Secrets at St Bride's by Debbie Young

Reviewer: Liza Perrat, author of the French Historical, The Bone Angel trilogy (Spirit of Lost Angels, Wolfsangel, Blood Rose Angel) and new Australian 1970s series: The Silent Kookaburra and The Swooping Magpie.

What we thought: Secrets at St Bride’s is the first novel in Debbie Young’s exciting new series: Staffroom at St. Bride’s.

This warm-hearted, witty, comic and engaging tale follows the adventures of Gemma Lamb, who flees her controlling boyfriend and goes to work at St. Bride’s, a contemporary English girls’ boarding school.

Set on a stunning estate in the Cotswolds, Gemma hopes to establish a new and independent future for herself at St Bride’s.

However, enclosed in a false net of security, Gemma soon discovers that the other staff members are all hiding some kind of secret. Even the school cat! With the author’s easy blending of romance, mystery, comedy and suspense, I really enjoyed accompanying Gemma as she discovered each different secret.

In this first book of the series, the author deftly sets up the engaging character of Gemma Lamb, as well as the other characters, and the beautiful school setting, for future stories. And I’m really looking forward to the next one, which I believe should be released very soon!

You’ll like this if you: grew up on classic children’s school stories like Chalet School, Malory Towers and St Clare's.

Avoid if you don’t like: light-hearted, entertaining, escapism stories.

Genre: Blend of cozy mystery and romantic comedy.

Buy a copy here

The Way of All Flesh by Ambrose Parry

Reviewer: Barbara Scott Emmett - author of Delirium: The Rimbaud Delusion, The Man with the Horn and other books http://barbarascottemmett.blogspot.com

What We Thought: Set in Edinburgh in the mid-19th century, The Way of All Flesh is both an informative account of the development of anaesthesia and a historical murder mystery.

Will Raven is a young medical student working as assistant to the famous James Young Simpson, pioneer of painless childbirth. Impoverished and of dubious parentage, Raven has secrets to keep and financial problems to solve. If he can do well with Dr Simpson, he will be set up for life. The work is challenging and often gruesome - women die in agony or survive at the cost of their infant's life. Simpson experiments with ether and other prospective anaesthetics (often on himself an d his colleagues) before he hits on chloroform.

Meanwhile, women's bodies are being found contorted into positions of apparent agony. Raven's friend, Evie, is one such and he determines to discover what has happened to her and to the other women of the lower orders thus cruelly disposed of.

He forms an uneasy alliance with Sarah, the Simpsons' housemaid, who has also had a friend die in similar circumstances. Sarah is intelligent and forthright - neither qualities likely to serve her in her employment. She dreams of better things and resents Raven's ability to move up in the world in a way that is denied to her.

This is an extremely well-written page-turner with plenty of excitement and interest on every page. The descriptions of medical matters are often graphic but never unnecessarily so. Both Will and Sarah are well-rounded characters with faults and foibles as well as strength and compassion. Edinburgh itself plays a major role, from the foetid wynds and ginnels of the Canongate to the pleasant streets of the Georgian New Town.

Ostensibly by Ambrose Perry, this novel, as I discovered after reading it, was in fact written by Christopher Brookmyre and Marisa Haetzman. Brookmyre, who needs no introduction, has reined in the more excessive aspects of his graphic comedy; Haetzman is his wife and a consultant anaesthetist. It appears to be a perfect partnership. More books in this series are planned and I could visualise them as a tv series.

I received a free ebook from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

You’ll Enjoy This If You Loved: The Wicked Cometh by Laura Carlin, Sarah Waters’ books.

Avoid If You Dislike: Accounts of childbirth that don’t always end well.

Perfect Accompaniment: A reasonably strong stomach and a bottle of gin.

Genre: Historical Mystery

Available on Amazon

The Ashes of London by Andrew Taylor

Reviewer: Barbara Scott Emmett – author of Delirium: The Rimbaud Delusion, The Man with the Horn and other books http://barbarascottemmett.blogspot.com

What We Thought: Set in 1666 at the time of the Great Fire of London, this is a wonderfully atmospheric novel. We feel the heat of the fire scorching us in the opening chapter, and wipe the sooty sweat from our brows. There are two protagonist in this book and though they encounter each other briefly while watching the fire in that opening chapter, they don't meet properly until much later in the story.

