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

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

==Reviews of the The Best New Books==

'''Read [[Forthcoming Publications|reviews of books about to be published]].{{Frontpage|class-"wikitable" cellpaddingauthor="15" <!-- INSERT NEW REVIEWS BELOW HERE-->Tom Percival<!-- Steve Burrows -->|title=The Wrong Shoes|-rating=5| stylegenre="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|Confident Readers[[image:1786074389.jpg|linksummary=http://wwwWill's life is difficult, in a multitude of ways.amazon.co.uk/dp/1786074389/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[A Tiding 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 Magpies: A Birder Murder Mystery by Steve Burrows]]=== [[image:3things 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.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|Crime]] DCI Domenic Jejeune Throw into that mix the fact that his mum and dad are separated, and Will's most celebrated case was his rescue life seems bleak in every direction. And yet, he still has a tiny amount of the Home Secretary's daughter when she was kidnappedhope. It's always been his deep regret that he failed He is good at art, and clings to rescue the man who was kidnapped with her and this has all resurfaced now moments of joy when he is drawing, that feel like a light at the case is being reviewedend of a long, dark tunnel. Long-buried secrets are bound to come |isbn=1398527122}}{{Frontpage|author=Sylvie Cathrall|title=A Letter to light, even though the officer reviewing the case, DC Desdemona Gill, is a fan of his Luminous Deep|rating=5|genre=Science Fiction|summary= There are few greater joys than a book which lives up to the extent that it's almost embarrassinga compelling premise. The review isn't the only problem he has though: And this is one of them.|isbn= 0356522776}}{{Frontpage|isbn=0008517061|title=Death in a body has been found on some waste ground, but it's so badly burned that identification is difficult - and made more difficult by the indecision of the Medical Examiner. [[A Tiding of Magpies: A Birder Murder Mystery by Steve BurrowsLonely Place|author=Stig Abell|Full Review]]rating=4|genre=Crime<!-- Neil White -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1785764608|summary= Former Metropolitan Police detective, Jake Johnson, has settled into his rustic life at Little Sky.jpg|link=http 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://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1785764608/ref=nosimdoes 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?tag=thebookbag-21]] For the moment they’re enjoying life in the present and putting the future on the back burner.}}{{Frontpage| styleisbn="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"1786482126|title=The Janus Stone (Dr Ruth Galloway)|author=Elly Griffiths|rating==[[The Darkness Around Her by Neil White]]===4.5[[image:4star.jpg|linkgenre=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|Crime]] Lizzie Barnsley summary=Builders were demolishing an old house in Norwich - the site was escaping from her abusive boyfriend going to hold seventy-five 'luxury' apartments - when she was murdered on they discovered the canal towpath on New Year's Evebones of a child beneath a doorway. It obviously wasnThere was no skull. Was this a ritual killing or murder? Inevitably, Dr Ruth Galloway finds herself working with DCI Harry Nelson. It't the boyfriend s difficult as he was still being held by Lizzie's friends at the pubRuth knows, but before long Peter Box was arrested and charged. HeNelson doesn'd sought treatment at the local hospital for an injury to t, that she is pregnant with his head which was the same shape child as the heel a result of Lizzie's shoe - and her blood was on the shoe. Dan Grant was called in to represent Box, but there's a problemone night they spent together some three months ago. Box won't talk - won't talk to the police or to GrantHer condition will be obvious before long, so how not least because Ruth is he prone to represent the man? And had Box killed Lizzie? It was obvious that he hadn't known her - so why would he kill her? [[The Darkness Around Her by Neil White|Full Review]]sudden bouts of sickness.}}<!-- Connors -->{{Frontpage|-isbn=0008551324| styletitle="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"The Devil You Know (D S Max Craigie)|author=Neil Lancaster[[image:1724588303|rating=4.jpg5|linkgenre=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1724588303/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] Crime| stylesummary="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"| ===[[Blue Sky Black by John Connors]]=== [[image:4starIt's unusual for anyone from the Hardie family to approach the police.