In my book blog, I review my favourite fiction genres: comedy, community, crime. I enjoy all three equally, but I’m always delighted when I find new books where they overlap.
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Roxanne Bouchard writes like a poet who has known back-breaking manual labour. Reeling in lobster nets was how she researched her critically acclaimed first novel, We Were The Salt of the Sea, which is currently top of my to-be-read list. David Warriner’s superb translation enhances the lyrical language of The Coral Bride. Sentences like ‘The sea is a liar and all men are traitors!’ can make a susceptible reader’s heart beat faster.
Read MoreWinner of the Blackbird Award for new Icelandic fiction, Aegisdottir’s multi-layered tale of small-town life, with its threatening undertones of abuse and murder, shows all the signs of being the first in an addictive series. Faced with what appears to be a random, motiveless act of violence, a young female detective feels compelled to seek justice for the victim.
Read MoreI’ve been and gone and done it, all by myself! My debut novella, ‘Up the Community Centre Book One: The Thank You Sweets’ is live on Amazon.
How did I achieve this amazing feat, with my limited, and mostly self-taught, tech skills? I’d already begun my career when the internet was created, so I had to pick up knowledge about information technology in random chunks. As a result, I missed out on many basics. I like to describe my relationship with technology by comparing myself to a driver who hates turning right across traffic, and therefore plans routes where they only have to take left turns. I get there in the end, but often it’s a slow journey. My path to KDP was snail paced, but at last, I’ve arrived.
Read MoreWhat I liked most about Malik’s entertaining third novel is the way she asks questions about significant issues, without demonising any of her engaging cast of characters. What is home? Does economic progress change who we are? When we speak or write about religion and culture, are we driven by underlying attitudes? How can we identify our unconscious biases?
Read More‘With the benefit of hindsight, it was clear that Úrsula’s promise, made on her very first day in office, was her downfall.’ In the opening lines of her new thriller, shortlisted for the Glass Key Award for best Nordic crime novel, Sigurdardottir sets out the path her protagonist must follow.
Read MoreMurder and despair link Boyle’s characters, but with Brooklyn rhythms embedded in their speech, their interactions are vivid and uplifting. Donnie is a disgraced ex-cop with blood on his hands. Lonely widow Ava, ruined by the debt her husband built up to a vicious crime boss, is trapped in a job she despises.
Read MoreLonghand is a hilarious venture into alternate mythology. To be its protagonist, Andy Hamilton has created Malcolm George Galbraith. Half a dozen pages into the book, I felt as if I’d known this large, clumsy Scotsman all my life, and in a way, I have. Malcolm’s explanation of why he writes in longhand is revealing. ‘I smashed up my laptop. I pounded it into wee tiny bits then threw the pieces into the river.’ Our hero has lived a long, tumultuous life, and his adventures are celebrated in popular culture, but when we encounter him, he is facing the loss of everything he holds dear.
Read MoreStreet cats, crying from hunger, instantly claim our attention, but to understand what a fellow human being has suffered, we have to walk a mile in their shoes. Before we can do this, we must get to know them. In the first few chapters of Nour’s bewitching book, we learn about Sami’s early life, when Syria was at peace: growing up in a close-knit family, keeping a pet turtle on the roof, winning calligraphy competitions, helping his mother feed stray cats, falling in love, setting up a small business. Then, a merciless civil war and enforced military service shattered his world.
Read MoreFrom the very beginning of her engaging debut novel, Louise Hare shows the reader that the West Indian protagonist, jazz musician Laurie Matthews, is going to have a rough time, making a new life for himself in London. It’s 1950, London has begun the long process of recovering from the destruction wreaked by WW2, and times are hard. ‘Austerity they called it, as if giving it a name made it more acceptable to those struggling to make ends meet.’ Laurie and his compatriots have answered England’s call for help in rebuilding the economy.
Read MoreIn her beautifully written debut novel, Sue Clark tells a story that will make you laugh a lot and cry a little. She has created two convincing, realistic characters, each of whom is on the point of succumbing to an impossible situation. By introducing Eloise and Bradley, and making them bounce hilariously off each other, she not only saves them both, but also gives them hope for the future. I recommend Note to Boy to book clubs, not only because of its high entertainment value, but also because it bridges the generation gap and presents decades of social history, in a style as light and digestible as a macaroon; or, as Eloise would call it, a ‘Cameroon’.
