Category Archives: Culture

Top Books To Read In 2022

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We have been sent more wonderful books. Here is a selection to get stuck into.

Wild At Once by Vivianne Crowley. Perfect for spiritual people who want to unleash the wild magic within them. Out March 10. 

What secret power is hiding within you?

There is an untamed wildness within each of us. Once found and nurtured, this wild power can lead to true and boundless freedom, creativity and purpose, and discovery of your deepest inner wisdom.

Witch, high priestess, doctor of psychology: Vivianne Crowley has been given many labels over the years. Wild Once is the extraordinary and inspiring tale of a life lived magically, of adventures into the unknown and of finding spiritual nourishment through reconnection with the natural world. It shows what can happen when you have the courage to step into the unexplainable and live untamed.

It is also an evocative, intricate account of a hidden world, a rich tour of modern magical practices, from meditation to manifestation, shamanism to spellwork. Magic is waiting to be discovered. It is here, just beneath the surface, if only you know where to look…

We all have wild magic within us; this book will inspire you to find it.

One For Sorrow by Helen Fields. Perfect for thriller fans: this a clever and riveting book. Out in March.

One for sorrow, two for joy
Edinburgh is gripped by the greatest terror it has ever known. A lone bomber is targeting victims across the city and no one is safe.

Three for a girl, four for a boy
DCI Ava Turner and DI Luc Callanach face death every day – and not just the deaths of the people being taken hostage by the killer.

Five for silver, six for gold
When it becomes clear that with every tip-off they are walking into a trap designed to kill them too, Ava and Luc know that finding the truth could mean paying the ultimate price.

Seven for a secret never to be told…
But with the threat – and body count – rising daily, and no clue as to who’s behind it, neither Ava nor Luc know whether they will live long enough to tell the tale…
A Spoonful of Murder by J.M Hall. Perfect for fans of fun and  cosy crime. Out March 17th.

Every Thursday, three retired school teachers have their ‘coffee o’clock’ sessions at the Thirsk Garden Centre café.

But one fateful week, as they are catching up with a slice of cake, they bump into their ex-colleague, Topsy.

By the next Thursday, Topsy’s dead.

The last thing Liz, Thelma and Pat imagined was that they would become involved in a murder.

But they know there’s more to Topsy’s death than meets the eye – and it’s down to them to prove it…

Sit down with a cup of tea and this perfectly witty, page-turning cosy crime novel. Fans of Agatha Christie, Death in Paradise and Midsomer Murders will be hooked from the very first page.

Sorry isn’t Good Enough by Jane Bailey. Perfect for fans of psychological thrillers. This was a huge hit at Frost, an intelligent and pacy read that leaves you wanting more. Out February 7th.

‘The trouble is, we don’t recognise every danger when we see it. And that’s how Mr Man manages to creep into our lives.’

It is 1966, and things are changing in the close-knit Napier Road. Stephanie is 9 years old, and she has plans:

1. Get Jesus to heal her wonky foot
2. Escape her spiteful friend Dawn
3. Persuade her mum to love her

But everything changes when Stephanie strikes up a relationship with Mr Man, who always seems pleased to see her. When Dawn goes missing in the woods during the World Cup final, no one appears to know what happened to her – but more than one of them is lying.

May 1997, and Stephanie has spent her life trying to bury the events of that terrible summer. When a man starts following her on the train home from London, she realises the dark truth of what happened may have finally caught up with her.

The Royal Game by Anne O’Brien. Perfect for fans of historical fiction. This is a glorious and compelling read.

England, 1444. Three women challenge the course of history…

King Henry VI’s grip on the crown hangs by a thread as the Wars of the Roses starts to tear England apart. And from the ashes of war, the House of Paston begins its rise to power.

Led by three visionary women, the Pastons are a family from humble peasant beginnings who rely upon cunning, raw ambition, and good fortune in order to survive.

