Category: Book Review

Blog tour: ‘Cows Can’t Jump’ by Philip Bowne

Welcome to my stop on the Random Things Tours for Philip Bowne’s debut novel! This book was released on 24th September, 2020 by Neem Tree Press and was longlisted for the Guardian’s ‘Not The Booker Prize’.

From the Publisher

From debut novelist, writer for The Wombles and winner of the Spotlight First Novel prize, this hilarious and poignant coming-of-age odyssey catapults 18-year-old Billy across pre-Brexit Europe.

Literary fiction resonating with themes of family, faith, race, love, loss, taking risks, borders and barriers, downward mobility, and growing up under the shadow of Brexit.

“Bowne’s touch is light, but his themes resonate: faith, family, race, and (whisper it) Brexit.The prose sparkles like sunshine hitting the English Channel.” — D. Johnston, author of Peace, Love & Petrol Bombs

“Laugh-out-loud hijinx with moments of true poignancy… a cast of eclectic, authentic characters. Billy is a brilliant narrator-pilgrim for the next generation.” — Tyler Keevil, author of No Good Brother

“Innovative, punchy and tender… stiletto-sharp wit. — Ray Robinson, author of Electricity

“…a fresh take on the classic rite-of-passage, in the mould of The Buddha of Suburbia by Hanif Kureishi and Lean on Pete by Willy Vlautin.”— Marion Urch – Spotlight First Novel Prize

Synopsis

17-year-old Billy has just left school with no A levels and he’s desperate to escape middle England. As a grave-digger, he’s working the ultimate dead-end job. Billy’s home life isn’t any better. In the evenings, he observes his dysfunctional family: his Grandad’s engaged to a woman half his age, his xenophobic Dad’s become obsessed with boxing, and he suspects his deeply religious Mum is having an affair.

All the while, celebrities are dropping like flies and Britain is waiting for the EU referendum. Everything is changing, and Billy hates it.

Meeting Eva, though, changes everything. She’s Swiss, passionate about Russian literature, Gary Numan, windfarms and chai tea, and Billy gambles everything for a chance to be with her.

When things start to go wrong, Billy’s journey across Europe involves hitch-hiking with truckers, walking with refugees, and an encounter with suicidal cows. But the further he goes, the harder it is to be sure what he’s chasing – and what he’s running from.

My Review

Regular visitors to my blog know that I am always looking for funny books. Put the words ‘humour’ into a blurb, or ‘laugh-out-loud hijinx’ (as is mentioned on the back of this very book) and I am first in the queue. Take my money now!

So I jumped at the chance to take part in this blog tour and read a first novel by someone who I really hopes writes a whole lot more.

Right from the start, I was drawn to the character of Billy who – at the beginning of the story – totally lacks direction. He has quit school and his Mum has got him a job gravedigging at the local church. He has a dysfunctional family, including a dad with some anger issues and a grandad (GG) who is marrying what the family consider to be an unsuitable women. Brexit is looming on the horizon and celebrities seem to be dying in huge numbers.

So far, so many opportunities for black humour and Bowne does not hold back with the laughs, from the acquisition of Billy’s unfortunate nickname at work, GG’s unconventional way of making money and one of the most awkward fish and chip dinners I’ve ever had the (uncomfortable) pleasure to read!

However, even at these early stages, it is evident that Bowne is not going to shy away from serious issues as well and we do get a real sense of Billy’s confused and – at times – quite sad internal life through his first person narration.

The story then shifts to Eastbourne Summer School for International Students where Billy gets a job and meets Eva who is Swiss and unnerved by the anti-EU feeling emerging in the UK around the Brexit referendum. It absolutely isn’t love at first sight for Billy, but we see a developing relationship which feels very real and believable.

I really don’t want to give plot spoilers, but it is safe to say that the course of true love doesn’t run smoothly and Billy embarks on some fairly outlandish schemes in order to be reunited with Eva. This culminates in a trip across Europe which is full of interesting people (I loved Cooper in particular), strange events and a lot of growing up for Billy.

As I mentioned before, this book really does have some very funny moments and Billy is a fabulous – if slightly misguided – character who the reader does really root for. I found myself desperate for it to work out for him, while also not really knowing what that would look like for the best.

However, this book also has some very poignant moments that mean it isn’t a wholly comic novel. Little snippets of tragedy infiltrate Billy’s world – the Syrian refugees, the Museum of Broken Relationships, people whose problems are beyond anything in Billy’s experiences to that point. This all adds to the sense that Billy is being forced into maturing and his road trip – regardless of outcome – will be the making of him.

