I’m delighted that my latest My Weekly magazine online review is of the cracking thriller Black Tag by Simon Mayo.

Published by Penguin imprint Bantam on 30th January 2025, Black Tag is available for purchase through the links here.

Black Tag

Your house is on fire. What do you save?
You have seconds to decide.
If everything is about to burn, what do you rescue first?

When the West End Gallery in London’s fashionable Coal Drops Yard is set alight, the fire service must use the list of paintings lodged with it – a grab list – to snatch the key pieces of art from the flames.

But something has been altered. It’s the wrong list.

Then the ashes reveal another tragedy: an unidentified dead body. Someone who shouldn’t have been in the gallery. Crusading journalist Famie Madden wants to know who it is and why they were there. Soon it becomes apparent that the ashes are hiding much more than they should be – and that this is much more than a casual act of arson…

Bestselling author and legendary broadcaster Simon Mayo has created a spellbinding contemporary thriller. He weaves a story ripped from today’s newspapers that will take Famie far from the pages of her website into a murderous family saga stretching back over centuries.

My Review of Black Tag

My full review of Black Tag can be found on the My Weekly website here.

However, here I can say that Black Tag is a fast paced thriller that is totally absorbing and entertaining. It’s multi-layered and filled with intrigue that had me gripped. I thought it was fresh, modern and, actually, quite brilliant.

Do visit My Weekly to read my full review here.

About Simon Mayo

Simon Mayo MBE is a writer and broadcaster. His previous books include the Sunday Times bestseller Knife Edge, Mad Blood Stirring, Blame and the Itch trilogy, filmed for TV by the ABC. He hosts Drivetime on Greatest Hits Radio and hosts the ‘The Take’ film-review podcast with Professor Mark Kermode.

I’m delighted to share details today of my latest My Weekly magazine online review which is of Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney.

Published by Pan Macmillan on 30th January 2025, Beautiful Ugly is available for purchase through the publisher links here.

Beautiful Ugly

Author Grady Green is having the worst best day of his life.

Grady calls his wife as she’s driving home to share some exciting news. He hears Abby slam on the brakes, get out of the car, then nothing. When he eventually finds her car by a cliff edge, the headlights are on, the driver door is open, her phone is still there . . . but his wife has disappeared.

A year later, Grady is still overcome with grief and desperate to know what happened to Abby. He can’t sleep, and he can’t write, so he travels to a tiny Scottish island to try to get his life back on track. Then he sees the impossible: a woman who looks exactly like his missing wife.

Wives think their husbands will change, but they don’t.
Husbands think their wives won’t change, but they do.

My Review of Beautiful Ugly

My full review of Beautiful Ugly can be found on the My Weekly website here.

However, here I can say that Beautiful Ugly is mind-blowingly fabulous, being twisty, creepy and totally compelling. Not to be missed!

Do visit My Weekly to read my full review here.

About Alice Feeney

Alice Feeney is a New York Times million-copy bestselling author of novels including His & Hers, Sometimes I Lie, Rock Paper Scissors and Daisy Darker. Her books have been translated into over thirty-five languages, and have been optioned for major screen adaptations, with His & Hers currently in production for Netflix, produced by Jessica Chastain, and starring Tessa Thompson and Jon Bernthal.

Alice was a BBC journalist for fifteen years. Her seventh novel, Beautiful Ugly, will be published around the world in January 2025.

For further information, visit Alice’s website or follow Alice on Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky and Twitter/X @alicewriterland.

There’s an irony to this blog post. 

When Victoria Purcell at Simon and Schuster kindly sent me a copy of A Second Act by Dr Matt Morgan I was completely intrigued. You see, my father-in-law suffered a cardiac arrest and was resuscitated, but was declared brain dead. He was in America on holiday at the time. My husband and I were told he’d be kept on life support for 24 hours but then we would need to give permission to turn the machines off. 

When we rang the hospital the next day, reluctantly prepared to give that permission, we were told he was sitting up in bed asking, ‘Linda. Steve. Yes. No.’ He was alive and actually not much worse than he had been prior to the cardiac arrest, living with the effects of two previous heart attacks and a disabling stroke. It appeared it was previous stroke damage that led to the ‘brain dead’ diagnosis. His response, once we’d managed to return him to the UK via air ambulance, was to continue to travel and to make the most of life.

All this meant I was really interested in reading A Second Act. 

And here’s the irony. I had hoped to post this review earlier, but four deaths of family and friends so far in 2025 have made life tricky…

A Second Act was published by Simon and Schuster on 16th January 2025 and is available for purchase through the publisher links here. 

