Pobby and Dingham - Ben Rice

"Intensely moving and brilliantly realised...a pocket masterpiece" Observer

Pobby and Dingan live in Lightning Ridge, New South Wales, the opal capital of Australia. They are friends with Kellyanne Williamson, the daughter of a miner: indedd only Kellyanne can see them. Pobby and Dingan are imaginary.
Ashmol Williamson, Kellyanne'sbrother thinks his sister should grow up and stop being such a fruit-loop- until the day that his father is accused of ratting, the worst sin an opal miner can commit.
As Kellyanne, grief-stricken, begins to fade away, Ashmol recruits the whole town in the search for Pobby and Dingan. In the end however, he discovers that he can only find them if he too begins to believe they are real.
Pobby and Dingan will enchant everyone who reads it. It is very funny, moving and told without a wasted word. It introduces a new writer of prodigious gifts.

What a beautiful little book! I adored it.
Ashmol is the narrator, and he moves from being irritated by his sister's imaginary friends to doing all he can to help her find them. Kellyanne is a sensitive soul, who has few real friends and is a cause of worry to her parents. Rex, the father, takes Pobby and Dingan to the mine, in an effort to create some distance between them and Kellyanne, but when he returns to search for them, he is accused of ratting. The arrest and trial run alongside the search for Pobby and Dingan, and young Ashmol changes a lot in the process. He recruits the whole town to help his sister to find her friends, "And I did some explaining about what had happened to my dad and what a mix-up there had been. And how Pobby and Dingan weren't real but Kellyanne thought they were and that's what counts, and how my dad wasn't a ratter but people thought he was and that's what counts too."
Pobby and Dingan has been made into a film called "Opal Dream" directed by The Full Monty's Peter Catteneo, which I shall look forward to viewing.
There is an unexpected twist at the end which I obviously will not give it away, but I believe even the hardest hearted person would ind it difficult not to be moved.

"Undeniably rich: a tale woven around the importance of faith, whether in imaginary friends or undiscovered treasures, and the strength of family." The Times

A Spot of Bother - Mark Haddon

" A painful, funny, humane novel; beautifully written, addictively readable" The Times.

At fifty-seven, George is settling down to a comfortable retirement, building a shed in his garden, reading historical novels, listening to a bit of light jazz. Then Katie, his unpredictable daughter, announces that she is getting remarried, to Ray. Her family is not pleased- as her brother Jamie observes, Ray has "stranglers hands". Katie can't decide if she loves Ray, or loves the way he cares for her son Jacob, and her mother Jean is a bit put out by the way the wedding planning gets in the way of her affair with one of her husband's former colleagues. And the tidy and pleasant life Jamie has created crumbles when he fails to invite his lover, Tony to the dreaded nuptials.
Unnoticed in the uproar, George discovers a sinister lesion on his hip, and quietly begins to lose his mind.

A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon, creator of the unforgettable Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time is an absolute treat. I didn't think he could improve on that novel, yet he has really pulled it off. George is convinced he has cancer, but cannot talk about this fear with his family. He keeps his thoughts to himself, compounding his morbid fears, his imagination running away with him... "If he drank enough whisky he might be able to summon the courage to crash the car. There was a big stone gateway on the A16 this side of Stamford. He could hit it doing 90 m.p.h with no difficulty whatsoever. But what if his nerve failed? What if he were too drunk to control the car? What if someone pulled out of the drive? What if he killed them, paralysed himself and died of cancer in a wheelchair in prison?"
Some of George's inner musings are hilarious, such as his opinion on his homosexual son, Jamie..."He didn't have a problem with homosexuality per se. Men having sex with men. One could imagine, if one was in the business of imagining such things, that there were situations where it might happen, situations in which chaps were denied the normal outlets. Military camps. Long sea voyages. One didn't want to dwell on the plumbing but one could almost see it as a sporting activity. Latting off steam. High spirits. Handshake and a hot shower afterwards. It was the thought of men purchasing furniture together which disturbed him. Men snuggling. More disconcerting somehow, than shenanigans in public toilets."
At the start of the novel, George was really the only character I liked, (excluding Ray), yet the flawed family members all come good by the end of the novel, and though it is a happy ending it never verges on trite.
I loved the exchanges between Katie's son Jacob and the family, Haddon certainly has a talent for capturing the innocence and comedy of childhood.
I adored Ray's character, and Katie's taking him for granted annoyed me at times, yet this is merely testament to how utterly believable the characters are. I couldn't quite understand why the family were all so opposed to the wedding as I felt that Ray was without a doubt the most consistently lovely character.
I would recommend this book to anyone and eceryone. It is laugh out loud funny, in places shocking and horrifying (George taking his "lesion" into his own hands), and made me weep several times. This novel transcends genre..read it!

