Terms and Conditions, by Robert Glancy (Bloomsbury, RRP $30): I’m not usually a fan of the books that insist on footnotes. I avoid them or make a slow decision about whether they are actually needed and what they could possibly…
Category: General fiction
Not a page-turner but good enough
All Change, by Elizabeth Jane Howard (Pan Macmillan, RRP $30): The fact that this is No 5 in family saga The Cazalet Chronicles probably speaks for itself. In fact, Elizabeth Jane Howard was awarded a CBE in 2002, the same…
Close but no cigar, old bean …
Jeeves and the Wedding Bells, by Sebastian Faulks (Hutchinson, RRP $35): I’m a big P G Wodehouse fan. I’ve been reading his novels and short stories on and off since high school, when friends of mine put me on to…
Well-researched look at medieval politics
A King’s Ransom, by Sharon Penman (Macmillan, RRP $38): For his part in the third Crusade, King Richard the Lionheart has won prestige, legendary status and, sadly, enemies within Christian Europe itself. As a result, his journey home becomes fraught…
Bookmarks: short fiction reviews
A roundup of short general fiction reviews: The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy, by Rachel Joyce (Black Swan, RRP $35): This novel comes with a healthy critical reputation and is by an award-winning, internationally best-selling author. If you’ve read The Unlikely Pilgrimage…
Mother never gave up hope
The Road from Midnight, by Wendyl Nissen (Paul Little Books, RRP $29.95): New Zealand-born Jane lives life in the limelight as editor of woman’s fashion magazines in both Australia and then back in Auckland, New Zealand. She marries Lawrence who features…
Youthful enthusiasm leads to treason accusation
Red Joan, by Jennie Rooney (Random House, RRP $27): An old-age pensioner living the quiet life in a London suburb, Joan’s world is rocked when her name is linked to a spy scandal dating back to the 1940s. Gradually, as…
Secrets and judgements at weekend wedding
Someone Else’s Wedding, by Tamar Cohen (Random House, RRP $38): Fran is in her mid-forties and having a weekend away with her husband and two adult daughters at the wedding of a family friend. She is the first person narrator and,…
A bit like Eat, Pray, Love … but better
Heavenly Hirani’s School of Laughing Yoga, by Sarah-Kate Lynch (Random House, RRP $38): As a disclaimer, let me just say that I’m probably not the target audience for New Zealand novelist and magazine columnist Sarah-Kate Lynch’s books, and the one…
A romping good read
The Inheritance, by Tilly Bagshawe (HarperCollins, RRP $30): This book has enabled me to tick the box on my summer reading bingo card (courtesy Invercargill Public Library), “a book by an author new to you”. It could add, “but will definitely read…