New Books Issue 56 March 2017
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Giant printAdult fictionArcher, Jeffrey. This Was a Man. 2016. Family stories.The Clifton chronicles: book 7. In Whitehall, Giles Barrington discovers the truth about his wife Karin from the Cabinet Secretary. Harry Clifton sets out to write his magnum opus, while his wife Emma completes her ten years as Chairman of the Bristol Royal Infirmary, and receives an unexpected call from Margaret Thatcher offering her a job. Sebastian Clifton becomes Chairman of Farthings Kaufman bank. Meanwhile, Lady Virginia is about to flee the country to avoid her creditors when the Duchess of Hertford dies, and she sees another opportunity to clear her debts and finally trump the Cliftons and Barringtons. 4v.
Carey, Peter. Oscar and Lucinda. 2011. Literary fiction.Set on board an ocean liner travelling to Australia in 1864, this novel is both a love story and an historical tour de force that relates the developing romance between Oscar Hopkins, an Oxford seminarian, and Lucinda Leplastrier, a Sydney heiress with a fascination for glass. Made for each other, the two are gamblers – one obsessive, the other compulsive - incapable of winning at the game of love. 6v.
Chambers, Kimberley. The Wronged. 2015. Thriller.The trap: book 3. Vinny Butler has used his time in prison well: to plan the downfall of all who've wronged him. Vinny's brother Michael may think he's the top dog running the family business, but it won't last when Vinny finds out how good his brother's got it. Meanwhile, Vinny is incensed when he finds out that Joanna had a baby in secret while he was in prison but that's nothing compared to his anger when he finds out who the father is. The Butlers are at war, and they're taking everyone down with them; it's all going to end in flames. 5v.
Collins, Wilkie. The Woman in White. 2011. Classic.The Woman in White famously opens with Walter Hartright's eerie encounter on a moonlit London road. Engaged as a drawing master to the beautiful Laura Fairlie, Walter is drawn into the sinister intrigues of Sir Percival Glyde and his "charming" friend Count Fosco, who has a taste for white mice, vanilla bonbons and poison. Pursuing questions of identity and insanity along the paths and corridors of English country houses and the madhouse, The Woman in White is the first and most influential of the Victorian genre that combined Gothic horror with psychological realism. 10v. Cookson, Catherine. A House Divided. 1999. Family stories.Set at the end of the Second World War, Matthew Wallingham, blinded in action and a decorated war hero, returns home and strives to put his life back in order. Although he has the sympathy of his family and friends, it seems that the only person who is able to help him in his depression is his nurse, Liz. But Liz herself has a shadow hanging over her that will bring a terrifying violence into the Wallingham family's life. 4v.
Cornwell, Bernard. A Crowning Mercy. 2003. Historical fiction.Crowning mercy: book 1. In mid-17th century England, the nation was in upheaval. In the Dorset countryside, a young girl, illicitly bathing in a stream, first fell in love with a passing stranger. Her parents called her Dorcas, but he called her Campion. She had one gift left for her by her unknown father – a pendant made of gold, banded by tiny glowing stones and at its base was a seal engraved with an axe and the words: St Matthew. So when she flees before the unbearable, worthy suitor who is forced upon her after her forbidden meeting, she takes this and the delicate lace gloves with her, and hopes to find her father, and her lover. 5v.
Cussler, Clive. Pacific Vortex! 1998. Thriller.Dirk Pitt: book 1. Fully armed and with all hands on board, the nuclear submarine Starbuck sailed into the calm Pacific Ocean for sea trials and vanished. Then ace maritime trouble-shooter Dirk Pitt finds the log of the Starbuck, a single, chilling clue in the shark-torn surf off Hawaii. “Do not search for us, it can only end in vain”. a crazed journal of madness and death is all that remains. And the Captain's final, scrawled, fear-crazed note locates the Starbuck's grave hundreds of miles from her last known position! The search for the Starbuck plunges Dirk Pitt into a whirlpool of deep-sea mystery and terror - the Pacific Vortex. 3v.
