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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.
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==Reviews of the The Best New Books==
'''Read [[:Category:New Reviews|new reviews by category]]. '''<br>
'''Read [[:Category:Features|the latest features]].'''
'''Read [[Forthcoming Publications|reviews of books about to be published]].{{Frontpage|class-"wikitable" cellpaddingauthor="15" <!-- INSERT NEW REVIEWS BELOW HERE-->Tom Percival<!-- Betty Rowlands -->|title=The Wrong Shoes|-rating=5| stylegenre="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|Confident Readers[[image:B07GX7KGVR.jpg|linksummary=http://wwwWill's life is difficult, in a multitude of ways.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07GX7KGVR/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Murder at He is bullied because he has 'the Manor Hotel (Melissa Craig 4) by Betty Rowlands]]=== [[image:3.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|Crime]] Melissa Craig should have been getting on with writing her latest mystery novel but she'd been sidetracked into wrong shoes', he has the wrong shoes because his dad can't work and doesn't have enough money for even the most basic of things like food, and his dad can't work because he lost his job at the college, was working a cash-in-hand job on the script for a pantomimebuilding site and had an accident. It wasn't a traditional pantoThrow into that mix the fact that his mum and dad are separated, and Will's life seems bleak in every direction. And yet, but he still has a spoof for the birthday party tiny amount of a local millionaire, to be held on Halloweenhope. It's got all He is good at art, and clings to the hallmarks moments of joy when he is drawing, that feel like a mystery ''and'' light at the end of a pantomime and it looks as though cast and audience long, dark tunnel.|isbn=1398527122}}{{Frontpage|author=Sylvie Cathrall|title=A Letter to the Luminous Deep|rating=5|genre=Science Fiction|summary= There are all in for few greater joys than a good time with the rehearsals being held in book which lives up to a luxury hotelcompelling premise. Well, they were until And this is one member of the cast turns up dead in the cellar at the bottom of a steep flight of stairsthem. What was he doing there and why is the hotel manager acting so strangely? [[Murder at the Manor Hotel (Melissa Craig 4) by Betty Rowlands|Full Review]]|isbn= 0356522776}}<!-- Hamilton -->{{Frontpage|-isbn=0008517061| styletitle="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"Death in a Lonely Place|author=Stig Abell[[image:1447281322.jpg|linkrating=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1447281322/ref4|genre=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] Crime| stylesummary="vertical-align: top; text-alignFormer Metropolitan Police detective, Jake Johnson, has settled into his rustic life at Little Sky. There’s perhaps a little uncertainty about the future of his life with his vet girlfriend, Livia and her daughter Diana, as moving in together would mean a lot of compromise: left;"|===[[Salvation by Peter F Hamilton]]=== [[image:3does Jake give up his off-grid and relaxing life to move in with Livia or does Livia move to Little Sky despite her reservations about whether or not this is the future she wants for herself and her daughter? For the moment they’re enjoying life in the present and putting the future on the back burner.5star.jpg}}{{Frontpage|linkisbn=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Science Fiction1786482126|Science Fiction]]title=The Janus Stone (Dr Ruth Galloway)|author=Elly GriffithsApparently the term ''space opera|rating=4.5|genre=Crime|summary=Builders were demolishing an old house in Norwich - the site was going to hold seventy-five 'luxury' was coined in 1941 as apartments - when they discovered the bones of a child beneath a pejorativedoorway. It There was borrowed not from the high-brow musical art formno skull. Was this a ritual killing or murder? Inevitably, but from the common or garden 'soap opera'Dr Ruth Galloway finds herself working with DCI Harry Nelson. It related to a particular kind of science fiction which the coiner (one Wilson Tucker) described 's difficult as a Ruth knows, but Nelson doesn''hackyt, grinding, stinking, outworn, spaceship yarn''. It would be fifty years later before that she is pregnant with his child as a result of the term started to one night they spent together some three months ago. Her condition will be re-appropriated obvious before long, not least because Ruth is prone to cover – if still the same themes sudden bouts of distant futures, military conflict, heroism and a simplistic set of values – more literary, more expansive workssickness. The term is now taken as compliment. [[Salvation by Peter F Hamilton|Full Review]]}}{{Frontpage<!