Tag: novels

December book reviews

I’ve had some cracking books this month from NetGalley.

Here are three to look out for in early 2026:

How To Get Away With Murder by Rebecca Philipson ****

(Expected publication date 24 February 2026)

Detective Sam Hansen comes back to work after a period of extended leave when she stumbles across a murder scene. A teenager has been killed in a London park and a copy of a book, How To Get Away With Murder, has been left next to the body.

This is a tense and witty crime thriller, with alternating chapters from Sam’s point of view and then chapters of the book written by a person called Denver Brady, who describes himself as a serial killer.

It’s a really clever premise, tautly written, well-plotted and with a self-deprecating lead character, who is easy to like. I was very suprised this is a debut novel. I hope it will be the start of a series.

An easy, page-turning and satisfying read. Recommended.

Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke ****

(Expected publication date 9 April 2026)

Natalie is a God-fearing, clever woman who is married into a patriarchal political family in the USA.

She’s an egotistical bitch who devises a plan to become an ‘influencer’ when the money runs dry. She sets up home with her handsome but stupid husband as a ‘trad wife’ on a ranch out in the middle of nowhere, raising her many children and working the farm in a wholesome, simple way remiscent of the pioneer men and women who ‘made America great’.

But it’s all a sham – no-one sees the nannies, the pesticides and the immigrant workers whose labour keeps the facade from falling down.

And then Natalie finds herself in the actual past, where the reality of her life on Yesteryear Farm is far, far different from the picture she has painted her adoring public.

Will she be able to get back into her present? And what’s behind her terrifying time travelling journey?

I romped through this book, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Razor sharp, a very unlikeable heroine and dystopian in the mould of Margaret Atwood.

Big Nobody by Alex Kadis *****

(Expected publication date 5 March 2026)

Constantina Costa is an angry teenager living with her Greek Cypriot father in 1970s UK. She plots to kill him, referring to him as The Fat Murderer because she holds him responsible for the death of her British mother and two younger brothers.

Connie finds solace in her love for Marc Bolan and David Bowie, whose posters she frequently consults in her bedroom about her miserable life, which has been so touched by tragedy and darkness. She develops a loving relationship with Vas, a Greek Cypriot boy who ‘gets’ her and is a ray of sunshine in a world where Greekness threatens to suffocate her.

I absolutely adored this sweary and nostalgic coming-of-age novel (which is totally from my era) and was cheering Connie on from the sidelines.

The scenes in which Connie is enveloped by her Greek heritage and ‘aunties’ were incredibly warm and funny, and I loved the music, food and pop culture references.

This would make such a great television series. The sassy Connie deserves her moment on the small screen.

Highly recommended.

September books (and more films)

So I’ve finished Natalie Hayne’s No Friend To This House and my review is winging its way to The Historical Novel Society.

You can see my other book reviews for the HNS here. But, spoiler alert, I liked it.

It will be my last review for the HNS because I have other irons in the fire, which I must pull out at some time to check if they’ve reached the correct temperature.

I’m still a reviewer for NetGalley, and I’ve just finished this:

The Naked Light by Bridget Collins ***

(Due to be published by Harper Collins 25 September 2025)

Set just after the First World War, The Naked Light tells a a dark story of life in a small rural village where the inhabitants feel protected by the Face, a simple and ancient chalk image on a hillside, which acts as a kind of amulet against evil.

We follow the fortunes of beautiful spinster, Florence, her precocious and unsettling niece, Phoebe, and a female artist called Kit, who is haunted by the disfigured soldiers from her war work and moves into an old cottage which used to be the home of the Bone family, who were custodians of the Face.

The Naked Light is a slow burner, but a fascinating story of womanly love, darkly Gothic in places and peppered with a heavy dash of country folklore, which serves as allegorical device bringing home the horror of war and its effects on a small community.

Bridget Collins is imaginative and writes beautifully. This is a novel that will stay with me for some time but I struggled to like or understand some of the main characters, hence my giving it three stars.

Films worth watching (or not)

I’ve watched three films recently, only one of which I actually enjoyed (in the main).

