Tag: fiction

Close To Home by Cara Hunter

This is the first time I’ve given five stars to a book in ages but Close To Home is worth every star. It was absolutely riveting. I read it with The Pigeonhole (many thanks to them and to my fellow Pigeons and Cara who was commenting along with us). I rarely give five stars to any detective novel but this was something else. On … Read More Close To Home by Cara Hunter

Even Stranger by Marilyn Messik

“I thought I’d knocked him out, but in a flash he’d turned on to all fours and was crawling swiftly, spider-like, back towards us. He still held the knife, so I set fire to the handle. The wood flamed and he hissed in pain but didn’t let go. It was all turning rather awkward.” Having first met Stella as a child in Relatively Strange … Read More Even Stranger by Marilyn Messik

The Liar’s Daughter by Claire Allan

Having read Her Name Was Rose I was already a fan of Claire Allan. However, I didn’t like this book as much as I hoped I would. Like is a strange word to use as it’s the harrowing tale of Joe McKee, a paedophile, who was loved and admired in his community, except by his daughter and step-daughter who both hated him. When he … Read More The Liar’s Daughter by Claire Allan

The Crown Agent by Stephen O’Rourke

Dr Mungo Lyon, an Edinburgh surgeon, is barred from practice following his (minor) involvement in the Burke and Hare case. However, when he is caught up in a strange adventure that takes him to Glasgow and Jamaica, his skill as a surgeon is not the only skill he will need. He will need to use his intelligence and keep his wits about him as … Read More The Crown Agent by Stephen O’Rourke

Snakes and Ladders by Victoria Selman

I really enjoyed reading this. A bit Silence of the Lambs meets Dan Brown and I particularly like the codes and clues aspect. Dr Sange is an interesting character as you don’t expect a serial killer to be so handsome and charismatic (unless it’s Keanu Reeves in The Watcher – though maybe not charismatic). I’m not sure Ziba would be my first choice of … Read More Snakes and Ladders by Victoria Selman

A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende

From Spain during the Civil War to Chile, then exile in Venezuela and back to Chile, this beautiful novel covers a period of history that most of us no nothing about. It follows the lives of Victor Dalmau and his wife Roser from youth to old age. It’s a sweeping epic of a novel with a host of likeable and not so likeable fictional … Read More A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende

The Mother I Could Have Been by Kerry Fisher

I wish to thank NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book. This isn’t my usual genre but I thought I would give it a go. To start with I didn’t like Vicky at all. She is so hard done by and finds it easier to walk away than actually have a conversation with the people in her life she … Read More The Mother I Could Have Been by Kerry Fisher

The Only Child by Mi-ae Seo

Oh boy this could have been so good. The premise of the story is an excellent one and once I managed to understand what was going on (which took a while) it became really gripping. The story that is – because the writing (and I guess it gets lost in translation) is clunky and immature. From my experience of creative writing (I studied it … Read More The Only Child by Mi-ae Seo

The Memory Wood by Sam Lloyd

A very strange and different book about kidnapping and abduction with so many twists which I mostly didn’t see coming, though there were a few that were more obvious. Elissa is a 13 year old chess champion who is abducted while attending a tournament with her mother, She only pops to the car for a second when she is brutally grabbed and bundled into … Read More The Memory Wood by Sam Lloyd

The World That We Knew by Alice Hoffman

In 1941, during humanity’s darkest hour, three unforgettable young women must act with courage and love to survive, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Dovekeepers and The Marriage of Opposites Alice Hoffman. In Berlin, at the time when the world changed, Hanni Kohn knows she must send her twelve-year-old daughter away to save her from the Nazi regime. She finds her way to a renowned rabbi, but … Read More The World That We Knew by Alice Hoffman

Relatively Strange by Marilyn Messik

I really love this book. I love the way it is written from Stella’s point of view with her dry and often irreverent humour – there were many times when I laughed out loud. Stella has powers unlike anyone else she knows. She can fly, she can move things with her mind and she can read other people’s thoughts. Sometimes this can be helpful, … Read More Relatively Strange by Marilyn Messik

Last Request by Liz Mistry

I enjoyed reading this book though it’s not really my genre. There are a lot of plot threads which was sometimes confusing but thankfully they all tie up neatly in the end. However I did have my reservations. I found some of the characters to be real stereotypes and not very original. I tried to like Nikki but I still couldn’t by the end. … Read More Last Request by Liz Mistry