This is one big glorious modern sister to Pride and Prejudice. Liz and Jane’s parents are rendered particularly well, the brainless Mrs Bennett with her hoarding tendencies and Mr Bennett showing his characteristic lacerating wit – there is so much more scope for it these days. Austen lovers may be slightly perturbed at the idea […]
Latest Reviews
Hidden Depths by Ann Cleeves
Cleeves’ books are consistently absorbing and somehow comforting, like a nice cup of tea. This is the the third in the Vera Stanhope series, and you just know Vera’s going to get her (muderous) man. The books are a quiet study of human nature: detective inspector Vera is badly dressed, overweight, often drunk and consistently […]
Bring Me Back by BA Paris
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Gone Girl. The God of All Thrillers. If you’re one of the ten or so people on the planet who haven’t read it yet, or seen the excellent movie, you are in for a treat. Why do we love it so much? It’s intelligent, it’s riveting but the true genius of it lies in the strong […]
Glass Houses by Louise Penny
Glass Houses was my first taste of the Chief Inspector Gamache, and Louise Penny. I am mildly impressed. Apparently this is Penny’s 13th in the Chief Inspector Gamache series and it’s easy to imagine the rest are much the same – a comforting, kindly inspector in a dirty, challenging and sometimes corrupt world, supported by his amiable […]
Apple Tree Yard by Louise Doughty
Geneticist Yvonne Carmichael is in her early fifties. She is good at what she does and competent and sensible in every part of her life. So much so that her affair with Mark Costley, who she presumes is a spy, takes her almost by surprise. She’s a little obsessive about this guy, although it is difficult to see why as he does […]
The Mountain Story by Lori Lansens
What a ripper. A kid goes up moutain on his eighteenth birthday. He decides not to take his backpack as he’s planning to jump off the mountain and doesn’t want it to go to waste. He lives to regret that decision when, instead of jumping, he reluctantly guides a family of three women into the […]
Defending Jacob by William Landay
This one is soooooo good. Part courtroom drama, part thriller, part classic Classic Moral Dilemma. It brings to mind a vision of book clubs everywhere, sitting around half empty wine glasses asking ‘But what would you do if it were your son?’ And indeed, what would you do if it were your son was suspected […]