I’ve always adored jewellery for as long as I can remember, so when Joe Christie at Simon and Schuster kindly sent me a copy of If Jewels Could Talk: Seven Secret Histories by Carol Woolton in return for an honest review, I was delighted. It’s my pleasure to share that review today.

If Jewels Could Talk: Seven Secret Histories was published by Simon and Schuster on 26th September 2024 and is available for purchase through the publisher links here.

If Jewels Could Talk: Seven Secret Histories

A treasure trove of forgotten stories about jewels throughout history by internationally renowned jewellery expert, Carol Woolton.

If Jewels Could Talk delves into the history, cultural significance and eclectic trivia of jewellery. As a jewellery historian, jewellery editor at British Vogue and now podcast host, Carol Woolton is uniquely qualified to take us on a whistle-stop tour through history via seven items of jewellery: hoops, rings, beads, charms, brooches, cuffs and head ornaments.

Weaving in examples from cultures around the world, Carol will uncover fascinating stories about Viking silver torques, Imperial jade in China, sixteenth-century Posy rings, organic gems, snake motifs, Roman cameo carving, Hindu wedding jewellery, Etruscan gold, Ancient Greek coins, piercings, Wedding pigs in China, tiaras and anklets – to name but a few.

A beautiful and illuminating gift for any jewellery lover, If Jewels Could Talk shines a light on all that glitters and more.

My Review of If Jewels Could Talk: Seven Secret Histories

A non-fiction book looking at seven kinds of jewellery.

I’m going to say at the outset that I think the title If Jewels Could Talk: Seven Secret Histories is a complete misnomer! Whilst the book is divided into seven sections covering jewellery from hoops to head ornaments, it is far, far more than that might suggest. This is a real cornucopia of history, culture, myth, legend and vicarious travel. If Jewels Could Talk might have a focus on jewellery but it is fascinating for many other reasons too.

It’s actually quite hard to review If Jewels Could Talk without merely regurgitating the wonderful factual information between its pages, but that would be like telling the plot for fiction and is in danger of spoiling discovering the contents for yourself. What it is possible to say is that the underpinning thread of If Jewels Could Talk is the connections and identity made through wearing jewellery. It might be to belong, to illustrate status or wealth, to act as protection or to suggest our personalities, but what Carol Woolton presents so sensitively is the need for human connection. And when she considers so-called environmentally friendly lab created jewels, QR codes, or the future of technology in jewellery making, there is still the message that jewellery helps us define ourselves – both to others and to our own hearts. It seems ridiculous that a whirlwind tour of seven kinds of jewellery can leave the reader feeling slightly emotional, but I found If Jewels Could Talk remarkably touching as well as engaging.

Whether a reader’s interest is in the world of fashion from discovering the Cartier anti-occupation brooches of the second world war through an Elton John style party, or in civilisations across the globe and in discovering the Egyptians were the first to create fake jewels, If Jewels Could Talk is a book with something for every reader presented in an erudite but accessible tone that is a joy to read. That said, I won’t be wearing jewellery containing a slug design any time soon!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading If Jewels Could Talk as it is authoritative, informative and hugely entertaining. I think it’d make the perfect gift for a jewellery lover who otherwise seems to have everything.

About Carol Woolton

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Carol Woolton is a jewellery historian, editor, author, stylist and jewellery editor at British Vogue for twenty years, where she remains as Contributing Jewellery Director. She was the first jewellery editor of Tatler magazine and has contributed widely to the likes of the Financial Times, Vanity Fair, Vogue and the Daily Telegraph. Carol has written several books about jewellery for the special sales market, including The New Stone Age (2020), Vogue: The Jewellery (2020),Floral Jewels (2014) and Dolce & Gabana High Jewelry (2023). Carol curates jewellery exhibitions and hosts If Jewels Could Talk, the podcast she launched in 2020.

For further information, visit Carol’s website and follow her on Twitter/X @carolwoolton. You can also find Carol on Instagram.

It’s almost three years since I reviewed Edward Carey’s A Year in Plague and Pencils in a post you’ll find here. Consequently, I’m delighted that my latest My Weekly magazine online review is of Edward Carey’s latest book Edith Holler. My enormous gratitude goes to Sophie Goodfellow at FMcM Associates for sending me a copy.

Published by Gallic on 3rd October 2024 Edith Holler is available for purchase here.

Edith Holler

Edward Carey’s witty and entrancing story of a young woman trapped in a ramshackle English playhouse – and the mysterious figure who threatens its very survival.

Norwich, 1901. Edith Holler spends her days among the eccentric denizens of the Holler Theatre, warned by her domineering father that the playhouse will literally tumble down if she should ever leave.

Fascinated by tales of the city she knows only from afar, young Edith decides to write a play of her own about Mawther Meg, a monstrous figure said to have used the blood of countless children to make the local delicacy, Beetle Spread. But when her father suddenly announces his engagement to a peculiar woman named Margaret Unthank, Edith scrambles to protect her father, the theatre, and her play – the one thing that’s truly hers – from the newcomer’s sinister designs.

Teeming with unforgettable characters and illuminated by Carey’s trademark illustrations, Edith Holler is a surprisingly modern fable of one young woman’s struggle to escape her family’s control and craft her own creative destiny.

