Tag: fiction
The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett
Forty years ago, Steven Smith found a copy of a famous children’s book, its margins full of strange markings and annotations. He took it to his remedial English teacher, Miss Isles, who became convinced it was the key to solving a puzzle. That a message in secret code ran through all Edith Twyford’s novels. Then Miss Isles disappeared on a class field trip, and … Read More The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett
+ crime fiction, Detective novel, fiction, murder, murder mystery, Nordic noir, review, Scandi noir, secrets, thriller
Bitter Flowers by Gunnar Staalesen
Translated by Don Bartlett Fresh from rehab, PI Varg Veum faces his most complex investigation yet, when a man is found drowned, a young woman disappears, and the case of a missing child is revived. The classic Nordic Noir series continues… PI Varg Veum has returned to duty following a stint in rehab, but his new composure and resolution are soon threatened when three … Read More Bitter Flowers by Gunnar Staalesen
+ Cornwall, family, fiction, Gothic mystery, Historical fiction, literature, loss, love, marriage, mystery, review, secrets, World War One
The Key in the Lock by Beth Underdown
I still dream, every night, of Polneath on fire. Smoke unfurling out of an upper window and a hectic orange light cascading across the terrace. By day, Ivy Boscawen mourns the loss of her son Tim in the Great War. But by night she mourns another boy – one whose death decades ago haunts her still. For Ivy is sure that there is more … Read More The Key in the Lock by Beth Underdown
+ childhood, community, family, family drama, fiction, forgiveness, friendship, literature, loss, love, mental health, mental illness, motherhood, photography, review, Scottish Highlands, secrets, sisters, sixties
Little Wing by Freya North
Little Wing is the powerful story of two families over three generations. In the 1960s, a pregnant 16-year-old is banished to one of the remotest parts of the UK. Years later, Nell and Dougie are both at critical moments in their lives when their paths cross. Between Camden, Colchester and the Outer Hebrides, the three story lines collide when secrets are uncovered and answers … Read More Little Wing by Freya North
+ childhood, family, fashion, female friendship, feminism, fiction, friends, friendship, jealousy, love, marriage, motherhood, murder mystery, Nigeria, obsession, relationships, revenge, review, secrets, sisterhood
Wahala by Nikki May
Ronke, Simi, Boo are three mixed-race friends living in London. They have the gift of two cultures, Nigerian and English, though not all of them choose to see it that way. Everyday racism has never held them back, but now in their thirties, they question their future. Ronke wants a husband (he must be Nigerian); Boo enjoys (correction: endures) stay-at-home motherhood; while Simi, full … Read More Wahala by Nikki May
+ fiction, France, friendship, humour fiction, List, Magical realism, mystery, mythology, novel-in-emails, relationships, review, secrets, sisters, supernatural, twins, whimsical, writers, writers group
My Top 3 Books of 2021
It’s January 1st 2022 and it’s time to reflect on my three favourite books of 2021. Last year it was hard but not impossible. There were instant standouts. This year I have found it much harder. I have tried to include a mix of genres but I’ve definitely failed. Maybe I should simply call them all slightly ‘whimsical’. And if that is not where … Read More My Top 3 Books of 2021
+ community, crime fiction, dark humour, diary, family, fiction, jealousy, journal, marriage, mystery, obsession, review, secrets, thriller
I Know What You’ve Done by Dorothy Koomson
What if all your neighbours’ secrets landed in a diary on your doorstep?What if the woman who gave it to you was murdered by one of the people in the diary? What if the police asked if you knew anything? Would you hand over the book of secrets? Or … would you try to find out what everyone had done? I Know What You’ve … Read More I Know What You’ve Done by Dorothy Koomson
+ adventure, child abduction, crime fiction, Detective novel, family, fiction, Freedom, friends, friendship, haunting, Historical fiction, holocaust, Inuit, kidnapping, List, literature, loss, love, Magical realism, murder, nazi germany, poland, police drama, Polish, Psychological fiction, relationships, review, Scotland, Scottish Highlands, secrets, World War Two
My Top 8 Books of 2021 – part four
Here are my favourite eight books of the fourth quarter of 2021. So far this has been a good year for books if for nothing else, so it was a really difficult decision. Please note that there may be books amongst the list that are not published until 2022, but these are books I have read this year and may be ARCs. The Flight of … Read More My Top 8 Books of 2021 – part four
+ child abduction, demon, family, fantasy, fiction, haunting, kidnapping, loss, love, mystery, Psychological fiction, review, supernatural, thriller
Mr Jones by Alex Woolf
Ben hears noises in his basement and witnesses weird goings-on in his local park. His eight-year-old daughter Imogen starts receiving messages from someone claiming to be her missing mother. And then there is Mr Jones —the man who haunts the imaginations of the children at Imogen’s school. But they are just stories, surely? Ben soon develops a creeping suspicion that someone is out to … Read More Mr Jones by Alex Woolf
Sweet Singing in the Choir by Cat on a Piano Productions / Theatrephonic
Here is a special minisode for you this Friday (Christmas Eve)‘Sweet Singing in the Choir’A Christmas Case It’s our friend DI Arthur Meadowes and his long-suffering wife Deirdre again with another exciting tale of burglary and carol singing. Deirdre needs to practice her singing but Arthur has a case to crack. How will it all turn out? I love this pair – I hope … Read More Sweet Singing in the Choir by Cat on a Piano Productions / Theatrephonic
+ crime fiction, Detective novel, fiction, murder, police drama, Psychological fiction, psycopath, review, serial killer, thriller
The Murder Mile (Dr. Jo McCready #1) by Lesley Mcevoy
Evil never dies… Forensic Psychologist, Jo McCready is assisting DCI Callum Ferguson on a murder inquiry, when one of her patients is found brutally murdered. Jo was the last person to see Martha Scott alive. She was helping Martha unlock a repressed memory. But during the session, Jo unlocked more than she bargained for. An alter personality introduced himself as the reincarnation of Jack … Read More The Murder Mile (Dr. Jo McCready #1) by Lesley Mcevoy
+ childhood, family, fiction, Freedom, friendship, Historical fiction, holocaust, literature, loss, love, nazi germany, revenge, review, World War Two, WW2
The Last Checkmate by Gabriella Saab
Readers of Heather Morris’s The Tattooist of Auschwitz and watchers of The Queen’s Gambit won’t want to miss this amazing debut set during World War II. A young Polish resistance worker, imprisoned in Auschwitz as a political prisoner, plays chess in exchange for her life, and in doing so fights to bring the man who destroyed her family to justice. Maria Florkowska is many … Read More The Last Checkmate by Gabriella Saab
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