As someone who would probably have been a very different person had I actually turned out to be the expected boy who would be called Christopher, I have always been fascinated by the link between names and personality. Consequently, when I was sent The Names by Florence Knapp, I was delighted. My grateful thanks to Sian Baldwin at Orion. It’s my pleasure to share my review of The Names today.

The Names is published by Orion imprint Phoenix on 6th May and is available for purchase through the links here. 

The Names

Tomorrow – if morning comes, if the storm stops raging – Cora will register the name of her son. Or perhaps, and this is her real concern, she’ll formalise who he will become.

It is 1987, and in the aftermath of a great storm, Cora sets out with her nine-year-old daughter to register the birth of her son. Her husband intends for her to follow a long-standing family tradition and call the baby after him. But when faced with the decision, Cora hesitates. Going against his wishes is a risk that will have consequences, but is it right for her child to inherit his name from generations of domineering men? The choice she makes in this moment will shape the course of their lives.

Seven years later, her son is Bear, a name chosen by his sister, and one that will prove as cataclysmic as the storm from which it emerged. Or he is Julian, the name his mother set her heart on, believing it will enable him to become his own person. Or he is Gordon, named after his father and raised in his cruel image – but is there still a chance to break the mould?

Powerfully moving and full of hope, this is the story of three names, three versions of a life, and the infinite possibilities that a single decision can spark. It is the story of one family, and love’s endless capacity to endure, no matter what fate has in store.

My Review of The Names

Cora needs to register her baby son’s name.

If you are not absolutely prepared to have your heart and soul rent asunder when reading, choose a different book to The Names. This is not so much a book to read as one that will change the very fibre of your being. 

I’m not entirely certain how to approach reviewing The Names. There are plots rather than a plot, but each is inextricably linked to the others and represents possibility through a twist of fate, as well as actuality. Florence Knapp includes both the dramatic and the relatably mundane in a beautiful oscillating text that is mesmerising and absorbing. This is more a book to experience than to read. It feels like a narrative about the perceived surface of life. Give that surface a small scratch and there are multiple aspects below that reverberate with endless permutations and Florence Knapp provides an insight into that deeper life. 

It’s no spoiler to say that Cora is tasked by her husband Gordon with registering the new baby, but what follows is a glimpse of how a simple name can impinge on a life, how a personality can be shaped by a moniker and how destiny can unspool differently because of what we are called, our pasts and upbringing, or what we believe. This book is a beautiful, profound and emotional exploration of nature and nurture, with destiny and self-determinism that suffuses the narrative, making the reader feel its message physically.

The characters of Bear, Julian and young Gordon are completely different, equally compelling and believable and yet they are the same person. Each broke my heart, either because of how they behaved and affected Cora, how they were affected by their violent and abusive father, or because of the events that befell them beyond, as well as because of, their father’s impact in their life. 

The themes of The Names are stunningly handled. Cora and Gordon’s marriage is the one constant. Gordan’s abusive control of Cora remains whilst the other aspects of the plot go through kaleidoscopic shifts. The concepts of marriage and family, trust, compassion, sexuality, public personas versus private behaviours and so, so, much more underpin the narrative. The Names is layered, textured and completely absorbing. 

At its heart, for me The Names is about how we shatter as humans and how we survive. It is filled with coercion and control, sadness and hatred, love, loss and hope and it is totally, totally magnificent. I am aware this  isn’t really a satisfactory review but I think each reader needs to experience The Names for themselves in order to understand my inability to articulate a coherent assessment. Don’t miss it because I cannot recommend it highly enough. 

About Florence Knapp

Florence Knapp has previously written a non-fiction book about a centuries-old method of quilt making, as well as contributing to a book for the V&A Museum. She lives just outside London with her husband and their dog. Their two children have now flown the nest. The Names is Florence’s debut novel and will be translated into more than twenty languages.

For further information, visit Florence’s website, or find Florence on Instagram  and Bluesky.

I’m delighted to share details today of my latest My Weekly online review. This time it is of Graffiti Girls by Elissa Soave. My huge thanks to Isabel Williams for originally sending me a copy of Graffiti Girls. My enormous apologies to Elissa and HQ for the extraneous ‘The’ that has crept into my review! Life was rather challenging at the time and my brain upped and left!

I previously reviewed Elissa’s Ginger and Me in a post you’ll find here. 

Published by HQ on 13th March 2025, Graffiti Girls is available for purchase through the publisher links here. 

The Graffiti Girls

Amy, Carole, Lenore and Susan have been best friends since school. Back then they couldn’t wait for the future, for the amazing lives they’d have.

