Tower and Town, March 2018 (view the full edition)Book ReviewsMy top recommendation at the moment is actually, 'officially', a children's book, but I'm confident that adults buying it for children will enjoy it as much as (possibly even more than) their offspring will. A good book for children can convey a moral message, but a really good one disguises it in comedy, fantasy and roller-coaster (literally at one point) story-telling. Wed Wabbit, by Lissa Evans is a down-the-rabbit-hole, through-the-wardrobe fantastical, funny, and occasionally scary story about family love, bravery, tolerance and team-work. It's for readers of 8+, but I'm 57+ and I absolutely love it. You'll want Ella Elephant as your life-coach, and Dr Carrot as your therapist. (Don't ask, just take my word for it and read the book.) For my next two choices I give you meta-fiction, time-travel and detection. The premise of Miss Blaine's Prefect and the Golden Samovar by Olga Wojtas is that Shona, old girl of the Marcia Blaine School for Girls (the institution made infamous by Miss Jean Brodie) travels back in time to Imperial Russia to investigate a crime. A credit to her alma mater, Shona, it seems, may have got hold of the wrong end of the stick about her mission - or is she being deliberately escorted up the wrong garden path? Dryly humorous, this debut novel is (I hope) the first of a series. In late 19th century London, crimes are investigated by Sherlock Holmes - if you can afford his fees. Those for whom money is tight, and life generally less glamorous, turn to Arrowood. A classic literary private eye (frequently the worse for wear, moves in dubious circles, could do with a good wash), Arrowood travels the mean streets of South London, in the first of a witty and energetic new series by Mick Finlay. Apparently a television adaptation is in the pipeline - I can't wait. Finally, two novels by local authors for you to look out for when you're in the shop(!). Belvoir's Promise, by Susanna M Newstead, is a mediaeval murder mystery set in Savernake Forest (again, the first of a series), and Fall Out by Lizzie Mumfrey, examines the long-term effects of a terrorist incident on a small community. Debby Guest |