Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel by Lucy Foley

Review by

Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel

Miss Marple is back on the case

2026 marks fifty years since the death of Dame Agatha Christie and the posthumous publication of her last Miss Marple detective story. Since then the legendary Jane Marple has been portrayed countless times on screen and stage, knitting needles click-clacking as the imperturbable elderly sleuth solves yet another crime. Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel by Lucy Foley is the first Marple continuation novel. On holiday in a luxury hotel in the Swiss alps, Marple steps in when a fellow guest is murdered. Written with wit and élan, abuzz with drama and red herrings, Foley’s first Marple outing is the perfect weekend sofa read.

Read full Review

Review by

The Door

Housekeeper from hell?

I’ve been enjoying this very unusual and utterly absorbing (thinly veiled, true) story about a Hungarian writer (the narrator and Magda Szabó herself) and her housekeeper Emerence. It’s a novel about a precarious relationship, mutual respect (and some disrespect), balance of power and the secrets of a remarkable life, all under the magnifying glass.

Read full Review

Summer Light and Then Comes the Night by Jon Kalman Stefansson

Review by

Summer Light and Then Comes the Night

Humanity distilled

Truly original novels are few and far between. All the more reason to hail the wonderfully quirky Summer Light and Then Comes the Night by Jon Kalman Stefansson. It’s the portrait of a remote Icelandic town set in the 1990s and if that fails to excite you, I promise that this unexpected, humorous, warm story is worth reading.  Stefansson describes dreams and aspirations, crushed or fulfilled; love and desire, unrequited or reciprocated. Life, basically. His tone in playful, conversational and above all, funny. A breath of literary fresh air.

Read full Review

Hidden Creatures by Dino Martins

Review by

Hidden Creatures

The thrillingly repulsive world of parasites

One of our favourite books of the year to date, Hidden Creatures by Dino Martins takes us on a journey into the enigmatic world of parasites. These unsettling critters are camping out on practically every square inch of our planet, frolicking in our intestines, gorging on our blood and nibbling away at our animals. We join Dr Martins, often in the company of his eager students, crossing continents and studying them at depth, from the tiniest tick to the largest parasitic worm. Filled with both gloriously poetic descriptions of the natural world and thrillingly repulsive accounts of parasite behaviour, it’s a unique and fascinating read.

Read full Review

The Plot Against America by Philip Roth

Review by

The Plot Against America

Why have I not read this book before?

The Plot Against America by Philip Roth has been around since 2004, been made into a TV series, is widely considered to be a modern American classic and has lingered on my TBR list for a while. Perhaps reading it now, against the backdrop of current American politics, is even more impactful (it’s certainly more frightening). Roth imagines an alternative political reality with the aviation hero and Nazi sympathiser Charles Lindbergh defeating Roosevelt in the 1940 Presidential election. Under the motto ‘America First’, (sounds familiar?), the country takes a sharp anti-semitic turn, threatening democracy and the Jewish Roth family’s peaceful existence.

Read full Review

Booker Prize longlist 2026

Review by

Which of these will be on the Booker Prize shortlist on Tuesday?

On Tuesday 22nd, we’ll know which books survived the second round of sifting by the Booker Prize judging panel. We’ve read a few of them and below is more about what we thought. As much as we loved Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart (which won in 2020), sadly, we found his latest Booker Prize longlisted book, John of John, to be a disappointment. Can’t wait to find out who the winner will be on the 9th of November.

Read full Review

The Renovation by Kenan Orhan

Review by

The Renovation

Memory and motherland

Dilara is a Turkish exile, living in Italy with her husband and her ailing father, a blacklisted political academic who is gradually succumbing to dementia. Having fled President Erdoğan’s oppressive regime, the three of them have led a comfortably uneventful life for some years. When Dilara hires some builders for a renovation, she is astonished to discover that in place of the expected swish new bathroom, they have installed a Turkish prison cell, a sesame-scented portal to their much missed homeland. A wonderful exploration of memory, captivity and exile. The Renovation by Kenan Orhan is yet another gem on this year’s excellent Booker Longlist.

Read full Review

The Queens of Sarmiento Park by Camila Sosa Villada

Review by

The Queens of Sarmiento Park

Fearless Argentinian tale of exclusion and chosen family

The continuing boom in Latin American literature (LatAm), has introduced us to some amazing writers (we’ve loved recent works by Mariana Enriquez and Dahlia de la Cerda). In common with these and other LatAm writers, in The Queens of Sarmiento Park by Camila Sosa Villada, the author brings us an impassioned and lyrical tale that blends the political and subcultural with a dash of magical realism. Hers is the story of  ‘the queerest boarding house in the world’, the sex workers who live there with the matriarchal Auntie Encarna, and what happens when Auntie finds an abandoned baby and decides to raise him as one of their own.

Read full Review

The Palm House by Gwendoline Riley

Review by

The Palm House

What it feels like

Laura Miller, the protagonist of Booker Prize long-listed The Palm House by Gwendoline Riley, has an unfortunate tendency to become trapped in awkward, sometimes dangerous situations. Be it with her cold, bossy mother; her flaky landlord; and, most devastatingly, with a celebrity comedian who sexually abuses her. In her pared-down style, Riley captures these moments with chilling clarity. We feel what Laura feels. Add some outstanding dialogue, and you have a novel well worth reading.

Read full Review

The Underground Man by Mick Jackson

Review by

The Underground Man

Inspired and poignant tale of a lonely aristocrat

We’re fast approaching Booker Prize season and it feels like a great opportunity to share our favourite bygone Booker-tipped titles. One of the most memorable and marvellous is The Underground Man by Mick Jackson, shortlisted way back in 1997. Set in Victorian England and inspired by the real-life eccentricities of the fifth Duke of Portland, this is a fictionalised account of that gentleman’s life (although the truth is eye-popping enough, if like us, you feel compelled to do a bit of research after the final page). The story of a haunted soul who builds a network of tunnels beneath his ancestral home and descends into lonely madness, it’s a moving, funny and spellbinding read.

Read full Review