On a year long social media blackout (sept 21 – sept 22)
Lisa Bradley’s campus-thriller, The Lesson, is a classic who-do-you-trust mixed with serious questions about issues facing students and staff at universities. Bradley has already created a signature pacing (see my Paper Dolls review) and it doesn’t let you slip away for a second here. Honestly, I was hooked. Spoiler Free Synopsis Evie is a second […]
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Rob Parker’s Thirty Mile Trilogy begins with a detective novel that reads like a season of Unforgotten or Line of Duty, brought to you by Red Dog Press, perfect for fans of crime shows, true and fictional alike. Spoiler Free Synopsis After an anonymous tip, twenty-seven bodies are found in a mass grave in the […]
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Ben Magid’s sci-fi (and, as I’d categorise it, YA) novel is a page turner, for sure. The first of a series, it follows a strong female lead in a world populated by robots aka “Mech”. Highly enjoyable, I will definitely continue to read the series, even if there were a few cringe language choices. The […]
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A beautiful fantasy book for both children and adults, The Hungry Ghost is a story of family, friendship, love and death, but overall (for me) of memory. The Plot in a Nutshell Freja has come to stay with her father for a year while her mother “gets well” in her home country of Denmark. Her […]
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Jennie Fields’ spy thriller romance surprised me with how beautifully it’s written. It’s more than a historical fiction, it’s a drama with grit and emotion. The Plot in a Nutshell It’s 1950 and Rosalind (Roz) is still haunted by her part in the Manhattan Project, as a scientist who helped to develop the bombs dropped […]
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Lauren Beukes’ Afterland tells an eerily real post-pandemic tale of a mother, son and sister trying to live in a world without men. It’s beautiful and scary and an absolute must-read. Especially now. The Plot in a Nutshell A virus has killed 99% of all men. Including Cole’s husband (Miles’ father). When it is discovered […]
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Femantle subverts all your expectations in this mysterious historical fiction. The Plot The Honey and the Sting is told from three perspecitves: Hester, Hope and Felton. The year is 1628. Hester is a young mother who lives with her son, Rafe and her two sisters: Hope and Melis. Rafe’s father is George, a duke who […]
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Although Lisa Bradley’s thriller got off to a slow start, half way through it picked up to a truly astonishing pace and the novel takes unexpected turn after unexpected turn. You think you know what’s going on? Think again. The Plot In a Nutshell Leah’s been not working for a while now, ever since she […]
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Ann Rawson’s debut novel is the perfect blend of murder mystery, family feud and Roman history. The Plot in a Nutshell History buff Alice Hunter is trying to get her life back together after a brief stay in a mental health facility. Following the death of her beloved grandmother, she was committed after a fire […]
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Jane Yolen’s new short story collection is nothing short of magical. Here she brings together tales and poems that were either published elsewhere previously or written for the dark fairy-tale collection. The Plot in a Nutshell As this is a short story collection, I will try to summarise each story in a sentence or two, […]
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