As a reader, the switches between the humour and tragedy are unnerving. One minute, you can be laughing out loud and the next shocked at the poignancy of what is being related. This makes the novel an absolutely compelling read, although it is not always a comfortable experience.

Overall, I would highly recommend the novel; I was totally invested in Billy’s story and raced through the book, always keen to find out the next scrape he found himself in and to meet the next set of quirky characters. I genuinely loved this book and look forward to seeing what Bowne produces next.

With thanks to Random Things Tours for inviting me onto this blog tour and for providing my copy of the novel in return for an honest review.

About the Author

Philip Bowne lives in London and works as a writer for The Wombles, a children’s entertainment brand.

Like his protagonist, Billy, Phil attended a failing and severely under-resourced school in Bicester, Oxfordshire. However, unlike Billy, Phil ended up studying English Literature and Creative Writing at university.

While studying, Phil published short stories in literary magazines and anthologies in the UK, US, Canada and Germany. After graduating, Phil spent time in Europe and the US, working and volunteering in various roles and settings: repairing boats at Lake Como, housekeeping at a mountain lodge in California and working with charity Care4Calais in the former Calais ‘jungle’ refugee camp.

‘Cows Can’t Jump’ is Phil’s debut novel, which he worked on while managing a bar in London. As well as a writer for The Wombles, Phil also works on a number of independent writing projects, including a musical set in 1970’s Soho and a sitcom set in a failing leisure centre.

Blog Tour: ‘The Creak on the Stairs’ by Eva Bjorg Aegisdottir

Welcome to my stop on the Random Things Tours blog tour for ‘The Creak on the Stairs’ by Eva Bjorg Aegisdottir.

This is the first in a new ‘Forbidden Iceland’ series and was published on 1st October, 2020 by Orenda Books. It is translated into English by Victoria Cribb.

From the Publisher

‘An exciting and harrowing tale from one of Iceland’s rising stars’ Ragnar Jónasson

The first in the electrifying new Forbidden Iceland series, ‘The Creak on the Stairs’ is an exquisitely written, claustrophobic and chillingly atmospheric debut thriller byone of Iceland’s most exciting new talents


When the body of a woman is discovered at a lighthouse in the Icelandic town of Akranes, it soon becomes clear that she’s no stranger to the area.


Chief Investigating Officer Elma, who has returned to Akranes following a failed relationship, and her colleagues Sævar and Hörður, commence an uneasy investigation, which uncovers a shocking secret in the dead woman’s past that continues to reverberate in the present day…


But as Elma and her team make a series of discoveries, they bring to light a host of long-hidden crimes that shake the entire community. Sifting through the rubble of the townspeople’s shattered memories, they have to dodge increasingly serious threats, and find justice … before it’s too late.

My Review

I love crime fiction and have made a few forays into Nordic Noir, although this was the first book I’ve read set in Iceland. It certainly won’t be my last trip to the Land of Fire and Ice.

I’ll admit to being intrigued by the premise of this book – a murder at a remote lighthouse that starts to uncover the secrets of the town. I also love a book with a female detective, so this ticked boxes for me too.

The story moves between the investigation into the 2017 murder of a woman in the small Icelandic town of Akranes with a voice from the the late 1980s/early 1990s narrating a tragic family story. At first it isn’t evident how the strands fit together but, as it becomes clear, the reader is pulled into the backstory that has led to the murder at the lighthouse.

One of the real strengths of the story is the main character, Chief Investigating Officer Elma. She has returned to Akranes, where she grew up, following the break-up of a relationship (something I sense will become more of a feature of future books – I know the second book in the series is already being translated by Orenda Books, so we shall see Elma again).

We get to view Elma more clearly than anyone else in the book, including her dysfunctional relationship with her sister, her hangovers and potential love interests. She is a charming and realistic character and her interactions with her work team, family and various people associated with the case seem authentic.

Another real strength is the plotting. The narrative device of alternating between the past and modern-day voices is interesting, but it also means that a lot of information is given that suddenly falls into place later in the novel. The early parts of the novel do seem a little slow, but they work brilliantly to set up a pervasive sense of foreboding that the reader never really escapes until the pace picks up towards the denouement. All very understated, but it really adds to the sense of claustrophobia in the small town where everyone knows everyone else’s business.

I really loved the setting of the book – Elma has left Reykjavik CID and is back in the town that she grew up in, so we experience the oppression of small-town life just as she does. We hear the gossip of a small community, see the close (but not always easy) relationships of people who have always known each other and experience the uncovering of secrets bubbling just under the surface. Akranes itself seems like a remote setting – a port town with a small population – that is perfect for this kind of story.

