Nights at the Circus is the story of Sophie Fevvers, a woman who was born with the wings of a swan. Set at the star of the 20th Century, Fevvers is a star in the circus, famous throughout Europe and performing for kings and emperors. A journalist, Jack Walser, is writing a feature on Fevvers, and follows her from London to Russia and through the Siberian wilderness, and experiences strange and unexplainable happenings along the way.

The story is mainly about Fevvers, and her background. She was raised in a brothel, lived in a sort of house of horrors, then an ice cream parlour and finally she joined the circus. She met many eccentrics through her life, from dangerous men who fetishized her wings, to other outcasts with deformities (such as the 4 eyed woman in the house of horrors), and then the utterly weird characters in the circus. Being exposed to dangerous men throughout her whole life, she learnt to stand up for herself, and became a hardened woman by the time this story starts. There's a sense of mystery running through this plot- it isn't clear if Fevvers is the real deal or a hoax. We're told her origins, but only her unreliable version. Her adoptive mother seems to be capable of magic too, but her abilities are never explained, just used sporadically through the book. This all adds up to a really weird atmosphere, where the book has one foot in the real world, but one foot in fantasy, so absolutely anything can and will happen.

This story appears to be mostly a character study of Fevvers, but it's more about the cyclone of madness going on around her. This book is more of a string of events than a plot driven story, and the events themselves are absolutely surreal. There's murderous clowns, hermits who are secretly musical geniuses, chimpanzees who are master negotiators to name a few. Tigers turn into broken mirrors, trains are shrunk into snow globes and time stands still. This book, being part of the magical realism trend of the late 20th century, plods along in reality then suddenly throws something totally bizarre at the reader. It makes for a unique and at times very funny book.

Carter has a wide range of themes and influences on display here. Theres a lot of interpretations of this book out there - it's mostly thought of as being an inverted fairy tale, instead of a prince charming we have a big, foul mouthed Cockney woman. There's also feminist themes running through this - lots of independent & sex positive women, which isn't common in books set in Victorian times. 

This was a great book, on the surface it's funny and interesting enough, but it also drops enough subtleties and symbolism to give you something to think about long after you've finished it.

Goldfinger is the book behind the classic James Bond film. It's got all the James Bond elements - big bad guy, lots of girls for James to treat like objects and danger that seems like it is utterly inescapable, yet there is never really any threat since the reader knows they are reading a James Bond book, and they can predict the ending before the book has even begun.

The story here is that James has been told to get more intelligence on Auric Goldfinger, who is suspected of smuggling gold internationally. James has already met Goldfinger by chance before he is given this mission, so happily when James's mission is explained the reader knows who all the characters are so no one gets confused. Conveniently, Goldfinger is a member of the golf club James played at when he was a teenager so James hangs out there and waits for Goldfinger to show up, then challenges him to a golf game which is 18 agonizing holes and about 30 pages long.  James wins, of course. Then James and Goldfinger become chummy, and James does a bit of sneaking around, but gets caught and Goldfinger keeps him prisoner and makes him do the admin work for his next heist. How will James save the day?

The story here is nothing groundbreaking or exciting. Everything that happens is pretty standard procedure for a spy book, and there is little that would surprise anyone. Maybe it's because this such a famous Bond story, and has inspired countless other spy books and films, that Goldfinger doesn't feel fresh and original. Maybe in 1959, before there were the Bond films and all the books, this felt new and exciting, but 60 years and lots of Bond stuff later, and all if this feels a bit old fashioned.

Speaking of old fashioned, I think we need to talk about the women in the book, or maybe Bond's attitude to them, or maybe Fleming's attitude. We all probably expect this, but every female character here is drawn to James, and is little more than an amusement to him, except (ahem) Pussy Galore, who is a lesbian crime boss that James manages to seduce and turn straight. He says she just hasn't met a real man yet. And at that point my eyes rolled harder than they ever have. Maybe if I was 13 or so I would have thought Bond's gifts with women was awesome, but as a grown up it seems horrendously cliche and adolescent. James is some sort of super macho, male fantasy super hero and it's all awfully tedious.

