Changes

[[Category:New Reviews|Humour]]__NOTOC__ {{Frontpage|author=Stephen Clarke|title=The Spy Who Inspired Me|rating=4|genre=General Fiction|summary=This is a spoof spy story, that isn't about James Bond. Or Ian Fleming. But it features a man called Ian Lemming, who dresses well and 'likes the ladies' and who works for the secret service, but in the planning side of things more than the active service. Lemming finds himself put on a mission with a female spy called Margaux, and the pair end up stranded in Normandy, with Margaux on a desperate mission to unearth traitors in the resistance network, and Lemming desperately trying to keep up with her!|isbn=2952163855}}{{Frontpage|author=Afonso Cruz and Rahul Bery (translator)|title=Kokoschka's Doll|rating=2.5|genre=Literary Fiction|summary=Well, this looked very much like a book I could love from the get-go, which is why I picked my review copy up and flipped pages over several times before actually reading any of it. I found things to potentially delight me each time – a weird section in the middle on darker stock paper, a chapter whose number was in the 20,000s, letters used as narrative form, and so on. It intrigued with the subterranean voice a man hears in wartorn Dresden that what little I knew of it mentioned, too. But you've seen the star rating that comes with this review, and can tell that if love was on these pages, it was not actually caused by them. So what happened?|isbn=1529402697}}{{Frontpage|isbn=B08KKQ85FN|title=But Never For Lunch|author=Sandra Aragona|rating=4|genre=Short Stories|summary=''If a woman approaching the menopause can be likened to a Rottweiler in lipstick, an Ambassador nearing retirement resembles a pampered peacock about to be released into the company of carrion crows or, more to the point, about to discover the real world of bus timetables and paying his own gas bills.'' You don't get many better opening sentences than that, do you? We first met His Excellency and The Ambassador's Wife in [[Sorting the Priorities: Ambassadress and Beagle Survive Diplomacy by Sandra Aragona|Sorting the Priorities]] and we learned what it was like to be moved around countries like accompanying baggage by the Italian Government but the time has come for HE to retires and for Sandra Aragona to become The Wife of Former Ambassador... They have left The Career and settled in Rome. Well 'settled' rather overstates the situation and their dog, Beagle, has no intention of slowing down any time soon, despite being sixteen and deaf.}}{{Frontpage|isbn=B08GFSK2WZ|title=The Karma Trap|author=Lisette Boyd|rating=4|genre=Women's Fiction|summary=George Jackson is thirty-three years old, absolutely gorgeous to look at - and single. She's not had sex for eight months and she's stuck in the karma trap: an awful lot of bad luck is being visited on her and she has a real talent for attracting drama. Her life's chaotic: she dealt with the leak from the shower by putting something down at the bottom of the stairs to absorb the water - then the shower fell through the roof whilst she was in it and left her, stark naked, staring at the pervy postman. She only has to take her mother's dog out for a walk for her to end up with dog poo spattered across her face - and a photo being taken by someone who shares it around the office.}} {{Frontpage|author=David C Mason|title=Pandora's Gardener|rating=3|genre=Crime|summary= John Cranston is a gardener, although what he did before he became a gardener, he claims, is classified. That is just as well because he is about to be caught up in a criminal / spy / terrorist plot, where only he can save the day. |isbn=0956180523}}

{{Frontpage|class-"wikitable" cellpaddingisbn="15" <!-- INSERT NEW REVIEWS BELOW HERE-->1683691172<!-- Doescher -->|title=William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Mean Girls|-author=Ian Doescher| stylerating="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|2.5[[image:1683691172.jpg|linkgenre=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1683691172/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] Humour| stylesummary="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[William A long time ago, in a galaxy far away, all the Star Wars films were crunched up against Shakespeare's Much Ado About Mean Girls by Ian Doescher]]=== [[image:2, and the marriage seemed a perfectly suitable one.