Tag: fiction

November book reviews

I’ve read quite a few books in the last month, thanks to NetGalley, and some were better than others.

Endeavouring to be more organised and helpful to my readers, I’m just going to include on my blog books which have just been or are about to be published, rather than those not due to be released for months hence.

And, following in the footsteps of my old friend from the lifestyle and fashion blog, Is This Mutton, I’m only going to include reviews of three stars and over. (Sadly, I’ve had a few two-star ones in recent months. You can read my reviews of these and others on the Goodreads website.)

I can’t imagine anyone wanting to read a book if a reviewer thinks it’s duff. And it’s a bit soul destroying for authors to get a pasting online – writing is a tough enough world as it is.

However, saying that, I’m going to include my review of the latest John Grisham novel, because I was expecting such great things from this esteemed and prolific author. And, besides, his career is not going to nosedive just because a nobody from Dorset said she didn’t like his book.

No Friend To This House by Natalie Haynes ****

Published September 2025.

In her latest retelling of the Greek myths, Natalie Haynes turns to Jason & the Argonauts and the Medea story. The tale of the handsome hero who seizes the golden fleece, with help from the witch, Medea, is well-known, particularly to those of us brought up with the 1960s classic movie.

The Medea story, as told by Greek playwright Euripides and first performed in 431 BC, is a staple of the stage even to this day, with various adaptations and audiences trying to make sense of why the protagonist murders her two sons.

Tying the two halves of the story together in the one novel was always going to be a challenge. The first half is a swashbuckling quest and the second is a dark tragedy. But who better to meld the two together than Haynes, a writer, broadcaster, classicist and comedian whose novels include Stone Blind (about Medusa) and A Thousand Ships, which sees the Trojan War from the perspective of the women involved.

No Friend to This House centres on the roles played by Jason and Medea – and the Greek gods as puppeteers – in seizing the golden fleece from the far eastern edge of the Black Sea and taking it to Colchis, encountering dreadful obstacles along the way. Medea’s magic enables them to get through their ordeals.

They end up in Corinth, married with children, and then Jason announces he is in love with Glauke, the princess, and is getting wed. Medea enacts a terrible revenge, but is it any wonder? She’s been deceived by her conniving husband. But killing her sons? How on earth can this be explained?

Haynes does so with aplomb – no spoilers here, but there is a final plot twist – in a nuanced and layered story, with multiple narrators and viewpoints. Highly recommended.

(I first reviewed this book for the Historical Novel Society.)

Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall ***

Published March 2025.

I came to this wanting to love it as I’d heard so much about it. I thought it might be a sort of British version of To Be Sung Underwater (2011) by Tom McNeal. I adored that novel.

Set in rural Dorset in the 1950s and 1960s, Broken Country sees Beth’s world turned upside down when her first love comes back into her life.

Grieving for Bobby, the young son she lost, Beth makes a momentous – and reckless – choice. It can only lead to heartache and pain.

Spoiler alert: it does.

Broken Country is a story of loss, love and betrayal. Part thriller, part courtroom drama, the reader will be on the edge of their seat when this is made into a film by Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine production company, which also made Where The Crawdads Sing.

Readers raved about that book, as they are raving about this one. I was not a fan of the former – but if we all liked the same fiction, it would be a very dull world indeed.

Broken Country is a good yarn. The ‘heroine’ is not very likeable but this cracking story will become a book club favourite and convert well to the big screen.

I could see the denouement a mile off but, even so, it was a satisfying ending which tied up loose ends, although I felt cheated by Beth, as a first person narrator, telling me only half a story and leaving the juicy bit until last.

The Widow by John Grisham **

Published October 2025.

A down-at-heel lawyer with gambling debts and a failing marriage takes on a new client. She is seemingly a wealthy widow who wants him to take a look at the will prepared by another lawyer in town. Our protagonist soon realises the other lawyer has carved out a sizeable chunk of her fortune for himself – can he help her out while, at the same time, solve some of his own financial worries by being a little dishonest himself?

I’ve read some cracking John Grisham books in the past but, sorry, this isn’t one of them. It was a huge disappoinment and lacking the urgency and intrigue of Grisham’s earlier work.

The relationship between the main character and the widow drags on, as does his family story, with lots of telling and not much showing. Then a court case ensues, followed by a wrongful imprisonment and then another character who comes into the frame only in the third part. And then it ends very abruptly to the point that I thought I was missing some pages from the Kindle. Apparently not.

