The Closers by Michael Connelly

(464 pages)



After three years as a PI, Harry Bosch returns to the LAPD, working with his former cop ally and partner, Kizmin Rider. Harry and Kiz are assigned to the LAPD's Open-Unsolved Unit. These detectives are the Closers; they put a shovel in the dirt and turn over the past. Harry and Kiz are immediately thrown into a politically sensitive and dangerous case when a DNA match connects a white supremacist to the 1988 murder of a mixed race 16-year-old girl. As he navigates the case, Harry finds a police department far different from the one he left three years earlier. A new Chief has been brought over from New York to change the bad old culture of corruption - or that's the theory. But one thing hasn't changed - Harry's nemesis, Irving. The former Deputy Chief has been pushed from power and given a virtually meaningless new role. Full of vengeance, Irving calls Harry a 'retread'. He watches from the sidelines like an injured bear, hoping Harry will make a mistake ...

i really enjoyed this....the pages flew by without me realising it, and although the story is rather slow only picking up steam in the last third or so, at no point did I feel bored. All the details were there and it made me feel as though I was part of the investigation. I hadnt guessed whodunnit until Harry and Kiz worked it out and as for the ending... I thought it was great :D

Dance Upon The Air by Nora Roberts

(400 pages)



When Nell Channing arrives on Three Sisters Island, she hopes she has finally found refuge from her abusive husband. But even in this peaceful place, she feels haunted by fear. Then she discovers the island is suffering under a terrible curse and that she must find the power to save herself.

I enjoyed this quite a lot. I had admiration for Nell's determination, and a huge dislike for Evan. Zack was very likeable, but some of the other characters such as Lulu and Ripley, seemed a little shallow. Admittedly, this was the first in a trilogy, but it didnt leave me wanting to read the other two.
It was a good book as a stand-alone, and it didnt feel necessary for me to read the other 2 in the series. The only flaw was the ending, which felt a little rushed.

March by Geradine Brooks

(304 pages)



From the author of the acclaimed "Year Of Wonders", a historical novel and love story set during a time of catastrophe on the front lines of the American Civil War. Set during the American Civil War, "March" tells the story of John March, known to us as the father away from his family of girls in "Little Women", Louisa May Alcott's classic American novel. In Brooks' telling, March emerges as an abolitionist and idealistic chaplain on the front lines of a war that tests his faith in himself and in the Union cause when he learns that his side, too, is capable of barbarism and racism. As he recovers from a near-fatal illness in a Washington hospital, he must reassemble the shards of his shattered mind and body, and find a way to reconnect with a wife and daughters who have no idea of the ordeals he has been through. As Alcott drew on her real-life sisters in shaping the characters of her little women, so Brooks turned to the journals and letters of Bronson Alcott, Louisa May's father, an idealistic educator, animal rights exponent and abolitionist who was a friend and confidante of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. The story spans the vibrant intellectual world of Concord and the sensuous antebellum South, through to the first year of the Civil War as the North reels under a series of unexpected defeats. Like her bestselling "Year Of Wonders", "March" follows an unconventional love story. It explores the passions between a man and a woman, the tenderness of parent and child, and the life-changing power of an ardently held belief.


Whilst this was a very well written and touching story, it just didnt do very much for me. Perhaps I need to read it again when I am more in the mood for a bit of History.

Faking It by Jennifer Crusie

(340 pages)



A new masterpiece from the queen of smart, sexy female fiction Mural artist Tilda Goodnight is struggling to pay off the mortgage on the family art gallery to keep the lid on her family secrets. Her life was complicated enough when all she had to deal with were her daydreaming mother, her split-personality sister and her cross-dressing brother-in-law but when con-man, charmer and sex-on-legs Davy Dempsey enters her life things, begin to get really out of control. Suddenly everyone is faking something. What will happen when all the secrets are out?

this was the most fun i've had reading a book for ages. I mean there were hit-men, con men, gold-diggers people with split personalities fake paintings and FBI agents.
the story rattled on at a great pace, woth the plot becoming more convoluted and entangled by the page! the ending was great, and left me with a smile on my face.
I will definitely be reading more books by Jennifer Crusie.