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] So much so – so easily did the plots and characters converse in Shakespearean dialogue, and behave with Shakespearean stage directions – that the producers tried again, with [[:Category:Humour|HumourWilliam Shakespeare's Get Thee Back to the Future! by Ian Doescher|Back to the Future]] no less. And that worked. But simultaneously they put a real test out. A long time ago, in a galaxy far away, all film I can't even really remember seeing was transcribed into the Star Wars films were crunched up against Shakespeareoriginal Elizabethan lingo. A cult following I had never followed whatsoever was given the brand new, yet oh so ancient, and dressing. Here was the marriage seemed a perfectly suitable one. So much so true challenge – so easily did the plots and characters converse in Shakespearean dialoguewould I manage to enjoy this, and behave with Shakespearean stage directions – that based on little foreknowledge? Oh damn those shiny gold stars for letting the producers tried again, with [[game away…}}{{Frontpage|isbn=168369094X|title=William Shakespeare's Get Thee Back to the Future! by |author=Ian Doescher|Back to the Futurerating=4.5|genre=Humour|summary=A long time ago, in a publishing house far away, [[:Category:Ian Doescher|someone]] no less. And that worked. But simultaneously they put thought it wonderfully wacky to rewrite the story of Star Wars in Shakespearean pentameter, colliding two entirely different genres and styles in such a real test out. A film I can't even really remember seeing was transcribed into the original Elizabethan lingoclever way they seemed perfectly suited. A cult following I had never followed whatsoever It was given then duly repeated for all the brand newother films in the main Star Wars cycle, yet oh so ancientand clearly someone's buffing their quills ready for Episode Nine, dressing. Here was the true challenge – would title of which became public knowledge the day before I manage write. In the hiatus, however, the effort has been made to enjoy thissee if the same shtick works with other texts, based and to riff on little foreknowledge? Oh damn those shiny gold stars for letting other seemingly unlikely source materials in iambs. And could we have anything more suitably unsuitable-seeming than Back to the game away… [[William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Mean Girls by Ian Doescher|Full Review]]Future, with its tales of time travel, bullying, and parent/child strife like no other?}}<!-- Doescher -->{{Frontpage|-isbn=1473669065| styletitle=Queenie Malone''width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;''|s Paradise Hotel[[image:168369094X.jpg|linkauthor=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/168369094X/refRuth Hogan|rating=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] 5| stylegenre=''vertical-align: top; text-align: left;''Humour|summary===[[William ShakespeareTilda returns to Brighton, to tidy away the remains of her mother's Get Thee Back life after her death. Whilst there, she returns to the Future! by Ian Doescher]]=== [[image:4Paradise hotel, a haven for eccentrics and misfits.5starA place where people can be themselves, and let go of thoughts that torment them elsewhere.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Humour|Humour]]Little wonder that Tilda cannot forgive her mother for banishing her as a child, [[:Category:Science Fiction|Science Fiction]] A long time agofrom this place of wonder. With the help of Queenie Malone, in a publishing house far awaycaring, [[:Category:Ian Doescher|someone]] thought it wonderfully wacky and gregarious, Tilda begins to rewrite pick apart the story of Star Wars in Shakespearean pentameter, colliding two entirely different genres tricky and styles in such a clever way they seemed perfectly suiteduncertain relationship she had with her sometimes cruel and distant mother. It was then duly repeated for all the other films in the main Star Wars cycle, and clearly someone's buffing their quills ready for Episode Nine, the }}{{Frontpage|isbn=1683690346|title of which became public knowledge the day before I write. In the hiatus, however, the effort has been made to see if the same shtick works with other texts=The Con Artist|author=Fred Van Lente|rating=4|genre=Humour|summary=Comic-Cons are a place of wonder and sanctuary for many people, and to riff on other seemingly unlikely source materials in iambs. And could we have anything more suitably unsuitablewhen Comic book artist Mike Mason arrives at San Diego Comic-seeming than Back to the FutureCon, he's looking for both that and sanctuary with its tales other fans and creators, plus the chance of time travelmaybe, just maybe reuniting with his ex. However, bullyingwhen his rival is found dead, and parent/child strife like no other? [[William Shakespeare's Get Thee Back Mike is forced to navigate every dark corner of the Future! by Ian Doescher|Full Review]]con in order to clear his name – from cosplay flash mobs and intrusive fans to zombie obstacle courses – Mike must prove his innocence and, in doing so, may just unravel a dark secret behind a legendary industry creator.<!-- Hogan -->}}{{Frontpage|-isbn=1473669588| styletitle="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"Falling Short|author=Lex Coulton[[image:1473669065.jpg|linkrating=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1473669065/ref4|genre=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] Humour| stylesummary="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Queenie MaloneLex Coulton's Paradise Hotel by Ruth Hogan]]=== [[image:5stardebut novel is a story about mistakes, failures, and relationships.