A Second Act

I’ve worked as a doctor for over twenty years, caring for patients who are in the thick fog between life and death. I’ve met hundreds of people who have died, were resuscitated and lived. I’ve long thought that these are the people that we should be listening to, not influencers or business gurus. They know what really matters.

Dr Matt Morgan has met hundreds of people who’ve come back from the dead. Their hearts stopped, their bodies unresponsive, rescued from the brink of death by the modern intensive care techniques he specialises in.

People like Ed, who was walking through a park when there was a bang, a bright light and then nothing. Ed had been hit by a bolt of lightning – 300 million volts, enough to power a city for a day, coursed through his body, short-circuiting his heart. Ed was given life-saving CPR and he survived. He lives a little differently now, every day knowing the thin margins that separate life and death.

In A Second Act, Morgan introduces us to patients who’ve experienced hypothermia, overdoses, heart attacks and transplants to see how their lives have been transformed by the second chance they’ve been given. He shares the lessons they’ve learned, along with his own realisations about life and how to make the most of it. Life shouldn’t be wasted on the living.

My Review of A Second Act

An insight into, and provided by, those who have clinically died but have had a second chance at life. 

Written in a highly accessible style which hooks in the reader from Prologue to Epilogue, A Second Act is a fascinating book. There’s an intimacy as Dr Matt Morgan uses the first person to frame his case studies, but it’s so much more than that. There’s a real feeling that this is a man who has truly listened to those he’s spoken to about dying and being resuscitated. We learn about the author as well as about those whose stories he is relating.

A Second Act transcends any macabre interest in, or fear of, death so that it provides comfort and positivity as well as interest, making it hugely impactful. Indeed, I found so much here that I could take personally from the writing. Filled with sentences and comments that feel as if they have distilled philosophical thinking and advice into portable slogans, A Second Act entirely avoids truism and is a powerful reminder of appreciating who we are and what we have in our lives. It reminds us to look, to listen and to understand what is really important. At the same time Dr Matt Morgan doesn’t shy away from the challenges and difficulties some experience after their clinical deaths. This makes the book so realistic and important.

I’m not able to say too much about those who’ve experienced death here as it would spoil the discovery of their stories for other readers, but I wept for some and rejoiced for others. I loved every moment of their company and felt privileged to have met them vicariously through A Second Act.

A Second Act is a fascinating, moving and life affirming read that is also realistic and informative whilst managing to be both personal and universal. It’s a book about death that gives readers the permission to live life to the full. Wise, motivational and hugely important, it might even have you hosting your own funeral. I thought it was excellent and cannot recommend it highly enough.

About Dr Matt Morgan 

Image courtesy of Jake Morley

Dr Matt Morgan is a British intensive care doctor. His open letter addressed to patients during the 2020 COVID pandemic has been read by over half a million people worldwide and viewed by over two million times after featuring on the Channel 4 news. His articles have featured in the Guardian, the Telegraph, the Daily Mail, the Sunday Mirror and Huffington Post. A regular writer for the internationally acclaimed British Medical Journal, his article ‘A letter from the ICU’ is one of their most popular ever opinion article, read by over 130,000 people in 2020. His first book, Critical, has been translated into four languages. He lives in Cardiff with his family, enjoys long dog walks, photography, cold beer and even colder ice cream.

For further information follow Matt on Twitter/X @dr_mattmorgan and find him on Facebook, Instagram and Bluesky. 

It’s my absolute pleasure today to welcome debut author Catherine Airey to Linda’s Book Bag to celebrate her brand new novel which is out today. My huge thanks to Marie-Louise Patton and Laura Dermody at Penguin Random House for putting us in touch with one another.

Staying in with Catherine Airey

Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag Catherine and thank you for agreeing to stay in with me. Tell me, which of your books have you brought along to share this evening and why have you chosen it?

Hi Linda. I’ve brought along my first novel, Confessions.

I understand that Confessions is out today Catherine so happy publication day! I also hear that it is absolutely fantastic so congratulations. Tell me, what can we expect from an evening in with Confessions? 

There are multiple female perspectives in Confessions (and one male one). As the title suggests, these characters each have their secrets, things they are ashamed of, and Irish Catholicism is a thread throughout the novel. These characters’ stories brush up against real-world events and issues – from 9/11 to the legalisation of abortion in Ireland in 2018. So there’s lots of intrigue.

So would you call Confessions historical?

