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

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

==Reviews of the The Best New Books==

'''Read [[Forthcoming Publications|reviews of books about to be published]].{{Frontpage|class-"wikitable" cellpaddingauthor="15" <!-- INSERT NEW REVIEWS BELOW HERE-->Tom Percival<!-- Alderson -->|title=The Wrong Shoes|-rating=5| stylegenre="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|Confident Readers[[image:1473681820.jpg|linksummary=http://wwwWill's life is difficult, in a multitude of ways.amazon.co.uk/dp/1473681820/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text He is bullied because he has 'the wrong shoes', he has the wrong shoes because his dad can't work and doesn't have enough money for even the most basic of things like food, and his dad can't work because he lost his job at the college, was working a cash-in-align: left;"|===[[Friends Like These by Sarah Alderson]]=== [[image:5starhand job on a building site and had an accident.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Thrillers|Thrillers]] Life in London isn’t always glam Throw into that mix the fact that his mum and dad are separated, especially if you’re young and underpaidWill's life seems bleak in every direction. For Lizzie it’s all And yet, he still has a bit tiny amount of a balancing acthope. She has a nice home but it technically belongs He is good at art, and clings to her room-mate’s parents. She works in the entertainment industrymoments of joy when he is drawing, but her job itself is probably not one you’d covet. She doesn’t have much spare timethat feel like a light at the end of a long, but that’s because she’s been working through some self-improvementdark tunnel. If they could only see her now. And, well, actually, they can, although there’s a lot less of her |isbn=1398527122}}{{Frontpage|author=Sylvie Cathrall|title=A Letter to see than there once was. But yes, she doesn’t really have much time for the past and the people from it. [[Friends Like These by Sarah Alderson|Full Review]] <!-- Torquil MacLeod -->the Luminous Deep|rating=5|-genre=Science Fiction| stylesummary="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"There are few greater joys than a book which lives up to a compelling premise. And this is one of them.|isbn= 0356522776}}{{Frontpage[[image:0857161873.jpg|linkisbn=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0857161873/ref0008517061|title=nosim?tagDeath in a Lonely Place|author=thebookbag-21]]Stig Abell|rating=4| stylegenre="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"Crime|summary===[[Malice Former Metropolitan Police detective, Jake Johnson, has settled into his rustic life at Little Sky. There’s perhaps a little uncertainty about the future of his life with his vet girlfriend, Livia and her daughter Diana, as moving in Malmotogether would mean a lot of compromise: (Inspector Anita Sundstrom) by Torquil MacLeod]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{does Jake give up his off-grid and relaxing life to move in with Livia or does Livia move to Little Sky despite her reservations about whether or not this is the future she wants for herself and her daughter? For the moment they’re enjoying life in the present and putting the future on the back burner.}}{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:CrimeFrontpage|isbn=1786482126|Crime]]title=The Janus Stone (Dr Ruth Galloway)|author=Elly GriffithsIt was embarrassing when a leading Malmo business man was kidnapped, particularly as |rating=4.5|genre=Crime|summary=Builders were demolishing an old house in Norwich - the police didn't know anything about it until the man site was discovered afterwards, tied going to hold seventy-five 'luxury' apartments - when they discovered the bones of a park bench in child beneath a cemeterydoorway. He There was coy about how much ransom was paid, but it was sufficient that he'd felt the pain of the digital transfersno skull. That would have been bad enough, but Was this a second businessman was snatched soon afterwards and the pressure on Inspector Anita Sundström and her colleagues was to find the businessman ''andritual killing or murder? Inevitably, Dr Ruth Galloway finds herself working with DCI Harry Nelson. It's difficult as Ruth knows, but Nelson doesn' to capture the kidnappers before t, that she is pregnant with his child as a result of the one night they took anyone elsespent together some three months ago. Worse was Her condition will be obvious before long, not least because Ruth is prone to come though when an investigative journalist was found murdered in his flatsudden bouts of sickness.}}{{Frontpage|isbn=0008551324|title=The Devil You Know (D S Max Craigie)|author=Neil Lancaster|rating=4. Was one of his victims 5|genre=Crime|summary=It's unusual for anyone from the Hardie family to approach the murderer, police. Neither side likes or was it someone he was about to expose? [[Malice has any respect for the other. But Davie Hardie is struggling in Malmo: (Inspector Anita Sundstrom) by Torquil MacLeod|Full Review]] <!-- Laura Solomon -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1512235857prison and he's prepared to tell the police where the body of a missing person is buried and who was responsible for her death.jpg|link=http://www This person, he promises, is someone big and it will be worth the police doing what he wants.amazon And what he wants is to be transferred to an open prison to serve the remainder of his sentence and to get an early parole date.co.uk/dp/1512235857/ref=nosim Not much to ask, is it?tag=thebookbag The new Deputy Police Constable doesn't think so and she's even prepared to do the other thing that Hardie demanded -21]]make certain that DS Max Craigie and anyone who works with him is kept well away from what's happening.