Hannah, Sophie. Closed Casket: The New Hercule Poirot Mystery. 2016. Crime.Hercule Poirot mystery: book 2. Lady Athelinda Playford has planned a house party at her mansion in Clonakilty, County Cork. As guests arrive, Lady Playford summons her lawyer to make an urgent change to her will, one she intends to announce at dinner that night. She has decided to cut off her two children without a penny and leave her fortune to someone who has only weeks to live. Among Lady Playford’s guests are the famous Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot, and Inspector Edward Catchpool of Scotland Yard. When a crime is committed Poirot must find the culprit. 3v.
Herbert, James. The Ghosts of Sleath. 2015. Horror.David Ash: book 2. Can a ghost haunt a ghost? Can the dead reach out and touch the living? Can ancient evil be made manifest? These are the questions that confront investigator David Ash when he is sent to the picturesque village of Sleath in the Chiltern Hills to look into mysterious reports of mass hauntings. What he discovers is a terrified community gripped by horrors and terrorized by ghosts from the ancient village's long history. As each dark secret is unveiled and terrible, malign forces are unleashed, he will fear for his very sanity. 4v.
Howard, Elizabeth Jane. Marking Time. 1993. Family Stories.Cazalet Chronicles: book 2. Home Place, Sussex, 1939. The English family at war. The sunlit days of childish games and family meals are over, as the shadows of war roll in to cloud the lives of one English family. At Home Place, the windows are blacked out and food is becoming scarce as a new generation of Cazalets takes up the story. Louise dreams of being a great actress, Clary is an aspiring writer, while Polly, is burdened with acknowledge and the need to share it. 6v.
Maclean, Alistair. Fear is the Key. 1980. Adventure.A sunken DC-3 lying on the Caribbean floor. Its cargo: ten million, two hundred and fifty thousand dollars in gold ingots, emeralds and uncut diamonds guarded by the remains of two men, one woman and a very small boy. The fortune was there for the taking, and ready to grab it were a blue-blooded oilman with his own offshore rig, a gangster so cold and independent that even the Mafia couldn't do business with him and a psychopathic hired assassin. Against them stood one man, and those were his people, those skeletons in their watery coffin. His name was Talbot, and he would bury his dead, but only after he had avenged their murders. 3v.
Muriel, Oscar De. The Strings of Murder. 2015. Historical crime.Frey & McGray: book 1. Edinburgh, 1888. A violinist is murdered in his home. The dead virtuoso's maid swears she heard three musicians playing in the night. But with only one body in the locked practice room, and no way in or out, the case makes no sense. Fearing a national panic over another Ripper, Scotland Yard sends Inspector Ian Frey to investigate under the cover of a fake department specializing in the occult. However, Frey's new boss, Detective “Nine-Nails” McGray, actually believes in such supernatural nonsense. 4v.
Neville, Stuart. Those We Left Behind. 2016. Crime.DCI Serena Flanagan: book 1. When 12-year-old Ciaran Devine confessed to murdering his foster father it sent shock waves through the nation. DCI Serena Flanagan, then an ambitious Detective Sergeant, took Ciaran's confession after days spent earning his trust. Probation officer Paula Cunningham, now tasked with helping Ciaran re-enter society, after having spent seven years locked away, suspects there was more to this case than the police uncovered. When she brings her fears to DCI Flanagan, the years of lies begin to unravel, setting a deadly chain of events in motion. 3v.
Patterson, James. The 6th Target. 2009. Crime.The Women's Murder Club: book 6. Detective Lindsay Boxer is called to the scene of a shooting to find that three people have been killed, and one of her friends, Claire, has been shot and lies bleeding, whilst the murderer is on the run. Lindsay promises Claire that she'll hunt down this killer. But it proves not to be so easy. 3v.
Patterson, James. 7th Heaven. 2009. Crime.Michael Campion was a people's hero, a popular governor's son who publicly battled against a rare and debilitating heart illness. When he vanished without a trace, his disappearance and the search to find him, dead or alive, hit the headlines daily. But the trail went cold very quickly. 3v.
Patterson, James. Step on a Crack. 2011. Thriller.Michael Bennett: book 1. The scene is set for a huge funeral in St Patrick's Cathedral in New York. The rich and the famous from all over America, and beyond, have arrived to honour a former First Lady after her sudden, unexpected death. Then follows an attack that was three years in the planning. Hostages are taken, the ex-President among them, ransoms demanded, a couple of hostages shot to show the kidnappers mean business. It's all brilliantly and chillingly co-ordinated, and Michael Bennett, the detective in charge of the case, knows it will be his biggest ever challenge. 3v.