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Teens|Teens]]   Neither side likes or has any respect for the other. But Davie Hardie is struggling in prison and he''When Tom Allenby, s prepared to tell the 14 year-old boy who can control police where the elementsbody of a missing person is buried and who was responsible for her death. This person, he promises, sees metal objects is someone big and cars rising into it will be worth the air one night police doing what he knows he is facing a powerful enemywants. The trail leads And what he wants is to be transferred to stolen magnetic stones, sinister experiments in an old country house open prison to serve the remainder of his sentence and a village hiding a secretto get an early parole date. As each of his friends faces challenges of their own Not much to ask, can Tom fight a force which knows all about themis 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.}} Of course he can! [[ Blue Sky Black by John Connors |Full Review]] <!-- Melissa Leet -->{{Frontpage|-isbn=0008405026| styletitle="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"A Stranger in the Family (Maeve Kerrigan 11)|author=Jane Casey[[image:1943826331.jpg|linkrating=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1943826331/ref5|genre=nosim?tagCrime|summary=thebookbag-21]]  | style="verticalIt's sixteen years since nine-align: top; textyear-align: left;"|===[[Landslide by Melissa Leet]]=== [[image:4starold Rosalie Marshall disappeared from her bed one summer night. She was never found and the investigation ground to a halt.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:General Fiction|General Fiction]] Now, her mother, Helena, and her father are dead in their bed. Initially, [[:Category:Womenit looks like a straightforward murder/suicide but there's Fiction|Women's Fiction]] The area where Jill and Susie lived wasn't highly populated so it was fortunate that they became such good friends, despite something about the positioning of the fact bodies that Susie was a year older than Jillmakes DS Maeve Kerrigan and her boss DI Josh Derwent suspicious. Susie lived with her mother, What looked as though it was going to be an alcoholic, open-and Jill lived with ''her'' mother, who dedicated herself to her garden-shut case is now a complex double murder. JillKerrigan is convinced that the explanation lies in Rosalie's father was Jay Tutle, the photographer, but he spent much of his time working away - often for months on end. In reality there was little difference between the two familiesdisappearance: Mrs Smithothers (such as Derwent's alcoholism caused serious illness whilst Susie was still youngboss, Una Burt) are less convinced. Joy and tragedy would visit Jill's home}}{{Frontpage|isbn=0571379877|title=The Kellerby Code|author=Jonny Sweet|rating=3. ''Landslide'' 5|genre=Crime|summary=Edward Jevons is the story of how what happened determined the course of Jilla working-class young man, obsessed with his upper-class friends, Robert and Stanza. Robert's life a theatre director. He's also self-obsessed, demanding, handsome and how great tragedy can breed resilience entitled and hopeuses Edward to run errands for him. [[Landslide by Melissa Leet|Full Review]] <! Edward has been in love with Stanza since their university days -- Pearse --> |-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:0718189248and he's drunkenly confided how he feels to Robert.jpg|link=http://www 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.amazon.co.uk/dp/0718189248/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]}}{{Frontpage|author=Jo Callaghan| styletitle="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"Leave No Trace|rating=4|genre=Crime|summary==[[The House Across 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 Street by Lesley Pearse]]=== [[image:5starAI detective Lock.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|Crime]] It's their first live case together, [[:Category:Thrillers|Thrillers]] Have you ever having previously been very successful with several cold cases. But when there is a second body found yourself staring out the window slightly longer than needed to see what your neighbours are up to? This crucified a few days later, Kat is suddenly struggling with a common occurrence for Katy Speed who regularly watches 'The House Across the Street' as potential serial killer and a very high profile case that draws a frequent stream lot of women are brought there 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 same black hummer case and seen leaving , potentially, out of a short while latercareer?|isbn=139851120X}}{{Frontpage|isbn=1399613073|title=Moral Injuries|author=Christie Watson|rating=4. Although slightly unusual5|genre=Thrillers|summary=Olivia, not much 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 said aside from your typical neighbourhood gossipruthlessly ambitious, that which is until Katy a bonus when you aim to be a cardiothoracic surgeon. Laura is a perfectionist and a trauma doctor. Anjali is woken up in the early hours one morning to find out that the same house has been burnt to free spirit of the ground, along with the woman who lives theregroup and she becomes a GP. This situation is made a whole lot worse for Katy when her father is arrested for starting the fire. What follows is an engrossing depiction of Katy When we first meet them they're at a drug and alcohol-fuelled party and it's quest going to prove her father's innocence whilst dealing with her unbearable mother and ultimately having end in tragedy. We don't know who suffered the tragedy or the safety of many people's lives in her handsconsequences. [[The House Across the Street by Lesley Pearse|Full Review]] <! Twenty-- Maitland -->five years later there will be an eerily similar event that will impact the three friends. This time, it's their teenage children who are involved.