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The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley
Jan. 4th, 2026 04:20 pmThe Blurb On The Back:
In a beautiful old apartment block, deep in the backstreets of Paris, secrets are stirring behind every resident’s door.
The lonely wife.
The party animal.
The curtain-twitcher.
The secret lover.
The watchful caretaker.
The unwanted guest.
There was a murder here last night. Who holds the key to the mystery of apartment three?
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Lucy Foley’s standalone thriller starts off strong by showing what’s happened to Ben but ultimately fails to make good on its promise through a combination of unconvincing characters and a plot that doesn’t quite hold together. For me there’s just too much going on and when the revelations come they feel contrived rather than intriguing. It is a pacy read and I kept turning the pages but I did not enjoy this as much as I have her other thrillers.
The lonely wife.
The party animal.
The curtain-twitcher.
The secret lover.
The watchful caretaker.
The unwanted guest.
There was a murder here last night. Who holds the key to the mystery of apartment three?
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Lucy Foley’s standalone thriller starts off strong by showing what’s happened to Ben but ultimately fails to make good on its promise through a combination of unconvincing characters and a plot that doesn’t quite hold together. For me there’s just too much going on and when the revelations come they feel contrived rather than intriguing. It is a pacy read and I kept turning the pages but I did not enjoy this as much as I have her other thrillers.
Master List of Books 2025
Dec. 31st, 2025 11:59 pm1. The Bitcoin Standard: The Decentralized Alternative To Central Banking by Saifedeen Ammous.