Another part which I think needs mentioning is the page or so rant Fleming goes on about "pansies" being a result of giving women the vote and sex equality (his words not mine). I didn't know people in 1959 still thought women shouldn't be allowed to vote, and this was really clumsily thrown in there - maybe it had been building up in Fleming's head and he had to get it out some how.

All in all, this was not my cup of tea at all. I didn't think it would be going in, and I only read it because it was on sale for £1. This is one where you should stick to the film.

This is the famous novel about the prisoners of war in Burma during World War II, which served as the inspiration for the classic film.

The Bridge on the River Kwai tells the story of British P.O.W's placed in Burma under the control of the Japanese during the Second World War. The prisoners are tasked with building a bridge, with the bridge and the schedule of work all been designed and thought out by the Japanese. The English prisoner, Colonel Nicholson, disapproved of how the work was managed, thinking the construction work would be far more efficient and the result far more solid and aesthetically pleasing if the design and management had a few tweaks. Nicholson protested the Japanese commander's rulings until the Japanese allowed a few changes to how things were run in the camp, and eventually Nicholson found himself managing the whole job of building the bridge, even redesigning the whole thing. Called a tribute to British eccentricity, this turned out to be a light hearted plot, which is at odds with the subject matter and setting.

So I knew very little about this book going in. I haven't seen the film and I had only a loose grasp of the plot - I knew about the notorious bridge, and I knew about the conditions the prisoners lived in. I expected this book to be about  the prisoners - the  back breaking labour they carried out, and the deaths within the camps. This book quickly touches on these subjects, but only devotes a paragraph or two to the hardship of the prisoners - I'm not sure it even mentions deaths. It's quickly brushed off and seems to belittle what they went through - as if the prisoners would go home and get over it. We all know that wasn't the case - over 12,000 allied prisoners died during the construction of the railway that this bridge is a part of, and the ones who survived carried the experience with them for the rest of their lives. This is an issue which is close to me - an older relative was a prisoner in Burma and worked on the railway, and by all accounts was never the same afterwards. Apparently this is quite a popular criticism of the book. Maybe it's nature of the subject matter inevitably bringing up criticism that it wasn't handled appropriately. Maybe if Boulle hadn't used a real bridge where real people died he would have saved himself this criticism - if he had used a fictional bridge it would have avoided this issue.

Anyway, back to the book. So it wasn't a harsh look on the lives of the prisoners. It was more a look on the absurdities of war - very similar to Catch 22, but not done as well as Heller's masterpiece. A number of absurd and comedic situations rise up, such as when a soldier will need to do his first parachute jump in an upcoming mission, and enquires about doing some practice jumps. He's told that the law of averages means that the more jumps he does the more likely he is to die, so better just do the one and hope it goes ok. Maybe its funnier in the book.

This is the second book I've read by Boulle, the other being Planet of the Apes, and it is (in my opinion) the stronger of the two. This reads like a classic book, written by a master of his craft, whereas Apes is a bit more of an amateurish affair. Maybe it's the translation - both books were originally in French - and we know great writing can lose a lot when shifted into another language. Happily, this isn't the case here. Kwai stays sharp, and is still great even after being moved away from its mother tongue. Boulle's description of Nicholson proudly walking on the finished bridge is absolutely magnificent, and shows what a capable writer he was.

I really enjoyed Kwai. It's a great book. It's got a good plot and it's written well, and there's a message in there too. It's a shame it deals with the plight of the prisoners so flippantly - this has caused what should have been thought of as an excellent book to be just a very good one.

Solving Cadence Moore is the debut mystery novel from author Gregory Sterner. It follows radio DJ Charlie Marx as he puts together a six part podcast series trying to solve a decade old missing person case. It's a new take on an established genre, and a strong debut from Sterner.

Charlie Marx is a rising radio presenter, who is gaining a reputation through his conspiracy show, Underground Broadcast. His mentor, Tyler Ruebens is hoping to break into the podcast market, and thinks Charlie is the man to do it. The pair plan a special series, where they will attempt to solve the unsolvable case of the disappearance of Cadence Moore. Cadence was a singer, who had low level fame, and disappeared without a trace some ten years ago. It's a high profile case, which has never had a solution, though a recent documentary, Moore to the Story has reached their own conclusions, and taken America by storm.

