I suppose it is natural to place the care of children at the heart of a thriller as, unless you are a particularly hard-hearted reader, it’s a good way to get you, the reader, to care quickly about the characters. Here are three books considering the relationship between mother and child.

My Name is Anna by Lizzy Barber

In Florida, Anna is eighteen and just starting to rebel against her extremely strict Mamma, who is obsessed by cleanliness and purity and God. She has never been allowed to visit Florida’s biggest theme park so why, when she takes a forbidden trip there, does it seems familiar?

In London, Rosie was just a baby when her older sister was stolen on holiday. Fifteen years later her parents are still trying to find their child, whilst Rosie has to deal with the being an object of curiosity and the toll the search has taken on her parents marriage. She decides to uncover the truth herself…

Okay, so you don’t get any prizes for working out the connection here! But this is a fast paced and interesting exploration of the lives of two teenagers in very different circumstances, alternate chapters being each girl’s story, and written in the first person present, giving that real feeling of the spontaneity of teenagers. Both girls are struggling with their identity as they grow towards adulthood and the pain and confusion of being in the shadow of events that happened before you can remember is keenly felt.

A gripping read and, if the ending feels a little contrived, still thoroughly enjoyable.

Century/Penguin Random House hb £12.99

The Boy at the Door by Alex Dahl

Here is the book for the lovers of Scandi drama.

In an idyllic small Norwegian town, Cecilia seems like the perfect wife and mother, just waiting to pick up her girls from swimming before getting to home to a cool glass of wine in her elegant living room. But when she reluctantly agrees to do a simple favour and drop a small boy home, her life is turned upside down and her past threatens her well-contrived life.

Cecilia is a great character. A true anti-heroine who has everything controlled from her decor, to her children, to how much affection she permits herself to show her husband. She is really quite unlikeable but her actions throw her life into confusion and we start to see different sides to her. The narrative switches between Cecilia, Tobias the little boy, and the historical diaries of Annika a drug addict. Cecilia is the strongest voice, the others feel like a device to help us as readers uncover the plot but they are the weakest part of the book, which is otherwise absolutely gripping, unsettling and unpredictable as we find out exactly what lies beneath Cecilia’s perfect life.

HeadofZeus pb  £7.99

Gone By Midnight by Candice Fox

In tropical Queensland, four young boys are left alone in a hotel room whilst their holidaying parents dine downstairs. But when a parent checks on them at midnight, one of the boys has disappeared. The boys swear they didn’t leave the room, the CCTV shows no sign of him. There is no trace of the boy or his body.

The boy’s mother calls in detective Ted Conkaffey and his unconventional boss Amanda to help the search, much to the dismay of the local police chief. But both Ted and Amanda have histories of their own that might impede the investigation.

This is the third outing for Ted Conkaffey and this has all the hallmarks of a great easy-to-read thriller. A detective with a troubled past, an eccentric sidekick, a difficult relationship with the local police, and a great mystery at the centre. Lots of fun with twists and turns, problems solved as soon as they arrive by helpful friends and sometimes enemies. All in all implausible but well written in a fast paced style. A great one for a holiday. Just keep an eye on the kids….

Century/Penguin Random House hb £12.99

Oh I do like these quirky uplifting ‘up-lit’ novels. They put me in mind of the film, based on the book by Deborah Moggach The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, with an aching depth cloaked in charm, a novel in which you care enormously about the characters; characters who seem much as we are at certain times; slightly flawed, slightly lost.

Potato farmer, dear Mr Doubler, cares little for quantity, for he is an EXPERT and therefore quality is his goal, and boo, who cares that he is the second most successful potato farmer in the county? But is quality enough to fill a life?

Mr Doubler, bless him, is a widower. His wife cultivated friends, he his potatoes. So when his wife ‘passes on’ so too do her friends and for some while Mr Doubler is happy with his life which functions pretty well, courtesy of his housekeeper Mrs Millward. But lordy loo, what happens when Mrs Millward is no longer his mainstay, the daily visitor opening the door into his life?

Yes, indeed, what will happen to Mr Doubler? Everyone needs friends, a community, will he find these? In fact, is he up to attracting friendship or will it have to be thrust upon him?