2. Darkly by Marisha Pessl.
3. Symbiote: A Novel by Michael Nayak.
4. The Prison Doctor: Women Inside by Dr Amanda Brown.
5. Tidemagic: The Many Faces Of Ista Flit by Clare Harlow.
6. First Festivals: Holi.
7. Interstellar Megachef by Lavanya Lakshminarayan.
8. Thunder City by Philip Reeve.
9. The Happiest Hanukkah by Ivor Baddiel and Kathryn Selbert.
10. Don’t Stop The Music: A Year Of Pop History One Day At A Time by Justin Lewis.
11. Rebel Dawn by Ann Sei Lin.
12. First Space: Activity and Colouring Book by National Geographic Kids.
13. The Trading Game by Gary Stevenson.
14. Why Social Media Is Ruining Your Life by Katherine Ormerod.
15. The Vengeance by Emma Newman.
16. Spy Agency Puzzle Book: Mission – The Hidden Hacker.
17. Capitalism: A Conversation In Critical Theory by Nancy Fraser and Rahel Jaeggi.
18. While We’re Young by K. L. Walther.
19. Breaking Bread: How Baking Shaped Our World by David Wright.
20. Flowers Over The Inferno by Ilaria Tuti.
21. The Internationalists And Their Plan To Outlaw War by Oona Hathaway and Scott Shapiro.
22. What’s New Harper Drew? by Kathy Weeks.
23. Ibraheem’s Perfect Eid by Farhana Islam and Nabila Adani.
24. Witchsign by Den Patrick.
25. Swimming With The Viking Of Skye by Richard Waters.
26. Island Of Influencers by Monique Turner.
27. Dragon Towers: The Ghostly Surprise by Pip Bird.
28. The Italian Way.
29. The Wilderness Of Girls by Madeline Claire Franklin.
30. Open The Cage, Murphy by Paul O’Grady.
31. Ista Flit And The Impossible Key by Clare Harlow.
32. Marked by Sue Tingey.
33. The Right Amount Of Panic: How Women Trade Freedom For Safety by Fiona Vera-Gray.
34. Phoenix Brothers by Sita Brahmachari.
35. Frank Is A Butterfly by Alex Latimer.
36. Perfect Pedro by Simon Philip and Ella Okstad.
37. The Village by Nikita Lalwani.
38. Clown Town by Mick Herron.
39. The Meritocracy Trap: The Tyranny Of Just Deserts by Daniel Markovits.
40. Ace Of Spades by Faridah Àbìké-Íyímídé.
41. Nate Plus One by Kevin van Whye.
42. Nuclear Folly: A New History Of The Cuban Missile Crisis by Serhii Plokhy.
43. The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman.
44. Inside Parkhurst: Stories Of A Prison Officer by David Berridge.
45. The Astonishing Colour Of After by Emily X. R. Pan.
46. Whiteshift: Populism, Immigration And The Future Of White Majorities by Eric Kaufmann.
47. Missing Person by Sarah Lotz.
48. Checkmate In Berlin by Giles Milton.
49. Dopeworld: Adventures In Drug Lands by Niko Vorbyov.
50. The Old Religion by Martyn Waites.
51. Brothers In Blood by Amer Anwar.
52. Naeli And The Secret Song by Jasbinder Bilan.
53. The Wicked Lies Of Habren Faire by Anna Fiteni.
54. Attention Pays: How To Drive Profitability, Productivity And Accountability by Neen James.
55. Dad Jokes Greatest Of All Time by Kit Chilvers and Andrew Chilvers.
56. Extremely Online: The Untold Story Of Fame, Influence, And Power On The Internet by Taylor Lorenz.
2. Darkly by Marisha Pessl.
3. Symbiote: A Novel by Michael Nayak.
4. The Prison Doctor: Women Inside by Dr Amanda Brown.
5. Tidemagic: The Many Faces Of Ista Flit by Clare Harlow.
6. First Festivals: Holi.
7. Interstellar Megachef by Lavanya Lakshminarayan.
8. Thunder City by Philip Reeve.
9. The Happiest Hanukkah by Ivor Baddiel and Kathryn Selbert.
10. Don’t Stop The Music: A Year Of Pop History One Day At A Time by Justin Lewis.
11. Rebel Dawn by Ann Sei Lin.
12. First Space: Activity and Colouring Book by National Geographic Kids.
13. The Trading Game by Gary Stevenson.
14. Why Social Media Is Ruining Your Life by Katherine Ormerod.
15. The Vengeance by Emma Newman.
16. Spy Agency Puzzle Book: Mission – The Hidden Hacker.
17. Capitalism: A Conversation In Critical Theory by Nancy Fraser and Rahel Jaeggi.
18. While We’re Young by K. L. Walther.
19. Breaking Bread: How Baking Shaped Our World by David Wright.
20. Flowers Over The Inferno by Ilaria Tuti.
21. The Internationalists And Their Plan To Outlaw War by Oona Hathaway and Scott Shapiro.
22. What’s New Harper Drew? by Kathy Weeks.
23. Ibraheem’s Perfect Eid by Farhana Islam and Nabila Adani.
24. Witchsign by Den Patrick.
25. Swimming With The Viking Of Skye by Richard Waters.
26. Island Of Influencers by Monique Turner.
27. Dragon Towers: The Ghostly Surprise by Pip Bird.
28. The Italian Way.
29. The Wilderness Of Girls by Madeline Claire Franklin.
30. Open The Cage, Murphy by Paul O’Grady.
31. Ista Flit And The Impossible Key by Clare Harlow.
32. Marked by Sue Tingey.
33. The Right Amount Of Panic: How Women Trade Freedom For Safety by Fiona Vera-Gray.
34. Phoenix Brothers by Sita Brahmachari.
35. Frank Is A Butterfly by Alex Latimer.
36. Perfect Pedro by Simon Philip and Ella Okstad.
37. The Village by Nikita Lalwani.
38. Clown Town by Mick Herron.
39. The Meritocracy Trap: The Tyranny Of Just Deserts by Daniel Markovits.
40. Ace Of Spades by Faridah Àbìké-Íyímídé.
41. Nate Plus One by Kevin van Whye.
42. Nuclear Folly: A New History Of The Cuban Missile Crisis by Serhii Plokhy.
43. The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman.
44. Inside Parkhurst: Stories Of A Prison Officer by David Berridge.
45. The Astonishing Colour Of After by Emily X. R. Pan.
46. Whiteshift: Populism, Immigration And The Future Of White Majorities by Eric Kaufmann.
47. Missing Person by Sarah Lotz.
48. Checkmate In Berlin by Giles Milton.
49. Dopeworld: Adventures In Drug Lands by Niko Vorbyov.
50. The Old Religion by Martyn Waites.
51. Brothers In Blood by Amer Anwar.
52. Naeli And The Secret Song by Jasbinder Bilan.
53. The Wicked Lies Of Habren Faire by Anna Fiteni.
54. Attention Pays: How To Drive Profitability, Productivity And Accountability by Neen James.
55. Dad Jokes Greatest Of All Time by Kit Chilvers and Andrew Chilvers.
56. Extremely Online: The Untold Story Of Fame, Influence, And Power On The Internet by Taylor Lorenz.
The Blurb On The Back:
What have we done to the internet?
And what has the internet done to us?
Extremely Online reveals how online influence came to upend the world, has demolished traditional barriers and created whole new sectors of the economy. By tracing how the internet has changed what we want and how we go about getting it, this book unearths how social platforms’ power users radically altered our expectations of content, connection, purchasing and power. From how moms who started blogging were among the first to monetise their personal brands online, bored teens and their selfie videos reinventing fame as we know it, to how young TikTok creators are leveraging opportunities to opt out of the traditional career pipeline - the sis the real social history of the internet.
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Taylor Lorenz is a journalist and technology columnist. This highly informative, narrative book looks at the rise of influencer culture from so-called ‘mommy blogs’ to social media as we now know it, explaining how monetisation happened against initial backlashes to the same and the battle between relatability and aspiration. What comes through is how little tech companies understand their products and how influencers rose in spite of them.
And what has the internet done to us?
Extremely Online reveals how online influence came to upend the world, has demolished traditional barriers and created whole new sectors of the economy. By tracing how the internet has changed what we want and how we go about getting it, this book unearths how social platforms’ power users radically altered our expectations of content, connection, purchasing and power. From how moms who started blogging were among the first to monetise their personal brands online, bored teens and their selfie videos reinventing fame as we know it, to how young TikTok creators are leveraging opportunities to opt out of the traditional career pipeline - the sis the real social history of the internet.
