The Octopus Man by Jasper Gibson
Review by Anne Goodwin Tom doesn’t expect life to be easy; it’s more important to follow a true path. Single, jobless and reliant on benefits, he prioritises abstinence, spreading kindness,…
Dark Water by Elizabeth Lowry
Reviewed by Anne Goodwin Twenty-one-year-old Hiram Carver, assistant surgeon on the USS Orbis in 1833, senses something special about William Borden when he first sees him on board. The sailor…
Learning from Baby P by Sharon Shoesmith
Reviewed by Anne Goodwin A civilised society must put structures in place to protect the vulnerable. When the vulnerable are children at risk from the actions or inactions of their…
The Voices Within by Charles Fernyhough
Reviewed by Anne Goodwin ‘Yeah, I put that in, surely!’ I laughed when I heard myself saying this the other morning as I stowed my bags in the boot of the…
The Social Brain: How Diversity Made the Modern Mind by Richard Crisp
Reviewed by Anne Goodwin In the decades following the end of the Second World War, social psychology was preoccupied with an attempt to explain how ordinary people could commit such…
Playthings by Alex Pheby
Reviewed by Anne Goodwin “Nothing to be concerned about” Daniel Paul Schreber reassures himself in the opening paragraph of Alex Pheby’s second novel. Just an ordinary day in a middle-class…