It was a busy 2020 for Ashley writing under her own name, with nine of her backlist titles being re-released, and another two brand new novels published with Joffe Books. If you would like to read more reviews of books new and old, and both fiction and non-fiction, drop by Ashley’s other website – Margaret-Murphy.co.uk. […]
A History of My Family in Seven Sicknesses by Stephen McGann Simon & Schuster (2018) ISBN: 1471160815 The McGann brothers Joe, Paul, Mark and Stephen were Liverpool royalty in the 1980s and 90s, and Stephen McGann has achieved international stardom in the hit TV series Call The Midwife since 2012. Yet his memoir is written […]
Head of Zeus, ISBN-13: 978-1-78854-374-3 In the illusionist’s world, close-up magic is king, and eighteen-year-old prodigy Natalie Webb promised to be one of the best. Then she got burned by an unscrupulous artist who stole her heart along with her best illusion. Nine years on, honest, but grindingly poor, Natalie ekes out an existence performing at […]
Canongate, ISBN-13: 978-1-78689-376-5 A Costa Award winner, Kidd has been nominated for many more, and judging by Things in Jars, the accolades are well-deserved. She clearly delights in the written word—its rhythms, cadence and music, and her audacious playfulness with language bring to mind Dylan Thomas and Charles Dickens. Her exuberant prose conjures up the filth […]
Oxford,ISBN-10: 0192880365 Presents an eclectic selection of stories, and although only about half are written by women, these and others like them, helped to shape the conventions of modern detective fiction. Some of the stories fall down on the question of fair play—that is, providing the reader with sufficient clues to make good guesses, which is […]
Nosy Crow,ISBN-10: 1788004388 Athan Wilde dreams of flight. When his friend, Mr Chen, is murdered, Athan must rescue the flying machine they were building together and stop it falling into the wrong hands. The machine could be worth a lot—perhaps even enough to take his family out of poverty—but keeping it safe puts his family in […]
HarperCollins,ISBN-10: 0008245193 Gabby has spent a most of her marriage bringing up her two boys largely single-handed, running a book translation service, and fitting her publishing life around her husband Mike’s busy international work schedule. Her self-effacement and self-denial are heroic, and she has been taken shamefully for granted. Approaching her fifties, she wonders if Mike […]
November Road, by Lou Berney HarperCollins ISBN-10: 0008309337 November Road unfolds in the wake of President Kennedy’s assassination. Frank Guidry knows everyone—as a loyal and long-serving lieutenant to New Orleans Mob boss, Carlo Marcello, it’s what he’s paid to do. He’s a self-aware hedonist intent on enjoying every minute of life, and his talent for deception […]
Penguin, 1997 Kindle, £7.99 ASIN: B002RI9DM4 What is philosophy for? Until 1997 I’d considered the subject too esoteric, too abstract for a science-trained bod like me. Then I attended an author reading of The Untouchable, by John Banville. Alain de Botton was second billing. Banville gave a superb reading – and I do recommend The […]
MANHATTAN BEACH by Jennifer Egan Corsair ISBN: 978 1 4721 8087 5 Set in New York, Manhattan Beach opens with eleven-year-old Anna, accompanying her father to a meeting. We gather that Eddie Kerrigan is a go-between, moving easily between the mobsters and the elite of New York, picking up packages, handing them on. A minor […]