Patterson, James. Gone. 2014. Thriller.Michael Bennett: book 6. Manuel Perrine doesn't fear anyone or anything. A charismatic and ruthless leader, Perrine slaughters rivals as effortlessly as he wears his trademark white linen suit. Detective Michael Bennett once managed to put Perrine behind bars, the only official in the US ever to accomplish that. But now Perrine is out, and he has sworn to find and kill Bennett and everyone dear to him. 3v.
Patterson, James. Alert. 2016. Thriller.Michael Bennett: book 8. New York has seen more than its fair share of horrific attacks, but the city is about to be shaken in a way it never has before. After two devastating catastrophes in quick succession, everyone is on edge. Detective Michael Bennett is assigned to the case and given the near impossible task of hunting down the shadowy terror group responsible. Then a shocking assassination makes it clear that these inexplicable events are just the prelude to the biggest threat of all. Now Bennett is racing against the clock to save his beloved city, before the most destructive force he has ever faced tears it apart. 3v.
Riordan, Kate. The Girl in the Photograph. 2015. General fiction.It's the summer of 1933 and Alice Eveleigh has arrived at Fiercombe Manor in disgrace. Hiding her shame in this isolated house concealed within a Gloucestershire valley in the care of housekeeper, Mrs Jelphs, Alice soon begins to sense that something isn't quite right within the walls of this beautiful manor. Traces of the previous occupant, Elizabeth Stanton, are everywhere, and Alice discovers Elizabeth's life eerily mirrors the path she herself is on. The past is set to repeat its sorrows, and with devastating consequences. 4v.
Sheffield, Jack. Teacher, Teacher! The Alternative School Logbook, 1977-1978. 2007. Country life fiction.Jack Sheffield: book 1. In 1977 Jack Sheffield is appointed headmaster of a small village school in North Yorkshire. So begins Jack's eventful journey through the school year and his attempts to overcome the problems that face him as a young and inexperienced headmaster. The chapters include Ruby the 20 stone caretaker with an acute spelling problem, a secretary who worships Margaret Thatcher, a villager who grows giant carrots, a barmaid/parent who requests sex lessons, and a five-year-old boy whose language is colourful in the extreme. There's also beautiful, Beth Henderson, who is irresistibly attractive to the young headmaster. 3v.
Sheffield, Jack. Dear Teacher: The Alternative School Logbook 1979-1980. 2009. Country life fiction.Jack Sheffield: book 3. Abba is top of the pops, and in the small Yorkshire village of Ragley-on-the-Forest, Jack Sheffield returns for his third year as headmaster of the village school. Jack and his staff struggle to keep a semblance of normality throughout the turbulence of the school terms, as once again the official School Log fails to record what is really going on beneath the seemingly quiet routine. Ruby the caretaker discovers her Prince Charming; Vera the school secretary gets to meet her hero, Nicholas Parsons; and Jack, to his astonishment, finds himself having to stand in as a curiously skinny Father Christmas. 3v.
Sheffield, Jack. Please Sir!: The Alternative School Logbook 1981-1982. 2011. Country life fiction.Jack Sheffield: book 5. It's 1981, the time of Adam and the Ants, Rubik's Cube, the Sony Walkman and the Falklands War, as head teacher Jack Sheffield returns to Ragley-on-the-Forest School for another rollercoaster year. Vera, the ever-efficient school secretary, has to grapple with a new-fangled computer, and enjoys a royal occasion, while Ruby the caretaker rediscovers romance with a Butlin's Redcoat. And for Jack, wedding bells are in the air. But the unexpected is just round the corner. 3v.
Sheffield, Jack. Educating Jack: The Alternative School Logbook 1982-1983. 2012. Country life fiction.Jack Sheffield: book 6. As the 1982 school year begins, Jack Sheffield returns to Ragley village school for his sixth year as headteacher. Nora Pratt celebrates twenty-five years in her coffee shop, Ronnie Smith finally tries to get a job, and little Krystal Entwhistle causes concern in the school Nativity play. It's the time of ET and Greenham Common, Price William's birth, Fame legwarmers and the puzzling introduction of the 20p piece. Meanwhile, for Jack, the biggest surprise of his life is in store. 3v.
