Changes

<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<!-- Rossner -->|title=The Wrong Shoes|-rating=5| stylegenre="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|Confident Readers[[image:035651143X.jpg|linksummary=http://wwwWill's life is difficult, in a multitude of ways.amazon.co.uk/dp/035651143X/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Sisters of He is bullied because he has 'the Winter Wood by Rena Rossner]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Fantasy|Fantasy]], [[:Category:Teens|Teens]] Raised in a small village surrounded by woodland on the border 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 Moldova and Ukrainethings like food, sisters Liba and Laya have lived his dad can't work because he lost his job at the college, was working a sheltered life cash-in- although there are whispers of troubling times ahead for Jewshand job on a building site and had an accident. When their grandfather takes ill, their parents must leave the sisters behind while they travel to Throw into that mix the fact that his sickbedmum and dad are separated, but and Will's life for Liba and Laya is about to drastically changeseems bleak in every direction. Before their parents leave And yet, Liba discovers that the fairy tales she heard as he still has a child are in fact true as she learns that her Tati can turn in to a bear tiny amount of hope. He is good at art, and her Mami in clings to a swan. Liba must carry this secret in order to help protect her sister, but the arrival moments of a mysterious group joy when he is drawing, that feel like a light at the end of men in the village carries more danger as Laya is dragged under their spella long, dark tunnel. Both sisters must stick together if they are to survive what is happening around them and they soon realise that their new-found magical heritage may be what saves them. [[The Sisters of the Winter Wood by Rena Rossner|Full Review]]|isbn=1398527122}}<!-- Auxier -->{{Frontpage|-author=Sylvie Cathrall| styletitle="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"A Letter to the Luminous Deep|rating=5[[image:1419731408.jpg|linkgenre=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1419731408/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] Science Fiction| stylesummary="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"There are few greater joys than a book which lives up to a compelling premise. And this is one of them.|isbn= 0356522776}}{{Frontpage|isbn=0008517061|title==[[Sweep: The Story of Death in a Girl and her Monster by Jonathan Auxier]]Lonely Place|author=Stig Abell|rating=4|genre=Crime [[image:5star.jpg|linksummary=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Confident Readers|Confident Readers]]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, [[:Category:For Sharing|For Sharing]] Nan is a climberLivia and her daughter Diana, the best chimney sweep as moving in London. She is growing fast, so what will happen to 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 when she gets too big to climb, when people realise she reservations about whether or not this is a girl? Everything changes, when the future she is stuck wants for herself and her daughter? For the moment they’re enjoying life in a chimney, set on fire, and saved by a golem. A story of outcasts, and friendships, told through two tales, the girl present and putting the sweep, and future on the girl and her monsterback burner. Both intertwined beautifully, so that you have a fairy tale within a fairy tale}}{{Frontpage|isbn=1786482126|title=The Janus Stone (Dr Ruth Galloway)|author=Elly Griffiths|rating=4. Moments of sadness slip easily into glorious happiness, then swiftly into heart-breaking tragedy. This is a heart-warming and engaging read for both young and old. [[Sweep: The Story of a Girl and her Monster by Jonathan Auxier|Full Review]] <!-- Sarah Hilary -->|-5|genre=Crime| stylesummary="width: 10%; verticalBuilders were demolishing an old house in Norwich - the site was going to hold seventy-align: top; textfive 'luxury' apartments -align: center;"|[[image:1472248961when they discovered the bones of a child beneath a doorway.jpg|link=http://www There was no skull.amazon Was this a ritual killing or murder? Inevitably, Dr Ruth Galloway finds herself working with DCI Harry Nelson.co.uk/dp/1472248961/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Come and Find Me (DI Marnie Rome Book 5) by Sarah Hilary]]=== [[image:4star 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.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating Her condition will be obvious before long, not least because Ruth is prone to sudden bouts of sickness.