}}{{Frontpage|-isbn=0241636604| styletitle="widthThe Trading Game: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"A Confession|author=Gary Stevenson[[image:1472235878.jpg|linkrating=http://www4.amazon.co.uk/dp/1472235878/ref=nosim?tag5|genre=thebookbag-21]] Autobiography| stylesummary="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[A Gathering If you were to bring up an image of a city banker in your mind, you're unlikely to think of Ghosts by Karen Maitland]]=== [[image:5starsomeone 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.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Paranormal|Paranormal]], [[:Category:Thrillers|Thrillers]], [[:Category:Historical Fiction|Historical Fiction]] Witchcraft, the supernatural and the will to survive at all costs collide in 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 story that never shies away from the darker side facility with numbers which most of human natureus can only envy. The land is unhappy, the old spirits want revenge and famine is kindling a resurgence of the old faith He also realised that most rich people expect poor people to be stupid. As fear rises, it is increasingly difficult for Prioress Johanne to ignore that something rotten has taken rootIt was his ability at what was, essentially, a card game which got him an internship with Citibank. The sacred well is tainted Eventually, its healing waters run red with blood and strangers are blowing in on this turned into permanent employment as a wind of changetrader. [[A Gathering of Ghosts by Karen Maitland|Full Review]]}}{{Frontpage<!-- Sedgwick -->|isbn=1035021803|-title=The Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder| styleauthor="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"C L Miller|rating=3.5[[image:1788542304.jpg|linkgenre=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1788542304/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] Crime| stylesummary="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Monsters We Deserve by Marcus Sedgwick]]=== [[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:Teens|Teens]] She's back now because of a request for help from her beloved aunt, [[:Category:Horror|Horror]] Two hundred years ago, bad weatherCarole. Freya's former mentor and Carole's close friend, bad company (wellArthur Crockleford, the kind that is also mad, dead and dangerous to know)the circumstances seem suspicious, a spooky reading list and a few chance topics of discussion all led a young woman to start writing her first, and definitely her most famous ever, booksay the least. The narrator of this novel has brought himself Arthur was the reason why Freya had not been back to a remote Alpine buildingthe village: Arthur, in the centre of that first novel's worldshe feels, to revisit it let her down badly. Even though they were in honour of its bicentenary. He hates itbusiness together as antique hunters, for he sees it as badly written and with some unwelcome biases. He seems she has not felt able to only be there near the man or pursue the profession she loved. After the split, she worked in a cafe, met and doing this for married James (on the rebound from the publisher to whom he addresses a lot love of the script we read. But what if some greater force wanted him there too? [[The Monsters We Deserve by Marcus Sedgwick|Full Review]]her life, who was murdered) and Freya and James have now divorced.}}<!-- Denzil Meyrick -->{{Frontpage|-isbn=AllTomorrowsFutureCover| styletitle="widthAll Tomorrow's Futures: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"Fictions that Disrupt|author=Benjamin Greenaway and Stephen Oram (Editors)[[image:1846974127.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1846974127/refrating=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] 5| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Relentless Tide (DCI Daley) by Denzil Meyrick]]==genre=Science Fiction [[image:4star.jpg|linksummary=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|Crime]] The site was rumoured to have been the home ''Opening up new ways of Viking warlord Somerled so thinking about the discovery by Professor Francombe and her team shape of archaeologists of the graves of three women initially caused great excitement, which rapidly turned to horror when they realised that the women had died just over twenty years agothings to come. The graves would bring some closure though - these were the bodies of the three missing victims of the 'Midweek Murderer' who operated in Glasgow in the early to mid nineties. It was also an opportunity for DCI Jim Daley to confront a failure in his past. He'd been on the original case and the murderer had never been found. He'd also lost a close friend and made some enemies, one of whom would return to taunt him when Police Scotland's Cold Case Unit arrived on the scene. [[The Relentless Tide (DCI Daley) by Denzil Meyrick|Full Review]] <!