I skim read in the end, wanting to know what had happened and why, but it was quite a few nights’ reading I will never get back.

October book reviews

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advance review copy of these two novels in exchange for an honest review.

I’m currently reading Broken Country by Claire Leslie Hall, who is coming to speak at the always excellent Bridport Literary Festival. Set in Dorset in the 1950s and 1960s, the novel is being turned into a film by Reese Witherspoon’s production company, Hello Sunshine.

I’m also just about to start The Widow by the master of the courtroom drama thriller, John Grisham. It comes out later this month.

Good People by Patmeena Sabit *****

Expected publication 10 February 2026

The Sharaf family live in Virginia, USA, after fleeing from war-torn Afghanistan to safety in America. The couple have four children and the nub of the plot is what happens when the older daughter embraces a western way of life and rejects the family’s traditional Muslim culture.

The story is told chapter by short chapter through the voices of the people who know the family or are somehow involved in the aftermath of a terrible incident which threatens to tear the family apart. It takes a while to learn what has happened and to whom, by which time we have learned more about the family and their pursuit of the American dream.

The bystander narration works well, like a documentary, but we can never really be sure of the interal workings and motivation of the characters because we are never inside their heads. This ‘reportage’ style is effective, with unreliable narrators vying to give their opinions, making for a powerful narrative, full of speculation and sometimes prejudice.

However, it is also tricky because all we know about the family is what others tell us. At the end, we’re still not sure if the outcome is just or not, because we don’t know the truth. This is slightly frustrating, but is a really thought provoking device because it confirms or goes against the reader’s own thoughts and prejudices.

The novel does not shy away from racism and Islamophobia, and the discussions around that make it an even stronger book.

It was a compelling story, which flowed very easily. I thought the author did a terrific job in capturing the different voices in a totally authentic way.

Recommended.

A Far-flung Life by M L Stedman ***

Expected publication 3 March 2026

This is one of those novels that I romped through (apart from the middle, which sagged a bit for me) and then spent several days pondering the story.

Set in the Australian outback, mostly in the 1950s and 60s, this is a family saga which starts with a terrible tragedy and then more trauma is piled on top.

Sounds depressing, but it wasn’t. The author writes well and it’s an easy read, with short chapters from different perspectives – family and the few characters around them.

It’s about family secrets, coming to terms with awfulness and how you deal with it. Everyone is coping with their own personal tragedy and the interaction between the characters is like when snooker balls are hit by a cue.

Stedman’s The Light Between Oceans (a much better title than A Far-flung Life) was made into a successful film. I’m not sure that this would work so well, as some of the subjects tackled are difficult to handle on the big screen although, in the novel, they work because the reader empathises with the characters, largely because of the writer’s skill.

I enjoyed this book and will recommend it. I didn’t love it and, to be consistent with my ratings, I’m giving it three stars.

July book reviews

I’ve read a bumper crop of novels this past month, thanks to NetGalley and the publishers who’ve given me advance copies in exchange for honest reviews.

There have been some really brilliant ones, which I’ve very much enjoyed. Also a couple of stinkers (in my opinion) but I’ve decided that anything I’ve awarded fewer than three stars won’t appear here. All my book reviews – for the stellar and the stinkers – are on Goodreads.

One of Us by Elizabeth Day *****

Publication expected September 2025

Razor sharp, well written, intriguing and right on trend – that’s One of Us by Elizabeth Day.

Martin, a former art critic and now working as a university professor at Cambridge – but not that university – has a secret about his old school friend, Ben, who is now an eminent Tory politician on a star-studded trajectory to becoming prime minister.

Everyone around Martin has secrets. In a ruthless world of political scandal, privilege, passion, insecurity, betrayal and lies, his desire for revenge has repercussions far greater than he could ever have imagined

Told from the viewpoints of all the major players, this was a cracking read, a kind of House of Cards for 2025 but told on a much more personal level, with humour, insight and keen observations, and characters with more than a passing resemblance to some famous politicans.

Highly recommended.

Party of Liars by Kelsey Cox *****

Published July 2025

From the outset of this novel, the reader has an ominous feeling about the house on the hill where the ‘party of liars’ is about to convene.