James Marwood is a clerk to an Under Secretary of State at the Palace of Whitehall. James' father is a believer in 'King Jesus', a Republican and member of a Protestant sect who believe that getting rid of the earthly king will bring about King Jesus's reign more quickly. Only his age and increasing dementia saves him from the ultimate penalty. Let out of prison, he lives out of London, in Chelsea, and is safe as long as he keeps out of trouble.

Through his work James is involved in the investigation of a series of deaths that look very much like murders. It is a dangerous time: those who had demanded the killing of Charles I - the Regicides as they were known - were hunted down when his son, Charles II, reclaimed the throne. Is someone picking off former Republicans who have managed to hide their involvement in the king's downfall?

Catherine Lovett lives with her wealthy aunt and uncle who have betrothed her to Sir Denzil Croughton, a man much older than she is. Her father, also a follower of King Jesus and wanted as a Regicide, is on the run. Lovett has been abroad but there are rumours he is now in London. Cat longs to find him and creeps out of the house under cover of darkness to seek him out.

The lives of the two protagonists intertwine but this is not a love story. Cat wants to be an architect and have a life of her own. James is drawn ever further into the service of powerful men and ultimately into helping the king, on whose benevolence his father's freedom depends.

This is an entertaining and exciting book. It is part murder mystery, part political intrigue. It's a page-turner which is also a well researched and fully believable historical novel.

I received a free ebook from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

You’ll Enjoy This If You Loved: A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel.

Avoid If You Dislike: Occasional graphic cruelty

Perfect Accompaniment: A long cold ale.

Genre: Historical Mystery

Available on Amazon

Miss Treadway & the Field of Stars by Miranda Emmerson

Reviewer: Barbara Scott Emmett, (http://barbarascottemmett.blogspot.co.uk/) author of Delirium: The Rimbaud Delusion, The Land Beyond Goodbye, and The Man with the Horn.

What We Thought:
It is 1965 and Anna Treadway, a theatre dresser, lives above a Turkish Cypriot cafe in Covent Garden. Her boss, a theatre impressario who is (illegally, for the time) gay, also lives there. One night Iolanthe Green, an American actress working in London, goes missing after leaving the theatre. Speculation is rife and the story dominates the news for a short time.

The authorities soon lose interest in the case, however. Brennan Hayes, the detective sergeant (who has changed his name to Barnaby to sound less Irish), is hamstrung by his boss’s insistence that the ‘stupid woman has done herself in’ and it’s pointless wasting too much effort on her. Worried that Iolanthe’s disappearance is no longer news, Anna starts to make her own enquiries. In the course of her somewhat erratic investigations in the underground music clubs favoured by Iolanthe, she meets Aloyisius, a Jamaican accountant who agrees to help her.

As the unlikely pair trawl through the underbelly of Swingin’ London they suffer racist behaviour, face police brutality, and encounter back-street abortionists. At one point they are mistaken for prostitute and pimp – for why else would a white woman associate with a black man? All the prejudices of this newly enlightened time are laid bare. People are afraid to speak out because they have something to hide or something to lose. And it seems Anna, too, has her secrets. Meanwhile, Iolanthe is still missing, Barnaby’s marriage is disintegrating and Ottmar, the Turkish cafe owner is having trouble with his freedom-demanding daughter.

Though it exposes the bleakness that hid beneath the gaiety of the 60s, Miss Treadway & the Field of Stars is certainly not all misery. There is warmth and compassion here, and humour. Miranda Emmerson’s writing is glorious, the dialogue and characterisation superb and the background details spot on. This is a wonderful portrayal of a society in upheaval. Attitudes may be changing, women may be breaking free, understanding of other cultures and lifestyles is on the horizon, and a love affair may be developing between Anna and Aloyisius. Let’s hope we never go back to the dark impoverished days when such things were too shocking to contemplate.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

You’ll enjoy this if you like: Her Turn to Cry by Chris Curran, Ghost Town by Catriona Troth

Avoid if you dislike: Human beings and all their wonderful frailties.

Ideal accompaniments: Turkish coffee with a shot of something bracing in it.