But things haven’t worked out how they expected. Now in their forties, they’re fed up with being taken for granted by their families, being passed over for promotions at work and being told that they’re past their best. And they’re not going to go quietly anymore.

Fuelled by female rage and their charismatic leader Amy, the four embark on a campaign of graffiti in their hometown of Hamilton, scrawling feminist slogans on the walls of local buildings.

But is Hamilton ready for the feminist revolution the Graffiti Girls have in store?

My Review of Graffiti Girls

My full review of Graffiti Girls can be found on the My Weekly website here.

However, here I can say that Graffiti Girls is a fast paced, entertaining triumph of a book that questions the patriarchy and might just have you reaching for your spray can. I thoroughly enjoyed it and found myself egging on the girls throughout.

Do visit the My Weekly website to read my full review here. 

About Elissa Soave

Elissa Soave won the inaugural Primadonna Prize in 2019. She was also a Bloody Scotland Pitch Perfect finalist 2019 and has had work published in various journals and anthologies, including New Writing Scotland, Gutter, and the Glasgow Review of Books. Her first novel, Ginger and Me, was published by HQ, HarperCollins in July 2022, and was shortlisted for the Saltire Society Scottish First Book Award 2023. Her second novel, Graffiti Girls, was published by HQ in March 2025, with her third, The Allotments, coming out in March 2026. Elissa was a judge on the Primadonna Prize 2022 and the Curae Prize 2023 and 2025. She currently lives in South Lanarkshire.

It’s always exciting being in at the start of a book’s life and it’s my total pleasure to help launch Divinity Games by Lou Gilmond into the world today. My thanks to Maddy Dunne-Kirby at Midas PR for inviting me to be part of this. 

Let’s find out more:

Divinity Games

When opposition MP Harry Colbey uncovers a corrupt plot between senior government ministers and a big tech organisation intent on enriching its owners, he finds himself the target of a strange form of harassment. His train pass and credit cards won’t work, his phone won’t get a signal and every traffic light he comes to is red. Only his colleague, Esme Kanha, believes him. She’s investigating the suspicious death of another anti-corruption MP.

But when Colbey’s daughter gets engaged to the son of one of the tech company’s owners, he is forced to venture straight into the heart of the sinister elite. Colbey intends to expose them – but in a world dominated by AI, where every movement is tracked and every conversation listened to, the stakes are dangerously high.

****

Doesn’t that sound intriguing? 

Divinity Games will be published in paperback by Armillary on 17th July 2025 and is available for pre-order through the publisher links here. 

About Lou Gilmond

Lou Gilmond is the author of three political thrillers – Dirty Geese published on 6th July 2023, Palisade published on 21st November 2024 and Divinity Games, to be published on 17th July 2025. But, under her given name of Louise Boland, Lou is also the founder of small, but well-respected publishing house, Fairlight Books, which focuses on nurturing and promoting new and emerging literary talent. She is also the author of Bookshop Tours of Britain, a slow travel guide journeying across Britain, bookshop by bookshop – Lou is a keen champion of bookshops. 

For further information about Lou, visit her website or follow Lou on Twitter/X @FairlightLouise and Instagram. 

My enormous thanks to Ben McClusky at Bloomsbury for sending me a copy of 33 Place Brugmann by Alice Austen. I’m delighted that this wonderful novel is my latest My Weekly online review.

It’s taken a little later than hoped to share the review due to staff restructuring. 

Published by Bloomsbury on 11th March 2025, 33 Place Brugmann is available for purchase through the publisher links here. 

33 Place Brugmann

Charlotte Sauvin has always seen the world differently. At home on 33 Place Brugmann, in the heart of Brussels, her father and her closest friends and neighbours – the Raphaëls from the fourth floor, and Masha from the fifth – have ensured her secret is safe. But when the Nazis invade Belgium, and Masha and the Raphaëls disappear, Charlotte must navigate her new world alone.

Over the border and across the sea, in occupied Paris and battered Blitz London, Masha and the Raphaels are reinventing themselves – as refugees, nurses, soldiers, heroes. Though scattered far and wide, they dream of only one place, one home: 33 Place Brugmann.

But back at Place Brugmann, Charlotte feels impending danger closing in. Who can she trust in this world – where everyone is watching, and everyone is harbouring their own secrets? As the months pass, and the shadow of war darkens, Charlotte and her neighbours must face what – and who – truly matters to them most – and summon the courage to fight for more than just survival.

With soaring imagination and profound intimacy, 33 Place Brugmann is a captivating and devastating celebration of the power of love, courage and art in times of great threat.

My Review of 33 Place Brugmann

My full review of 33 Place Brugmann can be found on the My Weekly website here.

However, here I can say that 33 Place Brugmann is a beautifully written, profound and moving historical novel that speaks right to the heart of humanity. It’s one of my books of the year and I genuinely believe everyone should read it!