Sheffield, Jack. Silent Night. 2014. Country life fiction.Jack Sheffield: book 8. More funny and heartwarming adventures for the North Yorkshire village school and its eccentric occupants. 1984, and it's an important time for the children of Ragley-on-the-Forest school. Their school choir is to sing a carol in a church in York, and is actually going to be on television! Helping to keep his excited children, not to mention their parents, under control during these momentous events taxes Jack and his staff to the limit. And at the same time, Jack has his own problems to deal with. 3v.
Steel, Danielle. One Day at a Time. 2009. Romance.Coco Barrington, from a legendary Hollywood family, is a law school dropout and family black sheep. With her mother, a bestselling author in a relationship with a younger man, and her sister Jane, a top film producer with a long-term partner, Liz, they are not your typical family. Coco works as a dog walker, in a Northern California beach town - until she agrees to house-sit her sister's luxurious San Francisco home. The house comes complete with an unexpected houseguest, Leslie Baxter, a dashing British superstar who's fleeing his psycho ex-girlfriend. Their worlds couldn't be more different. The attraction couldn't be more immediate. 3v.
Watson, S. J. Before I Go to Sleep. 2014. Thriller.Memories define us. So what if you lost yours every time you went to sleep? Your name, your identity, your past, even the people you love, all forgotten overnight. And the one person you trust may only be telling you half the story. Welcome to Christine's life. Christine, an amnesiac who, following a mysterious accident, cannot remember her past or form new memories, desperately tries to uncover the truth about who she is and who she can trust. 4v.
Adult non-fictionAutobiographyRentzenbrink, Cathy. The Last Act of Love: The Story of My Brother and His Sister. 2016.In the summer of 1990, two weeks before his GCSE results, which turned out to be the best in his school, Cathy Rentzenbrink's brother Matty was knocked down by a car on the way home from a night out, suffering serious head injuries. He was left in a permanent vegetative state. Over the following years, Cathy and her parents took care of Matty but there came a point at which it seemed the best thing they could do for Matty, and for themselves, was let him go. Cathy describes the unimaginable pain of losing her brother and the decision that changed her family's lives forever. 2v. Children and young adult fiction5+ suggested reading ageRodgers, Frank. Pirate Penguins. 2006.Paisley, Posso, Kelty and Spott are pirate penguins. And they're hungry. But there's nothing to eat - all the fish have disappeared from the sea! Could the gang of scary, sharp-toothed cats have anything to do with it? It's time for Paisley to come up with a cunning plan. 1v.
7+ suggested reading ageAnholt, Laurence. Eco-Wolf and the Three Pigs. 2002.Eco-Wolf knows it's important to give Mother Nature RESPECT. Unlike the three big bad pigs, and their pesky polluting plans... Eco-Wolf is furious when three bad pigs start messing with his valley vibes and building on his peaceful countryside home. But does he have enough huff and puff to blow up the polluting pigs' plans? This is a modern twist on the classic story of "The Three Little Pigs". 1v.
Anholt, Laurence. Ghostyshocks and the Three Scares. 2002.Ghostyshocks is scared of the dark forest and vampire bears. She is extra-frightened when she gets lost in the woods with only one old house in sight. Could the scary bears live there? She has to knock on the door to find out. 1v.
Anholt, Laurence. Rumply Crumply Stinky Pin. 2002.Once upon a time in a country where everyone had silly names (and the King had the silliest of all) there lived a miller by the name of Eyebrow Snailsocks. Eyebrow has a problem – he can't stop boasting about his daughter and soon the King decides to find out the truth. So one night, the miller's daughter finds herself locked in a room full of spaghetti which she must knit into vests by sunrise or else! 1v.
Cope, Andrew. Spy Dog: Storm Chaser. 2015.Spy Dog: book 11. An unusual storm cloud has been hovering over Brickfield town and Lara knows that something isn't quite right about it - it smells, sort of chickeny. The people of Brickfield are becoming strangely grumpy so Lara, Spy Dog extraordinaire, must investigate. If the town doesn't see sunshine soon the consequences could be dogastrophic! 1v.
