Us by David Nicholls
Paperback review by Laura Marriott Us is David Nicholls’ fourth novel and the follow up to 2009’s surprise hit One Day. Nicholls is an award winning author and screenwriter whose earlier books…
The Crossing by Andrew Miller
Reviewed by Judith Wilson I’d been introduced to Andrew Miller’s writing via his richly evocative Costa Award-winning novel, Pure (2011), set in and around a cemetery in eighteenth century Paris. So I…
The Dark Inside by Rod Reynolds
Reviewed by Gill Davies This is the first novel by Rod Reynolds, a British author who is working comfortably within the conventions and settings of American crime fiction. I was…
The Girl in the Spider’s Web by David Lagerkrantz
Reviewed by Harriet Reading continuations of series by celebrated dead authors is always going to be a bit of a gamble. I’ve had some less than great experiences, notably with…
Rembrandt’s Mirror by Kim Devereux
Reviewed by Victoria The first thing – inescapable – that you notice about this book is what a beautiful object it is. With gilt-tipped pages, and a midnight blue cover…
Friendship by Emily Gould
Reviewed by Victoria This book broke a late-summer reading slump I was wallowing in, and I am as grateful to it as a reader can be, who has despaired over…
The Jump by Doug Johnstone
Reviewed by Harriet Doug Johnstone is an amazing writer. This is the third of his novels I’ve read, each of which is brilliant and each entirely different. I loved The Dead…
The Prank: The Best of Young Chekhov, by Anton Chekhov
Translated by Maria Bloshteyn Reviewed by Karen Langley The art of the short story is a difficult one, and many authors never attain the dizzy heights of a tale told…
Witches of Lychford by Paul Cornell
Reviewed by David Harris I’d been eagerly waiting for this book. Cornell has recently published two volumes in an urban fantasy series, The Shadow Police, set among the supernatural threats of…
The Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood
Reviewed by Shoshi Ish-Horowicz To put this review into context, I’m a huge Margaret Atwood fan. I haven’t read everything she’s written (fifteen novels, eight collections of short stories, not…
The House of Shattered Wings by Aliette de Bodard
Reviewed by Annabel Gaskell This may have been the first novel I’ve read by Franco-Vietnamese SF&F author Aliette de Bodard, but it certainly won’t be the last. She has already…
The Killing Kind by Chris Holm
Reviewed by David Harris At first sight, this book was surprisingly different from the previous books of Holm’s that I had read: his Collector series was a noir-tinged fantasy trilogy featuring an operative who…
Friday on my Mind by Nicci French
Reviewed by Harriet The crime-writing couple known as Nicci French have had an amazingly productive and successful career. Having published no less than 11 brilliantly successful standalone psychological thrillers between…
The Autobiography of James T. Kirk edited by David A. Goodman
Reviewed by Annabel I still have a huge affection for Star Trek in all its incarnations and, as time goes on, although Jean-Luc Picard is the man for me, I prefer the…
The Trick is to Keep Breathing by Janet Galloway
Reviewed by Julie Barham If a picture of mind numbing grief was to be fictionalised, this is the novel to read. This is a reprint in the Scottish Classic Vintage…
Sweet Caress by William Boyd
Reviewed by Harriet I’ve read all William Boyd’s novels, and have liked most of them enormously. Over the years he’s played with a number of different genres, including spy stories,…
The Book of Memory by Petina Gappah
Reviewed by Terence Jagger This was an interesting read, and there have been times when it would have been an act of bravery to read it in Zimbabwe, where it…
A Want of Kindness by Joanne Limburg
Reviewed by Victoria Finally! A historical novelist whose wit and insight and glorious prose might threaten to topple Hilary Mantel from her throne. If you are a reader who, like…
Thirteen Guests by J Jefferson Farjeon
Reviewed by Harriet Every station has its special voice. Some are of grit. Some are of sand. Some are of milk cans. Some are of rock muffled by tunnel smoke….
The Serial Garden: The Complete Armitage Stories, by Joan Aiken
Reviewed by Lory Widmer Hess For over sixty years – starting about age sixteen and continuing right up until her death in 2004 – storyteller extraordinaire Joan Aiken wrote tales…
Moving by Jenny Eclair
Reviewed by Laura Marriott Moving is the latest literary offering from Jenny Eclair. It is the fourth novel from the comedian, who has published three other successful novels; Camberwell Beauty, Having a Lovely…
Let Me Tell You by Shirley Jackson
Reviewed by Simon This is the third Shiny New Books issue in which I’ve had the privilege of writing about Shirley Jackson’s works – and, indeed, I’ve bolstered out those…
Not on Fire, But Burning by Greg Hrbek
Reviewed by Annabel The prologue of this novel set in the near future begins in some style. College student Skyler Wakefield opted to stay and work as a babysitter for…
Murder on Sea by Julie Wassmer
Reviewed by Victoria Earlier this year I read the first in the Whitstable Pearl series by Julie Wassmer and enjoyed it. It featured an intriguing new sleuth, Pearl Nolan. A…