Beautifully written, at a fabulous pace, and with delicate rhythm the author, Seni Glaister graces the pages with her warmth and liking for the world she has created. The scenes are well set, and vivid.

I loved it. You will too. It is a book for January, when there is a hint of spring in the lengthening days, and the bulbs which have the temerity to challenge the cold and dark and break the surface. Oh, yes, Mr Doubler, thrust your way into the light too.

Congratulations, fabulous book. And surely a film?

Mr Doubler Begins Again by Seni Glaister pub HQ HB £12.99 ebook £9.99 Audio £12.99

Annie Clarke’s first novel Girls on the Home Front will be published in May 2019 by Arrow.

Old Red Lion Theatre, 418 St John Street, London EC1V 4NJ Tuesday 5th – Saturday 30th March 2019

Image courtesy of Chris Mann

Most people get to be happy with one person. I don’t see why I should have it any different.

Circa explores the blurred identity of the gay relationship in the modern age. Following the story of one man’s romantic life, we are taken through the different relationships and encounters he experiences over a period of thirty years. Joining him through the joys and pitfalls of trying to find love and fulfilment as a gay man.

The twenty-first century. Being gay is supposedly more integrated than ever. Marriage is legal, parenthood is possible and #LoveWins is trending on twitter. The time has arrived to settle down with the man you love for a life of lasting companionship. But in a world where sex is readily available, and with a history of sexual freedom; what does it mean to be in a gay relationship in the modern age? And why are so many gay men still lonely?

After premiering at the Theatre de Meervaart, Amsterdam in 2016, work.Theatre return with Tom Ratcliffe’s debut play in a co-production with Harlow Playhouse.

Circa tackles a range of issues head on in an increasingly deep and fascinating exploration – yes, of what it means to be a gay person, but more widely, what it means to be human. I’m pleased there are no set-in-stone answers provided in this most thoughtful debut play from Tom Ratcliffe. As audiences shout at concerts and gigs after a band has done a good job, “More! More!” (LondonTheatre 1).

Writer Tom Ratcliffe comments, I can’t wait to be bringing Circa back this year for a longer run in London and then to Harlow. The play has become even more topical over the past two years and loneliness amongst the gay community is something that needs to be spoken about.  I think there’s something for everyone to take away from this play as the striving for contentment in romantic relationships is universal.  The play has developed over the past two years and it’s something I cannot wait to share with everyone.

Performance Dates  Tuesday 5th – Saturday 30th March 2019   Tuesday – Saturday, 7.30pm    Saturday and Sunday matinee, 3pm

Running time   2 hours including interval

Age Recommendation  13+

Location   Old Red Lion Theatre, 418 John Street, London EC1V 4NJ

Box Office Tickets are available priced from £12 Call 0333 012 4963 or book online at: www.oldredliontheatre.co.uk.

Twitter @__Circa, @workTheatre, @tomratcliffe15, @ORLtheatre, #CircaORL

Image courtesy of Daniel Hughes

Hey Baby! Following her hit success at Edinburgh Fringe 2018, award-winning performance artist Katy Dye now takes Baby Face on aUK Tour. Baby Face – winner of The Autopsy Award and Lustrum Award 2018 – is a daring look into the paradox of living in a society that continues to infantilise adult women.

Welcome to a world of knee socks, bunches, lollipops, bubblegum and models adopting the childlike expressions of six-year-old girls. Paedophilia is condemned yet fetishised images of women as prepubescent girls are everywhere. In this brave and outlandish performance, Katy Dye questions if innocence is truly as sexy as we’re told.

[a] pointed examination of the way that women are infantilised and how they sometimes collude… Baby Face is provocative stuff…big on impact (Lyn Gardner, The Independent).

Here, the audience enter a strange world, where a grown woman transforms from adult, to teenager, to toddler, to baby. She dresses in a school uniform and performs Britney’s iconic routine. She squeezes herself into a clingy top printed with cartoons – meant for a child or a grown woman? In a pristine white set, using minimal costumes and a baby’s high chair, she navigates the uncomfortable line between wanting to be cared for and being infantilised. With a soundtrack of bubblegum pop and drone rock, and a cloud of talcum powder and haze, strange mixed messages hang in the air. Baby Face is an exposure of our contradictory society when it comes to women’s bodies and how they are treated.