Do visit My Weekly to read my full review here.

About Alice Austen

Alice Austen is an award-winning screenwriter, producer and playwright. While studying law at Harvard, she also worked under Seamus Heaney in the university’s creative writing department. Austen co-founded the Harvard Human Rights Journal and was the first American to receive a fellowship to the European Court of Human Rights. She has been awarded a Royal Court Residency, and her work has been honoured with an Independent Spirit Award and nominated for a Joseph Jefferson Award and a Terrence McNally Award. Austen is working on a new film, originated by Alfonso Cuarón. 33 Place Brugmann is her debut novel.

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

I’m hugely grateful to the lovely team at Fly on the Wall for putting me in touch with author Donna Moore as I love the premise of her new book. I’m delighted Donna has agreed to stay in with me to tell me all about it.

Let’s find out more.

Staying in with Donna Moore

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

Thank you so much for having me, Linda! I’m delighted to be here. I love your blog.

Thanks Donna.

And you have a nice comfy space here for ‘staying in’. I also have it on good authority that you serve delicious biscuits to your guests!

Oh I do – help yourself.

Tell me, which of your books have you brought along to share this evening and why have you chosen it?

I’ve brought my new novel, The Devil’s Draper, which is a historical crime fiction novel set in Glasgow in 1920.

It’s the follow-up to The Unpicking, which was set from the late 1870s to 1919, and is the story of three generations of women – grandmother, mother and daughter – who each had their own struggles against inequality and injustice.

I love historical fiction. So, what can we expect from an evening in with The Devil’s Draper?

Well, I hope you’ll enjoy the company of three very different characters, who are unlikely allies in the fight to uncover the truth about a scandal at Arrol’s Department Store. First of all, there’s Mabel, one of Glasgow’s first women police officers (or ‘woman policemen’ as the newspapers of the day would have referred to her!), whose story continues from The Unpicking. Then there’s Johnnie, who’s an adept thief in an all-woman gang called Saint Thenue’s Avengers. Finally, we have Beatrice, a war-widow who runs an employment agency for women. There’s crime and intrigue and, hopefully, a wee dash of humour and lightness amongst the darkness.

That sounds fabulous. I really need to meet Mabel, Johnnie and Beatrice as soon as possible. I’m looking forward to The Devil’s Draper coming out on 1st May.

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

Well, I’ve brought with me a few different things. Three of them represent my three main characters and then I’ve brought one extra, for fun. And I thought we could listen to one of Mabel’s favourite songs as we look at them. It’s called Someday, Sweetheart and it was written in 1919 and was really popular throughout the 1920s. This version is by Alberta Hunter, who was, apparently, the first person to record it.

Wow. What a voice.

First of all, Mabel and I had a chat about her offering. I said she should bring something serious that represents her professional life in the police force, but she wanted me to give you a recipe for one of her favourite desserts (she does love desserts!)

Don’t we all?

This one was also a favourite of both her mother and her grandmother and is mentioned in The Unpicking as well as in The Devil’s Draper. It’s Apricot Pithivier which is a traditional puff pastry dish. I’ve adapted it a wee bit so that it’s easier for a modern cook, but if you’re keen to make your own puff pastry, then Mabel would definitely approve! It can also be made with other fruits, and as a savoury dish with chicken, or ham and cheese, or roasted vegetables.

Wow. I don’t do baking as I’m always battling my weight but Mabel might just have convinced me to make this!

Johnnie has given me something completely different for you. Johnnie is in a very successful all-woman gang and she’s one of their best thieves. The first time we meet her in The Devil’s Draper, she’s gate-crashed a posh wedding with the aim of helping herself to some of the wedding gifts. When I was researching the book, I discovered that back in the early 20th century, society weddings were thoroughly covered in the local press. Not only could you find out what the bride and bridesmaids were wearing, the flowers they were carrying and where the reception was, but there was also a full list of gifts and who gave them. This article from the Oban Times and Argyllshire Advertiser in May 1920is a lovely example. The article gives details of the wedding of Miss Peggy Ellice and Mr L E Dunlop who had a reception at Invergarry House with a bonfire, dancing and “general rejoicing”, together with a partial list showing sixty-three gifts.

Partial wedding gift list – Oban Times and Argyllshire Advertiser 8th May 1920.

Some of these gifts made it into The Devil’s Draper, including an eight-volume set of illustrated books about World War I, which I’m not sure I think is a very jolly wedding present. The bride seemed to do quite well as many of the presents were clearly pieces of fancy jewellery for her, but I was happy to see that the groom received a reel for his trout rod. One of the gifts to make it into the scene was an umbrella. I don’t know who it was for, but I think next time I’m going to a wedding, I’m going to ignore the gift registry and buy an umbrella.