-- Susan Fletcher -->|isbn=0008551324|-title=The Devil You Know (D S Max Craigie)| styleauthor="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|Neil Lancaster[[image:0349007640.jpg|linkrating=http://www4.amazon.co.uk/dp/0349007640/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] 5| stylegenre="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"Crime|summary===[[House of Glass by Susan Fletcher]]=== [[image:5starIt's unusual for anyone from the Hardie family to approach the police. Neither side likes or has any respect for the other.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Literary Fiction|Literary Fiction]], [[:Category:Historical Fiction|Historical Fiction]] Clara suffered from ''Osteogenesis imperfecta'': these days it would probably be called brittle bone disease But Davie Hardie is struggling in prison and he's prepared to tell the police where the body of a missing person is buried and whilst there is still no cure, treatments have advancedwho was responsible for her death. At the beginning of the twentieth century it meant that Clara was confined to her homeThis person, living life through a window and the tales her motherhe promises, Charlotte, brought home. Both became far too knowledgeable about bones is someone big and it will be worth the sounds they made on breakingpolice doing what he wants. Charlotte would ''list bones like continents''. Clara would only escape And what he wants is to be transferred to an open prison to serve the house after her mother's death - remainder of a tumour at the age of thirty nine - his sentence and in her wanderings discovered Kew Gardensto get an early parole date. Her growing knowledge of tropical plants led Not much to ask, is it? The new Deputy Police Constable doesn't think so and she's even prepared to do the offer of a job stocking a newlyother thing that Hardie demanded -built glass house at Shadowbrook in Gloucestershiremake certain that DS Max Craigie and anyone who works with him is kept well away from what's happening. [[House of Glass by Susan Fletcher|Full Review]]}}<!-- Rachael Blok -->{{Frontpage|-isbn=0008405026| styletitle="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"A Stranger in the Family (Maeve Kerrigan 11)|author=Jane Casey[[image:1788547993.jpg|linkrating=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1788547993/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] 5| stylegenre="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Under the Ice (DCI Jansen) by Rachael Blok]]===Crime[[image:4star.jpg|linksummary=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|Crime]] It's eleven days It's sixteen years since nine-year-old Rosalie Marshall disappeared from her bed one summer night. She was never found and the investigation ground to Christmas and the cathedral city of St Albans is looking particularly festive with a covering of snow, but this belies the atmosphere: the body of a young girl has been found frozen in the local lakehalt. DCI Jansen'Now, her mother, Helena, and her father are dead in their bed. Initially, it looks like a straightforward murder/suicide but there's only lead comes from Jenny Brennan - but can you put any credence on statements made by something about the sleep-deprived mother positioning of a four month old child, particularly one who claims the bodies that makes DS Maeve Kerrigan and her boss DI Josh Derwent suspicious. What looked as though it was going to have seen visions? be an open-and-shut case is now a complex double murder. Can you believe her statements Kerrigan is convinced that shethe explanation lies in Rosalie's disappearance: others (such as Derwent's been sleep-walking in the middle of the night when she find evidence that the police have missed? When another girl goes missing the tiny city is in melt-down and for Jenny it all seems close to home. Far too close to home. [[Under the Ice (DCI Jansen) by Rachael Blokboss, Una Burt) are less convinced.}}{{Frontpage|Full Review]]isbn=0571379877|title=The Kellerby Code<!-- Weymouth -->|author=Jonny Sweet|-rating=3.5| stylegenre="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|Crime[[image:1911490036.jpg|linksummary=http://www.amazonEdward Jevons is a working-class young man, obsessed with his upper-class friends, Robert and Stanza.co Robert's a theatre director.uk/dp/1911490036/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag He's also self-21]]  | style="verticalobsessed, demanding, handsome and entitled and uses Edward to run errands for him. Edward has been in love with Stanza since their university days -align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Light Between Worlds by Laura Weymouth]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Categoryand he's drunkenly confided how he feels to Robert. Most men in Robert's position would stay away from Stanza or tell Edward that a relationship had begun between them but he's not like most men:Edward is left to stumble upon the two of them kissing in a dark passageway.