My Review of Edith Holler

My full review of Edith Holler can be found on the My Weekly website here.

However, here I can say that Edith Holler is a stunning book. Part horror, part fantasy, part love letter to theatre and to the city of Norwich, and gothic in tone, I found it utterly mesmerising and totally absorbing. It’s completely out of my usual genre, but is also one of my favourite reads this year!

Do visit My Weekly to read my full review here.

About Edward Carey

Edward Carey was born in Norfolk, England. He is a novelist, visual artist, playwright and director. He is the author of four novels, including Little, which was a Times and Sunday Times book of the year, and the YA series The Iremonger Trilogy. His collection of lockdown drawings, B: A Year in Plagues and Pencils, was published in November 2021.

Edward lives in the United States and teaches at the University of Texas at Austin.

For more information visit Edward’s website or follow him on Facebook, Twitter/X @EdwardCarey70 and Instagram.

It might surprise Linda’s Book Bag readers to know that I loved the television series Red Dwarf when it first came out. Consequently, when I heard that Tom Salinsky had written an unofficial tie in book that lovely Charlotte Wakely from Gingerbread Agency sent me, I simply had to invite Tom to stay in with me to chat all about it.

Let’s find out more:

Staying in with Tom Salinsky

Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag Tom. 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?

My new book Red Dwarf: Discovering the TV Series. It’s a complete guide to the television series Red Dwarf. Actually, that’s not quite true – this is volume one of two. But this is a complete guide to the first six series and the second volume will cover the remaining television episodes plus apocrypha such as the failed US remake, comic strips, abandoned stories, video games and such like. I’ve chosen it because it’s the latest in my series looking at popular TV and movie franchises, following on from a similar book about Star Trek. But the Star Trek book had over 300 episodes to cover, and this one has only 36, so there’s more space for behind-the-scenes stories, of which there are plenty.

What a great book for those of us who loved the series. What can we expect from an evening in with Red Dwarf: Discovering the TV Series?

I couldn’t decide which of three different approaches to take, so I took all three (which is why the book is so long and had to be split into two volumes). For each season you get a complete behind-the-scenes account of the planning, writing, production and release of the episodes.

You do indeed. I’ve been reading it!

Making a show like this isn’t easy and Red Dwarf was constantly running into snags whether it was the young cast partying a little too hard, over ambitious special effects or just the regular challenge of trying to combine novel science fiction concepts, strong character work and good jokes every thirty seconds.

I think it’s the tweaking that had to go on behind the scenes that I’ve found most interesting Tom.

Then I’ll give my analysis and let you know what I thought of each episode. I love Red Dwarf but I’m still grading on a curve. No point having a five-star rating system if you give everything four and five stars. And lastly, I’ll check off some regular features like the influences on the writers, when the continuity is on point – or isn’t – and I’ll nominate a best gag and a worst special effect.

I absolutely agree about star ratings. I loathe them. I only blog about books I’ve loved (quietly forgetting those I didn’t like) so when I put my reviews on places that demand stars they are all 4 or 5 stars which feels as if it’s debasing the currency!

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

One of the things which I thought was so incredible when I was a kid was that one of the characters was a creature who had evolved from a pet cat over three million years. The selfish, self-regarding, clothes obsessed, always hungry, always horny character brought brilliantly to life by Danny John-Jules is a highlight of many episodes, and as a crazy cat person myself I thought it was a complete triumph of imagination and comedy. But nothing compares to the comfort and company of real cats, so I’ll bring my three – brother and sister Seymour and Audrey and their older companion, the very fluffy Toast. The only thing which makes watching Red Dwarf better is having one of them on my lap while I do it.

Oh yes! I adore cats. That sounds like a purrfect evening! Thanks so much for staying in with me to chat about Red Dwarf: Discovering the TV Series. I’ll give readers a few more details:

Red Dwarf: Discovering the TV Series

Did you know …

Red Dwarf would never have been made if it wasn’t for little known 1980’s BBC Sitcom ‘Happy Families’?

Where did the ships “made-up” swear word ‘gwenlan’ came from?

What’s the significance of 23^rd March 2077?

That Norman Lovett – who played Holly – originally auditioned for the part of Rimmer and Chris Barrie – who played Rimmer – originally auditioned for the part of Lister?

That Danny John Jules arrived for his audition as Cat in full character and costume.

How well do you know Red Dwarf? Author Tom Salinsky’s latest book is the most comprehensive work yet on the beloved sci-fi comedy series which fans all over the globe have loved since the very first episode.

Virtually unique among British sitcoms, Red Dwarf began in 1988 and 12 seasons, one miniseries and one feature length special later, it’s very recently been confirmed that the much loved programme will be returning – yet again – with new episodes in 2025, making it one of the longest running sitcoms in the world, of all time; with fans who know each and every episode by heart. But despite the hugely devoted fan base, few will likely be as dedicated as Tom, who – following the success of his first book (Star Trek: Discovering the TV Series) embarked on a mission to watch every episode, come rain, or shine, or impending asteroid collision, and create a complete compendium of the entire thing. Volume 1 covers 1988-1993.