The Other Woman's Shoes by Adele Parks

(496 pages)



Eliza and Martha are sisters. But that's where the similarity ends. Martha appears to have the perfect life: two lovely children and plenty of money. Eliza lives in a one-bedroom flat with her musician boyfriend Greg. When Eliza ditches Greg and turns up on her sister's doorstep, she expects to be swallowed into the sanctuary of Martha's warm loving home. But Martha's husband has just announced he's leaving. For good. Proving to both women that a wedding ring isn't a life raft. Then Martha meets Jack, who is everything she's never wanted, whilst Eliza is dating dozens of men in hope of finding the perfect husband. Suddenly the sisters are faced with the same challenge- is there such as thing as the perfect love? or the perfect life?

This was typical Adele Parks. That isnt a bad thing, but I have to admit that I have enjoyed some of her other books more than this. I found it really hard to identify with any of the characters, which meant that for me it wasnt an easy read. It was worth the effort, but it isnt one that i would read again.

Goodnight Nobody by Jennifer Weiner

(371 pages)



For Kate Klein, semi-accidental mother of three, the unsolved murder of a fellow mother is the most interesting thing to happen since the neighbours cracked their septic tank. Up until then life in suburbia has been distinctly underwhelming. Her once-loving husband is hardly ever home. The supermums on the playground routinely snub her and her days are filled with an empty routine. At night, most of her orgasms are of the do-it-yourself variety. So, from 8:45 to 11:30 am on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, when her kids are in nursery school, Kate launches a murder investigation of her own. With the help of her best friend, carpet heiress, Janie Segal, and former flame, Evan McKenna, she is drawn deep into the dead woman's double life. Suddenly suburbia is not so ordinary after all. Engrossing, suspenseful, and laugh-out-loud funny, "Goodnight Nobody" is another unputdownable, sparkling tale; a quick-witted mystery with a great heart and a narrator you'll never forget.

I enjoyed this, though not as much as i expected. Whilst it was fun, and i was chuckling aloud at some parts, there was also a huge air of sadness over it. it was well written, although some of the characters were a wee bit shallow. the first 2/3 were fantastic...getting you drawn into the murder mystery, but i feel the ending was a bit rushed and let the story down a little.

How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire by Kerrelyn Sparks

(371 pages)



Book Description
Kerrelyn Sparks introduces readers to a demon world that is curiously parallel to the human world. There are vampire cable channels that feature talks shows, soap operas and a celebrity magazine called Live! With the Undead. But as a human female crosses boundaries into this new reality, the results can be dangerous and hilarious...
So what if he's a bit older and usually regards a human female as dinner, not a dinner date? Yes, Roman Draganesti is a vampire, but a vampire who lost one of his fangs sinking his teeth into something he shouldn't have. Now he has one night to find a dentist before his natural healing abilities close the wound, leaving him a lop-sided eater for all eternity.
Things aren't going well for Shanna Whelan either…After witnessing a gruesome murder by the Russian mafia, she's next on their hit list. And her career as a dentist appears to be on a downward spiral because she's afraid of blood. When Roman rescues her from an assassination attempt, she wonders if she's found the one man who can keep her alive. Though the attraction between them is immediate and hot, can Shanna conquer her fear of blood to fix Roman's fang? And if she does, what will prevent Roman from using his fangs on her…

I have to admit that being a huge fan of shows like "Buffy" and "Angel", I have an increasingly large soft spot for vampire stories with heart rather than simply gore. So I decided to give this a go. I wan't disappointed. Whilst I could not describe this book as a literary masterpiece, as they say, it does exactly what it says on the tin!The title tells you exactly where the story is going, but it is the getting there that counts! What more could a girl ask for in a book?? Russian Mafia, handsome rich vampires, security guards in kilts, a dentist who is afraid of blood, specialist vampire television and a possible vampire war!!Full of action, some blood (mostly synthetic) and lots of massive laughs thanks to the female lead Shanna, this was a really enjoyable and unputdownable book, with a wide range of believable and likeable characters. Highly recommended to all those with a warm heart!!

Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt

(188 pages)



Winnie Foster, a teenage girl on the cusp of maturity, longs for a life outside the control of her domineering mother. When lost in the woods near her home, she happens upon Jesse Tuck, a boy unlike any she's ever met before. He and his family are kind and generous, and they immediately take her in as one of their own. However, the Tucks hold a powerful secret, and with the mysterious Man in the Yellow Suit tracking them down, they fear that the world as they know it could end. Ultimately, Winnie must decide whether to return to her life or stay with her beloved Jesse and his family forever.

This was an absolutely wonderful read. Having seen the fabulous movie adaptation (with William Hurt and Sissy Spacek) I felt it essential that I read this. I was not disappointed in the least. All the characters (the man in the yellow suit aside) were really likeable, and I had a tear in my eye at the end. This is one that I would read to my children (when I have some) to teach them about the importance of life and death. I think this is one of the best children's stories that I have ever read, and must recommend it to absolutely everybody!!

Starter for Ten by David Nicholls

(473 pages)



Amazon.co.uk Review
Is David Nicholls' Starter for Ten a throwback? Many readers look back with nostalgia to a recent golden age of comic writing, when David Lodge, Malcolm Bradbury and Tom Sharpe were producing some achingly funny work, with brilliantly realised characters. But Nicholls' sharp-as-nails novel has all the comic acumen of his great predecessors (along with their frequently-utilised university campus milieu) and, like Lodge and co., Nicholls writes real characters, not just boobies suitable only for pratfalls and sexual embarrassment. So even though the situations may often be ridiculous, we're still engaged by the protagonists.
Here, they are university student Brian Jackson and aspiring actress Alice Harbinson. Brian has arrived at his place of learning with a stronger desire than the acquisition of knowledge: he's going to be a star of TV's hottest quiz. But his progress on "The Challenge" is somewhat stymied by his growing desire for the beguiling Alice, struggling to make her mark as an actress. And as obstacles impede their affair, Brian becomes more and more convinced that only overwhelming success on the quiz show will win her.
What makes this novel such a delight, apart from the strongly drawn characters (both major and minor) is the coruscating dialogue: Nicholls writes comic dialogue like a dream, and his targets are many and varied: the idiocies of love and sex, the ludicrous pursuit of meaningless TV celebrity, fat cat businessmen lining their pockets--you name it, and it's probably here; Starter for Ten is a panoply of modern Britain with all its glories and excesses writ large. Nicholls wrote the third series of the hit TV series Cold Feet, which is as good a demonstration of his credentials as one could wish for. But Starter for Ten is his best work; there are no false notes struck by miscast actors, just prose that has a comic energy not often encountered these days.

Whilst this was great fun, I feel that I would have enjoyed it more if I had been 10 years older. You see I went to uni, when University Challenge was on the way out (mind you it;s back in again now). For me the thing that stood out was the odd selection of characters, some of whom did seem rather familiar. One that was worth the read, but not one I would read again in a hurry.

The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult

(448 pages)



How far would you go to protect the ones you love? Worldwide publication of Jodi Picoult's brand new hardback will be a major event. When Daniel Stone was a child, he was the only white boy in a native Eskimo village where his mother taught, and he was teased mercilessly because he was different. He fought back, the baddest of the bad kids: stealing, drinking, robbing and cheating his way out of the Alaskan bush - where he honed his artistic talent, fell in love with a girl and got her pregnant. To become part of a family, he reinvented himself - jettisoning all that anger to become a docile, devoted husband and father. Fifteen years later, when we meet Daniel again, he is a comic book artist. His wife teaches Dante's Inferno at a local college; his daughter, Trixie, is the light of his life - and a girl who only knows her father as the even-tempered, mild-mannered man he has been her whole life. Until, that is, she is date raped...and Daniel finds himself struggling, again, with a powerlessness and a rage that may not just swallow him whole, but destroy his family and his future.