There are really two stories going on in this book. There is the story of Cadence, her life and background and her disappearance, which is told through transcripts of the podcasts, and there is the story of Charlie Marx, trying to put the podcast together while he is faced with deadline issues and pressure from management. The main thing  people will pick up on is the podcasts, and the telling of the story through the transcripts. This works well, and it added a new flavour to the tried and tested recipe of mystery novels. The podcast chapter in Solving Cadence read like a crime documentary, and feel like watching a six part documentary on Netflix. It's a good way of getting all the details in, the basic facts of the case and filling the reader in on what's what. 

There are a few other aspects that set this aside from the run of the mill mystery thrillers - Charlie's under pressure to solve a decade old mystery which adds some urgency to the proceedings, and the rivalry between the Charlie and the team behind the recent documentary on the case adds some great tension in parts (the chapter where the film's directors appear on the podcast is particularly heated). There is also the fact that everyone in this book is very much unlikeable, which I've seem some reviewers claim is a negative and criticised the book for it - I would wholeheartedly disagree. The characters dont have to be likeable and dont have to make you feel good. Sterner has written some good arseholes in this book and what they lack in charm they have in depth.  

This is a strong mystery novel and a promising debut from Sterner. Any fans of mysteries will love this one.

The Exploding Book is the story of a book with the power to destroy any book different to itself. It's a bizarre story of a village living with access to only one book, and no knowledge of anything that is contained in any other book. It's a unique novel - a plot unlike any other I can recall, and it's peppered with humour and tragedy.

So to expand on the plot a little bit - the library of Gladeville is destroyed, and the only thing left is a copy of "The Dark Book", which quickly becomes the only book in town. Schoolchildren study it, adults obsess over it, and the whole village lives their lives by the teachings of the dark book. There is no mention of things like sex or love or babies in the dark book, so no one in town knows what they are. Slowly, things start to appear which aren't mentioned in the book, so what are they? How did they come to be? Does this mean that the Dark Book isn't the whole, complete truth? The unusual happenings take the villagers on a journey of discovery - a spiritual journey as much as a journey for knowledge, and the whole thing concludes in a hugely satisfying, moral ending with a humanist lesson that we should all be able to appreciate.

So I liked the plot. I've left out some of the more surprising elements, to mainly avoid spoilers and also to keep the sheer insanity of this book a surprise. This is truly out there, definitely one of the most memorable books I have read in the last 5 years.

One of the most interesting parts of the book is it is completely written in the second person. You, dear reader, are as much a part of this book as any of the residents of Gladeville. You fly from house to house, from school to bakery to observe the story unfolding. You will be there at the inception of this tale and you will star in the closing scenes. It is such a simple device, but it is so effective and immersive - it is a huge achievement. I've been wracking my brains trying to think of other examples of where the second person has been used to suck the reader in to the story to this effect...and I can't. Mike has performed that rare feat of finding a great idea that is original yet so simple. A real "why didn't I think of that?!" For example, the book starts with "You see a gold temple. The temple is glowing; it is emanating a gold aura of extraordinary brilliance. The gold light touches you and you feel bliss"." Then off we go, your spirit leaves your body in search for this fabled temple. The book keeps up the direct way of talking, as we delve off in a brief bit of the meta-physical, the we are shipped off to Gladeville.

This book is published by Strange Books, and to be honest I was a little bit put off by that. I am rarely a fan of things that are strange for the sake of being strange. I like strange things - strange music, strange films and certainly strange books, but only if there is something going on behind the scenes to justify the weirdness. Being weird for the sake of being weird - to me- doesn't hold any water and can be a veil for a lack of depth. Happily, this isn't the case here. The Exploding Book is undeniably weird. It is totally strange and off the wall. But, it does have depth. Mike Russell has planned everything out, and there is a lesson to be learned. The strangeness here is necessary for the story and the message that Mike wants to tell.

I really liked this book, and I am going to keep an eye on Mike Russell.

Buy The Exploding Book on Amazon here

The Shadow Beyond is a paranormal thriller, full of mystery and a few monsters. It's a call back to the horror books of old, and reads like a true Gothic classic.