I think it is worth saying that the story is very dark – obviously expected in the genre, but it does sometimes make for uncomfortable reading – especially in the 1980s/1990s narrative which is a child’s perspective. Having a child relate some horrific elements makes the story very chilling at times.

Overall, I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys crime fiction with a dark heart. The sense of tension that builds gradually makes for compulsive reading – before you know it, you will be racing through to see where the story goes! It isn’t an easy read because of the dark themes, but it is cleverly plotted, engagingly told and has a heroine that you will want to see again in book two.

About the Author

Born in Akranes in 1988, Eva moved to Trondheim, Norway to study her MSc in Globalisation when she was 25. After moving back home having completed her MSc, she knew it was time to start working on her novel. Eva has wanted to write books since she was 15 years old, having won a short story contest in Iceland.


Eva worked as a stewardess to make ends meet while she wrote her first novel. The book went on to win the Blackbird Award and became an Icelandic bestseller.

Eva now lives with her husband and three children in Reykjavík, staying at home with her youngest until she begins Kindergarten.

‘Why Mummy’s Sloshed’ by Gill Sims

I first started reading Gill Sims’ writing on Facebook where she produces the very funny ‘Peter and Jane’. These (mainly slightly-veiled autobiographical) updates became a book, that book became a series and here we are – the fourth and final book in the ‘Why Mummy’ series.

In this book, Peter and Jane are now older teenagers and our main protagonist, Ellen, is having to deal with GCSEs, A Levels and her oldest baby leaving for university. She also has her ex-husband to contend with as he seems to be about to start a new family with his girlfriend, Marisa,. She is surrounded by her usual bunch of funny friends and eccentric family members.

As with previous books, this is presented as a diary, although most of the events seem to happen in the first part of the year. There are some real rites of passage here that those who have been through it (either themselves or as parents) will recognise – the driving test, first car, 18th birthday parties, exam results,..it is all just so relatable!

And that really is Sims’ skill – taking the everyday and making it funny. This isn’t an idealistic view of parenting – Ellen looking after her friend’s toddler for the weekend is enough to put anyone off having children and also reminded me of the time in my own life when I needed eyes in the back of my head and a cure for sleep deprivation. Much of the book is very funny – some of it made me laugh out loud in recognition or because of Ellen’s sharp take on things.

That’s not to say that this novel doesn’t have serious moments – there is recognition of the situation of having ageing parents and realising they aren’t invincible, plus the emptying of the family nest. As someone who has this a few years ahead of me, it does seem sad and unimaginable that my babies will move out one day. However, I still have the experience of living with them as teens which – according to this book – might soften the blow of them leaving! The teenage boys that eat through everything in the house, the teenage girls obsessed with socialising above all else, the nagging over revision and chores…all familiar already!

I’d recommend this to anyone who enjoys funny, relatable books about family life – things like Matt Coyne’s books and the Unmumsy Mum and Hurrah for Gin (all worth investigating if you aren’t familiar with them). It is funny, a bit poignant and absolutely engaging.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

If you’d like to buy the book, please consider using my affiliate link – I’ll earn commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks for supporting my blog!

Header photo with thanks to Kevin Kelly for sharing their work on Unsplash.

WWW Wednesday: 14th October, 2020

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words. It is open for anyone to join in and share what they have been/are/will be reading.

Affiliate links are provided for books already published – thanks for supporting my blog with any purchases.

What are you currently reading?

I’m still reading ‘Pandora’s Jar by Natalie Haynes from my NetGalley shelf. It’s great so far but I had to put it down to finish off some books for blog tours.

I’m also reading ‘The Servant’ by Maggie Richell-Davies. This is a Georgian-set mystery and is going well so far. It seems to be a mix of genres – historical, mystery and a bit of romance, I think. It won the Historical Writers’ Association prize for an unpublished novel so I have high hopes!

What have you recently finished reading?

I have just finished ‘The Creak on the Stairs’ by Eva Bjorg Aegisdottir, a Nordic Noir crime novel set in Iceland. It’s creepy and tense – but you’ll have to wait for my blog tour date at the weekend for my full review.

I also finished ‘Jeeves and the Leap of Faith’ by Ben Schott, a new Jeeves and Wooster novel out tomorrow and written with the approval of the P. G. Wodehouse estate. It is very funny and in the spirit of the originals – you can read my review here.

What do you think you will read next?