}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|Crime]]{{FrontpageThere|isbn=0008551324|title=The Devil You Know (D S Max Craigie)|author=Neil Lancaster|rating=4.5|genre=Crime|summary=It's no reason unusual for anyone from the Hardie family to think that Lara Chorley and Ruth Hull have anything in common, approach the police. Neither side likes or has any respect for the other than a rather strange infatuation with writing to Michael Vokey, a sadistic inmate of Cloverton Prison. They crave his attention But Davie Hardie is struggling in prison and can't believe that he's as evil as his trial suggests. It might not have become important was it not for prepared to tell the riot at police where the prison, which ended up with Vokey killing two inmates, blinding body of a missing person is buried and maiming more - and escaping under cover of who was responsible for her death. This person, he promises, is someone big and it will be worth the smoke from the fire police doing what he causedwants. Not surprisingly staff and inmates at Cloverton are unwilling And what he wants is to talk about where they think Vokey might be hiding out - they have wives, children transferred to an open prison to serve the remainder of his sentence and friends who might be at riskto get an early parole date. [[Come and Find Me (DI Marnie Rome Book 5) by Sarah Hilary|Full Review]] <!-- Rachel Lynch -->| Not much to ask, is it? The new Deputy Police Constable doesn't think so and she's even prepared to do the other thing that Hardie demanded -make certain that DS Max Craigie and anyone who works with him is kept well away from what's happening.}}{{Frontpage| styleisbn="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|0008405026[[image:B07GBS8Y5H.jpg|linktitle=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07GBS8Y5H/refA Stranger in the Family (Maeve Kerrigan 11)|author=nosim?tagJane Casey|rating=thebookbag-21]]5|genre=Crime| stylesummary="verticalIt's sixteen years since nine-align: top; textyear-align: left;"|===[[Dead End (D I Kelly Porter) by Rachel Lynch]]=== [[image:4starold Rosalie Marshall disappeared from her bed one summer night.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|Crime]] The seventh earl of Lowesdale was She was never found hanging in his study by his teenage and the investigation ground to a halt. grandsonNow, Zachary. her mother, Helena, and her father are dead in their bed. Initially everyone assumed that the nonagenarian, hard-partying aristocrat had finally realised that it looks like a straightforward murder/suicide but there's something about the glories positioning of his youth were long past the bodies that makes DS Maeve Kerrigan and had decided to take the quick way outher boss DI Josh Derwent suspicious. When forensics discovered signs of foul play DI Kelly Porter What looked as though it was called ingoing to be an open-and-shut case is now a complex double murder. ItKerrigan is convinced that the explanation lies in Rosalie's not the only problem she has though: two young hikers have gone missing on the fells near Ullswater and she is in charge of the searchdisappearance: others (such as Derwent's boss, Una Burt) are less convinced. When they're not found within a couple of days her team uncover links to two other unsolved disappearances - and the girls all look startlingly similar. [[Dead End (D I Kelly Porter) by Rachel Lynch|Full Review]] <!-- Davidson -->}}{{Frontpage|-isbn=0571379877| styletitle=''width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;''The Kellerby Code|author=Jonny Sweet[[image:1912242052.jpg|linkrating=http://www3.amazon.co.uk/dp/1912242052/ref5|genre=nosim?tagCrime|summary=thebookbagEdward Jevons is a working-21]]  | style=class young man, obsessed with his upper-class friends, Robert and Stanza. Robert's a theatre director. He'verticals also self-align: top; textobsessed, demanding, handsome and entitled and uses Edward to run errands for him. Edward has been in love with Stanza since their university days -align: left;and he's drunkenly confided how he feels to Robert. Most men in Robert'|===[[O Joy for me! by Keir Davidson]]=== [[image:3star.jpg|link=Categorys 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.}}{{{Frontpage|author=Jo Callaghan|title=Leave No Trace|rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Art=4|Art]], [[:Category:Biographygenre=Crime|Biography]]summary=When a man is found crucified on the top of a hill in Nuneaton, [[:Category:Travel|Travel]]DCS Kat Frank finds herself assigned to the case alongside her sidekick, [[:Category:Reference|Reference]] ''Oh Joy the AI detective Lock. for me!It'' gives Coleridge credit for being ''the s their first person to walk the mountains alonelive case together, not because he had to for work, as a miner, quarryman, shepherd or pack-horse driver, but because he wanted to for pleasure and adventurehaving previously been very successful with several cold cases. His rapturous encounters with their natural beautyBut when there is a second body found crucified a few days later, Kat is suddenly struggling with a potential serial killer and its literary consequences, changed our view a very high profile case that draws a lot of the world''unwanted attention to their AI Future Policing project. [[O Joy for me! by Keir Davidson|Full Review]] <!