Book Talk Bournemouth

Emma Donoghue - The Sealed Letter

2012-01-10T07:48:00.000Z

I was absolutely bowled over by The Room, which was stratospherically a best seller and nominated for innumerable awards, and well deserved it was. I therefore approached this book with a sense of trepidation and anticipation.

What a surprise this is a totally different kind of book. It is set in Victorian London and concerns an infamous divorce case that occurred in real life. This is Emma's fictional take on it.

It is absolutely brilliant. Of course, I love historical fiction but it is the relationships of the central characters that like Room dominate the book and carry it forward.

I found I just could not put it down, it was utterly fascinating and I was desperate to find out the conclusion of the trial.

There is masses here to interest a reading group, women's rights, marriage, divorce, female relationships, Victorian London, hypocrisy, and the list goes on. I can predict that this book will become the stalwart of reading group lists for many years to come.

Phil Rickman - The Secrets of Pain

2011-12-30T14:37:00.004Z

Another excellent offering from Phil Rickman. These suspenseful murder mysteries are great. It is another large book but once I had hit half way I just could not put it down. Here we have a police investigation into the murder of a local landowner, and we enter again the complicated world of DI Franny Bliss. For Merrily, the Diocesan Exorcist, this is the 11th book in the series, and it is worth reading the back list, we have a highly challenging situation surrounding once of her colleagues who has recently re-enlisted in the SAS as their chaplain.

I found the aspect dealing with the SAS absolutely fascinating, and once again this is a book where I came away having felt I had learned alot. I cannot say to much more about the plot without spoilers.

Phil Rickman is a master at creating brooding suspense and his creation of the atmosphere of Hereford and the Welsh borders really gives you a sense that you can be there, with the hairs on the back of your neck rising in sympathy. I also like the story arc concerning Merrily and Lol and of course her teenage daughter Jane, who always just seems to get it wrong!

Mario Reading - The Third Antichrist

2011-12-15T08:40:00.002Z

Well here it is at last, the final volume in the Third Antichrist Trilogy, and it has been worth the wait! You can read it as a standalone novel but it is so much richer if you have read the previous two novels.

This is a large book, bordering on 666 pages (!), it is fast paced and witty. Unusually for this type of book it is also erudite. I love a book in which I learn alot and am entertained!
The glossary is also helpful as it answers all the in jokes/ entendres concerning the names of significant characters!
So, this book is mainly set in Moldovia and Romania, but ties up the threads of Nostradamus in France and the Mayan Codex from Mexico. I cannot say too much without spoilers but I can share that as Adam Sabir, Calcque and the intrepid gypsies rush to the climax, chased by the Corpus ( the wicked De Bale family - did I say my maiden name was Bale?) we find out not only who is the Third Antichrist but also who is the Second Coming!

If you like fast paced, mystery or conspiracy type thriller this is the book for you! Just the thing to curl up with at this time of year.............

Christopher Fowler - Bryant and May and The Memory of Blood

2011-12-06T08:14:00.001Z

Another cracking novel in the Bryant and May series. This time Christopher turns his hand to the locked room mystery. Add to that the fact that the murder may have been committed by Punch from Punch and Judy, then you have the scene set for another delicious blend of mayhem, mystery and murder.

These books just keep on getting better. If you want to know more about the history of London and all its quirks, these books will entertain. Add to this the great duo of Bryant and May and the Peculiar Crimes Unit and you have a really special quality read. Although these books do stand alone, the story arc of the Peculiar Crimes Unit is great to follow, do I detect a slight softening towards Raymond Land?

These books are also well written and I love an author that plays with words and teaches me new ones.

I am very worried about this new condition I am sure I have abrakophilia !

Christopher has a great BLOG too follow the links on this page!

Man Booker Prize 2011

2011-11-12T09:23:00.007Z

Well this year it was as controversial as always. I have to say that once again none of the books really appealed to me. The only one I attempted prior to the result was this one.

It certainly was not challenging but was very odd. This is a violent and peculiar western. It is very strange I am not sure what was the point of the book, was it to tell us that all sons need and crave their mothers? If anyone can enlighten me please post.

On the announcement of the winning novel, I decided to read it. Again an easy read, and very short, almost a novella. It is beautifully if somewhat self consciously written. It is about a 60 something year old man returning to an event in his past. I can't say too much as it would then contain spoilers.

What I could not decide is whether this book is absolutely brilliant or dreadful. It is as I said very lyrical, but none of the characters appeal, there is really no point that I can perceive to the story. There is no real denouement. The revelation at the end you could see coming, and it really doesn't solve anything BUT that is real life. Other human beings frequently are a mystery to us and there is no 'closure' that can be had, and some people we meet in our lives are just unpleasant or weird.

I am glad I read it , it will be excellent for reading groups as I suspect it will divide the readers into two camps and lead to a lively discussion.

End Of The Line - ed Jonathan Oliver

2011-11-04T11:23:00.004Z

So what can I say about this collection of horror short stories? They are all loosely based about underground railway systems. They are incredible! A stellar cast of authors have been collected by Jonathan Oliver, Christopher Fowler, Adan L G Neville, Gary McMahon, Pat Cadigan, Paul Maloy, Ramsay Campbell, John L Probert, Nicholas Royle, Simon Bestwick, Al Ewing, Conrad Williams, Mark Morris, Stephen Volk, Michael Marshall Smith, James Lovegrove,Natasha Rhodes, and Joel Lane.
I found I had to read this book very slowly reserving time to read one story a day. They are haunting, terrifying, and very clever, they also stay with you, hence the desire not to overload the synapses.
I should say that next time I take the tube in London I am going to pay very close attention to everything, and be very afraid. I found it absolutely fascinating but not surprising to see how different author's imaginations run when given such a suitable topic. Am I the only person that has always been slightly uneasy on a tube platform?

October has been a busy month!

2011-11-02T11:41:00.014Z

Phew, we have had a busy month here in Bournemouth. Firstly our reading groups have reached 52! We have been running a survey with them and they have feed back that they would over whelmingly like Readers Days, on Crime, General Fiction and Historical Fiction. So please keep your eyes open for advertising for future author events.

In October we had the excellent Bournemouth Arts by the Sea Festival. As part of this there was the interestingly named Horrorlitic events. Bournemouth has a wealth of literary connections,the author of Frankenstein, Mary Shelley is buried here, as is the heart of her husband! Robert Louis Stevenson wrote The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde while living here, and the author of Dracula, Bram Stoker used to come here on holiday!

So we had the eminent horror writers Ramsay Campbell and Stephen Laws to the Bournemouth Library for tea with a specially commissioned horror cake. Over 40 people came to be chilled by readings of some of their latest short stories. Later they were grilled by the audience on how they wrote, where they got their inspriration from and whether they were normal! ( Their wives said yes!) Waterstones were there to sell books for a signing and I bought a particularly chilling collection of short stories. Review to follow!

2011-09-30T07:00:00.000+01:00

This is the same book, so do not be fooled! The publisher clearly thought the original title had to be simplified. Certainly the new cover fits in with those of his later books.

Once again we have a murder mystery/thriller. This time it is set in Long Island, USA in 1947. Having read this book last in the series, I was impressed as to how deep and structured it was. All the elements I have come to recognise in my fest were there. Once again we are immersed into a rich, complex and textured community, that at the same time is finite in the sense that we have a small cast from which to find our murderer. I loved the character of Hollis the detective. There were all the elements of classic film noir that added to the atmospere.
It was also very clever how we were drip fed details of Conrad through out the book, so that we were never quite sure what his next move might be. It was not until quite some way into the book that I realised his age!

Again there is much here that would make it an excellent reading group book but also an entertaining read that will keep you pleasurably lost in another world.

Keep writing Mark as I have now run out!

Mark Mills - The Information Officer

2011-09-29T06:00:00.000+01:00

This book is more of a murder mystery, than his previous books I have reviewed, as within the setting there is a serial killer on the loose. Once again though it is the setting that is so fantastic. Here we are in Malta in the 1940s. For those of you who loved a Pair of Silver Wings by James Holland here is a novel set in the same time frame and the same place. As such it would make a very interesting reading group challenge, to read the two books together.

Once again Mark has produced an atmosperic thriller with an interesting puzzle. In this novel we also have the added frisson of chapters written from the viewpoint of the murderer. This is an clever device as clearly we have a small cast from which to pick the murderer, and I found myself, re-reading sections to find clues, as to who it might be. It certainly racked up the tension and once again I was ready until late in the night!

Mark Mills - The Savage garden

2011-09-28T06:30:00.000+01:00

Well having searched my BLOG it appears that I did not review The Savage Garden, so here goes.

The thing that Mark does do well in his writing is atmospere, and as I stated in my previous review it is this which kept me reading. Yes there is a puzzle, yes there is a death, but it is the sheer ability of his skill to immerse you in the period in which he casts you, that holds you and keeps you reading long into the night.

This book is set in the 1950s in Tuscany, Italy. Our hero is tasked with investigating the history of a historical garden for his thesis, the family owning the garden being friends of his professor. As he investigates mysteries begin to surface and he gradually comes to realise that the family that have welcomed him into their midst may have their own secrets. Secrets that may echo those embedded in the garden whose mystery he has set himself to solve. Classy, elegant and much to entertain a reading group. It was a Richard and Judy recommendation and once you have read it you realise why.

Mark Mills - House of the Hanged

2011-09-27T12:11:00.000+01:00

I have just finished a Mark Mills fest. Started on the back of reading this book. I just could not get enough. So more reviews to follow.

