I was vaguely aware of A man called Ove doing the book club rounds but wasn’t much attracted by the subject matter. So when I pulled this off the worn-outs trolley here in Library HQ, in desperation for something to read with my morning coffee, I wasn’t expecting a lot. But I was slightly intrigued by the description of Britt-Marie on the back as a “pedantic, passive-aggressive busybody” who somehow ends up as coach to the local children’s football team in the miserable backwater of Borg – sounds a bit like Eleanor Oliphant (a book I really loved), I thought - let’s give it a go.

This Japanese crime novel was originally published in 1962, first translated in 1985 and now reprinted in Pushkin Press’ Vertigo imprint. The focus of the story is on a building known as the K apartments for Ladies in Tokyo. It was originally intended as a respectable boarding house for young single working women (shades of Muriel Spark) but time has marched on and many of its inhabitants are now retired and lonely women. Their lives are marked out by routine and ritual. And several of them harbour secrets that are now in danger of being brought out into the open due to the mysterious loss of

Can you crack the case?

The author of Aliens Love Underpants brings us a baked goods whobunit. Sweet treats are disappearing all over town and it’s up to Ducktective Quack to solve the crime spree. Join her as she searches for clues, investigates the crime scene and interrogates suspects. Scour the bright illustrations on each page to see if you can find the clues that will lead to the culprit.

In 1962 France is in turmoil as French President Charles De Gaulle only barely survives yet another assassination attempt by right wing extremists enraged at his withdrawal from French Algeria. The increasingly desperate OAS terrorist organisation staring defeat in the face by the ruthless French security services hires a nameless Englishman to eliminate their sworn enemy for once and for all.

A nail biting game of cat and mouse is set in motion between the ice cool killer and France's best detective, Inspector Lebel who must stop him in time to prevent..The Day of the Jackal!

This is one of those rare books that stays with you long after reading. "On the road" is Kerouac's semi-autobiographical tale of beatniks, poets and flaneurs told through the eyes of Sal Paradise, a man lost of all direction in life experiencing a new Post-War 50's America through drugs, travel and music. The novel takes the reader to a time of reinvention, experimentation and defining what it means to be different in a conformist society, and explores the highs and lows of being at the vanguard of a new counterculture. This book stands as one of Kerouac's defining works and is just as

After a failed suicide attempt, Adam Walsh is confronted by a ghostly companion. This ghostly figure narrates Adam’s world with wit and humour. His ghostly friend observes Adam as he attempts to fit into an all-boys school in County Cork. Adam’s life begins to get better when he runs into a band of teenage misfits and meets his first love.

Leahy sensitively deals with the topic of teenage suicide and mental health. Leahy perfectly depicts life as a teenage boy coping with depression. This book can make you want to laugh and cry at the same time. There are some wonderful, memorable moments in

Published this year, this book is packed full of healthy ideas for including not just 5 fruit and veg a day into your diet but 10 a day, which he says is much better for us all. The recipes are all very easy to follow, there's nothing complicated - I would highly recommend this cookbook to one and all!

This is the second of Kate Ellis’ crime novels to come my way and it has confirmed my initial verdict that she has written a hugely enjoyable series. Her main character is DI Wesley Peterson, a black London Met detective relocated to scenic (and largely white) Devon.  Peterson is an Exeter archaeology graduate, so he still takes an interest in local excavations run by his old undergraduate friend Dr Neil Watson.

A common thread in the plots of the books is that curious links between Peterson’s cases and Watson’s investigations add an unusual element.  In this book, Neil is supervising an

In the hot summer of 1549- two years after the death of the tyrant Henry VIII, the teenage Edward VI sits on the throne with his uncle Lord Protector of England, Edward Seymour ruling on his behalf. The hunchbacked London lawyer Matthew Shardlake is summoned by the Lady Elizabeth to attend the trial in Norwich of a relative who has been accused of a brutal murder. Shardlake accompanied by his hot headed understudy Nicholas is reunited with his loyal friend Jack Barak in a perilous quest to uncover the true perpetrator of the shocking crime. Meanwhile crop failure, corruption, injustice

The espionage thriller of the decade. This debut novel by Terry Hayes races along at breakneck speed. Pilgrim, a former spy hunter, while investigating a seemingly 'text-book' murder in a New York hotel gets pulled back into his old life to chase down an intelligent and capable terrorist threatening to release a genetically synthesized small-pox virus. 

Suspenseful; this novel will keep you turning the pages until the final showdown.