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:General Fiction|General Fiction]]The main protagonist, Frances Pilgrim, is a sixth form English teacher who has recently fallen out with her best friend Jackson, [[:Category:Humour|Humour]], [[:Category:Paranormal|Paranormal]] Tilda returns to Brighton, to tidy away a work colleague and is grappling with the remains increasingly eccentric behaviour of her mother'. This relationship is complicated by the fact that Frances's life after her deathfather disappeared at sea when she was five years old. Whilst there, she returns to the Paradise hotel, a haven for eccentrics }}{{Frontpage|isbn=1683690133|title=My Lady's Choosing|author=Kitty Curran and misfits. A place where people can be themselvesLarissa Zageris|rating=4|genre=Humour|summary=You are a lass of twenty-eight. Plucky, penniless and let go of thoughts that torment them elsewhere. Little wonder that Tilda cannot forgive her mother for banishing her in Regency-era London the race is on to find a suitable suitor - or else doom yourself to life as a child, from this place of wonderan eternal spinster. With the help of Queenie MaloneAlong your journey, caring, and gregarious, Tilda begins you'll be accompanied by Lady Evangeline Youngblood - a fiesty noble eager to pick apart the tricky save you from a life alone, and uncertain relationship she had with her sometimes cruel and distant motherfired by a rogueish sense for adventure. When it comes to suitors though, you'll have to make the ultimate decision between witty, pretty and wealthy Sir Benedict Granville, wholesome, rugged and caring Captain Angus MacTaggart, or the mad, bad and terrifyingly sexy Lord Garraway Craven. With orphans, werewolves, long lost lovers and ancient Egyptian artefacts along the way, it's clear this isn't going to be an easy decision.. [[Queenie Malone's Paradise Hotel by Ruth Hogan|Full Review]] <!-- van LENTE -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1683690346.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1683690346/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]}}{{Frontpage| styleisbn="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"Stibbe_Xmas|=title=An Almost Perfect Christmas|author=[[The Con Artist by Fred Van Lente]]Nina Stibbe|rating=4.5|genre==Humour[[image:4star.jpg|linksummary=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|Crime]]Christmas – the time of traditional trauma. You only have to think about the turkey for that – once upon a time it was leaving it sat on the downstairs loo to defrost overnight, [[:Category:Humour|Humour]] Comicand if that failed the hair-Cons are a place of wonder dryer shoved inside it treatment was your next best bet. Nowadays it's all having to make sure it's suitably free-range and sanctuary for many people, organic – but not too organic that you can go and when Comic book artist Mike Mason arrives at San Diego Comic-Convisit it, he's looking for both that and sanctuary get too friendly with other fans and creators, plus the chance of maybe, just maybe reuniting with his exit to want to eat it. HoweverChristmas, when his rival is found deadthough, Mike is forced to navigate every dark corner of the con course also a time of great boons. It's cash in order to clear his name – from cosplay flash mobs and intrusive fans to zombie obstacle courses – Mike must prove his innocence hand for a lot of plump people who can hire red suits andbeards, in doing so, may just unravel it was always a dark secret behind a legendary industry creator. [[The Con Artist by Fred Van Lente|Full Review]]  <!godsend for postmen with all the thank-you letters to aunties you saw twice a decade that your parents made you write out in long- Coulton -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1473669588.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1473669588/ref=nosimhand as a child, and as for the makers of Meltis Newberry Fruits – well, did they even try and sell them any other time of the year?tag=thebookbag-21]]}}{{Frontpage| styleisbn="vertical-alignDoescher_Will|title=William Shakespeare's the Force Doth Awaken: top; text-align: left;"Star Wars Part the Seventh|author=Ian Doescher|rating=4.5|genre==[[Falling Short by Lex Coulton]]===Humour [[image:4star.jpg|linksummary=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:General Fiction|General Fiction]]A long time ago, in a galaxy far away, [[:Category:Humour|Humour]]there was a man called William Shakespeare, [[:Category:Women's Fiction|Women's Fiction]] Lex Coulton's debut novel is who was able to create a story about mistakes, failuresseries of dramatic histories full of machinations most foul, rulers most evil and relationshipsrebellious heroes and heroines most sturdy. You may or may not have noticed the cinematic version of his original stage play for ''The main protagonistForce Doth Awaken'', Frances Pilgrimbut here at last we get the actual script, is a sixth form English teacher who has recently fallen out complete with her best friend Jackson, a work colleagueannoying-in-different-ways-to-before droids anew, returning heroes from elsewhere in his oeuvre, and is grappling with people keeping it in the increasingly eccentric behaviour of her motherfamily til it hurts. This relationship is complicated by And if you need further encouragement, don't forget his audience only demanded three parts of Henry VI – here the fact that Francesseries is so popular we's father disappeared at sea when she was five years old. [[Falling Short by Lex Coulton|Full Review]]re on to part seven – surely making this over twice as good…}}{{Frontpage<!