Happy Gilmore 2 (2025)

As you’d expect, Happy Gilmore 2 is the sequel to Happy Gilmore, a sports comedy film from 1996 which Mr Grigg particularly enjoyed because it involved lots of whacking. And I quite liked the original because of the underdog-conquering-stuffy-establishment-vibe (think Eddie the Eagle and Dream Horse, two excellent examples of the genre).

Happy Gilmore 2 sees Adam Sandler reprise his role but now as a winner down on his luck. He’s a widower, an alcoholic and hasn’t played golf for years but is forced into it because his talented daughter needs to go to dance school.

I’m not keen on anything with Sandler in it and this film relies heavily on in-jokes and characters from the first movie. If, like me, you’ve forgotten those, then you’ll probably sit in front of the screen po-faced and reaching for the fast-forward button.

I can’t recommend the film but I was fascinated that Sandler recruited his wife and two daughters for peripheral roles. Keeping it in the family led me down a long internet rabbit hole which was far more enjoyable than the film.

The Naked Gun (2025)

The fourth film in the slapstick crime franchise, in which the late Leslie Nielsen made the role of cop Frank Drebin his own back in the 1980s (I just loved Police Squad!, the American comedy crime series on which the films were based), sees Liam Neeson playing Frank’s son, Frank Drebin Jnr.

If you like corny jokes, seeing Neeson stumbling around in a ridiculous setting and a plot as far-fetched as the way in which politics is going all over the world, you’ll love this. The only similarity between the two actors is their names.

I’ve never been able to take Neeson seriously since I saw him as Zeus in the dreadful 2010 remake of Clash of the Titans, where he utters the immortal line: ‘Release the Kraken’ to unleash the monster onto poor, chained-up Andromeda.

This line has been used many times during lock-ins at the Lush Places pub, although I hasten to add that lock-ins there, now it’s a community pub, are a thing of the past.

Mind you, these days, Neeson, who was in the Oscar-winning Schindler’s List (1993), doesn’t seem to take himself too seriously either, playing recent roles with as much depth as a half-inch ruler.

But I did like him in the action thriller In The Land of Saints and Sinners (2023), set in a very beautiful and stark Donegal. He plays a quiet contract killer in this surprisingly moving film.

However, I digress. The Naked Gun is terrible, apart from having ex-Baywatch beauty Pamela Anderson in the same sort of role that Priscilla Presley (who makes a cameo appearance in the latest film) played in the original.

Pam is now 58 and still a stunner, embracing the ageing process both boldly and beautifully, a shining, make-up free beacon for older women rejecting the relentless barrage of turning back time.

So I’ll let them both off for having a laugh, even if the audience is not splitting its collective sides.

The Friend (2024)

This takes a while to get going but it’s a lovely film, starring Naomi Watts as Iris, a writer coming to terms with the death of her friend and mentor, Walter, a louche author played by Bill Murray.

Set in New York, Iris finds it hard to grieve for Walter and is bottling-up her emotions. All around her, the women that were close to him have their own agendas when it comes to mourning, and seem to be expressing themselves much better than she can.

Iris has been tasked, along with Walter’s daughter, with putting together a book of his letters, but she’s struggling.

It’s not just writer’s block, but something that goes deeper.

Things begin to change when she finds herself having to look after Walter’s dog, Apollo, a Great Dane ‘the size of a pony’, which dominates her small apartment and her life.

The performances, sentiments and storyline, are lovely, particularly Bing as the massive, mournful dog.

I’ve never had a hankering for a Great Dane but I do now.

A long film (120 minutes), but definitely worth a watch. Gentle, heartwarming and touching on universal themes in a understated and layered way.

August book reviews

Version 1.0.0

Two Kinds of Stranger by Steve Cavanagh ****

(Expected publication March 2026)

Another solid novel by Steve Cavanagh in the Eddie Flynn series.

Even if you’ve not delved into Eddie’s world before, you’re in for a treat with this thriller.