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Taylor Lorenz is a journalist and technology columnist. This highly informative, narrative book looks at the rise of influencer culture from so-called ‘mommy blogs’ to social media as we now know it, explaining how monetisation happened against initial backlashes to the same and the battle between relatability and aspiration. What comes through is how little tech companies understand their products and how influencers rose in spite of them.
The Blurb On The Back:
The bestselling DadSaysJokes is back with an all-new collection of their best jokes, guaranteed to leave you grinning and groaning in equal measure.
Q: What kind of tree fits in your hand?
A: A palm tree.
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Kit and Andrew Chilvers run the popular Instagram account DadSaysJokes and this book is basically a distillation of it - a load of dad jokes and puns that will make you groan and chuckle. Some of the jokes are so old that they’ve got barnacles on them, a few are US-focused and so may not resonate with UK readers and there are also a couple that don’t work at all. For all that though, it’s more hit than miss and definitely not just for dads.
DAD JOKES: GREATEST OF ALL TIMES was released in the United Kingdom on 14 August 2025. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
The bestselling DadSaysJokes is back with an all-new collection of their best jokes, guaranteed to leave you grinning and groaning in equal measure.
Q: What kind of tree fits in your hand?
A: A palm tree.
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Kit and Andrew Chilvers run the popular Instagram account DadSaysJokes and this book is basically a distillation of it - a load of dad jokes and puns that will make you groan and chuckle. Some of the jokes are so old that they’ve got barnacles on them, a few are US-focused and so may not resonate with UK readers and there are also a couple that don’t work at all. For all that though, it’s more hit than miss and definitely not just for dads.
DAD JOKES: GREATEST OF ALL TIMES was released in the United Kingdom on 14 August 2025. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
The Blurb On The Back:
Tired of being too busy but not productive? Sick of feeling over-whelmed and stressed out? Can’t seem to find enough time to devote to either your work or your personal life? Attention Pays offers an antidote to the constant barrage of disruptions we find ourselves faced with. This extraordinary book shows how to unplug from the daily stressors that drive us crazy and plug into the tools, strategies and mindsets that have the power to harness our attention and help us reach our highest potential.
Attention Pays shows how to be highly productive and achieve lasting work-life integration by putting the spotlight on the power of attention and absolute focus. The author discovered, through years of speaking, training and coaching, that we are too consumed with multitasking and tuning out to hear what’s being said. Our minds are so busy we fail to make genuine connections and enhance our existing relationships.
As the author explains, intention is what makes attention valuable. Intention involves seeing, hearing and thinking about who is with you and what needs your focus right now. Attention Pays is all about intentionally investing your attention in what matters at the moment … the people you are talking to, the priorities you are acting on, and the passions you are pursuing.
No matter what you role - executive, leader, parent, business, owner, coach - you can join the Attention Pays revolution by adopting the personal, professional, and global intentional attributes. PERSONALLY: Be thoughtful as an individual. PROFESSIONALLY: Be productive as an individual and leader. And GLOBALLY: Be responsible for your community and your world.
Attention Pays is your guidebook for becoming happier in your relationships, more fulfilled at work, and safer in the world you have created.
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Neen James is an international speaker and coach specialising in client experience. This slight, but practical guide aims to help readers improve their attention in their personal, professional and within your community/globally and has useful tips for working out what matters to you and assisting in organisation and delegation. However the focus here is on individuals rather than company culture and James’s chatty style didn’t really work for me.
Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
Tired of being too busy but not productive? Sick of feeling over-whelmed and stressed out? Can’t seem to find enough time to devote to either your work or your personal life? Attention Pays offers an antidote to the constant barrage of disruptions we find ourselves faced with. This extraordinary book shows how to unplug from the daily stressors that drive us crazy and plug into the tools, strategies and mindsets that have the power to harness our attention and help us reach our highest potential.
Attention Pays shows how to be highly productive and achieve lasting work-life integration by putting the spotlight on the power of attention and absolute focus. The author discovered, through years of speaking, training and coaching, that we are too consumed with multitasking and tuning out to hear what’s being said. Our minds are so busy we fail to make genuine connections and enhance our existing relationships.
As the author explains, intention is what makes attention valuable. Intention involves seeing, hearing and thinking about who is with you and what needs your focus right now. Attention Pays is all about intentionally investing your attention in what matters at the moment … the people you are talking to, the priorities you are acting on, and the passions you are pursuing.
No matter what you role - executive, leader, parent, business, owner, coach - you can join the Attention Pays revolution by adopting the personal, professional, and global intentional attributes. PERSONALLY: Be thoughtful as an individual. PROFESSIONALLY: Be productive as an individual and leader. And GLOBALLY: Be responsible for your community and your world.
Attention Pays is your guidebook for becoming happier in your relationships, more fulfilled at work, and safer in the world you have created.
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Neen James is an international speaker and coach specialising in client experience. This slight, but practical guide aims to help readers improve their attention in their personal, professional and within your community/globally and has useful tips for working out what matters to you and assisting in organisation and delegation. However the focus here is on individuals rather than company culture and James’s chatty style didn’t really work for me.
Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
The Blurb On The Back:
”My only talent is lying. Father says it will serve me well.”
