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, the charity shop 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<!-- Evan Winter -->|title=The Wrong Shoes|-rating=5| stylegenre="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|Confident Readers[[image:0356512940.jpg|linksummary=http://wwwWill's life is difficult, in a multitude of ways.amazon.co.uk/dp/0356512940/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Rage 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 Dragons by Evan Winter]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Fantasy|Fantasy]] Every so oftenthings like food, and his dad can't work because he lost his job at the college, as was working a reader, cash-in-hand job on a book comes along that is utter building site and complete perfectionhad an accident. This book is one of those. Utter Throw into that mix the fact that his mum and complete perfection. Winter has created an absolute masterpiece of a noveldad are separated, set and Will's life seems bleak in the fantasy land of Uhmlaba the reader is instantly thrown into warevery direction. And yet, he still has a battle for survival for the Omehi peopletiny amount of hope. Fleeing their homeland He is good at art, they have to fight and clings to remain on the only scrap moments of land they can reach. The culture of the Omehi people joy when he is rich and deep but not perfectdrawing, not sanctimonious. They have villains, they have faults, they are that feel like a light at the invaders after all, but Winter creates a realistic and honest portrayal end of a people desperate to survivelong, to save themselves and their culture for future generations. [[The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winterdark tunnel.|Full Review]]isbn=1398527122}}<!-- Sorosiak -->{{Frontpage|-author=Sylvie Cathrall| styletitle="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"A Letter to the Luminous Deep|rating=5[[image:178800387X.jpg|linkgenre=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/178800387X/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=Death in a Lonely Place|author=[[I, Cosmo by Carlie Sorosiak]]=Stig Abell|rating=4|genre=Crime [[image:4.5star.jpg|linksummary=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Confident Readers|Confident Readers]]  Cosmo's family is in crisisFormer Metropolitan Police detective, Jake Johnson, has settled into his rustic life at Little Sky. Mom and Dad argue all There’s perhaps a little uncertainty about the time. Emmaline doesn't quite understand it because she's too little but she feels it. And Maxfuture of his life with his vet girlfriend, who is biggerLivia and her daughter Diana, as moving in together would mean a lot of compromise: does understand it Jake give up his off-grid and is terrified by it. Long ago, when Max was just a baby, Cosmo made a promise relaxing life to move in with Livia or does Livia move to protect Max forever and so he sets Little Sky despite her reservations about his mission of repairing whether or not this is the family with everything he's gotfuture 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... [[I, Cosmo by Carlie Sorosiak|Full Review]]<!-- Linda Jones -->}}{{Frontpage|-isbn=1786482126| styletitle="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"The Janus Stone (Dr Ruth Galloway)|author=Elly Griffiths[[image:1999324803.jpg|linkrating=http://www4.amazon.co.uk/dp/1999324803/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] 5| stylegenre="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|Crime===[[Deadwood Hall by Linda Jones]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|linksummary=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Confident Readers|Confident Readers]] In late December Dylan Beaumont and his sister Emily were on their way Builders were demolishing an old house in Norwich - the site was going to spend the week before Christmas at their grandfatherhold seventy-five 's houseluxury' apartments - when they discovered the bones of a child beneath a doorway. It There was snowing heavily and you could sense that their parents were becoming annoyed at the bickering in the back of the carno skull. Emily was rather brusque Was this a ritual killing or murder? Inevitably, Dr Ruth Galloway finds herself working with her nine-year-old brotherDCI Harry Nelson. It's behaviourdifficult as Ruth knows, but then Nelson doesn't, that's your prerogative when you're she is pregnant with his child as a grown-up eleven year oldresult of the one night they spent together some three months ago. The snow was getting heavier and the journey longer when Emily opened the car window just a couple Her condition will be obvious before long, not least because Ruth is prone to sudden bouts of inchessickness. There was a dreadful smell and Dylan saw a horrible, snake-like figure clawing at the car window. [[Deadwood Hall by Linda Jones}}{{Frontpage|Full Review]]isbn=0008551324|title=The Devil You Know (D S Max Craigie)<!