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.)

Are you a super sleuth?

Your mission if you choose to accept it, is to follow the bloody handprints to the crime scene at Morte Manor.

In each of the manor’s rooms a famous sleuth is investigating a grisly murder.

To solve the crimes, deduce the clues from the police evidence to find out the book title in which each of the sleuths appear and then match them with their authors.

The Competition runs from 1 October to 31 October 2011.

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.)