King-Smith, Dick. The Magic Carpet Slippers. 2001.When 75-year old Percy Sloggett's battered old slippers are replaced, it is a surprise to discover that the new pair is magic. They make him feel years younger and also make him strong and clever. When they enable him to leap across the road to prevent an accident, they become life-savers as well. 1v.
Mcdonald, Megan. Judy Moody Around the World In 8 ½ Days. 2011.Judy Moody: book 7. Judy Moody has a double! Amy Namey is exactly like Judy, and she's a member of the 'way-cool' My-Name-Is-A-Poem Club. But when Judy starts an ‘Around-the-World’ school project with her new best friend, her old friends start to feel left out. 1v.
Riddell, Chris. Ottoline and the Yellow Cat. 2015.Ottoline: book 1. Ottoline Brown lives in a stylish apartment in Big City with a small hairy creature called Mr Munroe. Together they look after the Brown family's eclectic collections – and dabble in a spot of detective work. So they are the first to the scene of the crime when a string of high society dog-nappings and jewel thefts hits Big City. Ottoline (who luckily has a diploma from the Who-R-U academy of Disguise) and Mr Munroe go undercover - and expose an ingenious scam masterminded by furry feline crook, the Yellow Cat. 1v.
Strong, Jeremy. The Hundred-Mile-an-Hour Dog. 2007.Hundred-mile-an-hour dog: book 1. Streaker is no ordinary dog. She is a rocket on four legs with a woof attached. Can Trevor train her by the end of the holidays or will he lose his bet with horrible Charlie Smugg? 1v.
Webb, Holly. Catmagic. 2008.There's magic everywhere, if you know where to look. The last thing Lottie wants is to spend the holidays with her boring uncle. But everything changes when she discovers his pet shop is full of magical animals. 1v.
Webb, Holly. Dogmagic. 2008.Lottie is enjoying life at the magical pet shop and especially the magic lessons with Sofie and Ariadne the witch. With her new best friend, Ruby, even school is becoming fun, but can Lottie trust her? What would Ruby say if she knew Lottie had magical powers? 1v.
9+ suggested reading ageDon, Lari. First Aid for Fairies and Other Fabled Beasts. 2008.Helen has absolutely no interest in becoming a vet like her mother. So she isn't best pleased when asked to help an injured horse. Only this horse isn't entirely normal, and nor are his friends. Without warning, Helen is thrust into an extraordinary world full of magical rituals, fantastical creatures and a dangerous, powerful beast known as the Master, who would destroy it all. 2v.
Grylls, Bear. Gold of The Gods. 2008.Mission: survival: book 1. Beck Granger is on a trip to Colombia in his school holidays. His anthropologist uncle has taken him along on a visit to Don Rafael de Castillo, a descendent of a great explorer who is claimed to have discovered a lost city of gold. But the secret of the city died with the explorer - until now. When Beck gets lost in the Columbian jungle with no food, no compass, and no hope of rescue danger lurks ahead. But Beck is no ordinary teenager - he's the world's youngest survival expert. If anyone can make it out alive, he can. 1v.
Judge, Malcolm. The Hamburgers of Doom. 2015.Meet Jonny Jakes, undercover schoolboy reporter for “The Woodford Word”. He offends everyone he writes about and hates anyone finding out his real name. It's not Jonny Jakes. After only half a term of Jonny's diligent reporting, Mr Hardy is retiring as head teacher. Just who is his replacement, Mr Jones? With a suspiciously normal name like that, Jonny knows something's up. He just didn't expect it to be so out of this world. 1v.
Lingard, Joan. The Chancery Lane Conspiracy. 2010.Elfie and Joe: book 2. When Elfie's best friend, Joe, starts work as a clerk in her father's office, Elfie is delighted. Unfortunately, Joe's not the only new person working in the lawyer's office in Chancery Lane. Mr Trelawney's bigoted partner Mr Basildon-Blunt takes an instant dislike to Joe and worse, he seems to have some hold over Elfie's father. 1v.