-- Curran -->|isbn=Goss_600|-| styletitle="widthDoctor Who: 10%; vertical-alignNow We Are Six Hundred: top; text-align: center;"|A Collection of Time Lord Verse (Dr Who)[[image:1683690133.jpg|linkauthor=James Goss and Russell T Davies|rating=http://www.amazon.co4.uk/dp/1683690133/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] 5| stylegenre="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"Humour|summary===[[My Lady's Choosing by Kitty Curran Consider the Doctor. Just how many birthday and Larissa Zageris]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Humour|Humour]]Christmas gifts must he have to hand out each year, [[:Category:Historical Fiction|Historical Fiction]] You are were he to keep in touch with even half of his companions? He would certainly need a lass few novelty gifts for some of twenty-eight. Pluckythem, penniless and in Regency-era London say, for example, whimsical books of verse that pithily encapsulate the race is on to find life of a suitable suitor - or else doom yourself to life as an eternal spinsterTime Lord and that of some of his friends and enemies. Along your journeyAs luck would have it, you'll be accompanied by Lady Evangeline Youngblood - a fiesty noble eager he has the space in his TARDIS to save you from a life alonestock up in advance, and fired by a rogueish sense for adventure. When it comes so my advice to suitors thoughhim – sorry, her – would be to pop along to his local Earth-based book emporium and get himself ready. And if you'll have to make the ultimate decision between witty, pretty and wealthy Sir Benedict Granvillere working on a shorter timescale, wholesomewith a shorter lifespan, rugged and caring Captain Angus MacTaggartthinking perhaps just one gift season ahead, or well my advice is pretty much the mad, bad and terrifyingly sexy Lord Garraway Craven. With orphans, werewolves, long lost lovers and ancient Egyptian artefacts along the way, it's clear this isn't going to be an easy decisionsame.}}{{Frontpage|isbn=Ingram_Kammie|title=Conversations with Kammie|author=Annie Ingram|rating=4|genre=Humour|summary=It was something of a relief when I encountered Annie Ingram and her cocker spaniel Kammie... [[My Lady's Choosing by Kitty Curran and Larissa Zageris|Full Review]]  <!You see, Annie knows something which has been self-- Stibbe -->|-| style="widthevident to me for a long time: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Stibbe_Xmasdogs are perfectly capable of communicating with humans and not just on a level of food! walk! or play!.jpg|left|link=https://wwwYou do require extensive training to become fluent, but most dogs will be perfectly willing to give their time to teach you and all you have to do is listen. Annie has studied hard: Kammie has trained her well and the pair have allowed us to share some of their conversations.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0241309824?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=0241309824]]}}{{Frontpage| styleisbn="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"Harris_Glass|title=The Breaking of Liam Glass|author=Charles Harris|rating=3|genre=[[An Almost Perfect Christmas by Nina Stibbe]]=Humour|summary== [[image:4Teenager Liam Glass is mugged and stabbed yards from his Camden flat.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Humour|Humour]]As the boy lies comatose, desperate journalist Jason Worthington scrabbles for the inside scoop, [[:Category:Short Stories|Short Stories]] Christmas – the time of traditional trauma. You only have to think about the turkey tired police officer Andy Rockham searches for that – once upon a time it was leaving it sat on the downstairs loo to defrost overnightmissing tape, harried politician Jamila Hasan fights for re-election, distraught mother Katrina Glass waits by her son, and if that failed the hairgym-dryer shoved inside it treatment was your next best betowner Royland simply finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. Nowadays it's all having to make sure it's suitably free-range and organic – but not too organic that you can go and visit it, and get too friendly with it to want to eat it. Christmas, though, is of course also a time of great boons. It's cash in hand for a lot of plump people who can hire red suits and beards, it was always a godsend for postmen with all the thank-you letters to aunties you saw twice a decade that your parents made you write out in long-hand as a child, and as for the makers of Meltis Newberry Fruits – well, did they even try and sell them any other time of the year? [[An Almost Perfect Christmas by Nina Stibbe|Full Review]] <!