The production is supported by Arts Council England and the Hunter Foundation.

Baby Face :  running time 50 minutes

Box Office Tickets are available from individual theatre box offices. Twitter @katydye1, #BabyFace

Notes Ages 16+, talcum powder used in show (allergy warning)

Artist/Performer Katy Dye Producer Jack Stancliffe Sound Designer Zac Scott Lighting Design Michaella Fee Rossi Video/photography Daniel Hughes

Performance Dates

7th – 9th February Tron Theatre, Glasgow 63 Trongate, Glasgow G1 5HB 28th February Theatre Deli, Sheffield 202 Eyre Street, Sheffield S1 4QZ

6th March Lawrence Batley Theatre, Huddersfield Queen Street, Huddersfield HD1 2SP

8th – 9th March Brighton Dome Church Street, Brighton BN1 1UE

20th March The Lowry, Manchester Pier 8, The Quays, Salford M50 3AZ

23rd March Harlow Playhouse Essex Playhouse Square, Harlow CM20 1LS

The Witch of Willow Hall by Hester Fox is an interesting book. I’ve just had a discussion on genes, and we were chatting about whether we inherit memories, or attitudes, or gifts and to some extent this explores the edge of our discussion.

Growing up, Lydia Montrose knew she was descended from the witches of Salem and was warned to keep her legacy secret. But Willow Hall has awoken something inside her…

I enjoyed the writing, and the story. The American voice came over clearly, the story was effortless to follow. A good read.

The Witch of Willow Hall by Hester Fox. pub Harper Collins. pb £7.99 e book and audio

Every Breath You Take by Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke

I read this with great pleasure. I’ve loved Mary Higgins Clark ever since a sheep station owner in Australia handed it to me for my onward journey, saying you’ll love her. I do. I’ve wanted to love Alafair Burke, because I have a passion for James Lee Burke. But somehow I’ve never quite felt the commitment to his daughter, very close, but not quite. But after reading this novel,  I’m in her corner now.

The Met Gala ball – where the rich and famous want to be seen , strutting their stuff. You’re nobody if you’re not invited. Perhaps people would kill for that crisp white card? For for not getting one?

Is that what happened three years ago when a member of the Met’s board of trustees was found dead in the snow at the foot of the building? Thrown or jumped? Well, now you mention it, thrown, but by whom? Ah, well read the book.

The alchemy of these two writers brings us something special. Bravo, fabulous. Like Oliver Twist – More please.

Every Breath you Take by Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke. pub Simon & Schuster pb £7.99

The Bad Daughter by Joy Fielding

Another novel about trust. There’re many questions about trust   these days and not just in the writing world.

This exploration is gripping: Robin Davis hasn’t spoken to her family in six years. Not since ‘it’ happened. Then they’re attacked; left fighting for their lives. And Robin is back. What is the secret that has put them all in danger, and whose is it?

As I say, gripping. But I’ve come to expect it from this author.

The Bad Daughter by Joy Fielding. pub Zaffre. pb and eBook £7.99

Starry Night: Van Gogh at the Asylum is a fresh insight into the last year of the artist’s life which was mostly spent at Saint-Paul-de Mausoleum in the South of France. The author, a leading Van Gogh specialist has woven new material from the Asylum with his extensive knowledge of the artist, his life and work. This well written and lavishly illustrated book will capture hearts and minds.

Vincent Van Gogh was a highly literate man who knew French, German and English as well as his native Dutch. He was a great reader, who loved Dickens and who read the complete works of Shakespeare in English during his stay at Saint-Paul. He produced many paintings and drawings during the year he voluntarily spent as a patient whose mental health problems had caused him great distress culminating in the severing of his own ear.

Martin Bailey has meticulously charted that year using documents from the asylum which for the first time offer descriptions of the buildings, other residents and glimpses of the life led by `Monsieur Vincent’ from May 1889 to May 1890.