-- Yuval Noah Harari -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1787330672.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1787330672/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari]]=== [[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Politics and Society|Politics and Society]] Yuval Noah HarariIf gave us ''Sapiens'', which told the history of mankind and then ''Homo Deus'' which looked at mankind's future. Now we have ''21 Lessons for the 21st Century'' which looks at the challenges we currently face and it's enlightening, thought-provoking and occasionally just a little bit frightening. It's unlikely that mankind will face what - eighty years ago - would have been thought of as a traditional war, with armies, navies and air forces fighting it out hand to hand. It's much more likely that the threats we'll face will be relatively new. Harari looks at them in some depth. [[21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari|Full Review]] <!-- Wilson -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1786496038.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1786496038/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Aftershocks by A N Wilson]]=== [[image:3.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Literary Fiction|Literary Fiction]], [[:Category:General Fiction|General Fiction]] In a country very much like New Zealand, but at the same time most avowedly not, two women will find love. Strong love too, for our narrator will say that her first attraction for her partner was the only thing to make sense of all those exaggerated songs she'd heard, and books and poems she'd read, and plays she'd acted in – works of art that had until then seemed sheer hyperbole. It was entirely unrequited love for quite some time, but it does burgeon, or so we're promised from the off, because of something quite drastic – a major earthquake very much like the one that hit Christchurch, but at the same time most avowedly not. This book then is the combined exploration of the lovers and the story of the quake. [[Aftershocks by A N Wilson|Full Review]] <!-- Torday -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1786540517.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1786540517/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Lost Magician by Piers Torday]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Confident Readers|Confident Readers]] In a world ravaged by the horrors of the Second World War, two boys and two girls move to the countryside to stay with a professor. They find a secret door and then a strange and enthralling world where they are needed, to play a major role in an epic battle. Sound familiar? [[The Lost Magician by Piers Torday|Full Review]] <!-- Bowden -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:B07FRH481F.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07FRH481F/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"| ===[[The Amber Maze by Christopher Bowden]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:General Fiction|General Fiction]]  Hugh Mullion goes away to Dorset for the weekend and, while waiting for his wife to arrive, finds a mysterious key down the back of an antique chair. The grubby and torn label to which is attached reads... [[The Amber Maze by Christopher Bowden|Full Review]] <!-- Pickles --> |-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1787112926.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1787112926/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Worzel goes for a Walk. Will you come too? by Catherine Pickles and Chantal Bourgonje]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:For Sharing|For Sharing]], [[:Category:Pets|Pets]] When we [[Worzel says hello! Will you be my friend? by Catherine Pickles and Chantal Bourgonje|last met Worzel Woolface]] he was a rather frightened dog who had difficulty meeting people. He's a bit better now and something which he really enjoys is going for a walk. It's not just a case of attaching a lead and heading for your favourite spot - there are a lot of other things to think about first. [[Worzel goes for a Walk. Will you come too? by Catherine Pickles and Chantal Bourgonje|Full Review]]  <!-- Kearsley -->|-| style=''width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;''|[[image:1492687863.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1492687863/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style=''vertical-align: top; text-align: left;''|===[[Bellewether by Susanna Kearsley]]=== [[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Thrillers|Thrillers]], [[:Category:Historical Fiction|Historical Fiction]], [[:Category:Paranormal|Paranormal]] Flitting between the present day and mid 16thcentury, ''Bellewether'' tells the fascinating tale of the Wilde House and all its inhabitants. In the present tense aspects, the Wilde House is being turned into a museum due to the legacy left by Captain Benjamin Wilde. It is told from the perspective of Charley, the museum curator, who is intrigued by the ghost who haunts the house and their story; a tale that ends in tragedy involving Benjamin Wilde's sister, Lydia, and a French-Canadian lieutenant, Jean-Philippe who was sent to live there. The perspective of the book is continuously shifted between Charley, then Lydia and Jean-Philippe. The latter two tell the truth about what was happening during this chaotic time in history, just as Charley is beginning to unravel it herself. [[Bellewether by Susanna Kearsley|Full Review]] <!