-- Denzil Meyrick -->|author=Neil Lancaster|-rating=4.5| stylegenre="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|Crime[[image:1846974755.jpg|linksummary=http://wwwIt's unusual for anyone from the Hardie family to approach the police.amazon Neither side likes or has any respect for the other.co.uk/dp/1846974755/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[A Breath on Dying Embers (DCI Daley) by Denzil Meyrick]]=== [[image:4starBut Davie Hardie is struggling in prison 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=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|Crime]] Few government trade missions arrive by luxury liner This person, he promises, but the cruise ship ''Great Britain'' is berthed in Kinloch harbour someone big and on board are high-powered international delegatesit will be worth the police doing what he wants. It's hard And what he wants is to be transferred to an open prison to avoid serve the suspicion that remainder of his sentence and to get an early parole date. Not much to ask, is it? The new Deputy Police Constable doesn't think so and she's not ''entirely'' about work as even prepared to do the billionaires, entrepreneurs and their civil service minders tour the country, golfing other thing that Hardie demanded - make certain that DS Max Craigie and sightseeing anyone who works with their entourage of security personnel. It's an event which DCI Daley hopes will pass quickly, particularly as his formal uniform him is far too tight for comfort, but itkept well away from what's not long before one of the crew members and a local bird watcher go missing. [[A Breath on Dying Embers (DCI Daley) by Denzil Meyrick|Full Review]]happening.}} <!-- James -->{{Frontpage|-isbn=0008405026| styletitle="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"A Stranger in the Family (Maeve Kerrigan 11)|author=Jane Casey[[image:1781128952.jpg|linkrating=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1781128952/ref5|genre=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] Crime| stylesummary="verticalIt's sixteen years since nine-align: top; textyear-align: left;"|===[[The Starlight Watchmaker by Lauren James]]=== [[image:4starold Rosalie Marshall disappeared from her bed one summer night.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Dyslexia Friendly|Dyslexia Friendly]] She was never found and the investigation ground to a halt. Now, her mother, [[:Category:Teens|Teens]] This is a dyslexia-friendlyHelena, science fiction novella for young adultsand her father are dead in their bed. It tells Initially, it looks like a straightforward murder/suicide but there's something about the tale positioning of Hugo, an unwanted and rather lonely android, who the bodies that makes a living for himself mending time-travel watchesDS Maeve Kerrigan and her boss DI Josh Derwent suspicious. When one of his clients demands that his broken watch be mended, Hugo realises there is a mystery What looked as though it was going to be solved, an open-and -shut case is only too ready to helpnow a complex double murder. An exciting journey of discovery unfolds Kerrigan is convinced that the explanation lies in Rosalie's disappearance: others (such as Derwent's boss, which takes Hugo out of his drab attic workroom and into a scary adventure with some amazing new friends, exploring regions of the planet never before known to existUna Burt) are less convinced. [[The Starlight Watchmaker by Lauren James|Full Review]]}}<!-- Stuart MacBride -->{{Frontpage|-isbn=0571379877| styletitle="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|The Kellerby Code[[image:0007419449.jpg|linkauthor=http://wwwJonny Sweet|rating=3.amazon.co.uk/dp/0007419449/ref5|genre=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] Crime| stylesummary="verticalEdward Jevons is a working-align: top; textclass young man, obsessed with his upper-align: left;"|===[[Cold Granite (Logan McRae) by Stuart MacBride]]=== [[image:4class friends, Robert and Stanza.5star Robert's a theatre director.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|Crime]] DS Logan McRae is just back from a year 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 sick leave after drunkenly confided how he was attacked by a killerfeels to Robert. HeMost men in Robert's just about OK and position would stay away from Stanza or tell Edward that a relationship had begun between them but he's supposed not like most men: Edward is left to be easing himself back into stumble upon the swing two of the job them kissing in a gentle way - until three-year-old David Reid's body is discovered in a ditchdark passageway. He'd been missing for some time and it came as no surprise that he was dead but he's the first }}{{Frontpage|author=Jo Callaghan|title=Leave No Trace|rating=4|genre=Crime|summary=When a man is found crucified on the top of several child murders. To add a hill in Nuneaton, DCS Kat Frank finds herself assigned to the complications case alongside her sidekick, the police even have a body but no child reported missingAI detective Lock. A serial killerIt's their first live case together, having previously been very successful with several cold cases. But when there is a child killer and abusersecond body found crucified a few days later, Kat is on the loose in Aberdeen suddenly struggling with a potential serial killer and the press are missing no opportunity a very high profile case that draws a lot of unwanted attention to bay for bloodtheir AI Future Policing project. As if that wasn't bad enough there seems Will they be able to be a leak from within Force Headquarters: a local journalistsolve the case in time, or will Kat find herself taken off the case and, Colin Millerpotentially, quickly finds out everything that's happening. [[Cold Granite (Logan McRae) by Stuart MacBrideof a career?