}}{{{Frontpage|author=Jo Callaghan|title=Leave No Trace|rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Teens=4|Teens]]genre=Crime Five years ago Evelyn|summary=When a man is found crucified on the top of a hill in Nuneaton, Philippa and James Hapwell escaped DCS Kat Frank finds herself assigned to the safety of their air raid shelter as bombs fell all around case alongside her sidekick, the streets of LondonAI detective Lock. In the terrifying darkness waiting for It's their parents to join themfirst live case together, Evelyn prayed to be anywhere elsehaving previously been very successful with several cold cases. A plea that was answered by The Woodlands. One moment in grey London But when there is a second body found crucified a few days later, Kat is suddenly struggling with a potential serial killer and the next surrounded by a rich green forest, the three children were transported from one world trapped in war, very high profile case that draws a lot of unwanted attention to another on their AI Future Policing project. Will they be able to solve the case in time, or will Kat find herself taken off the brink case and, potentially, out of its own. [[The Light Between Worlds by Laura Weymoutha career?|Full Review]]isbn=139851120X}}<!-- Durant -->{{Frontpage|-isbn=1399613073| styletitle="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"Moral Injuries|author=Christie Watson[[image:1406374628.jpg|linkrating=http://www4.amazon.co.uk/dp/1406374628/ref5|genre=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] Thrillers| stylesummary="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Clownfish by Alan Durant]]=== [[image:4starOlivia, Laura and Anjali met on the first day of medical school and their friendship would keep them inseparable for a quarter of a century.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Confident Readers|Confident Readers]] When Dak's dad dies very suddenly, from Olivia is ruthlessly ambitious, which is a bonus when you aim to be a heart attack, Dak cardiothoracic surgeon. Laura is left feeling lost a perfectionist and alonea trauma doctor. His mum Anjali is lost inside her own grief, struggling to take care the free spirit of herself, let alone care for Dak, and so he escapes to the local aquarium - somewhere that both he group and his dad had lovedshe becomes a GP. But then he discovers that actually, his dad has turned into When we first meet them they're at a clownfish drug and is living at the local aquarium! What will Dak do when the aquariumalcohol-fuelled party and it's future is going to end in question, and he may potentially lose his dad all over again? [[Clownfish by Alan Durant|Full Review]] <!tragedy. We don't know who suffered the tragedy or the consequences. Twenty-- Carthew -->|-| stylefive 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="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align0241636604|title=The Trading Game: center;"|A Confession[[image:1408868601.jpg|linkauthor=http://wwwGary Stevenson|rating=4.amazon.co.uk/dp/1408868601/ref5|genre=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] Autobiography| stylesummary="vertical-align: top; textIf you were to bring up an image of a city banker in your mind, you're unlikely to think of someone like Gary Stevenson. A hoodie and jeans replaces the pin-align: left;"| ===[[Only stripe suit and his background is the Ocean by Natasha Carthew ]]=== [[image:5starEast End, where he was familiar with violence, poverty and injustice.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Teens|Teens]]  Kel Crow lives with a heart defect that could kill her at any time. Her only hope is There was no posh public school on his CV - but he had been to escape the floodridden, waterlogged Cornish world she lives in, to leave her drugLondon School of Economics. Stevenson is bright - extremely bright -running family far behind, and get to America he has a facility with enough money for an operationnumbers which most of us can only envy. She has a plan: stowaway on a ship, kidnap a He also realised that most rich girl, exchange the girl for enough money for the journey people expect poor people to America and the surgery that will change her lifebe stupid. [[Only the Ocean by Natasha Carthew |Full Review]] It was his ability at what was, essentially, a card game which got him an internship with Citibank. Eventually, this turned into permanent employment as a trader.}}<!-- Blake -->{{Frontpage|-isbn=1035021803| styletitle="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"The Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder|author=C L Miller[[image:1509876499.jpg|linkrating=http://www3.amazon.co.uk/dp/1509876499/ref5|genre=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] Crime| stylesummary="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Two Dark Reigns by Kendare Blake]]=== [[image:4It's twenty years since Freya Lockwood has been back to the English country village where she grew up. She's back now because of a request for help from her beloved aunt, Carole.