Book reviews

Published on Saturday 28 November 2009 10:02

Cold To The Touch by Frances Fyfield is published by Sphere, priced £19.99.

Award-winning British crime writer Frances Fyfield hasn't let standards slip in her latest Sarah Fortune novel.

A dark tale of butchery in every sense, it opens in London's Smithfield Market, where the highly-strung Jess is trying to catch up with the man she believes to be the love of her life.

After an unsuccessful foray into the depths of the famous meat market, Jess chances upon old friend Sarah – who is slowly but surely unwittingly dragged into the quagmire that is Jess's life.

Much of the action takes place in the seaside village of Pennyvale, Jess's childhood home and the place where she is eventually found murdered, hanging from a hook in the butcher's shop.

She's an enigma, but who would want Jessica dead? Sarah is determined to find out.

A tightly-woven plot keeps the reader enthralled to the bitter end.

8/10 Review by Sandra Mangan

Winterland by Alan Glynn is published by Faber and Faber, priced 12.99.

When her brother Noel dies in a car crash on the same night as her gangster nephew of the same name is shot dead, Gina Rafferty refuses to accept that the double tragedy is mere coincidence.

Despite the ambivalence of the authorities and her own family and friends, Gina begins to unravel a sinister web that includes big business, Dublin's underworld and one of Ireland's major political dynasties.

Gina, a decadent twenty-something to begin with, must overcome her self-doubts if she is to claim justice for her brother.

Dublin-based writer Alan Glynn's second novel is a fast-paced thriller that brilliantly, and subtly, introduces a number of plot strands before intelligently bringing them together ahead of a dramatic finale.

7/10 Review by Richard Mulligan

Road Dogs by Elmore Leonard is published by Weidenfeld and Nicolson, priced 18.99.

No-one writes crime novels like Hollywood favourite Elmore Leonard, and he has returned with a typical tale of colourful hoodlums on the hunt for another scam.

Leonard – the man behind Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown and the Stephen Soderbergh movie Out Of Sight – digs up some old cons for his new novel, with Out Of Sight 's Jack Foley opening Road Dogs back in the slammer.

The prolific bank robber has pretty much given up on freedom and accepted a lifetime behind bars, but that's until the arrival of new room-mate Cundo Rey, whose crack lawyer gets him out pronto.

While he should be in the Cuban hustler's debt, Foley subsequently shacks up with Rey's wife Dawn on his release, and the two contrive to pinch the jive-talking midget millionaire's assets.

Great dialogue, great characters; 84-year-old Leonard, releasing his 47th novel, never fails to thrill.

9/10 Review by Richard Mulligan

NEW NON-FICTION

Thanks For Nothing by Jack Dee is published by Doubleday, priced 20.

Award-winning comedian Jack Dee emphasises his "grumpy old man" act in his debut book, which is part life story, part litany of troubles with the world.

While planned not as a typically chronological, autobiographical account, it's a style that doesn't always work. Do you want to know Jack's thoughts on plumbers? Football? Mervin the personal trainer?

It gets more appealing when he recounts tales from his upbringing – including the day he stopped being a bully – and his move to London.

There are numerous amusing nuggets, with his experiences working as a delivery driver and his day as a motorcycle courier particularly priceless.

We learn of Jack's showbiz roots, the relative who was meant to be on the Titanic, his catering career – including tricking one odious businessman to buy several bottles of champagne.

Concluding with his early Comedy Store days, you're left wanting more – surely the sign of a good performer.

7/10 Review by James Cleary

The Making Of Modern Britain by Andrew Marr is published by Pan Macmillan, priced 25.

Having already told us how we live today, Andrew Marr now explains how 21st-century Britain came to be.

Following the success of the post-war A History Of Modern Britain, the BBC's former political editor now goes back to the period between the death of Queen Victoria in 1901 and 1945.

The story begins with the optimistic early years of the 20th century and also roars though the 1920s and 1930s, which, of course, included the global depression.

However, the focal points of the first half of the century were the two World Wars, events which mark this era as Britain's finest hour. Marr takes a fresh look at both conflicts, not least when – despite the horrors of the trenches – he presents the Great War generals as doing their best in impossible circumstances.

As well as momentous events, there is no shortage of colour, which marks this book out as both a fabulous history and a good read.

8/10 Review by Richard Mulligan

CHILDREN'S CHOICE

Mr Stink by David Walliams is published by HarperCollins, priced 12.99.

Comedian David Walliams, best known for his Little Britain antics, takes his second foray into the world of children's literature with this heavily Roald Dahl-influenced story.

Mr Stink is a very smelly tramp, who nobody talks to except for an unpopular little girl called Chloe. With delightful drawings from the well-loved Dahl collaborator Quentin Blake, there are obvious parallels with Sophie and the BFG.

Walliams weaves a wonderful tale of an unlikely friendship, which includes an appearance on Question Time and a trip to No 10 Downing Street, as Chloe learns to stick up for herself with her family and friends.

There are moments of comic genius, such as when he lists Chloe's precocious younger sister's weekly commitments, and plenty of sweet, soppy stuff too.

A joy for kids both big and small.

8/10 Review by Kate Whiting