Their ability to plot and scheme sees them overcome imprisonment, violence and betrayal, to eventually secure for their family a castle and a place at the heart of the Yorkist Court. But success breeds jealousy and brings them dangerous enemies…

An inspirational story of courage and resilience, The Royal Game, charts the rise of three remarkable women from obscurity to the very heart of Court politics and intrigue.

Her Last Request by Mari Hannah. This is another stunner from Mari Hannah, she is at the top of her game.

Some victims leave clues to their killers…

A Hidden Clue

A victim leaves a note for the SIO who will investigate her death. This not what DCI Kate Daniels expects to find concealed at a crime scene.

A Desperate Plea

The note contains a last request: ‘Find Aaron’. But is Kate searching for a potential second victim, or a killer?

The Countdown is on…

Following the clues, Kate becomes the obsession of her adversary who will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Will she find Aaron before he does? Emily and Daisy by Paul Yates. A lovely and thoroughly enjoyable time slip novel.

This is a love story. A love story with a difference that lives across time and space and explores the ways in which the accidents of love can combine in the forging of a life.

Rural Devon, World War II. In her last year of school and living above the family shop, Daisy studies for her exams and keeps her journal. After he paints a watercolour portrait of her, she falls for James, a young army captain.

Paris, the end of the twentieth century. Emily lives comfortably with her father, having just left university and unsure of what comes next. Upon discovering Daisy’s portrait, she becomes enchanted by the young woman who seems to have inexplicably disappeared from her uncle’s life.

Campiston house in rural Sussex connects the two women. In her teens Emily spends her Summer vacations with her great uncle, but he never speaks of Daisy. Later, James wills the house to Emily who pursues the mystery of Daisy’s disappearance.

Their lives may have different trajectories, but something resonates with Emily as she delves deeper into the traces of Daisy’s world. Each revelation demands that Emily see herself and her world in new ways.

The Goodbye Coast by Joe Ide. An old-school novel with a new twist. Lots of fun.

The seductive and relentless figure of Raymond Chandler’s detective, Philip Marlowe, is vividly re-imagined in present-day Los Angeles. Here is a city of scheming Malibu actresses, ruthless gang members, virulent inequality, and washed-out police. Acclaimed and award-winning novelist Joe Ide imagines a Marlowe very much of our time: he’s a quiet, lonely, and remarkably capable and confident private detective, though he lives beneath the shadow of his father, a once-decorated LAPD homicide detective, famous throughout the city, who’s given in to drink after the death of Marlowe’s mother.

Marlowe, against his better judgement, accepts two missing person cases, the first a daughter of a faded, tyrannical Hollywood starlet, and the second, a British child stolen from his mother by his father. At the center of The Goodbye Coast is Marlowe’s troubled and confounding relationship with his father, a son who despises yet respects his dad, and a dad who’s unable to hide his bitter disappointment with his grown boy.

Steeped in the richly detailed ethnic neighborhoods of modern LA, Ide’s The Goodbye Coast is a bold recreation that is viciously funny, ingeniously plotted, and surprisingly tender.

In Defence of Witches by Mona Chollet. A well-researched and timely novel. Essential reading.

A source of terror, a misogynistic image of woman inherited from the trials and the pyres of the great early modern witch hunts – in In Defence of Witches the witch is recast as a powerful role model to women today: an emblem of power, free to exist beyond the narrow limits society imposes on women.

Whether selling grimoires on Etsy, posting photos of their crystal-adorned altar on Instagram, or gathering to cast spells on Donald Trump, witches are everywhere. But who exactly were the forebears of these modern witches? Who was historically accused of witchcraft, often meeting violent ends? What types of women have been censored, eliminated, repressed, over the centuries?

Mona Chollet takes three archetypes from historic witch hunts, and examines how far women today have the same charges levelled against them: independent women; women who choose not to have children; and women who reject the idea that to age is a terrible thing. Finally, Chollet argues that by considering the lives of those who dared to live differently, we can learn more about the richness of roles available, just how many different things a woman can choose to be.

Available here.