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Teens|Teens]] Freya's former mentor and Carole's close friend, Arthur Crockleford, [[:Category:Fantasy|Fantasy]] ''You cannot put on a costume is dead and become something else. You are a queen of Fennbirn islandthe circumstances seem suspicious, to say the least.'' Following on from [[Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake|Three Dark Crowns]] and its sequel [[One Dark Throne by Kendare Blake|One Dark Throne]], in ''Two Dark Reigns'' each of Arthur was the Goddess' daughters have their own battles reason why Freya had not been back to fight. All the village: Arthur, she feels, let her life, Katharine has dreamed of being the great Queen the island of Fennbirn deservesdown badly. Having won the crown Even thoughthey were in business together as antique hunters, she is facing trial after difficult trial has not felt able to be near the man or pursue the profession she loved. After the split, she worked in a cafe, met and murmurs of dissent and revolution grow louder married James (on the streets each and every day. And without evidence rebound from the love of her sisters' death does anyone but herself life, who was murdered) and Freya and the old queens buried under her skin, believe she is the one true Queen? [[Two Dark Reigns by Kendare Blake|Full Review]]James have now divorced.}}<!-- Picoult -->{{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)|rating=5[[image:1444788124.jpg|linkgenre=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1444788124/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] Science Fiction| stylesummary="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[A Spark ''Opening up new ways of Light by Jodi Picoult]]=== [[image:4starthinking about the shape of things to come.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:General Fiction|General Fiction]] The Center is the last remaining abortion clinic in the state of Mississippi and is the source of great controversy when it comes to the Pro-Life versus Pro-Choice debate. It is at The Center where one man, George Goddard, takes it upon himself to get revenge for the loss of his grandchild, in the form of a mass-shooting. What arises is a novel that details the lives of the remaining hostages, as well as other characters central to the story. One of these characters is Hugh McElroy, a hostage negotiator called in to help deflate the situation, who soon discovers that his sister and daughter, Wren, happened to be at the clinic that day. [[A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult|Full Review]] |-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1784631345.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1784631345/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Gentleman Jack (DI Yates 7) by Christina James]]=== [[image:3.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|Crime]] The investigation into the thefts of farm machinery has been going on for months and it's getting DI Tim Yates down: he can't see where to go next. It's almost a relief when Jack Fovargue, agricultural entrepreneur and local celebrity is assaulted in the street, but no one can understand why Fovargue is so reluctant to help the police with their enquiries, or to press charges, particularly when a police officer was also assaulted. Yates is then diverted into the investigation which followed the discovery of the headless body of a woman in a canal near Lincoln: it's an interesting case but the downside is that the senior investigating officer is DI Michael Robinson. They're contemporaries but Robinson is bumptious and inclined to taking credit for other people's efforts. [[Gentleman Jack (DI Yates 7) by Christina James|Full Review]] <!-- Adriaan Verheul -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:0692047697.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0692047697/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[A Clean Death by Adriaan Verheul]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Thrillers|Thrillers]], [[:Category:Crime|Crime]] Three very different men meet in the jungle, led there by fate. Davey sees conspiracies everywhere, Oliver seeks answers about the death of his father, and Captain Christmas leads a community of armed men, women and children, hidden far from justice in the forest. As the three men are brought together, the events could cause each to lose something of consequence: maybe illusion, maybe conviction, and maybe, just maybe, life itself… [[A Clean Death by Adriaan Verheul|Full Review]] <!-- Dhladhla -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1720812675.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1720812675/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"| ===[[Beyond Thought by Chris Dhladhla]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Lifestyle|Lifestyle]] Have you ever felt trapped by your own thoughts? That your mind is so busy processing what's going on in the world around you that you just can't catch a moment and simply ''be''? Or that the outside world just won't stop pressing in upon an inner life that you'd like to be more peaceful? [[Beyond Thought by Chris Dhladhla|Full Review]] <!