This is his latest book and it really is great. It is set in France in the 1930s. It is an engaging thriller and I could not put it down, it took me two days and nights to read it.

I was a big fan of his Savage Garden, see review below, and this is up to that standard.

This would make a good reading group book as there is much that can be discussed in relation to the time period. It is very atmosperic, and you feel totally immersed in the setting that Mark has created.

The book starts in Russia, and then switches to France, it abounds with spies and murder and is thoroughly enjoyable. As with all these thriller there is very little about the plot that can be told without introducing spoilers, however it is to be recommended.

Dan Wadell - Blood Detective

2011-09-03T07:52:00.000+01:00

I read this on holiday and have only just got round to reviewing it. Dan Waddell is an expert on genaeology, He wrote the Best Selling ' Who Do You Think You are?' to accompany the TV series. This is his first novel.
It really is a great idea and fairly unique I would have thought in crime. Here we have an expert in genealogy helping the police solve crime in the present by researching family and local history.

Here we have a serial killer in Victorian London and another in present day London. There appears to be a link can our genealogist, Nigel Barnes, find the link?
For those of you fascinated by family history or in researching your house, or street, this has a wealth of ideas tucked in among the fiction. It works really well as a Crime Novel and I look forward to the rest of the series.
On a personal level, I particularly liked the setting in Ladbroke Grove. I lived there years ago and several times people knocked on our door looking for Rillington Place, as yes I lived in Wesley Square........
I throoughly recommend this. It would make a good reading group read and I think it would also be enjoyed by a local history/ family history group as well.

David Hewson - The Fallen Angel

2011-09-02T07:04:00.002+01:00

Another wonderful offering from David in his Nic Costa series set in Rome. I am completely hooked on these.

This is an intriguing puzzle and as usual it kept me guessing to the end.
Nic has a potential new love interest ( I do hope so he deserves a little bit of happiness!), whilst out meeting with her they hear screaming, running to the scene they see a young g irl bent over her dead father who apparently has fallen from a balcony that is under repair. Is it an accident? Of course it isn't, but the intricacies of their lives will keep you guessing.
As usual I learnt so much more about Rome and in particular the story of Beatrice Cenci, a sixteenth century noblewoman still honoured by women today.
I shall tell you no more as it would contain spoilers!

Ann Cleeves - Silent Voices

2011-08-25T06:37:00.000+01:00

Another all nighter or so it seemed, well wee hours anyway. I just had to finish this. It was really exciting, kept you guessing and maintained the tension throughout.
This is the fourth in the Vera Stanhope series. The only trouble is that after the TV series Vera, I firmly have Brenda Blethyn in my head now but the plus side is that as a Southener I can now hear the voices as I read.
An interesting book, I love the touches of humour, the Health Club was acutely observed, as I too swim before work. I must say I did look around the steam room this morning!
I thought the plot was good, very topical, the murder victim being a a social worker who had worked on a high profile case where a child was killed.

I think because of the subject matter it would make a good Reading Group book especially for a Crime Reading Group.

Tatiana de Rosnay - Sarah's Key

2011-08-24T07:29:00.000+01:00

This I believe is Tatiana's first book in English. I looked it up having enjoyed The Secret ( review below) so much.

I also enjoyed this one and again it will make an excellent Reading Group read. This is another dual time novel set in the present day and war time Paris. This is Paris of WW2 the time of the Vichy government. This story concerns a shameful and little advertised fact of that time. The French Police (not the Nazis) rounded up over 13,000 Jews most of them women and children, in the summer of 1942. They were kept in inhumane conditions before finally they were then deported in cattle trucks and killed in Auschwitz. Most of over 4000 children were French. They did not survive.

This is the story of one little girl and a modern day journalist's obsession with finding out her story.

It is a good book, that keeps you guessing until the end. I read it quickly over 2 days as I was desperate to find out what happened.

As is often the way the older story had more resonance. I thought the journalist was a little naive in every sense but then we are all flawed aren't we, so it was true to life!

Sarah Winman - When God Was A Rabbit

2011-08-23T06:05:00.001+01:00

This is a very funny book. It will also make you cry. At the same time it is very deep, dealing with complex issues that really make you examine your own opinions and reflect on your own childhood.
The book is about the growing up of a sister and brother. A rite of passage novel if you will but, it also brings in the global triumphs and tragedies as a commentary on their lives, on our own lives.
Again an absolute must for Reading Groups. It even helpfully has reading group notes in the back.
This book will have you laughing out loud, in the scene with the nativity play I nearly fell out of bed - and then she delivers the punch line that brilliant sentence that sums up the world as it really is.
Her characters are well drawn and by the end of the book you really feel you know them. I could go on for pages but better still pick up a copy at your local library and be prepared to read something really special.
Is the book realistic, probably not but as a social commentary it is priceless.

Tatiana de Rosnay - A Secret Kept

2011-08-22T07:34:00.001+01:00

This is a fantastic book and would make an excellent reading group book. There is a lot here to discuss.
This is basically a dual time mystery novel set in France. I cannot say too much about the plot as I would give it away. What I can say is that this was one of those books that had me reading into the small hours of the morning to find out what happened.
This book is also full of relationships, and the psychology that drives them.
What I also found interesting is that this book is about French protagonists and it fascinating to get behind the psyche of a different race.
I thoroughly recommend it.

Natasha Solomons - The Novel in the Viola

2011-08-15T19:09:00.000+01:00

Oh I am just so jealous. Natasha writes like a dream she is fantastic. I loved her previous novel, Mr Rosenblaum's List. This book is set during the Second World War in Austria and Dorset, UK.
It is the story of Elise, a middle class Jewish Girl, born into the glamorous world of her opera singer mother and writer father. They send her to England before the outbreak of the war on a domestic ticket. This girl who has never had to lift a finger before, who speaks little English arriving from the bustling Austrian city of Vienna coming to rural Dorset as a servant. A village in Dorset that is going to be requisitioned by the army.( This really happened, a village still sits there on the coast, bombed out for target practise, a village of ghosts)
This is a novel of many genres, historical, coming of age, romantic, sad and above all brilliant. Again this book is as much about, what is the essence of being English as it is about being a refugee.
It would make an excellent reading group novel, there is a wealth of discussion points to delve!

Olivia Darling - Temptation

2011-08-15T07:53:00.001+01:00

This is a great big girlie piece of chick lit. I did not expect to enjoy it but I did. It was well written, amusing, a little sardonic and of course everyone gets their just desserts.

We have three women a successful Opera Diva, who divorces her philandering husband - a famous tenor. After financial problems she finds herself agreeing to tour the world with her ex-husband. We have an impressionable banker, ( successful but naive) who slowly realises that the rotter at the bank, ( married corrupt) will stop at nothing to get the money he needs. Including getting her the sack.

We then have a young black girl encouraged to sing at school, introduced to Opera by an inspired teacher. She works as an office cleaner now but dreams of being an opera singer. As the book progresses the lives of these three women inexorably begin to cross over and entwine leading to the explosive climax.

This is absolutely a book to take to the pool or beach this summer!

Conor Fitzgerald - The Dogs of Rome

2011-07-30T16:20:00.000+01:00

This is a debut novel and has been nominated for the CWA John Creasey New Blood Dagger 2011.
I picked it up as reaaders of my Blog will know that I devour Italian crime novels. This one is set in Rome. It is gritty, complex and as usual cynical as to the Roman Underworld/police force.
I did not warm to our detective Alec Blume. I think it may be the Americanisms, he seemed neither one nor the other, however it may be a useful story arc for the future. It was well plotted and uses Rome to full advantage. I found that after I had got about halfway I could not put it down a sure sign that the dramatic tension is right. It also made me look up Cane Corso's so I learnt something too.
I await the next book in the series to see how this series will progress. This is a competative field and there are some masters to challenge ( Dibdin, Hewson, Leon et al), this is not quite there yet but has massive potential.

Kate Atkinson - Started Early Took My Dog

2011-07-29T06:56:00.000+01:00

Another excellent book in the Jackson Brodie series. The vision of Jason Isaacs has now superceeded any visions I had of Jackson in my head - I had not imagined him quite so buff!)
I absolutely love how Kate takes three apparently disparate threads and then inexorably weaves them in and out until they come to the climax of the book. It is a fascinating web that she weaves and I am hooked.
I hope he finds his thieving ex-wife and she gets her comuppance. I hope he gets some closure over his sister's murder and I also wish Tracy Waterhouse all the best in her new life!

Dawn French - A Tiny Bit Marvellous

2011-07-27T06:45:00.001+01:00

Having long admired Dawn French and found her hilarious, I was really interested to read her foray into fiction. And best selling at that it is currently number one on the Bookseller Top 50.

If you are like me then I can predict you will love this book. After years of watching French and Saunders you can just hear Dawn's voice in the background with her funny voices.

This is the story of a modern family. Told in the Diaries of Mo, nearly 50, a successful child psychologist and her two children. Dora nearly 17, full of raging hormones and angst, and having had one of my own, yes it is realistic. She also has a son aged 16, intelligent, amusing, and desperatly chanelling Oscar Wilde. In the background is the stalwarthusband and Dad and Granny Pamela.

This is a short passage in their lives as Dora hits 18 and Mo 50. It is genuinely funny, I found myself howling with laughter and waking my husband as I read into the small hours.

Note to all Mums it is so worth being friends on Facebook with your young.

This would be a great reading group book just be aware that some of the language is challenging but amusing, it was interesting to see how teenage language has evolved in the 10 years since my two were that age. I thought it was a very clever device to use Dora's diary. A typical, non -communicative daughter to her mother, but oh so eloquent in her diary. It also rings true to life, the successful child psychologist at work, is useless at home!

