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Showing posts from February, 2022

Hazards of Time Travel - Joyce Carol Oates

  Description An ingenious dystopian novel of one young woman’s resistance against the constraints of an oppressive society When a recklessly idealistic girl in a dystopian future society dares to test the perimeters of her tightly controlled world, she is punished by being sent back in time to a region of North America – ‘Wainscotia, Wisconsin’ – that existed eighty years before. Cast adrift in time in this idyllic Midwestern town, she is set upon a course of ‘rehabilitation’ – but she falls in love with a fellow exile and starts to question the constraints of her new existence, with results that are both devastating and liberating. Arresting and visionary, Hazards of Time Travel is an exquisitely wrought love story, a novel of harrowing discovery – and an oblique but powerful response to our current political climate. Review Being a lover of time travel novels I was immediately drawn to this book from the title alone.  We are introduced to a world in 2049 where NAS exists - ...

The Interview - C M Ewan

  Description The Interview  is a gripping locked-room thriller from C. M. Ewan, the acclaimed author of  A Window Breaks  and the half-a-million-copy bestseller  Safe House . It’s 5 p.m. on a Friday. You have been called to an interview for your dream job. In a stunning office thirteen floors above the city below, you are all alone with the man interviewing you. Everyone else has gone home for the weekend. The interview gets more and more disturbing. You’re feeling scared. Your only way out is to answer a seemingly impossible question. If you can’t . . . what happens next? Review I've got mixed feelings about this book. I was certainly intrigued by the premise of the book. What was that seemingly impossible interview question going to be? I got a bit of a sinking feeling when I wondered if the whole book was just going to be in this office, the interviewer and interviewee - and it's a long book. I needn't have worried,  although this is the core of the boo...

Escape - Linwood Barclay

  Description Don't stop running . . . the second edge-of-your-seat thriller with bite from international bestselling author Linwood Barclay for ages 9+ 12-year-old Jeff and genetically engineered spy dog Chipper are on the run from the mysterious and sinister government organisation knows only as The Institute. Due to a combination of bravery, luck and some of Chipper's more useful modifications, they've managed to evade their pursuers so far. But The Institute is closing in and Chipper and Jeff will have to be stay one step ahead if they want to stay alive.. Danger, secrets and thrilling suspense collide in Linwood Barclay's action-packed series for children. Review Being a huge fan of the writing of Linwood Barclay, I decided to try this children's book he wrote. Although this is the second in a series and I hadn't read the first book it was a standalone read. It might be aimed at 9+ ages but I found the whole story really intriguing. As the book begins I was...

The Imperfect Art of Caring - Jessica Ryn

  Description One small act can make a big difference Violet Strong is strong by name but not by nature, or so she thinks. She listens but never talks about herself. She’s friendly but doesn’t have many real friends. She’s become good at keeping people at a distance ever since she left home at eighteen and never looked back. But when Violet is forced to return home to care for her estranged mother, Glenys, she quickly finds out that life as a carer isn’t easy. Feeling overwhelmed, she’s forced to turn to the other local carers, including childhood friend, Adam, for help. Although returning home still feels like a mistake, maybe it will help Violet right some wrongs. After all, she can’t keep running from her past forever, and in learning to look after others, perhaps Violet can start to finally love herself… Review This is the most heart warming book I have read in a long time. Violet is forced to return to her childhood home to look after her estranged Mother, as her sister is lea...

A Spoonful of Murder - J M Hall

  Description Introducing the three unlikeliest sleuths you'll ever meet… Every Thursday, three retired school teachers have their ‘coffee o’clock’ sessions at the Thirsk Garden Centre café. But one fateful week, as they are catching up with a slice of cake, they bump into their ex-colleague, Topsy. By the next Thursday, Topsy’s dead.   The last thing Liz, Thelma and Pat imagined was that they would become involved in a murder.   But they know there’s more to Topsy’s death than meets the eye – and it’s down to them to prove it… Sit down with a cup of tea and this perfectly witty, page-turning cosy crime novel. Fans of Agatha Christie,  Death in Paradise  and  Midsomer Murders  will be hooked from the very first page. This audio edition includes an exclusive interview between J.M. Hall and Julie Hesmondhalgh. Review I listened to the audio version of this book.  I loved Julie Hesmondhalgh narrating this book It really added to the cosy cr...

Take Your Breath Away - Linwood Barclay

  Description It’s always the husband, isn’t it? One weekend, while Andrew Mason was on a fishing trip, his wife, Brie, vanished without a trace. Most people assumed Andy had got away with murder, but the police couldn’t build a strong case against him. For a while, Andy hit rock bottom – he drank too much, was abandoned by his friends, nearly lost his business and became a pariah in the place he had once called home. Now, six years later, Andy has put his life back together. He’s sold the house he shared with Brie and moved away for a fresh start. When he hears his old house has been bulldozed and a new house built in its place, he’s not bothered. He’s settled with a new partner, Jayne, and life is good. But Andy’s peaceful world is about to shatter. One day, a woman shows up at his old address, screaming, ‘Where’s my house? What’s happened to my house?' And then, just as suddenly as she appeared, the woman – who bears a striking resemblance to Brie – is gone. The police are notif...