DERVLA McTIERNAN The Good Turn. Reviewed by Karen Chisholm
The Good Turn continues Irish-Australian writer Dervla McTiernan’s Cormac Reilly crime series, which has become a firm favourite in a very short time. For those that are new to Cormac Reilly’s story, he’s an Irish Garda officer with a messy professional...
MATTHEW BAKER Why Visit America. Reviewed by Robert Goodman
Matthew Baker casts a critical eye on his country in these timely short stories that present alternate versions of America. While there have always been books of short stories, at the moment there seems to be a resurgence of anthology TV series, particularly in genres...
ALISON BOOTH The Philosopher’s Daughters. Reviewed by Kim Kelly
The fifth novel from Australian author Alison Booth, The Philosopher’s Daughters is an intriguing and energetic historical fiction that takes us from the genteel world of 1890s London parlour-chat to the sun-crisped, trackless outback of the Northern Territory. The...
SUSANNA CLARKE Piranesi. Reviewed by Louise Mentor
Fans of Susanna Clarke’s Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell will not be disappointed by her latest offering. Piranesi is a transcendental mystery set in a harsh yet wondrous fantasy world that raises challenging questions about the nature of reality, identity, and...
SL LIM Revenge: Murder in Three Parts. Reviewed by Ann Skea
Following her first novel Real Differences, SL Lim explores the weight of family obligations and betrayals in her second, Revenge. The three parts of this ‘Murder’ appear to be the Prologue ‘The Demon Brother’; 11 chapters culminating in one titled ‘Revenge’; and an...
ROSE CARLYLE The Girl in the Mirror: extract
This week we’re delighted to bring you an extract from Rose Carlyle’s edge-of-the-seat thriller The Girl in the Mirror. Summer and Iris are identical twins, but Iris has always envied beautiful, easy-going Summer and her perfect husband, Adam. When the...
TARA JUNE WINCH The Yield. Reviewed by Suzanne Marks
Tara June Winch’s multi-award-winning novel is told in three voices, one of which takes the form of a dictionary. Yield, bend the feet, tread, as in walking, also long, tall – baayanha. Yield itself is a funny word – yield in English is the reaping, the things that...
EMMA ASHMERE Dreams They Forgot: extract
This week we’re delighted to bring you the short story ‘Fallout’ from Emma Ashmere’s debut collection Dreams They Forgot. What haunting stories these are, with their ghosts, betrayals and secrets, ranging back and forth across time and continents. A...
STEVEN CONTE The Tolstoy Estate. Reviewed by Paul Anderson
You don’t need to have read War and Peace to enjoy Steven Conte’s second novel. Steven Conte returns to World War II as the mise en scène for his accomplished second novel, The Tolstoy Estate. His first, The Zookeeper’s War, won the 2008 Prime...
CAOILINN HUGHES The Wild Laughter. Reviewed by Ann Skea
Caoilinn Hughes’s second novel, The Wild Laughter, explores what happens in post-boom Ireland when a father makes a life-altering request of his sons. There is plenty of laughter in this book. Hart (Doharty) Black’s way of telling his story is unique, colourful...
SAM COLEY State Highway One: extract
We’re delighted to bring you an extract from Sam Coley’s debut novel State Highway One, winner of the Richell Prize for Emerging Writers. Told with intimacy and pace, it’s a story of reconnecting with home and confronting the wounds of the past. Alex hasn’t seen his...
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