In some ways, it’s a historical novel, but with a focus on what it means to be young and not feel in control of your own story, which I’d argue is pretty universal.

I think you’re absolutely right – though I might add that getting older doesn’t always make one feel any more in control. 

What else have you brought along and why have you brought it? 

I’ve brought along a Twix bar, which appears a few times in the  novel, almost like an easter egg.

Anyone who brings chocolate is always welcome!

I’d also like to listen to the album ‘Mistaken Identity’ by Kim Carnes, which came out from 1981. The song ‘Bette Davis Eyes’ is featured in the book. It was also the song I listened to right after I’d finished the first draft of Confessions. I’ll also share the chorus lyrics to ‘Hit and Run’, which I love as a piece of poetry: 

         Love will tear and do you in

         Turn you inside out and when

         All you got is less than dim

         You know, you’re grabbing at straws

        And you’d do it again

What perfect accompaniments to both Confessions and publication day. Thanks so much for staying in with me to chat about the book Catherine. I’m thrilled to have a copy waiting for me on my TBR! You put the album on and I’ll give readers a few more details about Confessions:

Confessions

‘I was at a time in my life where I got to thinking more about people’s choices – how everything would be different if just the slightest decision changed…’

It is late September in 2001 and the walls of New York are papered over with photos of the missing. Cora Brady’s father is there, the poster she made taped to columns and bridges. Her mother died long ago and now, orphaned on the cusp of adulthood, Cora is adrift and alone. Soon, a letter will arrive with the offer of a new life: far out on the ragged edge of Ireland, in the town where her parents were young, an estranged aunt can provide a home and fulfil a long-forgotten promise. There the story of Cora’s family is hidden, and in her presence will begin to unspool…

An essential, immersive debut from an astonishing new voice, Confessions traces the arc of three generations of women as they experience in their own time the irresistible gravity of the past: its love and tragedy, its mystery and redemption, and, in all things intended and accidental, the beauty and terrible shade of the things we do.

Published today, 23rd January 2025, by Penguin imprint Viking, Confessions is available for purchase through the publisher links here.

About Catherine Airey

Catherine Airey grew up in England in a family of mixed English-Irish descent, and now lives in Bristol. Confessions is her first novel. Confessions was acquired in a twenty-four hour, six figure pre-empt in the UK and a hotly contested six-figure auction in the US.

For further information, follow Catherine on Twitter/X @catherineairey and find her on Instagram.  

I heard Nadine Matheson speak so engagingly at a couple of literary festivals last year, but I’ve never got round to reading her. Consequently, I’m delighted that my first My Weekly magazine online review of 2025 is Nadine Matheson’s The Kill List. My grateful thanks to Isabel Williams at Harper Collins for sending me a copy.

Already out in other formats, The Kill List is released in paperback by Harper Collins imprint HQ on 30th January 2025 and is available for purchase here.

The Kill List

He will come for them, one by one…

Five shocking murders

Twenty-five years ago, DCI Harry Rhimes arrested Andrew Streeter for the brutal murders of five young people. Streeter’s ‘kill list’ of victims was found in his home, and he was convicted of all five crimes.

A legacy under threat

Now, Streeter’s convictions are being overturned, as new evidence implies the original investigation was corrupt. No one is more shocked that DI Henley. Because this case is personal; Rhimes was her old boss, and he’s no longer alive to defend himself. But when the killings start up again, Henley must face the truth: Rhimes got it wrong twenty-five years ago.

A hunt for a killer

Henley and her team reopen the original murder cases, but they must put their personal feelings to one side. Because the real killer is still out there, and he’s working his way through a new kill list …

My Review of The Kill List

My full review of The Kill List can be found on the My Weekly website here.

However, here I can say that The Kill List is a gripping and absorbing police procedural thriller that held me captivated. It’s much grittier than my usual reads and I thought it was a cracking book. I absolutely need to catch up with the first two books in the series immediately!

Do visit My Weekly to read my full review here.

About Nadine Matheson

Nadine Matheson is an author, podcast host and a criminal defence lawyer. In 2016, she won the City University Crime Writing Competition and has an MA in Creative Writing.

Her bestselling debut crime fiction novel, The Jigsaw Man was published in 2021 and is available in 15 languages to date.

For further information, visit Nadine’s website and follow Nadine on Bluesky, Instagram and on Facebook.