The Shadow Beyond tells the story of Robert Adderly. Born at the start of the 20th Century, he had a normal childhood, exploring his hometown and the surrounding countryside with his friends. They explored haunted houses and local folklore, which involved a few stories involving the occult, then he grew up and largely forgot about it. He was a gifted student, and went on to study mathematics at university. While there, he met the love of his life, who he quickly became engaged to. While they were celebrating their engagement, she suddenly burst into flames, and within minutes had quickly burned, leaving no remains behind. Obviously, Robert was devastated, and sought answers to what had happened - how did a human being just catch fire, and be completely devoured by the flames within minutes? The questions led him down a deep, dark rabbit hole; one of ancient wisdom, gods and demons, occultism, magic and dangerous ceremonies.

I was sent this book by the publisher, Vulpine Press, and it was described as a fantasy horror, which isn't my usual cup of tea. After a few emails were sent back and forth I decided to give it a go - it's good to try new things right? I'm glad I did. While The Shadow Beyond has strong fantasy elements - magic and demons are the main plot points - there is enough other stuff to keep anyone interested. Robert starts off as a good Christian man, who just wants to focus on his studies, but slides further and further into the occult and magic until he ultimately can't escape (this isn't a spoiler, it's all told to us in the foreword). His decline is something that's interesting to watch.Robert grapples with is morality and his priorities, and has a lot of internal conflict. There's also the mystery side of things - it quickly becomes clear that some people know something about his fiance's death - what are they hiding? Robert is on his own to figure out everything that is going on. There have been clues throughout his life, and he has to piece the puzzle together. This is another great thing about this book - I think Reiner covered all his loose ends, and all the little questions get answered in one way or another.

But the thing I really enjoyed about this book, is how it felt like an old horror book. To me, stylistically, it was very reminiscent of Frankenstein, and that meant the book had a charm about it. It's set at the start of the last century, so the language and phrasing is old fashioned and has that "classic" feel about it, and it made it an absolute joy to read. If you enjoy Gothic horror stories, or classic horror stories, then I think you would enjoy this. There's monsters, so it's tempting to compare it to Lovecraft, but to be honest I'm not enough of an expert on H.P. to be able to do so. There are few nods to Lovecraft throughout the book (Cthulu and the Necronomicon being the mains ones, I'm sure there's more that I didn't notice), so I think it is fair to say that Reiner has taken a lot of inspiration from the master of monsters. I've had a quick look into the themes of Lovecraft (forbidden knowledge, non-human influences on humanity, fate, religion) and there all present and correct here. So if you're a fan of Lovecraft, or Lovecraftian horror, this is definitely one to check out.

I really enjoyed this book. It's good to read something outside of your comfort zone once in a while.

Rusticles is a collection of 11 short stories from indie writer Rebecca Gransden. These stories are all dark, dealing with the underbelly of the lives in the fictional town of Hilligoss, but I would hesitate to label it as horror. There is something more human about them all - they have been written to do more than scare us.

Rusticles is a collection of 11 stories centred around the town of Hilligoss. Hilligoss seems like a dark, dark place. The residents are dealing with stealthy flamingos, ghosts which may or may not have been summoned, missing addict family members and many other surreal and not so surreal predicaments. The eleven stories all read like they are an excerpt from much larger pieces of writing. They hit the ground running, with no introductions to characters or settings or motivations. The reader then must start to fill the gaps in the picture with dribs and drabs of information, and ultimately decide for themselves what the picture is. Take the first story, The Neon Black Wall for example. The lead character, a teenage girl is re-visiting a place where something awful happened to her. We don't know what. We don't know when or who. We just see this part of her life - the return to the place where it happened. And it makes for some great reading. I don't mean to say the stories are incomplete - it feels like Gransden has written exactly what she set out to write - and it's up to us to fill in the gaps.

The writing throughout the collection felt extremely deliberate. Every word seems to have been picked with a lot of thought, and Rebecca has manged to give the town of Hilligoss and the book a really dismal feel through the language she's used. In The Dilapidated Flamingo the flamingo is said to "stick its head out of the leaves, like a dog's lipstick". Gross. But surely Rebecca could have used a thousand different similes for this - what about regular lipstick? But she didn't. She gave us this image. Thanks Rebecca. Flamingo was one of my favourites in this collection, by the way. It tells the story of a teenage boy who keeps spotting a flamingo in his garden. His father and his neighbour can't see it, and he can't trap it. It's a wonderfully strange little tale, that mixes childish innocence with a more grown up way of thinking. And what does that flamingo represent? I think it's the narrator's sexuality - if you have read this please do let me know your thoughts.

