Book Reviews
The Greatcoat, by Helen Dunmore
By: Marleen Kennedy on February 6, 2012
The year is 1954 and although the war has been over for 9 years Britain is still a bleak place with the remnants of abandoned military bases dotted in the landscape, rationing determining what people can get their hands on and daily comforts being few and far between. Isabel Carey has recently married Philip who [...]
Buried Secrets, by Joseph Finder
By: Mike Stafford on February 6, 2012
In the world of crime and thriller writing, authenticity is king. The genre is filled with ex-cops, lawyers, crime reporters and assorted other experts, and one of the most dedicated among their number is Joseph Finder. As if his time spent working for the CIA didn’t do enough for his credibility, he actually spent time [...]
Tales from the Yoga Studio, by Rain Mitchell
By: Georgina Donlea on February 5, 2012
While there is nothing original about a yoga scene or two being depicted in a novel, there has not been a novel with yoga at its core. Or at least not until now, as far as Rain Mitchell is aware. It comes as no surprise to learn that Mitchell has been practicing yoga for years, [...]
Degrees of Freedom, by Simon Morden
By: Simon Appleby on February 4, 2012
Degrees of Freedom completes the trilogy that began with Equations of Life and continued with Theories of Flight, and once again Samuil Petrovitch is in the thick of the action. Some time has passed since the events of the previous book, and Petrovitch has been hard at work rebuilding the Freezone, the northern half of [...]
The Real ‘Dad’s Army’, by Col. Rodney Foster
By: John Redfearn on February 3, 2012
Ok, you can forget about Dad’s Army now, this isn’t about them. This is the diary of a fairly ordinary bloke who lived in one of the dullest towns in the dullest of countries and whose main excitement before the war was from sitting on the local RSPCA committee and visiting friends and family for [...]
Hollywood Hills, by Joseph Wambaugh
By: Mike Stafford on February 2, 2012
Before even getting to the content of Hollywood Hills, let’s discuss that cover. Corvus have turned out some seriously striking stuff of late, but this one, a dark, moody number designed by Blacksheep, is a thing of majestic beauty. I would quite happily get this blown up, poster-sized, and displayed on my living room wall. [...]
Angelmaker, by Nick Harkaway
By: Simon Appleby on February 2, 2012
Nick Harkaway may be the son of John Le Carré, but for his second novel, the follow-up to The Gone-Away World, he demonstrates once again that his literary genes come from an altogether different part of the pool – because Harkaway’s work owes much more to other writers who have managed to meld the fantastical [...]
Love at Absolute Zero, by Christopher Meeks
By: Amita Murray on February 1, 2012
Remember when you used to hang out at the local boozer hoping to bump into this guy or gal who you couldn’t get out of your head but who refused to do much except play mind games with you? And there, against all the odds, one of those hopeless-making nights, you bumped into the love [...]
Narcopolis, by Jeet Thayil
By: Christopher McKiddie on January 31, 2012
Narcopolis, a multi-generational trawl through the vivid backstreets of Bombay, is poet and performance artist Jeet Thayil’s debut novel, and it shows. Not because it lacks structure or skill – it doesn’t – but because it possesses a keen dynamism and urgency that, were it not for the very adult subject matter, one would be [...]
Pure, by Julianna Baggott
By: Marleen Kennedy on January 30, 2012
Ever since the detonations the world has been split in two. There are those who were singled out for safety before disaster struck. They were taken to the Dome where they still live, safe, secluded and Pure; unblemished by the devastation that destroyed the rest of the world. Outside live those who weren’t deemed good [...]
Revolutionary Road, by Richard Yates
By: Thomas Stewart on January 29, 2012
Richard Yates called Revolutionary Road his political novel. There is, in fact, no politics in the book. However upon its release in 1961 Richard Yates had produced a novel about dark desperation and the constant want to escape. Although the book was not a financial success in the 1960s it seems Sam Mendes’ film saved [...]