-- Reeve -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:0192766082.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0192766082/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Legend of Kevin: A Roly-Poly Flying Pony Adventure (Legend of Kevin 1) by Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntyre]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Confident Readers|Confident Readers]] Meet Kevin. He's a flying pony, and he's a little on the plump side. He loves biscuits too much is why, but he's happily living in the middle of nowhere, in the wild, wet hills of the Outermost West. Now meet Max. He's a simple human being, not flying anywhere, and wishing for a pet to share his time in his top-floor flat with, something his Byronically goth sister and parents don't agree with. One night, however, the wild and wet hills are wilder and wetter than usual, and an enormous storm blows Kevin out of his nest, and on to the balcony outside Max's window. The two are bound to become friends, but they might not be able to relax just yet, for the bad weather has not finished… [[The Legend of Kevin: A Roly-Poly Flying Pony Adventure (Legend of Kevin 1) by Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntyre|Full Review]] <!-- Elizabeth Haynes --> |-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:191240804X.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/191240804X/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Murder of Harriet Monkton by Elizabeth Haynes]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime (Historical)|Crime (Historical)]], [[:Category:True Crime|True Crime]] ''But that's just it'', she said. ''It's ''not'' Harriet, is it? Not our Harriet. It's some manufactured creature, that exists only for this blessed inquest: something to be summed up like a spirit, to be examined and pored over, to be sneered at and judged. Harriet deserves to be remembered as she was to us, not picked at like carrion.'' And that was the problem: it seemed that there were two Harriets. There was the one her friends - a fellow teacher, her would-be lover, her seducer and the man who was her landlord who was also her lover - knew. Some spoke of her as kindly, virtuous and pious, but that was before her body was found behind the chapel which she regularly attended in Bromley. She'd been poisoned - or had taken her own life. After the inquest was opened another Harriet would emerge, one who was about six months pregnant and who had obviously not been living the chaste life expected of a young, unmarried woman in 1843. [[The Murder of Harriet Monkton by Elizabeth Haynes|Full Review]] <!-- Vallance -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1848126603.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1848126603/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[You Only Live Once by Jess Vallance]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Teens|Teens]] Gracie Dart is a studious, responsible student with a colour coded timetable and French verbs covering her walls. She's hardworking and smart but once her final school exams are over, Gracie has a revelation. After she mistakenly thinks she's contracted a fatal illness (the perils of looking up symptoms on the internet) Gracie decides to start living her life. Her studies are finished for the summer so Gracie wants to say yes to every opportunity that comes her way, and just like her meticulous study timetable, Gracie Dart doesn't do anything by half measures. [[You Only Live Once by Jess Vallance|Full Review]] <!-- Bennett -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1786487861.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1786487861/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Fantasy|Fantasy]] Sancia Grado is just about to pull off the biggest heist of her fugitive life for more money than she has ever seen before in all her gruelling years on Tevanne's streets. The job: steal a small wooden box from a safe deep inside the Waterwatch-patrolled harbour and deliver it untouched to the client. Fearless and quick, she is the best thief Foundryside has to offer and has never interfered with jobs before. Yet once she has the box in her possession, she can't shake the uneasy apprehensive feeling of what lies within. For Sancia is no ordinary thief, with the magical ability to scrive and understand everything she touches she's about to discover a secret that will sent her fleeing for her life, unearthing myths that are it transpires more truth than fairy-tale. Working against the clock, Sancia will work to save her world and prevent a descent into destruction. [[Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett|Full Review]] <!