Brilliant idea. Much more useful than a muffin dish!

I love the snippets of social history you get from this type of article. As a writer, they give me so much, not only for the choicest wedding gifts of the day, the material and colours of the bridal party’s outfits (Miss Ellice was wearing white charmeuse silk, by the way), or the menu at the wedding breakfast, but they’re also really useful for character names. The giver of the umbrella, for example, is called Eglantine. I’ve tucked that name away for future use! I lose myself going down various research rabbit holes, and most of what I find never makes it onto the page, but I hope it comes through in the writing in some way.

I think a lot of authors do that Donna. It sounds to me like you’ve got plenty of material for future books too. 

Johnnie’s use for the newspapers is much more practical. She’s not interested in the after the event reports of the weddings themselves, but she’s very interested in announcements of forthcoming weddings, only the fancy ones, of course, where it’s announced that Lady This and The Honorable That will be attending, because then she knows where all the choicest gifts will be on display.

An ideal opportunity!

Completing the trio of main characters is Beatrice. She’s older than Mabel and Johnnie, and a war widow who runs an employment agency for women. She wanted me to bring in a photograph from a recent tour I went on, which goes behind the scenes of Glasgow Central Train Station. It was a fascinating tour, which takes you on a journey into the past and below the tracks, revealing a disused Victorian platform and uncovering stories of the people who used to work there. The thing I found most surprising and poignant, though, was the information that, a few floors below the main station, part of the building had been used as a temporary mortuary during the early months of World War I. Some artefacts from this period were found in disused storerooms and cupboards, including a wheelchair made from a child’s pram and a stretcher.

Artefacts from the Glasgow Central tour (photo by author)

The bodies would be brought to this makeshift mortuary and laid in rows on stretchers, covered by blankets. Relatives would walk along those rows of bodies to try and identify their loved ones. If they did, it was then up to them to take the body away to give their son or husband or brother a proper burial. Men who were out of work, too old to fight, or injured would be waiting in Central Station to earn a few pennies to bring the bodies up the several flights of stairs. It was very moving to hear that story.

That sounds both fascinating and poignant.

As for my own gift, I’ve brought you a photo of Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven, a German avant-garde poet and artist, who may actually, have been the creator of the famous porcelain urinal artwork, Fountain, generally attributed to Marcel Duchamp. She lived in New York for several years and was well known in Greenwich Village due to her artistic style of dress – wearing a coal scuttle on her head, postage stamps on her cheeks and adorning her outfits with things she found on the street: curtain rings, children’s toys, flashing lights and gilded vegetables. I’m fascinated by her story and used her as inspiration for a minor character, Dadaist artist Countess Colette von der Weid, who was an absolute joy to write.

Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven. Photo from the Library of Congress.

Goodness me! She looks and sounds quite a character.

Thanks so much for staying in with me to chat about The Devil’s Draper and the research that has gone into it. It sounds an absolute must read for me.

Thanks again, Linda, for allowing me to stay in with you and chat. And thank you for the tea and the delicious home made biscuits. I’m sorry, but it appears as though I’ve eaten them all!

Oh – so you have. Never mind. You put the kettle on for another cuppa and I’ll give readers a few more details about The Devil’s Draper.

The Devil’s Draper

FROM THE AUTHOR OF ‘THE UNPICKING‘

When whispers of abuse at Arrol’s department store reach Mabel, a determined policewoman, she knows she must act. Enlisting the help of Johnnie, a cunning thief, and Beatrice, a savvy businesswoman, they embark on a perilous journey to uncover the truth.

Set against the backdrop of 1920s Glasgow, where women’s voices are often silenced, this thrilling tale weaves together crime, justice, and the fight for equality. As the trio inches closer to exposing the scandal, they realize that in a world where women are rarely believed, their very lives may be at stake.

Published by Fly on the Wall on 1st May, The Devil’s Draper is available here. 

About Donna Moore

Donna Moore is the author of crime fiction and historical fiction. Her first novel, a Private Eye spoof called Go To Helena Handbasket, won the Lefty Award for most humorous crime fiction novel and her second novel, Old Dogs, was shortlisted for both the Lefty and Last Laugh Awards. Her short stories have been published in various anthologies and her Cornell Woolrich inspired short story, First You Dream, Then You Die was shortlisted for an Edgar Award in 2023. In her day job she works as an adult literacy tutor for marginalised and vulnerable women. She has a PhD in creative writing around women’s history and gender-based violence, and her third novel, The Unpicking, set in Victorian and Edwardian Scotland and spanning three generations of ‘hysterical women’ who experience systemic corruption and injustice, was published in October 2023. The follow-up, The Devil’s Draper, will be published in May 2025 by Fly On The Wall Press.

