by David Stafford — Funny, quirky, clever, entertaining and well written historical crime fiction. Book 2 in the Skelton’s Guide series
Category: 5 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Early Morning Riser
by Katherine Heiny — Shines with intelligence and warmth. Beautifully written exploration of love, marriage and the meaning of fidelity.
Lullaby Beach
by Stella Duffy — A rich, engrossing novel about women’s lives, abusive relationships, lifelong trauma, and speaking out.
Rags of Time
by Michael Ward — Politics, religion, commerce and science collide in this intriguing, fast-paced historical mystery set in London in 1640. First of a trilogy.
The Strange Adventures of H
by Sarah Burton — A wonderfully written, bawdy, vivid, thrilling romp set to a backdrop of plague, fire, brothels and playhouses.
The Moonflower Murders
by Anthony Horowitz — Moonflower Murders is a marvelous, intriguing, page-turning, fun puzzle that’s fiendishly complex yet very readable.
Ministry for the Future
by Kim Stanley Robinson — There’s no magic bullet for the climate. We may need a complete rectification of our values, lifestyles and social structures.
Just Ignore Him
by Alan Davies — A glimpse into the lifelong effects of terrible childhood events. Just Ignore Him is a a beautiful, unforgettable, sad, funny and brave book.
A Good Father
by Catherine Talbot — Des is a good father. He loves his wife and children more than anything. So much that he’s determined to take care of them, once and for all.
The Forsyte Saga
by John Galsworthy — An incisive depiction of the decline of the Victorian era and the rise of the Modern era, and a gripping multi-generational family saga.
The First Days
by Rhiannon Frater — As The World Dies Book 1. Great story, characterization and dialogue, tense plotting and emotional impact… and the best ever opening scene.
Writing for Mobile. And Other Media.
by Fiona Brichaut — Discover a new method to structure, write and format any non-fiction text. Step by step instructions on how to make long texts easy to read.
Mary Elizabeth Braddon – The Queen of Victorian sensation fiction
Best known for her sensationalist novels, Mary Elizabeth Braddon (née Maxwell) published more than 80 wonderful novels between1860 and 1910.
Servants
by Lucy Lethbridge — Vivid, informative and well written account of the lives of servants, drawn from the letters and memoirs of servants, from the 19C to today.
The Searcher
by Tana French — American ex-cop in the Irish countryside. Intelligent and well written, it debunks the tourist-brochure stereotypes. A cracking good read.
When the Lights Go Out
by Carys Bray — The impact of climate change on one family: constant rain, unemployment and the stress of trying to live as though life was still ‘normal’.
Skeltons’s Guide to Domestic Poisons
by David Stafford — A delightful book, an absolute treat. Detective novel in the cosy/classic style set in the 1920s, but with a modern pace. Quirky and funny.
Where the Edge Is
by Grainne Murphy — a very readable and moving novel about people handling the intense emotional experience of a rescue operation.
The Thursday Murder Club
by Richard Osman — Residents in a retirement community get together to use their not-forgotten skills to solve a murder. Fun, plot twists and witty dialogue.
Mayflies
by Andrew O’Hagan — A story of male friendship, youth, mortality, music, Margaret Thatcher and other weighty matters.