Donna Leon - Drawing Conclusions

2011-07-26T07:51:00.000+01:00

This is the twentieth book in this marvellous series. All the wonderful ingrediaents are there. Mystery, murder and of course wonderful Venice. In this book we look at the problems with someone who believes in complete honesty, not everyone wants to know the truth or have it revealed. It starts with the death of an elderly woman, touches on battered wifeas and as usual we delight to the trumping of Vice Questore Patta.
Once again it is all resolved due to the superior mind of Guido and the infomation gathering skills of Signorina Elettra.
This is unmissable for her fans.
I am so grateful for Donna Leon for introducing me to modern Venice I cannot wait until I go there for the fifth time in the Autumn!

Alden Bell - The Reapers are the Angels

2011-07-24T14:49:00.000+01:00

This is a post-apocalyptic zombie genre book. Our heroine is a 15 year old girl born into this world. A kick ass survivor. She travels America in a restless way, encountering others as she goes.
I am not sure what readership this book is aimed at really. It is not deep enough for hard core fantasy fans. It might be aimed at teens as it is an easy read and non challenging ( other than the gore of course). I read it in a day.
The only surprise is that he kills the goose that lays the golden egg. Have Aiden or his editor never heard of a series? Or is this a one off, cashing in on the current all things zombie craze?
There is certainly nothing here for a reading group. On thought though was why and how was the electricity still working after 25 years? Not likely I would have thought, I am afraid this is the sort of things that really bugs post apocalyptic aficionados mad.
Read The Passage it is so much better. (see below) Or read the Walking Dead graphic novels on which the TV series is based.
This is also another of those irritating books without punctuation. Is this an affectation or laziness?

Rona Jaffe - The Best of Everything

2011-07-22T07:43:00.000+01:00

Sometimes one comes across a book where superlatives seem trite. This is just such a book, you find yourself reading slowly, savouring the words, and at the end you are left bereft as you do not want it to end, you want to know more.
This book republished to coincide with the TV Series Mad Men, was a novel written in 1958, set in 1952 to appeal to the 'modern woman'. To attempt to give them a 'voice'. If this book wasn't read by the creator of Sex in the City, I would be very surprised.
This is the story of 4 girls who came to New York to work, they all start at the Fabian Publishing House. This novel tells their story. It is compelling, beautifully written and I loved it!
It would make a superb reading group choice, there is just so much material here, a great deal to talk about. Has the world changed that much for women since then? Is it better or worse? I encourage you to read it and you decide.

Alyxander Harvey - Haunting Violet

2011-07-21T18:29:00.001+01:00

I think this might normally be categorised as teenage paranormal romance but I have to say that this is so much more. It reveals the underbelly of Edwardian life, where, for example, a girl in her undergarments is more shocking than murder!

I found all the spiritualist/medium parts fascinating.

Violet assists her mother, a fake medium, only to discover at 16 that she has the true gift and she can suddenly see ghosts and communicate with them. This leads her into the dangerous situation, where she feels impelled to assist a ghost in revealing her murder, exposing the murderer and saving, her living, sister from the same fate.

I found this book fast paced and well written. I read it in 24 hours on holiday and found it hard to out down

Katherine Webb - The Unseen

2011-07-20T08:01:00.000+01:00

This is by the author of The Legacy, see below, which won the Channel 4 TV Book Club, last year.

I also loved this book. It had it all, deception, murder, and is a classic time slip novel.

Interwoven with this is a subplot involving the suffragettes and particularly the different treatment/punishment meted out to women dependant on their class.

This would make a superb reading group novel, there is just so much to discuss. An innocent and naive vicar and his wife, theosophy, forgery and an interesting modern story involving the archaeology of the War graves Commission in France - something I had never thought about before. Just how do they identify remains that turn up in a field in Northern France.

All in all I thoroughly recommend this book, it will keep you enthralled and immersed in it up until the end.

Danny Miller - Kiss Me Quick

2011-07-19T18:51:00.000+01:00

Another of our stars from the Bournemouth Libraries Crime Festival. This is a debut novel from a very experienced script writer.
This book is set over one weekend in Brighton in 1964. We follow the investigations of Detective Vince Treadwell, sent down to Brighton whilst recovering from a head injury, to investigate a murder. However, Vince knows Brighton well, he grew up there, he knows the players. A tee total, honest cop, he has to tread warily through the morass of underground crime and police corruption ( sound familiar - no tabloids though).
This is the sixties we have, miniskirts, sex and drugs, pornography, oh, and mods and rockers fighting on the beach.
This is a fast paced, edge of your seat ride. I read the book over a couple of days, you can appreciate the skills of the script writer here, the prose is sparse, edgy and gripping. I challenge you to put it down for long!

Hello

2011-07-19T17:01:00.000+01:00

Well I am back . Returned from holilday, having read masses of books, so keep tuning in for the reviews which hopefully with time allowing will now come Fast and Furious.

There are some exciting events coming up. On 8th September at Westbourne LIbrary we have Crime Author Graham Hurley. Then a month later we have Horolitic. A horror lit fest, a return to real horror perhaps? Featuring Graham Masterton, Stephen laws, Ramsey Campbell and Christopher Fowler, and Who Deliberately Tried To Run Over Stephen King?

Karen Maitland - The Gallows Curse

2011-06-03T10:54:00.004+01:00

Another of our star authors for our Bournemouth Libraries Crime Writing Festival tomorrow. This is a book of love and treachery set in England at the time of King John. A young and innocent girl is tricked into being a sin eater. This are necessary because all churches and thus religious, weddings, funerals and of course absolution has been suspended. People are thus fearing for their immortal souls, well, the good people at least!
This book is full of mystery, atmosphere and wonderful writing. I really felt I was there, immersed in the period. Not a nice time but very interesting. I enjoyed the twists and turns, skillful plotting and suspense.
This would make an excellent reading group book with so much to discuss.
A brilliant idea is that the story is narrated by the mandrake!

Simon Hall - The Death Pictures

2011-06-01T10:40:00.003+01:00

I am full of excitement about our first, forthcoming, Crime Writing Festival this Saturday, 4th June at the Bournemouth Library. There to host the day is the wonderful Simon Hall BBC's Crime Correspondent for the South West and author of 5 crime novels featuring the TV Detective.
This is the first book and a gripping novel ,no doubt blurring fact and fiction as we may well find out on Saturday.
This book skilfully blends a number of threads. We have a serial rapist targeting young single mothers in Plymouth. We also have a famous painter setting a riddle of the 'Death Pictures' before he dies of cancer. However he is then murdered. Are the cases linked? Why kill someone shortly before they will die of natural causes. What are the clues to the riddle of the Death Pictures and can we solve them. All the answers are in the book, and kept me gripped to the end. I have now ordered the next 4 books and can't wait to read them. This would make an excellent reading group book as there would be much to discuss, especially about the media, the press, and death.........

Jon Courtenay Grimwood - The Fallen Blade

2011-05-05T06:55:00.003+01:00

This is a great book. It is a vampire and wherewolf novel but it is a superior and grown up one. It is great to read a novel that has inserted the horror back into the genre. This novel has the added advantage for me that it is set in Venice in 1407. It is therfore very atmospheric, very gothic , very bloody. It also is a very clever reworking of Shakespeare's Othello. The Moor of Venice is the head of the Assissini for the Duke and Prince of Venice. Not asn easy task as the court is a nest of intrigue and murder. Into this scenario comes a young man who has interesting hungers, does he have the potential to be the successor of The Moor?
This is one of those fabulous books that occassionally comes a long that just hits the spot for you as a reader, I loved it. I am very excited that it is "Act one" and so I am eagerly awaiting the next "Acts" to follow!

Amazon have a fantastic video to advertise the book I have included a link below!

Bournemouth Crime Writing Festival - a day for readers

2011-05-04T12:36:00.003+01:00

This is a wonderful opportunity to come and listen to and meet some well established crime writer as well as some debut novelists that could become stars of the future and you will have met them!!

Sarah Challis - The Garden Party

2011-05-03T06:47:00.002+01:00

This is another winner from Sarah Challis. Alice is approaching 60, she has been married for nearly 40 years. Her husband is newly retired and she wants a party. She has never made a fuss in all her life but this time she is determined. She wants a marquee with a pale pink lining,( it flatters an older skin apparently) - she wants caterers and above all she wants to lose weight and have all her family around her.

There is much to empathise with here, no matter what your age, as we follow Alice, her husband, their four children their various partners and children through the ups and downs that lead to the great event. ( the high powered business woman daughter, the born again teacher and his dissatisfied and guilt ridden wife, the hopelessly romantic hippy daughter, and of course the all round good egg of a son with step daughters, oh and a tempted husband!) I just couldn't put it down and ended up reading it in a day. I also love books set in Dorset!

It would make an excellent holiday read.

Kathy Reichs - Mortal Remains

2011-04-18T06:37:00.001+01:00

I have been a big fan of Kathy Reichs over the years. I like her faced paced style , the level of science she includes and the story arc of her family and relationships. ( See Christopher Fowler you taught me a new term!)

However although I enjoyed this new book and speedily read it over a weekend, I get the feeling it is rather thin. It a bit like Donna Leon, their books are getting smaller. I used to rush to buy them in hardback but now I am not convinced they are value for money, thank goodness for the library!

But all said and done, I would still recommend this as a read, I just love the clever twists.