-- Doescher -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Doescher_Will.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/159474985X?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=159474985X]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[William Shakespeare's the Force Doth Awaken: Star Wars Part the Seventh by Ian Doescher]]=== [[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Science Fiction|Science Fiction]], [[:Category:Humour|Humour]] A long time ago, in a galaxy far away, there was a man called William Shakespeare, who was able to create a series of dramatic histories full of machinations most foul, rulers most evil and rebellious heroes and heroines most sturdy. You may or may not have noticed the cinematic version of his original stage play for ''The Force Doth Awaken'', but here at last we get the actual script, complete with annoying-in-different-ways-to-before droids anew, returning heroes from elsewhere in his oeuvre, and people keeping it in the family til it hurts. And if you need further encouragement, don't forget his audience only demanded three parts of Henry VI – here the series is so popular we're on to part seven – surely making this over twice as good… [[William Shakespeare's the Force Doth Awaken: Star Wars Part the Seventh by Ian Doescher|Full Review]] <!-- Goss -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Goss_600.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1785942719?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1785942719]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Doctor Who: Now We Are Six Hundred: A Collection of Time Lord Verse (Dr Who) by James Goss and Russell T Davies]]=== [[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Children's Rhymes and Verse|Children's Rhymes and Verse]], [[:Category:Science Fiction|Science Fiction]], [[:Category:Humour|Humour]] Consider the Doctor. Just how many birthday and Christmas gifts must he have to hand out each year, were he to keep in touch with even half of his companions? He would certainly need a few novelty gifts for some of them, say, for example, whimsical books of verse that pithily encapsulate the life of a Time Lord and that of some of his friends and enemies. As luck would have it, he has the space in his TARDIS to stock up in advance, so my advice to him – sorry, her – would be to pop along to his local Earth-based book emporium and get himself ready. And if you're working on a shorter timescale, with a shorter lifespan, and thinking perhaps just one gift season ahead, well my advice is pretty much the same. [[Doctor Who: Now We Are Six Hundred: A Collection of Time Lord Verse (Dr Who) by James Goss and Russell T Davies|Full Review]] <!-- Ingram -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Ingram_Kammie.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1785451995?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1785451995]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Conversations with Kammie by Annie Ingram]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Pets|Pets]], [[:Category:Humour|Humour]] It was something of a relief when I encountered Annie Ingram and her cocker spaniel Kammie. You see, Annie knows something which has been self-evident to me for a long time: dogs are perfectly capable of communicating with humans and not just on a level of food!, walk! or play!. You do require extensive training to become fluent, but most dogs will be perfectly willing to give their time to teach you and all you have to do is listen. Annie has studied hard: Kammie has trained her well and the pair have allowed us to share some of their conversations. [[Conversations with Kammie by Annie Ingram|Full Review]] <!-- Harris -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Harris_Glass.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1908943823/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Breaking of Liam Glass by Charles Harris]]=== [[image:3star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|Crime]], [[:Category:Humour|Humour]] Teenager Liam Glass is mugged and stabbed yards from his Camden flat. As the boy lies comatose, desperate journalist Jason Worthington scrabbles for the inside scoop, tired police officer Andy Rockham searches for a missing tape, harried politician Jamila Hasan fights for re-election, distraught mother Katrina Glass waits by her son, and gym-owner Royland simply finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. We follow this host of ensemble characters in a bleak, kaleidoscopic satire of modern media. [[The Breaking of Liam Glass by Charles Harris|Full Review]] <!-- LENTE -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Lente_10.