 

The Lighthouse by Fran Dorricott Book Review

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A lighthouse, six old friends and secrets…what could possibly go wrong? The Lighthouse is a book that promises creepy trapped spooky drama and my, thanks to Fran Dorrocott’s fantastic writing, does it deliver.  Tense in atmosphere and deep in characterisation, The Lighthouse draws you in beautifully and then offers surprises at every turn. I really loved the characters, even when I didn’t.

Set in Scotland, in a creepy, isolated island, this books has six friends from uni meet up but they get more than they bargained for when they go to The Lighthouse. This book gives you everything you want in a thriller and holds you to the very last page. Anyone who loves Fran Dorricott knows she is a master of suspense and one of the top writers to watch out for. Just brilliant. 

 

No one expected them to go there. The question is: will any of them leave?

Six friends travel to a remote island north of the Scottish Highlands for an old school reunion. They’ve rented The Lighthouse – a stunning, now abandoned building that was once notorious for deaths at sea.

On the first evening, someone goes missing. The group search all through the night to no avail. But when the five remaining friends return to the lighthouse early the next morning, they are shocked to find James inside. He’s looks terrified – but won’t say a word about where he’s been.

The party vow to put the strange night behind them and enjoy the rest of their stay, but when more unexplained things begin to occur, tensions escalate. It’s clear James knows something, but nothing will persuade him to give up the secrets of the island. Is he protecting his friends from a terrible truth, or leading them into more danger?

A chilling, gripping and powerfully atmospheric suspense novel with a gothic edge, perfect for fans of The Hunting Party and The Sanatorium.

The Lighthouse is available here.

One Step Too Far by Lisa Gardner Book Review

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Any regular readers of Frost will know that I love Lisa Gardner. She is one of my favourite writers. I was unbelievably excited when book two in her new Frankie Elkin series arrived. Don’t let that put you off if you haven’t read the first one though, this works as a stand alone. I also loved the growth of Frankie in this book and I was left excited for what she would do next.

It is hard to think what is not in this book: it has everything you want in a crime thriller, and then a whole lot more stuff you didn’t even know you did. When a young man disappears into the woods on his stag do he leaves behind a trail of grief and guilt. He leaves no traces behind, so where did he go? It is up to ex-alcoholic Frankie Elkin to find him, with a group that includes his friends from his stag do, and his grieving father. What’s happens next grabs you by the throat and refuses to let go.

My biggest hope is that the Frankie Elkin series gets made into a TV series sometime soon. It’s what we all deserve.

one step too far by Lisa Gardner book review

If he never left the woods, where did he go?

A young man disappears during a stag weekend in the woods. Years later, he’s still missing.

But his friends who were with him that day are still searching for him. Still hunting for answers.

They hike deep into the wilderness.

With them is missing person specialist Frankie Elkin.

What they don’t know is that they are putting their own lives in terrifying danger, and may not come back alive . . .

One Step Too Far is available here.

Ripple Effect by N.A. Cooper Book Review

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I love a good psychological suspense with an interesting and complex female character, so all of my wishes came true when I read Ripple Effect. It is a taut psychological thriller, written so brilliantly that not one word is wasted. I read it in one day, each page turn bringing more excitement.

N.A. Cooper is a new voice in psychological fiction and they are certainly one to watch. Ripple Effect is a masterclass in writing and oh-so-perfect in many ways. It takes some tough subjects and handles them with grace. Every character is so well-rounded and written without judgement. Despite her mistakes, it is impossible not to love, and root for, the character of Erin. N.A. Cooper does not hide from any of their characters flaws. Overflowing with intelligence and perfect pace: Ripple Effect is a must read.

A long-ago illicit relationship continues to upend lives in this taut psychological suspense novel . . .

Fifteen years ago, teenage Erin had an affair with her teacher that led to tragedy and changed Erin’s life. Today, she’s a married woman who keeps to herself and stays close to home, still scarred by the experience.

When she’s attacked while running in the park, Erin doesn’t tell her husband—but she does confide in Nick, the man who came to her rescue. Then letters start to arrive, making references to her past and leaving her even more unnerved. When a neighbour reports that someone’s been watching her house, Erin’s world starts to crumble.