I also love the TV series Bones but they bear absolutely no relation to the books. Tempe is a completely different person!

Daisy Goodwin - My Last Duchess

2011-04-17T08:38:00.003+01:00

Here is another novel partially based in Dorset. This book was selected for The TV Book Club 2011. I have to say having watched the programme they were rather sniffy over this book, but my advice is ignore this media snobbery and indulge in this book. I loved it! This book is a rights of passage novel for women. It is 1894 and young wealthy American Cora Cash comes to England to marry a title, shoved by her ambitious mother. There she enters a world of duplicity and rules that she does not understand. Yes, it is fundamentally a romance but there is so much more in this. It would make an interesting book group title, the contrast between the two worlds, the aristocrats of the US have money in the UK they have breeding. Cora's maid is black. In the Us she has restrictions imposed on her, in England there is no prejudice and she can openly have a relationship with a white manservant. She has a freedom within the constraints of her class that she could only dream about in the US. This would also make an excellent holiday read, ( four days off at Easter!) easy to read and carries you along at a great pace.

Natasha Solomons - Mr Rosenblum's List

2011-04-16T07:58:00.001+01:00

65 people attended a wonderful evening of cakes and refreshments with Natasha Solomons at Westbourne Library. It was a fascinating insight into her writing and world. How she researches her novels and how she draws upon her own family history and of course her love of Dorset. We were mesmerised for over an hour and a lively question and answer session ensued. We were also treated to an advanced reading from her new book out in May.

This is a fabulous book, it hits the spot on so many levels. it is wonderful to read a book full of humour and yet so multi-layered. Mr Rosenblum, a German Jew arrives in England with his wife in 1937. He is given a tract by the Jewish Refugee Association on how to get on in his new homeland. He takes this list and adds to it determined to become the perfect English gentleman. He flourishes through hard work and a successful carpet company in the East End. The only thing that eludes him is membership of a Golf Club. Remember this is the 50s and no club will have him. So he packs up and moves to Dorset buying enough land to set up his own golf course what follows is just brilliant and I will not spoil it, other than to say when you are in Dorset do look out for the woolly pig!

Her second novel, The Novel In the Viola is out on 12th may a review will follow!

Deborah Harkness - A Discovery of witches

2011-04-07T07:36:00.000+01:00

This is a great book. It is witches and vampires etc for grown ups. It is well written, well researched, adult, esoterically clever and I liked especially the science angle. The best thing for a librarian is that the book starts in the Bodleian Library and we have lots of action there. Our heroine is an American history professor based at Oxford University. She is descended from a long line of witches but has turned her back on this. She is an expert on the science of Alchemy. However, her heritage catches up with her when she manages to access a long hidden alchemical work in the Bodleian. Through doing so she attracts all sorts of interest from the supernaturals living around us, witches, daemons and of course vampires. She meets and falls in love with Matthew Clairmont a charismatic vampire old in years, ( he was at the crusades!) with a keen intellect, a love of yoga, and of course absolutely gorgeous. He is a professor of genetics and hopes to unlock the gene that creates the supernaturals. Togther they begin to attempt to decode the treatise she has found and Diane discovers that supernaturals do not mix and certainly do not fall in love.......... Loved the book, cannot wait for the sequel!

Richard Zimler - Warsaw Anagrams

2011-03-16T08:37:00.006Z

Over 75 people packed out the large meeting room at Bournemouth Library to see Richard Zimler talk about this new book, as part of Jewish Book Week. They were not disappointed Richard is a brilliant speaker and was happy to discuss all his books with the audience. This book is stunning and very unusual. It is a murder mystery set in the Warsaw Ghetto in 1940, just before the uprising. So for those who know their history there is already a sense of menace hanging over the inhabitants of the ghetto. We follow Erik Cohen a psychiatrist in his 60s forcibly moved into the ghetto when his flat was requisitioned. Unable to work, he grumpily moves in with his niece and her son Adam. Then Adam goes missing, and finally is found murdered, in the barbed wire surrounding the ghetto. Erik decides to investigate his great-nephews death. Richard captures the enclosed, claustraphobia of the ghetto brilliantly. WE are presented with the whole gamut of the human race in that confined place . What unfolds is a gripping tale of evil, horror, hardship, friendship, heroism and hope and above all the resilience of one elderly man who refuses to give up no matter what the consequences. I hope this book wins an award it certainly deserves to.

Lee Carroll - Black Swan Rising

2011-02-26T17:40:00.003Z

This is a fun book. It is a sort of graduation for Stephanie Meyer fans I think. We have a lovely male vampire, faeries, Gnomes, dragons and of course monsters. I really enjoyed it. It is fairly light reading but had some great ideas. I loved the idea that those of us who suffer migraines with visual disturbance, actually have the ability to see the faerie world if only we were taught how to use it. I also love the plug that faeries love libraries as they are free, safe places to be!
This is part of a trilogy and I am looking forward to the next instalment. Only criticism, it is set in New York and there seems to be an assumption that everyone knows New York and its landmarks etc. For those of us in Europe it would make it very much more interesting if we understood some of the references and it might help tourism!

Hitler concerned about savelibraries campaign.

2011-02-11T10:24:00.000Z

Michele Giuttari - A death in Calabria

2011-01-04T07:46:00.000Z

Another excellent series, these just get better. Michele is a bestselling author in Italy. This book takes place in New York and in Calabria. Murders in NewYork lead to a team visiting Calabria to find the key to these events. Michele Ferrara is now Chief Superintendant of the Anti-Mafia Investigation Department, and is tasked to help the New York detectives all he can. This book involves a type of Mafia called the 'Ndrangheta situated in the remote and beautiful area of italy called Calabria, it was absolutely fascinating, and an exciting read. I particularly like the authors notes at the end tying this up with real cases and history. I eagerly look forward to his next offering.

Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan - The Strain

2010-12-31T07:55:00.001Z

I picked this up in the library and thought 'Oh, good , this looks similar to The Passage'.
I was wrong. Premise very similar. Plane arrives at US airport everyone dead inside, vampire virus gets loose. Whilst I absolutely support the move towards claiming vampires back to horror from romance, this was horror without substance. I notice that one of the authors is a film director and that may explain it, this read as though it was a film script. There was no descriptive text, no characterisation beyond the barest minimum - what did the characters look like, the buildings, New York? It also was very American, full of acronyms, CDC, FAA, SUV, et al, very irritating.
I notice it is part of a trilogy but I have to say vampire lover that I am I will not be reading on. I might watch the film though.........

Jo Graham - Hand of Isis

2010-12-23T07:59:00.000Z

This looked a great book, as you know I enjoy historical books and love Egypt. I was a bit sceptical when I saw it was about Cleopatra thinking what more was there to be said ? However, this is good, it really is about Charmian, her half sister and handmaiden and it is this slant that makes it interesting. I really enjoyed the first two thirds of the book, about their early life and loves, and I have to say it was less interesting when Caesar came onto the scene, as that part is so well known. The love triangle between Charmian, Dion and Emrys was sexy and kept up the tension. It also explained the ending, which I thought was novel and a good twist.

This book has reading group notes and I think it would make a good reading group choice.

Justin Cronin - The Passage

2010-12-22T07:12:00.000Z

Ok this is my favourite book this year. It is not subtle but it is well written and I was totally immersed into it. Do you remember a book you have read and someone interrupted you and it was like suddenly waking up to a new world, this is that sort of book.
This is fantasy, it is big, 785 pages, it is the beginning of a trilogy, but it is amazing.

Think Mad Max meets I am legend and you get a feel for it. If it sounds derivative then I am not really explaining it well. I think the plus is that Justin makes you feel you are really there, you can see the pictures in your mind as you read.

This book starts slightly in the future, a virus is discovered in South America that can cure cancer, but it leaves the patient 'better' than when they started. Enter the military, once they have finished , the world succumbs to the spread of 'the virals'. We then jump 90 years and journey with small pockets of still human survivors. Into this appears a mysterious young woman, with interesting powers and connection to the virals, her name is Amy.........

I cannot wait for the next installment, please write and publish it soon!

Susan Hill - The Small Hand

2010-12-21T07:47:00.000Z

I love a ghost story and am a big fan of Susan Hill as you will see from my reviews below. This is another good one, suitably creepy, and with a great deal of supense. My only quibble would be that I thought the end a little contrived, I really wanted to know the motivation for the incident, or perhaps some explanation as to why the person acted that way. I cannot say more without spoiling the ending.

If anyone has any ideas do let me know!

Roma Tearne - The Swimmer

2010-12-10T15:38:00.004Z

This is a wonderful book. Lyrical writing and a thought provoking plot. It would make a superb reading group choice and very sensibly has reading group notes included in the back .

It is based in a long hot summer in Suffolk, you can almost feel the heat coming off the pages. Ria a poet in her forties ( I refuse to call her middle aged!) meets a young Sri Lankan refugee and this sets in motion hatred and tragedy. However ultimately this is a novel of hope, and will invoke deep discussions.

Louise Penny - Bury Your Dead

2010-12-07T07:49:00.000Z

Another great book from Louise. Wonderful scenes in Quebec in winter, if you think we have had it bad with the snow recently read this!
It is a subdued Gamache recovering from his injuries and inveigled into solving a murder in a library.
At the same time Beauvoir, also on leave and recovering, opens an old case that takes him back to Three Pines and all our familiar characters.
A moving, clever multilayered plot, it will have you reading late into the night to ease the suspense of what happened as it moves to the dramatic conclusion.

