The Nakano Thrift Shop by Hiromi Kawakami
Translated by Allison Markin Powell Review by Annabel There are some books you can judge by their covers. Portobello books have triumphed in this respect with the evocative ‘levitation’ portraits…
Bright Precious Days by Jay McInerny
Reviewed by Susan Osborne Fans of Jay McInerney’s series of novels which began with Brightness Falls way back in 1992, won’t need to be told who the Calloways are nor will they…
Beast by Paul Kingsnorth
Reviewed by David Hebblethwaite Paul Kingsnorth made waves with his first novel, The Wake (2014), which was set around the Norman Conquest and written in a modified version of Old English. It…
Confidence by Rowland Manthorpe and Kirstin Smith
Reviewed by Victoria Confidence has to be one of the funniest novels that I’ve read this year. It’s a welcome return to the campus novel but so fresh and contemporary…
The Railway Children by Edith Nesbit
Reviewed by Harriet There surely won’t be many people reading this who haven’t seen the film or the TV series, even if they haven’t read the original book, which has…
The Revelations of Carey Ravine by Debra Daley
Reviewed by Helen Skinner There was always a good chance that I was going to love The Revelations of Carey Ravine. A book which has been compared with Sarah Waters, Amitav…
Dear Diary… Diaries in Fiction
Written by Charlotte Duff Since approximately the age of ten, I have tried to keep a diary. In fact, almost every Christmas I have asked for one. New Year’s Day…
The Girls by Emma Cline
Reviewed by Annabel I received a proof copy of The Girls about six months ago, and even back then it was being plugged as this summer’s biggest novel. The interest has built…
Two Gentlemen on the Beach by Michael Köhlmeier
Translated by Ruth Martin Reviewed by Victoria Who knew that Charlie Chaplin and Winston Churchill were great friends? I had no idea before reading this thoughtful and moving fictional account…
Blood Wedding by Pierre Lemaitre
Translated by Frank Wynne Reviewed by Annabel In the UK, Lemaitre has been best-known for his ‘Brigade Criminelle’ trilogy of novels featuring the detective Camille Verhoeven. Irène, Alex, Camille: read them…
Black Water by Louise Doughty
Reviewed by Victoria Louise Doughty is probably best known for her novel, Apple Tree Yard, which was a huge hit back in 2013. It told the story of a scientist brought…
Fell by Jenn Ashworth
Reviewed by Simon The title of Jenn Ashworth’s fourth novel could mean any number of things – or, indeed, all of them. The first two that come to mind, as…
A Hero in France by Alan Furst
Reviewed by Annabel It’s been some years since I read an Alan Furst novel, although I own up to having a shelf-full of them. He’s prolific – A Hero in France is…
The Adolescent by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Translated by Dora O’Brien Reviewed by Karen Langley Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky is best known in the west for his novels Crime and Punishment, The Brothers Karamazov, Demons/Devils/The Possessed and…
The Gustav Sonata by Rose Tremain
Reviewed by Harriet ‘You have to be like Switzerland,’ Gustav’s mother tells him. ‘You have to hold yourself together and be courageous, stay separate and strong.’ The Gustav Sonata is Rose…
Paradise Lodge by Nina Stibbe
Reviewed by Annabel In Nina (of Love, Nina) Stibbe’s first semi-autobiographical novel Man at the Helm (reviewed here) we were introduced to the Vogel family. In it, the three Vogel children who were not…
Slade House by David Mitchell
Paperback review by Anna Hollingsworth The door pulls my palm up against it. It’s warm…And as it swings inwards, the hinges shriek like brakes… … and we’re looking into a…
In the Month of the Midnight Sun by Cecilia Ekbäck
Reviewed by Harriet Last year I read and loved Cecila Ekbäck’s debut novel, Wolf Winter – you can see my review here and my interview with Cecilia here. So I was thrilled to…
The Tidal Zone by Sarah Moss
Reviewed by Alice Farrant A relationship with death, or the prospect of it, is like being a member of a horrible club because to know death is to know something…
The Sinking Admiral by Members of the Detection Club, ed. Simon Brett
Reviewed by Elaine Simpson-Long In 1932 Agatha Christie and Dorothy L Sayers collaborated with other writers, including G K Chesterton and Ronald Knox, Freeman Wills Crofts, Edgar Jepson, Clemence Dane…
Chains of Sand by Jemma Wayne
Reviewed by Isobel Blackthorn A work of contemporary fiction, Chains of Sand by Jemma Wayne is a timely and important portrayal of a realm of Middle Eastern conflict made familiar to most…
Before the Fall by Noah Hawley
Reviewed by Gill Davies This is a gripping read – one of those suspense novels that you don’t want to put aside to do other things. And it’s gripping not…
How to Find Love in a Bookshop by Veronica Henry
Reviewed by Elaine Simpson-Long We have had a few weeks of scorching weather as I write this, though it is now raining, and, of course, as it is summer we…
Passage of Arms by Eric Ambler
Reviewed by Harriet This is the third of Eric Ambler’s newly reissued novels I have read in the past few months, the other two being The Light of Day and A Kind of…