Still Life by Sarah Winman
Do not be deterred by the lack of punctuation (Winman uses no quotation marks for dialogue) or by the strangely truncated sentences. Because once you’ve…
Book Reviews
Over My Dead Body by Dave Warner
For many of us, the name Dave Warner evokes memories of our misspent youth, with ‘Just a Suburban Boy’ playing (loudly) in the background. However,…
A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes
The twenty-year voyage of Odysseus, king of Ithaca, is an archetypal tale of bravery, cleverness and cunning, the saga of a wily hero among a…
The Lady with the Gun Asks the Questions by Kerry Greenwood
In these uncertain, pandemic, times when it can be hard for even the most focussed fiction reader to concentrate, this book of 17 short stories…
Daylight by David Baldacci
Historically this author would keep sets of characters each within their own series, often finishing their story arc (forever) after five instalments. Happily Mr Baldacci…
To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers
To be Taught if Fortunate takes us to the 22nd century. In this future, space exploration is citizen-funded, ‘exploration for exploration’s sake. Apolitical, international, non-profit.’…
The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osmond
This was my final book for 2020, and although no literary masterpiece, it was an enjoyable book with which to finish a very challenging year!…
Miss Benson’s Beetle by Rachel Joyce
In 1914, a ten year old Margery Benson falls in love with a beetle. In a booked called Incredible Creatures, her father shows her a…
The Eighth Life (for Brilka) by Nino Haratischvili
The Eighth Life (for Brilka), by Nino Haratischvili, is 933 pages long (do not allow this to discourage you). This page count is only the…
The Dressmaker’s Secret by Rosalie Ham
Whilst this reader felt a follow up to The Dressmaker was not required (the ending being satisfactory enough and the heroine riding off into the…
Death in Daylesford by Kerry Greenwood
This is the 21st instalment in the ever engaging Honorable Phryne Fisher, lady detective series. It’s been a long seven years since the 20th instalment…
2020 Year In Review: Award Winners
Discover the year’s best books and award winners for 2020, focusing on the major literary and crime writing awards.