For further information about Donna, visit her website or find her on Bluesky and Instagram. 

I was sorely disappointed when I was asked by Kova PR  if I’d like to attend a preview screening a couple of weeks ago of the brand new film The Penguin Lessons, starring Steve Coogan and based on the book of the same name by Tom Michell, but I wasn’t able to get to Soho in time after my regular book group meeting. However, I’m delighted to welcome Tom to Linda’s Book Bag today to chat with me all about the film and the book The Penguin Lessons.

Let’s find out more:

Staying in with Tom Michell

Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag Tom and thank you for staying in with me. Which of your books have you brought along to share this evening and why have you chosen it?

This would be The Penguin Lessons!

I thought it might be! What can we expect from an evening in with The Penguin Lessons – both the book and the film?

Converting a book into a film is a very interesting process, but not full of astonishing things, it’s all quite logical really.

1.   Films have to cut out a great deal. A 2 hour film cannot cover a 10 hour read.
2.   Much of my book is a description of what I can see, what I’m doing and what I’m thinking about. That monologue has to be a dialogue and events have to happen to people. That appears to require lots of changes. BUT… if you think about the conversations with the fictitious people required for the dialogue as being nothing other than the monologue in Tom’s mind then the two things, book and film are very closely aligned. Think of the Life of Pi. Was the huge Bengal tiger in the life boat real, or in Pi’s mind? Without the terrifying man eating monster in the lifeboat with the boy, there is nothing but a boy, bobbing about in a boat for days, struggling to survive. That isn’t an interesting film. But let us see the tiger and Bingo!!
3.   The story of the penguin is identical in book and film.

Interesting. I think the timing is one of the reasons I prefer to read rather than listen to audio books (apart from the fact that I’m at an age where I nod off). It takes so long to read it to me and, you’re right, films must be selective.

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

The thing that brings me greatest pleasure is the incorporation of The Penguin Lessons into the national curriculum of South Korea. I have the textbook.

Wow! That’s amazing Tom. How exciting.

When a nation of some 50 million people (and arguably the highest educational standard in the world) comes to a totally unknown author and says ‘We want to put your story in front of our most precious asset, our youth, our high school children of 14 – 16 years of age, because it has something about it which we believe is good and will help them.’ That is orders of magnitude greater than any literary prize, even if it doesn’t have all the razzamataz and self-congratulatory hype associated with those rewards. 

I think education is worth far more than endless awards Tom. Thank you so much for staying in with me to chat about The Penguin Lessons. Congratulations on both the film and the book.

The Penguin Lessons

Tom Michell is in his roaring twenties: single, free-spirited and seeking adventure. He has a plane ticket to South America, a teaching position in a prestigious Argentine boarding school, and endless summer holidays.

What he doesn’t need is a pet. What he really doesn’t need is a pet penguin.

But while on holiday in Uruguay he spots a penguin struggling in an oil slick and knows he has to help. And then the penguin refuses to leave his side . . .

Clearly Tom has no choice but to smuggle it across the border, through customs, and back to school. He names him Juan Salvador.

Whether it’s as the rugby team’s mascot, the housekeeper’s confidant, the host at Tom’s parties or the most flamboyant swimming coach in world history, Juan Salvador transforms the lives of all he meets – including Tom, who discovers a compadre like no other . . .

The Penguin Lessons film came out from Lionsgate on 18th April 2025 and the book is published, appropriately, by Penguin and is available for purchase through the publisher links here.

About Tom Michell

Tom Michell was born and grew up on the rural downs of southern England, where he grew to love animals, birds and plants. After living in Argentina he returned home and settled in Cornwall where he helps with the family business, tends a small plot of what he calls ‘good Cornish soil’ and sings with a local choir. He is an amateur artist and in his spare time he draws and paints subjects from the wildlife around his home, specializing in birds of prey. Tom is an enthusiastic proponent of understanding how humans can live in genuinely sustainable ways. He is married with four grown-up children and three grandchildren.

Lovely Stephanie Butland has appeared here on Linda’s Book Bag several times (and even forgave me some years ago when I accidentally did a cover reveal for one of her books a week early – an error from which I’ve never quite recovered!) I love her books and with Stephanie’s latest out today, I simply had to invite her back to the blog to tell me all about it.

Let’s find out more:

Staying in with Stephanie Butland

Welcome back to Linda’s Book Bag Stephanie 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? 

I’ve brought my new book, The Second Chance Book Club. Mainly because I cannot stop looking at its beautiful cover! Who needs TV when a book looks like this?