I receive an awful lot of books and occasionally one calls to me immediately and I’m unable to stop thinking about it until I give in and read it ahead of all the others waiting for me. So it was with This Is A Love Story by Jessica Soffer. I usually thank whoever has sent me surprise book mail, but I have no idea who sent me This Is A Love Story. If you were that person – thank you!

This Is A Love Story is published by Serpent’s Tail on 6th February and is available for pre-order through the publisher links here. 

This Is A Love Story

Abe and Jane have been together for fifty years: as two among the thousands of starry-eyed young lovers in Central Park, as frustrated and exhausted parents, as an artist and a writer whose careers were taking flight. Now, Jane is seriously unwell, and together she and Abe look back on their marriage – on the parts they cherished, and those they didn’t: Abe’s early betrayal; and the trials of raising their son Max, who, now grown, still believes his mother chose art over parenthood.

A homage to New York, to pleasure, loss and love that endures despite or perhaps because of what life throws at us, This Is a Love Story brings these layered voices together in a chorus as complex, radiant and captivating as the city itself.

My Review of This Is A Love Story

Jane and Abe share memories as Jane is dying.

Oh my goodness. This Is A Love Story is exquisite. I could not have loved it more. 

The story revolves around Jane, Abe, their son Max and Central Park creating an intimacy and depth that is astounding.  

Jessica Soffer’s prose vibrates on the page. It’s luminous, poetic, enthralling. It’s as if this book is an onion, and Abe peels away each layer as he shares memories with Jane and the reader. As he addresses Jane it feels as if he’s speaking directly to the reader too, so that they become woven into this profound, beautiful, mesmerising narrative. It’s a story that is read with a physical ache in your heart.  

I loved the fragmentary presentation of the text on the page because it reflects to perfection the disjointed way memories swell and fade in our minds. There is a chronology as Jane remembers, but it isn’t entirely linear which makes for greater depth in the narrative. The pendulum-swing from the Central Park to Abe and Jane’s perspective and back suffers a lurch when Alice becomes the focal point, mirroring so cleverly the way she is a jolt in the marriage between Jane and Abe. I found myself loathing her instantly when her name appeared at the top of the chapter, and yet I came to appreciate and understand her. Max too has his time as a focus so that the reader becomes intimately acquainted with them all, leading to a highly affecting read.

As well as a presentation of an enduring marriage, This Is A Love Story is also a love letter to Central Park in New York which is depicted with such fondness and reality it made me feel a genuine sense of loss that I didn’t find time to visit when I worked in the city. Central Park acts partly as light relief that ameliorates the intensity of the other characters’ experiences, partly as a Greek chorus giving insight into events and themes, and partly as a reminder of the quotidian life that continues in the world even when Jane, Abe, Max and Alice feel locked in the maelstrom of their own experiences. Jessica Soffer shows that we are all nothing in the grand scheme of life – and yet we are everything.

The themes of art, marriage, motherhood, nationality, home, creativity and, of course, memory are just a few elements of the rich tapestry that it This Is A Love Story. I suspect that with every rereading – and my word does this book deserve to be read time and again – the reader will discover something new about the characters and, importantly, bout themselves.

Written with a beguiling lyricism that bewitches the reader, This Is A Love Story is exactly that – a love story of truth and hurt, enduring companionship and memory. I absolutely adored it. It is not to be missed. Reading it makes the reader glad to be alive and far more appreciative and observant of the world around them. But be warned. This Is A Love Story will bruise your heart irreparably. I thought it was outstanding.

About Jessica Soffer

Jessica Soffer is the author of This Is a Love Story and Tomorrow There Will Be Apricots. She grew up in New York City and earned her MFA at Hunter College. Her work has appeared in Granta, The New York Times, Real Simple, Saveur, The Wall Street Journal, Vogue, and on NPR’s Selected Shorts. She teaches creative writing to small groups and in the corporate space and lives in Sag Harbor, New York, with her husband and young daughter.

For further information, visit Jessica’s website and find her on Instagram.

I love Dinah Jefferies’ books, and although I’m easing away from blogging slightly at the moment, I simply had to be part of the cover reveal for her latest book The Greek House.

I’ve missed reading Dinah Jefferies of late, but you’ll find my review of The Hidden Palace here, Daughters of War here and I chose Dinah’s’ The Tea Planter’s Wife as one of my books of the year when I began blogging in 2015. My review is here.

I interviewed Dinah here about Before The Rains and reviewed The Silk Merchant’s Daughter here with my review of The Sapphire Widow here. I also reviewed Dinah’s The Missing Sister, here.

Published by Harper Collins on 24th April 2025, The Greek House is available for pre-order here.