-- Wooding -->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?|isbn=139851120X}}{{Frontpage|-isbn=1399613073| styletitle="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"Moral Injuries|author=Christie Watson[[image:147321484X.jpg|linkrating=http://www4.amazon.co.uk/dp/147321484X/ref5|genre=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] Thrillers| stylesummary="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Ember Blade by Chris Wooding]]=== [[image:5starOlivia, 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.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Fantasy|Fantasy]] A land under occupation Anjali is the free spirit of the group and she becomes a GP. A legendary sword. A young man When we first meet them they's journey to find his destiny. Aren has lived by the rules all his life. Here at a drug and alcohol-fuelled party and it's never questioned it; thatgoing to end in tragedy. We don's just t know who suffered the tragedy or the way things areconsequences. But then his father is executed for treason Twenty-five years later there will be an eerily similar event that will impact the three friends. This time, and he and his best friend Cade it's their teenage children who are thrown into a prison mine, doomed to work until they dropinvolved. Unless they can somehow break free }}{{Frontpage|isbn=0241636604|title=The Trading Game: A Confession|author=Gary Stevenson|rating=4. 5|genre=Autobiography|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 Stevenson. But what lies beyond A hoodie and jeans replaces the prison walls is more terrifying still. Rescued by a man who hates him yet pin-stripe suit and his background is oath-bound to protect himthe East End, pursued by inhuman forces, Aren slowly accepts that everything where he knew about his world was a liefamiliar with violence, poverty and injustice. The rules are not there to protect him, or There was no posh public school on his people, CV - but he had been to enslave themthe London School of Economics. A revolution Stevenson is brewing, bright - extremely bright - and Aren is being drawn into it, whether he likes it or not. The key to the revolution is the Ember Bladehas a facility with numbers which most of us can only envy. The sword of kings, the Excalibur of his He also realised that most rich people. Only with the Ember Blade in hand can their expect poor people to be inspired to rise up stupid. . . but it's locked in It was his ability at what was, essentially, a card game which got him an impenetrable vault in the most heavily guarded fortress in the land. All they have to do now is steal it..internship with Citibank. [[The Ember Blade by Chris Wooding|Full Review]]Eventually, this turned into permanent employment as a trader.}}<!-- Felix Francis -->{{Frontpage|-isbn=1035021803| styletitle="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"The Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder|author=C L Miller[[image:1471173119.jpg|link|rating=http://www3.amazon.co.uk/dp/1471173119/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] 5| stylegenre="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"Crime|summary===[[Crisis by Felix Francis]]=== [[image:4It's twenty years since Freya Lockwood has been back to the English country village where she grew up.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Thrillers|Thrillers]] By training Harrison Foster is a lawyer, but he She's working as back now because of a crisis manager request for a London firmhelp from her beloved aunt, Carole. He was called Freya's former mentor and Carole's close friend, Arthur Crockleford, is dead and the circumstances seem suspicious, to Newmarket after a fire in a stable killed six very valuable horses, including say the Derby favouriteleast. On Arthur was the surface it looked like a simple firereason why Freya had not been back to the village: Arthur, she feels, but it wasn't long before Harrison discovered that all was not let her down badly. Even though they were in business together as it seemedantique hunters, she has not least because there were human remains along with felt able to be near the charred bodies of man or pursue the horsesprofession she loved. As all After the staff were accounted forsplit, she worked in a cafe, who was met and married James (on the human victim? Harrison was completely new to rebound from the world love of thoroughbred racing: in fact he knew little about horses her life, who was murdered) and Freya and positively disliked themJames have now divorced. [[Crisis by Felix Francis|Full Review]]}}<!