Shell-shocked and haunted by the death of his best friend, Daniel Branwell returns to his childhood village where he no longer has any family ties. He is offered shelter by an elderly blind woman and, when she dies, takes over her isolated cottage setting in train the events and lies, of omission and commission, which … Continue reading One Minute Book Review – The Lie by Helen Dunmore
Book reviews
One Minute Book Review – Disclaimer by Renee Knight
A riveting read. For the first time in years, I stayed up until 3am to finish this book. In this psychological thriller, documentary maker Catherine Ravenscroft discovers a book she cannot remember buying on her beside table detailing a incident in her life that she thought no one else knew about. The certainties of her … Continue reading One Minute Book Review – Disclaimer by Renee Knight
One Minute Book Review – The Luminaries by Eleanor Caton
This vibrant and complex novel, set during the New Zealand Gold Rush, is Victorian in scope and language yet it reads as fluidly as spare modern prose. Thirteen men are drawn together to uncover the mystery at the heart of occurrences on a single night two weeks prior to the opening of the story: a … Continue reading One Minute Book Review – The Luminaries by Eleanor Caton
One Minute Book Review – The Chimes by Anna Smaill
This novel is set in a dystopian future which has fallen back to the structures of the late medieval period. Life is regulated by music, the written word has been banned and memories fractured and wiped. It is not a quick read and requires some initial concentration. The prose is beautiful and fluid and carries … Continue reading One Minute Book Review – The Chimes by Anna Smaill
One Minute Book Review – The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng
This novel takes place in three time periods. In the present, Yung Ling Teoh, a retired judge, looks back on her life during the Malayan Emergency in 1951. A former prisoner of the Japanese, she had apprenticed herself to Aritomo, once the gardener to the Emperor of Japan. She wishes to learn the art of … Continue reading One Minute Book Review – The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng
One Minute Book Review – Affinity by Sarah Waters
Margaret Prior is an well-to-do spinster who is recovering from her father's death and her own failed suicide attempt. Hoping to bring some purpose to her life, she volunteers as a ‘Lady Visitor’ at Millbank Prison. There she becomes entranced by Selina Dawes, a spiritual medium imprisoned for fraud and assault. The story covers a … Continue reading One Minute Book Review – Affinity by Sarah Waters
One Minute Book Review – An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears
A thoroughly researched historical mystery set mainly in Oxford in 1663 against the religious and political turmoil following on from the Protectorate and the restoration of Charles II. It deals with a suspicious death and the ensuing trial from four differing viewpoints. None of the narrators is completely reliable but each retelling reveals new aspects … Continue reading One Minute Book Review – An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears
One Minute Book Review – Touching Distance by Rebecca Abrams
A compelling story, based on fact, which follows the quest by a doctor, Alec Gordon, to discover the cause of an extended outbreak of puerperal fever which is killing newly delivered mothers. It follows the fortunes of his own marriage as well as his battle against the preconceived notions and vested medical interests of his … Continue reading One Minute Book Review – Touching Distance by Rebecca Abrams
One Minute Book Review – The Witch and her Soul by Christina Middleton
This is historical fiction at its very best, taking what is known and filling in the gaps in the record with plausible fiction. The story follows the life of Jane Southworth from her childhood to the Lancaster Assizes in 1612 where she was tried for witchcraft as one of the Samlesbury witches. It also touches … Continue reading One Minute Book Review – The Witch and her Soul by Christina Middleton
Catherine Meyrick 