Category: Book Review

The evocation of love is spoken through three voices in a plot that explores this emotion in all its aspects from true love to lost love and intertwined with the tantalising nirvana of ideal love. The key protagonists are engaged in a love triangle whose emotional apex is Venus, the possessor of a hypnotic voice … Continue reading “Ideal Love by Alice Burnett”

The childhood trauma of witnessing Rwanda’s genocide gives Theo an unwanted perspective on life as he sinks into the mire of a Dublin underclass fuelled by drug money. But as he reluctantly adapts to a life of urban conflict he can’t escape the blood soaked images of his African past. His foster parents, Jim and … Continue reading “Rain Falls On Everyone by Clar Ni Chonghaile”

A vajazzle is a fashion statement more talked about than actually seen but a Brazilian is your passport into the world not only of bored middle class house-wives but the media bubble of the reality tv star. This could be TOWIE does the Balearics with a hint of the outdoor challenges of I’m a Celebrity…….and … Continue reading “The Brazilian by Rosie Millard”

Jo Daniels life comes to a terrifying end in the most heart wrenching of circumstances as an apparently motiveless attack leaves her family devastated yet determined to find the killer who has ripped a gaping hole in their lives. As the grisly chain of events unfold Grace, the bereaved mother, retreats into the warmth and … Continue reading “The Lies Within by Jane Isaac”

The eponymous shining star of the story has a soubriquet reflecting a strength of character belying her childlike appearance. She is the source of light for her broken family and a hint of salvation for her elderly neighbour, Peggy Baxter. Her mother turns to drink as she struggles to come to terms with her father’s … Continue reading “Little Gold by Allie Rogers”

Blaming a recently deceased father for his personal frailties becomes an emotional reflex for Lucas as the circumstances of the death trigger long dormant memories of a childhood traumatised by infidelities and lies. As a pharmacologist Lucas leads a professionally clinical life analysing the biological building blocks that unlock the potential for longer life yet … Continue reading “Blame by Paul Read”

The Halved Man is the apogee of Ada Bates’s career in magic. Under the stage name of the Amazing Arden this death defying illusion is in many ways an analogy for the two men who have orchestrated her traumatic course through life. Clyde and Ray are emotionally and mentally polar opposites but have both left … Continue reading “The Magician’s Lie”

Life in the fast lane for forensic psychiatrist Natalie King grinds to a halt as depression take hold but as light begins to seep into the darker recesses any attempts to reinvigorate her medical career are potentially threatened by a nascent relationship with Frank Malosevic. Beneath his handsome and deceptively unctuous veneer lay a man … Continue reading “Dangerous to Know by Anne Buist”

The stork is the harbinger of Spring symbolically bringing light to the Winter darkness and anticipation of its arrival becomes a metaphor for life and hope as Yael struggles desperately to find safe haven in Nazi occupied Poland. The impending genocide looms large over those fighting to preserve their Jewish faith. Fighting cold and hunger … Continue reading “The Song of the Stork by Stephan Collishaw”