Book reviews

He is best known as the master of the legal thriller, but John Grisham can also turn his hand to a country tale or two.

Ford County Stories manages to combine the two genres, as the author deftly crafts a series of novelettes, each featuring a tantalising glimpse of life in a fictional area of America's Deep South.

The stories are all true to the slow pace of life in the backwaters of the US, and Grisham can't resist including several which feature folk working within, or outside of, the law.

Highlights are Blood Drive, Fetching Raymond and Funny Boy, but all are well worth the reader's attention.

8/10 Review by Sandra Mangan

Get Me Out Of Here by Henry Sutton is published by Harvill Secker, priced 12.99.

Described as a novel of "comic anger, success and failure, commerce and culture", Henry Sutton's latest book follows the story of Matt Freeman, who from the opening page, is having a bad day.

With money running short, his business ventures in North Korea failing, and his belief in society crumbling, Matt begins to crack, and murders his reality TV-obsessed younger girlfriend.

While trying to keep a hold on his life, avoid police questioning and escape abroad to start a new life, Matt's grasp on reality wanes and a darker side of him emerges.

Despite being billed as "hilarious" by some critics, not everyone will understand and appreciate the book's humour. As the story progresses, it's easy to lose sympathy for the deranged, unhinged and egotistical character of Matt.

A look back at Matt's history provides some insight into his motivation, but ultimately this novel is confusing, and Henry Sutton's description of Matt's precarious grasp on reality made the reader feel bewildered.

All in all, a muddled book which is not remotely funny, and not one to be recommended.

2/10 Review by Emma Everingham

Loves Me, Loves Me Not is published by Mira Books, priced 7.99

This is a book strictly for romantics. It's a compilation of short stories from members of the Romantic Novelists' Association, and a few mainstream names, including Joanna Trollope and Adele Parks. While the stories range from Regency romances, to classic chick-lit, and even ghost stories, the quality is, sadly, just as varied. It seems everyone thinks they can pen a romance, and perhaps not everyone should. Most of the stories are only too predictable once the "tall, dark and handsome man" comes on the scene, but some are genuinely endearing. A weighty tome at almost 700 pages, it's one your mum might like, but serious literary buffs should steer clear.

5/10 Review by Kate Whiting

The King's Smuggler by John Fox is published by The History Press, priced 20.

The political intrigues, sectarian hatreds and bloodshed of the Stuart period in England, especially during the Civil War, are vividly portrayed in this book.

Its central character is a feisty red-headed woman, whose face had been disfigured by smallpox. Her loyalty to King Charles I was unwavering, and she repeatedly involved herself in plots to save him from the executioner's block.

Jane Whorwood (1612-1684) had a German-born Scottish father. The family lived in London where he had a senior position at the Royal Mews attached to the Palace of Whitehall. During the Civil War, King Charles fled from London to Oxford and ultimately ended up imprisoned at Carisbrooke Castle on the Isle of Wight.

During these years, Jane acted as his intelligence agent and, it seems, also briefly consoled him in bed.

Although this book contains too much complex genealogical and other detail, it will provide a fascinating read for devotees of British social and political history.

8/10 Review by Anthony Looch

How Many Friends Does One Person Need? by Robin Dunbar is published by Faber & Faber, priced 14.99.

In premise, Dunbar's new book sounds enlightening but excuse the cliche, don't judge a book by its cover.

The Oxford University academic guarantees to answer those niggling social questions, such as why people should be suspicious of those who have more than 150 Facebook friends, why Barack Obama was voted US president and why men prefer to indulge in competitive talk while women enjoy a good ol' gossip.

His claims that Obama was chosen because of his height and symmetrical face are provocative and questionable, while his predictions that China could face problems following their gender imbalances is thought-provoking and sure to inflame some readers.

6/10 Review by Shereen Low

CHILDREN'S CHOICE

Amy Green: Summer Secrets by Sarah Webb is published by Walker Books, priced 5.99.

Thirteen-year-old Amy Green and her 17-year-old aunt, Clover Wildgust, are the Agony Aunts for Irish magazine The Goss, but the problem solving teens have their own problem, two weeks of family holiday hell.

Amy's boyfriend Seth is going to Italy, her best friend is jetting to Miami, while Amy is off to a tiny village in rainy west Cork with her nagging mother, neurotic aunt, their crazy partners and the irritating cousins.

Luckily, Clover gets a chance to interview a film star in Miami, and she's not leaving Amy behind. This is the latest addition to Sarah Webb's Amy Green series. It has a good mixture of emotion and humour and covers the subjects of boyfriends, summer crushes, family relationships and having secrets. It will appeal to fans of Jacqueline Wilson.

My little reader loved it, and felt it captured the feelings and concerns of teenagers and pre-teen girls perfectly.

7/10 Review by Laura Wurzal