Review: The Toy Makers by Robert Dinsdale

This is a book for cold winter nights and cosy evenings with crackling fires. Possibly stupidly, I read it during one of England’s rare mini-heatwaves. The story enchanted me despite the weather. The icy streets Robert Dinsdale describes made a nice change from my overheated home.

Review: The Librarian by Salley Vickers

Imagine an England without internet or mobile phones, where people leave their doors unlocked and neighbours help each other; a time when affairs are common, and fast-spreading, malicious gossip can ruin lives.

Review: The Wicked Cometh by Laura Carlin

Laura Carlin’s debut novel combines history, mystery, gore and romance. The Wicked Cometh is a riches to rags (and back again) story that makes me thoroughly glad to live in the twenty-first century.

 

Review: Washington Black by Esi Edugyan

Welcome to my first review of 2019! Washington Black is an outstanding book to start the year. Esi Edugyan has created a genre-defying novel that veers between slave narrative and fantastical adventure with a dash of steampunk thrown in.  

Christmas Review: Murder at the Old Vicarage by Jill McGown

Christmas is truly over! There are no more Brussel sprouts in the fridge and I’ve finished my mini detective-readathon.

Murder at the Old Vicarage was the last novel on my list and looked like the perfect book for the holiday season. With a snowy front cover and ‘A Christmas Mystery’ stamped on the front, I’d readied myself for a festive bonanza.

Christmas Review: Murder in the Snow by Gladys Mitchell

To me, every book is a romantic relationship. For a couple of hundred pages, I stare adoringly at the text, immersing myself in each word.

Sadly, Murder in the Snow didn’t turn into a great love affair. A quarter of the way through, my feelings started to sour. Another dozen pages in, and I was more than ready to break-up with the plot. I kept reading, but never managed to experience that special spark.

Christmas Review: The Mistletoe Murder by P.D. James

Grab a warm blanket and a cup of tea, before diving into these Christmas stories from the Queen of Crime. P.D. James’ four festive tales will keep you up at night.

Christmas Review: An English Murder by Cyril Hare

An English Murder is a classic whodunnit for cold December nights. When a mysterious death takes place on Christmas Eve, snowed-in guests at a country house must uncover the killer.

Review: Vox by Christina Dalcher

I’m late to the party with Vox. This book received rave reviews earlier in the year but now that I’ve picked it up I’m feeling conflicted. It’s an enjoyable page turner for fans of dystopian fiction, but the ending didn’t meet my (unrealistically high) expectations.

Review: Melmoth by Sarah Perry

Perfect for dark winter nights, Melmoth is a Gothic tale set in the snow-covered city of Prague. Brooding and atmospheric, it’s a story of shameful pasts and secret guilt. The linking thread is Melmoth; a woman cursed to wander the world, bearing witness to human cruelty.