Author Archives

Book review: The Neighbours by Emma Babbington

July 30, 20252 min read

The Neighbours by Emma Babbington is the journalist’s debut novel and it’s a very good one. As lovers of books we have very similar tastes, so I guess it’s not surprising that I would enjoy something she’s written. And The Neighbours is a complex thriller with layers of murky moral dilemmas for readers to traverse. It predominantly unfolds from the point of view of Liv – a physical therapist and mother to 19 year old university student Gracie. And then there’s Meredith, an orthopaedic surgeon who knew Liv as a teenager and who moves into the same street as her former friend and the arrogant, lecherous and recently-dead plastic surgeon Richard Wellington.

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Book review: The Unquiet Grave by Dervla McTiernan

May 26, 20252 min read

The Unquiet Grave by Dervla McTiernan sees the return of detective Cormac Reilly along with his partner Peter Fisher, who I recall featured prominently in the last book in the series The Good Turn. Here McTiernan again throws in several plots for the price of one, mostly unconnected but all as intriguing as the main investigation involving a body in a bog. And no, NOT a typo with me erroneously typing BOG instead of BAG, and… also not something I have the chance to say often! (Also googles ‘bog’ to check exactly what it means.)

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Book review: The Glasgow Smile by Chris Stuart

December 9, 20232 min read

The Glasgow Smile by Chris Stuart is the second in the series featuring Detective Roberta (Robbie) Gray. Chris gave me a copy of this when I met her at the Theakston Crime Writing Festival in July and when I opened it to start a few months ago I discovered it had an older sibling so I read that first and very much enjoyed For Reasons of Their Own which introduced Robbie, along with her boss and team, as well as newcomer ‘Mac’.

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Book review: Reinventing Emily Brown by Jodi Gibson

September 14, 20232 min read

I’m not traditionally a reader of feel-good books. Most I read are those written by writing and blogging friends whose words I enjoy and who I know will always deliver on their promise. Reinventing Emily Brown is the third book I’ve read by Jodi Gibson and I’ve enjoyed them all. It’s perfect for lovers of Virgin River (and the like) as it offers that perfect balance of joy and happiness with personal angst and life-not-going-how-you-expect.

Here, I felt I could fairly confidently guess where the book was going and how it would end, but I very happily coasted along because sometimes that predictability is comforting and exactly what you need.

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Book review: Philly Barker Investigates by Joanne Tracey

September 25, 20223 min read

I was weirdly nervous on going into this book. Almost reluctant even. Firstly because Jo Tracey is a friend of mine. We met online and now meet in person fairly regularly and she feels like my most kindred spirit in a writing / creative way. And then there’s the fact that I’ve had a sneak peek at this book already. Which meant this was a re-read and even though it was many months ago, I worried I’d struggle to re-read it so soon.

I needn’t have stressed though because I surprised myself by becoming incredibly absorbed in Philly’s world – reading most of it in a sitting, despite not planning to do so… and only putting it aside as it was getting late and I really needed to rescue my dinner from the oven.

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Book review: Happy Hour by Jacquie Byron

November 26, 20212 min read

Happy Hour by Jacquie Byron was a delightful surprise. It very much reminded me of other books I’ve loved, The Other Side of Beautiful by Kim Lock, Everything is Beautiful by Eleanor Ray and Saving Missy by Beth Morrey.

I’m not sure if it’s because I’m ageing, but I appreciate books about older women (or men) and it’s a reminder that lives can be just as happy or messy or uncertain no matter whether you’re 20 or 70.

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Book review: The Five Year Plan by Jodi Gibson

September 14, 20212 min read

The Five Year Plan is the second book I’ve read by Jodi Gibson, who I know virtually through our shared love of reading and writing. Although this and her previous novel The Memories We Hide, veer a little more towards romance than my usual reading fodder I enjoyed both. They’re quintessential summer reads. They’re comforting…. offering some reassurance that all will be well in/with the world.

In some ways you can predict how things will ultimately end up but it’s the getting-there that I very much enjoyed here, particularly as Gibson predominantly sets this in Bari, in Italy’s Puglia region. I’ve never been but (very) coincidentally was in Italy this time three years ago.

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Book review: Prey by L A Larkin

April 14, 20203 min read

When I was contacted about Prey by L A Larkin I assumed I’d read Larkin’s previous book, Devour as I recognised its cover. So when I started reading and realised Prey was a sequel, I flicked back to my site (and through Goodreads) for my review to get some context.

It was only then I realised I hadn’t read its predecessor. It was a little problematic initially as there were a lot of references to events in Devour (marketed as Olivia Wolfe #1) and I almost put Prey aside as a result. I’m glad I didn’t however as I grew to increasingly like our lead character, Olivia and was keen to discover what she uncovered.

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