"Haddon's style is a readers bliss. He writes seamless prose. The words are melted into meaning...Haddon's gift is to make us look at ourselves when we think we're looking away, being entertained." Scotsman

Never The Bride - Paul Magrs

" A Gothic smash" Guardian

Brenda has come to Whitby to run a B&B in search of some peace and quiet. She and her best friend Effie like nothing better than going out for tea and keeping their eyes open for any of the mysterious goings-on in town.
And what with satanic beauty salons, more than illegal aliens, roving psychic investigators and the frankly terrifying owner of the Christmas Hotel there is no shortage of nefarious shenanigans to keep them interested.
But the oddest thing in Whitby may well be Brenda herself. With her terrible scars, her strange lack of a surname and the fact that she takes two different shoe sizes, Brenda should have known that people as, well unique as she is, just aren't destined for a quiet life.

I found Never The Bride a hugely entertaining read. Each chapter reads like a short story in itself, coming gloriously together in the final chapter to tie everything in. It is perhaps what would happen if Buffy the Vampire Slayer decided to run a B&B in Whitby in her retirement! There are many references to classic horror, Dracula, withcraft, Frankenstein and even War of the Worlds. It is given a contemporary feel by using for example a TV show on the supernatural, Manifest Yourself, with TV psychics.
It is soon made clear exactly who Brenda is, and what her secrets are. I would expect that ther will be a sequel, maybe more than one, as Brenda and Effie, at the book's close are far from finished with their Gothic adventures.

"Utterly original. I was totally charmed by Brenda's valient attemptes to create a little ordinary happiness and comfort out of the madness around her" The Times.

How The Light Gets In - M.J. Hyland

"Expect to be blown away" Guardian.

Lou Connor, a gifted unhappy sixteen year old, is desparate to escape her life of poverty in Sydney. When she is offered a place as an exchange student at a school in America it seems as if her dreams will be fulfilled...
How The Light Gets In is an acutley observed story of adolescence, shot through with spiky humour. In Lou Connor M.J. Hyland has created a larger than life heroine who captures the reader with her vivacity and vulnerability, from hopeful beginning to unexpected, haunting end.

I couldn't put this book down! I loved Lou from the first page, and so identified with her mixed up teenage angst, desparate to fit in, yet determined on the other hand to do her own thing. In this way, Lou creates her own problems, drinking to mask her fears and insecurities, and staying out late partying. Most of the adult characters disapprove of her, but she entrances the young males around her, many of which seem to fall in love with her. I seriously disliked her host parents, particularly Margaret, who seems uptight and self-satisfied, and has no idea how to relate to Lou.
M. J. Hyland has really captured the essence of teenage years, and Lou's bewilderment at how some girls ( like host sister Bridget) seem not to feel crippling insecurity and self-consciousness was familiar to me.
The only part I found slightly disappointing was the ending, which I found a little silly. However, in my opinion, the strength of the rest of the novel, lets Hyland get away with this.
I look forward to reading her latest novel, Carry Me Down. Watch this space.

"Hyland excels at atmosphere...she brings the long-forgotten teenage sensation of drowning in life's uncomprehended complexities horribly alive" The Times.

A Stain On The Silence- Andrew Taylor

“One of Britain’s best crime writers of psychological suspense.” The Times.