Lawyer Eddie Flynn is hired to defend Ellie, a social media celebrity whose perfect world is turned upside down when she is accused of the murder of her husband and her best friend. The two victims were having an affair, which Ellie had revealed inadvertently in real time when she was doing a live stream at her perfect aparment in New York.

Eddie is pitted against the cunning of charismatic sociopath, Logan, a chilling killer, while, at the same, time protecting his own daughter, ex-wife and her husband when they are pulled into Logan’s complicated web.

This is a bingeworthy novel, which could easily be read in one sitting.

As soon as it hooks you in (which is very quickly), Two Kinds of Stranger will have you turning the pages to reach the climactic conclusion.

Recommended for lovers of taut, high-speed thrillers and seat-of-the-pants courtroom dramas.

Thank you NetGalley and to the publishers for an advance review copy of this novel.

The Predicament by William Boyd ***

(Expected publication September 2025)

I have loved William Boyd’s previous novels but this was my first foray into Gabriel Dax territory.

Boyd turns the spy novel on its head – a bit of a pastiche, written with verve and wit and a surprising lead character who seems to bumble through things and situations – including romance – and comes up smelling of roses.

It’s the early 1960s and travel writer Dax is called upon by MI6 to carry out several top secret assignments, the last of which involves President John F Kennedy. It’s comic but Boyd’s gift for writing makes this a very readable novel and not at all clunky. I did feel a bit overwhelmed by plot and some of the villains and for that reason I’m giving it three stars.

The Killing Stones (Shetland #9) by Ann Cleeves

(Expected publication October 2025)

Jimmy Perez, the detective protaganist of the ‘Shetland’ series of novels, returns for another quiet thriller. But this time, he’s in Orkney, where he is happily settled down with Willow and their young son, James.

When his best friend from childhood, is brutally murdered on an ancient archaeological site, Jimmy and Willow are drawn into a tangled web of murder and mystery in a small, island community, where everyone knows everyone else’s business, newcomers never quite fit in and where legend and folklore run deep.

Archie’s death is followed by two more gruesome killings, both at other significant sites on the islands. Can Jimmy and Willow solve the crimes and keep the community safe?

This is a solid, reliable and thoughtful thriller where, of course, everything is not quite so straightforward as it seems initially. A list of suspects reveals itself to Jimmy and Willow, together with some plausible motives. I had my suspicions about the killer’s true identity quite early on but not the reasons for their actions.

This was my first Ann Cleeves’ novel, having only seen the Shetland television series previously. Perez was nothing at all like Douglas Henshall who plays him on screen, but I still had the image of the actor in my head when I visualised the detective.

For me, there was too much telling as opposed to showing and that annoying thing when you as the reader know that the protagonist has been told something important because the author tells you that but the ‘what’ is not revealed to you until the end.

A map of the Orkney islands at the beginning of the novel would be useful, especially in a print version.

NetGalley

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for advance review copies of these novels.

NetGalley is an online platform for booksellers, librarians, educators, and media professionals to discover and recommend books. Publishers and authors offer free digital books and audiobooks to the NetGalley community of book advocates and industry professionals.

I have been a NetGalley member since 2021.

Book reviews #2

Apologies, I haven’t blogged for ages as publicising Bridport Literary Festival and involvement in ongoing projects with Windrose Rural Media Trust have been keeping me busy.

BridLit is over now – a great success, hurrah! – while my work with Windrose, a registered charity, is opening up into new pastures.

I realise I haven’t posted any book reviews since August, which is remiss of me because it’s not as if I haven’t found the time to read.

So here are some novels I’d like to recommend.

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

*****

First published 31 March, 2022.

I came late to the Lessons in Chemistry party but I loved everything about this novel.

An inspiring, hopeful narrative with meaning and feminist optimism, laugh out loud moments and the most wonderful characters to root for in 1960s America.
I borrowed the book from a friend and had only a short time in which to read it. But it didn’t matter, I was hooked from start to finish.

A brilliantly clever debut, easy to read and very memorable.

Life Hacks for a Little Alien by Alice Franklin

*****

Expected publication 11 February, 2025.