}}{{Frontpage| styleisbn="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"0008405026|title=A Stranger in the Family (Maeve Kerrigan 11)|author=Jane Casey|rating=5|genre=[[Vera Magpie by Laura Solomon]]===Crime[[image:4star.jpg|linksummary=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:General Fiction|General Fiction]] ''I have murdered three husbandsIt's sixteen years since nine-year-old Rosalie Marshall disappeared from her bed one summer night.'' As an opening line that must take some beating, but Vera's telling us She was never found and the truthinvestigation ground to a halt. The first two husbandsNow, Gary and Harry were abusive, but Larry was a treasureher mother, a keeperHelena, and it's difficult to understand why Vera would have killed himher father are dead in their bed. Initially, particularly when she was likely to get found out very quickly and now sheit looks like a straightforward murder/suicide but there's in prison with a mandatory life sentencesomething about the positioning of the bodies that makes DS Maeve Kerrigan and her boss DI Josh Derwent suspicious. Her only friend What looked as though it was going to be an open-and-shut case is Shirley, now a lesbian, but Vera's not one to let herself be a victim. complex double murder. SheKerrigan is convinced that the explanation lies in Rosalie's not keen on having a sexual relationship with Shirley disappearance: others (she wouldnsuch as Derwent't risk the security of her life in prison for the sake of a fling), but she is keen on getting an education and she's studying for a degree in English Literatures boss, Una Burt) are less convinced. [[Vera Magpie by Laura Solomon|Full Review]]}}<!-- Karin Fossum -->{{Frontpage|-isbn=0571379877| styletitle="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"The Kellerby Code|author=Jonny Sweet[[image:1787300943.jpg|linkrating=http://www3.amazon.co.uk/dp/1787300943/ref5|genre=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  Crime| stylesummary="verticalEdward Jevons is a working-align: top; textclass young man, obsessed with his upper-align: left;"|===[[The Whisperer by Karin Fossum]]=== [[image:4starclass friends, Robert and Stanza. Robert's a theatre director.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|Crime]] When we first meet Ragna we can't understand what He's also self-obsessed, demanding, handsome and entitled and uses Edward to run errands for him. Edward has been in love with Stanza since their university days - and he's going ondrunkenly confided how he feels to Robert. SheMost men in Robert's talking to Inspector Konrad Sejer and it's obvious position would stay away from Stanza or tell Edward that shea relationship had begun between them but he's being held not like most men: Edward is left to stumble upon the two of them kissing in custody because of a crime which she admits she's committeddark passageway. Only, as we hear about Greta's life it seems that she's more sinned against than sinning. After a botched operation on her vocal chords she can't speak above }}{{Frontpage|author=Jo Callaghan|title=Leave No Trace|rating=4|genre=Crime|summary=When a man is found crucified on the top of a whisper and hill in Nuneaton, DCS Kat Frank finds herself assigned to add insult to injury shethe case alongside her sidekick, the AI detective Lock. It's their first live case together, having previously been left very successful with a horrible scar across her throatseveral cold cases. She's done her best to make But when there is a go of her life though: she enjoys her work in second body found crucified a shop and has learned ways of coping few days later, Kat is suddenly struggling with the difficulties a potential serial killer and a very high profile case that draws a lot of communicating with peopleunwanted attention to their AI Future Policing project. [[The Whisperer by Karin Fossum|Full Review]] 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?<!-- Rachel Abbott -->|isbn=139851120X}}{{Frontpage|-isbn=1399613073| styletitle="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"Moral Injuries|author=Christie Watson[[image:1472254899.jpg|linkrating=http://www4.amazon.co.uk/dp/1472254899/ref5|genre=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] Thrillers| stylesummary="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[And So It Begins by Rachel Abbott]]=== [[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. Olivia is ruthlessly ambitious, which is a bonus when you aim to be a cardiothoracic surgeon.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|Crime]], [[:Category:Thrillers|Thrillers]] We know there Laura is a perfectionist and a trauma doctor. Anjali is the free spirit of the group and she becomes a GP. When we first meet them they's something very strange going on as soon as we join the story: we begin by hearing how re at a drug and alcohol-fuelled party and it's going to end and that someone must diein tragedy. But thatWe don's just a hint: for t know who suffered the tragedy or the time being we're with two police personsconsequences. Stephanie's the sergeant and she has Jason, Twenty-five years later there will be an eerily similar event that will impact the probationer with her in the squad car, but Stephanie doesn't like where they're headingthree friends. The house is stunningThis time, but the last time she was here it was because there was a dead body at the bottom of the stairs to the pool. This time there's been a 999 call with a woman screaming for help: the omens their teenage children who are not good and when they enter the house they find two tangled, blood-soaked bodies in the bed. They both look dead, but one of them moves - it's Evie Clark and she confesses to killing her partnerinvolved.}}{{Frontpage|isbn=0241636604|title=The Trading Game: A Confession|author=Gary Stevenson|rating=4. [[And So It Begins by Rachel Abbott5|Full Review]]genre=Autobiography <!