The Greek House

Can one house hold a lifetime of secrets?

Corfu, 1934

The moment Thirza Caruthers sets foot on Corfu, memories flood back: the scent of jasmine, the green shutters of her family’s home ― and her brother Billy’s tragic disappearance years before.

Returning to the Greek house, high above clear blue waters, Thirza tries to escape by immersing herself in painting ― and a passionate affair.

But as webs of love, envy, and betrayal tighten around the family, buried secrets surface.

Is it finally time to uncover the truth about Billy’s vanishing?

****

I think The Greek House sounds fantastic. I can’t wait to read it.

About Dinah Jefferies

Dinah Jefferies began her career with The Separation, followed by the No.1 Sunday Times and Richard and Judy bestseller, The Tea-Planter’s Wife. Born in Malaysia, she moved to England at the age of nine. In 1985, a family tragedy changed everything, and she now draws on the experience of loss in her writing, infusing love, loss and danger with the beauty of her locations. She is published in 29 languages in over 30 countries and lives close to her family in Gloucestershire.

You can follow Dinah Jefferies on Twitter @DinahJefferies and visit her web site. You’ll also find Dinah on Facebook and Instagram.

I have several folk to thank for sending me a surprise copy of An Ethical Guide to Murder by Jenny Morris, including The Likely Suspects, Laurie McShea and Harriett Collins. My grateful thanks to them all. I’m delighted to share my review of An Ethical Guide to Murder today.

An Ethical Guide to Murder is published by Simon and Schuster on 16th January 2025 and is available for pre-order through the publisher links here.

An Ethical Guide to Murder

How to Kill Your Family meets The Power in this entertaining and thought-provoking read, that asks:

If you had the power between life and death, what would you do?

Thea has a secret.
She can tell how long someone has left to live just by touching them.
Not only that, but she can transfer life from one person to another – something she finds out the hard way when her best friend Ruth suffers a fatal head injury on a night out.
Desperate to save her, Thea touches the arm of the man responsible when he comes to check if Ruth is all right. As Ruth comes to, the man quietly slumps to the ground, dead.

Thea realises that she has a godlike power: but despite deciding to use her ability for good, she can’t help but sometimes use it for her own benefit.
Boss annoying her at work? She can take some life from them and give it as a tip to her masseuse for a great job.
Creating an ‘Ethical Guide to Murder’ helps Thea to focus her new-found skills.
But as she embarks on her mission to punish the wicked and give the deserving more time, she finds that it isn’t as simple as she first thought.

How can she really know who deserves to die, and can she figure out her own rules before Ruth’s borrowed time runs out?

My Review of An Ethical Guide to Murder

Thea finds herself with the power of life and death.

Crikey! I can’t honestly say I enjoyed An Ethical Guide to Murder but my goodness I thought it was good! I found it such a powerful read that messed with my mind as I tried to decide my opinion of Thea, and to rationalise why I felt so conflicted. Jenny Morris’s writing is so impactful that the reader experiences the depth of Thea’s emotions with her, which has the effect of occasionally making them feel complicit in her often dubious actions.

Thea is a complex character. She has an advanced sense of morality which should make liking her straightforward. And yet, she’s obsessive, misguided and flawed so that whilst she feels all the more human, the fact that she is willing to lie, to obfuscate the reality of events and indeed, to murder, made me dislike her at times and feel frustrated by her at other times. She evoked profound responses in me as a reader, and for all my negative thoughts about her, I grew to love her and wept for her too. 

The plot premise is both simple and clever. Thea has the ability to take time from people’s lives and bestow it on others – which she does, regularly. The trouble is, what feels right doesn’t always prove to be the case, and judging others to the extent of, in effect, murdering them, doesn’t necessarily prove to be the panacea for all the ills they have caused. As a result, the book is disturbing, gripping and unsettling. It’s one of those stories that permeates the reader’s brain even when they are not reading An Ethical Guide to Murder.

Morality is a central theme, but it is supported by other aspects like choice, truth, corruption, wealth, perception, coercion, control and trust so that I found reading An Ethical Guide to Murder a bit like standing on quick sand. No sooner had I decided my stance towards Thea than Jenny Morris pulled away my certainty and gave me another perspective to ponder. I was left reeling by this narrative.

I found An Ethical Guide to Murder completely mind blowing because the moral dilemma central to the story is so complex that I found it impossible to decide my own position. It’s a book I highly recommend so that you can make your own decisions – about Thea, about justice and about your own morality. Be warned. It might well leave you totally befuddled and you’ll definitely wonder just what you might do in Thea’s place! 