-- Stone -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1789014921.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1789014921/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"| ===[[What's Left Unsaid by Deborah Stone]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:General Fiction|General Fiction]]  Sasha has a lot on her plate. Husband Jeremy is distant and absent and the marriage needs work. Son Zac is entering a rebellious adolescent phase and it's hard to know how to redirect him. Mother Annie, an alcoholic, is beginning the journey into dementia and has never been an easy person at the best of times. Thank heavens for her lovely dog, Sebastian, and his unconditional love. [[What's Left Unsaid by Deborah Stone|Full Review]] <!-- Marion Leigh -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1789014190.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1789014190/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] 

I've heard it said that 'technology' is what happens after you're eighteen. Well, I must confess that there have been more than a few decades of technology in my lifetime. I've kept up reasonably well with what's advantageous to me but I'm left with the feeling that it's all getting away from me. Some of it is - frankly - quite frightening. Of course, I could research the possibilities and the probabilities and end up down rabbit holes without really understanding whether I'm reading someone who knows what they're talking about or the latest conspiracy theorist. I needed people I knew I could trust and who could deliver information in a way I could understand.}}{{Frontpage|author=Sunny Singh|title=Hotel Arcadia|rating=3.5|genre=Thrillers |summary=The Hotel Arcadia is a luxury hotel in an unnamed city that has suddenly been violently taken over by a terrorist group. Hiding from the terrorists who are rampaging through, killing everyone on site, there is Sam, a wartime photographer and Abhi, the hotel manager. As Abhi continues to try to care remotely for the residents who are still alive in the hotel, he forms a bond with Sam who refuses to be cowed by events, and keeps on venturing out of her room to try to capture what's happened through her photography. Although they only ever talk over the phone, their friendship grows as Abhi tries to help her keep safe and they both wait to see if they will be rescued before they are discovered by the terrorists.|isbn=086154742X}}{{Frontpage|isbn=1529153298|title=The List of Suspicious Things|author=Jennie Godfrey|rating=5|genre=General Fiction|summary=It's 1979 and Margaret Thatcher is Prime Minister. (A woman? I mean, honestly...) She's not what's worrying Miv's family, though. Women have been disappearing. Well, they've been murdered, but to have 'disappeared' doesn't sound quite so frightening. Miv's upset because she's overheard that her father wants to move the family 'Down South'. When you're from Yorkshire, Down South is a frightening, foreign place, best avoided. For Miv, the move would mean leaving her best friend, Sharon, and she'll do anything to prevent that. She's not worried about the dangers or that her Mum's stopped talking - to anyone.}}{{Frontpage|isbn=1398524085|title=Has Anyone Seen Charlotte Salter?|author=Nicci French| stylerating="vertical5|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 -align: top; textstrangely -align: left;"her husband, Alec, is not. Shortly afterwards, Etty and Greg, find the body of Greg's father, Duncan Ackerley, in the river. It was an easy assumption for the police to make that Duncan had murdered Charlie and then committed suicide when he couldn't stand the guilt. The Salter children are not convinced but there's little else they can do but get on with their lives and wonder about what really happened.}}{{Frontpage|isbn=1035906708|title=Diva|author=Daisy Goodwin|rating=4.5|genre=General Fiction|summary=[[A Holiday 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 Die For 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 Marion Leigh]]a mother who mercilessly exploited her and made no secret of her preference for her elder sister, Jackie.}}{{Frontpage|author=Christopher Edge|title=Black Hole Cinema Club|rating=4|genre=Confident Readers|summary=Lucas and his friends are all booked in for a movie marathon at their local cinema, a place that has the nickname of 'The Black Hole'. All big movie fans, they're looking forward to lots of exciting films, and many, many snacks! However, as the movie starts, they very quickly realise that something about this new film format is very different, and they are swept up into an adventure they couldn't even imagine. But as they lurch from one film genre to the next, can they figure out what on earth is going on? Will they ever get back to the cinema, and to their real lives?|isbn=1839942738}}{{Frontpage|author=Rachel Greenlaw|title=Compass and Blade|rating=3.5|genre=Teens|summary=''I can hear the song of the sea. The call of the deep, the answering beat in my heart.''