As usual, Jodi Picoult has managed to tell a story with all the weight and emotion it deserve, without glamourising or over-sentimentalising a difficult and very emotive issue. She has made the characters like real people with a whole range of problems and flaws, not just caricatures of the perfect family. The journey Trixie goes through is heart wrenching and extremely believable, and the few incidents at the school make you realise just how horrible being a teenager can be. Daniel manages to contain himself extremely well but inevitably he, like everyone has a breaking point. But is he capable of the worst?? I didn;t think so and the last 100 pages flew by in a flurry as i was dying to get to the end to find out who was.
I would heartily recommend this to everyone especially those who enjoy Picoult's style. Yet again she managed to hit the nail right on the head!

The Rumpelstiltskin Problem by Vivian Vande Velde

(128 pages)



Have you ever wondered just what was going on when that odd little man with the long name stepped up and volunteered to spin straw into gold for the miller’s daughter? If you stop and think about it, there are some very peculiar and rather hard-to-explain components to the story. Vivian Vande Velde has wondered too, and she’s come up with these six alternative versions of the old legend. A bevy of miller’s daughters confront their perilous situation in very different ways — sometimes comic, sometimes scary. Most of the time, it’s the daughter who gets off safely, but sometimes, amazingly, Rumpelstiltskin himself wins the day. And in one tale, it is the king who cleverly escapes a quite unexpected fate.

This was really great fun, which made me realise how ridiculous some fairytales are and how much more intrigung they could be with a slightly different viewpoint. All six of the reworkings were really sharply witty, and the different takes on the strange fairytale mad this book nigh on impossible to put down. Highlyrecommended!!

Koyasan by Darren Shan

(112 pages)



Prepare to be spooked in this spine-tingling new story from the master of horror, Darren Shan! "The boys and girls in the graveyard were shouting, but Koyasan no longer heard them. The world had become a wide, grey void. She could hear deep rasping sounds, the breath of creatures which had been human once, but weren't any more..." All of the children like to play in the graveyard, except Koyasan, who is too afraid to cross the bridge to play. But when her sister's soul is stolen, she must find the courage to enter a realm of evil, where she knows the spirits are waiting...

I loved this a lot! It was easy to read and the characters were very realistic. I found it very scary in parts, but really enjoyed the happy ending. I would recommend this to kids of all ages (adults included!)

Original Sin by Brandt Dodson

(274 pages)



Colton Parker was just fired from the FBI, has a teenage daughter who blames him for her mother’s death, and now that he’s hung out his shingle as a P.I., his first paying client—Angie Howe—has enough money for only one day’s worth of investigating. But Angie looks like she could use a friend, so Colton has his first case.
When the mystery is finally resolved, Colton is resigned to improve his parenting skills with his daughter—and while the pair still struggle with each other, hope finally gets a chance to grow.
First in the Colton Parker, P.I. series, from Brandt Dodson—a compelling new author with a family history in law enforcement spanning several generations.

Colton Parker used to have everything; a wife, daughter and job with the FBI. Now things are different. His wife has died, is daughter is living with her grandparents, and he has been fired from the FBI. In an attempt at a fresh start, he has set up a private detective agency, and his first case poses lots of questions. His client is the girlfriend of a man being charged with the murder of a well respected high school guidance counsellor, who also happens to be the victim’s nephew. But a paperclip and a missing computer are pointing at some kind of a link to an internet pornography ring.

This is a classic detective story, with a religious twist. You see Colton’s wife had found Christ not long before her death, but Colton is a non-believer. Instead of the typical Christian detective who uses the idea of the greater good as an excuse for bad and/or illegal behaviour, Colton simply crosses the line, with no holds barred. It is after this that the consequences become clear, and the Christian perspective can come into play. Colton feels no love for God, and is instead angry and depressed by the fact that he feels deserted by having his wife taken from him and being unable to connect with his daughter. A Pastor tries to show him the ‘light’ so to speak, but unfortunately the great possibility of an exploration of faith is lost amidst the somewhat clichéd “death is a part of life” speech.
Overall the story was very enjoyable, with a lifelike and likeable lead character with a great dry sense of humour, but in my opinion the portrayal of the Pastor came across as too preachy and clichéd, but as a mystery and detective story it was excellent with an intriguing trail of crumbs to follow.