Rusticles is a nice little collection - the eleven stories are told over 97 pages, so it is easy to read the whole thing in one sitting. It's like a little trip to a town where it's always night time and the residents are all hiding dark secrets. It's great fun. Rebecca has shown she has a natural talent for writing, and in particular giving her work a real atmosphere.

The Storyteller tells the story of a Lebanese family who have fled to Germany. Just like many other families who have made the same journey, they are still tied to Lebanon, and can never seem to fully escape the country. The father' heart belongs there, and he talks fondly of his life back among the cedars. One day, he disappears, and his son, Samir vows that one days he will find him .The Storyteller tells the tale of Samir's journey to Beirut to find his father, and the impact his disappearance had on his life.

I was sent this book by World Editions, in exchange for a fair review, and to be a part of the blog tour for The Storyteller. I don't usually take part in blog tours - mainly because I don't like to stick to a schedule - but for The Storyteller I felt the need to make an exception. The premise of the story grabbed me - a story that looks into the life of refugees isn't super common, and Lebanon doesn't get talked about much these days.

And I'm glad I took this on. The Storyteller was absolutely fantastic. The story begins in Samir's childhood, just after the family has been given a home after fleeing to Germany. Things look good, the family is optimistic and happy, and they are living in a neighbourhood with lots of other Lebanese people - there is a really strong sense of community. The narration is from the point of view of an adult Samir looking back, so it is full of nostalgia and fondness. The emotions shines through from the text. This sentiment doesn't last long, Samir's life is a tough one, so enjoy it while it lasts.

Then the text jumps back and forth, from adult Samir in Beirut searching for his father, and his childhood, until the two catch up with each other. There's a shift in tone from the childhood parts and the adult parts - the chapters from Samirs childhood are full of wide eyed wonder that only children can find. They focus on what a child would - he doesn't care that he's thousands of miles from where he's spent the start of his life, he just wants to hear his father's stories and play with the little girl who lives next door. Jarawan is clearly an extremely skilled storyteller - this book has been a best seller in it's native German - but some credit belongs to the translators Sinead Crowe and Rachel McNicholl. I've said it before - a good translator is worth their weight in gold. The ability to keep the flow and meaning of the original work is extremely rare - many translated books seem to be extremely dry. Happily, The Storyteller flows. Like, really flows. It's a big 460 page book, but it felt like a little 150 page novella.

The only concern I had going in to this is I know shamefully little about Lebanon. The civil war stopped just before I was born, and it seemed to have fallen out of the news by the time I started to pay attention. The only knowledge of it I had was from a recent visit to the Tate Modern where I had seen "Monument for the Living". Lack of knowledge isn't a hindrance going into the Storyteller. I fact, it's a bit of a history lesson. It was originally written for German audiences, so an in depth knowledge of Lebanese history isn't assumed. After reading this, I think its fair to say, the layman would have a little bit more of an understanding of the country - or if he doesn't he would at least have an empathy for it's people. As the saying goes "If you think you understand Lebanon, someone has not explained it to you properly".

So really there are two sides to this book. There's the story of a father and son who have been split apart, the son searching for his father and the impact of their torn relationship on his life. Then there is the story of a refugees going back to his homeland. There's the Lebanese side to this story. It's a perfect balance here - the Lebanese story doesn't impose on the family story, it doesn't take over and lose the father/son story, but at the same time it is ever present, always in the background of everything that's going on.

I really enjoyed the Storyteller. It deserves to be a huge book. Unless I have a phenomenal year of reading ahead of me, this will easily be on my top 10 list for 2019. Probably top 5.

The Space Between Time is the story of a woman born into exceptional circumstances, struggling with being in the spotlight, and her families demons. It's a rare gem that mixes humour, tragedy, and a literary angle to keep analysts happy.