Genre: Literary Mystery

Available from Amazon

Holes by Louis Sachar

Reviewer: Barbara Scott Emmett, author of Delirium: The Rimbaud Delusion, The Land Beyond Goodbye and Don’t Look Down (http://barbarascottemmett.blogspot.co.uk/)

What We Thought: According to family legend, Stanley Yelnats’ great great grandfather, also called Stanley Yelnats, was cursed by a one-legged Gypsy for stealing a pig. Generations on, the Yelnats family is still dogged by bad luck and trouble. Our Stanley, an overweight teenager, is convicted for a small crime he did not commit and sent to Camp Green Lake Juvenile Correctional Facility. There is no lake at Camp Green Lake, and no green either.

Along with the other ‘bad boys’, Stanley has to dig a hole five foot wide and five foot deep every day out in the burning desert. Stanley accepts this fate philosophically, despite the many injustices heaped upon him. Soon it becomes apparent to him that the hole-digging is not simply a random punishment set by the dreaded Warden; there is a reason for it which he alone has realised.

As he grows leaner and fitter, Stanley finds himself able to fit in with and stand up to the other young offenders. When his friend Zero gets into trouble and runs off into the desert, Stanley decides to try to find him. There’s a big rocky outcrop that looks like it’s giving him the thumbs up way in the distance and he’s sure it’s connected with his great great grandfather. Stanley sets off on his quest to solve the riddle of the holes, lift the family curse, and save Zero from dying (if he’s still alive, that is).

This is a wonderfully quirky book, funny and fantastical. The teenage protagonist may make it seem a book for younger readers but the writing, language and twisted plot will draw in adults without any problem. The heat of the desert is palpable, the characters are great, and Stanley may just steal your heart.

You’ll enjoy this if you like: If You’re Reading this I’m Already Dead; The 100 Year Old Man who Climbed out the Window and Disappeared; and such like.

Avoid if you dislike: Teenage protagonists.

Ideal accompaniments: Lots of cool clear water and some fermented peach ‘Sploosh’.

Genre: Literary/General Fiction, Mystery, Young Adult.

Available on Amazon

Little God Blues by Jeffrey M. Anderson

Reviewer: Barbara Scott Emmett, author of Delirium: The Rimbaud Delusion, The Land Beyond Goodbye and Don’t Look Down (http://barbarascottemmett.blogspot.co.uk/)

What We Thought: American cult rocker Jim Shalabon, former frontman of The Eyebeams, comes to London to visit the site of bandmate Kirk’s death. Kirk died of a drug overdose, something that strikes Jim as odd as Kirk never did drugs – being wild enough without, he never needed to.

When he stays in a flat arranged for him by his British manager, Jim meets a 13 year old girl whose mother has disappeared. Realising Kirk must have met the missing Claudia, who lived in the flat downstairs, he begins to suspect that the two events, Kirk’s death and Claudia’s disappearance, are somehow connected.

He starts with a little light investigation but soon realises he has, as he says, become a shamus, a private investigator, albeit one who doesn’t fully know the lie of the land or fully get the nuances inherent in London speech and London life.

In the course of his investigations into Kirk’s death and Claudia’s disappearance he meets and questions a variety of people – including Kirk’s uncle, a stiff physics professor, and his student, Sula who, if Jim takes it nice and slow, may become a love interest. He also visits the senile Hardcastle in a nursing home and his absent landlord, the imprisoned barrister Sir Clive Wormsleigh. From Wormsleigh he discovers that Claudia was a member of an unusual club called NE1 (anyone) which sets up meetings involving roleplay. A further sideline leads Jim to investigate how a book of Russian poems happened to be in Kirk’s hands when he died. Tnese, and other strands, wind through the novel forming a complex plot.

Jim Shalabon has the sardonic wit of a literary PI – Marlowe with a guitar maybe. Written in the first person the novel takes us through the stream of vague investigations, blurring the way with philosophical asides and personal insights. The language is sinuous and at times obscure, winding through byways of thoughts and memories and snatches of conversation. Snippets of appropriate Eyebeams’ songs and song titles are used throughout to add extra depth and meaning.

I found Little God Blues intriguing and entertaining and a delight to read though often puzzling as the ideas jumped suddenly from one thing to another – presumably only connected in Jim Shalabon’s mind. It was an interesting mind to be lost in, though, and if you enjoy books that venture off down the alleyways of consciousness as well as the more prosaic London side streets, this could well be for you.

You’ll enjoy this if you like: Philosophical Pis; meandering mysteries; words.

Avoid if you dislike: Complex plots with lots of characters and many sidetracks.

Ideal accompaniments: Drinking Jack Daniels in a heavy crystal tumbler while listening to Nirvana.