I couldn’t agree more. That is a beautiful cover. And it’s out today – congratulations. What can we expect from an evening in with The Second Chance Book Club?

I’ve been absolutely blown away by reader responses to this book. By the time a novel goes out into the world I’m not quite a wreck, but I’m certainly second-guessing myself and half way to convincing myself this is the worst thing I (and very possibly anyone else) have ever written. So early reviews mean the absolute world to me.

I think many authors feel that way. What have early reviews been like?

Here are a couple, from NetGalley:

This novel is filled with lovely surprises and little moments of possibility that kept me hooked until the very end. The Second Chance Book Club is simply beautiful, full of heart, and a reminder of the transformative power of compassion, family, and connection. I can’t recommend it highly enough!

And 

If you like novels by Sarah Winman, Juliette Henderson and Clare Pooley, I think you will enjoy this sweeping story with dual POV about an orphan who gets found. While September is living her life and coming to terms with a family she never thought she would know, we have a dual timeline in the past which gives us the information on how she was lost. I found this particularly heartbreaking and just reignites my feeling of we really should live the life we want, and not worry so much about what ‘others’ say. Yes, it might be difficult because we need to be brave to step outside the lines of what others consider is good for you, but oh, our lives will be so much richer.

Those are fabulous responses. I’m so glad I have The Second Chance Book Club on my TBR. I have a feeling I’ll love it.

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

I’ve brought nachos, which are the best food in the universe (I will not be taking questions on this). We have guacamole, soured cream, salsa and cheese on the side: we don’t need to improve on perfection.

I’m certainly not going to argue!

I went to Portland, Oregon in June last year and discovered sour beer, which is light and often a bit fruity and just the best thing when it’s served freezing cold on a warm day. I’ve spent a good 15% of all waking moments since I got back thinking about it.

Sounds tasty. I’ll join you in a beer in a minute.

I’ve also brought my knitting. I rediscovered knitting when I had breast cancer in 2008, and it’s now such a part of my life that I honestly could not tell you the last time I went a day without knitting. I would bring some social knitting – something that doesn’t really need any attention at all, something I don’t even need to look at. So probably a plain sock. Knitting makes me a better listener, I think, and also means you might have the chance to eat some of the nachos.

Get clicking Stephanie – I’m more than happy to eat the nachos. Though I did start knitting a dragon just over a year ago when I had my foot operation and have only finished the body so maybe I’ll do a bit of that too.

Thanks so much for staying in with me on The Second Chance Book Club publication day. It sounds just my kind of read and I know from experience how wonderful your books are. 

Thank you for a lovely evening! 

My pleasure. Now, pour us a beer, grab your knitting needles and I’ll give readers a few more details about The Second Chance Book Club.

The Second Chance Book Club

Dear Ms Blythe

We are dealing with an estate of which you may be a beneficiary.

Please send any documents in your possession that relate to your birth and adoption.

September is at her wits’ end. There’s never enough money to support her boyfriend and herself. September has nothing to look forward to.

Then the letter comes. September has inherited a house from a great-aunt she never knew she had. It would make sense to sell it. But when sees the place – the orange gate, the garden, the tree, the bumblebee door knocker – she doesn’t want to let it go. Not yet. Then the members of the book club arrive, and she begins to discover the story of the family she didn’t know. And to make new friends.

September feels safe here. But money alone can’t bring contentment. September is just at the start of a journey full of surprises, shocks – and opportunities, if she’s brave enough . . .

Published by Headline today, 24th April 2025, The Second Chance Book Club is available for purchase through the publisher links here. 

About Stephanie Butland

Stephanie Butland’s first two books were memoirs of her dance with cancer. She then turned to fiction. Her 8th and latest novel is The Second Chance Book Club. Her other novels include beloved bookshop tales Lost For Words and Found In A Bookshop.

Stephanie lives near the sea in the north-east of England, with her husband Alan and Harris the greyhound. She writes in a studio at the bottom of her garden. For fun, she reads, knits, bakes, walks, and goes to the cinema and theatre. 

Stephanie loves to talk books and meet readers, and is an occasional performance poet. 

For further information, visit Stephanie’s website, follow her on Twitter/X @under_blue_sky or find Stephanie on Instagram and Facebook.  

Having adored Jo Callaghan’s In the Blink of An Eye (reviewed here) and Leave No Trace (reviewed here) I was beside myself with excitement when a copy of her latest book, Human Remains, arrived in surprise book mail. My huge thanks go to The Likely Suspects for sending me a copy. It’s my absolute pleasure to share my review of Human Remains today.

Published by Simon and Schuster on 24th April 2025, Human Remains is available for purchase through the publisher links here. 