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

It was Within a remote mountain pass, far away from the world, lies Silverton; a town under the holiday protection of the Briar's, a lifetime: Petra Minx 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 accompanying young, her childhood friendtraining as a steward revolved around letters and administration rather than spells and potions. When her grandmother suddenly dies, CarloEllie's cousin Audra becomes the Briar Witch, to his cousinthe town's wedding in South Africa leader, and Ellie takes her place beside her. As challenges come her way left, right and taking centre, Ellie uncovers the opportunity rare ability to communicate with the dead, putting her at the heart of a maelstrom of chaos. Reeling from one family secret to another, Ellie must decide who to trust and determine what to see do as much the Briar witches' legacy, everything they have sacrificed to survive, is under threat.|isbn=1803364548}}{{Frontpage|isbn=1529900360|title=The Ghost Orchid|author=Jonathan Kellerman|rating=4|genre=Crime|summary=It hadn't been Lt Milo Sturgis's fault that Alex Delaware had been badly injured but he felt responsible and even after Alex recovered, Sturgis was reluctant to ask for his help on difficult cases. His assertions that there were only open-and-shut cases which didn't need the help of a psychologist only worked for a while. Finally, it was Robin, Delaware's partner, who nudged Milo into asking for help again. She knew that the country as involvement was something that the man she could whilst 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 therethe 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. Petra works for 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 Royal Canadian Mounted Police opportunity of doing work experience with a family friend who was a vet and Carlo is from Interpolwas convinced this was the job for him. Before long, he was at Liverpool University. It hadn't - as with so theymany 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're hoping for s close friend and former colleague, Danny Maik, has taken a short holiday free from crimein 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, although Carlo does seem he faced a charge of manslaughter but evidence came to light that suggested that he might have rather more planned to murder the man. interest in diamond smuggling than Now he could be facing the average tourist death penalty. Domenic Jejeune can do nothing to help as any interference from another police force could provoke a diplomatic incident and Petra's boss doesnwouldn't seem help Danny at all.}}{{Frontpage|author=Alexander McCall Smith|title=The Perfect Passion Company|rating=4.5|genre=General Fiction|summary=The Perfect Passion Company is a dating agency in Edinburgh, run by Ness and operating as an alternative to appreciate that all the online apps in providing a more personal, tailored service. Ness has asked her younger cousin Katie if she's on vacationcould come and look after the business, as Ness is planning to take a trip to Canada to get away for a while. Katie is coming out of a break up with a bad boyfriend, and so jumps at the chance 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 and the Isabel Dalhousie novels, but with some new characters who quickly begin to charm. ItKatie has no experience in running a business, or in match-making, but Ness has full confidence in her abilities, and there's not asking much for always her very helpful (and rather handsome) neighbour, William, to track down lend a young girl whohand…|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 daughter 'long, cosy afternoons in front of an influential friend the 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. All the projects are attractive, modern and check useable. I perhaps show my age when I wonder about 'social-media-worthy projects' but that she's OKme being picky.}}{{Frontpage|author=Dean Koontz|title=The Bad Weather Friend|rating=4.5|genre=Paranormal|summary=Benny is having a terrifically bad day. He loses his job, he loses his fiancee, and his house gets trashed. Oh, and someone has delivered a really weird, disturbing coffin-sized object to his home, and it's possible that whoever or whatever was inside is the thing that has trashed his house! The thing is, Benny is the very last person to deserve all this bad luck. He is a nice person. A really nice person. So fortunately for Benny it? turns out that the delivery to his house is a new friend, a bad weather friend called Spike, who has been sent to help him since Benny is clearly under attack from nefarious forces for being a good person. Then there Spike is going to take care of Benny, and will certainly take care of Benny's enemies, if he, Benny, and Harper (a waitress slash Private Investigator who finds herself roped into Benny's wild adventure) can figure out who exactly they are Megan .|isbn=1662500491}}{{Frontpage|author=Adam Stower|title=Murray and Hilary: theyBun|rating=4.5|genre=Confident Readers |summary=Murray is supposed to be a humble, tidy and friendly cat, one who is able to sleep and eat and eat and sleep and, well, whatever takes his fancy next of the two. But he's a bad magician're on s cat, so his favourite bun has been turned into a gap yearhyperactive sticky rabbit called Bun, but Petra and the catflap they both use can't help chuck them out, not into the regular back garden, but think that they're getting themselves into dangers they don't understanda world of frightening adventure and whiffs. StillThis time round it drops them into a Viking land, where a troll hunter is expected – well, one much bigger than Murray was, itto be honest, but he's not going turned up and he'll have to spoil do…|isbn=0008561249}}{{Frontpage|isbn=B0C47LV1PC|title=Fragility|author=Mosby Woods|rating=4|genre=Literary Fiction|summary= Can you make a wedding in a vineyard''Yo birthing person'' joke? And if you could, is the question should you make it? Or is the question if you did, would itland? The bride does seem strangely uninvolved in catch is that the proceedings, thoughanswer for both could well be....no. [[A Holiday to Die For by Marion Leigh|Full Review]]

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