Category: Book Review

Beth Underdown has taken a real character from history – Matthew Hopkins – who was behind a surge in executions for witchcraft in Essex during the Civil War, and retold his story through the eyes of a fictional sister. In Read More …

We were all agreed that this book was a quick and easy read, a page turner – more than one of us had completed it in two days. However the general feeling was that the plot lacked credibility with poorly Read More …

Gilead takes the form of a long and rambling letter from an elderly preacher to his young son. John Ames is ailing and wants to leave a letter to his much beloved son whom he will not see become an adult. Read More …

‘Elinor Oliphant is completely fine’ turned out to be a good read – we had all enjoyed it to various degrees. Some of the group were very taken with Elinor and her quirks whilst others took longer to warm to Read More …

We read a volume of poetry this month – a challenge for many of us (the last time I had seriously looked at poetry was school). Helen Dunmore died in 2017, and the collection was written through her last months Read More …

First published in 1974 Tinker, tailor, soldier, spy is John Le Carre’s features George Smiley – a spymaster who has been forced to retire following the failure of an operation.  After evidence of a soviet mole is behind the failure Read More …

Published in 1924 A Passage to India is set in the fictional city of Chandrapore during the British Raj. It won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction and is regarded as a classic. Newly arrived in India, Adela Read More …

We were hoping for a festive read and David Baldacci’s book promised a ‘heart warming holiday tale’. It focuses on Tom Langdon, a disillusioned journalist as he travels from Washington to LA to be with his current girlfriend by Christmas Read More …

The structure of Victoria Hislop’s book is unusual – a set of short stories with what feels like two framing devices. First we meet Ellie who has received a series of postcards from Greece intended for a previous occupant of her flat. Read More …

One Hundred Years of Solitude is often cited as Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s finest and most famous work – part of the canon that led to him being awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. It tells the story of the rise Read More …

It was generally agreed that ‘The last painting of Sara de Vos’ was an enjoyable and engaging book. The story is written in three time periods. In the 1600’s Sara herself is trying to earn a living through painting in Read More …

‘How to fall in love’ by Cecelia Ahern proved to be a very easy read – definitely in the category of holiday reading. However it wasn’t the sweet romantic story suggested by the title and the cover with the thread Read More …