Stalin's Englishman, by Andrew Lownie

Reviewer: JJ Marsh

What we thought:

On one hand, anyone with an interest in the 1930 to 1950s Cambridge/Moscow spy ring of Philby, Blunt, Maclean, Caincross and Burgess must wonder if there is anything left to say. On the other, there is such an evergreen fascination with the spies, the politics, the morality and the culture which fostered such a scandal, readers still wonder how it happened. 

And after reading this book, I wonder how much has changed in the last 100 years.

Andrew Lownie is an expert biographer and tells his version from the centre – Guy Burgess. Drunk, gay, promiscuous, indiscreet, unkempt and ‘a natural liar’, Burgess is an extraordinary character, both outside and inside the establishment, equally charming and repulsive. In addition, the depiction of the social structure and strata of the times illuminates an intriguing (in every sense) set of circumstances which propelled such an individual into a position of alarming power. A portrait of a man, his time and social class.

What is added to a life already picked over and exposed is the hall of mirrors Burgess himself created. He batted for both sides, but neither trusted him. His background and education shaped a personality with an ego all his own. Duplicitous and charming, this man was a player, and one far more significant, according to Lownie, than previously assumed.

An absorbing read, strong on research and new perspectives, peppered with wit and humour, you emerge from this book enlightened and entertained by one man’s exceptional lives.

You’ll enjoy this if you liked:

Alan Turing: The Enigma, by Andrew Hodges, The Mitford Girls, by Mary S. Lovell, Present Indicative by Sheridan Morley

Avoid if you don’t like: British history, real characters, the realities of spying

Ideal accompaniments: Pimms, kedgeree and Benjamin Britten’s Death in Venice

Genre: Biography, non-fiction

Available on Amazon

The Chessmen by Peter May

Reviewer : Gillian Hamer, author of The Charter, Closure, Complicit & Crimson Shore (www.gillianhamer.com)

What we thought: Another wonderful novel from Peter May, and although it took me a while to get around to reading this, the third and final book in The Lewis Trilogy, I’m sad to say goodbye to Fin McLeod.

In The Chessmen, Fin has settled permanently on his Hebridean childhood home of Lewis, and has been employed by a local landowner to oversee security on the estate and tackle the problem they have with poachers. Before long, Fin finds himself caught up in another crime where the legacy of the past comes back to chase down a killer. A bog burst reveals the remains of a light aircraft and the body of a victim that has lain submerged for decades.

A superbly crafted tale of revenge, that again makes perfect use of location to bring the story alive. Again, the characters jump off the page and it’s interesting to see how Fin’s idea of an idyllic new start begins to unwind around him. 

I listened to the audiobook version and the talents of Peter Forbes really brought the novel to life. Peter May is fast becoming one of my favourite popular crime writers, with his blend of originality, smooth prose and likeable characters.

It’s a real shame this is the final book featuring this detective, and I hope Peter May decides to bring him back to life at some point.

Anyone who loves a gripping, and excellently written, crime thriller will enjoy this novel.

You’ll enjoy this if you like: Ann Cleeves, Ian Rankin, Peter Robinson.

Avoid if you don’t like: Scottish locations and twists and turns!

Ideal accompaniments: Smoked Scottish salmon and a single malt.

Genre: Crime Fiction.

Available from Amazon

Crossing the Whitewash by Nick Rippington

Reviewer: JJ Marsh

What we thought: An ambitious debut, this sprawling thriller boasts a large cast of characters, a complex plot and an intense sense of place. The novel begins on an East London estate where Gary Marshall, promising young footballer, is ‘rescued’ from a gang of muggers by Arnold Dolan. It’s the beginning of a long association Gary will live to regret.

The story follows the boys’ growth and development as the Boxer Boys, a gang with a reputation. Then two shocking incidents change the paths of both lives, with a permanent effect on their personalities.

The tough world of a council estate is vividly evoked, where violence is as natural as breathing. Once Gary gets a journalist position on a Cardiff paper, the author’s sports journalism background adds colour and expertise in the character’s adjustment to the regional newspaper life, rugby and Wales.

The plot is cleverly constructed with twists and tension throughout, the characters are believable and elicit extreme emotions in the reader, the locations are rich and detailed, and although a good editor could have taken this to another level, it’s clear this is a writer to watch.


You’ll enjoy this if you liked: Feral Youth by Polly Courtney, Stag Hunt by Anthony McGowan, This is England by Shane Meadows.

Avoid if you don’t like: Violence, sport, newspapers, Wales

Ideal accompaniments: A pint of Brains SA, chips with curry sauce and Blondie’s One Way or Another.

Genre: Thriller

Available from Amazon

Finding Takri by Palo Stickland

Reviewer: Catriona Troth

What We Thought:

Rupa was born in India but came to Glasgow as a tiny child. She has faint memories of her grandmother, Takri, ‘the only person who remembered the date I was born,’ but she grew up closer to Baba Kam – otherwise knows as Karam Singh – her mother’s childhood friend who fled India after the Amritsar Massacre in 1919.

Now, as a middle-aged woman she begins a search for the real story of Karam Singh, Basant Singh, her grandfather, and Takri, 'the woman who loved them both.'

The story shifts back and forth through the history of India – and the Punjab in particular – in the first half of the Twentieth Century, from the traditions and restrictions of life at the turn of the century, through the struggles for independence, to the beginnings of an independent nation. On the way, we spend time in the villages of rural Punjab, at the Golden Temple at Amritsar, among the dancers and prostitutes behind the Friday Mosque in Delhi, and in the Glasgow tenements where the first south Asian immigrants crowded together.

