It is that time of year when thoughts turn to the perfect sunbed by a pool or failing that a nice comfy deckchair in a sunny park or garden. It is summer-time and as we slap on the factor 30 sun cream we can dream about an idyllic sunshine holiday in the mediterranean or something…
Category: 3 Stars
Book Review: What Happens in France – Carol Wyer ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Bryony Masters has been looking for her sister Hannah for years. Hannah ran away from home at sixteen and hasn’t been seen since. When their father has a stroke and becomes dangerously ill Bryony decides that she needs to pull out all the stops and make a last ditch attempt to find Hannah. So when…
Book Review: Into the Water – Paula Hawkins ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Hawkins was the biggest author on the psychological thriller scene when The Girl on the Train hit bookshelves around the world in 2015. It must have been incredibly daunting launching the equivalent of the difficult second album with Into the Water. Jules is swamped by feelings of guilt. She ignored a crisis call from her…
Book Review: The Futures – Anna Pitoniak ***
The Futures is described as a New York Love Story but for most of the book the main characters Julia and Evan seem to be almost the antithesis of love. Their relationship is a convenience, a habit. Julia and Evan get together at college where Evan is a Canadian ice hockey player on a sports…
Book Review: The Plus One – Sophia Money-Coutts ***
The debut novel from a London journalist, The Plus One is a bit like eating candy floss when you know that you should be eating salad. It is a romp very much in the style of an early Jilly Cooper novel updated for the noughties. Polly works for a society magazine called Posh. (Think Heat…
Book Review: The Pope of Palm Beach -Tim Dorsey ***
For Father’s Day I’ve chosen a book from a series that might appeal more to Dads out there. The Pope of Palm Beach is the latest in Dorsey’s Serge Storms series. Set in Florida, Serge and his sidekick Coleman are travelling through the state on a Literary tour. Irreverent and funny Serge is a character…
Book Review: The Mistake – K L Slater ***
Kim Slater has really carved a niche for herself in the crowded psychological thriller genre. If you enjoyed her previous novels then The Mistake will surely be on your reading list. In a little mining village Rose and her family live a quiet life. Her art course at college fills her days and little brother…
Book Review: The Book of Luce – L R Fredericks ***
Challenging. That is probably the best way that I can describe The Book of Luce. I imagine that its a bit like reading a biography of a musician while you are on an acid trip. The story weaves and winds as a journalist – known only to us under a pseudonym of Chimera Obscura –…
Book Review: 31 Days of Wonder – Tom Winter ***
Something a little bit different this time. The new book by Tom Winter is a sweet story and one that strikes a chord especially with the current focus on mental illness. Alice and Ben have a chance meeting in Grosvenor Square in London and don’t realise that the encounter will change both of their lives….
Book Review: Liar – K L Slater ***
Liar is the third psychological thriller from Kim Slater. I found it a little harder to connect with the characters in this one and I’m not entirely sure why. Ben is a single father looking after his two young sons after the death of their mother. He has had a lot of help from his…
Book Review: My Husband the Stranger – Rebecca Done ***
Molly knew that Alex was the man for her as soon they met. He was kind, considerate and romantic. Everything that she wanted a partner to be. When he suffers devastating head injury their life is turned upside down. Alex has become a completely different person. An angry impatient man who barely seems to acknowledge…
Book Review: New Boy – Tracy Chevalier ***
Tracy Chevalier’s new book is the latest in the Hogarth Shakespeare series of modern day retellings of classic Shakespeare plays. Telling the story of Othello in a more contemporary setting, New Boy was always going to be a bit edgier than some of the others that have preceded it. It is Washington in the 1970s….