Ceridwen Parry has run away with the fairies. But this is not her story.
For Sabrina Parry, life in nineteenth-century Wales is cruel. With her father in prison, it fails to her to protect her family and marry off her sick sister, Ceridwen.
Then Ceridwen vanishes into the eerie woods, and Sabrina is drawn into a beautiful but deadly world of fairies and monsters of old. Soon she realises Fairyland is far more dangerous than she ever expected. So when an annoyingly handsome fairy offers her a deal, Sabrina is forced to accept to save her sister.
But as with all fairy bargains, there is a heavy price. And if Sabrina doesn’t pay with her life, she will surely pay with her freedom.
Or her heart.
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Anna Fiteni’s debut historical fantasy YA novel is a fresh and welcome take on fairies that couples Welsh folklore with a headstrong main character with motivations of her own beyond romance and settling down. Incorporating elements of time travel (which for the most part paper over some anachronisms) when the inevitable romance develops, Fiteni puts an interesting spin on it that plays with the reader’s expectations and which I thoroughly enjoyed.
THE WICKED LIES OF HABREN FAIRE was released in the United Kingdom on 28 August 2025. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
Ceridwen Parry has run away with the fairies. But this is not her story.
For Sabrina Parry, life in nineteenth-century Wales is cruel. With her father in prison, it fails to her to protect her family and marry off her sick sister, Ceridwen.
Then Ceridwen vanishes into the eerie woods, and Sabrina is drawn into a beautiful but deadly world of fairies and monsters of old. Soon she realises Fairyland is far more dangerous than she ever expected. So when an annoyingly handsome fairy offers her a deal, Sabrina is forced to accept to save her sister.
But as with all fairy bargains, there is a heavy price. And if Sabrina doesn’t pay with her life, she will surely pay with her freedom.
Or her heart.
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Anna Fiteni’s debut historical fantasy YA novel is a fresh and welcome take on fairies that couples Welsh folklore with a headstrong main character with motivations of her own beyond romance and settling down. Incorporating elements of time travel (which for the most part paper over some anachronisms) when the inevitable romance develops, Fiteni puts an interesting spin on it that plays with the reader’s expectations and which I thoroughly enjoyed.
THE WICKED LIES OF HABREN FAIRE was released in the United Kingdom on 28 August 2025. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
The Blurb On The Back:
Naeli loves her life in Hyderabad, India, yet she yearns to find her English father, who left when she was little. When a mysterious ticket arrives from England, Naeli abandons her familiar world to track him down. Armed only with her father’s name and cherished violin, she embarks on a bold adventure through Victorian London and beyond …
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Jasbinder Bilan’s standalone historical adventure for readers aged 9+ is a mixed affair. I liked the fact that this is a story about bi-racial children with Indian and English heritage as it’s not something that gets covered a lot. Naeli is a plucky and determined character with a real gift for music and I liked her friendship with the confident Jack but the plot is episodic and for me missed emotional details that would have helped flesh it out.
NAELI AND THE SECRET SONG was released in the United Kingdom on 5 June 2025. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
Naeli loves her life in Hyderabad, India, yet she yearns to find her English father, who left when she was little. When a mysterious ticket arrives from England, Naeli abandons her familiar world to track him down. Armed only with her father’s name and cherished violin, she embarks on a bold adventure through Victorian London and beyond …
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Jasbinder Bilan’s standalone historical adventure for readers aged 9+ is a mixed affair. I liked the fact that this is a story about bi-racial children with Indian and English heritage as it’s not something that gets covered a lot. Naeli is a plucky and determined character with a real gift for music and I liked her friendship with the confident Jack but the plot is episodic and for me missed emotional details that would have helped flesh it out.
NAELI AND THE SECRET SONG was released in the United Kingdom on 5 June 2025. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
Brothers In Blood by Amer Anwar
Dec. 6th, 2025 05:22 pmThe Blurb On The Back:
Together they stand. Together they fall.
Southall, West London. After being released from prison Zaq Khan is lucky to land a dead-end job at a builders’ yard. All he wants to do is keep his head down and put his past behind him.
But when Zaq is forced to search for his boss’s runaway daughter, he quickly finds himself caught up in a deadly web of deception, murder and revenge.
With time running out and pressure mounting, can he find the missing girl before it’s too late? And if he does, can he keep her - and himself - alive long enough to deal with the people who want them both dead.
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
It’s not hard to see why Amer Anwar’s debut crime novel won the CWA Debut Dagger Award. Setting his story within the British Asian community offers a fresh take on the detective format and he’s created an interesting main character in Zaq, who makes the most of what he learned and who he met in prison. What lifts the story is Zaq’s relationship with best friend Jag, which brings in humour and humanity when at times the plot begins to creak.
Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
Southall, West London. After being released from prison Zaq Khan is lucky to land a dead-end job at a builders’ yard. All he wants to do is keep his head down and put his past behind him.
But when Zaq is forced to search for his boss’s runaway daughter, he quickly finds himself caught up in a deadly web of deception, murder and revenge.