Honor’s Paradox, by P.C. Hodgell
By: Jennie Blake on January 28, 2012
P.C. Hodgell’s Jame is back, tumbling down flights of stairs, off of horses, and into and out of the haunted spaces of Rathillien. She is finally nearing the end of her time at Tentir, the school where the Kencyrath send their people to learn the arts of war, and survive, or not, on their own. [...]
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
By: Mike Stafford on January 28, 2012
The concept of the “Great American Novel” has always seemed to me like nationalist navel gazing. Aside from an unwavering desire to brand its cultural products (witness a vast number of films prefixed with the word “American”), I’ve always felt there was something triumphalist about American refusal to be content with the more humble term [...]
Lacrimosa, by Régis Jauffret
By: Julian Philpot on January 27, 2012
Régis Jauffret is a contemporary French author with over 20 works to his name. Lacrimosa is the first to be translated into English, and the first offering by Salammbo Press, a new publisher dedicated to introducing contemporary fiction from “foreign” novelists to English-speaking readers. His previous novels include Sévère, a fictionalized account of the sex [...]
The Ascendant Stars, by Michael Cobley
By: Simon Appleby on January 26, 2012
So the trilogy ends (how many times have I written that in the last few years?) – and Humanity’s Fire reaches its conclusion. Following on from the packed Seeds of Earth and The Orphaned Worlds, Cobley has given himself plenty of loose ends to tie up: the fate of Darien hangs in the balance, with [...]
Naked Heat, by Richard Castle
By: John Redfearn on January 26, 2012
Everybody knows it, it’s an open secret. When world-famous author Rick Castle writes about Jameson Rook and Nikki Heat he’s really writing about Richard Castle and Kate Beckett. Castle, who resembles Nathan Fillion so strongly they could be twins, swung a deal to shadow the renowned New York homicide detective and her team to provide [...]
The Diviner’s Tale, by Bradford Morrow
By: Sara Garland on January 25, 2012
Cassandra Brooks leads a somewhat insular and refrained social life, because she has a calling as a diviner. Although her skill is in water divination, she sometimes has pre-sight where she can visualise/sense something that’s about to happen to people. This included the death of her brother, which despite voicing her concerns was unable to [...]
Finders Keepers, by Belinda Bauer
By: Sara Garland on January 24, 2012
‘You Don’t love him,’ the first message the kidnapper leaves at the scene after the abduction of the first Exmoor victim, 8-year-old Charlie Peach. A seemingly plotted and deliberate act with inside reason. But the suspense unfolds as more children are snatched without a trace and a similar note left – not all of them [...]
The Lies of Locke Lamora, by Scott Lynch
By: Ian Simpson on January 24, 2012
I have to say that, despite the spelling, I found the title of Lynch’s début quite misleading. I wonder if it was deliberate on his part, or maybe it’s just me? Before I read the blurb, I assumed it was about a place, perhaps in Scotland. No. Locke is the protagonist of the tale. And [...]
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, by John le Carré
By: Mike Stafford on January 23, 2012
Late last year, I made the mistake of admitting, in public, having never read any John le Carré. It wasn’t a pleasant experience; anyone wishing to approximate it should try standing on any street in America announcing never having tried cheeseburgers. So, with the shame still burning my cheeks, I set about resolving the situation. [...]
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The Bookgeeks Interview
Simon Kernick
Simon Kernick is one of Britain’s most exciting new thriller writers. He arrived on the crime writing scene with his highly acclaimed debut novel The Business of Dying, the story of a corrupt cop moonlighting as a hitman. However, Simon’s big breakthrough came with his novel Relentless which was selected by Richard and Judy for [...]
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Five copies of John le Carré’s Smiley vs Karla Trilogy to be won
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy was one of the big film releases of 2011, and to celebrate its release on DVD we have five copies of John le Carré’s Smiley vs Karla Trilogy to be won – consisting of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Honourable Schoolboy and Smiley’s People.
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