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A Wild Kind of Justice by Hilary Bonner |
Twenty years ago a man was acquitted of the horrific rape and murder of a young girl. Today, DNA evidence proves that he was in fact the killer, but the law of double jeopardy means that he cannot be tried again. Someone wants to make him pay for his crime. The compelling story centres on beautiful mysterious Dartmoor, and interweaves with the tale of an obsessive fated love affair.
(bwl 10 August 2001) |
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Bookends by Jane Green |
I wasn't sure, when I began this story of friends who started a bookshop, if I would enjoy it. The synopsis I had read had given me a wrong impression. Although a younger reader, 'a thirty something', will probably have more in common with the circle of friends and their problems and lifestyles, I found it strangely diverting, entertaining, and a good 'light' read.
(bwl 4 September 2000) |
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Commencing our Descent by Suzannah Dunn |
This is only one of many books I have read this long, hot, lazy, French summer but it is the best. The sensitive story of a friendship which slides into a love affair that never really happens has all the subtlety of the book's title. Mercedes, Sadie, Poppy, three names for the complex heroine; you will want to say to her 'Stop! Stay with your nice husband who smiles even when he is sleeping'.
(bwl 5 October 2000) |
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Damage by Josephine Hart |
Damage is both elegant and erotic. It tells a tale of a completely obsessive love which leads to an inevitable ending. Prepare to be shocked, enthralled, and left thinking - 'Damaged people are dangerous. They know they can survive!' A quote that stays with you
(bwl 3 May 2000) |
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Death in Holy Orders by P D James |
After a long arid summer of boring books it was with pleasure that I became enthralled in this story of murders in an Anglican theological college, on a beautiful but desolate part of the East Anglian coast. Commander Adam Dalgliesh wends his usual thoughtful way through the investigation, and we are even treated to the slightest hint of a future romance for our rather lonely hero.
(bwl 21 November 2003) |
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Encore Provence by Peter Mayle |
I always start to read his books with a jaundiced eye, but have to recognise and empathise with some things he describes, such as the dramatics of a southern storm. I still think he writes like a tourist trying to write a guidebook, but if you like olive trees, truffles, and Provence, you will probably have to read it, just like me.
(bwl 4 July 2000) |
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Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain |
Prepare to be shocked, maybe repelled, but never bored, by the stories and language of life in New York's kitchens. Surely restaurants in England are different - Gordon Ramsey 's excepted. Foodies will have to search hard, but will find gems of slivers of black diamond amongst the pig's entrails. This book will leave your head spinning, and make you snarl, in the kitchen, at your significant other: 'Get out of the ****** ******** way!'
(bwl 5 October 2000) |
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Mr MacGregor by Alan Titchmarsh |
You do not have to be green fingered or recovering from an operation (as I am) to find this light amusing book a tonic. This tale of a TV gardening programme presenter's life and loves is just the read for a lazy summer afternoon in the garden. If the author teases us gently with the thought that, just maybe, this could be his own life - well, Mr. MacGregor is a nice man, anyway.
(bwl 5 October 2000) |
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Out of the Frying Pan - An Autobiography by Keith Floyd |
You love him or hate him, the old reprobate. This poor West Country boy made good has never forgotten his roots. His life story, all highs and lows but never boring, takes in his days at the Bristol Evening Post, the army, his restaurants and his TV career. Always a lady's man, always the "bon viveur", he now lives in Spain, peacefully - perhaps? Read with a glass in your hand, and enjoy. Bon Appetit!
(bwl 8 April 2001) |
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Secrets of the Heart by Elizabeth Buchan |
A book of several love affairs, the most important being those of 30 year old Agnes and a house, and of Andrew, a farmer, with his threatened Dartmoor farm. The others are almost incidental, and only one comes to a satisfactory, romantic, happy conclusion!
(bwl 7 February 2001) |
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The Brimstone Wedding by Barbara Vine |
Do read this story of Jenny, the superstitious young care assistant, and frail elegant Stella, awaiting the ending of her days in the home. Their love affairs, thirty years apart, touch in a curious way. Stella has a very tragic mysterious past, the full story of which can only be told after her death. When you close the covers, this book will linger on in your memory. Such is the spell of a master story teller.
(bwl 8 April 2001) |
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The Hours of the Night by Sue Gee |
This is a thoughtful and intricate story of a year in the life of six people living on the Welsh border. At the centre is the young poet Gillian, a reclusive introvert. Other characters are renowned singer, Rowland; Edward his farmer partner; Nesta a gifted therapist and Phil, a young composer. If I had read this book in France it would have made me homesick for Great Britain, even for the mud and the rain.
(bwl 23 April 2004) |
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The House of Stairs by Barbara Vine |
Lizzie narrates this tightly woven, beautifully written tale of intricate relationships, friendships and murder. She is under threat of a fatal hereditary disease which she will escape - if it does not strike her down by the age of forty. How would one live one's life? A dark, complex, and totally enthralling book.
(bwl 4 July 2000) |
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The Longings of Women by Marge Piercy |
You will not want to put this one down, as you share the lives of Leila, the feisty academic, Mary, the homeless middle-class cleaning lady, and Becky, who only longed for a better life. It is an emotional roller coaster, and you will remember this book, I promise. I enjoyed it because I found myself becoming involved with the characters, and felt for them as they struggled to make sense of their lives and to survive.
(bwl 11 October 2001) |
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The Persian Pickle Club by Sandra Dallas |
This is a little gem of a book. It is set in the 1930s in Kansas, where the crops are burning up and times are very hard. The Persian Pickle Club is a group of eccentric quilters with strong bonds of friendship for each other which survive a nasty murder. What is the Persian Pickle? You have to read the book or be a quilter to know!
(bwl 19 June 2003) |
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The Remorseful Day by Colin Dexter |
Fans of Morse will have to read his 'swan song'. Why is he reluctant to re-open the case of a woman murdered in the Cotswolds? He solves the mystery, as always, with Sergeant Lewis a couple of steps behind. Dexter's strange, likeable detective dies a sad, lonely death without his faithful Lewis hearing his last whispered 'thank you'. Many fans will be as sad as Lewis, and like Lewis, shed a tear at his passing.
(bwl 5 October 2000) |
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Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher |
This is not a book to set the world on fire, but is enjoyable with a strong 'feel good' factor. No nightmares or introspection after reading this story. Elfrida leaves Hampshire to live in Scotland to help console her friend and neighbour, after a tragedy befalls his family. Various other people join their household, and all their personal problems are solved in the nicest possible way. A warm gentle book.
(bwl 7 February 2001) |
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