-- M J Lee -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:B07HYQ99YV.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07HYQ99YV/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Where the Truth Lies (DI Ridpath) by M J Lee]]=== [[image:3.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|Crime]] DI Thomas Ridpath - call him Ridpath as he doesn't think Tom or Thomas suits him - looked to have a promising future in CID until he was forced to take extended sick leave nine months ago. He's back, but the word ''cancer'' leaves people doubting how well you really are, or are going to stay. Perhaps it would be better if he quietly retired? His wife, Polly, would like to see him in a desk job. Ridpath would like to be back in front-line policing, but all that's available to him is a secondment for three months as Coroner's Officer. If that's how it's got to be, then he'll do the best job he can. [[Where the Truth Lies (DI Ridpath) by M J Lee|Full Review]] <!-- Laura Solomon -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:9386897504.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/9386897504/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Tales of Love and Disability by Laura Solomon]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Short Stories|Short Stories]] I've always believed that less-able writers produce longer books: it takes a great deal of skill and talent to write a short story which holds the reader and keeps them coming back for more. There are far too many collections of short stories which are all too easy to put down and forget after you've read a couple of pieces. I've recently read a couple of novellas by Laura Solomon - [[Marsha's Deal by Laura Solomon|Marsha's Deal]] and [[Hell's Unveiling by Laura Solomon|Hell's Unveiling]] and enjoyed them, so I was intrigued to see what she could do with an even shorter form. [[Tales of Love and Disability by Laura Solomon|Full Review]] <!-- Frances Brody -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:0349414327.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0349414327/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[A Snapshot of Murder (Kate Shackleton Mysteries) by Frances Brody]]=== [[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime (Historical)|Crime (Historical)]] Even detectives need a break and for Kate Shackleton, photography gives her the mental relaxation which she needs. When the local Photographic Society proposed an outing, Kate was keen to take the opportunity to visit Haworth and Stanbury, not least because the deeds of the Brontë Parsonage are being handed over so that it can become a museum and her parents will be there for the event. What could be better than seeing her family, witnessing a momentous event and having the opportunity to take photographs of the setting for ''Wuthering Heights''? Nothing could go wrong. Or could it? [[A Snapshot of Murder (Kate Shackleton Mysteries) by Frances Brody|Full Review]]<!-- Harrold -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1408894319.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1408894319/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"| ===[[The Afterwards by A F Harrold and Emily Gravett]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Confident Readers|Confident Readers]]  ''Tell them what The Afterwards is about, they said.''<br>''Hopefully you know this, but...''<br>''It's a book with friendship in it.''<br>''It's a book with death in it.''<br>''It's a book with betrayal in it.''<br>''It's a book with love in it.''<br>''It's a book with a cat in it.''<br>''That's what I know.''<br>''That's what I can tell you.''<br>''That'll do me.'' To be honest, I'd be surprised if that wouldn't do you, too.[[The Afterwards by A F Harrold and Emily Gravett|Full Review]]<!-- Vanston -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1911569740.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1911569740/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"| ===[[Santa Goes on Strike by Jem Vanston]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:For Sharing|For Sharing]]  Something's gone horribly wrong. It's Christmas Eve and everything is very busy in Santa's grotto. The presents are all ready and waiting to be loaded onto the sleigh and the reindeer are itching to get going. But Santa? Santa is just not in the mood. He is tired of delivering the latest toys to children who only play with them for five minutes. He wishes people would remember what Christmas is really about - a time for families to come together for love and friendship and goodwill to one another. [[Santa Goes on Strike by Jem Vanston|Full Review]]<!-- Keeley -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1789017165.