by Ina L. Nara — In A Happy Wife, cracks are appearing in Ivy’s perfect marriage despite the neural implants that promised eternal love.
Category: 3 ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
What Happens in the Dark
by Kia Abdullah — A legal thriller and domestic drama. It’s a good read with interesting characters and a twisty plot.
The Neighbours
by Emma Babbington — A twisty psychological thriller with plenty of tantalising hints that will keep you guessing.
Don’t Make Me Laugh
by Julia Raeside — Shines a Me Too searchlight on the comedy circuit. The nice guy is the usual toxic creep. Will he get his comeuppance?
The Glassmaker
by Tracy Chevalier — A multiple-timeline novel about the history of Murano glassmaking, following Orsola Rosso from 1486 to now.
The Busy Body
by Kemper Donovan — A homage to Agatha Christie, recommended for fans of well-written modern crime fiction in the classic tradition.
The Light and Shade of Ellen Swithin
by DG Coutinho — Another in the latest slew of books about women truly killing it. Entertaining.
Una, Unwanted
by Elin F. Styve — A moving story of family dysfunction, hypocrisy and a woman seeking the connection of family.
How to Kill a Guy in Ten Ways
by Eve Kellman — Another female serial killer novel with gallows humour and deplorable men getting their comeuppance in myriad painful ways.
The Lost Cause
by Cory Doctorow — Is the world a lost cause? We should be screaming a warning from the rooftops. I applaud Doctorow for trying.
Tom Lake
by Ann Patchett — Tom Lake is a nice book, very pleasant to read, not particularly challenging but beautifully written. Lockdown without the pandemic.
Lioness
by Emily Perkins — Therese questions herself and her life, and feels the urge to break out, smash everything and live more authentically. Who doesn’t, right?
The Social Distance Between Us
by Darren McGarvey — Well written essay on the disparities between the ruling class and the people affected by their decisions. UK-focused, but relevant anywhere.
How We End
by LM Juniper — UK-based zombie apocalypse. Exciting, action-packed story with a group of interesting characters, and fun twists on the genre.
Shade of Violet
by Jackie West — A bit of low fantasy, a bit of crime mystery, a lot of entertaining characters and dialogue. A fun, light – but also well written novel.
Email from the Future
by Michael Rogers — A compelling and thought-provoking speculative novel set in a future where things ARE better, where people managed to fix the world.
Free Love
by Tessa Hadley — An incisive novel about a 1960s housewife who throws up her life to become a hippy, and the family she leaves behind.
The Course of Love
by Alain de Botton — The love story of a fictional couple serves as an argument for enlightened romantic pessimism: don’t marry for love, marry someone you like.
Legacy of Death
by Judith Cutler — Legacy of Death has all the ingredients of a 19th century sensational mystery novel, with a 21st century ethos and style. Book 2 in a series.
Don’t You Want Me
by Richard Easter — Race riots, royals and gender bending. No, it’s not 2020. It’s 1981 and there’s a serial killer at large in this indy British crime novel.