This Taste For Silence is a stunning collection of stories about silences. From comfortable ones to sinister ones, we’re reminded that among the constant noise it’s the silences that sometimes carry the most meaning. The balance of power in a marriage shifts, with shocking consequences. An elderly woman recounts a chilling childhood memory on the […]
crime fiction
Review: Things in Jars, by Jess Kidd
Things is Jars is like a female Sherlock Holmes story. Except Watson is a half-naked ghost – or possibly a drug-induced hallucination – in boxing shorts who has very little to contribute to the investigation. London, 1863. Bridie Devine, the finest female detective of her age, is taking on her toughest case yet. Reeling from […]
My 3 favourite contemporary fiction novels of 2017
It’s always entertaining and enlightening to have your current world reflected back to you through fiction. Which is exactly what the novels in my final ‘best of’ list for 2017 do – contemporary fiction. For me, an excellent contemporary fiction novel has all the general elements of a good novel – compelling story, great writing […]
Review: Sweet Little Lies, by Caz Frear
Better than Lynda La Plante. That’s truly high praise coming from a woman who’s read almost every crime fiction novel ever written. My mum is back on the blog today, reviewing Caz Frear’s debut novel, Sweet Little Lies. What it’s about Cat Kinsella was always a daddy’s girl. Until the summer of 1998 when she sees […]
Book review: Goodwood, by Holly Throsby
Goodwood is a small town where everyone knows everything about everyone. It’s a place where it’s impossible to keep a secret. In 1992, when Jean Brown is seventeen, a terrible thing happens. Two terrible things. Rosie White, the coolest girl in town, vanishes overnight. One week later, Goodwood’s most popular resident, Bart McDonald, sets off […]