-- Mick Herron -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[|summary=If you were to bring up an image:1473678307of a city banker in your mind, you're unlikely to think of someone like Gary Stevenson.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1473678307/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag A hoodie and jeans replaces the pin-21]]  | style="verticalstripe suit and his background is the East End, where he was familiar with violence, poverty and injustice. There was no posh public school on his CV - but he had been to the London School of Economics. Stevenson is bright -align: top; textextremely bright -align: left;"|===[[The Drop: A Slough House Novella by Mick Herron]]===and he has a facility with numbers which most of us can only envy. He also realised that most rich people expect poor people to be stupid. It was his ability at what was, essentially, a card game which got him an internship with Citibank. Eventually, this turned into permanent employment as a trader.}}{{Frontpage[[image:4star.jpg|linkisbn=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Thrillers1035021803|Thrillers]]title=The Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder|author=C L MillerWhen you|rating=3.5|genre=Crime|summary=It've done a job for any length of time, s twenty years since Freya Lockwood has been back to the memory, the instincts of it stay with you and they're impossible to forgetEnglish country village where she grew up. It was the same with Solomon Dortmund, a retired spy: when he watches a woman making a drop he knows exactly what heShe's seeing and he passes this on John Batchelorback now because of a request for help from her beloved aunt, the man charged with looking after the retired spooksCarole. Bachelor has problems of his own: the closest he comes to a home is the back seat of his car Freya's former mentor and heCarole's run out of people whose sofas he can commandeer for close friend, Arthur Crockleford, is dead and the circumstances seem suspicious, to say the nightleast. The best he can do with Solomon's problem is Arthur was the reason why Freya had not been back to pass it on the someone else and hope that village: Arthur, she feels, let her down badly. Even though they'll deal with it/solve were in business together as antique hunters, she has not felt able to be near the problem/quietly forget about itman or pursue the profession she loved. After the split, she worked in a cafe, met and married James (on the rebound from the love of her life, who was murdered) and Freya and James have now divorced. [[The Drop: A Slough House Novella by Mick Herron|Full Review]] <!-- Louise Penny -->}}{{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:0751566616.jpg|linkrating=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0751566616/ref5|genre=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] Science Fiction| stylesummary="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Kingdom ''Opening up new ways of thinking about the Blind (Chief Inspector Gamache) by Louise Penny]]=== [[image:4starshape of things to come.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|Crime]] It came as something of a surprise when Armand Gamache was named as liquidator in the estate of a woman he'd never met. Another villager from Three Pines is also a liquidator, but the third is a stranger to them both. The mystery deepens when the will is read: given that the deceased was a cleaner it seems unlikely that she would have had the millions which she bequests at her disposal. Then a body is found. That's not Gamache's only problem though: one of his protégées, Amelia Choquet, has been expelled from the police academy for drug dealing, and the enquiry into the incident which led to his suspension as the head of the Sûreté in Quebec is dragging on and the outcome is looking increasingly ominous. [[Kingdom of the Blind (Chief Inspector Gamache) by Louise Penny|Full Review]] <!-- Kate Atherley -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1632506386.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1632506386/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Knitter's Dictionary: Knitting Know-How from A to Z by Kate Atherley]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crafts|Crafts]], [[:Category:Reference|Reference]] I've been knitting for well over sixty years, following patterns of varying complexity with success. I've knit Aran sweaters, socks by the dozen and I'm currently knitting blankets for a charity to sell. There hasn't been an occasion when I've been stuck and people have often come to ''me'' for help when ''they've'' been stuck. Would a knitter's dictionary really be of any help to me? I was surprised by just how much I got out of it. [[The Knitter's Dictionary: Knitting Know-How from A to Z by Kate Atherley|Full Review]] <!-- Samesh Ramjattan -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1789015200.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1789015200/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Be Your Higher Self by Samesh Ramjattan]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Spirituality and Religion|Spirituality and Religion]] There are a lot of self-help books about: it's one of the most thriving sections of the average bookshop, but it's not always easy to find the book you need. Samesh Ramjattan has addressed this problem in ''Be Your Higher Self'', a book which allows us all to make sense of our place in the world, as most of us only glimpse our true potential and few people ever achieve it. Even with hard work and dedication, obstacles present themselves and it's difficult to understand why or how they can be overcome. Ramjattan offers us a guide to the spirit world, the chakras, karma and reincarnation as well as information about the age of Aquarius and the ego. It's a slim book - just 128 pages - so can it provide us with the answers we seek? [[Be Your Higher Self by Samesh Ramjattan|Full Review]] <!