|Full Review]]isbn=139851120X}}<!-- Angela Marsons -->{{Frontpage|-isbn=1399613073| styletitle="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"Moral Injuries|author=Christie Watson[[image:B07QPKB7N7.jpg|linkrating=http://www4.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07QPKB7N7/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] 5| stylegenre="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"Thrillers|summary===[[Child's Play (D I Kim Stone) by Angela Marsons]]=== [[image:4starOlivia, Laura and Anjali met on the first day of medical school and their friendship would keep them inseparable for a quarter of a century.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|Crime]] There's Olivia is ruthlessly ambitious, which is a prologue and we know that we're dealing with someone who bonus when you aim to be a cardiothoracic surgeon. Laura is very disturbeda perfectionist and a trauma doctor. The descriptions are horrifying, but worst of all Anjali is the coldness free spirit of the killergroup and she becomes a GP. [[Child When we first meet them they're at a drug and alcohol-fuelled party and it's Play (D I Kim Stone) by Angela Marsons|Full Review]] <!going to end in tragedy. We don't know who suffered the tragedy or the consequences. Twenty-- Chiang -->five years later there will be an eerily similar event that will impact the three friends. This time, it's their teenage children who are involved.}}{{Frontpage|-isbn=0241636604| styletitle="widthThe Trading Game: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"A Confession|author=Gary Stevenson[[image:1529014484.jpg|linkrating=http://www4.amazon.co.uk/dp/1529014484/ref5|genre=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] Autobiography| stylesummary="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Exhalation by Ted Chiang]]=== [[If you were to bring up an image:5starof a city banker in your mind, you're unlikely to think of someone like Gary Stevenson.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Science Fiction|Science Fiction]] A hoodie and jeans replaces the pin-stripe suit and his background is the East End, where he was familiar with violence, [[:Category:Short Stories|Short Stories]] Over the past twenty-eight years Ted Chiang has published fifteen science fiction short storiespoverty and injustice. These magnificent stories have won twenty There was no posh public school on his CV -seven major science fiction awards so if you are a science fiction fan it is likely that you have already come across some but he had been to the London School of the work by Ted ChiangEconomics. I cannot speak highly enough Stevenson is bright - extremely bright - and he has a facility with numbers which most of this collection of short stories, they are so wide ranging in their themes and so beautifully written, Chiang has written an absolute masterpiece of a collectionus can only envy. If you come across Chiang's work before, take this opportunity He also realised that most rich people expect poor people to do so nowbe stupid. Trust me; your imagination will be grateful 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. [[Exhalation by Ted Chiang|Full Review]]}}<!-- Lawrence -->{{Frontpage|-isbn=1035021803| styletitle="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"The Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder|author=C L Miller[[image:1444940651|rating=3.jpg5|linkgenre=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1444940651/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  Crime| stylesummary="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"| ===[[RoseIt'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, Interrupted by Patrice Lawrence]]=== [[image:4starCarole.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Teens|Teens]]  Rose Freya's former mentor and her brother Rudder have recently escaped from cult-like fundamentalist Christian sectCarole's close friend, Arthur Crockleford, is dead and the Pilgrimscircumstances seem suspicious, along with their motherto say the least. While Mum works endless hours at agency cleaning jobs trying Arthur was the reason why Freya had not been back to keep the rent paid on their tiny flatvillage: Arthur, she feels, Rose and Rudder are trying to navigate the worldly worldlet her down badly. It's not easy when everything is new and Even though they were in business together as antique hunters, she has not felt able to be near the man or pursue the rigid rules you've always lived by are suddenly missingprofession she loved. [[RoseAfter the split, Interrupted by Patrice Lawrence|Full Review]]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.<!