Man at the Helm by Nina Stibbe
Reviewed by Annabel Gaskell A few years ago there was a reality show series on children’s telly in the UK called Project Parent, in which kids from single parent families…
The Spring of Kasper Meier by Ben Fergusson
Written by Liam Roberts After an engrossing and thrilling first chapter, readers may expect a zipping crime novel full of action and intrigue, which The Spring of Kasper Meier does have in…
The Head of the Saint by Socorro Acioli
Translated from the Portuguese by Daniel Hahn Reviewed by Annabel In my experience, there aren’t many novels for children and young adults around in English translation, although I was pleased…
How to be Both by Ali Smith
Reviewed by Harriet Devine I’m not one of those people who rush out and buy all the Booker longlisted books on principle, or even the shortlisted ones, or even the…
The Soul of Discretion by Susan Hill
Reviewed by Harriet Let me say at once that I absolutely loved this book. I’ve read all the previous seven of Susan Hill’s Simon Serrailler series with pleasure, though I…
Lila by Marilynne Robinson
Reviewed by Simon It is difficult to write a review of a Marilynne Robinson novel that can even begin to do her writing justice. Reading one of her books makes…
The Sea Garden by Deborah Lawrenson
Reviewed by Adèle Geras The blurb on the back of this novel says it’s a sequel to Deborah Lawrenson’s well-received book, The Lantern. I haven’t read this, I’m afraid, so I…
The English Girl by Margaret Leroy
Reviewed by Danielle. The beautiful and elegant city of Vienna serves as the backdrop to Margaret Leroy’s engaging historical novel The English Girl. While the city is known for its elegance…
Iza’s Ballad by Magda Szabó
Translated by George Szirtes Reviewed by Victoria Best I often shy away from books in translation, afraid they will sound clunky and odd. But this 1963 novel by renowned Hungarian…
The Sleepwalker’s Guide to Dancing by Mira Jacob
Reviewed by Victoria Best How much are we responsible for the things that happen to the people we love? This is one of the underpinning themes of Mira Jacob’s sprawling,…
House of Ashes by Monique Roffey
Reviewed by Jean Morris Had I not so much enjoyed Monique Roffey’s previous novels, each one more than the last, I’m not sure I’d have wanted to read House of Ashes,…
In Love and War by Alex Preston
By Victoria Best It is 1937 and disgraced Cambridge student, Esmond Lowndes – caught in bed with another boy by the Master of Emmanuel College, no less – is being…
The Scatter Here is Too Great by Bilal Tanweer
Reviewed by Denise Kong If, as I do, you use Yahoo Mail, it’s impossible to log in without being enticed into clicking on some lurid headline about an outrageous wrong…
The Grand Duchess of Nowhere by Laurie Graham
Reviewed by Victoria Best Laurie Graham is one of those authors who never seem to get the attention and acknowledgement they deserve. Her novels are engrossing and clever and so,…
The Confabulist by Steven Galloway
Reviewed by Annabel Gaskell. Interest in the great magician and escapologist Harry Houdini seems to be undergoing a revival lately. Christopher Sandford wrote a book about the feud between Houdini…
Stone Mattress by Margaret Atwood
Reviewed by Victoria Best Oh Margaret Atwood, you are so funny and so clever and so full of novelistic wiles! She may be 74 but no author could be less…
Jeeves and the Wedding Bells by Sebastian Faulks
Reviewed by Ali Hope Recently out in paperback is the latest offering from Sebastian Faulks, a novel which resurrects P. G. Wodehouse’s characters of Bertie Wooster and his valet Jeeves….
The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy by Rachel Joyce
Reviewed by Ali Hope The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy is the much anticipated companion novel to The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. This novel has a parallel narrative, rather than…
Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel
Reviewed by Annabel Gaskell This book may have shocking pink endpapers, but between them is the most elegant novel of speculative fiction that I’ve read in a long time –…
Angelica’s Smile by Andrea Camilleri
Translated by Stephen Sartarelli Reviewed by Elaine Simpson-Long I discovered the Inspector Montalbano books by Camilleri some six or seven years ago and at first wasn’t sure I liked them…
When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloomed by Bradley Greenburg
Reviewed by Victoria Best One of the best experiences in reviewing books is when a book for which you have no particular expectations turns out to be both engrossing and…
Tigerman by Nick Harkaway
Reviewed by Annabel Gaskell At the time of writing, I have the pleasure of telling you that Tigerman, with its stunning cover artwork, is the best novel I’ve read this year. My…
The Day of the Dead by Maurizio de Giovanni
Translated by Antony Shugaar Reviewed by Falaise On a miserable morning in 1930, a small, undernourished child is found dead at the foot of the Tondo di Capodimonte steps in Naples,…
Glow by Ned Beauman
Reviewed by Simon Thomas When you’ve established yourself as a (Booker longlisted) quirky historical novelist – if such a title can be given to an author whose first two novels…