What an extraordinary novel! I found it to be beautifully written, very witty and unusual in its second person telling (such a difficult perspective to pull off, but Alice Franklin does it superbly) of the story of a young child growing up in a suburban household in south east England. It seemed very American to me at times, in its use of language and experimentation, which gave gravitas to this coming-of-age story about a little girl who feels different. It was incredibly moving and warm, I was hooked.

As I fell into the story, I wondered where on earth it was going to go, so when I reached the part of ‘Little Alien’s’obsession for and pursuit of the truth behind the Voynich manuscript, a 15th century codex of uknown origin (which I’d never heard of), it took me into an entirely unexpected realm altogether.

Tender, insightful and funny – and hugely original.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advance review copy of this novel. It’s one I won’t forget in a hurry.

The Boy from the Sea by Garrett Carr

****

Expected publication 6 February, 2025.

When a baby is found by the sea in Donegal, on the north west coast of Ireland, the child is taken in by a young fisherman and his wife. They adopt the boy, call him Brendan and bring him up alongside their small son, Declan. The story follows Brendan and Declan’s stories and that of their parents, set against the brooding backdrop of a landscape almost cut off from the rest of the world. As the children grow up, what emerges is one of those quiet and satisfying tales of family life – with joy and heartbreak, conflicts and misunderstandings – told from the various viewpoints of the characters through an eavesdropping voice of a villager acting as a narrator.

An astonishing debut, haunting and gentle, with well-drawn characters and atmosphere to make the reader feel part of the community in which Brenda and Declan are growing up,

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for an advance reader copy of this novel.

That Beautiful Atlantic Waltz by Malachy Tallack

***

Published 24 October 24.

The novel starts off in 1957 with Sonny, a young man from Shetland, working on a whaling ship in the South Atlantic. We move on to the present day to his son, Jack, now in his early 60s, and flit back and forwards to Jack’s life now and his formative years with his father, Sonny, and mother, Kathleen, in the house on Shetland where he was brought up and still lives. Jack is obsessed with country music and the chapters are interspersed with his handwritten songs.

This is a quiet, thoughtful, beautifully written literary novel, where not much happens but with a haunting, evocative depth to it that is hard to explain or define but leaves the reader wistful and contemplative.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance reader copy of this novel.

Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout

*****

First published 10 September 10.

Only Elizabeth Strout can write a slow-paced novel about the quiet minutiae of everyday life in a small town where nothing much happens (except everything does,) to such great effect. I had this book on my ‘to be read’ pile for a while, savouring just seeing it there and knowing the pleasure I would get from devouring it a month or so down the line. Her books don’t ever have much of a plot, but the depth of emotions and feelings she is able to convey by just a character’s look or nod of the head is astounding.

In Tell Me Everything, the familiar characters of Lucy Barton and an elderly Olive Kitteridge feature strongly in the cast, which is led by nice Bob Burgess, who comes to realise that he is in love with his dear friend, Lucy. This is a novel about family, relationships, friendships, misunderstandings, brutality and the things that might have been.

For me, nothing Strout writes will ever top the wonderful Olive Kitteridge, whiich is one of my favourite books. But Tell Me Everything comes very close. There is something about her measured, sometimes old fashioned style of writing which I absolutely adore.

Thank you NetGalley for the advance reader copy of this book.

Book reviews #1

I read so many novels, I’ve decide it’s time I started sharing some of my reviews.

I’m a reviewer for The Historical Novel Society and NetGalley. I get through books like chocolate biscuits.

I’ll try to post reviews on the last weekend of every month.

The Maiden of Florence by Katherine Mezzacappa

*****

The Maiden of Florence is based on a true story about Giulia, a young woman who, in 16th century Italy, was plucked from an orphanage to prove the virility of a prince marrying into the powerful Medici family. Her task done, a comfortable life is arranged for her. But she can never forget what happened, nor escape the unwanted attentions of the lecherous minister who facilitated the ‘test’ in the first place.