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1789017165/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"| ===[[The Coming of the Spirits by Rob Keeley]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Confident Readers|Confident Readers]]   In Victorian England, young Edward Fitzberranger is about to be infected with scarlet fever and die. Further back still in time, Sir Francis Fitzberranger is about to marry Tina, the love of his life. In the modern day, Henry and Luke are getting on with life. And in an alternate timeline, Ellie is working for a resistance movement and struggling under a Britain ruled by the Nazis... [[The Coming of the Spirits by Rob Keeley|Full Review]]<!-- Wilson -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image: 1509885803.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/ 1509885803/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"| ===[[Snowglobe by Amy Wilson]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Confident Readers|Confident Readers]], [[:Category:Teens|Teens]]  Jago doesn't like Clementine. He knows there is something different about her and he doesn't like it. And he never lets her forget it. Clementine knows she's different too, and that the difference is magic. And as much as she tries to ignore it, Clementine's magic is getting stronger. So when Jago's bullying gets too much, it's not really surprising that Clem loses control of it and gets herself suspended from school. [[Snowglobe by Amy Wilson|Full Review]]<!-- Haig -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1786894327.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1786894327 /ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"| ===[[The Truth Pixie by Matt Haig and Chris Mould]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Confident Readers|Confident Readers]], [[:Category:For Sharing|For Sharing]] Poor old Truth Pixie. She's cursed! She can't speak unless it's to tell the truth. You might think this is a good thing because telling lies is bad, right? But sometimes the truth isn't nice and sometimes a white lie is okay and sometimes it's better to say nothing at all. You might not want to attract the attention of the school bully by calling him mean and nasty, for example, or you might not want to tell someone that you think their brand new haircut looks awful. [[The Truth Pixie by Matt Haig and Chris Mould|Full Review]] <!-- Vincent -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1471168239.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1471168239/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Jess Castle and the Eyeballs of Death by M B Vincent]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:General Fiction|General Fiction]], [[:Category:Crime|Crime]] Dr Jess Castle, the self proclaimed failure of the prestigious Castle family has returned home to the sleepy, idyllic chocolate box town of Castle Kidbury. Rather than being delighted, her family are suspicious, especially her father, the judge. Luckily for Jess, she doesn't have to try too hard to dodge her family's suspicions as a series of gruesome local murders are taking place and that's all anyone is talking about. Jess accidentally finds herself in the thick of the investigation, and to her delight finds that she can actually be useful. But with the small population dwindling and the sense of danger moving ever closer to home, has Jess made a grave mistake getting involved? [[Jess Castle and the Eyeballs of Death by M B Vincent|Full Review]] <!-- Laura Solomon -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:9386897385.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/9386897385/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 | stylesummary="verticalThe 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 -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=[[Nothing Lasting We tend to think of Maria Callas as Greek, but she was born to Greek parents in Manhattan, New York, in December 1923 and only moved to Athens when she was thirteen. Her original surname was Kalogeropoulos but her father changed it to 'Callas' to make it more manageable in the States. When she was back in Athens - supposedly so that she could get appropriate training for her voice - she was raised under the Nazi occupation by Laura Solomon]]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:3Rosevear, 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.5starBut when the Council Watch lays a trap to end the wrecking, they capture the island's leader and Mira's father.jpgDesperate 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:Horror{{Frontpage|author=A G Slatter|title=The Briar Book of the Dead|rating=5|Horror]], [[:Category:genre=Fantasy|Fantasy]]summary='' There's a part of me that wants to keep this just to myself for however long I can. This secret magic of my own, all mine, at last. I just want to enjoy it for a while.''
