Book reviews

A suspense thriller reminiscent of TV hit Succession if it took an even darker turn.The plot: Emily hasn't spoken to her friend Belle in years. Now married to the head of a huge wealthy family, Belle invites Emily onto a cruise with her for moral support. And maybe...

The fourth entry in the Stranger Times series starts with someone floating above Manchester. Until they stop floating and land very messily at the feet of one of our main characters... Once again the staff of supernatural happenings magazine 'The Stranger Times'...

Another good read in this series. Book 2 picks up directly from the end of book 1 and I wouldn't advise trying to read it as a standalone if you want to make the most of the story. As before, there are a bunch of kids trying to survive in a nearly adultless,...

I thought this was a wonderful rom-com. All that is required from you, as a reader, if you are to truly enjoy it, is to have the ability to suspend disbelief a little over some timey-wimey magical 'stuff'. Essentially, this is a book in the vein of fantastical (but...

This is a long, complex novel with hard SF ideas at the foundation of its premise and characters you grow to love at its heart. It's going to be tough to summarise in a review. It begins when scientist Hadiz Tambuwal, based in Lagos, develops a form of amateur...

Five stars from me. But do take into account that this is a fun, light, very silly and really quite sweary SF book. It's not going to hit that hard for everyone. (But maybe it will!)Charlie is a substitute teacher with money troubles and a yearning desire to buy a...

The Day The Earth Turned is book one in a post-apocalyptic YA series - and it surpassed my expectations. It begins after a pandemic or two or three. All (or almost all) the adults are dead. The focus is on a small town (village?) and its outskirts, and the two big...

A compelling domestic suspense novel that also manages to tell a story of families surviving across the ages. After her mum and step-dad are murdered, and step-brother Martin sentenced for their deaths, Nancy realises she has to disappear. She flees to her mother's...

None of This is True is a read-in-one-day, expertly put-together psychological thriller, and I thoroughly enjoyed every single page. It begins with Josie and Alix crossing paths at a local pub one day, and realising they are both celebrating the same birthday on the...

My second book with 'Zero' in the title in a row, and the second review in a row where I'm going to do a TV comparison... In this case, Going Zero reminds me of Channel 4's The Hunted x BBC 1's The Capture. In other words, a thrilling chase vs the technology all...

If you were forced to sum up Camp Zero with a single comparison, you could say: "Climate change meets The Handmaid's Tale" - thought that is, of course, an oversimplification. Set in the far north of Canada, on of the few remaining cool spots in the world, there a...

In Games for Dead Girls, we explore the mysteries and folklore of a small seaside town called Hithechurch, where horrible things have happened, and where Charlie hopes to find out the truth... In 1988, Charlie was a child when she dreamt up Stitch Face Sue, an urban...

I thoroughly enjoyed this dystopian debut from Lavanya Lakshminarayan. Set in Apex City, formerly Bangalore, some time in the future, this is a world convinced it is running successfully as a meritocracy. Ninety percent of people are Virtuals, living in a world with...

A thought-provoking read that sees the world slowly run out of water - and a great example of a 'what if' novel. Thirsty Animals is set in Scotland, about now-ish. As the book begins, there is already trouble. The price of water is rising, and people are desperately...

Love Will Tear Us Apart by CK McDonnell. The deeper I get into this series, the more I find I'm enjoying it. But do start at the first book if possible (nb. this is book 3). The Stranger Times is a publication reporting on the weird and wonderful, with its own rather...