Genre: Crime, Mystery, Literary/General Fiction.

Available on Amazon

La Frontera by Sam Hawken

Reviewer: JJ Marsh

What we thought: A well-constructed, thoughtful book which looks as if it’s a crime novel but is really about the human face of migration. Set in the US, a Mexican border town and a small mountain town in El Salvador, at the heart of the story is a mystery. A man is found shot in the back in a remote spot. Nearby is a rape tree.

The lives of three people play a part in the events of that night. Ana is a Texas Ranger patrolling the US border, keeping angry ranchers happy and trying not to fall in love with Presidio or her married colleague.

In Ojinaga, Luis seeks the quiet life, since retiring as a coyote, or people smuggler. He’s got his dogs and he’s got high hopes of dental assistant Adriana. But Luis was one of the best coyotes around and someone makes him an offer he cannot refuse. Marisol has spent her whole life in Perquín, dreaming of the United States. Finally, it’s time to leave. She sells her house and begins the long trek through all the places on her well-worn map to the Mexican-US border.

The reader is drawn to each of these people, sympathising with their circumstances and willing them all to get what they want. Which is, of course, impossible. The author makes full use of the setting, bringing the places to hot, dry, dusty, steamy life through the eyes of his characters. Unpredictable and touching, the story by turns wrenches and warms your heart, not to mention saying a great deal about human nature. The construction of this book and its conclusion in particular are superb. Essential reading for anyone with an opinion on immigration.

You’ll enjoy this if you liked: A Yellow Raft in Blue Water by Michael Dorris, Tequila Sunset by Sam Hawken.

Avoid if you don’t like: The realities of human trafficking, having prejudices challenged

Ideal accompaniments: Eat pupusas revueltas, drink a cold bottle of Lone Star and the soundtrack to Once Upon A Time in America by Ennio Morricone

Genre: Contemporary, Crime, Mystery

Available from Amazon

An Unsuitable Job for a Woman by PD James

Reviewer: JD Smith

What we thought: An Unsuitable Job for a Woman strikes of a dated title. Indeed the book was first published in 1972, and you get a feel for that period throughout the novel in both the opinions of women throughout, as well as the scenery. Written now, I dare say our MC would have been sporting a more outwardly brash and feminist persona to the Cordelia Gray we read about here. She's young, tough and intelligent ... or so the blurb tells us. In fact our third person narrator describes a more complex character than that, one which shows every facet of our keen if a little unworldly detective.

Grey has inherited the Pryde Detective Agency, and what we discover of it's previous proprietor is enough to make you want to go back and discover the novels preceding this tale. Grey has her first assignment in the form of a Why-dunnit? rather than a Who-dunnit? She's to discover the reason young Cambridge student Mark Callender hanged himself.

Grey sets about delving into the life of the Callender family and Mark's friends, hired by Sir Ronald Callender, father of the diseased, himself.

With a diverse and wholly believable cast, many of them potentially guilty of a variety of 'crimes', all is not what it seems and the truth is far more sinister than originally suspected.

This is the first novel in the series I've had the pleasure of reading and I would certainly dip back into the world of Cordelia Grey and another mystery soon.

You’ll enjoy this if you like: Good old fashioned detective stories, Sherlock Holmes, female leads.

Avoid if you don’t like: Murder mysteries.

Ideal accompaniments: tea, half a pint of old ale, small sandwiches cut into perfect squares.

Genre: Mystery, Crime.

Available from Amazon

The Argentinian Virgin by Jim Williams

Reviewer: Barbara Scott Emmett, author of Delirium: The Rimbaud Delusion, The Land Beyond Goodbye and Don’t Look Down (http://barbarascottemmett.blogspot.co.uk/)

What We Thought: Once again Jim Williams pulls off a magnificent feat. The Argentinian Virgin is dreamlike book of memories and insights which flashes back and forward in time. Though reminiscent of Scott Fitzgerald’s work it is more homage than pastiche.

In the summer of 1941 the young narrator, Pat Byrne, takes a small house on the French Riveria to write. France is occupied by the Germans but Pat, being Irish, is a neutral as are the four glamorous Americans he falls in with. Pat attends the Americans’ drinking parties and finds himself admiring ‘Lucky’ Tom Rensselaer, a man of Gatsby-like mysteriousness.