The last person Jmes wants to meet again is Lily. But now she’s dying of cancer, and he is wholly unprepared for what she has to tell him. Twenty four years ago, she gave birth to a daughter- and James is the girl’s father.
James was just a teenager when he and Lily- stepmother of his best friend Carlo- had their brief affair. Practically part of the family, he would spend his summer holidays at their sprawling house in Chipping Weston, lapping up the breathtaking freedom and excitement. Though perhaps there was too much freedom and too much excitement- because those days came to a terrible end. An end that James has been trying to forget ever since.
Yet Lily has one more secret to reveal. Their daughter is now a wanted woman. She’s on the run for murder. Soon James is compelled to reach back into the past and discover the bitter fruits of his and Lily’s unfortunate union…

Andrew Taylor, author of the bestselling The American Boy is fast becoming one of my favourite crime writers. A Stain On The Silence jumps from past to present, gradually revealing long held secrets and deceptions, keeping the reader gripped and desperate to discover what happens next. Although James, the main character is a bit spineless and rather wet, I soon sympathised with his plight. There is an element of never knowing who is lying and who is telling the truth, and the reader shares James’ confusion. His friend Carlo is a dark and menacing character whom I would like to have seen more of. Lily is a puzzle, is she good or evil? Unfortunately we never really find out. The ending is a shocker, I was not expecting it to conclude this way, with no conclusion! What did happen to felicity? A sequel in the future? I certainly hope so. I still have a lot of questions. I wait with baited breath.
Taylor’s novels The American Boy (A Richard and Judy Book Club selection) and the Office of the Dead both won the CWA Ellis Peters Historical Daggers. Taylor has also been shortlisted for numerous award including the prestigious CWA Gold Dagger.

"there is plenty to engage the reader in the roller-coaster plot that twists and turns until the very last page" Big Issue.

Restless- William Boyd

“Boyd is a first-rate storyteller and this is a first-rate story…An utterly absorbing page-turner” The Times.

It is 1939. Eva Delectorskaya is a beautiful 28-year-old Russian émigrée living in Paris. As war breaks out she is recruited for the British Secret Service by Lucas Romer, a mysterious Englishman, and under his tutelage she learns to become the perfect spy, to mask her emotions and trust no one, including those she loves most. Since the war, Eva has carefully rebuilt her life as a typically English wife and mother. But once a spy, always a spy. Now she must complete one final assignment, and this time Eva can’t do it alone: she needs her daughter’s help.

I literally could not put this novel down. Spy novels are not usually my thing, and I bought it only because it was featured in Richard and Judy’s Book Club.
The story jumps between past and present, each chapter telling us a little more of Eva’s secrets, which we learn alongside her daughter Ruth. In this way, there are two heroines, both immensely likable. The plot is full of twists and turns, drawing the reader deeply into its intrigue. I was quickly absorbed by the world of spying and like Eva, trusted no one and suspected everybody!
One disappointment for me was that promising subplots involving a student of Ruth’s and the uncle of her son came to nothing.
I loved the ending however, and intend to read more William Boyd.
This novel was shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award 2006.

"Restless is enormously readable in every respect: a confident, intelligent, ambitious novel" Guardian.

Clay- David Almond.

“strange, miraculous, beautiful” The Times.

There’s a stranger in town – Stephen Rose. He’s got waxy skin, haunting eyes, a sickly smell. No parents. No friends. He’s come to live with Crazy Mary. There are many tales and rumours about him. One thing’s certain: there’s magic in the weird creatures he makes with clay.
Should Davie and Geordie keep away? Or should they get close? Could Stephen be an ally in their bitter struggle against monstrous Mouldy and his gang?

David Almond, author of Skellig and winner of Whitbread, Smarties and Carnegie Awards, has created a dark, thickly plotted story of a modern day Frankenstein. He cleverly interweaves questions of faith, of good and evil, with the trails and tribulations of adolescence.
The hero, Davie is a sympathetic character, and Stephen is chilling and dark.
I loved the way that the characters whom Davie is afraid of, Mouldy, Crazy Mary and Stephen have their own tales of hardship explaining the way they are. The book provokes thought, if we can believe in the existence of God and goodness, is it not necessary to consider evil also? And if God exists, why not monsters and so many other unbelievable, unexplainable things?
This novel is children’s fiction, but could easily appeal to adults and was longlisted for the Carnegie Medal.

"A haunting and compelling novel" The Guardian.

A Swift Pure Cry- Siobhan Dowd

"Beautifully written and deeply moving" Guardian.