Stuart Turton’s ‘The Devil and the Dark Water’ is still waiting for me to have time to read it properly – I think I’ll need to be concentrating on the twists in this one!

I’ve also got another blog tour book to read for November, ‘The Phoenix Project’ by Michelle Kidd. This one is a fast-paced thriller and I’m looking forward to losing myself in the pages.

My NetGalley shelf is still looking at me balefully, so I hope also to polish off some of the excellent titles on there too!

Header photo with thanks to Jonas Jacobsson for sharing their work on Unsplash.

‘Jeeves and the Leap of Faith’ by Ben Schott

I am a Wodehouse obsessive – a connoisseur of the Jeeves and Wooster novels – and so I was excited to be granted an advance copy of the new novel by Ben Schott, written with the blessing of the Wodehouse estate. It will be published on 15th October.

It should be said that a new Jeeves and Wooster novel has been attempted twice in recent years. Sebastian Faulks offered us ‘Jeeves and the Wedding Bells’; this I thought misfired on providing too much context when Bertie’s world is blissfully oblivious and mostly unaffected by unpleasant world events. To be honest, I never recovered from the shock of reading about the deaths of Bertie’s parents in that one!

Ben Schott’s first novel, ‘Jeeves and the King of Clubs’, was the other offering and was – in my opinion – much more successful in emulating Wodehouse’s tone and the feeling of the original novels. However, he did start mixing in a spy theme which I wasn’t so keen on but – hey ho – I went along with it, albeit with some reservations.

Both attempts were enjoyable to read, I should say, but not perfect.

In this second outing for Jeeves and Wooster by Ben Schott, the spy theme is enlarged upon and there is a strong espionage storyline that takes centre stage. In the background, a sub-plot involving the Drones Club’s finances is also under way, plus the usual romantic entanglements that Bertie is trying to escape and difficult encounters with his nemesis, Spode. As usual, Jeeves is in the background as the faithful valet, picking up the pieces for Bertie.

Again, this book (like the other ‘new’ Jeeves and Wooster books) is very enjoyable, but still not perfect.

Some of this book is absolutely spot-on and pitch-perfect. I loved the boot competition at the Drones Club, the hilarious ‘replacement’ valet’s encounter with Aunt Agatha and the one-upmanship over the wallpaper choices, So far, so Wodehouse. The characters (for the most part) are also pretty good – Gussie Fink-Nottle, Madeline Bassett and all the various Drones are great and Spode is as (intentionally) awful as always! Aunt Agatha seems a bit more fallible that Wodehouse’s original, but still credible.

What worked less well for me is Bertie himself. He seemed far more intelligent than in the original books which detracts from his charm and the ability of others to manipulate him – the central joke of the original books is that Bertie is essentially a charming, amiable but dim man-about-town whose puppet-masters include Jeeves and a host of aunts. In Schott’s hands, he has to be a credible spy and seems to have his wits about him a bit more and even a (requited) love interest.

The plot was clever and as tight as Wodehouse original. I actually preferred the Drones sub-plot, the shenanigans with jewel theft and racehorses, marriage proposals and interfering aunts, because it felt more authentic than the spy story. However, more than in the first book by Schott, I just felt that this was an imposter Bertie.

I feel that I do need to say that I really enjoyed this book – as a light-hearted read with familiar characters and a comfortable world in which nothing truly bad will happen, it is a success. My reservations are more about whether it is a Jeeves and Wooster novel and that is because I am a stickler for authenticity!

I do recommend this book as a fun read and one that will make you laugh. If you have read the originals, there’s a sense of cosy familiarity in Schott’s novel you will enjoy. If you haven’t read the originals then you should – they are an absolute treat and hit the spot in a way this one doesn’t quite.

I received a free copy of the novel from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

If you’d like your own copy of this book, please use my affiliate link and – in doing so – support my blog!

If you’d like to read a Wodehouse original, this one is glorious!

‘More than a Woman’ by Caitlin Moran

I love Caitlin Moran. I think she is funny, brave and always readable. I love the fact she has turned her considerable journalistic writing skills into a career in which she produces brilliant fiction and non-fiction books. She is the reason I have a Times subscription (she is a regular writer for them) and a shelf full of her previous books.

That needed to be said up front. Although I read and review lots of books, I’m not the most impartial reviewer in this case. Evidence: I pre-ordered this book and paid out of my own pocket! No ARC, no waiting for the prices to come down, no second-hand copy, no waiting for Christmas…honestly, this is all so out of character for me!

With that said, I did wonder how she would have enough to say about the topic of being a woman. She covered a lot of ground (rather marvellously) in her book ‘How to be a Woman’ ten years ago – how much more is there to say?

Loads, it turns out. Moran is now in her forties (like me) and has plenty to say about this stage in her life. It is in middle age that (Moran observes) life becomes less about you and more about everyone else – your children growing up, pressures of work, ageing parents – and it is really tough. You aren’t the same person as you were ten years ago and it needs a whole new way of navigating. Add into this the current state of society – it’s safe to say the patriarchy hasn’t yet been smashed – and Moran has plenty to write about.

This book is structured into chapters denoting an hour in the middle-aged women’s day. Thus, we are taken from 7am (The Hour of ‘The List’) through various points in the day – The Hour or Parenting Teenage Children (eeek – not looking forward to this myself!), The Hour of Housework, The Hour of Crisis… It is all hugely relatable and it is strangely comforting that the things I stress about seem to be universal.

Particularly striking for me was ‘The List’ as I’ve done a lot of thinking about mental load recently and the fact that women seem to bear the brunt of the thinking about things. It was heartening to read Moran’s own list and think that I am not the only one trying to keep on top of work, parenting, marriage, life admin, pet care…

Yes, there are a lot of serious points made here about women’s place in society and the pressures to ‘have it all’ (read: ‘do it all’). However, it is also absolutely hilarious and Moran is unafraid to share some rather intimate things. It is like a chat with your best friend, if your best friend is a totally unfiltered over-sharer! The bathwater thing (you’ll have to read it) really made me laugh out loud…

As well as being laugh-out-loud funny in places, there are some really serious points, especially Moran’s daughter’s fight with anorexia. I found the story extremely moving and am glad that Moran (and her daughter, because it was shared with her permission) included this intimate story that shows that each family has its struggles behind closed doors.

This is a feminist book but one that should be required reading for everyone – it is so insightful and engaging that I think anyone would enjoy it (and probably learn something along the way).

Please do go and buy a copy of this book. If you are a women of a similar age to Moran (or live with one) then you will recognise a lot here. It is uplifting and extremely funny, but will leave you with a lot of food for thought.

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‘A Tomb With a View: The Stories and Glories of Graveyards’ by Peter Ross

This book was one of the huge number published on 3rd September and one that I had pre-ordered because I had heard such good things about it. This turned out to be money extremely well-spent!

I realise that a book ostensibly about death, graveyards and memorials isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but I urge you to trust me on this one.

This book is actually so much more about life than death – Ross explores some brilliant life stories and – over the course of the book – speaks to lots of people who speak passionately about graveyards, memorials and the rituals surrounding death. These range from someone who manages and cleans remote war graves for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, makers of memorials, those who tend graveyards, those involved with burials of all forms, historians overseeing ossuaries and people mourning their own lost loved ones. All are fascinating and passionate about their topics, their stories at once moving and often humorous or quirky.

Ross has sought out a whole range of stories around his central theme of graveyards – the book is more than Ross visiting tombs and telling the stories of the occupants. Instead we hear of unmarked graves for babies, a witch, a prostitutes’ graveyard finally being recognised by the church, groups of volunteers fundraising to save burial grounds, Karl Marx cookie-cutter souvenirs, conscientious objectors and so much more. All of life is here.

As much as death, life and the people left behind are the focus and there are moments of joy and comfort here as well as grief and tragedy.

Although Ross’ role in this book is to illuminate, to interview, to document, he is also a brilliant guide through the diverse topics that the book covers. He writes beautifully and is unafraid to ask questions or seek out the unusual – a bit like a Louis Theroux of graveyards! It is clear that he is hugely invested in the stories he is telling and the stories are thoughtfully and respectfully told. It never steps into the realms of the mawkish or distasteful.

Reading about all these people united by the theme of death was an incredibly intense experience, but one I found ultimately and profoundly comforting. There was a real sense of the cycles of life, the respect for the dead and the care for the living that was strangely uplifting.

I highly recommend this book – it isn’t depressing or a tourist’s guide to graveyards as you may expect. It is life-enhancing, always fascinating and beautifully-written.

A (fairly rare!) five stars from me.

If you’d like your own copy of this brilliant book, please use my affiliate link below. I may earn commission on purchases at no extra cost to you.

The Best Books About Books…Part 2!

The post I wrote last week about non-fiction books about books seemed to strike a chord with many people… It turns out (surprise!) there are plenty of us in the bookish community who love books about books!

This week, I thought I’d turn my focus to fiction – loads of the replies I got last week talked about people’s favourite stories set in the worlds of libraries and bookshops, or featuring writers and stories within stories.

Without any further ado, here are some great novels set in the world of books. As is usual with me, there is a distinct Victorian/murder mystery theme, but plenty of others too!

All links to purchase books are affiliate links – I do earn commission on these (at no extra cost to you ) and thank you for supporting my blog.

‘The Reader on the 6.27’ by Jean-Paul Didierlaurent (translated from French)

This is the first book in absolute years that I read in one sitting!

It’s the story of a man who works for a company that pulps unwanted books, much to his horror. He takes stray pages from the pulping machine and reads them aloud to commuters on the 6.27 train every morning. One day he finds a memory stick containing private diaries and his life is due to be changed forever.

This book is absolutely gorgeous and charming – the main characters (Guylian and Julie) are lovely, there are some brilliant and very funny supporting characters and the whole thing is uplifting and sweet. Highly recommended!

‘The Journal of Dora Damage’ by Belinda Starling

This was a debut (and only) novel by a writer who is sadly no longer with us – I would genuinely have loved to see what else she had up her sleeve after this one.

I picked this up in a charity shop purely because it had a pretty cover, featured Victorians (yes, my obsession) and was about bookbinders. This is easily one of the best charity shop purchases I’ve ever made!

The book is about a woman who is married to a bookbinder and has to take over his business when he becomes ill. To make ends meet, she gets embroiled with some rather unsavoury aristocratic characters and takes up binding pornography, while also becoming involved with an apprentice in the business.

What I loved about this book was the strong and resourceful women in what was clearly a man’s world. This book was full of unexpected elements and felt really fresh and interesting – plus the setting was beautifully imagined and written. It really is a surprising and engaging read.

‘Magpie Murders’ by Anthony Horowitz

Let me just say up front – I did enjoy this book, but it was odd…

The novel is essentially two books in one. Firstly, there is the ‘fictional’ murder mystery, ‘Magpie Murders’, written by Alan Conway and featuring his celebrated detective Atticus Pund. Secondly, there is the investigation into Alan Conway’s own death by a publishing executive who is involved in the publication of ‘Magpie Murders’. The two narratives are linked as the fictional story supposedly contains clues to its author’s murder.

Confused yet? I was intrigued as to how this premise could work. How could a story give clues about its creator’s death since they were obviously writing it when very much alive!? The answer lies in the book’s structure – we get the Atticus Pund mystery nearly in its entirety before the discovery that the final chapters are missing. The publishing executive then embarks on a quest to find the missing pages, uncovering clues as she goes.

Both of the narratives are pleasing, full of shady characters, red herrings and plenty of hidden motives. What is a bit strange is that we get the publisher’s views on the Pund book, which essentially boils down to Horowitz critiquing his own story. Clever or a bit weird?

Overall, I would recommend this to people who love cosy crime fiction – there’s no real tragedy or graphic forensic detail here, which I think is positive. However, readers have to be prepared to stick with the two narratives – with all their quirks and flabby bits – as the payoff is ultimately satisfying.

Horowitz has since published other crime books for adults and his latest – ‘Moonflower Murders’ – is a follow-on to ‘Magpie Murders’.

‘An Expert in Murder’ by Nicola Upson

This is the first book in an engaging historical crime series that feature the crime writer Josephine Tey as the main protagonist. Her writing (crime novels and plays) form the backdrop to these books as she takes on the role of detective with her friend, Chief Inspector Archie Penrose.

This first book in the series, centring around a production run of Tey’s play ‘Richard of Bordeaux’, isn’t the strongest of the series but is worth reading as it establishes the characters in this semi-fictional 1930s world. There are some real gems later in the series – ‘Nine Lessons’ in particular is absolutely fantastic.

An engaging series in which a writer takes centre stage – excellent!

‘The Little Paris Bookshop’ by Nina George

This is a beautifully written story about a man, Jean Perdu, who has lost 21 years of his life mourning a relationship in which his partner (who was married to someone else) left him. On hearing news of her death, he decides to travel to meet her husband and discover more of her life story.

It’s also a book about bibliotherapy, an idea I love! Perdu runs a bookshop from a boat on the Seine and ‘prescribes’ books to people. What a great way to explore the power of literature!

Overall, this is a charming story with some lovely touches – the eccentric residents of Perdu’s house in Paris are a treat!