Erin has worked hard to distance herself from her past. But her life may be in mortal danger, and as she’s plunged back into trauma, she might finally learn the truth about what really happened all those years ago . . .

Ripple Effect is available here.

SUNDAY SCENE: PENNY HAMPSON ON HER FAVOURITE SCENE FROM A PLETHORA OF PHANTOMS

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One of the perks of being a writer is being able to put one’s characters in dangerous situations and coming up with believable ways in which they can extricate themselves. A favourite example of mine occurs in my book, A Plethora of Phantoms, because it marks the point where my main character starts to become the man he wants to be.

Aristocrat Freddie Lanyon is not your typical hero; he’s reserved, doesn’t enjoy being the centre of attention, and is head over heels in love with Bath antique dealer Marcus. Sadly, Freddie thinks he’s blown his chance for love because he’s too timid about coming out. Marcus has gone missing, so, urged by Marcus’ distraught sister, Freddie stays the night with her in Marcus’ flat above the antique shop. Unfortunately, a quiet night’s sleep is not what Freddie gets.

Woken in the early hours by the sounds of a violent scuffle in the street outside, Freddie spies Marcus being assaulted by two thugs as they attempt to gain entry to the shop below. Freddie telephones the police for assistance and is instructed to remain where he is, but this is an instruction that Freddie chooses to ignore – it would be a pretty dull story if our hero did nothing at all.

Tiptoeing swiftly down to the first-floor kitchen and pausing only to pick up something heavy – a sharpening steel – Freddie carried on towards the ground floor entrance of the flat. The bolts slid back silently. The sound of muffled voices told him that the street door had been breached and the intruders were attempting to gain entry to the shop.

            “Hurry up!” A harsh voice ordered.

            There was a groan. Freddie knew it was Marcus. Anger rose in his chest.

            “Key in the bloody number or I’ll hammer you again and you wouldn’t want me to spoil that pretty face of yours, would you?”

            Another voice chipped in, “You’d have thought he’d had enough when we smashed his fingers. Must be something really special in that safe of yours, eh, Spender?”

            Freddie took a deep breath. Now was not the time to hesitate. He had to take them by surprise.

            Clutching the steel in one hand Freddie flung the door open and charged forward with a roar, but instead of aiming high he went low, landing a heavy blow across the legs of the assailant who had Marcus in a stranglehold. The guy screamed as his limbs buckled and he crumpled into a heap on the floor, freeing Marcus. Freddie leapt on to the thug’s back, determined to keep him immobile until the police arrived, and watched as Marcus slid to his knees making choking sounds. Bracing himself for an attack from the assailant’s accomplice, Freddie looked up to see this guy staring open-mouthed with terror, not at him, but at something behind him.

            The crook’s mouth opened and closed but there was no sound as he slowly backed away.

            If Freddie didn’t know better, he’d have sworn that this ugly customer had seen something awful, not just a bloke in pyjama bottoms wielding a steel.

I loved turning Freddie into an action hero. Seeing Marcus being threatened with violence galvanises him into doing something out of character to save the day, although he does have a little supernatural assistance – this is a ghost story, after all.

I had great fun with Freddie, especially in this scene where he changes from being a quiet man to action hero.

 

To discover more about my action-filled romance stories visit my website: https://pennyhampson.co.uk/

 

 

 

 

 

JANE CABLE REVIEWS TWO FABULOUS MODERN CLASSICS

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The Lido by Libby Page

I had just one question when I finished The Lido – why on earth hadn’t I read it before? Telling the story of 86 year old Rosemary and 26 year old Kate’s campaign to save their local lido it is a novel that will stay with me for a very long time, and days after finishing it I still have the most terrible book hangover.

As an author, I am asking myself why, trying to analyse and unpick it. But the fact is, it comes down to the characters; real, flawed and completely beguiling. I genuinely felt as though I knew them personally, and that is a rare writing gift indeed.

