Review: Broken Branches by M. Jonathan Lee

"Family curses don't exist. Sure, some families seem to suffer more pain than others, but a curse? I don't think so." A family tragedy was the catalyst for Ian Perkins to return to the isolated cottage with his wife and young son. But now they are back, it seems yet more grief might befall the…

Review: A Horse Walks into a Bar, by David Grossman

A Horse Walks Into a Bar, by David Grossman, was the Man Booker International Prize winner for 2017. The book presents an evening performance by comedian Dovaleh G, in the town of Netanya, Israel. The story is narrated by an old friend of Dovaleh’s, Avishai Lazar, who has been invited to the evening for reasons…

Review: The Upstairs Room by Kate Murray-Browne

Eleanor, Richard and their two young daughters recently stretched themselves to the limit to buy their dream home, a four-bedroom Victorian townhouse in East London. But the cracks are already starting to show. Eleanor is unnerved by the eerie atmosphere in the house and becomes convinced it is making her ill. Whilst Richard remains preoccupied…

Best Books of 2017 Part 1: January – June

It happens every year, doesn’t it? Blink, and you suddenly find that spring has passed you by, the pollen has started its incessant increase in the air, and the summer is upon us. For me this year, I’ve celebrated my first wedding anniversary, project managed an exhibition for work, and ran a marathon in the…

Review: The House of Birds, by Morgan McCarthy

When Oliver's girlfriend Kate inherits an elegant but crumbling old house in Oxford, her first instinct is to get rid of it. It's been the object of a decades long family feud, so all she wants is to fix it up and sell it on.  Oliver volunteers to take on the renovations. But the longer…

Blog Tour: Exquisite, by Sarah Stovell

Bo Luxton has it all – a loving family, a beautiful home in the Lake District, and a clutch of bestselling novels to her name. Enter Alice Dark, an aspiring writer who is drifting through life, with a series of dead-end jobs and a freeloading boyfriend. When they meet at a writers’ retreat, the chemistry…