Month: June 2025

Book Review: ‘The Paris Express’ by Emma Donoghue

There’s a really famous photo of a train accident at Paris Montparnasse station in 1895 – in it, the steam engine of the train has overshot the end of the line and is hanging out of the station through the giant glass windows. It’s an arresting image and one that Emma Donoghue has taken as the inspiration for her new book. Who was on that train, speeding unknowingly towards the derailment?

The book is very fragmented, skipping between lots of characters on the train across all the classes, including the railway staff. At first, I found this quite hard to follow, especially remembering who everyone was and how they all fitted together. However, after a while, it all came together and I started to find the characters engaging. It’s a true slice of late 19th century French life, from the train guards and stokers to high-ranking political figures, from the wealthy invalid in her own carriage to the young terrorist, from the schoolboy to the pregnant woman nearing her due date, the coffee seller to the woman aspiring to be a doctor. As is Donoghue’s tendency, there is a feminist slant to some of the stories – and it is the women who are often the strongest or the most visionary (something I like about her writing).

As well as basing the events on a real incident, Donoghue’s cast includes real people too – and this is all explained in the author’s note at the end. Fans of historical fiction will find a lot to enjoy here – the historical detail is pin-sharp and vivid, from the heat and steam of the engine footplate to the claustrophobic quiet of the private carriage for the sick woman.

It’s an immersive book if you can allow yourself to go with the narrative, switching between people and carriages frequently. I definitely enjoyed learning about the people, the time period and the incident itself and would recommend it to anyone who likes thought-provoking and intense reads. There’s certainly a lot of tension as the train hurtles towards its final destination with the passengers unaware of what’s coming.

With thanks to NetGalley for my review copy of the book – opinions are entirely my own.

Header photo by Adrian Botica on Unsplash.

Book Review: ‘Dead to Me’ by Gytha Lodge

Gytha Lodge writes great books – twisty, fast-paced and totally immersive. I loved the series featuring detective Jonah Sheens and was intrigued to read this standalone crime novel.

This story centres on an investigation by an American journalist, Anna Sousa, who is digging into the circumstances surrounding the death of s student at Cambridge University. Going undercover and moving among the rich and elite students, Anna seems to be closing in on some very unpalatable truths. She begins writing her notes down in an email to Reid Murray, a British detective and Anna’s ex – they’re not really in a good place, but he’s the only one who will understand. Then Anna goes missing, and her ex is the only one who can help her…

I liked the way that the book was structured, moving between Anna’s father (who is looking for her), Reid and the email to Reid containing Anna’s account of what happened. It’s a clever model and allows insights into the separate characters and the situations they put themselves in. It also brings a great deal of tension into the book, as Anna mixes with the students knowing that one of them may be a killer – and puts herself in constant danger of discovery to get some answers. The suspense builds as the account gets closer to the University’s May Ball, while Reid and Anna’s father try to find her.

I’d recommend this to fans of clever crime fiction – it will keep you guessing with your heart in your mouth!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my review copy of this book. It is due for publication on 3rd July, 2025.

Header photo by Chris Boland, a fab wedding photographer based in Cambridge

Book Review: ‘We Are All Guilty Here’ by Karin Slaughter

This is one of those books that drags you in from the start – it’s by turns totally shocking, heart-breaking and brutal, but you’re never in any doubt that you’re experiencing storytelling genius. It’s so well-plotted, clever and eventful – Karin Slaughter is an author I need to read more.

This book is set in North Falls, one of those small American towns where everyone knows everyone else and generations of one family (the Cliftons) work in law enforcement. When two teenage girls go missing during the town’s big summer firework party, Emmy Clifton steps up to investigate, along with her father and son. Emmy’s close friend is one of the girl’s mothers and Emmy was one of the last to see the teen at the party.

However, what follows is far from a simple kidnapping, and has tragic repercussions that impact the town. As Emmy starts to uncover the secrets of the people of North Falls, it becomes really clear that everybody has secrets and nobody can be trusted. Her investigations – spanning a long period from the original disappearances to a trial and a new case – start to break down relationships in the town and in her personal life. Into this mess comes an investigator who has had considerable success in finding the bodies of murder victims – but is she going to help or hinder Emmy?

I loved the character of Emmy – a middle-aged woman with a responsible job who is also trying to navigate some tricky family stuff. As a character, I thought she was warm and likeable, yet also human and responding to some awful situations in totally understandable ways. I’ve heard that this might develop into a North Falls series and I’d be really keen to see what Emmy does next.

As I’ve already alluded to, Slaughter doesn’t pull any punches in her writing and some of the twists and turns in this book were genuinely really shocking. I wasn’t quite prepared for some of it! However, it’s all really cleverly woven together and the narrative is always credible. I found myself constantly guessing whodunit and I was always wrong – there’s so much going on and the real clues are hidden in stacks of red herrings!

I’d recommend this if you like your crime stories with grit and off-the-scale levels of tension. There were times I had to put this book down to take in what had happened – but I always found myself desperate to get back to North Falls!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my review copy of this book – opinions, as always, are enturely my own. This book is due for publication on 19th June, 2025.

Header photo by Brad Switzer on Unsplash