-- Kate Atkinson -->}}{{Frontpage|-isbn=AllTomorrowsFutureCover| styletitle="width: 10%; vertical-alignAll Tomorrow's Futures: top; text-align: center;"Fictions that Disrupt|author=Benjamin Greenaway and Stephen Oram (Editors)[[image:9780552772464.jpg|linkrating=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0552772461/ref5|genre=nosim?tagScience Fiction|summary=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Started Early, Took My Dog (Jackson Brodie) by Kate Atkinson]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|Crime]] I guess that most ''Opening up new ways of us have made thinking about the odd impulse purchase but Tracy Waterhouse, security chief at the Merrion Centre in Leeds, blew most people's ideas of an impulse purchase out of the water one morning. Seeing a known prostitute dragging a toddler through the shopping mall whilst cursing at her, Waterhouse followed the woman and bought the girl for £3000. The difficulty of a purchase like this is knowing what to do next and Tracy's humdrum life is replaced with one of stress, fear and an overwhelming love for four-year-old Courtney. [[Started Early, Took My Dog (Jackson Brodie) by Kate Atkinson|Full Review]] <!-- Chloe Daykin -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:0571349439.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0571349439/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Fire Girl, Forest Boy by Chloe Daykin]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Confident Readers]] Maya has to escape. She's on the run in a country she doesn't know and has no idea who to trust. Raul is escaping too - travelling back to his home where a terrible tragedy happened, ready to stir up trouble. When their paths collide in the middle of the jungle, the sparks begin to fly. As modern world corruption meets the magic and legends of ancient times, can Maya draw on her hidden light to find the way through to the truth? [[Fire Girl, Forest Boy by Chloe Daykin|Full Review]] <!-- Angela Marsons -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:B07QPKB7N7.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07QPKB7N7/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Child's Play (D I Kim Stone) by Angela Marsons]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|Crime]] There's a prologue and we know that we're dealing with someone who is very disturbed. The descriptions are horrifying, but worst of all is the coldness of the killer. [[Child's Play (D I Kim Stone) by Angela Marsons|Full Review]] <!-- Gregory -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1526609169.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1526609169/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"| ===[[I Hold Your Heart by Karen Gregory]]=== [[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Teens|Teens]]  Gemma has just started her A levels at school. She's a keen student and she has a good, close set of friends. Gemma loves country music and in her spare time she enjoys writing and singing country songs. She's pretty good at it too. Home life is busy - Gemma's brother Michael has a chance at a football career and the whole family, propelled by Gemma's rather over-invested dad, is supporting him with everything they've got. Gemma hasn't had a serious boyfriend yet, so when the handsome Aaron appears and an instant attraction fizzles between them, Gemma is keen to see where romance could lead... [[I Hold Your Heart by Karen Gregory|Full Review]]<!-- Davis -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:0192749218.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0192749218/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[What's That in Dog Years? by Ben Davis and Julia Christians]]=== [[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Confident Readers|Confident Readers]] George and Gizmo have been together ever since George was born. Gizmo has always been a fun, adventurous dog and a loyal friend, but just recently, George has noticed that he's starting to slow down a little. A visit to the vets leaves George worried that Gizmo might not be around for very much longer, and so he begins to write Gizmo a bucket list, of all the adventures that they can still have together in Gizmo's last days. But are they his last days? And who will help George to stay calm when Gizmo is gone? [[What's That in Dog Years? by Ben Davis and Julia Christians|Full Review]] <!-- Hlad -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1529311446.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1529311446/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Long Flight Home by A L Hlad]]=== [[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Historical Fiction|Historical Fiction]] September 1940 - as WWII rages on, bombs rain down on Britain, destroying the homes and lives of a people on the edge. In Epping Forest, Susan Shepherd and her grandfather Bertie live together raising homing pigeons with the birds proving a comfort for Susan following the loss of her parents. These pigeons are more than just birds to Susan though – in each one, and especially in Duchess, she sees a distinct personality and forms a close bond. Meanwhile, young pilot Ollie Evans leaves Maine to head to Britain and join the Royal Air Force. Working with the National Pigeon Service, he soon meets Susan and is tasked with air-dropping hundreds of homing pigeons into German-occupied France, where many will not survive. As the mission is planned, the bond between Ollie and Susan grows stronger, but when Ollie's plane is downed behind enemy lines, it may be Duchess who provides an unexpected lifeline and ensures that hope of a reunion for Susan and Ollie remains… [[The Long Flight Home by A L Hlad|Full Review]] <!