Eva Hornung - Dog Boy

2010-12-03T16:24:00.000Z

This is the most amazing book. It would make the most fantastic reading group book. It is set in modern day Moscow. Society is breaking down. One day a young boys mother disappears. Her lover comes and strips the flat and abandons him. He is forced to leave the flat from hunger, he follows a dog who accepts him and introduces him to her pack, bringing him up as a puppy. This is not a book for the faint hearted the life of a dog is cruel and hard, the life of survivors on the streets of Moscow even harder. I cannot say much without giving too much away, but this is a powerful 'must read' boko that will stay with you for a very long time.

Elizabeth Peters - A River in the Sky

2010-12-02T15:54:00.000Z

Here we have another old favourite. This once again is a backfill novel set in 1910 in Palestine. Amelia is at her best, Emerson is rugged and Ramses is shaping up to be quite a hero on his own account. We know what to expect, it does what it says on the tin, you will not be disappointed!

Lucretia Grindle - The Faces of Angels

2010-11-18T07:48:00.001Z

I so enjoyed Villa Triste ( see below) that I looked up on the library catalogue to see what else she has written. This was her first novel. It really is very good and I have purchased copies for our reading groups for this title as well. It is a mystery thriller set in Florence, I cannot say very much without spoiling the plot. Suffice to say a newly married woman is attacked by a serial killer in the Boboli Gardens and as a result she is permanently scarred both physically and emotionally, her husband is murdered. The evident murderer is apprehended. A few years later she returns to Florence from America to visit her lover and discovers that there is a copycat on the loose and she may well be a target as she begins investigations of her own and women she knows begin to go missing......... excellent!

Christobel Kent - A Fine and Private Place

2010-10-22T16:00:00.003+01:00

I thoroughly enjoyed the first book in the series and awaited this with eager anticipation. Perhaps it did not compare to the Booker list but I found it quite hard to get into. It did not seem to have such a strong sense of place as A Time of Mourning. However,it was a sort of 'country house style whodunnit' and as such the location worked. I like the character of Cellini, our detective and the unfolding of his home life. Where Christobel scores is in her characterisation, one really connects with her characters. This was quite difficult here as the secondary characters were rather thinly drawn but as most of them were murder suspects I could see why! I liked the plotting and the unfolding of the mystery, and as usual I did not guess the murderer. I look forward to the next in the series.

Man Booker

2010-10-22T15:58:00.001+01:00

Well I got that spectacularly wrong! But at least I did like the winning novel, this is a first and probably a testament to how good the book is..........

Man Booker

2010-10-11T16:59:00.002+01:00

So the results are out tomorrow. So who do I think will win? Well I would like either In a Strange Room or Room to win. I also wouldn't mind if Parrott and Olivier did too. However, knowing the Man Booker from the past I am sure the one I did not like (ssh C) will probably win!!

Emma Donoghue - Room

2010-10-11T16:49:00.004+01:00

I left this book to last as I thought the subject matter might lead to sleepless nights. This is not the sort of book I would normally read. I like my fictional entertainment to be a fantasy or entertainment, anything too much like the horror of real life puts me off.

This book is narrated by young Jack who is just 5. His world is a locked room 11ft x 11ft. he was born into it. His Ma has been there 7 years. He sleeps in the wardrobe, and his mother has a visitor at night. At first I was rather irritated by the five year old's speak but as the book progressed I soon got used to it. The book moves on at a pace and it is very difficult to say much without giving huge spoilers as to the plot. It confounded my expectations. This is a book of hope, a book of coping in extreme circumstances, of the sacrifices that are made by mothers. It is also a book that deserves to win!

Howard Jacobson - The Finkler Question

2010-10-11T16:28:00.002+01:00

This book is cleverly disguised as the Jewish question, and is really a very intense bit of navel gazing. The story is loosely based around one Julian Treslove. His best friend from school has been the Jewish Sam (Samuel) Finkler, and both their mentors and lifelong friend is the Jewish Libor Seveik. Both Finkler and Libor are recently widowed. Treslove has never married. Treslove looking at his successful friend Finkler and the successful marriage of his friend Libor, ponders whether this is inherently due to Jewishness. He then begins a relationship with Libor's niece and begins the process of attempting to become Jewish himself.
This book has some very funny moments, some sad ones and a great deal of reflection. For instance if you are Jewish but support Palestine does that make you anti-semetic? The scene in the Groucho club between the ASHamed Jews and the music industry followers of Kabbalah was hysterical.
I enjoyed it but I am not sure that it sadly will have a wide appeal. Of course it will probably win now!

Tom McCarthy- C. Man Booker Shortlist 2010

2010-10-01T17:08:00.003+01:00

Oh, I struggled with this one. If I had not been reading it for the Man Booker book group Iwould have abandoned it. I did not understand it. I was unable to fathom a plot and not see the point? What have I missed? A strange young man, Serge Carrefax is born into an even stranger family at the turn of the last century. ( Is he autistic?) His sister perhaps commits suicide. He grows up odd, there is a very strange sojourne in a German spa town as a teenager, he then goes to war in WW1 as an observer in the Air squadron. He is shot down, due to his own idiocy and drug addiction. He becomes a prisoner of war in Germany. He survives, gets sent to Egypt as a spy and dies. In between it is all very odd. Is it meant to be a comedy, the seance was hilarious, is it meant to be satirical? I have no idea! Confounded, Confused and Convoluted!

Damon Galgut - In A Strange Room - Man Booker Shortlist

2010-10-01T16:54:00.003+01:00

What a strong list they are this year. This is a small book some 180 pages but my goodness it packs a powerful punch.

The author experiments with punctuation in this novel and we have no speech marks. This normally irritates me. However, here is only serves to increase the dream like quality of the writing. This book is made up of three journeys. The first two are written in the third person, and we get this kind of detached , dreamy voyeurism, that is a little creepy but very compelling. Then in the third section we move from Africa to India and are brought shockingly into the first person and our emotions are put on an emotional ride that is disturbing and effective. This book stayed with me a long time after I read it. I am at a loss as to how to describe the effect it has or how it is achieved, it is not poetic but it compels and binds in the same way.

So far this is the one I think should win - extraordinary.

Peter Cary - Parrot and Olivier In America. Man Booker Shorlist

2010-10-01T16:39:00.004+01:00

Well I didn't think I was going to enjoy this one, as it sounded odd from the jacket . It is odd but I really enjoyed it. The characters are completely off the wall and at the beginning I was completely at a loss. The alternating chapters by Olivier and Parrot worked very well as a device and I frequently found myself laughing out loud.
This book is set after the French Revolution. Olivier is a sickly French Aristocrat and his servant is Parrot an English oddball. To escape a potential further round of Aristocratic culling in France Olivier's mother gets him commissioned to write a report on American prisons. It becomes clear that nothing has equipped Olivier for democracy or America and it is left for Parrot to pick up the pieces.
A very funny book and very perceptive. It is Olivier that predicts in his aristocratic way the future of America as he leaves to return in despair to the disappearing Ancien Regime. Whereas Parrot is the success in settling and making a life in America. This is a book that relates to us on many different levels and again will make an excellent book group read.

Andrea Levy - The Long Song - Man Booker Shortlist

2010-10-01T13:38:00.004+01:00

This a wonderful lyrical book despite the seriousness of the content. A truly uplifting and empowering journey. It is set in Jamaica in the Nineteenth Century. July is a slave girl on a sugar plantation. This is a time of the last turbulent years as slavery is coming to the end, and 'freedom' begins. In this book we follow her life as she writes it down for her publisher son.
This sounds serious stuff but it is a very funny book, because Andrea brings to life her characters with such vibrancy and spirit that we laugh along as they mimic and comment on their so called masters. We marvel at how strong physically and mentally a woman such as July could be despite such disadvantages.
It is, of course, also sad, as the life of the slave is portrayed in all it's brutality, and we watch as freedom is hard won and still inequitable. I liked the link with the UK and the thought that, can we really know our own DNA and who we are descended from? Can any white English person be free from the legacy of slavery?

I found this book especially interesting to read so soon after The Help and feel they would be valuable to read on consecutive reading group meetings, there would be so much to talk about....

Rose Tremain - Trespass

2010-10-01T12:42:00.003+01:00

Having read nearly all of Rose's book I was fairly confident this would make the shortlist. Wrong! However, it is great, it is about the effect of trespass on peoples lives at various levels. The young child from Paris who attempts to settle in to a new school. The selfish brother who invades the cosy world of his sister and her lover in France. His trespass onto land that does not belong to him. The elderly french woman who may or may not have built her bungalow on her brothers land. An invasion of privacy and revealing of long dead secrets unfold, a murder is committed, and then solved. Revenge is fulfilled. As you follow the lives of these intertwined residents of the Cevennes in France , you cannot fail but be entranced by her beautiful writing and sense of presentment.
This would make a superb reading group read.

The MAN BOOKER Prize 2010

2010-10-01T12:27:00.002+01:00

As part of the Read South West Reading group we are reading the short list and exchanging views on the excellent Cyprus Well website, which promotes literature for everyone in the South West. Find it here http://www.cypruswell.com/ I have also included a link at the side of my BLOG.

In preparation I had a look at the longlist and made a few educated guesses. As a result the only one I read from the long list that was not in the short list is the following. I have found it a very strong list this year and will add further reviews from the longlist when I have time!