It is possible to see the viewpoints for the works of this time, whether from windows, or the interior, and occasions when Vincent was well enough to travel into the surrounding countryside. Many of the paintings were sent to Paris to his brother Theo, which is how they have survived. The masterpieces included wheat fields, olive groves, cypresses and sunsets.

Vincent also wrote letters when he was well enough, which alongside this new research give a fascinating insight into the artist. Sadly there are so many lost works. The story of some of these is an intriguing work of detection and revelation by the author.

Starry Night Van Gogh at the Asylum By Martin Bailey  pub:  White Lion Publishing. £25.00 Hardback

Death on the Canal comes as I’ve just finished reading the Waterway Girls trilogy by Milly Adams – fabulous. So is Death on the Canal by Anja de Jager also fabulous?

Amsterdam is in the clutches of a bitter winter, and six UK tourists are dead.

I feel I’m in Amsterdam itself as Dutch detective Lotte Meerman is faced with a moral dilemma – does she investigate the murder of a suspected drug dealer, or instead stay silent to ensure that another man, responsible for the drug-related deaths of six tourists in Amsterdam, is convicted?

I was in Amsterdam recently, and I walked the streets with Lotte, summer and winter. All superbly captured, and evocative and the pages kept turning with problems arising, and over lying it all the massive difficulty of whom to trust. A stonking read. Go for it.

Death on the Canal by Anja de Jager. PB. Pub. Constable (who publish good things) £8.99. + ebook.

Golden Prey by John Sandford

Lucas Davenport has a job with the U.S. Marshals Service – an unusual one. He gets to pick his own cases, whatever they are and follow wherever they lead. There was a feel of Ian Rankin’s Rebus about this, because Rebus follows wherever cases lead, and would dearly like to pick ’em as well. And I loved it.

Written with just the right pace, wry humour, action and an absorbing central character. What more to say beyond – buy it, and all Sandford’s other novels. What a fabulous author. I bet he’s an interesting bloke too – after all, John Sandford is the pseudonym for the Pulitzer Prize winning journalist John Camp.

Golden Prey by John Sandford. pb. pub Simon & Schuster. £8.99

One More Lie by Amy Lloyd

A thriller, a chilling one an’ all. Charlotte wants to start afresh. She wants to ditch her past, forget the childhood years in prison, and most of all, Sean. But even with a new identity has anything really changed, most of all, her? After all, there’s comfort in old familiar things, especially if they are the sum of one’s self. So soon she is heading back down towards the darkness. Can she retreat, turn away, turn back, and REALLY change her life. Well, that journey into the darkness requires a catalyst and when that comes along…

This is written with experience and style, which is strange as this is only a second novel. I liked it and though I haven’t experienced obsession I felt Charlotte’s.

One More Lie by Amy Lloyd. hb. + ebook. £12.99  pub. Century.

And lastly:

The Year that Changed Everything by Cathy Kelly.

Women’s fiction to end with. Heart-warming chatty novel which charts three women as they head into a year that could/will change everything for each of them. One is 30, one forty, one fifty and she is celebrating at a party when something heralds change.Reading this is a bit like soaking in a warm bath after battling through the tensions and nail biting of the first three novels. Or if not a bath, then perhaps sipping a great glass of wine after a hectic day…

The Year that Changed Everything by Cathy Kelly pb pub Orion £7.99

Written loosely in the style of the Ladybird for Adults ‘How it Works’ series, this is the first book by a consultant doctor who specialises in Emergency Medicine. Perhaps more to follow?

Using a children’s book format, Dr McHale provides an insight into the different grades of hospital doctor and GPs – a very British hierarchy.  He connects his characters using a humorous story which also highlights political issues affecting the current working of the NHS. His caricatures of consultant figures will strike a cord with anyone who has worked in the NHS.

Don’t be fooled by the large type and the pictures of dolls and toy cars – this book is strictly adult humour. A light-hearted read.

By Dr K Thompson, author of From Both Ends of the Stethoscope: Getting through breast cancer – by a doctor who knows

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01A7DM42Q http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01A7DM42Q

http://faitobooks.co.uk