The Spell by Alan Hollinghurst

(272 pages)



Alan Hollinghurst's new novel is a comedy of sexual manners that follows the interlocking affairs of four men: Robin Woodfield, an architect in his late forties, who is trying to build an idyllic life in Dorset with his younger lover, Justin, a would-be actor increasingly disenchanted with the countryside; Robin's 22-year-old son Danny, a volatile beauty who lives for clubbing and casual sex; and the shy Alex, whose life is transformed by house music and a tab of ecstasy. As each in turn falls under the spell of romance or drugs, country living or rough trade, a richly ironic picture emerges of the clashing imperatives of modern gay life, the hunger for contact and the fear of commitment, the need for permanence and the continual disruptions of sex. At once lyrical and farcical, sceptical and romantic, "The Spell" confirms Alan Hollinghurst as one of Britain's most important novelists.

This book was given to me to encourage me to read books that I would not normally look at, and I am pleased to say I am glad that I read it! It was very well written with lots of interesting and engaging characters. I was particularly fond of the ridiculouosly camp Justin and loved how the story grew, although the emphasis was on the character development which was wonderful.

The History of Love by Nicole Krauss

(272 pages)



Leo Gursky is a man who fell in love at the age of ten and has been in love ever since. These days he is just about surviving life in America, tapping his radiator each evening to let his upstairs neighbour know he's still alive, drawing attention to himself at the milk counter of Starbucks. But life wasn't always like this: sixty years ago in the Polish village where he was born Leo fell in love with a young girl called Alma and wrote a book in honour of his love. These days he assumes that the book, and his dreams, are irretrievably lost, until one day they return to him in the form of a brown envelope.
Meanwhile, a young girl, hoping to find a cure for her mother's loneliness, stumbles across a book that changed her mother's life and she goes in search of the author. Soon these and other worlds collide in The History of Love, a captivating story of the power of love, of loneliness and of survival.

This was an unusual and touching book, which once I got into i really enjoyed. Leo was a fantastic character, and I also loved Bruno... but who was he??? !!! It is the type of book that you want to read over and over just to see if you missed something the first time :)

Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Pierre Chorderlos de Laclos

(400 pages)



The complex moral ambiguities of seduction and revenge make this text one of the most scandalous and controversial novels in European literature. The subject of major film and stage adaptations, the novel's prime movers, the Vicomte de Valmont and the Marquise de Merteuil, form an unholy alliance and turn seduction into a game - a game which they must win. This translation gives Laclos a modern voice, and readers will be able a judge whether the novel is as "diabolical" and "infamous" as its critics have claimed, or whether it has much to tell us about the kind of world we ourselves live in. David Coward's introduction explodes myths about Laclos's own life and puts the book in its literary and cultural context.

Being such a massive fan of "Dangerous Liasons" and the modern "Cruel Intentions", I felt that I ought to read the book they were based on. Unfortunately I found it very hard going and extremely difficult to get into. Because I knew the basic outline of the story, I was able to persevere, and did eventually quite enjoy it, and I am glad that I read it, but it isn't a book that I would want to read again.

We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver

(436 pages)



Two years ago, Eva Khatchadourian's son, Kevin, murdered seven of his fellow high-school students, a cafeteria worker, and a popular algebra teacher. Because he was only fifteen at the time of the killings, he received a lenient sentence and is now in a prison for young offenders in upstate New York. Telling the story of Kevin's upbringing, Eva addresses herself to her estranged husband through a series of letters. Fearing that her own shortcomings may have shaped what her son has become, she confesses to a deep, long-standing ambivalence about both motherhood in general and Kevin in particular. How much is her fault? Lionel Shriver tells a compelling, absorbing, and resonant story while framing these horrifying tableaux of teenage carnage as metaphors for the larger tragedy - the tragedy of a country where everything works, nobody starves, and anything can be bought but a sense of purpose.

i found this quite difficult to read, but once I had got into it I did find it quite gripping. I am very glad that I have read it.