Life has been hard for Shell since the death of her Mam. her Dad has given up work and turned his back on reality, leaving Shell to care for her brother and sister. When she can, she spends time with her best friend Bridie and the charming, persuasive Declan, sharing cigarettes and irreverent jokes.
Shell is drawn to the kindness of Father Rose, a young priest, but soon finds herself the centre of an escalating scandal that rocks the small Irish community to its foundations.

Siobhan Dowd has, in her debut novel, written a haunting tale which will appeal to both adults and younger readers. Shell, the heroine, is a delight and an inspiration. Her life is a drudge, and she sorely misses her Mam, yet she soldiers on, looking after Jimmy and Trix, her younger brother and sister, and the relationship between the three is incredibly moving. Her father has been little help to Shell, yet the reader begins to sympathise with him, and his plight, realising that he is a vulnerable and fallible man. The novel really captures smalltown life in Cork, and the prose and dialogue are lilting and lyrical. Although the novel is full of loss, it has at its heart a sense of hope, and an ending which did make me cry.
It is currently shortlisted for the Children's Books Ireland/Bisto Book of the Year Award and the Sheffield Children's Book Award and longlisted for the 2007 Carnegie Medal.

"Written with a fluent, lyrical sprightliness, this poignant novel invests tragic events with humanity and even, in places, humour" The Times.

The American Boy- Andrew Taylor

"A wonderful book, richly composed and beautifully written, an enthralling read from start to finish" The Times.

England 1819: Thomas Shield, a new master at a school just outside London, is tutor to an American boy and the boy's sensitive best friend, Charles Frant. Drawn to Frant's beautiful, unhappy mother, Thomas becomes caught up in her family's twisted intrigues. Then a brutal crime is commited, with consequences that threaten to destroy Thomas and all that he has come to hold dear. Despite his efforts, Shield is caught up in a deadly tangle of sex, money, murder and lies- a tangle that grips him tighter even as he tries to escape from it. And what of the strange American child at the heart of these macabre events- what is the secret of the boy named Edgar Allen Poe?

I Have for the last 2 years, been picking this book up at the library, only to replace it on the shelf, believing that it was not my kind of read. How wrong I was! The prose is masterful and put me in mind of Dickens, evoking a compelling portrait of early 1800's London society, with all it's corruption. Edgar Allen Poe's character is peripheral, yet his role in the story is central to the events that unfold. The characters are extremely vivid, epsecially the villainous Carswell, and Shield, as the narrator has the readers sympathy and respect. I liked the short chapters, most of which ended with mini cliff-hangers, making it impossible not to read on. Both the immaculate attention to historical detail, and the twists of plot make for a deeply satisfying read, and that the ending allows the reader to draw their own conclusions enhances rather than detracts from the finished work.
Andrew Taylor's novel, "The Office of The Dead" won The CWA Historical Dagger for Fiction and featured in Richard and Judy's Book Club, 2005. I will definitely be reading more Andrew Taylor.

"A most artful and delightful book, that will both amuse and chill" Daily Telegraph.

The Testament of Gideon Mack- James Robertson

"Superb" The Times.

"If the devil didn't exist, would man have to invent him?"
For Gideon Mack, faithless minister, unfaithful husband and troubled soul, the existence of God, let alone the Devil, is no more credible than that of ghosts or fairies. Until the day he falls into a gorge and is rescued by someone who might just be Satan himself. Mack's testament - a compelling blend of memoir, legend, history and, quite probably, madness - recounts one man's emotional crisis, disappearance, resurrection and death. It also transports you into an utterly mesmerising exploration of the very nature of belief.
Initially, I was disappointed in this book. I found the descriptions of the Scottish Highlands and the church, a little tedious and was impatient to get to Gideon's alleged meeting with the devil. This does not occur until about the last quarter of the book. However, the narrative of Gideon's childhood and the history of how he formed his ideas began to enthrall me. The characters all seemed very real and often I felt as though I was living these events with them. There were very many beautifully written, moving and exciting scenes. By the time I reached the end I was savouring every word.
This novel is another Richard and Judy's Book Club page turner and was also longlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2006.
Exquisite!

"Fascinating, extraordinary, strange, rich" Sunday Telegraph.