Salley Vickers - Dancing backwards

2010-09-29T12:27:00.003+01:00

I read this on a long train journey yesterday , it is wonderful. I really feel that this is up to the form of Miss Garnet's Angel. I was really bereft when is finished.
Here we have an newly widowed woman, booked on a cruise to New York. In New York she is to meet a former friend who she has had no contact with since she was married. Her children are grown up, her home empty.She is full of regrets about situations in her life, people she let go of, people she feels she has failed, potential opportunities missed. She gained a first at Cambridge and was a published poet before she married and had two children.
As the journey unfolds, so does she, and as she interacts with a variety of characters on board, she heals, to the point that she begins to write again. We learn about her past, her reason for the estrangement from Edwin who she is destined to meet in New York, we feel her guilt and confusion and come away with a strongly drawn character that we can empathise and identify with, and above all like. All the characters that she interacts with on board are deftly drawn, not quite caricatures, but instantly recognisable.They all have a story to tell, a contribution to make and in turn are affected by their interaction with Vi. I have a feeling that Salley must have done a cruise as a writer as Kimberley Crane, writer in residence is fab!
I wonder if this book can do for cruises what Miss Garnet did for Venice? The descriptions of the ever changing Atlantic Ocean were stunning. All in all a very reflective novel, what struck me is how important every human interaction is, even with strangers, perhaps even especially with strangers. This would make an excellent reading group choice.

Kathryn Stockett - The Help

2010-09-27T15:32:00.000+01:00

Once again we were extremely lucky to get copies of this from the publishers for use by our reading groups. This book led to a lively discussion and it is no surprise that this is a bestseller both here and in the US.
We all had to keep reminding ourselves that this book is set in the 1960s and as such it is really shocking. Set in Mississippi USA this is the story of a black maid and the treatment of these 'servants' by the white majority of the town of Jackson. It is truly disturbing. More so I think as it makes South Africa at the time look almost reasonable, at least they openly declared apartheid. According to this book, in a nation that prides itself on being the 'land of the free' there was a strong underclass that clearly were not. It certainly to us Europeans gives us some insight into Martin Luther King and what happened to him.
I have to admit that at first I was rather uncomfortable with the fact that this was written by a white woman with a 'black' voice and was grateful that she had written something about this at the back. It might have been more useful perhaps at the beginning.
I do wonder though, where are the black authors of the US, why are they not writing about this, as does say Andrea Levy in the UK? Do they have a voice or are they just not exported and published in Europe or are they but do not become bestsellers?

A powerful book, one that is excellent for reading groups, the discussion will go on and on.........

Katherine McMahon - Crimson Rooms

2010-09-02T07:00:00.001+01:00

I loved the Rose of Sebastopol, see review below. This book again is fantastic and will make a brilliant reading group read. I have ordered extra copies for Bournemouth Libraries to use for this purpose.

This book deals with the aftermath of WW1. Evelyn, our heroine has trained as one of the first female lawyers and is fighting the prejudice of her family and the establishment . She finds herself caught up in one of the most sensational cases of the day, a case that exposes the inequality of the class system, in law and at war.

At the same time a woman arrives at the house with a child claiming he is the son of her adored brother, who died in the trenches. Added to this is the stifling home live with mother, grandmother and aunts and you have a multilayered, sophisticated and well written novel that is bound to please and challenge.

John Harwood - The Ghost Writer

2010-09-01T14:01:00.004+01:00

This is a fabulously gothic book . A ghost story set in Australia and England. Young Gerard while searching in his mother's room as a child unearths a photograph and a manuscript, a secret that his mother has hidden. It is his quest to unravel this secret that changes his life and sends him searching for his mother's family in England. His great grandmother it is revealed was a talented writer of Victorian ghost stories. These are interspersed throughout the book and add deliciously to the drama. I just loved it and the climax had me sitting on the edge of my seat in trepidation. This was the ghost story I was expecting in The Little Stranger and it does not disappoint! It really was very clever, the mysterious "invisible" penfriend really added to the sense of pending dread as you just knew it was going to end badly. A well written book, hugely atmospheric and I would have thought there was plenty for a reading group to get stuck into!

Michael Byrnes - The Genesis Plague

2010-08-02T15:29:00.004+01:00

This is a boys own thriller. Lots of gadgets and strange sounding military equipment. It is fast paced and very easy to read almost simplistic, especially if you like lots of short sentences, many of which begin with 'And'. However as a romp it was a quick ( I read it over 2 days) and the idea was interesting. It was a shame none of the characters were developed beyond stereotypes, the beautiful and glamerous allegedly intelligent(?!) archaeologist was reduced to a screaming, arm holding and general eye candy adjunct to the men...... so not one for the women then!

Lucretia Grindle - Villa Triste

2010-07-31T15:37:00.004+01:00

This book is fantastic. We were lucky to get some proof copies for our reading groups, and they loved it too! Do not be put off by the title or the first chapter this is not a romance, it is a brilliant dual time mystery. In the near present we have a serial killer bumping off partisans from WW2, they are found murdered execution style with a mouthful of salt. Our detective finds an old diary at one of the victims houses and back we go to the second world war in Florence, Italy. I love Italy ( you will have realised that by the number of books I read set there!) and yet had no idea of the hardships and turmoil that occurred during the war. Invaded by their former allies the Nazis, setting Mussolini back up and bringing back the hated(?!) Fascists, the partisans, many of them deserters from the Italian forces fighting both of them and attempting to work with the British Allies who were bombarding and invading from the south. Wow, fascinating, moving and a great puzzle,as we get to solve the present day murders and expose the past, a brilliant book for a book group.

Mario Reading - The Mayan Codex

2010-07-31T15:04:00.003+01:00

This is the second book in what is shaping up to be a fabulous trilogy. It does stand alone but you would benefit from reading the first book, The Nostradamus Prophecies first. See review below. In this book we are taken to Adam's home in the US, and then on to South America and Mexico.
I love intelligent thrillers and this certainly is one! I also like to really learn something new and again this does not disappoint. In this book our flawed and realistic hero Adam joins forces with the now retired French policeman Calque ( a brilliant portrait of a gritty, mature detective) in a chase across the American continent to retrieve the Mayan Codex as predicted in the "lost" prophecies of Nostradamus. They are being chased as usual by members of the treacherous De Bale family, all intent on revenge for the death of their brother, and in this book we learn more about their history and intentions.
I learnt so much about the Mayans, and the wonderful set pieces would make this a fabulous film. I loved the scene in the bar in the US between the Hells Angels and the De Bales and the ending is as good a cliff hangar as I have read in a long time. I cannot say much as this would create spoilers.
Suffice to say it is a fast paced rip roaring ride and I cannot wait for the next installment!

Christopher Fowler - Byant & May Off the rails

2010-07-30T18:35:00.003+01:00

I have just finished this, another fabulous offering. This series really is special, especially if you have ever lived or worked or even holidayed in London. A great deal of this book is set within the London Tube network, a creepy place without even trying I have always thought. Ripe for horror and of course, murder! Kepp writing Christopher I cannot wait for the next one, and these covers are sooo much better that the US ones!

Natasha Mostert - Season of the Witch

2010-07-05T13:19:00.000+01:00

This is a fascinating gothic thriller that draws you in from the very first page. Our hero Gabriel can read and enter minds and this gives him a very successful edge as a computer hacker. Prior to this he worked for a secret intelligence agency and used his skills for good until one harrowing 'job' went very wrong. He is suddenly contacted by an old friend from the agency to track her missing stepson, and this brings him into contact with the disturbing and sensually exciting Monk sisters but it soon becomes clear that one of them is a possible killer but which one?

This would make an excellent reading group read .....

Carlos Ruiz Zafon - The Angel's Game

2010-06-19T16:13:00.000+01:00

This is his second book after the phenomenal success of Shadow of the Wind, see review below.

To be honest I feel that this book is a shadow of "Shadow" , it is also set in Barcelona and very cleverly brings in and thus fills us in on some of the characters from the previous book. It is in effect a prequel.
It is beautifully written, very gothic, even surreal but for me just does not hit the right note. The first half of the novel was just fabulous but when he moved the story on and attempted to explain what was happening I did not feel it worked. I can get that I am perhaps not supposed to "get" the premise of the book, if the Boss an angel , the devil, etc but the ending where things were resolved, sort of , just left me flat............ and I had no idea what the message of the book was, if indeed there was one.

Janet Skeslien Charles - Moonlight in Odessa

2010-06-16T15:49:00.002+01:00

I have just heard this has won the Melissa Nathan prize and it well deserves it. I read it a couple of weeks ago but have not had time to review it.

It is great a real feel good read and really compelling, I read it solidly over a few days and could not put it down. It would make a great holiday read. Another book I read late into the night and at the end had a tear...

It is the clever and humorous story of the highly intelligent Daria from Odessa, (and what a wonderful sales pitch for the place this book is! ) who becomes involved in the mail order bride business as she will not sleep with her boss. Disillusioned she becomes a bride herself and achieves her ambition to leave Odessa and go to the promised land of the USA, but all is not what it seems. The clever insights on both societies are fabulous and very funny.

This would make a superb book group read, there is so much in it to get talking about, the first being men!!

It is always a sign of a good book when you are left wanting more. I hope there is a sequel as I would like to know what Dara does next......

Social Media Revolution 2 (Refresh)

2010-06-16T13:33:00.000+01:00

David Hewson - Blue Demon

2010-06-11T18:40:00.000+01:00

This is another great book in the Nic Costa series , this is book number 7. I am a big fan and this book has not failed to impress. Superb plotting, a very interesting case.

The G8 summit is descending on Rome at the same time an official with the security plans is ritually murdered. This method of killing recalls a previous old case, has the killer begun to kill again after such a time, is it a copycat or someone manipulating Rome during the summit?
David writes so well and compellingly that you just have to keep on reading perched metaphorically on the edge of your seat (or even literally) for the next exciting revelation.