-- Peter Wohlleben -->|-| style=''width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;''|[[image:1846045576.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1846045576/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style=''vertical-align: top; text-align: left;''|===[[Walks In The Wild by Peter Wohlleben and Ruth Ahmedzai Kemp (Translator)]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Animals and Wildlife|Animals and Wildlife]], [[:Category:Politics and Society|Politics and Society]] ''An instruction manual for the forest'' is how Wohlleben's publisher described the idea for this book, and that's basically what it is – although right at the end the author says that it is not intended to be a reference book, but an appetiser. [[Walks In The Wild by Peter Wohlleben and Ruth Ahmedzai Kemp (Translator)|Full Review]] <!-- M T Edvardsson and Rachel Wilson-Boyles -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1529008123.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1529008123/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[A Nearly Normal Family by M T Edvardsson and Rachel Wilson-Boyles (translator)]]=== [[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|Crime]], [[:Category:Thrillers|Thrillers]] We're going to hear this story through the viewpoints of three different people: Adam Sandell, his wife, Ulrika and his daughter Stella. Adam's a pastor in the Church of Sweden and Ulrika is a lawyer. Stella is, well, just difficult. You sense that she's always been difficult and there have even been occasions when Ulrika has let slip that she wishes that Stella was more like her best friend, Amina Bešic - and no one has ever said that if they don't think that the other person is better. We first meet the family on Stella's 18th birthday and we get a sense of Adam's controlling nature. Permission has to be given for a glass of wine for Stella at the celebration meal. [[A Nearly Normal Family by M T Edvardsson and Rachel Wilson-Boyles (translator)|Full Review]] <!-- Green -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:0192771566.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0192771566/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The House of Light by Julia Green]]=== [[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Confident Readers|Confident Readers]] Bonnie is growing up on a slightly strange island, living with her grandfather, scavenging for food, and rubbish that has washed up on the beach that she and her grandfather can use to make things. There is some sort of ban against anyone else landing on the island, and lots of suspicion around those who live there, including a great fear of anyone who gets sick. But when Bonnie is on the beach one day and discovers not only an intact boat, but a young boy cowering beneath, rather than turn him in to the authorities she takes him home and hides him, smuggling him boiled eggs and blankets in the shed whilst she tries to figure out what to do. [[The House of Light by Julia Green|Full Review]] <!-- Foster -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1471172236.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1471172236/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Check Mates by Stewart Foster]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Confident Readers|Confident Readers]], [[:Category:Teens|Teens]] In many ways Felix is a typical boy in Year 7, enjoying playing games on his PS4 and hanging out with his friend Jake at the weekend. However Felix is struggling at school. He is not a problem child but he does have a problem. His ADHD makes it hard for him to concentrate, he keeps getting into trouble and his grades are slipping. When his Mum suggests that he spends more time with his grandfather Felix is horrified. Ever since Grandma died his Granddad has been grumpy and more eccentric than before. All he wants to do is sit in the dark and play chess. Felix knows that this will be extremely boring. But sometimes we learn valuable lessons where we least expect to and perhaps Granddad and Felix can help each other. [[Check Mates by Stewart Foster|Full Review]] <!-- Jane O'Connor -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:B07GLCDXZL.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07GLCDXZL/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Needlemouse by Jane O'Connor]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:General Fiction|General Fiction]], [[:Category:Women's Fiction|Women's Fiction]] We first meet Sylvia Penton on her birthday and her boss, the Prof, is taking her out to lunch. This is her favourite day of the year, not because it's her birthday but because of the special time she gets to spend with the man she loves. He's told her that he and his wife are going to divorce - Martha is apparently having an affair - and Sylvia is convinced that the Prof will then declare his love and they can be together. She hasn't fully constructed 'together' in her own mind - she envisages it as romantic, but her imagination hasn't yet progressed to the sexual part of the relationship. There's time though - she's only been the prof's PA for fifteen years. [[Needlemouse by Jane O'Connor|Full Review]]<!