Truth be told, I didn’t instantly gel with the book. I wasn’t sure about the way it was written (third person present tense) but as the story unfolded I very quickly ceased to notice. I was pulled into the vividly and quirkily portrayed Brixton world, and if I was tugged out of the narrative at all it was to appreciate how clever the descriptions were, and how they helped to move the story along.

The Lido is fundamentally a story of a friendship between two very different women. Kate, a journalist, young, lost and struggling to find her feet in a new city, and Rosemary who initially comes over as the strongest of people, but of course there are chinks in her armour too. Their relationship is forged by their desire to save the local lido that means so much to both of them but it also looks back to Rosemary’s own love story with her late husband George, and maybe even forwards to a romance for Kate too.

Surrounded by a brilliant cast of supporting characters – including an urban fox – Rosemary and Kate pull together in what seems to be a hopeless battle against the developers. And at the end of the day, this is one of those wonderful books where the journey is more important than the outcome. But of course, to say what the outcome is would be cheating. Dive into The Lido and read it yourself.

 

A Terrible Kindness by Jo Browning Wroe

What a stunning book. Although it was only published this week it is destined to become a modern classic too. What drew me to is initially was because it starts at Aberfan, and which cast a long shadow for any child growing up in South Wales in the 1960s and 70s, and because it wasn’t screaming any particular genre at me. It intrigued me and I wanted to dive in.

William Lavery is a newly qualified embalmer who volunteers his skills to help in the immediate aftermath of Aberfan. It is a part of disaster recovery we rarely consider and the flavour of the book is quickly revealed as it focuses just a little on the mechanics and a great deal on the emotions. You learn just enough of the nuts and bolts to be drawn into William’s world but perhaps it isn’t for the over-squeamish.

William’s is not a world shaped only by the terrible nightmares and flashbacks born from his experiences working on those children’s bodies and we soon learn his past holds its own mysteries and traumas. Piece by piece they are cleverly revealed, building William into one of the most fascinating fictional characters I have come across in recent years, always on a knife edge between genuine happiness and self-destruction.

It is a remarkable debut, full of clever intricacies and memorable characters, but never so over worked that William’s story is not centre stage. I hesitate to use the phrase ‘must read’, but I think losing yourself in this book would be time well spent.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SUNDAY SCENE: CLARE SWATMAN ON HER FAVOURITE SCENE FROM BEFORE WE GROW OLD

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It’s so hard to pick a favourite scene from any book, so for this, I’m plumping for the very first scene in my latest book, Before We Grow Old – partly because I like it and partly so I don’t give anything else away! In this opening scene, Fran and Will bump into each other by chance in a busy London cafe – and the last time they’d seen each other had been 25 years before, when they’d been teenagers in love. Here’s the moment they meet:

The next few seconds were a scramble of wiping the table and floor, and apologising and stammering. Which is why it took me so long to actually look at the man who’d accidentally bumped into me in this busy café. I noticed his mop of expensively cut blonde hair first, peppered with streaks of grey and tousled into subtle spikes. Then I noticed his smile: the friendly mouth and glistening white teeth, followed by his sparkling blue eyes, which lit up as he looked at me.
‘Oh…’ I stammered, and almost fell into my seat, my mouth open like a goldfish.
‘Fran?’
‘Will.’ I stared at him for a moment too long.  ‘I – do you want to sit down? I think it’s dry now.’ I looked at him again and indicated the seat opposite me as my stomach rolled over. ‘If you have time, of course.’

I enjoyed imagining what it might feel like to suddenly be confronted by someone who you’d not only loved so deeply, so obsessively, but who had hurt you so badly when they’d upped and left that it had affected you for the rest of your life. It’s not necessarily something that you would think about every day, but the way something like that makes you feel definitely has an impact on the way you see things, and the way you react to people. There’s always a before and an after to any kind of heart-breaking moment, and I really wanted to get it right.