At its peak in 1999, Red Dwarf had over 8,000,000 weekly viewers in the UK. It also won an Emmy and a British Comedy Award, ranked 80^th on Empire’s list of 100 best series of all time and 17^th in the Radio Times’ list as recently as 2021. And yet, this is a show nobody wanted to make, and which only barely made it to our screens.

Red Dwarf originally developed from a Radio 4 sketch series, drawing inspiration from Star Trek, Alien and the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Adding a large element of British style comedy and satire, Red Dwarf ultimately moulded into the form of a sci-fi sitcom – contrasting strongly with the drawing rooms and sofas which were the norm when it launched, and now with the fast-cut mockumentary style which is popular today. At first, the BBC rejected the pilot on fears that a sitcom in the sci-fi space wouldn’t be popular. They were proven very wrong as the fans took the show into their hearts. One such fan was Tom, who now, with his new book ‘Red Dwarf: Discovering the TV Series’, has taken a dimension jump into the Red Dwarf universe, ensuring no stone – or planet – is left unturned.

Following in Arnold Rimmer’s neatly catalogued, colour coded, labelled footsteps; Tom has kept a log of his Red Dwarf journey, ensuring every smegging moment is savoured. The first tome will cover 36 episodes (six series of six episodes) with a review and episode synopsis for each and every one. But, this isn’t just fan’s account, it’s a detailed and entertaining critical analysis of the show and combines all of the behind-the-scenes mishaps, innovations, near misses and happy accidents written in a clear and accessible style, all with a sense of humour that makes it exceptionally accessible to Red Dwarf fans.

Along with the detailed episode cataloguing, the book also tells the story of exactly how Red Dwarf came to be, who was originally considered for the cast, how it was radically reinvented for the third, sixth, seventh, ninth and tenth seasons and how it survived the break-up of its key creative partnership, the loss of the original spaceship models, BBC strikes and the departure of a major cast member.

Published by Pen and Sword imprint White Owl on 30th September 2024, Red Dwarf: Discovering the TV Series is available for purchase here.

To celebrate the launch of the book, comedian Bec Hill will be interviewing Tom at an event on Thursday 3^rd October in London. There will also be readings from the book and a prize quiz. Tickets are available here.

About Tom Salinsky

Tom Salinsky is a writer, podcaster and corporate coach living in London with his wife and too many cats. With Deborah Frances-White, he is the author of The Improv Handbook (Methuen Drama, 2008). With Robert Khan he is the author of five plays and many audio dramas for Big Finish. With his podcast colleagues John Dorney and Jessica Regan, he is the author of Best Pick: A Journey Through Film History and the Academy Awards (Rowman & Littlefield, 2022). As a solo author, he has published Star Trek: Discovering the Television Series (Pen & Sword, 2024), the second volume of which is due for release in 2025.

For further information you can find Tom on Facebook, Twitter/X @tomsalinsky and Instagram.

I’m delighted to have a copy of E.V. Seymour’s The Nanny’s Secret waiting for me on my TBR, and as it sounds so good I simply had to invite Eve to join me on Linda’s Book Bag and tell me all about it. My enormous thanks to Eve for agreeing to come along and for sending me a copy of The Nanny’s Secret. Not only are we chatting about the book, but Eve has provided a brilliant insight into how she creates twists in her writing that I’m thrilled to be able to share with you.

Let’s find out more:

Staying in with E.V. Seymour

Welcome to Linda’s Book Eve and thank you for agreeing to stay in with me. 

Thank you so much for inviting me and I hope we can chat over a glass of fizz! (More of this later).

Oo. I’m very fond of a glass of fizz!

I know you’ve brought your latest thriller, The Nanny’s Secret, with you, so what can we expect from an evening in with the book?

Families come in all shapes, sizes and variations and provide a rich seam for the thriller writer to mine, (especially when you chuck in a body or three) so it’s no accident that The Nanny’s Secret is all about family. To possibly put this into context, my mother was one of nine children and I have five grown-up kids. Consequently, I’m no stranger to complex family dynamics!

Crikey! That’s what I call a family.

The idea of moving in with the in-laws is not particularly novel (no pun intended). I know several people who have opened their doors to their grown-up children and, occasionally, grandchildren, too, sometimes to facilitate a house move. Some years ago, I read a lot about multi-generational living in Britain. While it’s not uncommon in other countries, it felt pretty new here. I wondered what it would be like and decided that it wasn’t for me and probably not for my children either! But it definitely provided the background to my story. I should probably stress that my tribe is nothing like the Percivals, the family from hell.

It might be just as well to make that clear Eve!

Superficially, the Percivals are good upstanding, generous folk who are well respected in the community. They live in Cotswold splendour at Blackthorn, a home that has been in the family for generations. But underneath the facade, the Percivals are tribal, secretive, and with an array of grubby skeletons rattling around in their cupboards (and the odd secret passage.)  To expose them for who they really are, I needed a down to earth and lovable main protagonist. I hope, in Rose, I’ve achieved this. A hairdresser, she is very much an outsider and comes from humble beginnings.

It sounds as if social class is quite important in The Nanny’s Secret. 