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1683690222/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Ten Dead Comedians: A Murder Mystery by Fred Van Lente]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Humour|Humour]] Nine comedians are invited to a remote Caribbean island under the guise of working with Dustin Walker, a comedic legend. Each fits neatly into one of the archetypal comic stereotypes: Steve, the washed-up has-been who has fallen far from his early days; Zoe, the rising female star with a new stand-up special coming soon; Dante, who went from being a kid on the streets to the hardest working road comic in the business; Oliver, the child-like prop comic who can't get any respect from his peers; Janet, the insult comic who is past her prime; TJ, the nightly variety show host with a reputation for harassing his female colleagues and guest acts; Ruby, the ultra-feminist YouTuber and Blogger with a chip on her shoulder; and William, whose redneck character ''Billy the Contractor'' is a far cry from his real personality as a posh millionaire. Of course, all nine agree because ''when God almighty walks down on a beam of light and asks for your help, what the hell else are you going to say?'' [[Ten Dead Comedians: A Murder Mystery by Fred Van Lente|Full Review]] <!-- Scott -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Scott_Eliz.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1788037006/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Elizabeth, William... and Me by S Lynn Scott]]=== [[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Humour|Humour]] Ally is an ordinary woman with teenage children, a husband and a job. Then comes the day when ordinariness flies out of the window. It's not a coincidence that it's the same day she finds Queen Elizabeth I in the pantry and the Bard of Avon in her bath. What's she going to do? Well, Elizabeth and Will have their own ideas about that! [[Elizabeth, William... and Me by S Lynn Scott|Full Review]] <!-- Rodford -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Rodford_Surgeon.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/178565005X/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Surgeon's Case: George Kocharyan Mystery 2 by E G Rodford]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|Crime]], [[:Category:Humour|Humour]] In the second instalment of this series, Private Investigator George Kocharyan has been hired by a well-known local man to track down some missing valuables. Bill Galbraith, a world-famous surgeon at Cambridge's Addenbrooke's Hospital who hosts a popular medical television programme, has had his briefcase stolen by his live-in domestic servant, Aurora. According to Galbraith, this briefcase contains confidential notes concerning an important patient of his at the hospital. George agrees to look into the theft, assuming it will be a relatively easy and straightforward case – little does he know, he's about to enter a world of deceit and dysfunction. [[The Surgeon's Case: George Kocharyan Mystery 2 by E G Rodford|Full Review]] <!-- Jordan -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Jordan_Tiny.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1760293814/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Our Tiny, Useless Hearts by Toni Jordan]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Women's Fiction|Women's Fiction]], [[:Category:Humour|Humour]] As predicted by Caroline and Janice's mother on Caroline and Henry's wedding day, their marriage is over, albeit 15 years and two daughters further along than predicted. Indeed, this is definitely not a good weekend for Janice to be babysitting at Caroline's house. There's the split and the awkwardness of the girls' schoolteacher being the other woman for a start. Then there's that mistaken identity moment involving the neighbours. At least Janice is well adjusted and over her ex-husband Alec. She still dreams of him, yes, but it's so over! Just as well really… guess who's at the door? [[Our Tiny, Useless Hearts by Toni Jordan|Full Review]] <!-- Taylor -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Taylor_Scilly.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/178475515X/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Life of a Scilly Sergeant by Colin Taylor]]=== [[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Travel|Travel]], [[:Category:Humour|Humour]] Meet the Isles of Scilly. (I know they should be called that – the author provides a handy guide to the etiquette of their name, their nature and location, etc.) For our more distant readers, they're several chunks of granite rock out in the Atlantic, where Cornwall is pointing, with just 2,200 permanent residents. They're big on tourism, and big on growing flowers in the tropical climate the Gulf Stream bequeaths them – although the weather is bad enough to turn any car to a rust bucket within years. They're so wee, and so idyllic-seeming, especially at night, you can be mistaken for thinking there would be no need for a police presence. But there is – at least two working at any one time. And one of them in recent years has been Colin TaylorWe follow this host of ensemble characters in a bleak, who has done his official duty – alongside maintaining a well-known online existence, which has brought to life all the whimsical comedy kaleidoscopic satire of his workmodern media. [[The Life of a Scilly Sergeant by Colin Taylor|Full Review]]}}