Prolific reader, enthusiastic theatre and movie-goer and ex-Olivier Awards judge who spent twenty years working in the music industry in London. I love sharing my favourite books with friends - nearly always spoiler-free as I hate reading a synopsis of the whole book in other reviews.
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Set in a crumbling country estate on the south coast of Ireland The Christmas Party is a little gem of a book. Declan Lorne is the last Knight in Ireland. A title that ceases to be when he dies suddenly with three female heirs. His estate is passed to his […]
Moriarty’s back catalogue has become much more popular since the TV version of Big Little Lies hit our screens. What Alice Forgot was first published ten years ago but it hasn’t lost anything in the intervening years. Alice Love knows exactly who she is. At twenty nine she is newly […]
Samantha Smith is the most unlikely heroine. She’s the younger of two sisters but while Cleo is vivacious and outgoing Sam is a lover of routine, of old black and white movies and is happiest with her nose buried in a book. Her life revolves her job as box office […]
Before this year I wasn’t really a fan of historical fiction but 2019 has seen me raving over some great stories like The Familiars, The Binding and the wonderful The Silent Companions. The Corset is the latest book by Laura Purcell and if you’re looking for a traditionally gothic Victorian […]
This week our American cousins celebrate Thanksgiving and with the accompanying Black Friday shopping spree thus begins the official start of the Christmas season. And so dear friends it would be utterly remiss of me if I didn’t have the perfect Christmas book for your enjoyment. Ignore the queues in […]
Painter has created a wonderful supernaturally infused underworld in London that rivals Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London series. Here the central character is Lydia Crow, heir apparent to one of the four magical family dynasties. Working as a private detective from the family cafe she tries to stay clear of the […]
If you’ve ever had nightmare neighbours you can sympathise with the residents of Lowland Way. It’s a pretty well to do street in an area of South London that has become gentrified. Waitrose shoppers aspiring to send their well heeled offspring to good schools and to have the best start […]
Just when you think that Caroline Mitchell can’t surprise you she comes up with The Perfect Mother. Roz is just about scraping by in a job that she hates in Dublin. When she realises that she is pregnant after an ill advised one night stand things are pretty desperate. She […]
I’m a bit late to the party on this one. Published in February this year I bought the book as a hardcover because I fell in love with its cover. It was such beautiful autumnal colours and a bizarre combination of delicate William Morris type motifs intertwined with a noose. […]
I’m not good with change. I was ridiculously excited when I read that Robert Bryndza had a new book coming out and then I read that he had changed publisher and that the new book didn’t feature the tortured heroine Erika Foster. It didn’t bode well… When I was sent […]