It’s a shocking, harrowing scenario and, to be honest, I wasn’t sure how I would feel about reading such a horror story, imagining bleakness and a tale without hope. The novel sat on my shelf for a while before I had the courage to read it. But when I started it, I just couldn’t put it down.

Katherine Mezzacappa uses every tool in her writer’s armoury to create an astonishing novel, weaving fact with credible fiction to totally immerse the reader in Giulia’s world, a world in which men of money and power call all the shots. The Maiden of Florence is beautifully written and diligently researched, with all the senses in action, making this reader feel uncomfortably prurient when the act is described and as injustice after injustice is heaped upon the protagonist.

Giulia is treated so brutally. Inside, she is raging, yet she manages to retain a quiet dignity to equip her well in the years that follow.

This is a novel with tenderness, hope, justice and love at its heart. The Maiden of Florence is my book of 2024.

The Engraver’s Secret by Lisa Medved

*****

In 17th century Antwerp, an engraver is on his death bed when he reveals to his daughter, Antonia, a terrible secret. Something he did when he worked in the studio of artist Peter Paul Rubens will have dangerous repercussions for his family for generations to come.

Meanwhile, in the present day, Rubens aficionado Charlotte secures a short-term position as a university lecturer in Antwerp. She has a secret of her own, which may be affecting her judgement when she makes a major discovery.

In a dual timeline, handled deftly by the author. Antonia’s and Charlotte’s stories intertwine, building layers of intrigue to reach a thrilling conclusion. Along the way, we get to know the two women, the times in which they live, the prejudices they face and the towns and workplaces they inhabit.

The Engraver’s Secret is that rare thing – solid, well researched and fascinating historical fiction combined with a fast-paced thriller, all wrapped up in terrific writing which flows off the page. The novel is a real page turner, and I couldn’t put it down. A Dan Brown for discerning readers of art history fiction.

Witness 8 by Steve Kavanagh

****

This is a fast-paced crime thriller with ex-con-man turned criminal lawyer Eddie Flynn defending a respected surgeon and family man wrongly accused of murder in a rich neighbourhood of New York. Throw into the mix some capable sidekicks, assassins, corrupt police, preening officials and an unlikely baddie in the shape of a young mother’s help with a sick mother, and you have a real page turner of a novel with a twist at the end which I did not see coming.

I’m familiar with the genre but not the author or his protagonist. I’d definitely read him again.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance reader copy of Witness 8. Thoroughly recommended.

Our London Lives by Christine Dwyer Hickey

***

This is a book that will stay with me for a long time.

The story is told from the viewpoints of two characters, Milly and Pip, over the course of forty years. They are both Irish and live in London. When they meet, Milly is a barmaid and Pip is a promising boxer but becomes an alcoholic.

The pair live their largely separate lives against a backdrop of a London which is changing hugely, with buildings and locations crucial to the characters deteriorating over the years.

It is a melancholy, gentle and sometimes brutal novel. If you are expecting a romance with lots of dramatic ‘will they, won’t they’ moments to punctuate the narrative, this is not it.

Pivotal events are sometimes told in a retrospective, detached way, which, as a reader, I found frustrating.

The character of Pip was explored more fully than Milly’s and there were times when I felt that the author held back on what motivated Milly by not delving into her backstory.

I found the novel compelling and capitivating but it felt to me like something was missing, and I did not care for the ending. For that reason, I am giving it three stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advance reader copy of this novel.

The Glassmaker by Tracy Chevalier

**

I’ve enjoyed some of Tracy Chevalier’s novels in the past but really struggled with this novel, which follows the fortunes of a female glassmaker from the Rosso family on Murano.

Her ability to transport you into certain eras and to describe complicated processes are expertly done but, for me, the narrative plodded, with more telling than showing.

The device of showing the same characters through the centuries, hardly ageing, didn’t work for me, as there was no reference to this in their everyday lives, apart from an omnipresent narrator at the beginning of each section. It seemed forced, artificial, and I think it would have been much more interesting, readable and brave if she had followed the dynasty generation by generation or gone the whole hog and done a Matt Haig-type How To Stop Time treatment.