The Embassy of Cambodia
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Revisiting the terrain of her acclaimed novel NW, The Embassy of Cambodia is another remarkable work...
The Making of Zombie Wars
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'A raucous, hilarious book ...deadly funny.' Chicago Magazine Script idea #142: Aliens undercover as...
Mansfield Park: An Annotated Edition
Jane Austen and Diedre Shauna Lynch
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Jane Austen's most ambitious novel, Mansfield Park, has always generated debate. Austen herself...
Jane Austen's Transatlantic Sister: The Life and Letters of Fanny Palmer Austen
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In 1807 genteel, Bermuda-born Fanny Palmer (1789-1814) married Jane Austen's youngest brother,...
Energy Security in Asia and Eurasia
Mike M. Mochizuki and Deepa M. Ollapally
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Many states appear to have strong sentiment on energy security and energy transit vulnerability....
International Human Rights: A Comprehensive Introduction
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This book provides a comprehensive introduction to international human rights -- international human...
ClareR (5841 KP) rated The Long Long Afternoon in Books
Mar 2, 2021
Ruby Wright arrives to start her afternoons work at Joyce Hanley’s house, and instead finds her young daughter outside and a screaming toddler upstairs in her bedroom. When Ruby goes in to the kitchen, she is confronted with a room awash with blood and signs of a struggle.
When the police arrive, they arrest Ruby for murder. After all, she was the first person there - and she’s black.
Detective Mick Blanke takes on the case. It’s an interesting book, because not only is Mick solving the crime (with some considerable help from Ruby), he’s also showing the social divides in the USA at this time - rich and poor, black and white. He’s clearly not comfortable about the way that white people treat black people in Santa Monica, but he’s still not quite brave enough to call people out on their racism.
This is an engaging, quick read - or perhaps I read it quickly because I didn’t want to put it down. It’s a clever, unpredictable story. In all, it’s a book I’d recommend without hesitation!
ClareR (5841 KP) rated Tall Bones in Books
Apr 6, 2021
Abi and Emma are best friends, and when Emma leaves Abi, at Abi’s request, at a party at the Tall Bones, she expects to see her the next day. Except she doesn’t. Abi goes missing, seemingly without a trace. Everyone and no one is suspected of her disappearance. After all, her father, Samuel, is a thug and a bully, her mother is clearly beaten regularly, as are her children - why wouldn’t she run away?
To be honest, after reading this I couldn’t understand why any of the young people stayed in Whistling Ridge - unless their world view is like that of their, largely speaking, bigoted parents.
This book is shocking - a real kick in the guts type of story. And it’s not a one off kick. I hated 99% of the characters by the end: and this is the bit where I say how much I enjoyed reading it. Yes, here we are again with my love of the horrible characters. It’s easy to like nice characters, not so easy to get enjoyment out of the dark and evil types (or is it?!😈).
Either way it’s an atmospheric, dark, fascinating novel. And I loved it.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising this fabulous novel.
ClareR (5841 KP) rated Afraid of the Christmas Lights in Books
Dec 1, 2020
Most of the stories are set around Christmas with only a couple of exceptions. That didn’t cause me to like them any less though. The real standouts for me (if I absolutely HAVE to choose!) were: Phoebe Morgan’s Unexpected Present - the gift wrapped so nicely in expensive M&S paper being the main protagonists husband; The Switch by James Delargy had a Stephen King vibe to it (and I should add that it wasn’t because of The Green Mile!); Fresh Meat by Elle Croft gives new meaning to a raw meat diet for your cat; and The Vigilante by Clare Empson was a sad story of a Charles Dickens look-a-like who tries to save victims of crime in the dead of night.
If you need an excuse to buy this, then the proceeds go to ESDAS and Rights of Women, both domestic abuse charities.
Many thanks to The PIgeonhole for serialising this book, and to the authors who joined in. As always, it was a great experience!!