With time running out and pressure mounting, can he find the missing girl before it’s too late? And if he does, can he keep her - and himself - alive long enough to deal with the people who want them both dead.
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
It’s not hard to see why Amer Anwar’s debut crime novel won the CWA Debut Dagger Award. Setting his story within the British Asian community offers a fresh take on the detective format and he’s created an interesting main character in Zaq, who makes the most of what he learned and who he met in prison. What lifts the story is Zaq’s relationship with best friend Jag, which brings in humour and humanity when at times the plot begins to creak.
Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
The Old Religion by Martyn Waites
Nov. 30th, 2025 09:15 pmThe Blurb On The Back:
Welcome to the dark heart of Cornwall …
The Cornish village of St Petroc is the sort of place where people come to hide. Tom Kilgannon is one such person. An ex-undercover cop, Tom is in the Witness Protection Programme hiding from some very violent people, and St Petroc’s offers him a chance to lice a safe and anonymous life.
Until he meets Lila.
Lila is a seventeen-year-old runaway. When she breaks into Tom’s house she takes more than just his money. His wallet holds everything about his new identity. He also knows that Lila is in danger from the travellers’ commune she’s been living in. Something sinister has been going on there and Lila knows more than she realises.
But to find her he risks not only giving away his location to the gangs he’s hiding from, but also becoming a target for whoever is hunting Lila.
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Martyn Waites’s novel (the first in a series) marries thriller and folk horror but because there’s so much going on it’s less than the sum of its parts. It has good pacing and there are some creepy moments, but the plot is heavily contrived at times and neither Tom nor Lila quite convince as characters while the antagonist is similarly underdeveloped. It’s not a bad book, I kept turning the pages, but it wasn’t as satisfying a read as I’d hoped.
Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
The Cornish village of St Petroc is the sort of place where people come to hide. Tom Kilgannon is one such person. An ex-undercover cop, Tom is in the Witness Protection Programme hiding from some very violent people, and St Petroc’s offers him a chance to lice a safe and anonymous life.
Lila is a seventeen-year-old runaway. When she breaks into Tom’s house she takes more than just his money. His wallet holds everything about his new identity. He also knows that Lila is in danger from the travellers’ commune she’s been living in. Something sinister has been going on there and Lila knows more than she realises.
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Martyn Waites’s novel (the first in a series) marries thriller and folk horror but because there’s so much going on it’s less than the sum of its parts. It has good pacing and there are some creepy moments, but the plot is heavily contrived at times and neither Tom nor Lila quite convince as characters while the antagonist is similarly underdeveloped. It’s not a bad book, I kept turning the pages, but it wasn’t as satisfying a read as I’d hoped.
Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
The Blurb On The Back:
Ecstasy in London.
Crack in Los Angeles.
LSD in Tokyo.
Heroin in Sofia.
Cocaine in Medellín.
Bounty hunting in Manila.
Opium in Tehran.
This is your next fix.
This is Dopeworld.
DOPEWORLD is a bold and eye-opening exploration into the world of drugs. Taking us on an unforgettable journey around the world, we trace the emergence of psychoactive substances and our relationships with them. Exploring the murky criminal underworld, the author has unparalleled access to drug lords, cartel leaders, hitmen and government officials.
This is a deeply personal journey into the heartland of the war on drugs and the devastating effect it’s having on humanity.
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Niko Vorobyov is a freelance journalist and author who has a conviction for possession with intent to supply. This is a readable if glib exploration of the drug world, offering a history to modern day drug policy and the development of various narcotic substances that’s too heavy with moral equivalence and too lacking in personal reflection to be a truly informative read about the subject.
Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
Crack in Los Angeles.
LSD in Tokyo.
Heroin in Sofia.
Cocaine in Medellín.
Bounty hunting in Manila.
Opium in Tehran.
This is your next fix.
This is Dopeworld.
DOPEWORLD is a bold and eye-opening exploration into the world of drugs. Taking us on an unforgettable journey around the world, we trace the emergence of psychoactive substances and our relationships with them. Exploring the murky criminal underworld, the author has unparalleled access to drug lords, cartel leaders, hitmen and government officials.
This is a deeply personal journey into the heartland of the war on drugs and the devastating effect it’s having on humanity.
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Niko Vorobyov is a freelance journalist and author who has a conviction for possession with intent to supply. This is a readable if glib exploration of the drug world, offering a history to modern day drug policy and the development of various narcotic substances that’s too heavy with moral equivalence and too lacking in personal reflection to be a truly informative read about the subject.
Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
Checkmate In Berlin by Giles Milton
Nov. 23rd, 2025 09:35 pmThe Blurb On The Back:
Berlin was in ruins when Soviet forces fought their way towards the Reichstag in the spring of 1945.
Berlin’s fate had been sealed four months earlier at the Yalta Conference. The city, along with the rest of Germany, was to be carved up between the victorious powers - British, American, French and Soviet. On paper, it seemed a pragmatic solution; in reality, it fired the starting gun for the Cold War.
Rival systems, rival ideologies and rival personalities ensured that Berlin became an explosive battleground. The ruins of this once-great city were soon awash with spies, gangsters and black-marketeers, all of whom sought to profit from the disarray.