Read More‘When’s Daddy Coming Home’ is a heartbreaking real life story that demands to be told. Anyone who is thinking of starting a business, in a country where they do not understand the legal system, must read this book. Also, in our current situation of emerging from a pandemic, it is timely to remember the ripple effect of the international financial crisis of 2008. Margetts’ experiences are narrated in first person, expressing the genuine feelings and emotions of an ordinary parent in an unbearable situation. This is not an easy read, and some of the phrases he uses may offend.
Read MoreIf you like quirky crime novels, you’ll love Blackwatertown. I relished every page, because I was born in Northern Ireland, where my ancestors were farmers and police officers, and my grandfather marched with the Orange Order. Rural Ulster communities, like the 1950s townland sensitively described by Paul Waters, are part of my family history. When I read the account of Catholic Constable Macken’s enforced attendance at a social event in the Orange Hall, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. I had many questions for Paul, and I’m delighted to present his thoughtful answers.
Read MoreDuring my search for advice and ideas about self-publishing, I’ve interviewed two professional authors, Rose McClelland from Northern Ireland and Dave Sivers, whose books are set in Buckinghamshire’s Aylesbury Vale. At first sight, it appears that their novels have little in common, but they share a strong sense of place, and a sensitivity to issues of mental health. In ‘Under Your Skin’ Rose’s characters suffer psychological abuse, while Dave’s protagonist has trust issues. Both authors describe ordinary people struggling to maintain a sense of well-being under extreme stress.
Read More‘A controversial new property development is planned in Whitstable, to the dismay of Whitstable residents who view it as a threat to local wildlife. A campaign is spearheaded by Martha Laker, a committed environmentalist and no stranger to controversy. The resulting tensions strain local restaurateur Pearl's close relationship with London-born police officer, DCI Mike McGuire. The protest goes ahead, and residents claim a moral victory. But the victory is short lived when Pearl discovers a dead body on the Downs.’
Read More‘The near future. Earth has been invaded by the L’zuhl, an aggressive, imperialistic alien race who have laid waste to the galaxy for centuries. The few human survivors have been evacuated to the farthest reaches of space to rebuild and fight back against the L’zuhl onslaught. There, on the distant planet of Palangonia, in a large, walled compound that houses the new human colony, lives the former Newcastle United and England boss Kevin Keegan, now manager of Palangonia FC.
Read MoreIn his fourth novel, Rod Reynolds has perfectly captured the invigorating mix of aspiration and survival that makes up London’s atmosphere. He plunges the reader deep into the experience of metropolitan life, during a recent past that seems, while I write in Covid lockdown, like a half-remembered dream
Read MoreHelen Fitzgerald’s third novel, ‘Ash Mountain’, blends powerful action with deep and painful emotion. The book tracks the poisonous effects of hidden corruption, invisible but deadly, over thirty years. To tell Fran’s story, Fitzgerald expertly juggles three time periods; the day of a cataclysmic natural disaster, the days leading up to it and Fran’s fifteenth year.
Read MoreWhen his friend Daniel Cartwright dies and names Rowland Sinclair as his executor, Rowland must divert his plans to return home to Australia from Singapore and travel to America. Daniel was vastly wealthy but appears to have disinherited his family in favour of a man called Otis Norcross, whom no one can find.
Read MoreNo-one is a mystery to their beautician. Working in the glamour industry will teach you more about personality and motivation than any academic study. I’d love to tell the story of Troy from the point of view of the slave girl who threaded Helen’s eyebrows, describe the Napoleonic wars in the voice of Josephine’s maid or describe the challenges facing Lady Macbeth’s manicurist. ‘Out, out, damned liver spot!’
Read MoreOslo detective Frølich searches for the mysterious sister of a young female asylum seeker, but when people start to die, everything points to an old case and a series of events that someone will do anything to hide.
Read MoreThe reader can learn a lot from Bonnie Garmus’ brilliant debut novel - and not only about chemistry. The story of Elizabeth Zott, scientist, tells us how ambitious women in America struggled to make their voices heard in the 1950s and 60s.