Tom himself falls for the Argentinian virgin of the title – a young woman who lives with her mother in a crumbling villa further up the cliff. The ‘Argentinians’ are allegedly awaiting the return of their husband/father who is missing on some unspecified business. Tom Rensselaer is a man who espouses a certain moral code – as evidenced by his reaction to the fall and death of a young boy early in the novel. By holding these particular views on good and evil and allowing himself to be drawn in to the problematic lives of the two women he seals his own future.

When a greatly disliked Spanish businessman turns up dead, life in the various villas becomes strained and cracks start to appear in relationships. Tom does not want to believe the two women are responsible for the death – but if they aren’t there must be an unknown third person in the equation.

This ‘testament to doomed youth’ novel is both a love story and a murder mystery. It is a novel of langorous prose and tales of golden youth and golden days where the tarnish to come is not quite hidden. We see it all through Pat Byrne’s eyes but does he himself understand what he sees?

You’ll enjoy this if you like: The novels of F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Avoid if you dislike: Sensuous, lyrical writing.

Ideal accompaniments: Whiskey, cocktails, G&T.

Genre: Literary, Mystery

Available from Amazon

The Snow Angel by Lulu Taylor

Reviewer: Barbara Scott Emmett, author of Delirium: The Rimbaud Delusion, The Land Beyond Goodbye and Don’t Look Down (http://barbarascottemmett.blogspot.co.uk/)

What We Thought: I’m going to start this review with the dreaded words ‘I don’t normally read this type of book’; it was given to me so I picked it up and gave it a go – and I have to admit I’m glad I did. I started reading with a whole raft of prejudices (love story, women’s novel, not literary etc etc) but soon started to enjoy it.

The writing is perfectly acceptable without being sparkling or outstanding in any way and to my mind a little more editing wouldn’t have gone amiss but what I really liked about this is that the author, Lulu Taylor, has excellent storytelling skills. I was soon drawn in to it – almost against my will.

This is the story of two women fifty years apart and a family property called December House. The present day part is about Emily, whose husband Will has invested foolishly and through greed has lost everything they have. Emily’s well-to-do London life comes crashing down.

The tormented Will soon ends up in a coma, though, conveniently getting rid of him so we can follow Emily’s adventures in her new life. A total stranger has left her a property in Cumbria – December House – and Emily (who must be down to her last £50,000 or so and therefore in dire straits) takes her two children up there to start anew. Once there she meets a local farmer to whom she is strangely attracted even though he is not her type at all. She also attempts to uncover the mystery of why she has been left December House.

The other, interwoven part, is set in 1962. Cressida is also well off but her mother is dying and her father is so strict she almost has no life of her own (despite an odd foray into voluntary teaching). When Father suggests she get a portrait painted, she is at first reluctant. After the initial sitting, however, she is hooked. The handsome painter, Ralph and his wife Catherine fascinate her. This pair exist in a kind of genteel poverty – the kind that allows them to live in a charming little flat and drink champagne in the delightful garden.

Naturally Cressida falls for Ralph and he seems to have fallen for her. When her mother dies, Cressie inherits December House and heads to Cumberland to escape both her father and the artist’s irate wife.

I realise I am injecting a somewhat facetious note into this review but that’s simply because I enjoyed it very much despite its rose tinted view of life when the chips are down.

There are some great moments of tension at December House, in both parts of the book, and I found myself reading late into the night to find out what would happen next. The weakest part of the novel, for me, was the explanation of the mystery. I won’t give it away but I felt that there needed to be a much more powerful reason for the subterfuge. However, this did not stop me fully enjoying The Snow Angel – even if part of that enjoyment involved thinking up even nastier reasons for the cover up.

You’ll enjoy this if you like: Unchallenging mysteries with a bit of romance and a lot of escapism.

Avoid if you dislike: Books where most of the men are damaged in some way.

Ideal accompaniments: Cosying up in bed with a cup of hot chocolate – maybe with a dash of brandy added.

Genre: Romance, Mystery, Women’s Fiction.

Available from Amazon

Mindsight by Chris Curran

Reviewers: Liza Perrat, author of Spirit of Lost Angels and Wolfsangel and JJ Marsh, author of The Beatrice Stubbs series

What we thought:

Liza Perrat - The dark, compelling and intriguing story of Claire, who has no memory of the car accident of five years beforehand, in which she killed her husband, father and one of her twins.

