Corona by David Arrowsmith Published as an ebook 29 June 2023. Paperback due shortly This is the debut novel by the author of ‘Nevada Noir’, the trilogy of short stories I reviewed...
Published in paperback by Two Roads (Hackett), 2022 The motto of the American Library in Paris is “Atrum post bellum, ex libris lux” (“After the darkness of war, the light of books”) a...
A House in the High Hills by Selina Scott Published by Ebury Press, 2010 Subtitled (on some editions) ‘Dreams and disasters of life in a Spanish farmhouse’, I feared yet another story in...
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus Published by Penguin, 2022 I’ll start with a word I don’t use often: quirky. Elizabeth Zott is quirky – a scientist turned cooking show host. Calvin...
Hunting Season by Andrea Camilleri Published by Picador in 2015 Best known for his Inspector Montalbano books, this is something quite different. It’s older than is usual for a book to review but,...
Ballet Kids by Holly Sterling Published by Walker Books, 2022 The clue’s in the title. Suitable for 3-5 year old boys and girls who want to learn ballet but who aren’t quite sure what to...
The Swimmer by Graham Norton Published by Coronet, 2022 After a several weeks of reading depressing, poorly written, unnecessarily detailed or cliched books, I was in need of one of the excellent Reading Agency’s Quick Reads series....
The Cat Who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa, translated by Louise Heal Kaesong Published by Picador 2021 This month you’ll note there’s a theme to my reading and reviewing: cats. Rintaro’s Grandpa has...
She and Her Cat by Makoto Shinkai and Naruto Nagakawa translated by Ginny Talley Takemori Published by Doubleday 2022 I’ve read and enjoyed many stories by Japanese writers. What I loved about them was...
Fake Law (The Truth About Justice in an Age of Lies) by The Secret Barrister Published in paperback by Picador, 2021 This book, one of three (so far) written by a practising Barrister, should be compulsory reading...