About Jenny Morris

Jenny Morris lives in Crowborough, the home of Winnie the Pooh and an outrageous number of charity shops. She has a PhD in Cognitive Psychology and works as a behavioural scientist. When not reading or writing, she enjoys galloping around the Ashdown Forest on a horse, foraging for mushrooms and getting way too intense about board games at the pub.

For further information, follow Jenny on Twitter/X @Dr_Jenny_Morris, Instagram and Bluesky.

I’m absolutely delighted to welcome Johan Ingler to Linda’s Book Bag today because I think his new book for children sounds simply wonderful. It’s a real sadness to me that I haven’t been able to read it, but life hasn’t afforded me the time.

Let’s find out more:

Staying in with Johan Ingler

Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag Johan. Thank you for agreeing to stay in with me.

Thank you for having me! This is such a fun space for authors, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to talk about my book.

You’re most welcome. Tell me, which of your books have you brought along to share this evening and why have you chosen it?

I’ve brought along my novel, Frankie & Chair. Although it’s middle-grade, I hope it can be enjoyed by anyone with an open mind and heart. Actually, as this is my only published book, it’s an easy pick. But it’s also a story that’s been with me on a long journey, through thick and thin, and I’m thrilled to finally share it with the world.

Oh congratulations on your debut! I think children have some of the best books around. I might be in my mid 60s but I love children’s fiction. You said Frankie & Chair has been with you a while. Tell me more.

I first wrote it as a screenplay in 2015, ten years ago (gulp! where does the time go?), and was honoured to win a couple of awards for it. It nearly made it into a movie, but we never quite got there. Making movies is hard! So many stories for the screen, written by passionate writers who pour their hearts into their work, never see the light of day. But I just couldn’t let Frankie & Chair wither away on some dusty shelf. So, I turned it into a book, and I couldn’t be more excited about it.

So, what is Frankie & Chair about?

It’s a story that handles big themes of loss and grief, and encourages empathy and understanding. But it’s still light-hearted and quirky, celebrating the power and importance of imagination, and how kids find their own inventive ways of tackling tough subjects that they don’t yet have the emotional tools for.

I hope this book can help anyone who needs a bit of encouragement, inspiration, comfort, or just a friend in the shape of a book—tagging along on their personal journey.

That sounds fabulous Johan. What else can we expect from an evening in with Frankie & Chair?

Based on flattering feedback and reviews, you can expect to laugh, be moved, and find yourself hooked by a page-turning read with characters that latch straight onto your heart. Needless to say, readers have been far too kind to me. And this is from adult readers, which I’m very happy about, as I hoped this book would resonate with readers of all ages.

While the story centres on two nine-year-olds (and an armchair), I’ve also included the perspective of Danny’s mom. Even if there’s only a few scenes from her point of view, I wanted to add the grown-up angle of handling the loss of a loved one, while also being there for your child. For young readers, these scenes might “only” read as advancements of the plot, while adult readers will see a parent’s struggle in a very difficult situation.

Also, as the book has two parallel storylines—Danny’s “real-life” story and the cosmic adventure he writes—you can expect an interesting structure that keeps the reading going at a fun pace. These two storylines are very much connected, enforcing Danny’s feelings, creating one larger interconnected narrative.

That description has made me even more determined to fit in Frankie & Chair to my TBR at some point. 

What else have you brought along and why have you brought it?

I brought an extract from the book, I hope that’s not too cheeky of me. I thought it might be helpful to get a sense of how Danny’s friendship with Chair works.

Absolutely not cheeky at all!

This is early on in the story, where Danny and Frankie have their first real conversation—after she has invited herself to his house. Chair tries to intervene in the discussion, but as only Danny can “hear” Chair, it creates a whole heap of misunderstandings. Here it goes:

Danny sat on the veranda railing, clutching his sketchbook, looking at Frankie as if she was an armed bomb.

She sat by the stairs that led to the lawn, regarding Chair on his wagon. “So, you two are like… friends?”

“We’re more than just friends,” Chair said, quickly correcting himself: “But not in that way. I mean, we do more things with each other than just friends do––” He stopped himself and tried again: “What I mean is that Danny and I have taken our relationship to the next level––” He gave up. “Oh, the heck with it.”

“We’re friends and writing partners,” Danny clarified, giving Chair wary side-eyes.

