Mystery and thriller writer Harlan Coben (http://www.harlancoben.com/) entertains us once more with a tale in which facts re-surface from the past. In Six Years the narrative is immersive, and the well-drawn characters and twisting plotting are stellar. With such a cool hook and a surprising and satisfying payoff, get straight out and read what might be […]
Lesley Pearse (http://www.lesleypearse.com/about-lesley) tells us that her life has had more ups and downs than a bucket in a well. This has equipped her to write gripping fiction with characters that it is impossible not to care about or forget. The author loves her laburnum and is well read in history. The Daily Mail endorses this novel
According to Dilly Court’s own website (http://www.dillycourt.com/about.aspx) she has been heavily influenced by Enid Blyton. She now lives in Dorset where her hobbies include knitting. In this gripping new novel of 2013 which penetrates to the heart of the human condition with all its random complexities, we meet eight-year-old Sarah Scrase and her widowed mother
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Danielle Steele is one of those people who has had such a busy life one can’t figure out where all the time came from to cram it all in. Another I often think of in this light is Melvyn Bragg. Steele (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danielle_Steele) is now 65 years old and the world’s best selling author, having sold
Jan Webster (Jan Webster) had a deep and instinctive feel for the Scots people of whom she wrote. This is an affecting saga of Scots life. Collier’s Row is the first novel in the Kate Kilgour trilogy, following a resilient woman navigating poverty, family, and class struggles in a 19th-century Scottish mining community. The story
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The Dale and Owen Industrial Community Since 1785 Are you ever embarrassed about not knowing more about your local area when visitors arrive? Bone up on this book and have it to hand. It traces New Lanark’s history from its conception as a centre of mass production in 1785 to its present day standing as
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A really entertaining whilst informative work about how London has disposed of its dead throughout history. This can be dipped into and enjoyed especially by those of a ghoulish disposition. Ironically, Arnold’s writing brings London richly ‘to life’. ISBN 978-1416502487
Dutch born Catholic priest and writer Henri Jozef Machiel Nouwen wrote some of the most profound yet accessible works about the spiritual life in the twentieth century. This is one such, about the spiritual life in three movements. Our best chance at salvation is found in reaching out to others. ISBN 978-0006280866
Barnes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_Barnes and http://www.julianbarnes.com/) may have equals on the English language literary scene but none, I think, better. Here he dissects the sense of his own mortality in a crafted prose that is breathtaking in its poise and elegance. He asks if the fear of death is ‘the most rational thing in the world’, how does one contend
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