The Unity Game Synopsis WHAT IF THE EARTH YOU KNEW WAS JUST THE BEGINNING? A New York banker is descending into madness. A being from an advanced civilization is racing to stay alive. A dead man must unlock the secrets of…
The Eleventh Letter Synopsis : A LOVE STORY. A GHOST STORY. A MURDER MYSTERY. Chris Katiwa, a Harley Street psychotherapist, finds himself trapped in his office by heavy snow. When a beautiful, enigmatic woman asks to take shelter with him, he finds…
Short reviews of the two most recent releases from Transit Lounge, the small Australian publisher that brought us A S Patric’s 2016 Miles Franklin Award-winning Black Rock White City. 5 Ways to be Famous Now Synopsis A glamorous ocean liner, inspired…
I was underwhelmed by Elizabeth Strout’s Pulitzer winner Olive Kitteridge, perplexed by this ‘novel of stories’ lack of cohesion. Read my full review.
The Gilded Years by Karin Tanabe is the story of one young woman who risks everything to earn a college degree—but the secret she hides could be her undoing. Read my full review. The Gilded Years Book Synopsis Since childhood, Anita…
Two titles with a travel theme – Ursula Bloom’s romantic fiction Wonder Cruise and Mr Snack and the Lady Water, a collection of travel essays from Brendan Shanahan. Wonder Cruise Synopsis Ann Clements is thirty-five and single, and believes nothing…
Martin Harbottle’s Appreciation of Time Synopsis : Dan’s got a new job. But he’s moved out of town in order to start a family and had to start commuting into the city every day, leaving his young wife Beth and newborn daughter…
The Giraffe’s Neck Synopsis: Adaptation is everything, something Frau Lomark is well aware of as the biology teacher at the Charles Darwin High School in a country backwater of the former East Germany. It is the beginning of the new school…
Lion Attack! Synopsis : From an inaugural winner of the Scribe Nonfiction Prize for Young Writers comes a funny, energetic coming-of-age story that isn’t quite like any other book you’ll read this year. Oliver is a writer who’s just moved cities. He…
Endless Love Synopsis : Soon after moving from London, Rose Loxton discovers strange things are occurring at her new lodge in the Cotswolds. A dark, terrible history hangs over this place; one of unfinished and unconventional love. Rose must investigate the mystery…
Read our review of A Tabby-cat’s Tale by Han Dong. A Tabby-cat’s Tale Synopsis Tabby isn’t an ordinary house-cat. Though he’s the most beautiful, captivating animal to grace the rooftops of Nanjing, Tabby is also prone to unpredictable outbursts of clawing…
The Trial Synopsis: The terrifying tale of Joseph K, a respectable functionary in a bank, who is suddenly arrested and must defend his innocence against a charge about which he can get no information. A nightmare vision of the excesses of…
The Englishman and the Butterfly Synopsis Oxford fellow and John Milton expert, Professor Henry Fell suffers from panic attacks and a gnawing fear that what he doubtfully refers to as his existence is much more out of his control than he realizes. Newly…
Nocturnes Synopsis Five Stories of Music and Nightfall One of the most celebrated writers of our time gives us his first cycle of short fiction: five brilliantly etched, interconnected stories in which music is a vivid and essential character. A…
The White Tiger Synopsis Meet Balram Halwai, the ‘White Tiger’: servant, philosopher, entrepreneur and murderer. Balram, the White Tiger, was born in a backwater village on the River Ganges, the son of a rickshaw-puller. He works in a teashop, crushing…
I simply cannot go past a cosy mystery featuring an elderly sleuth. An elderly female sleuth, all the better. Quiet Anchorage features two elderly sister sleuths that live together with a library of much-loved fictional mysteries at their disposal – what could be a better premise?
Ed Lynskey’s cosy mystery Quiet Anchorage was somewhat of a conundrum for me. Lynskey has come up with a wonderful story framework, shows moments of brilliance in setting a scene and in character development, but there were also moments of confusion. In my opinion, this novel would have benefitted immensely from some strong editing.
