Iron house

John Hart

A gripping tale of two brothers who were abandoned as young children and ended up in Iron House orphanage. One (Michael) is strong, the other (Julian) is weak and is targeted for terrible abuse. One day Julian fights back against his tormenters and a boy is killed; Michael takes the blame and runs. The boys' lives then take very different paths: Julian is adopted by a rich, powerful family, while Michael becomes an enforcer for a crime family. Their paths cross again when Michael tries to turn his back on his life of crime and his enemies threaten his brother. Michael must also try to protect his pregnant girlfriend who, until now, has known nothing about his violent life. Michael must discover the truth about his past and he and Julian must somehow lay the ghosts of Iron House to rest. I cannot recommend this book highly enough; if you like your thrillers dark, bloody, and thought-provoking, you will love this. John Hart is a quality thriller writer who writes intelligent, yet adrenaline-pumping fiction.

(Reviewed by Angela.)

The absolutist

John Boyne

Two young English soldiers experience the horrors of life and death in the trenches of the Great War; and the reader knows early on that just one will survive. Not only do they have to deal with the terror of battle, they must wrestle with their consciences regarding their wartime actions, and deal with their confusing feelings about their own blossoming relationship. This is truly a harrowing read about the futility of war, the sad life of some homosexual men at that time in history, and the tragedy of the treatment of "feather men" who objected to fighting in the First World War, as well as the impact on their families. Written by the author of The boy in the striped pyjamas (but not suitable for younger readers), this painful novel is a great read, if difficult and very emotional.

(Reviewed by Angela.)

Matched

17 year old Cassia lives in a perfect futuristic world where there is no sickness or disease, everyone dies at the age of 80, and everyone's future is mapped out for them by the Society.
Matched begins with Cassia travelling to her Match Banquet to find out who the Society has decided she is to marry when she turns 21. Cassia is relieved to find she has known her match all her life: her good friend Xander. However when she sees another boy's face flash up on her screen as well, she is confused - the Society does not make mistakes. Cassia knows the other boy too - Ky - and falls for him even though, for many reasons, she knows she shouldn't.
Cassia soon finds that life under the Society is not as perfect as it seems, and she must choose whether to follow the rules or her heart.
Matched is a compelling love triangle, but also a gripping thriller as Cassia begins to question everything she has always known. The first in a trilogy, this book will appeal to young adults, particularly girls, who enjoy futuristic love stories with a bit of depth and have had enough of vampires!
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Reviewed by Angela

One day

by David Nicholls

There has been a bit of hype about this book recently, and in my view it is well-deserved. Beginning on their university graduation day in 1988, we visit Emma (working class, aspiring writer, bit serious) and Dexter (wealthy background, aspiring TV presenter, bit of a cad) every 15 July for the next two decades, and discover how they (and their friendship) evolve. Their friendship (mostly) survives their personal ups and downs: failed relationships, spectacular career disasters, substance abuse. Very funny in parts, very moving in others, One day is a wonderful romp through the past 20 years (lots of "Oh yeah, I remember that!" moments) as experienced by two great characters, which will appeal particularly to thirty- and forty-somethings. A great will they/won't they?, should they/shouldn't they? story.

(Reviewed by Angela.)

The Distant Hours

Kate Morton

A letter delivered in 1992 – 50 years late – provokes such an emotional response in Edie’s normally-repressed mother, that Edie becomes determined to find out why. Her search leads her to a crumbling castle in the English countryside where she finds three elderly sisters and becomes entangled in their tragic family mysteries.
Set in both 1992 and wartime England, this is an intriguing story of madness, lost love, forbidden love, family duty, and a literary mystery. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and got completely drawn in to the mysterious world of the Blythe family. Readers who enjoy historical and family dramas with a bit of mystery thrown in should enjoy this.

(We also have this book on CD in our Adult's Spoken word collection)

(Reviewed by Angela.)

Haunted heart: the life and times of Stephen King

Lisa Rogak

Ever wondered where Stephen King comes up with his scary story ideas? Well, this book goes some way to answering this question. It seems the books are often based on his own fears, and he feels writing about them helps keep them under control.

I found this unauthorised biography fascinating reading: from King’s dirt-poor childhood, to his college years, to the publication of his first book, to his battle with alcohol and drug addiction, to his huge success, and his battle back from the life-threatening injuries sustained when hit by a van while out walking. Fans of King will enjoy learning some of the background to his most famous works, plus find out what he really thought about the film version of The shining!

(Reviewed by Angela.)

The Radleys

Matt Haig

The Radleys are a normal family: Mum (Helen), Dad (Peter) and two teenage children. Except they all have to wear SPF 60 sunscreen all the time, are violently allergic to garlic, and are constantly thirsty (the kids never understanding why). The parents know: they are all "abstaining" vampires (who have rejected the vampire way of life and try to live as normal "unbloods", never tasting live blood).