Now released from prison, Claire wants to reconnect with her surviving son and try and find a clear pathway through the muck of misery and remorse that plagues her. However, Claire soon discovers that delving into her past might not be such a good idea.

In heart-rending scenes the author has excellently drawn the characters of Claire and her son, Tom, throughout this moving story, which builds up to a surprising ending. I would highly recommend this novel for readers who enjoy excellently-narrated, dark and thrilling crime mysteries.


JJ Marsh - This is a cut above the average crime novel. Yes, there’s a completely gripping plot which takes switchback turns until it reaches a thrilling peak. Yet it has a literary feel with psychological insights, complex relationships and a wonderful rootedness in the setting. Hastings and its beaches play a full role alongside the characters.

I loved everything about this book, but have to single out the author’s incredible knack for observing detail.
Clare, our central protagonist, has just been released from prison and her observations of daily life as an ‘alien’ are remarkably well-drawn, causing the reader to stop and think ‘How would I feel?’

Contrast this thoughtful and hypnotic start to the incredibly tense ending which leaves an echo reverberating like a cannon shot. I’m still thinking about it now. Rich cast, believable characters, powerful premise, lovely prose and proof that crime fiction can be intelligent and pulse-racing.


You’ll enjoy this if you like: Books by Nicci French or Gillian Flynn

Avoid if you don’t like: dark psychological thrillers

Ideal accompaniments: several glasses of robust red wine, big bag of cheese-flavoured Doritos

Genre: Crime, Mystery

Available from Amazon

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Reviewer: JD Smith

What we thought: It's hard to say much about Gone Girl without giving away chunks of the plot , and yet there are so many twists and turns and meticulously crafted reasons and explanations that regardless of what a review might reveal, you'd still be saying 'Oh, yes, that makes so much sense now!' and 'Of course, that's why they thought/went/did/said those things'. 

The story opens in the voice of Nick - "I used to be a writer… back when people read things on paper, back when anyone cared about what I thought" - a husband whose wife suddenly and mysteriously goes missing from their home in small town Missouri; the home nick dragged Amy back to almost kicking and screaming had she not been 'cool girl' who is far too laid back and cool to object 'much'. 

We flick back and forth, between Nick's present day narrative and Amy's diary entries for the years leading up to her sudden disappearance. 

Nick calls the police upon finding Amy gone, the front door left wide open, furniture upturned in their living room. But there's something not right about Nick's reactions to the police. He refers to Amy in the past tense, corrects himself. He appears on TV and there's something not quiet right about his expressions, the fact that he smiles. The scene of the crime isn't quite 'right'. But when you listen to Nick, his voice, it's all so right, so normal, for him to react that way. The media begin to believe Nick killed his wife.

And yet there's no body. Only the trace of blood having been cleaned up from his kitchen floor. 

So where is Amy and who is telling the truth? Because there's definitely an unreliable narrator in our midst.

This is a brilliant story. Both as a book and a film. Although I would say that the film has a darker edge than the book . There's something about the narrative in the book which gives a lighter, slightly less dark and sinister feel. And yet it is no less entertaining for it.

You’ll enjoy this if you liked: Before I Go To Sleep SJ Watson and The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty.

Avoid if you dislike: The word 'amazing', unreliable narrators.

Ideal accompaniments: a bottle of Budweiser, salted peanuts, seafood, crisp white wine (depending on whose narrative you're reading).

Genre: Thriller, mystery.

Available from Amazon

The English Lady Murderers' Society by Jim Williams

Reviewer: Barbara Scott Emmett, author of The Land Beyond Goodbye, Don’t Look Down and Delirium: The Rimbaud Delusion. (http://barbarascottemmett.blogspot.co.uk/)

What We Thought: Janet Bretherton may or may not have murdered her husband. She goes to live in France where she meets several other women who may have done or be considering doing likewise. Even if they haven’t all gone quite as far as murder, though, they do all still harbour secrets.

In the village of Puybrun (a location Williams has used before, in Recherche) the women, all exiles from England, gather regularly to pass on skills and information. In addition to Janet, there is Belle whose husband, Charlie, may be imaginary (or dead); Carol, who may have done away with a previous boyfriend and has slept with a lot of men called Dave; Earthy, an old hippy who has run away from a commune; Joy, who tries to hide how truly awful her husband is; and Veronica and Poppy, who sensibly love each other, keeping men out of the equation altogether.