Human Remains

DCS Kat Frank and AIDE Lock are back in a cutting-edge new thriller.

The truth will always come out, but at what cost?

Fresh from successfully closing their first live case, the Future Policing Unit are called in to investigate when a headless, handless body is found on a Warwickshire farm. But as they work to identify the victim and their killer, the discovery of a second body begins to spark fears that The Aston Strangler is back. And as the stakes rise for the team, so do the tensions brewing within it.

When DCS Kat Frank is accused of putting the wrong man behind bars all those years ago, AIDE Lock – the world’s first AI Detective – pursues the truth about what happened with relentless logic. But Kat is determined to keep the past buried, and when she becomes the target of a shadowy figure looking for revenge, Lock is torn between his evidence-based algorithms and the judgement of his partner, with explosive results.  

When everything hangs in the balance, it will all come down to just how much an AI machine can learn, and what happens when they do . . .

My Review of Human Remains

DCS DCS Kat Frank has a new case to solve.

Oh dear. I absolutely adored the first two books, In the Blink of An Eye and Leave No Trace, in the DCS Kat Frank and AIDE Lock series, so how I’m supposed to review the third, Human Remains, without repeating myself I have no idea, except to say that I think this third book is even better than the first two. I would also say that there is no need to have read the earlier books thoroughly to enjoy Human Remains, but not to do so is to miss out on a fantastic series.

I loved every aspect of this exciting, skilful and gripping thriller. I’m not normally a huge fan of police procedural narratives, but Human Remains transcends the usual genre into the most magnificent read by weaving in scientific and technological elements completely naturally, and totally convincingly. Terminology is included so that the reader feels educated. However, the terminology never impedes the flow of the narrative. As a result, it’s hard to over-emphasise just how brilliant, how intelligent and how compelling the story is.

To some extent the investigation into the headless body found at the beginning of the story is only a fraction of the interest. The developing relationships within Kat’s team and family, the way Lock continues to evolve, Kat’s own past, and the scientific development of AI are layered, mesmerising and gripping aspects. What Jo Callaghan does so hypnotically is to take technology and science and overlay these aspects with humanity and emotion in a way that leaves the reader reeling. It’s impossible to explain why and how this happens without revealing too much of the plot for others, but rest assured this is a plot with heart-thumping moments and deep emotion. It’s truly fabulous.

And the title is just wonderful. Human Remains fits every aspect of the narrative, from the literal human remains found in the first few pages of the story, to the aspects of us that are left when reason, logic and rationality are stripped away. As a result, Human Remains entertains completely, but at the same time suggests the potential future for AI – and all humanity – so that just as the reader believes they have formed an immutable opinion, Jo Callaghan rips away certainty and leaves her readers confounded, unsettled and desperate for more.

The themes in the story illustrate the power of social media, the potential and threat of AI, grief and loyalty, with practical policing as well as other aspects exploring emotional and human connection so that Human Remains is multi-layered and sensitively resonant.

In case it isn’t clear (and I am aware of some vagueness here for fear of spoilers), I thought Human Remains was fantastic. I cannot recommend it highly enough and I am genuinely desperate for more from Kat and Lock. Brilliant, brilliant stuff. Jo Callaghan is a must read author!

About Jo Callaghan

Jo Callaghan works full time as a senior strategist, carrying out research into the future impact of AI and genomics on the workforce. She was a student of the Writers’ Academy Course (Penguin Random House) and was longlisted for the Mslexia Novel Writing Competition and Bath Novel Competition. After losing her husband to cancer in 2019 when she was just forty-nine, she started writing In the Blink of an Eye, her debut crime novel, which explores learning to live with loss and what it means to be human. She lives with her two children in the Midlands, where she spends far too much time tweeting as @JoCallaghanKat and is currently working on further novels in the series.

For further information, follow Jo on Twitter/X @JoCallaghanKat  or find her on Instagram and Bluesky. 

It was my pleasure to meet Guy Morpuss at a wonderful evening organised by Viper Books a little while ago and so I’m thrilled that my latest My Weekly review is of Guy’s A Trial in Three Acts.

Again, my apologies that the review has been slightly delayed following the magazine’s restructuring.

Published by Viper on 6th March 2025, A Trial in Three Acts is available for purchase through the publisher links here.

A Trial in Three Acts

A trial is rather like a play.
We wear our costumes. We perform to the audience.
And on a good day no-one gets murdered.

Six nights a week the cast of the smash-hit play Daughter of the Revolution performs to a sold-out audience. A thrilling story of forbidden marriage and a secret love child, the critics say it’ll run for years. That is until one night the third act ends not in applause but in death, when leading lady Alexandra Dyce is beheaded live on stage.