Mccombie, Karen. Angels Next Door. 2014.Angels next door: book 1. Riley's best friend has gone away forever and Lauren “Queen of Everything” Mayhew is making school a nightmare. It looks like Riley's on her own until the three angelo sisters move in next door. Colourful and sparkly, they stand out, especially at school and since they've arrived there have been loads of strange coincidences. Who are these new girls? 1v.
Marshall, Jill. Jane Blonde: Sensational Spylet. 2006.Jane Blonde: book 1. Ten-year-old Janey Brown feels like she is practically invisible. Then a crazy woman turns up at the school gates, claiming to be Janey's godmother. According to hip-hop talking, larger-than-life “G-Mamma”, Janey Brown really is something special. She's Jane Blonde, Sensational Spylet – and it's time for her first mission. 2v.
Pichon, Liz. Excellent Excuses (And Other Good Stuff). 2011.Tom Gates: book 2. Following on from the first Tom Gates book from Liz Pichon, this book takes the form of Tom's battered homework diary - crammed with his scribbles and stories. 2v.
Reeve, Philip. Goblins vs Dwarves. 2013.Goblins: book 2. The reawakening of ancient sorcery is bringing new creatures to the world of Clovenstone. A network of tunnels is sneaking into the heart of goblin territory. Skarper and his friends try to halt this underground invasion, but the dwarves - ruthless, cunning and covered in mole-droppings - are a dangerous enemy. The hapless heroes of GOBLINS must defend their magical castle in a fabulously action-packed sequel from one of the master storytellers of children's fantasy fiction. 2v.
Willoughby, Holly. First Term at L'Etoile. 2013.School for Stars: book 1. On the first day of term at L'Etoile, School for Stars, twins Maria and Molly Fitzfoster meet Pippa Burrows who's won a song-writing scholarship to the school. The talented trio share the same dreams of super-stardom and become best friends. But will their friendship stand up against Lucifette Marciano's plans to wreck their chances and claim fame for herself? 1v.
11+ suggested reading ageEarle, Phil. The Bubble Wrap Boy. 2014.“All my life I've been tiny Charlie from the Chinese Chippie, whose only friend is Sinus, the kid who stares at walls. But I believe that everyone's good at something. I've just got to work out what my something is.” Charlie's found his secret talent: skateboarding. It's his one-way ticket to popularity. All he's got to do is practice, and nothing's going to stop him - not his clumsiness, not his overprotective mum, nothing. Except Charlie isn't the only one in his family hiding a massive secret, and his next discovery will change everything. How do you stay on the board when your world is turned upside down? 2v.
13+ suggested reading ageBuckle, J. A. Half My Facebook Friends are Ferrets. 2014.15-year-old Josh fantasises about becoming a death metal guitarist complete with tattoos, piercings and hordes of adoring fans. But it's not easy when his super-strict mum won't let him grow his hair! Luckily Josh has a way of coping with life's setbacks; it's only a diary, but it contains all Josh's hopes, dreams and frustrations. There's a lot he wants to get done before his 16th birthday, but things never turn out quite like he plans. What Josh doesn't know is that his mother also kept a diary, back about the time he was born, and a secret in there holds the key to Josh's life becoming a whole lot more metal. 1v.
Cannon, Katy, Love, Lies & Lemon Pies. 2014.Love, lies & lemon pies: book 1. 16-year-old Lottie is on a mission to protect her biggest secret, and it'll take every lie and every baking trick she can muster. Since her dad died, life hasn't been the same for Lottie. When the school suggests she joins Bake Club to get her back on track, Lottie reluctantly agrees. But soon she rekindles her love of baking and gets caught up with Mac, school rebel and another unwilling Bake Club member. As the end-of-year bake-off approaches, the tension rises. Can Lottie keep up the facade of her perfect life? And can her bubbling romance with Mac survive the pressure? 2v.
Ducie, Joe. The Rig. 2013.15-year-old Will Drake has made a career of breaking out from high-security prisons. His talents have landed him at the Rig, a specialist juvenile holding facility in the middle of the Arctic Ocean. After making some escape plans and meeting the first real friends of his life, Drake quickly realises that all is not as it seems on the Rig. The Warden is obsessed with the mysterious Crystal-X; a blue, glowing substance that appears to give superpowers to the teens exposed to it. Drake, Tristan and Irene are banking on a bid for freedom but can they survive long enough to make it? 2v.
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