Book Review - Exiles by Jane Harper
Another superlative mystery thriller from Jane Harper, the third outing for Detective Aaron Falk. This time the setting is the lush wine country of South Australia, where a young woman has gone missing at a country fair, leaving her child in a pram.
Book Review - Camp Zero - Michelle Min Sterling
Dystopian sci-fi thriller about a group of people trying to establish a new life in North America, as climate change causes society to break down. Set in 2049, this is a chilling look at the near future but there is hope in solidarity.
Book Review - Desert Star - Michael Connelly
Ballard and Bosch are working in the cold case unit, this time investigating the murder of a young girl, sister of the councilman who is sponsoring the department. Harry Bosch has another case on his mind - the Gallagher family, found buried in a hole in the Mojave desert. Another superior thriller from Micheal Connelly.
Book Review - Sea of Tranquility - Emily St. John Mandel
Emily St. John Mandels most recent book is a beguiling mix of the contemporary, historical and science fiction, in a story that arcs over the centuries.
Book Review -Bret Easton Ellis - The Shards
Sharp and engaging work of autofiction about a group of wealthy teenagers in 80’s LA, with a serial killer on the prowl. Dark and disturbing as you’d expect, but a page turner and great fun.
Book Review - Moonflower Murders - Anthony Horowitz
Another successful outing for Susan Ryeland and Atticus Pünd, in a follow up to the acclaimed ‘Magpie Murders.’ With two detective stories for the price of one, it feels like a tribute to the classics of the genre. Complex and labyrinth, this is hugely enjoyable.
Book Review - Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy - John le Carre
In ‘Tinker, tailor, soldier, spy’ George Smiley is on the trail of a mole. It’s a battle of wits between him and Karla, his nemesis in the Russian secret service. Le Carré is a master craftsman and this is superb tale of betrayal and espionage.
Book Review - The Glass hotel by Emily St. John Mandel
‘The glass hotel’ is a lyrical and haunting novel, with overlapping stories and a multi textured narrative. It’s about surviving grief and loneliness and searching for meaning.
Book Review - Magpie murders by Anthony Horowitz
A fun and extremely clever slice of detective fiction from Anthony Horowitz, a book within a book. Reads like a greatest hits tribute to the golden age of crime mystery novels.
Book Review - Ordinary Grace - William Kent Krueger
Frank Drumm looks back at a summer 40 years previously in a sleepy Minnesota town, when the discovery of a young boys body was to be the start of a fateful summer that would have an impact on his life. A well written and engaging thriller.
Book Review - Fair Warning by Michael Connelly
The third book in Michael Connelly’s Jack McEvoy series works just as well as a stand alone thriller, with the investigative reporter on the trail of a serial killer. Feels up to date, with issues such as genetic research, the dark web, and Incel groups. Literally a cracking read.
Book Review - Stephen King - Fairy Tale
Stephen King’s new book is about a boy and his dog, who set out on high stakes adventure in a strange world. King has a lot of fun with elements of fairy tales, but how does it compare to previous efforts?
Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
A classic for good reason, this gothic psychological thriller has stood the test of time.
Book Review - The Daughter of Doctor Moreau - Silvia Moreno Garcia
Intriguing and very readable book, best described as Historical gothic fiction, about a secluded estate where a doctor who conducts mysterious experiments lives with his daughter, overseer and extended family. A new arrival upsets the balance in this idyllic place and things will never be the same again.
Bad Relations - Cressida Connolly
Wonderfully written and well paced multi generational story that moves from the Crimean battlefields to an English summer in the seventies. An evocative, well paced story with interesting characters in a book I devoured in a couple of days.
Book Review - The Island - Adrian McKinty
Rip roaring and fun thriller about a family on a trip to Australia who just want to see some Koalas. What could go wrong?
Book Review - The Night Watchman - Louise Erdrich
Louise Erdrich’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel tells the story of a Native American tribe via a varied cast of characters and their fight to resist eviction from their ancestral homeland, and the problems they faced during the 1950’s.
Book Review-Piranesi - Susanna Clarke
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke is an wonderfully immersive work of fantasy, set inside a world of halls and vestibules, water and statues, that soon grabs you with its strangeness. Wonderfully compelling.
Book Review - Grand Hotel Europa - Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer
A book which uses the faded glory of the Grand Hotel Europa to tell a story of how the continent trades on it’s past but at the expense of what? Also looks at populism and tourism, it’s a long book but informative and readable.
Book review - Station Eleven - Emily St. John Mandel
After the world collapses following a devastating pandemic, this book follows the lives of some of the survivors and how their lives intersect. A moving and thought provoking book that contains moments of real beauty.