-- Various-->|-| style=''width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;''|[[image:1529006031.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1529006031/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style=''vertical-align: top; text-align: left;''|===[[Return to Wonderland by Various Authors]]=== [[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Confident Readers|Confident Readers]], [[:Category:Short Stories|Short Stories]] In following a young girl called Alice down the rabbit hole a few years ago, when the first book she was in [[Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (150th Anniversary Edition) by Lewis Carroll and Anthony Browne|hit 150 years of age]], I found that I didn't really find too much favour with it. The wacky-for-the-sake-of-it did not gel, and I don't remember loving it more as a child. But I would suggest I am the perfect audience for this book. I had every chance to enjoy these short stories that come at the core from a tangent, that show the benefits of the oblique glance. I've always preferred coming to an author's output through their least obvious, allegedly throw-away pieces, and it's the same with franchises – I'd more likely go for Bree Tanner's short novella than the whole Twilight saga (although that remains just a hunch, for obvious reasons). For another thing, there was every reason to expect some kind of greatness here – with Carroll much loved by millions, surely pieces written with that love in mind could only provide for success after success? [[Return to Wonderland by Various Authors|Full Review]] <!-- Elphinstone -->|-| style=''width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;''|[[image:1471173666.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1471173666/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style=''vertical-align: top; text-align: left;''|===[[Rumblestar (The Unmapped Chronicles) by Abi Elphinstone]]=== [[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Confident Readers|Confident Readers]] Rumblestar follows the haphazard adventures of the anxious 11-year-old Casper Tock who timetables his every movement, makes countless to do lists and is hounded by wealthy bullies with the absurdly humorous and appropriate names of Candida Cashmere Jumps and Leopold Splattercash. He stumbles across a magic portal by accident just like Lucy of Narnia fame, meets a feisty girl troubled by her past and is plunged into a perilous quest. In a kingdom where the dark mythological forces of Midnights threaten the weather Marvels (equated here to the miracle of nature) conjured by magical creatures, only unlikely heroes can battle against evil. [[Rumblestar (The Unmapped Chronicles]) by Abi Elphinstone|Full Review]] <!-- Filby -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1999683587.jpg|link=http://wwwshape of things to come.amazon.co.uk/dp/1999683587/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|''

I've heard it said that 'technology' is what happens after you're eighteen. Well, I must confess that there have been more than a few decades of technology in my lifetime. I've kept up reasonably well with what's advantageous to me but I'm left with the feeling that it's all getting away from me. Some of it is - frankly - quite frightening. Of course, I could research the possibilities and the probabilities and end up down rabbit holes without really understanding whether I'm reading someone who knows what they're talking about or the latest conspiracy theorist. I needed people I knew I could trust and who could deliver information in a way I could understand.}}{{Frontpage|author=Sunny Singh|title=Hotel Arcadia|rating=3.5|genre=Thrillers |summary=The Hotel Arcadia is a luxury hotel in an unnamed city that has suddenly been violently taken over by a terrorist group. Hiding from the terrorists who are rampaging through, killing everyone on site, there is Sam, a wartime photographer and Abhi, the hotel manager. As Abhi continues to try to care remotely for the residents who are still alive in the hotel, he forms a bond with Sam who refuses to be cowed by events, and keeps on venturing out of her room to try to capture what's happened through her photography. Although they only ever talk over the phone, their friendship grows as Abhi tries to help her keep safe and they both wait to see if they will be rescued before they are discovered by the terrorists.