Set high above the Texas countryside, the gothic-style property is haunted by ‘The Mother’, according to local legend and stories. After years of dereliction, the house has been restored into a designer mansion, with one side stripped back and glazed, almost like a dolls’ house.

This is the venue for a 16th birthday party where secrets, lies, murder and mystery come to the surface. Whose is the body hinted at that has fallen from a balcony? And who did the deed?

Party of Liars is that perfect crime novel to binge – short chapters from multiple viewpoints, shifting perspectives and timelines but not (hurrah!) confusing to follow.

Very well written, with pace and panache, the narrative featured tricky subjects but keeps the reader hooked throughout.

Highly recommended.

Buckeye by Patrick Ryan ***

Publication expected September 2025

This was a novel that revealed its storyline quietly and slowly in a family saga that spans two generations in small town America, spanning World War II and the end of the Vietnam War. It’s a novel with vividly drawn characters, all with their own motivations, wants and desires. And it’s the desires that come to haunt them – is it better to keep a secret or, faced with living proof that desire has happened, come clean and face the repercussions? And if you do come clean, is there ever a right time to do it?

It was beautifully written in parts, and reminded me of the novel, Stoner. It had me thinking for several days afterwards about the consequences of reckless acts and repressed feelings, which has to be a good thing in a novel.

I enjoyed the first and third parts but struggled with the middle, hence I’m giving it three stars.

Love, Mom by Iliana Xander ***

First published October 2024.

When Kenzie receives letters from her (dead) mother, who was a bestselling novelist, she unravels a network of lies, secrets and tragedy.

She never got on with her late mother but finds herself sucked in and intrigued by the mystery, which she sets out to resolve with her friend.

Set in small town USA, this was an interesting, undemanding yet gripping novel, full of twists and turns and good and bad characters and an unexpected direction and a climactic ending.

It was a clever story and great plot, which would work well as a film or TV series. However, as a reader I wanted to know more – there were characters and parts of the story I felt were underdeveloped. It felt like a YA novel (maybe it was) and lacked a bit of depth.

For this reason I’m giving it three stars.

The Lucky Winners by K L Slater ***

Publication expected August 2025

Down on their luck and struggling to pay the rent, Dev buys his wife, Merri, a ticket for a prize draw to win a luxury house in the Lake District. Merri is a glass half-empty sort of person because of something terrible that happened years ago. She’s cross with Dev, a glass half-full kind of person, for spending £20 on the ticket. They end up winning first prize and move to this grand show home overlooking Lake Windemere. But Merri can’t shake off the ghosts of her past and locals seem to be lining up against them.

This is a light thriller, with a dual timeline to help make sense of Merri’s seeming paranoia. It’s tautly written, would work well as TV drama but wasn’t as suspenseful or thrilling as I’d hoped, although the ‘winning a luxury house’ aspect was very topical.

June book reviews

With thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for advance review copies of these novels in exchange for an honest review.

We Are All Guilty Here by Karin Slaughter *****

Published 19 June 2025.

Well, this was one of those crime thrillers I could not put down. I sat for hours to finish it, while other things went on around me, because it was so compelling.

In small town America on the night of the fourth of July, policewoman Emmy is so wrapped up in her own domestic issues that she brushes off an approach by her best friend’s moody teenage daughter, Madison. This split second decision comes to haunt her when Madison is abducted. Thus begins a race against time to find the missing teenager and her friend.

Throw into the mix Emmy’s beloved father as the sheriff, some shady men hiding in plain sight and a visit to the town by a woman who had long since abandoned the community, only to become a top profiler for the FBI, then you have a recipe for success.

I won’t go into the plot for fear of spoilers but, believe me, if you like a fast-paced crime thriller, with plenty of layers, then this is it.

A brilliant read but not for the faint hearted.

Death and Other Occupational Hazards by Veronika Dapunt ***

Published 10 April 2025.

When Death decides to take a break, she becomes a human on earth, and becomes involved in trying to solve the mystery around a number of Unplanned Deaths and, ultimately, locked in a battle to save her sister, Life.

A very clever premise and concept and written with warmth and humour. An unusual novel – adventure, fantasy, comedy and a splash of romance – in the vein of Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman’s Good Omens. It is most enjoyable and would make an incredible serial. It reminded me of Time Bandits, the film by Terry Gilliam, and I kept visualising the Boss as Ralph Richardson playing the Supreme Being.

