‘Kill-Devil and Water’ by Andrew Pepper

London 1940, and Pyke, hero (of sorts) of this series is in debtors jail, having squandered his fortune.  His erstwhile friend Fitzroy Tilling – now a senior figure in the New Police, makes Pyke an offer – he will let him get out of prison early, if Pyke will investigate the murder of a mixed-race [...]

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‘Memoirs of a Master Forger’ by William Heaney

William Heaney is a forger of antiquarian books – together with his friends Stinx and Jaz, he produces fake first edition novels by such authors as Jane Austen and Charles Dickens, which he sells to greedy collectors.  He makes no money out of this scam, and gives all his proceeds to charity – namely GoPoint, [...]

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‘The Revenge of Captain Paine’ by Andrew Pepper

London 1835, and the wind of change is in the air.  Plans are afoot for two railways to be built, connecting London with various other parts of the country and the hope is that this will encourage trade and create jobs.  However, the navvies who are building the railway are being rallied into unionising and [...]

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A Christmas Carol

This review is about the 2009 animated version of A Christmas Carol, featuring the voices of Jim Carrey, Gary Oldman and Colin Firth amongst others. Christmas time means Christmas movies…and what better choice than a movie based on one of the most famous and popular novels celebrating Christmas – Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’? This [...]

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‘The Shining’ by Stephen King

When Jack Torrance is offered the job of caretaker of the Overlook Hotel, high in the Colorado mountains, over the winter period when the hotel is closed, he thinks it might be just what he and his family need.  Jack and his wife Wendy have been experiencing problems in their marriage, due to his alcoholism [...]

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‘Completely Unexpected Tales’ by Roald Dahl

Roald Dahl’s ‘Tales of the Unexpected’ and ‘More Tales of the Unexpected’ are packaged together in this volume.  It consists of 25 short stories (16 in ‘Tales’ and 9 in ‘More Tales’), which are humorous, dark, sinister, macabre and delightful – sometimes all at once. Dahl clearly had a very vivid imagination, and some of [...]

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‘Continent’ by Jim Crace

Less of a novel, this is really a set of seven short stories, all set in a mysterious 7th continent, which reflect events in the world we are more familiar with.  ‘Electricity’ provides a warning against obsession with and reliance upon gadgets and technology; ‘Talking Skull’ talks of a young man’s travels to America and then [...]

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‘The Tapestry of Love’ by Rosy Thornton

This is the story of Catherine Parkstone, a 48 year old woman, who has moved to the French mountains in the search for a new life, and a new business in tapestry and upholstery.  The idyllic lifestyle she had hoped for is a complete change from her life in England – her house is one [...]

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