“Can I see?” Frankie asked, referring to the sketchbook, oblivious of Chair’s floundering word salad.

In a situation like this, Danny would never have handed off his sketchbook. No way. He would rather have given away the log-in to his mom’s bank account. But for some inexplicable reason, as if his movements were controlled by some other force, he handed her the book.

Chair nearly choked on his cushion. “What are you doing?!”

Danny could only helplessly shrug.

Frankie flipped through the pages. “I love it! So much action and adventure! You both make this stuff up? You and the chair?”

“My name’s just Chair, thank you very much. And it’s not polite to talk about me as if I wasn’t here.”

“It’s just Chair,” Danny said.

“The chair comes up with this alone?” Frankie asked.

“Can’t say that’s not what it feels like sometimes,” Chair sighed.

“No, that’s his name. Chair.”

Frankie gave the padded furniture a regal nod. “Do accept my apologies. Chair.”

“Yeah, whatever, talk to the armrest…”

“We both come up with it,” Danny said. “But I draw the pictures.” He didn’t add how obvious that was, considering that Chair’s stumpy little legs couldn’t possibly hold a pencil (without using sticky-tape or glue).

Frankie wondered if Danny also had made the painting of the galaxy that hung in his room.

He explained that his mom had painted that one. Before. When they lived in their old house. But Danny left that last part out. He didn’t want to talk about the before-times.

While Frankie’s presence wasn’t immediately threatening, Danny couldn’t shake his guarded feelings toward her. After all, she had stolen that hammer in school. He feared her visit wasn’t merely a friendly one. Would she try to steal anything from him? Perhaps the painting? Is that why she asked about it?

“You know what I miss in here?” Frankie asked, nodding at the sketchbook. “An amazingly cool, butt-whoopin’, space-cruisin’, blaster-slingin’, one liner-bustin’—”

“Yes, yes, get on with it,” Chair said.

“— beam-blastin’ girl!”

“A girl?!” Chair blurted out. “Someone get me a drink to spit out!”

Danny shifted on the railing where he sat. “Well, it’s sort of only about Captain Redtail and Sir Winchester.”

“Those are the only two true space pirates,” Chair quickly filled in. “Hence the name, The Adventures of Captain Redtail and Sir Winchester!”

Frankie shrugged. “I’m just saying,” naturally just answering Danny’s comment. She kept flipping through the pages. “So how are you gonna end it?”

Danny looked at Chair. He’d never thought about ending any of the stories before. “We kind of just keep the adventures going. We don’t really end them.”

“Exactly,” Chair added. “Endings aren’t our thing. We’re not really fans of letting things go.”

Frankie drew her eyebrows together. “But you’re gonna end it eventually, aren’t you? What’s the point of telling a story if it doesn’t have an ending?”

“Because it’s fun,” Chair said. “What’s the fun in endings?”

Danny nodded in agreement. “What he said.”

Frankie couldn’t help but smile. “You’re a strange one, aren’t you.” She jumped down onto the garden. “Now, can I show you something cool?”

Danny squinted at her, skeptical about being shown anything by someone he didn’t yet know if he could trust.

Oh that’s brilliant Johan.

Thanks for reading, I hope it sparked some interest!

I’m intrigued though, why isn’t the book called Danny & Chair?

Ah yes, while I have this chance to explain my intentions with the book, some might wonder why I didn’t call the book Danny & Chair.
I decided on Frankie & Chair because these two characters play a central role in Danny’s journey of coping with his loss. Chair represents Danny’s struggle to accept it, while Frankie initiates his process of confronting it.

That makes sense. Thanks so much for staying in with me to chat about Frankie & Chair. It sounds such an important book. 

Thank you for this chance to talk about my book, it’s been wonderful. Sending all the best from Sweden! Happy reading, writing, and all the other fun things you’re up to!

Thanks Johan. 

Frankie & Chair

Nine-year-old Danny has an unusual best friend: Chair, an armchair. Together, they write The Adventures of Captain Redtail & Sir Winchester, a comic about a squirrel space pirate and his faithful companion, a robot cupboard. Content with life as it is, Danny dislikes any sort of change. He’s already had to endure the hardest change of all: the loss of his father.

But things take a turn when he starts at a new school and meets Frankie, a bold skateboarder whose friendship takes him by surprise. Frankie battles with a looming tragedy of her own, stirring emotions in Danny that he struggles to understand. And with Chair stubbornly opposing Frankie’s presence, the rising tensions set off a series of events that none of them could have imagined.

