamin Greenaway and Stephen Oram (Editors)|rating=5|genre=Science Fiction|summary=[[You Were Made for This by Michelle Sacks]]=== [[image:4star''Opening up new ways of thinking about the shape of things to come.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Thrillers|Thrillers]] I'm not really sure what to say about this book. It was a really good psychological thriller with plenty of twists and turns but unfortunately it just wasn't really my cup of tea. [[You Were Made for This by Michelle Sacks|Full Review]]  <!-- Webley -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1980891117.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1980891117/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[G Engleheart Pinxit 1805: A year in the life of George Engleheart by John Webley]]=== [[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Art|Art]], [[:Category:History|History]] George Engleheart was one of the leading portrait miniaturists of Georgian London, with a career lasting from the 1770s to the Regency era. He was also one of the most prolific, painting nearly 5,000 miniatures altogether (over twenty of them being of King George III). Throughout most of that time he carefully recorded the names of each of his clients, and subsequently transcribed them into what is referred to as his fee book. [[G Engleheart Pinxit 1805: A year in the life of George Engleheart by John Webley|Full Review]] <!-- Hunter -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1776572033.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1776572033/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Mapmakers' Race by Eirlys Hunter]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Confident Readers|Confident Readers]] It's easily done. You nip off to fill everyone's water bottles, and your mum starts to fret in case you don't make it back before the train leaves. Mum gets off to find you, you make it back in good time but she doesn't, and hey presto, four children and a parrot disappearing into the unknown with no money, no home and not a parent in sight. [[The Mapmakers' Race by Eirlys Hunter|Full Review]] <!-- Ware -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1911215035.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1911215035/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Death of Mrs Westaway by Ruth Ware]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Thrillers|Thrillers]] I've only just got into psychological thrillers so, despite being an international best-seller, author Ruth Ware has passed me by until now. But, I can see why she's much acclaimed as I absolutely loved this book and can't wait to get started on her previous three books now. [[The Death of Mrs Westaway by Ruth Ware|Full Review]] <!-- Rappaport -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1786331047.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1786331047/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Race to Save the Romanovs: The Truth Behind the Secret Plans to Rescue Russia's Imperial Family by Helen Rappaport]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:History|History]] The basic facts about the deaths of Nicholas and Alexandra, some of which were deliberately obscured at the time for various reasons, have long since been established. For the last few months of their lives in Russia the former Tsar and Tsarina, their children and few remaining servants, were held in increasingly squalid, humiliating captivity. To prevent them from being rescued, in July 1918 the revolutionary regime had them all shot and bayoneted to death in circumstances which, once the news was confirmed beyond all doubt, horrified their relatives in Europe. [[The Race to Save the Romanovs: The Truth Behind the Secret Plans to Rescue Russia's Imperial Family by Helen Rappaport|Full Review]] <!-- Durrant -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:147360835X.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/147360835X/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Take Me In by Sabine Durrant]]=== [[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Thrillers|Thrillers]] It's not pleasant, the first time Marcus and Tessa meet Dave. They've taken their toddler, Josh, to Greece on holiday and in the blink of an eye something awful happens. Tessa isn't there, Marcus isn't looking, but Dave steps in and disaster is averted. Just. They're grateful to him, of course they are, but after the usual hand shakes and weeping hugs and the offer to buy lunch for everyone, they're a little relieved to return to their villa and live out the rest of their week in peace. Just a tight little 3-person family unit. Because although Dave is a nice chap, and although of course they owe him a great deal, he is a little, well, intense. [[Take Me In by Sabine Durrant|Full Review]] <!-- Elisabeth Hyde -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1473679737.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1473679737/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Go Ask Fannie Farmer by Elisabeth Hyde]]=== [[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:General Fiction|General Fiction]] Eighty-one-year-old Murray Blaire hoped for the best when he waited for his three children to arrive one Friday night. He might be a retired lawyer, a state legislator, elected congressman and now an amateur farmer but he knew that there could be trouble when Ruth and George arrived. Ruth, a corporate lawyer, would find fault and want to talk about him going into a retirement home. George, a nurse, would argue and Lizzie, a professor of English Literature, who lived locally and kept and visited him regularly, would be unpredictable. Murray hoped that all would go smoothly, but that simply wasn't going to happen. [[Go Ask Fannie Farmer by Elisabeth Hyde|Full Review]] <!-- Ramirez -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:0192766333.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0192766333/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Riddle of the Runes by Janina Ramirez]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Confident Readers|Confident Readers]] The name Janina Ramirez is well known: her television programmes on cultural history, especially of early medieval times, are both lively and informative. She shares her extensive learning with a light hand (and a frequent giggle) and her enthusiasm encourages students and viewers alike to explore further the subjects she discusses. But how will that translate into children's fiction? Will her academic desire for accuracy make the story dull and fact-packed? Will she hold up the action to display her considerable knowledge? Nope, not a bit of it! [[Riddle of the Runes by Janina Ramirez|Full Review]] <!