-- Laura Solomon -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:938689713X.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/938689713X/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Black Light by Laura Solomon]]=== [[image:3.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:General Fiction|General Fiction]] Jim is a university student and, as the saying goes, he hasn't got his troubles to seek. His father committed suicide when he was young and somehow he's never really managed to connect with his step-father. His younger brother would be kindly described as having learning difficulties: if you were being honest you'd just say that he was very difficult, but Jim does his best with and for him. Jim's in love with a woman, but she finds him repulsive and you can understand why: the looks, the attitude, the (lack of) conversational ability and the clothing all leave a lot to be desired. Despite all that's he's not about to sit back and allow his life to drift: he's actually writing ''two'' novels and he reads excerpts from these to his friends in the pub. [[Black Light by Laura Solomon|Full Review]] <!-- Chase -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1789010098.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1789010098/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Redemptor Domus by Gamelyn Chase]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:General Fiction|General Fiction]] A young boy arrives at an exclusive faith school on the scenic North Wales coast, sent far from his family in the Far East. As the boy travels to the school, a family tragedy causes the boy to arrive at the school a vulnerable orphan, with an uncertain future. Plunged into a school full of danger and betrayal, the boy is seen as a trophy by friends and enemies alike. With them locked into their scheming and plotting, it comes to the boy to attempt to clean up the pit of filth that the school has become. [[Redemptor Domus by Gamelyn Chase|Full Review]] <!-- Sendker -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1846974658.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1846974658/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Long Path To Wisdom by Jan-Philipp Sendker]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Short Stories|Short Stories]], [[:Category:General Fiction|General Fiction]] On my travels around the world, I have a tendency to end up in any bookshop that is selling English-language books, and while I buy as many second-hand escapist tales as the next person, what I'm really looking for is the 'local' – the cookbook maybe, the maps definitely, but above all: the folk tales. If I ever get to Burma, I won't need to hunt, I can read before I go. [[The Long Path To Wisdom by Jan-Philipp Sendker|Full Review]] <!-- Julia Jones -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1899262393.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1899262393/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Pebble (Strong Winds series) by Julia Jones]]=== [[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Teens|Teens]], [[:Category:Confident Readers|Confident Readers]] Liam isn't ''quite'' the youngest in a large family: he doesn't have the distinction of being the baby anymore and he doesn't have the ''heft'' of his older brothers and sisters. He's rather like one of the pebbles on a large shingle beach: part of the mass but easily overlooked as an individual. So when he starts having problems with his sight no one really takes any notice. He doesn't want to bother his mother as she's heavily involved in the Luminal Festival and when he asked his elder step-sister, Anna, if she'll take him for an eye test, she puts him off. In fairness she's got important exams and Liam's convinced that it's just a case of getting spectacles, but Liam's eyes are changing in a rather strange way. [[Pebble (Strong Winds series) by Julia Jones|Full Review]] <!-- Hall -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1785656880.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1785656880/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[So Many Doors by Oakley Hall]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|Crime]], [[:Category:Crime (Historical)|Crime (Historical)]], [[:Category:Thrillers|Thrillers]]  Vassilia Caroline Baird, known to all as V, is dead. Jack sits in his cell refusing to talk to the lawyer tasked with his defence. Starting at the murderous finale, Hall skillfully weaves together the stories of his key players, in a tale of love spanning decades and states, marriages and tragedies. By the time the truth is revealed, V will be dead but who else will lose their life? [[So Many Doors by Oakley Hall|Full Review]] <!-- Anderson -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1788037812.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1788037812/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Fraternity of the Estranged: The Fight for Homosexual Rights in England, 1891-1908 by Brian Anderson]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:History|History]], [[:Category:Reference|Reference]], [[:Category:Biography|Biography]] Originally passed in 1885, the law that had made homosexual relations a crime remained in place for 82 years. But during this time, restrictions on same-sex relationships did not go unchallenged. Between 1891 and 1908, three books on the nature of homosexuality appeared. They were written by two homosexual men: Edward Carpenter and John Addington Symonds, as well as the heterosexual Havelock Ellis. Exploring the margins of society and studying homosexuality was common on the European Continent, but barely talked about in the UK, so the publications of these men were hugely significant – contributing to the scientific understanding of homosexuality, and beginning the struggle for recognition and equality, leading to the milestone legalisation of same-sex relationships in 1967. [[The Fraternity of the Estranged: The Fight for Homosexual Rights in England, 1891-1908 by Brian Anderson|Full Review]] <!