A stranger walks into a church in America’s deep south, looking for sanctuary. Not religious, but physical sanctuary. It’s worked before. Many times. When the churchgoers arrive, they do not wake the stranger, carrying on their service around the sleeping figure. When finally jolted awake the stranger doesn’t speak and…
Review: The Deceptions by Suzanne Leal
With the arrival of the Germans, I became a Jewish girl who happened to live in Czechoslovakia rather than a Czech girl who happened to be Jewish. Growing up in Prague, young Hana Lederová’s world had been carefree. The only child of doting parents her father’s job as a dentist…
Good Dogs Don’t Make it to the South Pole by Hans-Olav Thyvold: wise and witty words on the power of companionship direct from man’s best friend
Do you talk to your dog? Not just “walkies” or “good girl” but conversations. More to the point, does your canine join in the conversation? If your answer is yes, then you are going to love Good Dogs Don’t Make it to the South Pole by Hans-Olav Thyvold a quirky,…
Review: The Satapur Moonstone cements Perveen Mistry as one of crime’s most fascinating characters
It is 1922 and Perveen Mistry, the first lady lawyer in Bombay, is hired by The Kolhapur Agency, which manages, on behalf of the Colonial British government in India, the princely states in the western region. She is to travel to the kingdom of Satapur, about 300 miles away, as…
Review: The Viennese Girl, an extraordinary true story of friendship, love and survival in occupied Jersey
One of the most popular tourist attractions for visitors to the beautiful island of Jersey, to the south of England, is the Occupation Tapestry; 12 colourful and detailed panels which eloquently tell the story of the German occupation of the island, and eventual liberation between 1940-45. Each intricate stitch is…
Crime File: The Woman in the Window by A.J.Finn and Sign by Colin Dray
The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn. Agoraphobia has imprisoned child psychologist Anna Fox in her home in the more gentrified part of Harlem. Sustained by bulk-bought alcohol and a cornucopia of heavy-duty drugs she spends her time watching a cache of classic movies (think Hitchcock) and her…
Crime file: The Stakes by Ben Sanders
Is a guy who does bad things to bad people a bad guy? Does it make any difference if he’s carrying an NYPD detective’s badge? Ben Sanders’ new book, The Stakes, pitches veteran NYPD detective, Miles Keller, under internal investigation after a dodgy shooting, against taciturn, behatted hitman Bobby Deen,…
Review: The Children Act by Ian McEwan
It’s Ian McEwan’s own fault that you expect so much from his new novel, The Children Act. His books are always enjoyable, some, like The Child in Time and Amsterdam, have gone on to win prestigious awards. Others like Atonement have been adapted into successful movies able to attract stellar casts. He never shies away from the controversial and then goes about dissecting the subject with a brisk deftness.
The Children Act (the title comes from the legislation which governs the treatment of juveniles in the British judiciary system), is a subject ripe for his skilled touch. It centers on Fiona Maye, a successful High Court judge who is hearing an urgent case involving Adam, a 17-year old boy Jehovah’s Witness who, for religious reasons, is refusing medical treatment that could save his life, a decision that is supported by his