I loved the conspiracy theories. The anarchic temperament of the Romans. The elderly lady taking on the "spooks" was fantastic! Once again I am surprised, delighted , challenged and above all entertained.

Can't wait for the next one, how many more deaths in the team?????????

Lorrie Moore - A Gate at the Stairs

2010-06-10T14:00:00.004+01:00

This book was on the Orange shortlist and I do try and read as many as I can before the competition ends. This year the shortlist has been phenomenal and this book is no exception.

It concerns a college student in mid-west America who becomes the part time nanny to a couple to supplement her income. However this is no ordinary couple, they are seeking to adopt and Tassie is included in all the interviews for a child. The couple eventually foster a part African-American child with a view to adoption but all is not what it seems.

This novel is superb at getting into the minutiae of Midwest life. I loved her characterisation of Tassie, the typical student with her "quasi" this and that but atypical in her thinking , observations and life.

We also are given a look into Midwestern life and prejudices. How does a country with a black president react to a white couple with a black baby. The horrible apocryphal story of the adopted black 13 year old child with white parents being shot by police in his own home when the burglar alarm goes off sets the tone.

However, this is also a wryly amusing book mainly because we see it all through Tassie's eyes, we see her grow up , become wiser, and we realise that she is worth more than most of the other 'adult' characters put together.

I cannot give too much away as I might spoil it. It is a magnificent book and would make a superb reading group choice.

Orange prize

2010-06-10T13:55:00.002+01:00

So we now know that Barbara Kingsolver has won the Orange prize with her The Lacuna. Do see my review, I am so glad that in february I spotted that this book should win prizes.
Anyway in Bournemouth Libraries we have bought extra copies for reading groups of this and her previous Poisonwood Bible as it is bound to spark interest! We also have copies on order in Spoken word format and large print when available........

Rosie Alison - The Very Thought of You

2010-06-07T09:35:00.002+01:00

For those of you following the Orange Prize , here is another of the shortlist, see my reviews for Wolfhall and The Lacuna below.

This was fantastic It concerns an eight year old evacuee called Anna, who is sent to a large Yorkshire stately home. The owners have turned it into a temporary school.

The elegant Ashton's have problems of their own, Thomas is convined to a wheelchair as a result of adult polio, his wife is desperate to have a child. Imagine then the arrival into their lives of large numbers of children....

This is well written and Rosie really gets us inside the head of her characters. It is an amazing study of how disability impacts on a marriage, and then adding the lack of children and it is pretty intense stuff. Anna is nicely drawn, we see much of the world through her eyes, we watch her grow mature and become irresistable drawn into the events unfolding on the estate.

I also liked the subplot of her mother, suddenly finding freedom in war torn London and finding satisfation through working for the BBC.

So far this is my favourite book on the list......... it would make an excellent book for a reading group.

Ann Cleeves - Blue Lightning

2010-05-07T16:13:00.004+01:00

This is the fourth book in Ann's Shetland Quartet. I am really hoping that she will be persuaded to write more as I really want to know how things work out for Detective Jimmy Perez.
This book sees him returning home to Fair Isle with his fiancee only to have a murder take place at the local bird observatory. This occuring during a storm when the island is cut off. Mix in some fairly bizarre twitchers and visitors and you have the classic whodunnit. This book nicely links a biographical detail of Ann, as I see she was bird observatory cook. I am glad she survived because this book is great and a fitting ( possible?) end to the series.

Jenna Burtenshaw - Wintercraft

2010-05-07T16:09:00.003+01:00

This is a great book. It is being marketed as a Teen novel but makes a very good crossover novel for those of you that like me that enjoy them . It is fantasy at its most inventive. Forget vampires etc here we have a truly immersible environment. We have a country Albion set in a pseudo medieval age but with trains! I particularly liked the High Council ruled in a Venetian style political arena. Into this mix are born people with special skills, "The Skilled" they have the ablilty to see beyond the veil and some can walk within it. None more so than the family of the Winters who wrote the definative book Wintercraft. We have a powerful heroine in Kate Winters, brought up in ignorance of her family history but forced through circumstance to not only face her past but utlise it in the fight against evil and corruption.
I can see a series coming!

Carlos Ruiz Zafon - Shadow of the WInd

2010-05-07T16:08:00.004+01:00

I have just read this for the fourth time and it is still as fresh, engaging and simply mind blowing as the first time.

This book defies classification. Is it a crime novel, gothic horror, historical, political, or just totally unique?!

In the book we follow the growing up of Daniel Sempere, his father owns a book shop and we watch him struggle with post Civil war Spain, with love, with life and a unique mystery. To say too much would just ruin the story, read it and enjoy.

Reading it again you pick up multilayers and clever asides that you had forgottten or missed the last time. Each one is a gem. This is a book to read slowly and savour. It is a modern classic and a must for all Reading Groups!

On a personal note on the basis of reading this book the first time, I went to Barcelona and that doesn't disappoint either.......

Nick Drake - Tutankhamun

2010-04-13T16:40:00.003+01:00

This is the second in the series featuring Rahotep, detective in ancient Egypt. The first book concerned Nefertiti, see below, we now move on to the reign of Tutankhamun.

This novel was fast paced, and despite us knowing the story had some interesting 'takes' on the plot surrounding the death of Tut. It was also nicely interwoven with the solving of the crimes perpetrated by a serial killer, which gave the book some suspense.

This is shaping up to be a great series and a must for anyone interested in the time. I look forward to the next. A great holiday read....

Michele Guittari - A Florentine Death

2010-04-12T16:51:00.007+01:00

I am still in Florence mode I took these on holiday with me. Michele is the former head of the Florence police and so these books are very more police procedural and forensic. More Kathy Reichs than Agatha Christie.

This first book introduces us to our detective Michele Ferrara. It concerns a serial killer. It also describes the activities of the mafia! I really enjoyed it. However the language seemed a little stilted and the dialogue did not flow so well. I wondered whether it was because he was not a natural writer or whether is was the translation. I felt he needed to bulk it up a bit to make the most of the location.

I also took with me the second book in the series and I think that may be what the editor worked on. Here we discovered a lot more of the town and landscape and the language improved and flowed better. This was an excellent read and very gripping. It involved a paedophile ring. We also kept up the theme of uncovering the dealings of the Mafia. A thoroughly and absorbing read, a very exciting ending.

This is the third in the series and gets off to a cracking start with a bomb in the centre of Florence. I feel Michele has really got into the genre now of writing not only a gripping crime novel, a police procedural but also a tourist satisfying read with all the restaurants, bars and sights described. Think, a grittier Donna Leon.

I am really looking forward to the next installment. They are good to read in order as the characters progress, change and move on as the series progresses!

Christobel Kent - A Time of Mourning

2010-04-12T16:32:00.003+01:00

I am a big fan of Christobel Kent, mainly because she sets her books in Italy! I have just been to Florence so I read this as a teaser before I went.

I have read A Party in San Niccolo,The Summer House, and A Florentine Revenge previously.

In this book Christobel focuses on the policeman from A Florentine Revenge and it looks like this is to be the start of a series. I like it because she clearly knows and loves Florence so we get a real feel for the city. Also her detective Sandro, now a private detective due to the events in the previous novel, is so human with real characteristics and flaws, you really feel that you are inside a real person. A great read, an old fashioned crime novel, little blood and no forensics, just good detection......

Sarah Waters - The Little Stranger

2010-04-12T16:07:00.004+01:00

I don't know what it is but I just do not like books that are nominated for awards any more. This book seems to have been nominated for loads of things so I had high hopes. I have also read Tipping the Velvet and Fingersmith and loved them.

Sarah writes beautifully, and her characters are well crafted, however it is the subject matter that failed to live up to my expectations. The trouble is this is a haunted house story and all the way through I had this sense of deja vu. ( I have read a very similar book, The Thirteenth Tale and really enjoyed it see below). The focus on the dying of a way of life, as reflected in the metaphor of the neglected and falling apart house was also well done. This is post WW2 Britain and it is this inability of the aristocratic family to change that causes the problems. I can only assume it is from this angle that the book has been nominated.

Although as I said the characters were well drawn, none of them were very likeable and therefor I was not invested in any of them. The haunting frankly was not very scary and I just wanted to slap most of the characters.

However, for this reason I think it would make a good Reading Group book as if I had this reaction I am sure there are equally many people who think it is excellent, so it should make for a great debate.

Dennis Lehane - Shutter Island

2010-03-09T16:40:00.004Z

I heard of this through the promotion of the film with The reading Agency. It looked very intriging so I thought I would rad the book first.

The book is an amazing psychological thriller. Two US marshall arrive on an island in the 1950's . This island is home to some of the most dangerous and psychotic prisoners in the US. One has escaped. Then a hurricane blows in, cutting the island off and reaping devastation to the complex. In a twisted and and complex plot the reader comes to question everything they have read, assumed and believe to be reality. A stunning book, with a jaw dropping conclusion.

This would make a superb reading group book, there is just so much that can be discussed!!

Here is a link to the film trailer!

http://www.paramountpictures.co.uk/films/shutter_island/index.asp

Libraries versus Bookshops?

2010-02-23T15:59:00.002Z

I just couldn't resist this. A little late for Chinese New Year I know...... please don't send any dragons after me, unless they are from Pern and I can ride one.