The difference in ‘class’ was something I wanted to play around with to provide an extra dimension to the story and a degree of social commentary, without getting heavy about it. Married to Rafferty, the Percival’s only son, Rose is as much an observer as involved in the action. She has a keen sense of humour and needs it. Living at close-quarters, poor Rose witnesses just how awful her in-laws are. What she doesn’t bargain for are the more sinister aspects of living at Blackthorn.

It sounds brilliant. How is The Nanny’s Secret being received?

Some reviews are:

‘Very chilling! This book had great suspense, intriguing action, murder, mystery family secrets, secret rooms and a fabulous who done it.’

Wow – what a family! Murder and betrayal with an ending which I did not see coming.’

Wow! I did not see the last twist coming! I’m still thinking about it.

You must be delighted with those responses. Twists are crucial to thriller writing I think Eve. How do you manage the twists in your writing?

‘I never saw that coming’ is joy to my thriller writer ears.  Conversely, ‘Duh, spotted that fifty pages ago,’ or, worse, ‘Duh, great but doesn’t make sense,’ would have me reaching for the smelling salts! So how to perform this Houdini like twist, not once, but twice, or, sometimes, three, or more times? It isn’t easy to fool sophisticated and committed thriller readers whose only goal is to winkle out potential plot twists and nail who done it.

I think readers are becoming more demanding of twists. Do you know what yours will be or do they arise naturally out of your writing?

I tend to be a planner rather than a ‘pantser’ (flying by the seat of my knickers.) As someone who started writing ‘Aga-Saga’ novels, mercifully never published, I more or less fell into writing spy-fiction, (one of my passions). A genre that demands rigorous planning, it’s simply not possible to ‘wing it’ and, having adopted the habit, I employ a similar approach to writing ‘domestic noir’. Where are we going with ‘the twist’ you may ask? Bear with me.

Tell me more.

Before creating a solid architecture for a story, I spend a long time ‘noodling,’ which looks a lot like going for a walk, staring into the middle distance, earwigging in restaurants and ‘being there’ while actually ‘being somewhere else’. Quite often, the big plot twist of the crikey, jaw-dropping variety will occur during this early ‘incubation period’ and before any words appear on the page or, in my case, screen (although all my notes are written long hand.) I might also jot down a couple of ideas regarding potential twists but I don’t angst too much at this stage because I often find during the first draft, (more often in the second) irresistible twists will naturally present themselves. This is particularly so when I go ‘off-piste’ – and I pretty much take a scenic detour every time I write a story. These happy, accidental twists are the most satisfying because they’re naturally plausible.  And this leads me to the BIG PITFALL.

I love the concept of ‘noodling’, but tell me about the big pitfall…

Anyone can drop in a ‘twist’ but it can’t be bolted in to the narrative simply to grab reader attention. Basically, it must be credible and that means characters must also be credible.

As in real life, characters can be inconsistent and flawed (the best are) but they do need to tick to some kind of internal logic. To take an exaggerated example: if the primary antagonist is a dubious estate agent, he or she is hardly going to whip out an AK47 or abseil down a tall building– a fabulously surprising plot twist, incidentally, but it will tank the plot if it doesn’t make sense within the context of the story. In short, a twist needs to feel possible and yet something the reader didn’t consider.  There needs to be an element of ‘Goodness. Clever. What a surprise.’ It’s usually the result of a character revealing his or herself to be something he isn’t, or doing something she shouldn’t and, crucially, you didn’t expect.

That’s a cracking definition. It sounds as if you’re very aware of reader response.

I’m an amateur psychologist on the quiet – most writers are – and I’m endlessly fascinated by what drives perfectly reasonable people to extremes. Whenever I put together a profile for a character, I’ll always consider what pushes his or her particular buttons because, for me, characters drive plot and, ultimately, create the opportunity for twists. If plot comes first there’s a temptation to shift characters around a narrative board like chess pieces purely to make them fulfil plot requirements.  It’s then too tempting to hammer in a twist that doesn’t quite come off. By letting well-developed characters lead, with all their foibles, vulnerabilities, contradictions and failings, inevitably, the twist will seamlessly follow. In theory!

I have a feeling that in The Nanny’s Secret the twists will be excellent. 

So, what else have you brought along this evening and why have you brought it?

The Percival family are party animals, no expense spared, so it would be remiss of me not to bring along canapés and a bottle of Dom Pérignon. (A champagne I’ve yet to try!) I’d quite like us to sip it with Rose’s best friend, Florence, a paralegal, who specialises in divorce. Highly intelligent, Florence has Rose’s back, offers sound advice and has a wry sense of humour. If Rose were to join us, I could ask her to give us a cut and colour!

Guests who bring champagne are welcome back any time Eve. I could do with a haircut actually, but you can have the colour. I’m determined to go grey (dis)gracefully!

More seriously, there’s a little of Rose in me. I come from the Midlands, was born in the Black Country and originally from quite modest beginnings. A sequence of tragic events changed my life completely and I wound up being sent to boarding school when I was ten. I know what it’s like to be jettisoned from safe and familiar to scary and strange. This is mirrored in Rose’s life when she first moves to Gloucestershire, after the death of her little sister, and then marries into the weird and not so wonderful Percival tribe.