Karam and Takri are both in their way fighters. Karam goes to prison for his actions against the British colonial government. Takri is one of the first to take up the Ghandi's challenge to reject imported cloth and to start making her own 'homespun'. Basant is a gentler character, wanting only to care from his own family. But links between the three of them prove stronger than either tragedy or betrayal.

Finding Takri has at its heart a complex and tender love triangle, one that mixes friendship, loyalty, duty and the desire for independence. A revealing glimpse of a slice of Indian history, based loosely on the author's family's own journey from Punjab to Glasgow.


You’ll Enjoy This If You Liked: The Namesake, by Jhumpa Lahiri; The Death of Shiva by Manil Suri. Until Our Blood Is Dry by Kit Habianic.

Avoid If You Dislike: 20th C Historical Fiction, stories based on family history

Perfect Accompaniment: Rice and lentil soup; tea with cardamom and cloves

Genre: Literary Fiction, Historical Fiction

Available from Amazon

Starborn by Lucy Hounsom

Reviewer: JW Hicks

What we thought: This YA fantasy adventure will satisfy and excite in equal measure. It crackles tension from the very first page, and once started it is impossible to put down.

Starborn is, in the true sense, a journey. The storyline forces the heroine, Kyndra, away from a normal humdrum life that will trundle on in the age old way, and leads her to the astonishing realisation of who she really is and where her destiny lies.

Her story begins on Inheritance Day: the coming of age day when the young people of Brenwym must look into the Relic to learn their true name and see their future in its depths. Once seen that future can never be altered.

When Kyndra’s turn comes, something happens that not only stops the ceremony but destroys all hope of future ones. Kyndra is named as culprit and also blamed for the horrific storm that occurs immediately after the disrupted ceremony. Accused of witchcraft and threatened with immolation, she is rescued by magic-wielding strangers, and spirited away from harm.

She and her saviours travel to the hidden citadel of Naris where the magic-workers live. Once there she experiences waking dreams, haunting visions of the past. Believed to have hidden powers, she is subjected to callous and agonising testing. Enduring the testing she discovers things about herself that terrify and confuse: things that rouse the magic she holds within herself, a force so strong that it could alter her and her world forever.

You’ll enjoy this if you like: Game of Thrones, and the works of Trudi Canavan

Avoid if you don’t like: Vivid descriptions of horrors beyond imagining, and the decisions that have to be made by persons possessing tremendous power.

Ideal accompaniments: Calming possets and warm, gooey brownies.

Genre: YA Fantasy Fiction

Available on Amazon

Finding Arun by Marisha Pink

Reviewer: Catriona Troth

What We Thought: Aaron has grown up in Britain, the adopted child of two white parents. He has always known that his biological mother was an Indian woman from the clinic where his adoptive mother was working as a doctor. But it is only when his adoptive mother dies, and he finds evidence in her papers that his biological mother might still be alive, that he decides to travel to India to explore his unknown roots.

The clues he finds lead him to Puri, a coastal city in Eastern India, home of Ratha Yatra, or the Festival of Chariots, when statues of the gods Jagannath, Balabhadra, and Subhadra are paraded annually on vast chariots (which, incidentally, is where we derive the word ‘juggernaut’).

What Aaron uncovers there is both wonderful and disturbing and will change his life forever, enabling his to reclaim his birth name: Arun.

The story of Finding Arun began, for author Marisha Pink, when she gave up corporate life in London to backpack to southeast Asia. Two years later, she raised the money to self-publish her book on Kickstarter, making her a true indie pioneer.

The novel blends a sweet tale of self-discovery and sibling love with the unfolding of a dark family secret, all set against the background of one of India’s most holy cities.

It is a pleasure, too, to be taken inside ordinary village life – one that is neither of extreme poverty nor extreme wealth, but which is nevertheless precarious.

The story is gently paced and the conflicts more like ocean swells than tsunamis. But if you like a family story in a setting that is more than just a casual backdrop, then this could be one for you.

You’ll Enjoy This If You Liked: The Death of Shiva by Manil Suri, Finding Takri by Palo Stickland, No More Mulberries by Mary Smith

Avoid If You Dislike: Gentle family dramas, exploring new countries/cultures

Perfect Accompaniment: Mixed vegetable curry with dahl, roti and chutney

Genre: Literary Fiction

Available on Amazon

One Night at the Jacaranda by Carol Cooper

Reviewer: Liza Perrat, author of Spirit of Lost Angels and Wolfsangel

What we thought: Not my usual choice of reading matter, I began One Night at the Jacaranda with trepidation, but after only a few pages, I was well and truly hooked.

Amongst a group of adults who meet at a London speed-dating bar––the Jacaranda––we are introduced to the six main characters: Laure the lawyer, terminally-ill Sanjay, divorced doctor, Geoff, newly-single mother-of-four, Karen, and ex-prisoner, Dan. Journalist Harriet also attends, but in search of a byline, rather than a boyfriend.

Through a whole plethora of emotions––sadness, happiness, desperation and frustration, to name a few––we join these people along their bumpy, intertwined journeys in their search for love, companionship and/or sex. With great skill, the author uncovers the present and past lives of this vast cast of characters, the satisfying ending leaving hope for the future … and me hoping for a sequel!

The characters are flawed, lovable and easy to empathise with. The dialogue is pitch-perfect, the sex scenes amongst the best I’ve ever read. The author is a doctor, so the medical details are spot on, as well as interesting.

Alternately entertaining, witty, outrageously funny, poignant and dark, I would highly recommend One Night at the Jacaranda to lovers of intelligent women’s fiction.

You’ll enjoy this if you like: character-driven women’s literary fiction.

Avoid if you don’t like: multiple-point-of-view stories.

Ideal accompaniments: glass of cold Chardonnay, sunny Sunday, deck-chair.

Genre: Contemporary Women’s Fiction

Available on Amazon