On the surface, Emma seems to be a very lucky girl. Her father's an A list celebrity, nominated for multiple Oscars, in the top 20 sexiest men, and a household name all over the world. Her grandfather is a world leading scientist, who has just published his ground breaking theory, and trying to get it to gain some traction with his peers. Her mother loves her deeply, and provides some normality in her life, despite being married to a top Hollywood actor and being drop dead gorgeous. But beneath it all, Emma's world isn't as happy as it looks on paper. Her father's absences are creating a growing tension in the Rossini household - her mother is suspicious about infidelity, and Emma just wants her father around. Emma and her mother are sick of being the famous family - Emma wants to blend in at school, and some friends who like her for who she is, not for who her father is. Her mother hates the spotlight, and shy's away from public appearances. Emma finds her only solace is in her grandparents, whom she adores. Her grandfather may be a top astrophysicist, but he's just a goofy Grandad to Emma, who hangs on his life lessons and finds his moustache hilarious. Tragedy soon strikes the family, in an unexpected event, and Emma's life goes down an unforeseen path. Seriously, the tragedy just comes out of nowhere, just as you begin to root for Emma there's a gut punch that leaves you genuinely concerned about how she will recover and put herself back together. No, Grandad doesn't die.

I really enjoyed this book, and there's a few reasons why. The first thing that grabbed me is the humour in Emma's narration. She has a really wry view on the world, and sees things for what they are. She has blunt way about things, but she's sharp at the same time. She's a very funny narrator, and this gives the book readability - it's a pleasure to go through the chapters and at no point an effort. Emma's narration and humour carry the story as it unfolds around her. 

There's a strong use of imagery running through this book too. Emma loves the sea - she grew up in East Lothian (which is gorgeous part of the world by the way), in Scotland, next to the coast, and has always felt an affinity with the sea. An the sea features heavily in the book - there isn't essays written about it, but important little drops here and there. If you read this, pay attention to the sea - it gives the book a bit of depth that can be lacking in contemporary novels at times. 

Also, stick with this to the end. The end casts a shadow over the rest of the book, and will change how you perceive the whole story. I don't want to say too much obviously, but now I know the end of the story, I want to read the book again, and pay attention to every single little thing that happens. Like when you watch a film again and notice the little details - I think this book has the ability to keep giving after the first read.

Only Americans Burn In Hell is Kobek's latest book of rantings and musings on the state of the world. It's a novel, but much more than just a story.

Jarett Kobek rose to prominence in 2016 with I Hate the Internet , which I read last spring, and really enjoyed. It was a refreshing book, which served a vehicle for Kobek to air his views on modern life, mainly the internet and the multi-billion dollar companies running the show. This is his second book since then - 2017's The Future Won't Be Long was largely ignored. Only Americans... picks up where The Internet left off, and at times feels like an update on what Kobek has been up to since then, and what he makes of what has been going on in the world. Expect lots of criticism of Trump, the people who voted for him and the system that allowed him to become the President of the United States. I know, that's a tired topic now, but Kobek manages to keep a fresh, entertaining look on things. For example, he uses the protests against Trump which took place outside of Trump Towers, when the main man wasn't there as a great metaphor for how democracy works. Kobek isn't just angry or cynical for the sake of it - it's not just to be edgy or for cheap laughs, each of his points and ramblings is thought out, informed and has an almost poetic edge. It's thought provoking and funny, and also at times an education. It's like being cornered by a drunk man, rambling and raving. Then as you walk away you realise he did have a point after all.

Don't be fooled into thinking this is a one trick pony. Yes, Trump pops up a lot in this book, but Kobek delves into seemingly thousands of topics. Each new chapter brought an exciting wonderment of what we're getting stuck into this time, and we go from black metal to Twitter to Snapchat to Game of Thrones (pornography about war) to the University of New York using slave labour to build their Abu Dhabi campus - this particular topic is dealt with on page 2. Kobek doesn't mess about.

There's an entertaining passage about people who review books online too. In particular, Kobek mentions people who compared I Hate The Internet to Kurt Vonnegut's Breakfast of Champions. Oh. I did that. And it made the book much funnier for it. If I can laugh at all these other things, I have to be able to take it when it's my turn. In Kobek's eyes, we are not worthy to be reviewing books online. "Bullshit instant commentary by the stupidest people on the planet." Ouch. Sorry Jarett, I was sent a copy of Only Americans by your publisher, Serpents Tail, I'm kind of obliged to review it. Otherwise I'd avoid it - I'm worried I'll be writing more clichés, and you kind of scare me. 

