While we eagerly await the next season of ‘Big Little Lies’ why not pick up author Liane Moriarty’s latest novel, ‘Nine Perfect Strangers’ for what promises to be another surprising rollercoaster ride of a story.

“If you are looking for a page turner then your search is over!

Each character is engaging with all their intricate personalities and of course their many flaws and it is interesting how the reader can so easily make presumptions on a character before knowing the complete back story.

Enjoy your journey to this idyllic health resort but be prepared for a slightly bizarre hiccup along the way. Thankfully Moriarty brings us back on track with a wonderful harmonious conclusion.”

Reviewed by Books & Company reader, Bobbie!

Happy reading!

Tell Them of Battles, Kings and Elephants by Mathias Enard

This week’s ‘Book of the Week’ was suggested to us by a regular customer and we were immediately intrigued by its wonderful title: Tell them of Battles, Kings and Elephants. 

The book by Mathias Enard was first published in the writer’s native French in 2010 (Parle-leur de batailles, de rois et d’éléphants) and has now been translated by Charlotte Mandell into English and published in a beautiful edition by Fitzcarraldo Editions.  

It is the story of how Michelangelo – in 1506 a young but already renowned sculptor – is invited by the sultan of Constantinople to design a bridge over the Golden Horn. The sultan has offered, alongside an enormous payment, the promise of immortality, since Leonardo da Vinci’s design was rejected. Based on real historical fragments, Tell Them of Battles, Kings and Elephants is ‘a novella about why stories are told, why bridges are built, and how seemingly unmatched pieces, seen from the opposite sides of civilization, can mirror one another.’

And here is what our customer said of the book: 

 ’A really good, interesting and quick read. It is written in intricate details that transport you to the streets of Constantinople. A really good translation as well. The language used is beautiful throughout the entire book!’

Thanks Gustav for the suggestion and the feedback!

Happy reading! 

RESERVE YOUR COPY OF Tell Them of the Battles, Kings and Elephants by Mathias Enard

Murder in Midwinter by Fleur Hitchcock

Murder in Midwinter is a hugely entertaining crime novel, with a good dose of suspense, murder, friendship and loyalty added to the storyline and plot.  Maya’s life was quite normal until she took a photograph of a man with ginger curly hair and a lady - both holding guns. When she took the picture the man got a glimpse of her, before the bus drove away from the two, his face giving an emotion communicating the following message; I want to kill you... Then a body was found near where she took the picture at the bottom of the river Thames, the man whose body belonged to looked just like the man that was holding a gun in the picture that she took. That same night Maya's sister, Zahra disappears - leaving no trace from a school Christmas concert. Soon Maya starts to suspect that it could all fit together, the photo, her sister's disappearance - all of it. However the following day Zahra turns up, in front of the school safe and sound. Soon after the police get involved,  interrogating Zahra, seeking more information. When the police are finished they recommend Maya to go to a safe and remote place.

So Maya and her family decide to send Maya to her aunts remote and desolated home. When Maya arrives at the cottage she is welcomed by three dogs (whom she remembers of, from when she was a little girl) and her aunt. Maya soon starts to get anxious and worried about her family safety, and mostly her safety. As Mayas stay continues there is always a policeman on guard, however, she still feels anxious about the fact there is a man somewhere out there that is determined to kill her, Peter Romero. As Mayas worries grow in numbers she is constantly looking out of the window, checking that Peter Romero is not out there. But after a couple of break-ins and shootouts, crazy secrets and acts of friendship it all comes down to a fatal evening, a couple days before Christmas, when all is discovered and all secrets are revealed…

My favorite character in this marvelous crime novel is Maya, I chose her because she astute and sly, has a good sense of humor, but she easily gets things done. My opinion on this novel is that; it is well written, not with too much detail or intense vocabulary so it’s not a challenging read. However, the storyline and plot are quite fantastic.

I recommend this book to all fans or people who enjoy crime and mystery stories, and to people who have read some of Siobhan Dowds novels (I immensely enjoyed the two novels with Ted and his sister Kat as main characters, The London Eye Mystery and The Guggenheim Mystery). There is a new novel coming out by Fleur Hitchcock, Murder At Twilight. So keep tuned!

Reviewed by Lahiri Paolella (Aged 12)

Happy reading! 

RESERVE YOUR COPY OF Murder in Midwinter by Fleur Hitchcock 

The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

Genre- Science fiction, fantasy, action, dystopian

“He’s so busy looking inside people to find the good that he misses the knife they’re holding in their hand.”- Alexandra Bracken, The Darkest Minds.

Written by Alexandra Bracken, an American New York Times bestselling author, “The Darkest Minds” is a unique book which will captivate you in a world brimming with fantasy, action and thrill. Alexandra Bracken has skillfully woven together words to create scenes of suspense and tension, where hurricanes of emotions are going to rip out of you.

The book takes place in a futuristic United States of America, where a disease known as IAAN - “Idiopathic Adolescent Acute Neurodegeneration” - grows rampant in the bodies of ten-year-old children, killing them or leaving them with supernatural powers. Soon enough, ninety-eight percent of children are dead, while the remaining are sent off to rehabilitation camps, where they live under torture and terror, a place where every wrong action is punished. In the camps, the mutated are split  into categories and, among these, the most dangerous (the “oranges”, “reds” and “yellows”), are taken away and never seen again.

On her tenth birthday, Ruby - the main character - is taken away from her parents  by the government army, after she accidentally unleashes her powers of mind manipulation caused by the IAAN disease. However, due to some flaws in the government control system, Ruby escapes her fate of death as an “orange” and lives her life in a rehabilitation camp. When she turns sixteen,  an association of rebels called the “Children’s League” help Ruby escape from the camp. After their successful escape, she ends up with a group of runaway children, as they set off into the country in search for the “Slip Kid”, a child who is said to be able to help them find their parents. But is the “Slip Kid” really who they think he is…?

If you like action-packed dystopian novels where every page results in twists and turns, this is the book for you. I thoroughly enjoyed this page-turner and would recommend it to 12+’s in search for a book which will captivate them from the start to the finish. Furthermore, the story is well written and provides the reader with a strong moral on friendship: true friends stick together in times of need, true friends help each other, true friends allow each other to hope.

“Maybe nothing will ever change us,” he said. “But don’t you want to be around just in case it does?” Alexandra Bracken- Darkest Minds

Reviewed by Marta

RESERVE YOUR COPY OF The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken