Eyes by Janet Burroway
Reviewed by Rob Spence Probably the most disturbing scene in Shakespeare occurs in Act 3 of King Lear, when Gloucester, duped by his bastard son Edmund, is delivered into the hands…
Cool Machine by Colson Whitehead
Reviewed by Harriet He wasn’t a fence today. He was a thief among his kind. Anyone who’s read Colson Whitehead’s Harlem Shuffle and/or his Crook Manifesto will welcome Cool Machine,…
Rainforest by Michelle Paver
Review by Annabel I’ve really enjoyed all three of Michelle Paver’s previous supernatural novels for adults; Dark Matter, Thin Air and the Gothic Wakenhyrst. Thin Air – the one I read first – is my…
Best Served Cold: Chilling Short Stories of Crime & Revenge (Beyond and Within), edited by Paul Kane & Marie O’Regan
Review by Annabel Flame Tree Publishing’s anthology series, ‘Beyond & Within’ has a broad remit to collect short stories from a variety of genres. Their latest crime collection, Guilty Secrets,…
Land by Maggie O’Farrell
Reviewed by Harriet Maggie O’Farrell’s new book has had quite a mixed reception – some high praise and some rather damning criticism. Having read it myself, which took a long…
Guilty Secrets: From the Crime Writers Association (Beyond and Within), edited by Martin Edwards
Review by Karen Langley The Crime Writers’ Association was formed in 1953 by author John Creasey, with a stated aim to promote, support and celebrate crime writing, and writers of…
The Expansion Project by Ben Pester
Review by Annabel Now out in paperback, The Expansion Project is Pester’s first novel, published after a well-received collection of short stories; a second set, Sail Away Land, is newly…
The End of the Vodka by Oscar de Muriel
Review by Annabel Oscar de Muriel is Mexican, but based in the UK, where he came to finish his PhD. He’s a chemist and violinist as well an established author,…
The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout
Reviewed by Harriet Loneliness does not come from having no people about one, but from not being able to communicate the things that seem important to oneself, or from holding…
Jesus’ Son by Denis Johnson
Review by Karen Langley Denis Johnson was a prolific American author, producing during his writing life nine novels, one novella, two books of short stories, three collections of poetry, two…
A Deadly Episode by Anthony Horowitz
Reviewed by Harriet I’m a great admirer of Anthony Horowitz’s crime novels, especially the two series which are so brilliantly metafictonal. One is the Sue Ryland series, starting with Magpie…
The Artist by Lucy Steeds
Reviewed by Harriet Just out in paperback, Lucy Steeds’ debut novel was greeted with much praise when published at the beginning of last year, and was selected by Waterstones as…
Wilderness of Mirrors by Olufemi Terry
Review by Annabel Les Fugitives is a small indie press that initially specialised in French translations, of both literary fiction and nonfiction (see here). Lately, they’ve widened their scope to…
The Given World by Melissa Harrison
Review by Peter Reason Melissa Harrison combines duties as novelist and nature writer. Her nature writing often takes a narrative form, and her novels pay greater respect to the contribution…
Cynics by Anatoly Marienhof
Translated by Bryan Karetnyk Review by Karen Langley When faced with a totalitarian regime and a disintegrating world, how should the writer or artist respond? In many cases they turn…
The Delusions by Jenni Fagan
Review by Annabel I was always going to pick up this book – galactic cats on the cover! A must-read: luckily, the contents were also brilliantly quirky. Somehow I’ve never…
Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Review by Annabel This is only the second book by TJR that I’ve read, Daisy Jones & the Six being the first. While Daisy is unique in style, being written as documentary…
The Cat by Georges Simenon
Translated by Ros Schwartz Review by Annabel Back in 2014, Penguin embarked on republishing all seventy of the Maigret novels in new translations over a period of a few years,…
The Apple and the Pearl, by Rym Kechacha
Reviewed by Helen Parry Of all the arts, ballet casts perhaps the most magical spell. The classics of the repertoire are set in otherworldly realms, with entrancing music and fabulous…
Flesh by David Szalay
Reviewed by Rebecca Foster David Szalay is preoccupied with masculinity and migration, which were his main themes in All That Man Is and Turbulence, respectively. Flesh combines the two topics…
Mrs Jekyll by Emma Glass
Review by Annabel Welsh author Emma Glass’s fourth novel, Mrs Jekyll, gained her a second longlisting for the Dylan Thomas Award in 2025. Her debut, Peach, was also longlisted, and…
Pagans by James Alistair Henry
Review by Annabel I do like an alternative history novel with a contemporary timeline. James Alistair Henry has created a great one in Pagans. It may be a debut novel,…
The Persians by Sanam Mahloudji
Review by Liz Dexter That’s just how I am. Hollow and spoiled and unlikeable. That’s how my whole family is. My aunt always says, ‘We didn’t come here for a…
The Boy from the Sea by Garrett Carr
Review by Liz Dexter Christine reckoned she had a solid twenty-five years of matriarch left in her and she’d always use it to direct Declan towards sources of self-esteem. If…