Today I review Bill Bryson‘s very entertaining account of his attempt at walking the entire Appalachian Trail alongside Katz, an ill-prepared friend, who becomes the highlight of the book. A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson is published by Black Swan with beautiful line drawings by David Cook – though as I read IContinue reading “Book Review: ‘A Walk in the Woods’ by Bill Bryson”
Category Archives: book reviews
Book Review: ‘A History of Women in Medicine’ by Sinead Spearing
A History of Women in Medicine: Cunning Women, Physicians, Witches by Sinead Spearing is published by Pen & Sword. I was fascinated to read this book, as I have myself for some time been considering writing a nonfiction book on the subject of the Anglo-Saxon ‘cunning-woman’. Sinead Spearing is “a psychological historian specialising in theContinue reading “Book Review: ‘A History of Women in Medicine’ by Sinead Spearing”
Book Review: ‘Wheel of Fortune’ by CF Dunn, the first in ‘The Tarnished Crown’ historical fiction series
Today I am delighted to be taking part in the blog tour to launch a fantastic new historical fiction series, set during the turbulent times of The Wars of the Roses (as they became known in later centuries). Wheel of Fortune by CF Dunn will be released by Resolute Books on 20 May 2023. IContinue reading “Book Review: ‘Wheel of Fortune’ by CF Dunn, the first in ‘The Tarnished Crown’ historical fiction series”
Book Review: ‘The Little Stranger’ by Sarah Waters
It’s not often I come across a novel so strong that it reaches out into my thoughts and life while I’m reading it so that I can’t wait to get back to it. Sarah Waters, however, is one novelist who does indeed write stories like this. In The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters, the centralContinue reading “Book Review: ‘The Little Stranger’ by Sarah Waters”
Book Review: ‘Murder Before Evensong’ by Revd. Richard Coles
I knew I had to read this novel as I have so enjoyed listening to The Reverend Richard Coles on the BBC Radio 4 programme Saturday Live and seeing him on his many TV appearances. I also follow him on Twitter and find his tweets very amusing. So I was expecting great things of this,Continue reading “Book Review: ‘Murder Before Evensong’ by Revd. Richard Coles”
Book Reviews: ‘Brother Cyril’s Book’ by Penelope Wilcock and ‘Winter People’ by Grainne Murphy
Today I’m pleased to bring you two reviews: one, a historical novel set in a medieval English monastery and the other, contemporary fiction set on the Irish coastline. Both books – Brother Cyril’s Book by Penelope Wilcock (published Feb 2023 by Humilis, Hastings) and Winter People by Grainne Murphy (published Oct 2022 by Legend Press)Continue reading “Book Reviews: ‘Brother Cyril’s Book’ by Penelope Wilcock and ‘Winter People’ by Grainne Murphy”
Book Review: ‘The Salt Path’ by Raynor Winn
I have come at last to read The Salt Path by Raynor Winn, having heard much about it. I usually hesitate to read much-hyped books, but now, finding it on the shelves in Warwick Books, I’ve given in on this one! The first thing to say is that the cover design artwork for this book,Continue reading “Book Review: ‘The Salt Path’ by Raynor Winn”
Book Review: ‘The Spirit Engineer’ by AJ West
The Spirit Engineer by AJ West: This fictionalisation of a true story was probably one of the creepiest tales I’ve ever read. The Spirit Engineer by AJ West was published in July 2022. Its creepiness does not come from the purported spirits conjured up by the deceptive Goligher family in 1920s Belfast, but much moreContinue reading “Book Review: ‘The Spirit Engineer’ by AJ West”
Book Review: ‘The Winter Guest’ by W.C. Ryan
I was engrossed by this historical novel set in Ireland in 1921 among The Troubles that exploded in 1919 in the Irish War of Independence after the First World War. The Winter Guest by W.C. Ryan brings our investigator and first person narrator Tom Harkin to the atmospheric, crumbling and haunted ancestral mansion of theContinue reading “Book Review: ‘The Winter Guest’ by W.C. Ryan”
Book Review ‘The Shadowing’ by Rhiannon Ward
Today, I’m pleased to share with you my review of another of my Christmas book gifts: a gothic novel published in 2021 by Orion Books. The Shadowing by Rhiannon Ward is both a captivating read and a learning experience. I read this book in one evening and it gripped me throughout. Variously described on AmazonContinue reading “Book Review ‘The Shadowing’ by Rhiannon Ward”
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