There is a story which threads all of these musings together. It's a fantasy tale about the queen of Fairy Land travelling to modern day Los Angeles. It's great in itself, but it very much is here to give Kobek a platform to air his views, and acts as a thread to hold it all together. It's a big allegory to, for those of you who are into that sort of thing.

But there's an ending to it all which offers a little bit of comfort. It wasn't immediately clear what the ending's all about, but with some reflection it makes a whole heap of sense. Kobek is self aware. And extremely talented. I can't wait to read the next one in a couple of years.

The Willow Woman is a detective story set in China, following the long tradition of Chinese detective novels. It follows homicide detective Phillip Ye as he investigates a case of police brutality and a missing person, that quickly gets deeper and deeper.

The Chinese have a long, long tradition of detective novels. The tradition goes all the way back to the Tang Dynasty, (618 - 907 CE) - that's nearly 1500 years of detective stories! It a rich cultural phenomenon, and the typical Chinese crime novel has certain shapes and characteristics that define it as following the tradition. The author, Laurence Westwood has good blog post on them here. In The Willow Woman, Laurence has stuck to the traditions, taking the lessons of over a thousand years of history, but moulded them to fit the tastes of western readers, and the result is a great, great book.

The story opens with Phillip Ye, a homicide detective in Chengdu and son of the former mayor. He sees an apparition in his room telling him to travel to certain area of the town, which he does. While he's there he witnesses a case of police brutality, ending up in the murder of an elderly man - a case that he takes on and starts to look into, and it leads him to a missing person case, which leads him on to more and more mysteries in Chengdu's underbelly. There's a lot more in here than that simple explanation - the cast of characters is absolutely huge for a novel this size, so there's many sub plots orbiting around this central case. Laurence has woven a web in The Willow Woman - and a masterful one at that.

I'm no expert in Chinese culture by any means. I don't know how the society works, or what the common understandings of Chinese people are. I certainly know nothing about the legal system there. So this book was intimidating. In the first few pages there's a cast of characters that is a few pages long, full of names which were unusual to me. How on earth am I going to get through this and make sense of it all? How am I going to remember Superintendent Zuo from Superintendent Ye, or Prosecutor Deng from Prosecutor Ya? Luckily, Laurence does seem to be an expert on these things, and the book manages to make everything clear to the English reader, without becoming patronising. The tradition of Chinese Crime novels is to explain everything to reader, leaving little to the imagination, and this book fills the gaps where my English understanding reaches it's limits. Laurence is English, but is an expert on the Chinese legal system and Chinese culture, so he knows where he needs to explain the cultural differences. Sometimes, reading a book set in a different culture, especially if the author is from that culture, so doesn't have an outsider perspective, can make things confusing - the author can assume things are common knowledge that simply aren't outside of their own culture. Happily this isn't the case here. The Willow Woman throws you straight into Chengdu, but Laurence is your tour guide.

This is a great detective novel. The plot is good, fast paced with a few curve balls and surprises here and there. Laurence's writing is fantastic. I think this is his second book, but the prose and the narrative feels like a writer with much more experience. This one is strongly recommended.

The Wall is a dystopian novel abut a teenage girl fleeing England in the 2040's - after a disastrous Brexit has left the country almost unfit to live in.

Brexit is a hot potato right now. It's all over the news, and everyone has a strong opinion on it. If you're not from the UK you might not understand just what a big deal (or no deal) it is over here. It is absolutely everywhere, completely inescapable. And rightly so - its an important issue - it could have a big impact on the future of the UK. This is where Margaret Mason has found her inspiration for The Wall.

The Wall focuses on Harra, a teenager from York. Her family has saved up to send her to the Scottish border, and to cross the wall that marks the edge of England (Scotland has gained independence). It's illegal for anyone to cross the border and leave the country, so the journey is taken undercover, in total secret. Harra is given a set of thirteen instructions (Day 1, walk 10 miles North, for example), and there are stewards along the way who have safe houses where she can eat and rest.While she is travelling, she is on here own - it's a long dangerous journey and not everyone makes it - they either get caught by immigration or they don't survive the trip.