For the next four years, a handful of charismatic but flawed individuals - British, American and Soviet - fought an intensely personal battle over the future of Germany, Europe and the entire free world.
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Giles Milton is a writer and best-selling historian. This very readable and informative book explores Berlin between 1945 and 1950 sets out how the agreement between Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin at the Yalta Conference set the seeds for the Berlin Blockade and the Cold War. Extensively footnoted and drawing on personal papers from Colonel Frank Howley it’s particularly good on the specifics of governing and everyday life in post-war Berlin.
Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
Berlin’s fate had been sealed four months earlier at the Yalta Conference. The city, along with the rest of Germany, was to be carved up between the victorious powers - British, American, French and Soviet. On paper, it seemed a pragmatic solution; in reality, it fired the starting gun for the Cold War.
Rival systems, rival ideologies and rival personalities ensured that Berlin became an explosive battleground. The ruins of this once-great city were soon awash with spies, gangsters and black-marketeers, all of whom sought to profit from the disarray.
For the next four years, a handful of charismatic but flawed individuals - British, American and Soviet - fought an intensely personal battle over the future of Germany, Europe and the entire free world.
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Giles Milton is a writer and best-selling historian. This very readable and informative book explores Berlin between 1945 and 1950 sets out how the agreement between Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin at the Yalta Conference set the seeds for the Berlin Blockade and the Cold War. Extensively footnoted and drawing on personal papers from Colonel Frank Howley it’s particularly good on the specifics of governing and everyday life in post-war Berlin.
Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
Missing Person by Sarah Lotz
Nov. 22nd, 2025 05:01 pmThe Blurb On The Back:
Missing-linc.com comprises a group of misfit sleuths scattered across the States. Their macabre passion is giving names to the unidentified dead. When Ellie Caine starts investigating the corpse known as the Boy in the Dress, the Boy’s killer decides to join the group. The closer they get to the truth, the closer he will get to them.
The Boy was Teddy Ryan. He was meant to have been killed in a car crash in the west of Ireland in 1989. Only he wasn’t. There is no grave in Galway and Teddy was writing letters from New York a year after he supposedly died. But one night he met a man in a Minnesota bar and vanished off the face of the earth.
Teddy’s nephew, Shaun, is no hero, but he is determined to solve the thirty-year-old mystery. He joins forces with the disparate members of Missing-linc to hunt down the killer. The only problem: the killer will be with them every step of the way …
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Sarah Lotz’s standalone thriller makes the most of its original hook in that you know who the killer is from very early on so although the main story turns both on other characters discovering the truth, it’s given emotional depth by the slow reveal of family secrets and has strong themes of identity and trust. Although the ending didn’t fully work for me, I would read more about these characters and am interested in reading Lotz’s other work.
Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
Missing-linc.com comprises a group of misfit sleuths scattered across the States. Their macabre passion is giving names to the unidentified dead. When Ellie Caine starts investigating the corpse known as the Boy in the Dress, the Boy’s killer decides to join the group. The closer they get to the truth, the closer he will get to them.
The Boy was Teddy Ryan. He was meant to have been killed in a car crash in the west of Ireland in 1989. Only he wasn’t. There is no grave in Galway and Teddy was writing letters from New York a year after he supposedly died. But one night he met a man in a Minnesota bar and vanished off the face of the earth.
Teddy’s nephew, Shaun, is no hero, but he is determined to solve the thirty-year-old mystery. He joins forces with the disparate members of Missing-linc to hunt down the killer. The only problem: the killer will be with them every step of the way …
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Sarah Lotz’s standalone thriller makes the most of its original hook in that you know who the killer is from very early on so although the main story turns both on other characters discovering the truth, it’s given emotional depth by the slow reveal of family secrets and has strong themes of identity and trust. Although the ending didn’t fully work for me, I would read more about these characters and am interested in reading Lotz’s other work.
Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
The Blurb On The Back:
Whiteshift tells the most important political story of the 21st century: how demographic change is transforming Western politics and how to think about the future of white majorities.
This is the century of whiteshift. As Western societies are becoming increasingly mixed race, demographic change is transforming politics. Over half of American babies are non-white, and by the end of the century, minorities and those of mixed race are projected to form the majority in the UK and other counties. The early stages of this transformation have led to a populist disruption. One of our most crucial challenges is to enable both conservatives and cosmopolitans to view whiteshift as a positive development.
In this groundbreaking book, political scientist Eric Kaufmann traces four ways of dealing with this transformation - fight, repress, flight and join - and calls for us to move beyond empty talk about national identity. To avoid more radical political divisions, we have to open up debate about the future of white majorities.
Deeply thought provoking, Whiteshift offers a wealth of data to redefine the way we discuss race in the twenty-first century.
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Eric Kauffman is Professor of Politics at Birkbeck College. This book posits that to fight populism in the West politicians should accept white majority concerns about immigration, and consider restrictions on/conditions to the same. Unfortunately, Kauffman fails to explain what he - or indeed white majorities - mean by white culture and as we are seeing in 2025, giving ground to populist extremists only sees them tack harder to white supremacy.
Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
Whiteshift tells the most important political story of the 21st century: how demographic change is transforming Western politics and how to think about the future of white majorities.
This is the century of whiteshift. As Western societies are becoming increasingly mixed race, demographic change is transforming politics. Over half of American babies are non-white, and by the end of the century, minorities and those of mixed race are projected to form the majority in the UK and other counties. The early stages of this transformation have led to a populist disruption. One of our most crucial challenges is to enable both conservatives and cosmopolitans to view whiteshift as a positive development.
In this groundbreaking book, political scientist Eric Kaufmann traces four ways of dealing with this transformation - fight, repress, flight and join - and calls for us to move beyond empty talk about national identity. To avoid more radical political divisions, we have to open up debate about the future of white majorities.
Deeply thought provoking, Whiteshift offers a wealth of data to redefine the way we discuss race in the twenty-first century.
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Eric Kauffman is Professor of Politics at Birkbeck College. This book posits that to fight populism in the West politicians should accept white majority concerns about immigration, and consider restrictions on/conditions to the same. Unfortunately, Kauffman fails to explain what he - or indeed white majorities - mean by white culture and as we are seeing in 2025, giving ground to populist extremists only sees them tack harder to white supremacy.
Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
The Blurb On The Back:
Leigh Chen Sanders is sixteen when her mother dies by suicide, leaving only a scribbled note:
”I want you to remember”.
Leigh doesn’t know what it means, but when a red bird appears with a message, she finds herself travelling to Taiwan to meet her maternal grandparents for the first time.
Leigh is far away from home and far away from Axel, her best friend, who she stupidly kissed on the night her mother died - leaving her with a swell of guilt that she wasn’t home, and a heavy heart, thinking she may have destroyed the one good thing left in her life.
Overwhelmed by grief and the burden of fulfilling her mother’s last wish, Leigh retreats into her art and into her memories, where colours collide and the rules of reality are broken, The only thing Leigh is certain about is that she must find out the truth. She must remember.
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Emily X. R. Pan’s debut YA novel is a powerful and moving look at what it means to live with a parent with depression that incorporates Chinese spiritual beliefs with a magical realist twist. Leigh is a believable protagonist, forced to navigate grief and first love and Pan does well to show her gift for and love of art. Although a little overwritten in places for my taste (purely a personal thing), I will definitely check out her subsequent work.
Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
Leigh Chen Sanders is sixteen when her mother dies by suicide, leaving only a scribbled note:
Leigh doesn’t know what it means, but when a red bird appears with a message, she finds herself travelling to Taiwan to meet her maternal grandparents for the first time.
Leigh is far away from home and far away from Axel, her best friend, who she stupidly kissed on the night her mother died - leaving her with a swell of guilt that she wasn’t home, and a heavy heart, thinking she may have destroyed the one good thing left in her life.
Overwhelmed by grief and the burden of fulfilling her mother’s last wish, Leigh retreats into her art and into her memories, where colours collide and the rules of reality are broken, The only thing Leigh is certain about is that she must find out the truth. She must remember.
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Emily X. R. Pan’s debut YA novel is a powerful and moving look at what it means to live with a parent with depression that incorporates Chinese spiritual beliefs with a magical realist twist. Leigh is a believable protagonist, forced to navigate grief and first love and Pan does well to show her gift for and love of art. Although a little overwritten in places for my taste (purely a personal thing), I will definitely check out her subsequent work.
Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
The Blurb On The Back:
Assaults. Riots. Cell fires. Medical emergencies. Understaffed wings. Suicides, Hooch. Weapons. It’s all in a week’s work at HMP Parkhurst.
After 28 years working as a prison officer, with 22 years at HMP Parkhurst, one of Britain’s most high security prisons. David Berridge has had to deal with it all: serial killers and gangsters, terrorists and sex offenders, psychopaths and addicts.
Thrown in at the deep end, David quickly had to work out how to deal with the most cunning and volatile of prisoners, and learn how to avoid their many scams.
Inside Parkhurst is his raw, uncompromising look at what really goes on behind the massive walls and menacing gates.
Both horrifying and hilarious, David’s diaries will shock and entertain in equal measure.
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
David Berridge worked as a prison officer at Parkhurst and its sister site Albany for 28 years between 1992 and 2019. This book, based on notes that he took as part of his job, paints a bleak picture of a tough job dealing with violent and manipulative men but also men who are suicidal. While strong on the job, I wanted to know more about Berridge, who he is, what drives him, and how the service can be improved to give it a human aspect.
After 28 years working as a prison officer, with 22 years at HMP Parkhurst, one of Britain’s most high security prisons. David Berridge has had to deal with it all: serial killers and gangsters, terrorists and sex offenders, psychopaths and addicts.
Thrown in at the deep end, David quickly had to work out how to deal with the most cunning and volatile of prisoners, and learn how to avoid their many scams.
Inside Parkhurst is his raw, uncompromising look at what really goes on behind the massive walls and menacing gates.