-- French -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:0356511642.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0356511642/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Grey Bastards by Jonathan French]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Fantasy|Fantasy]] ''The Grey Bastards'' is an absolute triumph! Fantasy, action and adventure cleverly wrapped around a super plot and well written characters, this book is so much fun. A word of caution though, this is not suitable for all readers. As the tittle suggests there is a lot of bad language, a LOT of bad language, thrown around all the time in general speech. In addition to this there is also some sex and sexual language too, there is some violence but this is not actually very explicit and not as constant as the language and bawdy jokes. If this bothers you then this is not the book for you. For anyone who doesn't mind then this is an absolute must read. [[The Grey Bastards by Jonathan French|Full Review]] <!-- Dahl -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:0451491793.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0451491793/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Boy at the Door by Alex Dahl]]=== [[image:3.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Thrillers|Thrillers]] Cecilia is picking her daughters up from swimming when the pool's receptionist asks a quick favour of her – to drop off a little boy from the class as his parents seem to have forgotten to collect him. The pool is about to close, and it's not a big ask although Cecilia is somewhat put out that it will interrupt her routine. But, minor inconvenience isn't really a good enough reason to say no so she agrees and bundles the boy whose name is Tobias into the car with her girls. This is a decision that will change her life, and that minor inconvenience quickly becomes something much larger that will haunt her every waking moment. [[The Boy at the Door by Alex Dahl|Full Review]] <!-- Jean Ure -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:0008164541.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0008164541/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Showtime (Dance Trilogy) by Jean Ure]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Confident Readers|Confident Readers]] Second years. The girls couldn't believe that they'd made it through the first year - in fact they'd all made it, all eight of them, which was most unusual. Usually some were thrown out - they might have grown too tall, didn't look right or didn't have the commitment required. Maddie felt a bit nervous when she thought about that last bit as there'd been a point when she might have been thrown out for that reason. She's now determined that she ''really'' does want to be a ballet dancer, except... [[Showtime (Dance Trilogy) by Jean Ure|Full Review]] <!-- Dard -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1782272011.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1782272011/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="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"Sunny Singh|title=Hotel Arcadia|rating=3.5|genre=Thrillers |summary=[[The GravediggersHotel 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' Bread 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 Frederic Dard 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 Melanie Florence Margaret Thatcher is Prime Minister. (translatorA 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'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.}}{{Frontpage|isbn=1035906708|title=Diva|author=Daisy Goodwin|rating=4.5|genre=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 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: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.|isbn=0008664730}}{{Frontpage|author=James Sherwood Metts|title=Planet Storyland|rating=4.5star5|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.jpg|linkisbn=Category:{1736128426}}{{Frontpage|author=Matthew Tree|title=We'll Never Know|rating=4.5|genre=Literary Fiction|summary= Timothy Wyndham wants nothing more than to be different from his father, a drunk and chronic underachiever whose dreams of being exceptional at any of his artistic passions all failed miserably and who had endless crises of self confidence. So Tim applied himself to his studies, cultivated his abilities rather than his daydreams and set himself high but achievable ambitions.|isbn= B0CVFXPGP8}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime{{Frontpage|author=A G Slatter|title=The Briar Book of the Dead|rating=5|genre=Fantasy|Crime]]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, [[:Category:Thrillers|Thrillers]]all mine, at last. I just want to enjoy it for a while.''

Blaise Within a remote mountain pass, far away from the world, lies Silverton; a town under the protection of the Briar's, a family of witches who protect the town and the wider world from the Darklands. Though she has always wished for magic, Ellie Briar is the first non-witch to be born into her family for generations and as such since she was young, her training as a steward revolved around letters and administration rather than spells and potions. When her grandmother suddenly dies, Ellie's cousin Audra becomes the Briar Witch, the town's leader, and Ellie takes her place beside her. As challenges come her way left, right and centre, Ellie uncovers the rare ability to communicate with the dead, putting her at the heart of a loose endmaelstrom of chaos. Reeling from one family secret to another, Ellie must decide who to trust and determine what to do as the Briar witches' legacy, everything they have sacrificed to survive, is under threat.