-- Thompson -->{{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:0356511367.jpg|linkrating=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0356511367/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] 5| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Rosewater by Tade Thompson]]==genre=Science Fiction [[image:5star.jpg|linksummary=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Science Fiction|Science Fiction]] Rosewater is a town on ''Opening up new ways of thinking about the edge. A community formed around the edges shape of a mysterious alien biodome, its residents comprise the hopeful, the hungry and the helpless - people eager for a glimpse inside the dome or a taste of its rumoured healing powersthings to come. Kaaro is a government agent with a criminal past. He has seen inside the biodome, and doesn't care to again - but when something begins killing off others like himself, Kaaro must defy his masters to search for an answer, facing his dark history and coming to a realisation about a horrifying future. [[Rosewater by Tade Thompson|Full Review]] <!-- von Doviak -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1785657178.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1785657178/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Charlesgate Confidential by Scott Von Doviak]]=== [[image:3star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|Crime]], [[:Category:Crime (Historical)|Crime (Historical)]] In 1946 a gang of criminals pull off an audacious art heist, making off with priceless works of art from a Boston Museum. These missing art works are never found. In 1988, a student finds himself caught up in the mystery of the missing art and hot on the trail of the multi-million-dollar reward. In 2014, the art is still missing and now dead bodies are turning up at the eponymous Charlesgate, filled with alumni celebrating their 25th reunion. As the body count rises, will we discover the truth behind the art theft decades earlier? [[Charlesgate Confidential by Scott Von Doviak|Full Review]] <!-- Minette Walters -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1760632163.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1760632163/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Turn of Midnight by Minette Walters]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Historical Fiction|Historical Fiction]] At the beginning of 1349 there is a glimmer of a hope that the ravages of the Black Death might be passing. In Devilish in Dorset the population is well, because of Lady Anne's strict rules about quarantine, which are regarded as heresy as they go against the strict rules of the church, but their stores of food are dwindling and they know that when they are exhausted they will have no choice but to leave. What will they find on the outside? Are they the only survivors? [[The Turn of Midnight by Minette Walters|Full Review]] <!-- Hendrix -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1683690122.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1683690122/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[We Sold Our Souls by Grady Hendrix]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Horror|Horror]], [[:Category:Thrillers|Thrillers]] The night manager of a Best Western, Kris Pulaski is washed up and unhappy. Few know of her past as guitarist of 90's Heavy Metal band Dürt Würk – a band once tipped for greatness, but destined to obscurity after lead singer Terry Hunt embarked on a solo career, rocketing to stardom as ''Koffin''. When a shocking act of violence turns Kris's life upside down – she is forced to look back to a past she has tried to forget – and to a deal Hunt made that may have sabotaged more than just the band. In a journey that will take Kris from a dusty hotel to a hellish music festival, she's determined to face the man who ruined her life. But with dark forces rising and threatening everything Kris holds dear, will Kris be able to defeat the odds? Or will Hell truly be unleashed on the Earth…? [[We Sold Our Souls by Grady Hendrix|Full Review]] <!-- Steve Burrows -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1786074389.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1786074389/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[A Tiding of Magpies: A Birder Murder Mystery by Steve Burrows]]=== [[image:3.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|Crime]] DCI Domenic Jejeune's most celebrated case was his rescue of the Home Secretary's daughter when she was kidnapped. It's always been his deep regret that he failed to rescue the man who was kidnapped with her and this has all resurfaced now that the case is being reviewed. Long-buried secrets are bound to come to light, even though the officer reviewing the case, DC Desdemona Gill, is a fan of his to the extent that it's almost embarrassing. The review isn't the only problem he has though: a body has been found on some waste ground, but it's so badly burned that identification is difficult - and made more difficult by the indecision of the Medical Examiner. [[A Tiding of Magpies: A Birder Murder Mystery by Steve Burrows|Full Review]] <!