September 5, 2017 The Bedlam Stacks by Natasha Pulley Reviewed by Annabel Natasha Pulley’s debut novel, The Watchmaker of Filigree Street (which I reviewed here in 2015), was a wonderful discovery. A period…
August 24, 2017 The Bestseller Code by Jodie Archer and Matthew L. Jocker Reviewed by Annabel Imagine that you train a computer to read and analyse books, input a mix of hundreds and ask it to predict…
August 17, 2017 The Music Shop by Rachel Joyce Review by Annabel This certainly is the year for novels about popular music, of the vinyl persuasion and the power of picking just the…
August 15, 2017 The Children of Jocasta by Natalie Haynes Reviewed by Annabel Natalie Haynes may be most familiar to you as a journalist and broadcaster, popping up on various shows and with her…
August 8, 2017 Can You Hear Me? by Elena Varvello Translated by Alex Valente Review by Annabel Can you hear me? is no ordinary psychological thriller – to pigeonhole it into that sub-genre would…
August 3, 2017 Five Fascinating Facts about… Anthony Burgess Compiled by Annabel Researching Burgess for this article, I found so many nuggets, I could easily have compiled a list of fifty facts –…
August 1, 2017 Questions for Louise Welsh about Plague Times Trilogy Questions by Annabel Annabel: When you began writing these books, had you already planned a trilogy? Had you ever thought that A Lovely Way to Burn could…
August 1, 2017 No Dominion by Louise Welsh Reviewed by Annabel No Dominion is the concluding part of Louise Welsh’s Plague Times Trilogy – a dystopian tale of a pandemic and its…
July 4, 2017 Hot Milk by Deborah Levy Review by Annabel This novel was my first encounter with Levy and I’ll confess, I found Hot Milk a difficult book to read. Levy has an…
June 29, 2017 White Tears by Hari Kunzru Review by Annabel One thing you can say about Kunzru’s previous novels – they will always have interesting themes that connect with the zeitgeist…
June 15, 2017 Questions for Amanda Craig about her novel, The Lie of the Land Interview by Annabel Annabel: I loved reading The Lie of the Land, and it had me giggling all the way through. Before I discuss some of…
June 15, 2017 The Lie of the Land by Amanda Craig Reviewed by Annabel Quentin and Lottie want to divorce – but they can’t afford to. Well, can’t afford to sell their big London house…
June 8, 2017 Running Blind by Desmond Bagley Review by Annabel I’m delighted that the vogue for republishing the best thrillers from the 1960s onwards as exemplified by the books of Lionel…
May 23, 2017 Q&A with Nicholas Royle, author of An English Guide to Birdwatching Interview by Annabel Annabel: Firstly, I apologise, but I must admit, when offered this book for review, I initially mixed you up with the other…
May 23, 2017 An English Guide to Birdwatching by Nicholas Royle Review by Annabel When first offered this book to review – I thought it was finally time to get around to reading one of…
May 9, 2017 Abigail’s Party by Mike Leigh Review by Annabel ‘Little top-up?’ Ever since Alison Steadman playing Beverly uttered those words when Abigail’s Party aired on TV in 1977, they entered…
May 4, 2017 The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden Review by Annabel There is something about stories based upon Russian fairy tales that so appeals. Some authors, as Eowyn Ivey did with her…
April 27, 2017 Q&A with Emma Henderson about ‘The Valentine House’ Questions by Annabel Annabel: Taking the cog railway up the mountain and then a hike from the station brings back happy memories for me of…
April 27, 2017 The Valentine House by Emma Henderson Reviewed by Annabel Here they come. Here they are. Les anglais, the English, les rosbifs. After a rather attention-grabbling opening, in which the ageing…
March 28, 2017 Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller Review by Annabel I reviewed Claire Fuller’s debut novel, Our Endless Numbered Days, for Shiny upon its publication – I loved it and was…
March 23, 2017 Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions by Mario Giordano Translated by John Brownjohn Reviewed by Annabel I’m very glad to have met the irrepressible Auntie Poldi! Our narrator, her beloved nephew, tells us…
March 16, 2017 Hit Makers by Derek Thompson Review by Annabel I came to read this book immediately after devouring UK journalist and presenter Tim Harford’s recent Messy: How to Be Creative…
March 14, 2017 Questions for Martine McDonagh Interview by Annabel Narcissim for Beginners is Martine McDonagh’s third novel, reviewed by Annabel here. Annabel: How did you find the whole Unbound experience? (see our…
March 14, 2017 Narcissism for Beginners by Marine McDonagh Reviewed by Annabel In the interest of full disclosure, Martine and I have never met, but we are Facebook friends after I reviewed her…
March 9, 2017 Mother of Darkness by Venetia Welby Reviewed by Annabel Old Soho ain’t what it used to be. The former centre of London’s seedier side has been largely poshed up, gentrified…