-- Amy Patricia Meade -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:0727888498.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0727888498/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Cookin' The Books (Tish Tarragon Mystery) by Amy Patricia Meade]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|Crime]] Tish Tarragon is working towards opening her literary cafe, Cookin' The Books, when the opportunity to cater for the Library fundraiser comes her way. It's a bit of a poisoned chalice, in more ways than one, as the head of the library committee, Binnie Broderick is difficult. In fact, when she's poisoned at the meal Tish has catered, there's no shortage of suspects. It's not just that she feels herself to be superior (she's a Darlington, you see), but that she actively goes out of her way to make life difficult for anyone she encounters. The town might be heaving a collective sigh of relief (except not in front of the sheriff, obviously) but Tish is worried that the fact that Binnie died face down in a meal she'd prepared might mean that people will not be all that keen to come to her cafe once it's opened. [[Cookin' The Books (Tish Tarragon Mystery) by Amy Patricia Meade|Full Review]] <!-- Catriona McPherson -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1473682355.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1473682355/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[A Step So Grave (Dandy Gilver) by Catriona McPherson]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime (Historical)|Crime (Historical)]] Dandy Gilver and family had made the arduous journey to Wester Ross, but Dandy had mixed feelings even when they arrived. They were there to meet the family of Mallory, her son Donald's fiancee. It wasn't that Dandy thought Donald to be rather ''young'' at twenty three to be contemplating matrimony, but that Mallory was rather ''old'' for him at thirty. There was also a niggling worry because Donald wasn't the sharpest pin in the cushion. All the doubts had faded into insignificance though when they arrived at Applecross: they might have come to celebrate the fiftieth birthday of Lady Lavinia, Mallory's mother, but it soon became obvious that Donald was smitten by the mother rather than the daughter. Dandy and Hugh were considering whether or not they should try to put an end to the engagement when the news arrived that Lady Lavinia had been found dead. [[A Step So Grave (Dandy Gilver) by Catriona McPherson|Full Review]] <!-- Suri -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:0356512002.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0356512002/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]''

I've heard it said that 'technology' is what happens after you're eighteen. Well, I must confess that there have been more than a few decades of technology in my lifetime. I've kept up reasonably well with what's advantageous to me but I'm left with the feeling that it's all getting away from me. Some of it is - frankly - quite frightening. Of course, I could research the possibilities and the probabilities and end up down rabbit holes without really understanding whether I'm reading someone who knows what they're talking about or the latest conspiracy theorist. I needed people I knew I could trust and who could deliver information in a way I could understand.}}{{Frontpage|author=Sunny Singh|title=Hotel Arcadia|rating=3.5|genre=Thrillers |summary=The Hotel Arcadia is a luxury hotel in an unnamed city that has suddenly been violently taken over by a terrorist group. Hiding from the terrorists who are rampaging through, killing everyone on site, there is Sam, a wartime photographer and Abhi, the hotel manager. As Abhi continues to try to care remotely for the residents who are still alive in the hotel, he forms a bond with Sam who refuses to be cowed by events, and keeps on venturing out of her room to try to capture what's happened through her photography. Although they only ever talk over the phone, their friendship grows as Abhi tries to help her keep safe and they both wait to see if they will be rescued before they are discovered by the terrorists.|isbn=086154742X}}{{Frontpage|isbn=1529153298|title=The List of Suspicious Things|author=Jennie Godfrey|rating=5|genre=General Fiction| stylesummary="verticalIt'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=[[Empire We tend to think of Sand 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 Tasha Suri]]a mother who mercilessly exploited her and made no secret of her preference for her elder sister, Jackie.}}{{Frontpage|author=Christopher Edge|title=Black Hole Cinema Club|rating=4|genre=Confident Readers|summary=Lucas and his friends are all booked in for a movie marathon at their local cinema, a place that has the nickname of 'The Black Hole'. All big movie fans, they're looking forward to lots of exciting films, and many, many snacks! However, as the movie starts, they very quickly realise that something about this new film format is very different, and they are swept up into an adventure they couldn't even imagine. But as they lurch from one film genre to the next, can they figure out what on earth is going on? Will they ever get back to the cinema, and to their real lives?|isbn=1839942738}}{{Frontpage|author=Rachel Greenlaw|title=Compass and Blade|rating=3.5|genre=Teens|summary=''I can hear the song of the sea. The call of the deep, the answering beat in my heart.''