-- Neil White -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1785764608.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1785764608/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Darkness Around Her by Neil White]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|Crime]] Lizzie Barnsley was escaping from her abusive boyfriend when she was murdered on the canal towpath on New Year's Eve. It obviously wasn't the boyfriend as he was still being held by Lizzie's friends at the pub, but before long Peter Box was arrested and charged. He'd sought treatment at the local hospital for an injury to his head which was the same shape as the heel of Lizzie's shoe - and her blood was on the shoe. Dan Grant was called in to represent Box, but there's a problem. Box won't talk - won't talk to the police or to Grant, so how is he 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]] <!-- Connors -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1724588303.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1724588303/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"| ===[[Blue Sky Black by John Connors]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Teens|Teens]]  ''When Tom Allenby, the 14 year-old boy who can control the elements, sees metal objects and cars rising into the air one night he knows he is facing a powerful enemy. The trail leads to stolen magnetic stones, sinister experiments in an old country house and a village hiding a secret. As each of his friends faces challenges of their own, can Tom fight a force which knows all about them?'' Of course he can! [[ Blue Sky Black by John Connors |Full Review]] <!-- Melissa Leet -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1943826331.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1943826331/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Landslide by Melissa Leet]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:General Fiction|General Fiction]], [[:Category:Women's Fiction|Women's Fiction]] The area where Jill and Susie lived wasn't highly populated so it was fortunate that they became such good friends, despite the fact that Susie was a year older than Jill. Susie lived with her mother, an alcoholic, and Jill lived with ''her'' mother, who dedicated herself to her garden. Jill's father was Jay Tutle, the photographer, but he spent much of his time working away - often for months on end. In reality there was little difference between the two families: Mrs Smith's alcoholism caused serious illness whilst Susie was still young. Joy and tragedy would visit Jill's home. ''Landslide'' is the story of how what happened determined the course of Jill's life and how great tragedy can breed resilience and hope. [[Landslide by Melissa Leet|Full Review]] <!-- Pearse --> |-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:0718189248.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0718189248/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The House Across the Street by Lesley Pearse]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|Crime]], [[:Category:Thrillers|Thrillers]] Have you ever found yourself staring out the window slightly longer than needed to see what your neighbours are up to? This is a common occurrence for Katy Speed who regularly watches 'The House Across the Street' as a frequent stream of women are brought there in the same black hummer and seen leaving a short while later. Although slightly unusual, not much is said aside from your typical neighbourhood gossip, that is until Katy is woken up in the early hours one morning to find out that the same house has been burnt to the ground, along with the woman who lives there. This situation is made a whole lot worse for Katy when her father is arrested for starting the fire. What follows is an engrossing depiction of Katy's quest to prove her father's innocence whilst dealing with her unbearable mother and ultimately having the safety of many people's lives in her hands. [[The House Across the Street by Lesley Pearse|Full Review]] <!-- Maitland -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1472235878.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1472235878/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[A Gathering of Ghosts by Karen Maitland]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Paranormal|Paranormal]], [[:Category:Thrillers|Thrillers]], [[:Category:Historical Fiction|Historical Fiction]] Witchcraft, the supernatural and the will to survive at all costs collide in a story that never shies away from the darker side of human nature. The land is unhappy, the old spirits want revenge and famine is kindling a resurgence of the old faith. As fear rises, it is increasingly difficult for Prioress Johanne to ignore that something rotten has taken root. The sacred well is tainted, its healing waters run red with blood and strangers are blowing in on a wind of change. [[A Gathering of Ghosts by Karen Maitland|Full Review]] <!