VAL PENNY

I met up with Graham Bartlett again at Newcastle Noir, in December. The festival is run by the inimitable Jacky Gramozi Collins (aka Dr...

I have just finished reading a book, Red Daisy , by an author new to me, Gemma Owen-Kendall. Not only that, but the genre, fantasy...

When an author makes a gift of a book, it is a generous gesture. Joy wood gave me a copy of her new novel, Whatever it Takes, without...

I have always enjoyed books by Lizzie Chantree and was delighted when I had the chance to meet her when she lectured at a conference...

The Lady's Favour is comprised of three novellas written by A.J. Roberts and combined to produced a satisfying novel. This book includes...

I live in a village in South West Scotland and was delighted when, a few years ago, Karen Campbell ran a writers' workshop in the library...

I usually like Linwood Barclay's books. They are nicely plotted with an overtone of humour and when I see one I haven't read I will pick...

I have read every book in Joan Livingston's Isabel Long series so it will not surprise anybody that I enjoy the books. The author is...

When this book was book of the month at my book group, I sighed.  Generally speaking I do not like books written as a series of letters. ...

I have read many of Quintin Jardine’s books and much prefer his Bob Skinner character to his Oz Blackstone series. In Funeral Notes, a...

The House We Grew Up In by Lisa Jewell was book of the month for our village book group. There was a wide variety of views about it, but...

For a long time, short stories seemed to be out of fashion. Occasionally,well-known writers like Ian Rankin, Agatha Christie and Jeffrey...

The book was recommended to me by my nephew, Mathew because he had enjoyed the book so much. The Blurb Nine-year-old Bruno knows nothing...

Joining a book group is a great way to read outside your usual genres and away from the authors you normally choose. When my book group...

A friend bought and read The Thursday Murder Club for her group but didn't want to keep it, so gave it to me. I should have known... The...

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S Thompson has a cult following and was recommended to me by the co-ordinator of the first book...

Craig Holden is the author of several novels including The River Sorrow, The Last Sanctuary, Four Corners of Night, The Jazz Bird and...

Wasted was book of the month at my book club. It is the autobiography of Mark Johnson who suffered a poor and violent childhood. He...

I recently read Lies Behind the Ruins by Helen Matthews. I had enjoyed all the previous books by her that I had read, so I thought this...

Justice be Damned is a gripping by Rosemary J Kind, whom I have met many times at Swanwick Writers’ Summer School. When I bought it, I...