|isbn=086154742X}}{{Frontpage|isbn=1529153298|title=The List of Suspicious Things|author=Jennie Godfrey|rating=5|genre=General Fiction|summary=It's 1979 and Margaret Thatcher is Prime Minister. (A woman? I mean, honestly...) She's not what's worrying Miv's family, though. Women have been disappearing. Well, they've been murdered, but to have 'disappeared' doesn't sound quite so frightening. Miv's upset because she's overheard that her father wants to move the family 'Down South'. When you're from Yorkshire, Down South is a frightening, foreign place, best avoided. For Miv, the move would mean leaving her best friend, Sharon, and she'll do anything to prevent that. She's not worried about the dangers or that her Mum's stopped talking - to anyone.}}{{Frontpage|isbn=1398524085|title=Has Anyone Seen Charlotte Salter?|author=Nicci French|rating=5|genre=Crime|summary=[[Charlotte Salter was expected at her husband's fiftieth birthday party but never turned up. Her children, sons Niall, Paul and Ollie and her daughter, Etty. are all worried but - strangely - her husband, Alec, is not. Shortly afterwards, Etty and Greg, find the body of Greg's father, Duncan Ackerley, in the river. It was an easy assumption for the police to make that Duncan had murdered Charlie and then committed suicide when he couldn't stand the guilt. The Evil Occupants Salter children are not convinced but there's little else they can do but get on with their lives and wonder about what really happened.}}{{Frontpage|isbn=1035906708|title=Diva|author=Daisy Goodwin|rating=4.5|genre=General Fiction|summary=We tend to think of Easingdale Castle 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 Ray Filby]]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:Teens{{Frontpage|author=A G Slatter|title=The Briar Book of the Dead|rating=5|genre=Fantasy|Teens]]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.''

Jason likes chessWithin 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. HeThough 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 pretty good 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 while. 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 too 's not the Italian. But which of them was the primary target?}}{{Frontpage|isbn=1529395224|title=Letting the Cat Out of the Bag: The Secret Life of a Vet|author=Sion Rowlands|rating=3.5|genre=Animals and Wildlife|summary=Siôn Rowlands fell into veterinary science accidentally. His father was a GP and Rowlands didn't want to follow in his footsteps, particularly when he considered the strain that being on- a level eight call put on his computer programmefather'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 level ten being Grand Master levelso many students - been his dream since he was a child. If anything, he'd wanted to be a professional footballer. He}}{{Frontpage|isbn=0861541774|title=A Nye of Pheasants|author=Steve Burrows|rating=4|genre=Crime|summary=DCI Domenic Jejeune's also good 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 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 systemsthe chance to come home to Edinburgh. And so begins this new story from Alexander McCall Smith, having contributed bringing us to an Edinburgh we already love, thanks to 44 Scotland Street and the relational database that 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 streamlined his schoolfull 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 administration''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 than twenty hours. All the projects are attractive, modern and useable. JasonI perhaps show my age when I wonder about 'social-media-worthy projects' but that's schoolme 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, Easingdale Comprehensivehe loses his fiancee, and his house gets trashed. Oh, is very big on technology and its headsomeone has delivered a really weird, Mr Johnstondisturbing coffin-sized object to his home, and it's possible that whoever or whatever was inside is keen the thing that has trashed his house! The thing is, Benny is the very last person to deserve all this bad luck. He is a nice person. A really nice person. So fortunately for Benny it turns out that the delivery to involve his pupils wherever they show promisehouse 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. So Jason Spike is going to take care of Benny, and will certainly take care of Benny's enemies, if he, Benny, and Harper (a waitress slash Private Investigator who finds herself roped into Benny's friends have also helped wild adventure) can figure outwho exactly they are. Liz |isbn=1662500491}}{{Frontpage|author=Adam Stower|title=Murray and Bun|rating=4.5|genre=Confident Readers |summary=Murray is great with hardware supposed to be a humble, tidy and friendly cat, one who is able to sleep and eat and eat and sleep and helped with , well, whatever takes his fancy next of the schooltwo. But he's card reader system. Becky a bad magician's cat, so his favourite bun has been turned into a flair for software hyperactive sticky rabbit called Bun, and has recommended lots the catflap they both use can chuck them out, not into the regular back garden, but into a world of curriculum-enhancing appsfrightening 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 Bill if you could, is the question should you make it? Or is a talented programmerthe question if you did, would it land? The catch is that the answer for both could well be....no. [[The Evil Occupants of Easingdale Castle by Ray Filby|Full Review]]

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