I enjoyed imagining how awkward Will and Fran might both have felt after Will bumped into her, and left hot chocolate dripping all over the floor; the realisation that they knew each other, that they’d loved each other once. I wanted to capture how Fran might have felt such a conflicting range of emotions, from excitement to shock to anger to embarrassment, all within the space of just a few seconds. And although I wanted them both to feel awkward at first, I also wanted to let them have a conversation, to talk to each other – and they do just that, even if they end up skirting round what they really want to say. Here’s where I think it sums it up best:

I blew across the top of my hot chocolate, watching as the cool air skimmed across the foamy surface. Okay, so he’d decided not to talk about the past. That was fine with me. More than fine, in fact. That was good. It was too early to be raking over old ground. Besides, what would be the point?

And yet my hands still gripped my mug so tightly that my knuckles turned white, as the words I wanted to ask him hung in the air between us, unsaid.

I hope this makes it clear that there are lots of things that are unsaid between them – and that this is the launchpad for the rest of the story!

 

www.clareswatmanauthor.com

 

 

SUNDAY SCENE: JENNIFER BOHNET ON HER FAVOURITE SCENE FROM VILLA OF SECOND CHANCES

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Everyone deserves a second chance, don’t they? But sometimes other people and life itself gets in the way of that happening.

The scene I am about to share with you is from ‘Villa of Second Chances’. In this book several of the characters find themselves at a crossroads where their lives can only move forward when they fully embrace their past. But those long ago secrets and mistakes all conspire to throw complicated shadows from the past into the present.

Freya and Marcus are re-marrying after realising their divorce a few years ago, was a mistake. In this scene, Freya is remembering their first wedding as she drives to have lunch with her mother Effie, in Antibes.

. . . The chosen day had been bathed in blue skies and April sunshine. Her dad had been alive then and had proudly walked her down the aisle of St. Petrox Church – the ancient church out on the Dartmouth headland. Clemmie and Angela had been her bridesmaids, and Marcus’s boyhood friend, Rufus, had been his best man. Marcus’s fellow officers had formed the traditional archway of swords for the two of them as she and her new husband took their first steps together as man and wife. The reception at the now defunct and much-missed iconic Gunfield Hotel on the banks of the Dart had been a wonderful, relaxed affair. . .

Gunfield Hotel (Jim Cozens Photographer)

The Gunfield Hotel on the banks of the River Dart did actually exist years ago and was, let’s say bohemian, in its dealings with guests. If you wanted formal perfection, you went to another hotel. The Gunfield Hotel was a fun place that did its own thing and plays an important part in my story as it unfolds.

Over lunch Effie turns to Freya and ask the question . . . 

‘So, what’s happening with Verity?’

Freya stiffened. ‘I’ve sent her the invite, as you wanted me to, but haven’t heard anything. To be honest, I’m hoping that it’s too short notice for her to come. She’s probably spending the summer on some Greek island or the latest “in” place she’s discovered.’

‘She’s family,’ Effie said. ‘Hyacinth would be turning in her grave if she knew her daughter was persona non grata at your wedding.’

Freya sighed. ‘She’s not exactly persona non grata, but even you have to admit Verity can be difficult. . .

. . . ’If she does accept, she’ll expect to stay with you and the others at the Villa Sésame. Is there room?’

Freya hesitated before shaking her head. She knew Effie would be cross when she told her the truth, that she was deliberately not mentioning the villa arrangement to Verity because there was no way she wanted her cousin spoiling the run-up to the wedding for the others. . .

. . .  ‘Clemmie is definitely coming?’ Effie asked as she picked up her cutlery.

‘Yes, and Angela.’ Freya had her fingers firmly crossed as she answered. No way did she want Clemmie backing out because of Verity’s presence, if indeed, her cousin decided to show up.

‘I’m really looking forward to having time to catch up with them properly – especially Angela, after all she’s been through with the accident and Paul’s death. Clemmie says the last time she saw her she was still a shadow of her former self. Only to be expected, I suppose, and it will take time. I’m hoping the invitation to Villa Sésame has given her something to look forward to.’ . . .

 

Find out more about Jennifer on her Facebook page:  https://bit.ly/3qglPh4