We never know Within a remote mountain pass, far away from the world, lies Silverton; a town under the protection of the manBriar's, a family of witches who protect the town and the wider world from the Darklands. Though she has always wished for magic, Ellie Briar is the first non-witch to be born into her family for generations and as such since she was young, her training as a steward revolved around letters and administration rather than spells and potions. When her grandmother suddenly dies, Ellie's name but letcousin Audra becomes the Briar Witch, the town's call him leader, and Ellie takes her place beside her. As challenges come her way left, right and centre, Ellie uncovers the rare ability to communicate with the dead, putting her at the heart of a maelstrom of chaos. Reeling from one family secret to another, Ellie must decide who to trust and determine what to do as the Briar witches' legacy, 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'Boyos 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. ItShe knew that the involvement was something that the man she loved needed. The next case did look simple, though. Two lovers were murdered in the swimming pool of a remote property in Bel Air. He was the heir to an Italian shoe empire and she is married to an extremely rich man and it's what not the Italian. But which of them was the primary target?}}{{Frontpage|isbn=1529395224|title=Letting the Cat Out of the Bag: The Secret Life of a Vet|author=Sion Rowlands|rating=3.5|genre=Animals and Wildlife|summary=Siôn Rowlands fell into veterinary science accidentally. His father was a GP and Rowlands didn't want to follow in his mother used to footsteps, particularly when he considered the strain that being on-call put on his father's life. When he was seventeen he took the opportunity of doing work experience with a family friend who was a vet and was convinced this was the job for him. Before long, not least because he found it annoyingwas at Liverpool University. When we first meet Boyo It hadn't - as with so many students - been his mother is alivedream since he was a child. If anything, if not 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'living's 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 he was facing a man armed with a knife - and he killed a Ghurka. Initially, he faced a charge of manslaughter but evidence came to light that suggested that he might have planned to 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 most people would understand itan alternative to all the online apps in providing a more personal, tailored service. She spends Ness has asked her days watching daytime television younger cousin Katie if she could come and drinkinglook after the business, as Ness is planning to take a trip to Canada to get away for a while. Housework Katie is coming out of a foreign countrybreak up with a bad boyfriend, and so jumps at the chance to come home to Edinburgh. When she dies sheAnd 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. Katie has no experience in running a business, or in match-making, but Ness has full confidence in her abilities, and there's not missedalways her very helpful (and rather handsome) neighbour, William, firstly because sheto lend a hand…|isbn=1846976596}}{{Frontpage|isbn=0811771741|title=InstaKnits for Baby|author=Melissa Leapman|rating=4|genre=Crafts|summary=Melissa Leapman's ''InstaKnits for Baby''d spent gives us a couple collection of years 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 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 mental hospitalterrifically 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, but mainly because her ghost continues Benny is the very last person to haunt Boyodeserve all this bad luck. He is a nice person. A really nice person. She wants So fortunately for Benny it turns out that the delivery to his house is a new friend, a bad weather friend called Spike, who has been sent to help him since Benny is clearly under attack from nefarious forces for being a good person. Spike is going to achieve something in take care of Benny, and will certainly take care of Benny's enemies, if he, Benny, and Harper (a waitress slash Private Investigator who finds herself roped into Benny's wild adventure) can figure out who exactly they are.|isbn=1662500491}}{{Frontpage|author=Adam Stower|title=Murray and Bun|rating=4.5|genre=Confident Readers |summary=Murray is supposed to be a humble, tidy and friendly cat, one who is able to sleep and eat and eat and sleep and, well, whatever takes his fancy next of the two. But he's a bad magician's cat, so his life: what she favourite bun has in mind been turned into a hyperactive sticky rabbit called Bun, and the catflap they both use can chuck them out, not into the regular back garden, but into a world of frightening adventure and whiffs. This time 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 he the answer for both could well be a famous arsonist. [[Nothing Lasting by Laura Solomon|Full Review]]... 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?