It was well written, and pacy, but I became rather confused and/or ‘so what?’ around halfway in. Still, a poignant finish and the novel raised some fundamental, existential questions.

The Rest of our Lives by Ben Markovits ***

Published 27 March 2025.

This was beautifully written, a road trip of sorts by a middle-aged man at a crossroads in his life after his daughter goes to university. Does he go back home, to the wife who betrayed him years ago and with whom he’s stayed married, or does he just keep driving? It’s no spoiler alert to say he keeps on driving – but does he make the best of things with his wife?

The writing style was like someone speaking to a friend, telling them a story, and was very readable and relateable.

Things happen on the trip, as he meets family and friends along the way.
The ending was inconclusive for me, and I felt a bit frustrated and cheated by it, so am giving it three stars.

May book reviews

I’m a reviewer for NetGalley, which means I get to read books before they are published, in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve had some great ones (and not so great ones) lately. My happy genres are crime thrillers, literary fiction, coming-of-age novels (particularly those set in small communities) and heartwarming fiction.

My reviews are posted to Goodreads.

Here’s three stonkingly good books I read earlier.

By Your Side by Ruth Jones *****

Published 22 May 2025.

Linda Standish has worked for her local council in Inverness for years and is in the little-known lost heirs department. Her job is to find out what she can about the deceased and track down their relatives, tying up loose ends and bringing things together in a tidy fashion.

Linda is now in her mid-fifties and the department is facing a shake-up. In her last ‘case’ before taking redundancy, Linda finds herself on a tiny island, investigating the life of Levi Norman, a hermit of a man no-one knows very much about.

This was my first Ruth Jones novel – I love her screenwriting and also her television roles (especially Nessa in Gavin & Stacey), so was pleased to be sent this book from NetGalley and the publishers.

I was not disappointed.

By Your Side is a lovely, easy read, with lots of humour, heart and warmth, and holds its head higher above its women’s commercial fiction competitors by really getting to the kernel of characters and taking the reader with them, laughing with them, crying with them, and wanting to find out what happens.

The dual narrative between Linda in the present and Levi and his family in the past works very well, with the reader quite comfortable in both time zones. It’s pacy, funny and would make a great Sunday everning television series, with Ruth (obviously) taking the role of Linda.

Highly recommended.

A Beautiful Family by Jennifer Trevelyan *****

Expected publication 24 June 2025.

In New Zealand in 1985, 10-year-old Alix and her 15=year-old sister, Vanessa, go on a sun-baked holiday with their mother and father, staying in a bungalow not far from the beach and a brackish lagoon.

When Alix meets a boy, Kahu, about her own age, they set out to solve the mystery of a young girl who disappeared two years earlier. At the same time. Vanessa meets a dubious friend, Crystal, who she knows from school.

Set over a few weeks of Antipodean summer, this debut novel is a coming-of-age story meets suspenseful thriller, the first part more the former and the second part more the latter.

This beautiful family on the surface is one that is full of secrets and domestic dissatisfaction, as the reader soon establishes through Alix’s narration. Jennifer Trevelyan captures beautifully the child’s confusion and sense of bewilderment at not just what is happening but at life in general. There are so many things that Alix does not understand or appreciate their significance.

A Beautiful Family is an extraordinary novel, written in the first person, past tense from Alix’s viewpoint, and with a linear narrative. This makes a refreshing change from so many modern novels featuring multiple narrators, flashbacks and the present tense.

Alix is an unlikely heroine but smart, funny and endearing. I found the novel completely absoring and could not put it down.

The Man Made of Smoke by Alex North *****

Published 13 May 2025.

Daniel Garvie was just a child when he saw a little boy at a service station with a terrifying stranger who turns out to be a serial killer known as The Pied Piper. The encounter has always haunted Dan, who is now a criminal psychiatrist working with imprisoned murderers.

When he receives the news that his father has apparently committed suicide, he goes back to the island where he was brought up. He finds himself caught in a race against time in pursuit of the truth.

The Man Made of Smoke is an incredible, horrible thriller. I had me on the edge of my seat with filmic moments that made me shudder.

Weaving the story through multiple viewpoints, Alex North pulls off a masterpiece in the crime/horror/thriller genre.

Pacy, insightful, frightening, atmospheric, very well written and a great denouement I did not anticipate.

I have no hesitation in giving five stars to The Man Made of Smoke. A terrific read if you like this sort of thing – which I do.