‘Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore’ by Matthew Sullivan

Lydia works at the Bright Ideas Bookshop in Denver surrounded by BookFrogs, the collection of quirky and tragic figures drawn to the warmth, security and comfort of the store. She is hiding her own tragic past, but the bookshop is somewhere that people don’t ask questions. Until Joey, a young BookFrog, kills himself in the store and Lydia is drawn into investigating her own past and the events that occurred 20 years before.

This is an inventive and compelling murder mystery, but it’s also much more than that. It’s also an exploration of human relationships and the psychology of trauma, but is so cleverly and skilfully done that you just keep turning the pages to find out what happens next. The characters are realistic and it is easy to get caught up in their lives. My only criticism – and this is a personal thing – is that it is quite bleak in places.

Highly recommended for those who like contemporary crime novels, although be warned that there is nothing cosy about this mystery.

‘Murder on the Eiffel Tower’ by Claude Izner (translated from French)

This is the first book in a series featuring Parisian bookseller Victor Legris as the investigator of a number of murders.

As with the Nicola Upson series described above, the first book isn’t the strongest of the series but it is worth a read to immerse yourself in Victor’s late nineteenth-century world. The murders are page-turning and the settings are just fabulous – the Eiffel Tower, the Pere-Lachaise cemetery, Montmartre. Plus, there’s a bookshop as a focal point…

‘The Bookish Life of Nina Hill’ by Abbi Waxman

This one was shortlisted for the Comedy Women in Print Prize 2020.

Nina Hill works in a bookshop in a quirky area of Los Angeles. She’s happy with her life, with its pub quiz fixtures, cinema trips and plenty of time scheduled for reading. In fact, Nina prefers books to people and is quite content sharing her life with Phil, her cat. However, her life changes forever when she gets the news that her absent father has died, leaving her a bequest and a big, complicated family to deal with. A handsome quiz rival further pushes Nina to question her attitude to life.

This is a jolly, light-hearted book – although Nina suffers from anxiety, it’s not all doom and gloom and there is the sense that nothing truly awful will happen. It’s cosy, escapist fiction and I think it should be appreciated as such – I enjoyed it, read it quickly and it left me feeling happy. Surely then it’s met its objectives!

‘Flaubert’s Parrot’ by Julian Barnes

A book ostensibly about Flaubert wouldn’t be a hit with me, although I did read Flaubert’s ‘Madame Bovary’ at university and remember liking it. However, in Barnes’ hands, this becomes the story of obsession as scholar Geoffrey Braithwaite grapples with life and love through his Flaubert fixation. On the way, we learn a lot about the great French writer.

This – while tackling some big issues about life and art – is readable, funny and full of in-jokes for anyone who knows ‘Madame Bovary’.

‘The Truth’ by Terry Pratchett

Anyone who reads this blog regularly will know that I’m not a massive fantasy fan. However, I can easily make an exception for the witty, wise and wonderful Terry Pratchett.

The Librarian at Unseen University (an orang-utan, for those uninitiated into Pratchett’s Discworld series) would make this list on his own merits, but instead I’ve chosen the fabulous ‘The Truth’.

It’s about writers – in this case journalists – and the introduction of the printing press to Discworld by William de Worde. As someone who unwittingly introduces the first newspaper to Discworld, he then has to deal with the can of worms he has unleashed! With its exploration of ‘fake news’ and the power of publication, this (written in 2000) feels like it really should be having its moment now.

OK, so journalism isn’t quite books, but printing is absolutely on message for this list and this book is so hilarious that I hope you forgive me wandering a little from the brief!

It is also worth mentioning some books that I’ve already featured on the blog. These would absolutely belong on this kind of list, but I thought it was cheating to feature them again when there were so many books I haven’t talked about!

  1. ‘Eight Detectives’ by Alex Pavesi – crime novel delving into the tricks of crime novels! A clever debut and reviewed here.
  2. ‘Shadowplay’ by Joseph O’Connor – brilliant novel about Bram Stoker writing Dracula during his time as manager of the Lyceum Theatre in a vividly-drawn Victorian/Edwardian world – reviewed here.
  3. ‘The Binding’ by Bridget Collins – a fantastic novel about an apprentice to a bookbinder who learns the dark and mystical secrets of the trade – reviewed as part of my ’10 Brilliant Historical Novels You Should Read’ here.
  4. ‘Swan Song’ by Kelleigh Greenberg-Jephcott – a fictionalised account of Truman Capote’s life and relationships with the women he called his ‘swans’ (but ultimately betrayed in his writing). Interesting stuff and reviewed again as part of my ’10 Brilliant Historical Novels You Should Read’ here.
  5. ‘A Theatre for Dreamers’ by Polly Samson – gloriously sun-drenched novel about a community of artists and writers (including Leonard Cohen and Charmian Clift) living on the Greek island of Hydra in the 1960s. I reviewed the audiobook here.
  6. ‘The Postscript Murders’ by Elly Griffiths – cosy, twisty mystery about the death of a ‘murder consultant’ to crime writers. Reviewed here.
  7. ‘Frankissstein’ by Jeanette Winterson – excellent modern retelling of Frankenstein with an AI twist, interspersed with scenes of Mary Shelley writing the original novel. Reviewed here.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my list – please do recommend me more books about bookshops, libraries and writers!