It’s a rocky journey toward new friendship and an understanding of grief, all mirrored in Danny’s comic world—a place where he explores the emotions he’s still learning to process.

Published on 28th November 2024, Frankie & Chair is available for purchase here.

About Johan Ingler

Born and raised in Sweden, Johan started his adult life as a musician: teaching and performing. To pursue writing, he studied screenwriting at UCLA Extension, where he won first place at the school’s feature film screenwriting competition, while working at an LA-based production and management company. After returning to Europe to work at an animation studio in Rotterdam, Johan is now back in his native Stockholm. Johan currently writes and develops projects for film and TV, and of course he’s working on his next novel.

For further information, find Johan on Instagram.

I think Liz Hyder is a phenomenal writer of adult fiction and I adored The Gifts (reviewed here) and The Illusions (reviewed here), so when lovely Vicki Berwick at Pushkin Press asked me if I’d like a copy of Liz’s latest children’s book The Twelve, illustrated by Tom de Freston, I simply couldn’t resist. My huge thanks to Vicki for sending me a copy in return for an honest review.

Published in hardback by Pushkin Children’s Books on 10th October 2024 and coming in paperback on 9th October 2025, The Twelve is available for purchase in all the usual places including here.

The Twelve

It’s supposed to be a treat for Kit, a winter holiday by the coast with her sister Libby and their mum. But when Libby vanishes into thin air, and no one else remembers her, Kit is faced with a new reality – one in which her sister never existed.

Then she meets Story, a local boy who remembers Libby perfectly. Together they embark on a journey beyond their wildest imagination into a world steeped in ancient folklore. Can Kit and Story uncover the secret of the Twelve and rescue Libby before Time runs out?

My Review of The Twelve

Kit’s younger sister Libby is heading to the tower for midnight.

Used to Liz Hyder’s excellent writing for adults, I had high hopes for The Twelve. I cannot express enough how far those hopes were exceeded. The Twelve is totally brilliant. I’ve seen comparisons between Liz Hyders’s children’s books and those by the likes of David Almond and Alan Garner. I think that is to do this author a disservice. She is a magnificent writer with a compelling, beautiful and mesmerising style of her own, without the need for comparison. 

The plot is bewitching. It’s fast paced and exciting with twists and revelations that hold the reader captivated. I resented having to set the book aside to carry on with real life. There’s an element of fantasy woven into a story that involves danger and quest, family and friendship, and that is so vividly written that descriptions are almost painfully beautiful. I was transported right to the heart of settings because Liz Hyder knows exactly how to hone her prose until it is distilled into the most intense and affecting language. Tom De Freston’s stark, perfectly executed, illustrations add a contrast that makes both images and narrative so impactful. 

The characters are rounded and just perfect for the target audience. I thought the way Kit receives insidious texts from Jemima was inspired. Jemima lurks in the background of Kit’s life even when she’s on holiday many miles away, in the same way that real life bullies are permanently in the minds of their victims. Despite her anxiety over Jemima, Kit, however, is a true role model. She doubts herself but is courageous and loyal. Her determination to find Libby is exemplary. Story too is fantastic. I loved the way that, despite being an educational no hoper, his full potential is realised. As most of the action involves just Kit and Story, there’s an intimacy that hits hard at the heart of the reader.

Themes in The Twelve are pitch perfect. Along with the bullying in the background, aspects like the environment, nature, bravery, trust, deception, self sacrifice, family, friendship and love ripple through the book; all of them intersecting exactly like real life. There’s much to learn here even whilst being entertained completely. 

I could not have enjoyed The Twelve more. You’ll find it hard to find a better book for youngsters aged around 10-14. I thought The Twelve was utterly stunning. Liz Hyder is, quite simply, a superb author and The Twelve deserves to be ranked amongst the all time greats of children’s fiction. It’s an unmissable, mesmerising tale told by a skilled and compassionate writer. Fantastic! 

About Liz Hyder

Liz is a writer, creative workshop leader and freelance arts PR consultant. In early 2018, she won The Bridge Award/Moniack Mhor’s Emerging Writer Award. Bearmouth, her debut novel for young adults, was published by Pushkin Press and won the Branford Boase Award and the Waterstones Children’s Book Award for Older Readers. It is also published in America, France, Norway, Italy and the Czech Republic as well as the UK and Commonwealth. The Gifts was her debut adult novel.

Originally from North-East London, she has lived in South Shropshire for over a decade.

For further information about Liz, visit her website or follow her on Twitter @LondonBessie and Instagram.