How interesting. I think it best that I give Linda’s Book Bag readers a few more details about The Nanny’s Secret whilst you pour us a glass of champagne and then you can tell me a bit more about your own past. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed our evening together. Thanks so much for staying in with me.

The Nanny’s Secret

Nannies have a habit of dying in my husband’s family.

His family: The Percivals live in a grand fourteen-acre estate in the Cotswolds, with tennis courts, indoor swimming pool and several cottages – or ‘lodges’ as they call them. I’m only surprised they don’t have a helipad.

My family: Mum’s a florist, Dad’s a kitchen-fitter. They live in a modest maisonette in Gloucester. I’m a hairdresser who dreams of owning my own salon.

I recently married the man of my dreams. The difference in our backgrounds was never an issue. Until now.

My husband persuades me to move into his family home while we save for our own place. It’s the worst mistake I ever made.

I don’t really fit in. My father-in-law has a twinkle in his eye I don’t like. My effortlessly chic mother-in-law intimidates me. My sister-in-law’s husband bullies her. They make no secret of their amazement that my husband chose me.

And now they’ve hired a new nanny for his sister’s kids.

But nannies have a bad history in this family . . .

Published by Joffe Books on 24th September 2024, The Nanny’s Secret is available for purchase here.

About E V Seymour

Born in West Bromwich and with her family roots deep in the Black Country, Eve has spent much of her life ‘on the run’; she has probably lived in more houses in various parts of the country than most people eat dinners. Currently settled in Herefordshire with her husband, she often has a houseful of offspring, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, partners and a growing tribe of little ones.

When not writing she can be found playing the piano, enjoying a glass of wine and/or reading, and has a particularly soft spot for historical and spy fiction.

For further information, visit Eve’s website, or find Eve on Facebook.

I so loved Fifty Words for Snow (reviewed here) that I couldn’t resist accepting Nancy Campbell’s latest book, Nature Tales for Winter Nights when it came out in hardback. Now, with the paperback release imminent, I have finally got round to reading it. My huge thanks to Amy Greaves at Elliott and Thompson for sending me a copy.

Published by Elliott & Thompson in paperback on 3rd October 2024, Nature Tales for Winter Nights is available for purchase here.

Nature Tales for Winter Nights

A treasure trove of nature tales from storytellers across the globe, bringing a little magic and wonder to every winter night.

As the evenings draw in – a time of reckoning, rest and restoration – immerse yourself in this new seasonal anthology. Nature Tales for Winter Nights puts winter – rural, wild and urban – under the microscope and reveals its wonder.

From the late days of autumn, through deepest cold, and towards the bright hope of spring, here is a collection of familiar names and dazzling new discoveries.

Join the naturalist Linnæus travelling on horseback in Lapland, witness frost fairs on the Thames and witch-hazel harvesting in Connecticut, experience Alpine adventure, polar bird myths and courtship in the snow in classical Japan and ancient Rome. Observations from Beth Chatto’s garden and Tove Jansson’s childhood join company with artists’ private letters, lines from Anne Frank’s diary and fireside stories told by indigenous voices.

A hibernation companion, this book will transport you across time and country this winter.

My Review of Nature Tales for Winter Nights

A cornucopia of seasonal writing.

What a wonderful book. Nature Tales for Winter Nights might be a relatively slim volume, but it is filled with evocative, interesting and entertaining writing from diary extracts, through letters and factual pieces to poetry and prose. There are well known writers, like Charlotte Bronte or Shakespeare, new, modern writers like the editor Nancy Campbell and others I’d never heard of such as Marchelle Farrell (whose Yuletide might just be my favourite entry in the main body of the book), with surprising entries from the likes of Vincent van Gogh, so that this is a book that appeals to a wide readership and enables readers to dip in and out and always find an entry to suit their taste or mood. Charles Darwin’s dated entries are ostensibly dry and prosaic and yet they have a morose undertone that, perversely, made me smile.

Accompanying the varied and engaging entries in Nature Tales for Winter Nights are beautiful illustrations that act as an extra surprise when a page is turned. With biographies of those whose writing is included at the end, Nature Tales for Winter Nights also acts as a catalyst for further investigation and reading. I also think this would be a superb volume to use in a creative writing group as a stimulus for other writing.

For those reading the book, I’d urge them to include Nancy Campbell’s Introduction. So often a book’s introuction is missed out in reading, but here it is beautiful, poetic, filmic and emotional so that to miss the introduction is to miss wonderful writing and – without exaggeration – to deny yourself a feeling of hope that I not only adored, but very much needed.

And I loved the fact that Nature Tales for Winter Nights isn’t dedicated to any individual in the hope it will be passed on and shared with those people important to the reader. That said, I also loved that those who provide shelter in a storm are particularly acknowledged. In a world where so many are persecuted and find their winters without shelter, this is the most important sentiment. Indeed, Nature Tales for Winter Nights is a perfect gift for every one of us. It’s a superb book and could be just what you need to get through the coming seasons.