‘People of Abandoned Character’ by Clare Whitfield

Happy publication day to this delicious slice of dark, historical fiction!

I am obsessed with anything set in the Victorian era and have read a lot about the Jack the Ripper murders. With that in mind, I came to this book with lots of enthusiasm and a little bit of trepidation – I am a bit of a stickler for historical accuracy when a writer is using events that are so well documented as the basis for their story.

I needn’t have worried at all – I was in safe hands with Clare Whitfield who has produced a well-researched and absolutely compelling book.

The story follows a young woman, Susannah, without family of her own who comes to work at the London hospital as a nurse. She catches the eye of a young doctor, Thomas Lancaster, who marries her and installs her in his home in Chelsea. The marriage isn’t a happy one and, as the Ripper murders begin to terrorise the streets of Whitechapel, Susannah is led to consider the possibility that her husband is responsible for the killings.

What I loved about this book was the way that Susannah herself is presented. The story is told primarily in the first person, so we are given access to Susannah’s thoughts and perspective. This is really effective as our doubts about Thomas grow as Susannah’s do, although we also recognise her unreliability as our guide through this period of Victorian history as she has a laudanum dependency.

Another strength is the way that the Ripper murders are integrated into the story; initially, they are merely backdrop but, as Susannah’s focus shifts to them, we get more involvement and detail. True Ripperologists will note the inclusion of the death of Elizabeth Smith, not one of the canonical five and often disputed as being one of Jack’s victims, but this absolutely works in relation to the story and gives Susannah personal investment in the crimes.

Indeed, the treatment of the victims by the writer is another commendable aspect of the novel; the women are given personalities, back-story and even a voice though Susannah’s own imaginings of them.

Without giving too much away, the plot is extremely clever and the way that twists in the story are gradually revealed is absolutely engrossing – as the novel gathers pace in the second half, the reader is on constantly shifting sands which definitely left me racing for the denouement.

Overall, this is a well-constructed and well-paced novel with convincing historical detail and a heroine who – far from being perfect – is unreliable but extremely resourceful.

I would recommend this to any lovers of historical fiction, but also those who enjoy psychological thrillers as there is something extremely tense (but enjoyable) in watching Susannah weigh up how dangerous her husband may prove to be.

I received a free copy of the e-book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. However, I’d recommend that readers try to get a physical copy of the book as there are some little illustrations separating chapters that I bet look fabulous in print.

If you would like a copy of this fabulous book, please consider using my affiliate link below – at no extra cost to you.

Header photo with thanks to Renè Müller for sharing their work on Unsplash.

‘The Postscript Murders’ by Elly Griffiths

This book will be published on 1st October so time to get a pre-order in now!

In what seems to be turning into a recurring theme for me, I came to this book not realising it was second in the series featuring Detective Sergeant Harbinder Kaur.

Luckily for me, this one works as a stand alone novel really rather well! The novel opens with the death of an old lady in a flat overlooking Shoreham sea front. She is found by her carer, Natalka, who – along with another elderly resident of the block of flats and the local coffee shack owner – become the unlikely sleuths in a case that starts to spiral.

The key to the mystery seems to lie in the lady’s past and, in particular, her provision of consultancy services on murder methods to writers. DS Kaur leads the investigation into the possible murder and finds herself caught up in a literary puzzle.

This was an enjoyable and light read – very much in the realm of cosy crime as there’s nothing graphic or particularly perilous here. Instead, it’s a quite lovely tale of how some unlikely characters forge relationships and support each other. In particular, DS Kaur’s Sikh family were great – warm and likeable – so I hope they appear more in future outings. I wouldn’t say the events were particularly realistic but it’s a clever premise and I was happy to be drawn along in its slipstream.

Overall, this is a rather gentle but engaging mystery. For all its cosiness, I’d still say that it has plenty of surprises and twists that make it enjoyable for fans of this genre.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Header photo with thanks to Art Lasovsky for sharing their work on Unsplash.