When a much younger man shows interest in 60 year old Janet, she wonders what he is after. It seems, though, that all he wants is to dance. Throw in a British detective investigating a fraud involving Janet’s husband’s business, a case of mistaken identity exploited for gain and a lot of local colour, and you have the delightful mélange that is The English Lady Murderers' Society.

This novel is witty, elegantly written and cleverly plotted. The characters all come alive on the page and draw us into their stories. Williams claims an in-depth knowledge of, and delight in, older women and this shines through in every word. A true piece of reading pleasure.

You’ll enjoy this if you like: Unusual crime novels, clever writing, Williams’ other books.

Avoid if you dislike: Books about older women.

Ideal accompaniments: A glass of chilled white wine and some dance music.

Genre: Literary Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Mystery & Suspense.

Available from Amazon.

Writing the Town Read by Katharine E. Smith

Reviewer: Barbara Scott Emmett, author of The Land Beyond Goodbye, Don’t Look Down and Delirium: The Rimbaud Delusion. (http://barbarascottemmett.blogspot.co.uk/)

What We Thought: Jamie lives in Cornwall and is a reporter for a local newspaper. She has a sexist boss, a boyfriend, Dave, who may not be as faithful as he could be, and a selection of friends and colleagues all of whom are pretty well-drawn characters. On 7th July 2005 she waves Dave off as he heads up to London for employment reasons. The 7th July 2005 was, of course, the day of the London tube bombings.

When she can’t get in touch with Dave, Jamie starts to worry. He would have been travelling to his meetings by tube at around the time of the bombings. Eventually the police call to say there is a man in hospital, badly injured, who was carrying Dave’s wallet. This turns out to be a false lead, however, and Jamie struggles to cope as the months go by and Dave is still missing.

Alongside the main mystery of what has happened to Dave, there run other strands dealing with sexism, newspaper closures, animal rights and the tensions of friendship. All these aspects are well handled, competently written and make for an interesting read.

Though I ultimately enjoyed this novel and would certainly recommend it as an intriguing read, I was almost put off at the beginning by what seemed to me to be too much personal detail before the story got started. I began to think it was an autobiography as it has a very chatty style and not much appeared to be happening other than the thoughts and opinions of the narrator. I felt that most of the first chapter and a lot of the second could have been omitted. I’m glad I stuck with it though, as it was worthwhile in the end.

You’ll enjoy this if you like: Character driven novels, mysteries that may not be satisfactorily solved.

Avoid if you dislike: A chatty, familiar writing style.

Ideal accompaniments: A cup of tea and a cat.

Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Women’s Fiction, Mystery.

Available from Amazon

The Haunting of Nathaniel Wolfe by Brian Keaney

Reviewer: JW Hicks, author of Rats.

What we thought: If you’ve never dipped into YA or Teen Fiction, try this taster and prepare to become addicted.

The books are set in Victorian London. The hero a young teenage by. The style, an easy flowing read which will suit both young and old(er).

To the world, Cicero Wolfe is a famous medium, able to summoned the spirits of the dead. But to his son, Nathaniel, Cicero is an abusive father and a mountebank: a trickster extorting money from desperate people seeking contact with loved ones languishing in the realm of the dead.

Nathaniel Wolfe definitely doesn’t believe in spirits... but then something happens to change his mind. One night, watching his father’s onstage performance, Nathaniel sees a ghostly apparition; a blurred shape, the ghostly figure of a woman dressed in a long white robe. The figure stares directly at him, moving her lips in a desperate attempt to communicate... with him. What the message is he can’t make out, and the disappointed figure vanishes with a roar that seems to come from the end of the world. A noise that only he can hear.

A second visitation thrusts Nathaniel into a chilling mystery where he must help avenge the spirit from beyond.

This, all-ends-tied-up-neatly, book is a great treat for all ages, a book filled with excitement, adventure, eerie scares and gut-gripping thrills. The first thing I did after reading The Haunting of Nathaniel Wolfe was order the second in the series, Nathaniel Wolfe and the Body Snatchers. Believe me, I was not disappointed.

You’ll enjoy this if you like: A rollicking read with a truly satisfying ending.

Avoid if you don’t like: Plucky youngsters foiling the bad guys.

Ideal accompaniments: A plaid rug on your knees with a softly purring cat sitting on it.

Genre: Historical, Mystery

Available from Amazon