Browsed for too long and no joy on a decent book? Then remember we have the back stock to end all back stock. I challenge you to not find a good book in your local library. If you still do not like it remember you can bring it back for free and swap it - and come and join a Book Group while you are at it!

Beatrice Colin - The Luminous Life of Lilly Aphrodite

2010-02-22T15:14:00.003Z

Now this was just fabulous. I cannot recommend it more highly and it would make a fantastic book group read. This was a Richard and Judy title and it only goes to show how strong that brand was and what a hole is left in the book world when that show finished.

This book follows the life of the young woman of the title from being an orphan to becoming a silent screen star. What makes this interesting is that we begin in 1899 and go through two World Wars and this is Germany.

Here like The Book Thief, we have the attempt to reintegrate Germany and it's people of this period into the consciousness of the rest of the world without the necessary stigma of Nazism. We see the weeping defeated Kaiser leaving on his train. Yes, Hitler features, as do the death camps but the novel is filled with real suffering people and we are asked - what would you have done? To save your husband would you have returned from Hollywood to star in a film for Goebbels? And to save her would you have been prepared to pay the ultimate price also?

Throughout this book we have a real insight into one person's love for Berlin and follow the bitter suffering that this love results in. It is about the resilience of the human psyche, how the past always returns, catching up with us, and how love can transcend poverty and deprivation. This is truly a novel on the grand scale, and will remain with you long after you have read it.

Kate Ellis - Playing with Bones

2010-02-22T15:02:00.003Z

Kate Ellis writes the long running Wesley Peterson detective series based in Devon.
This is the second in a new series with Detective Joe Plantagenet, set in a medieval market town. As such the most is made of the atmosphere of the town. Her we have a serial killer at work repeating unsolved crimes of the 1950's, surely it cannot be the same killer? A copycat? Once again there is the hint of the supernatural and a sense of place and history. They really are well written and I cannot recommend them enough.
I would have thought there was enough in this one to make it an excellent recommendation for a crime book group.

Christopher Fowler - Bryant and May on the Loose

2010-02-19T17:59:00.003Z

Phew, back to adult books, from one age related book to the other spectrum. Our septo/octogenarian detectives are again on great form. This once again teaches about the wonderful quirky underworld that is London history. It also cunningly reveals modern society and the shifting population and culture of London/British society today. These are great fun and very clever. I am so glad to be back in the land of the adult, surreal it may be but predictable it is not.......

Lauren Kate - Fallen

2010-02-19T17:45:00.004Z

I seem to be on a cross over bent at the moment. Another book aimed at the Twilight fans, this time we have Angels. Good ones and fallen ones. Once again due to mysterious circustances our heroine finds herself in a form of reform school, but as usual all is not what it seems.
The problem with this book is that it is very American, and written in I presume teenage US speak, and at a low literacy level. It seems to have been written perhaps in a hurry and poorly edited. Perhaps it really is not intended for grown ups.......I can only stand hearing about teenagers "snickering" so many times with out thinking of something brown and log shaped and it wasn't chocolate!

Effective cover though, that is why Ipicked it up!

P.C. and Kistin Cast - Marked

2010-02-19T17:32:00.003Z

This is the first of The House of Night series, and is a classic cross over novel aimed at the Twilight market. I have to say I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone who likes that genre and is an appropriate age. I found it a little bit too teen for me, but it was intelligent and clever. Good idea though. Teens become marked with a magical tattoo that signals that they may become vampyres, or they may die. As such they have to go to a special school, and so we have all the usual new girl on the block angst etc. It was well wriiten and I did want to finish it. It is part of a so far 7 part series so should keep one occupied for quite a while, I am passing at the moment but might be tempted later..........

Barbara Kingsolver - The Lacuna

2010-02-19T16:50:00.002Z

I have to confess that I have not read The Poisonwood Bible despite it being a reading group classic. I certainly shall now. This is a beautifully written novel. It is richly textured and multi-layered. I was immersed in the characters, and learnt so much about Mexico, America after WW1, during the Mccarthy era and quite a bit about art, communism, and cooking!

This book follows the life of Harrison Shepherd, born in the US but up rooted to mexico as a boy by his irresponsible(?) fly by night mother, who you just can't help liking. Whilst in Mexico he meets Diegi Rivera and hhis wife Frida Kahlo, becoming their cook, then they offer a haven for Lev trotsky and life becomes dangerous and interesting. He returns to America after the assassination and becomes a famous writer, but is then caught up in the McCarthy witch hunts.

The plot is so complex this does not do it justice. It jumps from scene to scene like a rich tapestry interspersed with the eponymous lacunae of the title. A brilliant novel, should win a prize or several and an excellent reading group choice!

Paul Hoffman - The left hand of God

2010-02-02T10:10:00.003Z

This is a very interesting book. Ah ha I hear you say that usually means she is not keen on it! Well that is not quite correct I did enjoy it but was a little confused as to whom it was targeted. Clearly this is a cross over book. It is aimed very much at the Trudi Canavan market. However, it has some really witty and sly commentaries going on about teenage boys, - and girls for that matter, and society as a whole. This really appealed to me and shows the range of the author. However it did mean that the novel was a bit of a see-saw between these conflicting areas. there was also a great deal about tactics and weaponary, and a teen romance.... so you can see that this book attempts to be all things to everyone. Does it work? I am not sure.Clearly with the release of the advertising video below it is expected to be big, so time and the public will tell.

This book is set in a fantasy world of the early middle ages type, our hero a 14/15 year old boy escapes from the brutal regime of the Redeemers and explodes on the world as a naive, witty, violent and ignorant young man. I have to say that he is really rather cool ( Am I showing my age here? is anyone cool these days?), a bit of an Edward Cullen for the fantasy world.

I should warn that it is part of a trilogy and like all good fantasy it finishes on a cliff hanger....

Deanna Raybourne - Silent in the Sancuary - Silent on the Moor

2010-01-08T11:00:00.002Z

I thoroughly enjoyed the first title in this trilogy Silent in the Grave, see below. These are just as good.
In Silent in the Sanctuary we are introduced to the family home of the March's, they are snowed in, particularly relevant with our current weather. What then ensues are ghosts, murder by strangulation, attempted murder through poison , oh, and an jewel robbery. There is of course a limited number of guests from which to choose to solve the crimes and it is great fun. they are advertised as witty and they are. A very amusing romp!

This is the final book in the trilogy. Her we have our intrepid heroine pursuing her love up to Yorkshire to try and resolve their relationship once and for all. There are some very witty nods to Wuthering heights here and I really loved it.
Once again of course, we have attempted murder by poison, murder by drowning, death, madness and romance. A heady blend and thoroughly entertaining!

I also enjoyed the gypsy thread that ran through these books, and very much the highlighting of the plight of women from all classes in society of the time.

Incidentally her next book is about vampires, can't wait!

Anna Davis - The Jewel Box

2010-01-08T10:42:00.002Z

Looking back I can see I was rather sniffy about Anna's previous title The Shoe Queen. I am glad I persevered as this book is excellent. It really is very funny. This book is about an 'it' girl of the 1920's and she writes a weekly newspaper column. It is these columns that litter the book that really make it, they are so amusing. This is basically a historical romance but as a light enjoyable read it was great, just what I needed to amuse me over the Christmas period.

Jacqueline Winspear - Among the Mad

2010-01-08T10:31:00.003Z

This is another Maisie Dobbs mystery. I once again really enjoyed it. These now are less murder mysteries but more mysteries solved by psychology. Interestingly there is a very similar plot in this novel to Anne Perry's WW1 series, terrorism with a political motive. The book also addresses the terrible plight of old and disabled soldiers from the trenches, particularly those that are psychological damaged. So there are lots of modern parallels. It is these themes that would make this a very interesting reading group read.

Kate Mosse - The Winter Ghosts

2009-12-30T15:18:00.002Z

You can tell I was busy reading over Christmas can't you, and what is more fitting than an excellent ghost story. Kate once again returns to France, this time set after the First World War and up to 1933.

This is beautifully written and leads us slowly and surely to the dramatic conclusion. The descriptions of the countryside around the Haute Vallee in the Pyrenees, really take you there and you can well imagine the Cathars whispering on the wind. I think it would make an excellent reading group book, due to the themes of war, family loss, and religious fanaticism to name a few. It is also a shorter read and more manageable for a group that perhaps meets monthly. The idea of putting in drawings to illustrate it, is really inspired and adds to the whole period style of the book. A very classy package.

Louise Penny - The Brutal Telling

2009-12-30T15:12:00.003Z

This is the latest in the Inspector Gamache series, and the fifth title. They just get better. Please do read them from the beginning as we gradually get to know the characters as the books progress. They really are a sort of Donna Leon, Midsommer Murders and absolutley delightful, aside from the brutal murders of course!! However even these are handled well, and these books should appeal to all fans of classic crime or who dunnits........

Andrew Davidson - The Gargoyle

2009-12-11T15:01:00.002Z

This is a peculiar and extraordinary book. Well written, absorbing, disturbing and just plain odd. I loved it.

This is the story of a male porn star who receives horrendous burns over 90% of his body. This is the story of his redemption. The descriptions of the burn recovery ward and what he has to go though are harrowing, and so well written I became very squeamish.

Into this comes a mentally disturbed , beautiful female sculptress, who states that they have meet though many previous lives, and her role now is to make him remember. Initially he humours her as it relieves the boredom of his days, but gradually he, as well as we, get sucked into the descriptions of these other lives, and of his return to some sort of normality and the final dramatic resolution.

This was a Richard and Judy title and as with many of their choices will make a superb reading group discussion book and a very provoking and satisfying read.