About Nancy Campbell

Nancy Campbell is an award-winning writer, described as ‘deft, dangerous and dazzling’ by the Poet Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy. Her travels in the Arctic between 2010 and 2017 have resulted in several projects responding to the environment, most recently The Library of Ice: Readings in a Cold Climate, which was longlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize 2019. Her previous book on the polar environment, Disko Bay, was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best First Collection in 2016. She has been a Marie Claire ‘Wonder Woman’, a Hawthornden Fellow and Visual and Performing Artist in Residence at Oxford University. She is currently a Literature Fellow at Internationales Kunstlerhaus Villa Concordia in Bamberg, Germany.

For more information, visit Nancy’s website. You’ll also find her on Instagram.

It’s my absolute pleasure to help reveal the brand new book from Lizzy Barber, Be Mine. I love being in at the start of a book’s journey anyway, but I so enjoyed Lizzy’s Nanny Wanted, reviewed here, that I’m very excited for Be Mine.

Lizzy also stayed in with me here on Linda’s Book Bag to celebrate her novel, Out of Her Depth.

Be Mine will be released by Datura Books on 13th May 2025 and is available for pre-order here.

Be Mine

Beth is a new mother struggling to find her place in the world. She is exhausted, mentally and physically, but her anxieties are not simply the fears of a first-time mum. A terror burns in her, fuelled by a secret past she is lucky to have escaped. When a letter arrives, bearing only the infinity symbol, Beth knows immediately it is from them. And that her past is finally catching up with her…

Ten years earlier, on the heels of a messy breakup, Beth meets the effervescent Marissa who introduces her to “Elixir” – a health and wellness organisation that she promises will change Beth’s life forever. She quickly becomes intoxicated and convinced it is the solution to all her problems. No task is too great, even as the gruelling exercise classes become more frequent, even as the therapy sessions become more costly, even as their ‘requests’ become ‘demands,’ Beth convinces herself this is what she wants.

Then, when she falls for the brand’s enigmatic leader, Tate, she can’t imagine life without Elixir. But as Beth’s star begins to rise, Marissa’s starts to fall. And though Marissa tries to warn her of the darkness lurking beneath the brand’s gleaming exterior, Beth finds she cannot let go.

Be Mine is a story about identity: finding our place in the world today, and where we turn to belong in a godless modern society.

****

I think Be Mine not only sounds an exciting thriller, but intriguing one too. I can’t wait to add Be Mine to my TBR.

Don’t forget to pre-order Be Mine here!

About Lizzy Barber

I’m not entirely certain how a surprise copy of CrimeBits: 100 Opening Gambits for Great Thrillers & Linked Mystery Puzzles selected by Lee Child ended up in my post box. I suspect it might be the smashing Luca Veste, author of CrimeBits‘s Afterward who sent it, but I’m delighted to have received it and to share my review today.

Published by the Black Spring Press Group in hardback on 27th August 2024, CrimeBits will be released in paperback on 1st October and you can pre-order it here.

CrimeBits: 100 Opening Gambits for Great Thrillers & Linked Mystery Puzzles

CrimeBits is a unique, interactive puzzle book including 100 first pages of thrillers, the best selected by the world-famous crime author Lee Child. Each page is linked to a puzzle, ranging from crosswords, to wordsearches, to mystery logic puzzles created by L.A. Times puzzle setter Robin Stears. Read an exclusive introduction by Lee Child himself on crime writing and the importance of a novel’s opening. This grab-bag of a book also includes writing challenges, crime trivia, and editor’s notes.

CrimeBits 2 is set to be selected and introduced by the best-selling Tartan Noir author Val McDermid.

My Review of CrimeBits: 100 Opening Gambits for Great Thrillers & Linked Mystery Puzzles

A selection of interactive puzzles and writing prompts.

Well this is a cracker of a book. If you’re looking for the perfect gift for someone who has everything, CrimeBits is just what you’re looking for. It’s innovative, engaging and very inspiring, particularly to aspiring crime fiction writers. It would be absolutely perfect for those who love crime fiction and have a long daily commute who could lose themselves between its pages and those who love puzzling would find it thoroughly engaging.

Crimebits is packed with all manner of fabulous story openings, facts and interactivity. I still haven’t finished all the puzzles as it took me several days to embrace the concept of the book. This is because CrimeBits is designed for readers to become a part of the book itself, carrying on writing from story prompts, completing various puzzles or awarding marks to the creative writing between its pages, for example. This was a real problem for me. I thought it was all so good that I couldn’t bear to sully the book by writing in it! I’ve really had to steel myself to complete crosswords and wordsearches which I’ve done as lightly as possible in pencil so I don’t spoil my copy and my efforts can be rubbed out, returning the book to its pristine state. With the writing spaces for Have Your Say: What Happens Next I’ve used a notebook rather than write in my copy. I’m aware this is bonkers because the whole premise of the book is that it is to be used, to be interactive and to involve the reader. There are even QR codes that take readers to extra material on the publisher website. It really is an immersive and entertaining book. I also thoroughly appreciate the fact that puzzle solutions are available at the end of CrimeBits as I’m particularly useless at logic!

The greatest pleasure in CrimeBits for me came from the 100 crime fiction openings contained in the book. They are a veritable smorgasbord of delight, my favourite being Secret Bones by Laurel Nicholson. Every aspect of crime writing is represented so that there really is something for every reader here. Their length also caters for the increasingly limited attention span many of us have as illustrated by Lee Child in his Introduction.

