Hugues Viane lost his wife five years ago, five long lonely years ago. “He whiled away some of the time by reading magazines and old books, smoked a great deal and, lost in his memories, lingered at the window opening onto the grey weather outside.” (Page 17*) Since his beloveds…
Do you ever look at the lives of others, especially those broadcast all over social media, and wish you were them? They seem to have it all – the perfect life perhaps. These individuals happily promote their wonderful lifestyles – the clean living, the ideal bodies, the fact that they…
“Gabriel Berenson was murdered six years ago. He was forty-four years old. He was killed on the twenty-five of August – it was an unusually hot summer… The day he died was the hottest day of the year.” (page 7). Alicia Berenson was just thirty-three years old when she killed…
With multiple stories unfolding, Shadow is a novel that is going to keep you on your toes. It seems that Jakobs, an officer in the anti-terrorist police unit, has waited a lifetime to apprehend Verbeke, a one time colleague turned rogue. So when he was captured the Belgium police officer…
Alcohol is clearly not Astrid’s friend, in fact, it sounds like that it is the cause for her lack of friends. “Drink isn’t your friend. It’s your enemy. Your poison. Can’t you see what it is doing to you?” (page 5). The only problem is that, due to her lack…
What happens when the ‘hunters become the hunted’? But who are they? Yanni’s in the old town has been hit, but by what? This is the call received in the early hours of the morning but what does that mean for the people of the town? Who are the individuals…
Iloilo, located on Panay Island, is yet another popular destination in the Philippines. This highly urbanized city carries influences of its Spanish roots, and one can see those impacts in the Spanish-style houses and churches throughout the city. The city itself is the very representation of what the Philippines is…
In the early stages of this novel it is difficult to work out whether the focus will be on June Bloom, a 29-year-old, broke junior comedy writer who believes she is a complete failure or Hugo Best, late-night chat show host who has just completed the last episode of his…
Have you ever read Dracula by Bram Stoker? For some, it is perhaps one of the best examples of classic gothic literature ever written and if this is a genre that appeals, then Dracul, the prequel to Dracula, written in part by Dacre Stoker, the great grand-nephew of the famous…
Would you move half way across the world for love? That is exactly what Sarah Macdonald did. She uprooted her life, moving from Australia and leaving a very successful career as a journalist behind, to join her boyfriend in New Delhi. The contrast between the two worlds really could not…