-- Sedgwick -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1788542304.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1788542304/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Monsters We Deserve by Marcus Sedgwick]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Teens|Teens]], [[:Category:Horror|Horror]] Two hundred years ago, bad weather, bad company (well, the kind that is also mad, and dangerous to know), a spooky reading list and a few chance topics of discussion all led a young woman to start writing her first, and definitely her most famous ever, book. The narrator of this novel has brought himself to a remote Alpine building, in the centre of that first novel's world, to revisit it in honour of its bicentenary. He hates it, for he sees it as badly written and with some unwelcome biases. He seems to only be there and doing this for the publisher to whom he addresses a lot of the script we read. But what if some greater force wanted him there too? [[The Monsters We Deserve by Marcus Sedgwick|Full Review]] <!-- Denzil Meyrick -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1846974127.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1846974127/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Relentless Tide (DCI Daley) by Denzil Meyrick]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|Crime]] The site was rumoured to have been the home of Viking warlord Somerled so the discovery by Professor Francombe and her team of archaeologists of the graves of three women initially caused great excitement, which rapidly turned to horror when they realised that the women had died just over twenty years ago. The graves would bring some closure though - these were the bodies of the three missing victims of the 'Midweek Murderer' who operated in Glasgow in the early to mid nineties. It was also an opportunity for DCI Jim Daley to confront a failure in his past. He'd been on the original case and the murderer had never been found. He'd also lost a close friend and made some enemies, one of whom would return to taunt him when Police Scotland's Cold Case Unit arrived on the scene. [[The Relentless Tide (DCI Daley) by Denzil Meyrick|Full Review]] <!-- Yuval Noah Harari -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1787330672.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1787330672/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]'

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| styletitle="verticalThe List of Suspicious Things|author=Jennie Godfrey|rating=5|genre=General Fiction|summary=It's 1979 and Margaret Thatcher is Prime Minister. (A woman? I mean, honestly...) She's not what's worrying Miv's family, though. Women have been disappearing. Well, they've been murdered, but to have 'disappeared' doesn't sound quite so frightening. Miv's upset because she's overheard that her father wants to move the family 'Down South'. When you're from Yorkshire, Down South is a frightening, foreign place, best avoided. For Miv, the move would mean leaving her best friend, Sharon, and she'll do anything to prevent that. She's not worried about the dangers or that her Mum's stopped talking -align: top; textto anyone.}}{{Frontpage|isbn=1398524085|title=Has Anyone Seen Charlotte Salter?|author=Nicci French|rating=5|genre=Crime|summary=Charlotte Salter was expected at her husband's fiftieth birthday party but never turned up. Her children, sons Niall, Paul and Ollie and her daughter, Etty. are all worried but - strangely -align: left;"her husband, Alec, is not. Shortly afterwards, Etty and Greg, find the body of Greg's father, Duncan Ackerley, in the river. It was an easy assumption for the police to make that Duncan had murdered Charlie and then committed suicide when he couldn't stand the guilt. The Salter children are not convinced but there's little else they can do but get on with their lives and wonder about what really happened.}}{{Frontpage|isbn=1035906708|title=Diva|author=Daisy Goodwin|rating=4.5|genre=General Fiction|summary=[[21 Lessons 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 21st Century Nazi occupation by Yuval Noah Harari]]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.jpgAI 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.|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:Politics and Society{{Frontpage|author=A G Slatter|title=The Briar Book of the Dead|rating=5|genre=Fantasy|Politics and Society]]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.''