That Introduction is incredibly interesting. As might be expected, both readers and writers learn from Lee Child about the craft of writing – especially about hooking in a reader from the first page, but equally interesting is the insight into Lee Child as a man as well as a writer. His warm diffidence and enthusiasm leap from the page.

Similarly, the Afterword by Luca Veste is a mini-masterclass in crime fiction writing. His honesty about his own writing illustrates to perfection the way writers need to hook readers in crime fiction and his passion for the genre shines through. It made me hungry to read every book he’s written – including Dead Gone which he wishes he’d opened differently.

I loved CrimeBits because it is clever, entertaining and absorbing. But be warned, if you’re like me, you’re going to need several copies of CrimeBits: some to give as gifts, one for yourself to write in and one to keep in perfect condition on your bookshelf! I think it’s excellent.

About Lee Child

Photograph courtesy of Sigrid Estrada

Lee Child is one of the world’s leading thriller writers. He was born in Coventry, raised in Birmingham, and now lives in New York. It is said one of his novels featuring his hero Jack Reacher is sold somewhere in the world every nine seconds. His books consistently achieve the number-one slot on bestseller lists around the world and have sold over one hundred million copies. Two blockbusting Jack Reacher movies have been made so far. He is the recipient of many awards, most recently Author of the Year at the 2019 British Book Awards. He was appointed CBE in the 2019 Queen’s Birthday Honours.

For further information, follow Lee Child On Twitter/X @LeeChildReacher, find him on Instagram or visit his Facebook page and website.

About Luca Veste

Luca Veste is a writer of Italian and Liverpudlian heritage, married with two young daughters, and one of nine children. He studied psychology and criminology at university in Liverpool. He is the author of the Murphy and Rossi series, which includes Dead Gone, The Dying Place, Bloodstream, and Then She Was Gone.

Part psychological thriller, part police procedural, his books follow the detective pairing of DI David Murphy and DS Laura Rossi. The novels are set in Liverpool, bringing the city to life in a dark and terrifying manner…with just a splash of Scouse humour.

For further information, visit Luca Veste’s website, follow him on Twitter/X @LucaVeste or find Luca on Facebook and Instagram.

Given that I’ve heard they are brilliant, I have been meaning to read Peter May’s books for simply ages, but life has always intervened. As a result, I’m thrilled that Peter’s latest novel, The Black Loch is my latest My Weekly magazine online review. My enormous thanks to Sophie Ransom for originally sending me a copy of The Black Loch.

Published by Quercus imprint Riverrun on 12th September 2024, The Black Loch is available for purchase through the publisher links here.

The Black Loch

A MURDER

The body of eighteen-year-old TV personality Caitlin is found abandoned on a remote beach at the head of An Loch Dubh – the Black Loch – on the west coast of the Isle of Lewis. A swimmer and canoeist, it is inconceivable that she could have drowned.

A SECRET

Fin Macleod left the island ten years earlier to escape its memories. When he learns that his married son Fionnlagh had been having a clandestine affair with the dead girl and is suspected of her murder, he and Marsaili return to try and clear his name.

A RECKONING

But nothing is as it seems, and the truth of the murder lies in a past that Fin would rather forget, and a tragedy at the cages of a salmon farm on East Loch Roag, where the tense climax of the story finds its resolution.

The Black Loch takes us on a journey through family ties, hidden relationships and unforgiving landscapes, where suspense, violent revenge and revelation converge in the shadow of the Black Loch.

My Review of The Black Loch

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

However, here I can say that The Black Loch is one of the best thrillers I’ve read this year. I loved the contrasting links between the present events and the past action woven into a beautifully written story with wonderful insight into the human psyche. The Black Loch feels mature, affecting and so entertaining.

Do visit My Weekly to read my full review here.

About Peter May

Peter May was born and raised in Scotland. He was an award-winning journalist at the age of twenty-one and a published novelist at twenty-six. When his first book was adapted as a major drama series for the BBC, he quit journalism and during the high-octane fifteen years that followed, became one of Scotland’s most successful television dramatists. He created three prime-time drama series, presided over two of the highest-rated serials in his homeland as script editor and producer, and worked on more than 1,000 episodes of ratings-topping drama before deciding to leave television to return to his first love, writing novels.

In 2021, Peter was awarded the CWA Dagger in the Library Award. He has also won several literature awards in France, received the USA’s Barry Award for The Blackhouse, the first in his internationally bestselling Lewis Trilogy; and in 2014 was awarded the ITV Specsavers Crime Thriller Book Club Best Read of the Year award for Entry Island. Peter now lives in South-West France with his wife, writer Janice Hally.

For more information, follow Peter on Twitter @authorpetermay, visit his website or find him on Facebook.

A couple of weeks ago it was my privilege to reveal the cover of Tony Lee Moral’s book The Two Masks of Vendetta and you’ll find all the details here. Today I’m back with Tony’s sequel, The Passion of the Cross, which sounds just as brilliant.

The Passion of the Cross is published by the Book Guild on 28th September 2024 and is available for purchase here.

Here’s what you need to know:

The Passion of the Cross

When famed curator Giovanni Montefiore is shockingly murdered at the Italian Opera in Rome following his bold proclamation regarding the authenticity of the True Cross, there are many suspects, but suspicion falls heavily upon his nephew, Mario Montefiore.

