Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico (translated by Sophie Hughes) follows the story of millennial expat couple Tom and Anna’s pursuit of the perfectly styled Berlin life. What is Perfection about? Let me first say that Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico isn’t my usual read. Fairly or unfairly, the phrase ‘shortlisted for the International Booker Prize’ takes me […]
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The New Neighbours by Claire Douglas is the most recent psychological thriller by this best-selling author and is the latest Crawcrook Book Club read. What’s the story about? In this novel we find ourselves in Bristol with forty-something Lena who is struggling with big changes. Her marriage has floundered. Her teenage son will soon fly
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Fall Down Dead by Stephen Booth is part of the successful Cooper & Fry crime thriller series. And in this instalment Kinder Scout mountain is the scene of a tragedy. A Peak District walking party led by the enigmatic Darius Roth sets out on a dreary day to commemorate The Mass Trespass. However, when thick
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Murder at the Seaview Hotel by Glenda Young follows recently widowed Helen Dexter as she comes to terms with the death of her husband, Tom. Returning to the Seaview Hotel in Scarborough, Helen is struggling with grief. Without her Elvis obsessed husband she’s lost. Can she face running it on her own, especially with an
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The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years by Shubnum Khan is an other-worldly, evocative and wonderfully atmospheric story. It follows the arrival of Sana Malik and her father as new tenants in the once grand Akbar Manzil. At its height the mansion was the grandest house in South Africa and home to Akbar Ali Khan and
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In The Quiet Tenant by Clémence Michallon we are introduced to Aidan Thomas. He’s a widower, a father, and a well-respected member of the community in small town America. But there’s something nobody knows. He’s holding a woman, known as Rachel, captive in his shed and he’s a serial killer. What is the story about?
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The fantastic Cleveland Way passes through pretty Sandsend village and marching northwards it clings close to the coast as it follows a disused railway line. You pass by a moon-like landscape of alum deposits and then up an almost vertical flight of stairs. While catching your breath enjoy sweeping views across the North Sea. I’ve walked
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The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner is a young adult (Y.A.) coming-of-age novel set in small town Forrestville, Tennessee. The story centres on the secrets, hopes and fears of three high school misfits. What is The Serpent King about? The main protagonist is Dillard Early Junior, or Dill to his only two loyal friends, Lydia
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The Returning by Ann Tatlock follows the lives of the Sheldon family during one summer at Conesus Lake in upstate New York. John is returning to his family after serving five years for the manslaughter of a hitchhiker he picked up when drunk and then promptly crashed his car. Time has moved on in his
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The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton is a richly layered historical mystery that weaves together the lives of three main characters: Eliza, Nell and Cassandra. What is The Forgotten Garden about? The story begins in 1913 when a young child is found abandoned on an Australian wharf with no memory of who she is. A
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