Yuval Noah HarariIf gave us 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'Sapiens'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, which told putting her at the history heart of mankind a maelstrom of chaos. Reeling from one family secret to another, Ellie must decide who to trust and then 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'Homo Deus'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 looked at mankinddidn's futuret need the help of a psychologist only worked for a while. Now we have Finally, it was Robin, Delaware''21 Lessons 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 21st Century'heir to an Italian shoe empire and she is married to an extremely rich man and it' s not the Italian. But which looks at of them was the primary target?}}{{Frontpage|isbn=1529395224|title=Letting the Cat Out of the challenges we currently face 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 itRowlands didn't want to follow in his footsteps, particularly when he considered the strain that being on-call put on his father's enlighteninglife. When he was seventeen he took the opportunity of doing work experience with a family friend who was a vet and was convinced this was the job for him. Before long, thoughthe was at Liverpool University. It hadn't -provoking and occasionally just as with so many students - been his dream since he was a little bit frighteningchild. ItIf 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 unlikely close friend and former colleague, Danny Maik, has taken a short holiday in Singapore to meet up with an old ally, Guy Trueman. Maik was involved in a street brawl - he would later maintain that mankind will face what he was facing a man armed with a knife - eighty years ago - would and he killed a Ghurka. Initially, he faced a charge of manslaughter but evidence came to light that suggested that he might have been thought of planned to murder the man. Now he could be facing the death penalty. Domenic Jejeune can do nothing to help as any interference from another police force could provoke a diplomatic incident and wouldn't help Danny at all.}}{{Frontpage|author=Alexander McCall Smith|title=The Perfect Passion Company|rating=4.5|genre=General Fiction|summary=The Perfect Passion Company is a dating agency in Edinburgh, run by Ness and operating as an alternative to all the online apps in providing a traditional warmore personal, tailored service. Ness has asked her younger cousin Katie if she could come and look after the business, as Ness is planning to take a trip to Canada to get away for a while. Katie is coming out of a break up with armiesa bad boyfriend, navies and air forces fighting it out hand 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 handcharm. ItKatie has no experience in running a business, or in match-making, but Ness has full confidence in her abilities, and there's always her very helpful (and rather handsome) neighbour, William, to lend a hand…|isbn=1846976596}}{{Frontpage|isbn=0811771741|title=InstaKnits for Baby|author=Melissa Leapman|rating=4|genre=Crafts|summary=Melissa Leapman's much ''InstaKnits for Baby'' gives us a collection of knits from toys to blankets. Some will be quick knits - others are of the 'long, cosy afternoons in front of the fire' variety. The projects are divided by the time they'll take to complete - less than five hours, five to ten hours, ten to twenty hours and more likely than twenty hours. All the projects are attractive, modern and useable. I perhaps show my age when I wonder about 'social-media-worthy projects' but that's me being picky.}}{{Frontpage|author=Dean Koontz|title=The Bad Weather Friend|rating=4.5|genre=Paranormal|summary=Benny is having a terrifically bad day. He loses his job, he loses his fiancee, and his house gets trashed. Oh, and someone has delivered a really weird, disturbing coffin-sized object to his home, and it's possible that whoever or whatever was inside is the thing that has trashed his house! The thing is, Benny is the very last person to deserve all this bad luck. He is a nice person. A really nice person. So fortunately for Benny it turns out that the threats wedelivery to his house is a new friend, a bad weather friend called Spike, who has been sent to help him since Benny is clearly under attack from nefarious forces for being a good person. Spike is going to take care of Benny, and will certainly take care of Benny's enemies, if he, Benny, and Harper (a waitress slash Private Investigator who finds herself roped into Benny'll face will 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 relatively newa 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. Harari looks at But he's a bad magician's cat, so his favourite bun has been turned into a hyperactive sticky rabbit called Bun, and the catflap they both use can chuck them in some depthout, not into the regular back garden, but into a world of frightening adventure and whiffs. [[21 Lessons This time round it drops them into a Viking land, where a troll hunter is expected – well, one much bigger than Murray was, to be honest, but he's turned up and he'll have to do…|isbn=0008561249}}{{Frontpage|isbn=B0C47LV1PC|title=Fragility|author=Mosby Woods|rating=4|genre=Literary Fiction|summary= Can you make a ''Yo birthing person'' joke? And if you could, is the question should you make it? Or is the question if you did, would it land? The catch is that the answer for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari|Full Review]]both could well be.... no.

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