FANTASTIC FICTION – Escapes to other places and other times

Jesmyn Ward (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesmyn_Ward) won  the 2011 National Book Award for Fiction for her 2011 book ‘Salvage the Bones’. Her 2017 novel is Sing, Unburied, Sing describes a black woman and her two children driving to a prison to pick up their white father. We are introduced to the convict’s son, Jojo, who has been forced to shoulder  […]

My Absolute Darling (2017) is a debut novel from Garbiel Tallent (http://www.bookweb.org/news/qa-gabriel-tallent-author-1-indie-next-list-pick-september-37140) describing a horribly tainted love. Both a Times and a Guardian Book of the Year 2017, it has attracted many plaudits. See here if you could set aside the time for it.   At 14 years old Turtle Alveston is a crack shot with

Middle-class, midwest suburban family life is Celeste Ng’s (https://www.celesteng.com/about/) subject matter in this recent novel. It concerns motherhood, surrogacy, abortion and adoption, and the narrative traces the events which lead to the tragedy of a raging house fire.   The Richardson family owns a large picture-perfect house in Cleveland’s progressive Shaker Heights neighbourhood. It has four cars in the

Amanda Craig (https://www.amandacraig.com/) has written a cycle of seven interconnected novels which deal with contemporary British society, often in an expansive, dramatic and satirical manner. Her multi-stranded approach to writing fiction has invited comparison with the output of Anthony Trollope. She has contributed journalism to over 10 newspapers and periodicals over many years. Craig’s 7th

Lee Child (http://www.leechild.com/) sells crime thriller novels on a shipping container scale. His legion of devoted readers mark their diaries with the expected date of character Jack Reacher’s next outing. Library shelves are empty at the places where his fiction is stored, and reservation lists long. There is clearly a market for Child’s hard boiled

Perhaps you’re aching for a seductively readable, lusciously page-turning, utterly compelling and hugely rewarding read? Fantastic fiction is, after all, an escape to another place or time than your own.   Look no further than Penny Vincenzi (http://pennyvincenzi.com/). Since her first novel, Old Sins, was published in 1989, Penny has written fourteen scorching masterpieces, most recently

Annie Murray has been infantalising the minds of her readers with carelessly crafted novels of no power and less conviction since 1995. Her 25th scribbling, A Wartime Secret, is available now and her devoted readership can expect many a pot boiler to follow. Murray prepared for a literary career by training as a journalist and working

In the last few years the genre of psychological mystery thriller has become highly popular. With ample leisure time on your hands now at this peak holiday period, why not indulge in some heart starter fiction? Lisa Jewell (http://www.lisa-jewell.co.uk/) offers us ‘Then She Was Gone’. The summary is as follows.   Ellie was fifteen, her mother’s

Ruth Ware (http://www.ruthware.com/) had a variety of jobs before happily finding her vocation as a fiction writer. Her psychological thrillers In a Dark, Dark Wood (2015) and The Woman in Cabin 10 (2016) are now followed by this year’s The Lying Game (2017). The summary is as follows. On a cool June morning, Isa Wilde, a

American author Dennis Lehane (http://dennislehane.com/) has written several novels, two of which have transferred successfully to the screen. These are Mystic River (2001) (a 2003 film directed by Clint Eastwood, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0327056/) and Shutter Island (2003) (a 2010 film directed by Martin Scorsese, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1130884/?ref_=nv_sr_1). Directors are attracted to the author’s insightful and empathetic characterisation, his razor-sharp dialogue,

Here is a debut novel which is getting a lot of praise by word of mouth. Give this psychological thriller a try. The summary is as follows. Everyone knows a couple like Jack and Grace: he has looks and wealth, she has charm and elegance. You’d like to get to know Grace better. But it’s

Annie Murray has been infantalising the minds of her readers with carelessly crafted novels of no power and less conviction for some time. Her 22nd, The Doorstep Child, is available now and her devoted readership can expect many a pot boiler to follow. Murray prepared for a literary career by training as a journalist and working for

Lyn Andrews has been infantalising the minds of her readers with carelessly crafted novels of no power and less conviction for some time. Her 34th, Liverpool Sisters, is available now and her devoted readership can expect many a pot boiler to follow. Andrews prepared for a literary career by attending secretarial college in Liverpool. Find out

Dilly Court has been enriching the lives of her readers with carelessly crafted novels of no power and less conviction for some time. Her 23th, The Button Box, is available now and her devoted readership can expect many a pot boiler to follow. Court writes Dillygently every morning before rewarding herself with a custard cream and

Katie Fforde (http://www.katiefforde.com/) describes on her website how being addicted to Mills & Boon novels prepared her for the literary life. It is love, indeed, which motivates this ‘Sunday Times No.1 Bestseller’.   Ambrose Bierce may have quipped that love is ‘a temporary insanity curable by marriage’. His view was that body chemistry has to