The England in The Wall is almost unrecognisable. Thick smog is everywhere - so dense in places that a mask is required to breathe safely. There are no cars, since fuel is scarce - that includes electricity. Food is short. Healthcare is non-existent (I guess the NHS is no longer around). The people scrape by, do what they can to earn a living and stretch their earnings as far as they can. They don't travel outside of their hometowns, eat what they can in their cold homes. This is all a result of course of the UK leaving the EU, and the Brexit referendum.

I'm not getting into Brexit here - I am giving that a wide, wide berth. Margaret is obviously a remainer, and this book is geared for other remainers. If that puts you off, then it's probably not for you. And obviously, no one thinks this is going to happen - this isn't a prediction or a warning, it's a bit of fun - almost satirical.

The story itself doesn't get too weighed down with the whole Brexit thing. We're told that Brexit was the cause of the problems England is facing, but there is no detail or timeline offered. We don't know why food or fuel is scarce, we don't know where things started to go wrong or why the economy has collapsed or really whats causing the pollution. Just that Brexit happened then the country has gone to shit. For me, what would have made this book more interesting would be some more detail into what happened between the UK leaving and the time Harra is alive. It feels almost irrelevant to the story that Brexit was the cause of everything, since there isn't a link given between Brexit and the situation Harra is in, we're just told that Brexit is the root of it all.

Having said that, if you ignore the Brexit backdrop, and look at this as a dystopian novel, it's pretty good. There's some real tension. Harra is a good every-man, full of doubt and worry, but at the same time a real warrior. She's left hr home and family, knowing she will never see them again and knows nothing about the journey ahead of her.

One other cool thing I noticed is that at one point Harra randomly picks up a book, which is about the history of England. The first chapter is called Saxon Dawn, which I recognised from somewhere. Quick trip to the bookshelves, and I confirmed it. I read this book! It's A Short History of England by Simon Jenkins.

This is the story of a young man who, in a plot of revenge, decides to frame his late mother's doctor for murder. For some reason he skins the corpses in a gruesome, bizarre form of art after reading about it in a mysterious textbook. The flayed skins come to life, and start to carry out his murders for him - and things quickly start to unravel.

So the backbone of this story is Trevor, like all good serial killers, was very close to his mother. Unfortunately for Trevor, she recently died of a brain tumour. She consulted the family doctor - Dr Mellick, who thought it was just migraines and told her to take some paracetamol and get lots of rest. In Trevor's eyes, Dr Mellick is responsible for his mothers death, and he plans to take his revenge. Trevor starts killing prostitutes in an effort to frame the Doctor, and skins the corpses after reading about it in a strange textbook. Just like anyone would. The skins come to life and help carry out the killings, the doctor disappears, and Trevor's activities lead him down a very dark and mysterious path, and his grip on reality becomes weaker and weaker.

This story is absolutely crazy. Easily one of the most original plots I'v read for the last few years, Morgan has come up with something that (to my knowledge) is completely original, yet has that classic feel to it. This book is super reminiscent of those old low budget horror movies - think Evil Dead or the Troma films - it's all gore and over-the-top violence with a wacky plot, that makes it so much fun. I spent my teenage years watching those films, so this book was almost like a trip down memory lane.I felt like I was 15 again, watching scary movies. I loved every minute of it, and recommend it to any gore-hounds or horror fans. It's not hugely terrifying though it is scary at some points, but it is crazy good fun.

Trevor is a great main character too. he explains his logic and his motivations, and I'm sure to him everything makes great sense, and it's all completely logical, but to the reader it seems a bit fuzzy round the edges. His grip on reality gets weaker and weaker, and the reader follows him on his downward spiral, getting lost in his hallucinations and black outs. It leads to a disorientating narrative, and it creates a dizzying atmosphere. I also grew to actually care for Trevor - he's clearly a mixed up guy - and the weird psychopath that infuriated me at the start of the book slowly revealed himself to be a troubled kid who is in desperate, desperate need of help.

This is a great little book, easily read in one sitting, that I would really recommend if you want a quick little story full of the macabre and dark humour. If you enjoy this sort of thing, you can't go wrong with this one.