The History of England: Foundation (Vol 1) by Peter Ackroyd
History fans will be quite familiar with Peter Ackroyd and his easy-to-read style of writing. His books aren’t for academics – they are for…
Book Reviews
The Edith Trilogy by Frank Moorhouse (Grand Days, Dark Palace and Cold Light)
The three books of Frank Moorhouse’s Edith Trilogy (Grand Days, Dark Palace and Cold Light) follow the adult life of the ambitious, and somewhat eccentric,…
The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan
Set in 1914, The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan is the gripping tale of 39 survivors crowded into a lifeboat built to hold less…
Not Without My Daughter by Betty Mahmoody
Not Without My Daughter. In 1984, Betty Mahmoody accompanied her husband from their home in America to his native Iran for a two week…
The Harp in the South by Ruth Park
Re-reading The Harp in the South by Ruth Park is more than an excercise in nostalgia. I found myself fascinated with the deceptively simple and…
Calico Joe by John Grisham
I have always been a John Grisham fan and was, therefore, eager to read Calico Joe when it recently became available in the SMSA library….
Threshold by Sara Douglass
Threshold by Sara Douglass is a prequel to her popular Darkglass Mountain series. And unlike most prequels, in my opinion it out rates the series…
The Boy in the Suitcase by Lene Kaaberbøl and Agnete Friis
The Boy in the Suitcase by Lene Kaaberbøl and Agnete Friis is another Scandinavian novel that is a thriller from the very first page.
Lionel Asbo by Martin Amis
Lionel Asbo by Martin Amis is an amusing book. But be cautioned: if rough language offends, it is best you move to the next…
Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan
Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan would not have been my first choice to read; I’m not too big on the hard-boiled detective genre – and…
The Truth by Michael Palin
The Truth by Michael Palin tells the story of Keith Mabbut, a moderately successful author who still dreams of writing the novel that would propel…