Every cast member has a motive, but it is the dead woman’s co-star – and ex-husband – Hollywood legend Leo Lusk who is charged with the crime. When defence barrister Charles Konig is brought in last minute, he knows this ought to be the case of a lifetime. But Charles would rather be on his holiday trekking up K2, and he isn’t interested in celebrities, especially ones that seem to be mysteriously trying to derail their own defence. But as he and his co-counsel New York lawyer Yara Ortiz sift through the evidence, it becomes clear that clues may lie in the play itself. And that Charles’s only chance of victory is to identify the real murderer…

My Review of  A Trial in Three Acts

My full review of A Trial in Three Acts can be found on the My Weekly website here.

However, here I can say that A Trial in Three Acts is a really witty and clever locked room murder mystery that I found highly entertaining, with a brilliant insight into both theatre and people.

Do visit the My Weekly website to read my full review here.

About Guy Morpuss

Guy Morpuss worked as a barrister for thirty years, on cases featuring drug-taking cyclists, dead Formula 1 champions and aspiring cemetery owners. Much like his fictional creation Charles Konig he was a celebrated King’s Counsel, and enjoys writing letters to The Times to see how many they’ll print. He is the author of Five Minds and Black Lake Manor, and his latest novel, A Trial in Three Acts, has recently been published by Viper. Guy lives near Farnham with his wife and two sons.

For further information, visit Guy’s website, follow him on Twitter/X @guymorpuss, or find Guy on Bluesky.

I think it may be Penguin’s Marie-Louise Patton I need to thank for sending me a surprise copy of Hunchback by Saou Ichikawa, translated by Polly Barton. It’s my pleasure to share my review of Hunchback today.

Hunchback was published by Penguin Viking on 6th March 2025 and is available for purchase through the publisher links here. 

Hunchback

LONGLISTED FOR THE INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE 2025

Born with a congenital muscle disorder, Shaka Isawa has severe spine curvature and uses an electric wheelchair and ventilator. Within the limits of her care home, her life is lived online: she studies, she tweets indignantly, she posts outrageous stories on an erotica website. One day, a new male carer reveals he has read it all – the sex, the provocation, the dirt. Her response? An indecent proposal…

Written by the first disabled author to win Japan’s most prestigious literary award and acclaimed instantly as one of the most important Japanese novels of the twenty-first century, 

Hunchback is an extraordinary, thrilling glimpse into the desire and darkness of a woman placed at humanity’s edge.

My Review of Hunchback

Shaka Isawa is severely physically disabled.

Crikey! Hunchback is quite a book. I’ll say at the outset, that despite being a short novella it packs a huge punch and it most certainly won’t be to everyone’s taste. Initially, when I read the highly sexualised first few pages, I really didn’t think it would be a book for me. I was wrong.

Hunchback is less of a read and more of a terrifyingly lucid and disturbing insight into the world of a young woman with Shana’s disabilities. The book is shocking, thought-provoking and very unsettling because Saou Ichikawa challenges the equilibrium of her readers, making them confront not only disability, but their deep seated and possibly unrealised attitudes to it. I thought it was a magnificent read as Shaka Isawa struggles to find her place in a world where the narrative around disabilities is written by those who don’t have them. 

The structure of the book is really clever. Alongside Shaka’s vivid descriptions of the practicalities of her everyday life and her desire to become pregnant, there’s quite a lot about the inequality of books and reading in the narrative and yet, ironically, the story is bookended by two explicit sexual passages. Through this structure and the character of Tanka, Hunchback explores the nature of desire, disability and the different types of power that we wield, from physical, through financial to emotional. It’s fascinating.

As Shaka describes her life in the first person, the effect is to experience it with her. I wasn’t sure I always wanted to, but I couldn’t tear myself away. I confess that some of the actions she has to perform to keep her lungs clear and keep herself alive were really tricky to read. 

I can’t say I ‘enjoyed’ Hunchback. However, I found it challenging, disquieting and, actually, essential reading. My blythe and somewhat unthinking acceptance of those with disabilities has been blown apart by Hunchback. I have been changed by reading it – and that change isn’t necessarily a comfortable experience. I cannot recommend strongly enough that you read Hunchback for yourself. I can guarantee that it won’t leave you indifferent. So be prepared for some strong reaction! 

About Saou Ichikawa

 

Saou Ichikawa graduated from the School of Human Sciences, Waseda University. Her bestselling debut novel, Hunchback, won the Bungakukai Prize for New Writers, and she is the first author with a physical disability to receive the Akutagawa Prize, one of Japan’s top literary awards. She has congenital myopathy and uses a ventilator and an electric wheelchair. Saou Ichikawa lives outside Tokyo.