|isbn=1803364548}}{{Frontpage|isbn=1529900360|title=The Ghost Orchid|author=Jonathan Kellerman|rating=4|genre=Crime|summary=It hadn't been Lt Milo Sturgis's fault that Alex Delaware had been badly injured but he felt responsible and even after Alex recovered, Sturgis was reluctant to ask for having left Paris his help on difficult cases. His assertions that there were only open-and-shut cases which didn't need the help of a wild goose chase psychologist only worked for a jobwhile. Finally, it was Robin, Delaware's partner, who nudged Milo into asking for help again. She knew that the involvement was something that the man she loved needed. The next case did look simple, though. Two lovers were murdered in the swimming pool of a remote property in Bel Air. He was the heir to an Italian shoe empire and she is married to an extremely rich man and it's not the Italian. But which of them was the primary target?}}{{Frontpage|isbn=1529395224|title=Letting the Cat Out of the Bag: The Secret Life of a Vet|author=Sion Rowlands|rating=3.5|genre=Animals and Wildlife|summary=Siôn Rowlands fell into veterinary science accidentally. His father was a GP and Rowlands didn't want to follow in his footsteps, particularly when he considered the strain that being on-call put on his father's life. When he was seventeen he took the opportunity of doing work experience with a family friendwho was a vet and was convinced this was the job for him. Before long, he was at Liverpool University. It hadn's ideat - 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 stuck outside close friend and former colleague, Danny Maik, has taken a call box waiting short holiday in Singapore to meet up with an old ally, Guy Trueman. Maik was involved in a street brawl - he would later maintain that he was facing a man armed with a knife - and he killed a Ghurka. Initially, he faced a charge of manslaughter but evidence came to light that suggested that he might have planned to report back before murder the man. Now he gets could be facing the traindeath penalty. Domenic Jejeune can do nothing to help as any interference from another police force could provoke a diplomatic incident and wouldn't help Danny at all.}}{{Frontpage|author=Alexander McCall Smith|title=The Perfect Passion Company|rating=4.5|genre=General Fiction|summary=The woman Perfect Passion Company is a dating agency in Edinburgh, run by Ness and operating as an alternative to all the post office using online apps in providing a more personal, tailored service. Ness has asked her younger cousin Katie if she could come and look after the payphone finally finishes her business, and leaves him with a strong impression – as well as Ness is planning to take a wallet dropped 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 floor containing several days' good moneychance to come home to Edinburgh. And so begins this new story from Alexander McCall Smith, bringing us to an Edinburgh we already love, thanks to 44 Scotland Street andthe Isabel Dalhousie novels, but with some new characters who quickly begin to charm. Katie has no experience in running a business, when he tracks or in match-making, but Ness has full confidence in her abilities, and there's always her very helpful (and rather handsome) neighbour, William, to lend a hand…|isbn=1846976596}}{{Frontpage|isbn=0811771741|title=InstaKnits for Baby|author=Melissa Leapman|rating=4|genre=Crafts|summary=Melissa Leapman's ''InstaKnits for Baby'' gives us a collection of knits from toys to blankets. Some will be quick knits - others are of the village funeral directors'long, signs cosy afternoons in front of her infidelitythe fire' variety. The 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. Lo All the projects are attractive, modern and behold he useable. I perhaps show my age when I wonder about 'social-media-worthy projects' but that's me being picky.}}{{Frontpage|author=Dean Koontz|title=The Bad Weather Friend|rating=4.5|genre=Paranormal|summary=Benny is given having a terrifically bad day. He loses his job as the woman, 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 husband's assistantpossible that whoever or whatever was inside is the thing that has trashed his house! The thing is, although she also starts Benny is the very last person to employ him in sending messages to her amour, her childhood love before circumstances changeddeserve all this bad luck. Blaise He is of course deeply in love with a nice person. A really nice person. So fortunately for Benny it turns out that the woman by nowdelivery to his house is a new friend, a bad weather friend called Spike, and hates the two obstacles preventing who has been sent to help him since Benny is clearly under attack from nefarious forces for being with hera good person. One Spike is the lovergoing to take care of Benny, and will certainly take care of Benny's enemies, if he, Benny, and Harper (a brutish bloke with little prospects 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 bad case 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 epilepsythe two. Surely But he will '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 fall by into the waysideregular back garden, but into a world of frightening adventure and surely whiffs. This time round it drops them into a Viking land, where a troll hunter is expected – well, one much bigger than Murray was, to be honest, but he's turned up and he'll have to do…|isbn=0008561249}}{{Frontpage|isbn=B0C47LV1PC|title=Fragility|author=Mosby Woods|rating=4|genre=Literary Fiction|summary= Can you make a ''Yo birthing person'' joke? And if you could, is the brick wall of fate keeping Blaise from his intended destiny will remain two men tallquestion should you make it? Or is the question if you did, would it land? [[The Gravediggers' Bread by Frederic Dard and Melanie Florence (translator)|Full Review]]catch is that the answer for both could well be.... no.

<!''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?}}{{Frontpage|author=Alex Bell and Tim McDonagh|title=The Glorious Race of Magical Beasts|rating=4|genre=Confident Readers|summary=Eli is a busy lad – by day an apprentice in the wondrous library we start by visiting with him, and in the evening a helper at the dessert cafe his gran owns and runs. Eli lives with his lovely gran, too – for there is a generation missing in the family. A few short years ago, Eli's parents were both lost to the titular race, a globe- DO NOT REMOVE ANYTHING BELOW THIS LINE -->trotting adventure where all entrants have to navigate the world in the company of a magical beast. This has made the race anathema to the pair – but when a bad incident at the eatery leads to a confession from gran, Eli knows his only hope is to dare to enter what he most hates, with the sole aim the prize of magic at the end – the only thing to possibly save his gran.|isbn=0571382231}}