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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To all appearances Joanna Emerson is a fully qualified, gold-medalled graduate of the world’s finest college of Nursery Nurses. No sooner is she engaged as a nanny to Benedict, newly born heir to a vast cosmetic fortune however, than she becomes caught up in a complex kidnap plot.
Read MoreThe fifth in a series of witty, erudite suspense mysteries by the celebrated classic author, with an independent, smart heroine and an ending sure to surprise.
Read MoreA feel-good novel about a young woman finding the courage to step into her new community and make friends, with the help of some very cute otters - from the bestselling author of Away with the Penguins.
Read MoreDetective Matthew Venn returns in The Raging Storm, the next captivating novel in the Two Rivers series from Ann Cleeves, the number one bestselling author and creator of Vera and Shetland.
Dr B. McRannoch, a savvy and tough young woman, is staying in the Bahamas with her father. However, when Sir Bart Edgecome, a British agent who has been positioned with arsenic falls ill on his way back from New York, she becomes involved in a series of events beyond her wildest imagination.Drawn into an espionage plot with multiple suspects, it is only the presence of enigmatic portrait painter Johnson Johnson on his yacht, Dolly, that saves the day. But nothing is quite as straightforward as it at first seems.
Read MoreWhen Sarah Cassells, a young British woman who has just completed her training as a chef, hears of her father’s violent death on Ibiza, she refuses to believe it is suicide. She goes to Ibiza to investigate and becomes involved with an art dealer; with two beautiful jetsetters; with her brother’s strange predicament; with a remarkable American woman who is not all what she seems – and with Johnson Johnson, the mysterious portrait painter who shows up on his yacht, Dolly. As Ibiza prepares to celebrate Holy Week with the traditional processions, events become more and more macabre….
Read MoreIn a prestigious Edinburgh apartment building, gym receptionist Evie whiles away long hours doodling the deaths of residents who’ve annoyed her. On her birthday of all days, a man slumps off the exercise bike — dead. She tries to get help, but someone has locked the doors and the phones are out of reach. When another resident collapses inexplicably, Evie realises the deaths resemble those she drew … and her sketchbook is missing. Was she framed….or is she next?
Read MoreRacing towards the dark heart of Brazil, explosives expert Jaq Silver has one goal - vengeance. When her enemies take what she values most she resolves to make them pay. Unsure who to trust, alert to hidden agendas, Jaq is hunting solo s the web of danger and corruption tightens round her.
Read MoreTina Rossi, the world's leading coloratura soprano, has travelled to Edinburgh, ostensibly to sing in the Festival but really to meet her lover. Instead of finding top scientist Kenneth Holmes at their rendezvous she discovers the corpse of a stranger. Enter Johnson Johnson, a famous but enigmatic portrait painter whose yacht Dolly is about to sail in a race around the Inner Hebrides.
Read MoreRita, a small, tough Scottish makeup artist, is on Madeira trying to find out who killed Kim-Jim, an American makeup supremo. Anchored off the island is Dolly, the yacht of Johnson Johnson, with whom she teams up.
Read MoreJack Fogel always wanted to work in TV, not run the family business. He thought he'd escaped, until his father's heart attack saddled him with Fogel's Kosher Chickens.
Read MoreDark, moving and wry, The Funeral Cryer is both an illuminating depiction of a 'left behind' society and proof that it's never too late to change your life.
Read More‘Wahala’ is the Yoruba word for ‘trouble’. In May’s funny and perceptive debut novel, the trouble is created by a pushy outsider who intrudes herself into the lives of a tight-knit friendship group. Ronke, Simi and Boo have been friends ever since they met at university in Bristol…
Read MoreBrilliant Asha has created an algorithm that could change the nature of social media. Her charismatic husband Cyrus has the personality and charm which are essential to popularise her platform. Will their passionate marriage survive the stress of a tech startup?
Read MoreIt’s summer 1994, and three eighteen year old girls are working in a shirt factory in a country town. They’re waiting for the exam results and all they want is to earn some money while having as much fun as possible. But this is Northern Ireland, so there are obstacles to overcome before Maeve, Caroline and Aoife can head off into the big wide world.
Read More‘They kept each other in the dark. Only when the light got in did the Ghoramis start falling apart.’ Yasmin’s attempts to cast light on her family’s secrets is touching and funny.
Read MoreChemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, she would be the first to point out that there is no such thing. But it’s the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute take a very unscientific view of equality.
It looks as if the long-standing friendship of Ellen and Alexa is about to crumble and fall, taking with it Alexa and Ben’s promising love affair. There are lots of laughs while flatmate Jack tries to save the situation.
Read MoreBee is working all hours to build up her dressmaking business and Nick is freelancing as a literary editor. Both of them are lonely and open to a relationship, but through no fault of their own, unimaginable difficulties stand in the way of their love affair. Fortunately the nature of their problem allows plenty of scope for humour.
Read MoreThe Hanrahan clan gather to support famous artist and notorious egoist Ray, as he prepares for his first exhibition in decades. He is sure it will polish his reputation for good. But what will happen if his family make the changes necessary for their own happiness?
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.