With his American girlfriend, actress Catriona Benedict, by his side, they embark on a perilous quest for truth and to uncover the real killer, leading them through some of Italy’s most iconic and glamorous cities.

But as the body count rises and the relentless pursuit of both law enforcement and paparazzi intensifies, they find themselves fleeing to Florence in search of the True Cross, which they hope holds the answers they need. Amidst the ancient streets of Florence, Catriona assumes a daring new identity, delving into a world of shadows and deception.

Will they uncover the secrets surrounding the True Cross before it’s too late?

****

I think this sounds an absolute cracker. Don’t forget The Passion of the Cross is available for purchase here.

About Tony Lee Moral

Tony Lee Moral is an author and mystery and suspense writer who has written four books on Alfred Hitchcock: Alfred Hitchcock Storyboards (2024) published by Titan Books; The Young Alfred Hitchcock’s Movie Making Masterclass (2022) published by Sabana/MWP books; The Making of Hitchcock’s The Birds (2013) published by Kamera Books and Hitchcock and the Making of Marnie Revised Edition (2013) published by Roman and Littlefield/Bloomsbury.

He is also the author of four novels; The Two Masks of Vendetta (2024) and its sequel The Passion of the Cross (2024) published by The Book Guild in September; The Cat That Changed America (2022) and Ghost Maven (2019).

For further information, you can visit Tony’s website, follow him on Twitter/X @TonyLeeMoral and find Tony on Instagram.

Although I’m not taking on much new blog material at the moment because life continues to be challenging, I simply had to review the children’s book, The Littlest Baker by Melissa Cummings and illustrated by Ana Graça.

My huge thanks to Ana for sending me a copy of The Littlest Baker in return for an honest review. I’m delighted to share that review today.

The Littlest Baker is available for purchase here.

The Littlest Baker

Join the Littlest Baker on an adventure as she whisks up goodies for her Grandfather’s bakery. Using ingredients and the melody of the mixer, she captivates all five senses, immersing the reader in a symphony of baking. When she drops the completed treats onto the floor, she is reminded that beautiful things can come from mistakes.

My Review of The Littlest Baker

It’s time to bake cakes for the family shop.

What a charming book for children. The story is an easy one to grasp with The Littlest Baker making cakes for sale in the family shop, having a slight mishap and finding a new positive as a result, so that it is an accessible story for young readers or listeners. I particularly liked the fact that there is space to inscribe a child’s name at the beginning of the book and The Littlest Baker isn’t actually given a name so that the story can ‘belong’ to any young reader.

Plot aside, however, The Littlest Baker is filled with wonderful learning points for the target audience. When the cakes drop to the floor it seems a disaster, but as this leads to a brand new style of cupcake, children come to understand that life often has trials and errors, that we can learn from our mistakes and new opportunities open up.

Other learning opportunities in The Littlest Baker come from the presentation of the story in rhyme so that children can discover actual and near rhyme, homophones and spelling. This is great for enabling children to predict words and engage with the story, as well as illustrating language for emergent writers. Much of the language is familiar, but more difficult words like ‘luxuriously’ increase the vocabulary of both young readers and writers. I thought the health and safety aspects were great too as a grown up helps with the trays hot from the oven.

I loved the fact that not only are all the senses catered for from the sound of the mixer to the taste of the cupcakes, but before the baking begins, the protagonist puts in her hearing aids so that the story feels inclusive too. This is also enhanced by the fact that there is no parent in the story. Children come from all kinds of homes and it is Aunt Tula, Nana and Grandpa who are working with The Littlest Baker so that children without conventional parents are not left feeling like outsiders. Similarly, the characters drawn at the end of the story are from a range of ethnic backgrounds and ages making the inclusivity all the more effective.

Indeed, the illustrations by Ana Graça are delightful all the way through The Littlest Baker. The illustrative style is childlike using pastel shades, without being childish so that it appeals to children. I think there are so many brilliant learning opportunities in the home or other educational settings through the pictures – perhaps in counting the different baked items to help numeracy, or in baking or even in acting out the story using the lovely illustrations to assist, so that young readers can gain in confidence.

If I have one criticism of The Littlest Baker it is that reading it with your class or children is going to make you desperate to try a combined chocolate and strawberry cupcake! Other than that, I thought it was a totally smashing children’s book.

About Melissa Cummings

Mother of two Melissa Cummings lives in South Jersey. She is the head of a book club that was founded in 2016 with a close group of ladies from her community, all of whom share a deep love of reading.

Her debut book The Littlest Barista was written out of necessity. With a child who loves coffee and books, but not a children’s book to be found about coffee, she had no choice but to write it herself.

For more information about Melissa, visit her website and find her on Instagram too.

About Ana Graça

Ana Graça is a filmmaker and a children’s illustrator from Brazil, now based in London.

Ana is particularly interested in visual storytelling and she has a focus on world-building and stories for children. She specialises in children’s illustrations and on pattern and surface design. Ana has collaborated on stationary and pattern design with many brands in Brazil and world-wide, and has had two picture books published.

For further information, visit Ana’s website or find her on Instagram.