They have kept their children in the dark until one day teenager Clara discovers the joy of drinking blood when a boy attacks her. Suddenly the parents have to explain to their children who they really are. A secret anti-vampire police unit comes looking for Clara and Peter calls his estranged brother Will (a practising vampire) for help, little knowing that Will is the last person Helen ever wants to see.

This is a darkly comic and unconventional look at modern vampire life in the suburbs, but is just as much about families and family secrets, and is definitley not suitable for the kids! Some of the funniest moments come as teenager Rowan tries to come to terms with being a vampire as well as a normal teenage boy.

(Reviewed by Angela)

The rapture

by Liz Jensen

An eco-thriller set in the not-too-distant future where global warming is wreaking havoc on the world and scores of people have converted to various forms of religion in the belief that "end times" are coming.

Gabrielle is a psychotherapist who starts work at a facility for disturbed, violent children, where she meets 16-year-old Bethany. Bethany makes garbled predictions about future weather events but has been dismissed because of her mental state. When her predictions start to come true, Gabrielle begins to believe and enlists the help of scientist Fraser to try to convince the world that a cataclysmic event is drawing near.

While fast-paced, the characters in The rapture are vividly drawn and flawed. Gabrielle is confined to a wheelchair after a car crash in which she lost her lover two years ago. She blames herself and no longer thinks of herself as a woman, until Fraser teaches her to love again. This novel pulls no punches and is a thought-provoking exploration of our potential future under global warming.

(Reviewed by Angela)

Terror's Reach

Tom Bale

This is only Bale's second novel, but I will be reading more. Set on a tiny island off the English coast which is home to a handful of multimillionaires, a ruthless plot to take hostage and rob the wealthy inhabitants unfolds. After a bust gone wrong which lost him his entire family, former undercover cop Joe Clayton is laying low, employed as a bodyguard to successful businessman Valentin Nasenko's young wife Cassie. It falls to Joe to try to work out what's really going on and to rescue the innocents involved. The action moves swiftly with enough unforeseen plot twists to keep the reader riveted. Fans of Lee Child would probably enjoy this easy, "sit back and enetertained" read.

(Reviewed by Angela.)

The confession

John Grisham

In Texas, an innocent young man is set to be executed in a matter of days for a murder he did not commit. Miles away, a man dying of a brain tumour walks into a church and confesses to the minister there that he committed the murder. Can a guilty man save an innocent one from death at the last minute? John Grisham is well-known for his anti-death penalty stance and with this novel, you can understand why: justice is not always done. I feel John Grisham is back to his best with this powerful, fast-paced and gripping novel. The events leave every character involved in the book changed in some way, and maybe the reader too.

(Reviewed by Angela.)

The passage

Justin Cronin

Yes, this is a novel with vampires involved. But before you yawn and say "Not another vampire book!", this is not your Twilight version of vampires. In fact, the word "vampire" is hardly mentioned. It is more like a post-apocalyptic novel than a vampire one; the first half of the book

descibes the beginning of the apocalypse, the second is set 100 years later when a vampire virus has wiped out most of the world, leaving only a few survivors. Yes, there are a lot of characters and the tale is reasonably complex, but the story is held together by Amy, a little girl abandoned by her mother, who may hold the key to the whole situation. If you enjoy Stephen King's epics, you might just enjoy this engrossing tale too. Apparently the movie rights have already been taken up by Ridley Scott, so it will be interesting to see how the story is tackled in film format.

(Reviewed by Angela)

Full dark, no stars

Stephen King

This is a collection of four novellas dealing with, as King puts it, ordinary people faced with extraordinary circumstances and how they deal with them. Being King novellas, the events faced are dark and disturbing (a wife's murder, cancer, rape, a serial killer husband) and the outcomes are not always pleasant or as you'd expect. There are some real gems in the collection, particularly "Big driver" which sees a cosy mystery writer attempting to avenge being attacked and left for dead while taking a shortcut home from a library talk. I can see decent films potentially being made of a couple of the stories, (like "Shawshank redemption" began as a King novella called "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank redemption"). An excellent collection for King fans, or people who enjoy dark tales.

(Reviewed by Angela)

Room

Emma Donoghue

Nominated for the Man Book Prize in 2010, this is an almost unimaginable story. Five-year-old Jack lives in a locked room - "Room" - with his mother, Ma, and has done all his life. He believes that Room is the only "real" part of the world. Everything he sees "in TV" is "Outside" and therefore not real.

One day Ma lets it slip to Jack that there is actually a world outside Room and she suddenly realises that they must now try to escape. Once they finally emerge into the world, Jack has a hard time coping with anything, as does Ma.

Written from Jack's point of view, this book really makes you think about what we take for granted every day in "Outside".

Not at all sensationalist (as books about kidnap and imprisonment can be), this is a very well-written book that grips you from the start, about a woman re-entering the world and a boy encountering it for the very first time as a five-year-old.

(Reviewed by Angela)