More Than Halfway To Somewhere: Collected Gems of a World Traveller John Burbidge Wordswallah (Self-published) Following on from his critically acclaimed works like Dare Me! The Life and Work of Gerald Glaskin and his autobiography The Boatman, Burbidge delves into a travelogue of his world adventures in celebrating his 50th year since boarding a US-bound […]
You Had It Coming by B.M. Carroll Viper Warning: This review contains mentions of sexual assault. Paramedic Megan Lowe has half an hour before the end of her shift and is looking forward to having a day off when a call comes in that a male in his fifties has gunshot wounds to his chest […]
Devils, Lusts and Strange Desires: The Life of Patricia Highsmith by Richard Bradford Bloomsbury Publishing Born in Texas in 1921 at a time when sexuality was, in varying degrees, hidden and fluid, Patricia Highsmith became famous for writing dark psychological thrillers. Notably, many have been made into unforgettable films – including The Talented Mr Ripley, […]
The Breaking by Irma Gold Midnight Sun Publishing Hannah Bird was sitting in the hostel lobby, “a shabby affair, ripe with the smell of mould”, fumbling with some touristy brochures and trying to act like she wasn’t panicking about what she was doing in Chaing Mai by herself. Sitting next to her, another Australian ex-pat […]
As Far As You’ll Take Me by Phil Stamper Bloomsbury Marty is almost 18 and he is sick of living a lie. He has graduated early from high school, earned money working at a ‘shit diner’ and has a one-way ticket to London. Away from his small Kentucky town and his bible-thumping parents who think […]
The Secret Mantra by David Michie Hay House Matt Lester is in the Himalayan Mountains, following a goat track to the Tiger’s Nest Monastery in Bhutan. In The sequel to The Magician of Lhasa, the former quantum physicist Matt has completely changed his life and devoted the last 5 years to spiritual development with Tibetan […]
The Magician of Lhasa by David Michie Hay House Matt Lester works at the Imperial Science Institute in London as a research manager for creating nanobots – highly functioning robots of microscopic size. When he moves to Los Angeles with his partner for a job opportunity, his life doesn’t pan out as smoothly as he […]
The French Art of Not Trying Too Hard by Ollivier Pourriol Profile Books “Hard work has its own rewards” is a mantra often given to students, burdened by expectations that they have to succeed in school to achieve anything or be anyone. Learning a language, playing a musical instrument and working hard in a chosen […]
Contacts by Mark Watson HarperCollins Forty year-old James boards the London to Edinburgh sleeper train just before midnight. He has two pork pies, six beers and a packet of chocolate digestives for the journey. Just before the train departs, he sends a message to all 158 people in his contacts list, telling them he intends […]
Note to Self: The Secrets of Calm by Rebekah Ballagh Allen & Unwin Rebekah Ballagh is a qualified counselor who created the popular Instagram page called Journey to Wellness – @journey_to_wellness_ – when she wanted students at the school where she was counseling at to have something better than leaflets. Her book is a beautifully […]