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

Mehr Within a remote mountain pass, far away from the world, lies Silverton; a town under the protection of the Briar's, a family of witches who protect the town and the wider world from the Darklands. Though she has always wished for magic, Ellie Briar is the first non-witch to be born into her family for generations and as such since she was young, her training as a steward revolved around letters and administration rather than spells and potions. When her grandmother suddenly dies, Ellie's cousin Audra becomes the Briar Witch, the town's leader, and Ellie takes her place beside her. As challenges come her way left, right and centre, Ellie uncovers the rare ability to communicate with the dead, putting her at the heart of a 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's fault that Alex Delaware had been badly injured but he felt responsible and even after Alex recovered, Sturgis was reluctant to ask for his help on difficult cases. His assertions that there were only open-and-shut cases which didn't need the help of a psychologist only worked for a girl trapped between two cultureswhile. Finally, it was Robin, Delaware's partner, who nudged Milo into asking for help again. She knew that the involvement was something that the man she loved needed. The next case did look simple, though. Two lovers were murdered in the swimming pool of a remote property in Bel Air. He was the heir to an Italian shoe empire and she is married to an extremely rich man and it's not the Italian. But which of them was the primary target?}}{{Frontpage|isbn=1529395224|title=Letting the Cat Out of the Bag: The Secret Life of a Vet|author=Sion Rowlands|rating=3.5|genre=Animals and Wildlife|summary=Siôn Rowlands fell into veterinary science accidentally. Her His father comes was a GP and Rowlands didn't want to follow in his footsteps, particularly when he considered the strain that being on-call put on his father's life. When he was seventeen he took the opportunity of doing work experience with a family friend who was a vet and was convinced this was the job for him. Before long, he was at Liverpool University. It hadn't - as with so many students - been his dream since he was a child. If anything, he'd wanted to be a professional footballer.}}{{Frontpage|isbn=0861541774|title=A Nye of Pheasants|author=Steve Burrows|rating=4|genre=Crime|summary=DCI Domenic Jejeune's 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 an alternative to all the online apps in providing a more personal, tailored service. Ness has asked her younger cousin Katie if she could come and look after the ruling classes business, as Ness is planning to take a trip to Canada to get away for a while. Katie is coming out of a break up with a bad boyfriend, and so jumps at the empire chance to come home to Edinburgh. And so begins this new story from Alexander McCall Smith, bringing us to an Edinburgh we already love, thanks to 44 Scotland Street and the Isabel Dalhousie novels, but with some new characters who quickly begin to charm. Katie has no experience in running a business, or in match-making, but Ness has full confidence in her motherabilities, and there's people were outcastsalways her very helpful (and rather handsome) neighbour, William, Amrithi nomads who worshipped to lend a hand…|isbn=1846976596}}{{Frontpage|isbn=0811771741|title=InstaKnits for Baby|author=Melissa Leapman|rating=4|genre=Crafts|summary=Melissa Leapman's ''InstaKnits for Baby'' gives us a collection of knits from toys to blankets. Some will be quick knits - others are of the spirits 'long, cosy afternoons in front of the sandsfire' 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 terrifically bad day. He loses his job, he loses his fiancee, and his house gets trashed. Caught one night performing these forbidden rites 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, Mehr Benny is brought 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 attention 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 take care of the EmperorBenny, and will certainly take care of Benny's most feared mysticsenemies, if he, Benny, and Harper (a waitress slash Private Investigator who force her finds herself roped into their service by way 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 an arranged marriagethe two. [[Empire 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 out, not into the regular back garden, but into a world of Sand by Tasha Surifrightening 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|Full Review]]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 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?