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
David Berridge worked as a prison officer at Parkhurst and its sister site Albany for 28 years between 1992 and 2019. This book, based on notes that he took as part of his job, paints a bleak picture of a tough job dealing with violent and manipulative men but also men who are suicidal. While strong on the job, I wanted to know more about Berridge, who he is, what drives him, and how the service can be improved to give it a human aspect.
The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman
Oct. 26th, 2025 08:08 pmThe Blurb On The Back:
Who has time to think about murder when there’s a wedding to plan?
It’s been a quiet year for the Thursday Murder Club. Joyce is busy with table plans and first dances. Elizabeth is grieving. Ron is dealing with family troubles, and Ibrahim is still providing therapy to his favourite criminal.
But when Elizabeth meets a wedding guest who fears for their life, the thrill of the chase is ignited again. A villain wants access to an uncrackable code and will stop at nothing to get it.
Plunged back into their most explosive investigation yet, can the gang solve the puzzle and a murder in time?
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
The 5th in Richard Osman’s THURSDAY MURDER CLUB is a welcome return for Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim. I particularly enjoyed seeing more of Ron’s character and his relationship with his children and also Joyce’s uneasy relationship with Joanna with new son-in-law Paul proving an interesting addition to the cast. However the mystery itself was underpowered and the way Osman pulls the various strands together was a little hand wavy at the end.
It’s been a quiet year for the Thursday Murder Club. Joyce is busy with table plans and first dances. Elizabeth is grieving. Ron is dealing with family troubles, and Ibrahim is still providing therapy to his favourite criminal.
But when Elizabeth meets a wedding guest who fears for their life, the thrill of the chase is ignited again. A villain wants access to an uncrackable code and will stop at nothing to get it.
Plunged back into their most explosive investigation yet, can the gang solve the puzzle and a murder in time?
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
The 5th in Richard Osman’s THURSDAY MURDER CLUB is a welcome return for Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim. I particularly enjoyed seeing more of Ron’s character and his relationship with his children and also Joyce’s uneasy relationship with Joanna with new son-in-law Paul proving an interesting addition to the cast. However the mystery itself was underpowered and the way Osman pulls the various strands together was a little hand wavy at the end.
The Blurb On The Back:
The definitive new history of the Cuban Missile Crisis from the author of Chernobyl, winner of the Baillie Gifford Prize.
For more than four weeks in the fall of October 1962 the world teetered. The consequences of a misplaced step during the Cuban Missile Crisis could not have been more grave. Ash and cinder, famine and fallout; nuclear war between the two most-powerful nations on Earth.
In Nuclear Folly, award-winning historian Serhii Plokhy tells the riveting story of those weeks, tracing the tortuous decision-making and calculated brinkmanship of John F. Kennedy, Nikita Kruschchev and Fidel Castro, and of their advisors and commanders on the ground. More often than not, Plokhy argues, the Americans and Soviets simply misread each other, operating under mutual distrust, second-guesses and false information. Despite all of this, nuclear disaster was avoided thanks to one very human reason: fear.
Drawing on an impressive array of primary sources, including the recently declassified KGB files, Plokhy masterfully illustrates the drama of those tense days. Authoritative, fast-paced and unforgettable, this is the definitive new account of the Cold War’s most perilous moment.
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Serhii Plokhy is Professor of History at Harvard University and a leading authority on Eastern Europe. Published in 2021, this gripping book draws on then recently released KGB files to analyse the Cuban Missile Crisis from both the US and Russian perspective, drawing out how badly Kruschev and Kennedy misread and misunderstood each others positions and how nuclear war was averted by fear and accident more than negotiation and decision.
Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
For more than four weeks in the fall of October 1962 the world teetered. The consequences of a misplaced step during the Cuban Missile Crisis could not have been more grave. Ash and cinder, famine and fallout; nuclear war between the two most-powerful nations on Earth.
In Nuclear Folly, award-winning historian Serhii Plokhy tells the riveting story of those weeks, tracing the tortuous decision-making and calculated brinkmanship of John F. Kennedy, Nikita Kruschchev and Fidel Castro, and of their advisors and commanders on the ground. More often than not, Plokhy argues, the Americans and Soviets simply misread each other, operating under mutual distrust, second-guesses and false information. Despite all of this, nuclear disaster was avoided thanks to one very human reason: fear.
Drawing on an impressive array of primary sources, including the recently declassified KGB files, Plokhy masterfully illustrates the drama of those tense days. Authoritative, fast-paced and unforgettable, this is the definitive new account of the Cold War’s most perilous moment.
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Serhii Plokhy is Professor of History at Harvard University and a leading authority on Eastern Europe. Published in 2021, this gripping book draws on then recently released KGB files to analyse the Cuban Missile Crisis from both the US and Russian perspective, drawing out how badly Kruschev and Kennedy misread and misunderstood each others positions and how nuclear war was averted by fear and accident more than negotiation and decision.
Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
Nate Plus One by Kevin Van Whye
Oct. 12th, 2025 11:24 pmThe Blurb On The Back:
Two boys. Two bands. Two worlds colliding.
Nate Hargreaves - stage-shy singer-songwriter - is totally stoked for his cousin’s wedding in South Africa, an all-expenses-paid trip of a lifetime. Until he finds out his sleaze ball ex-boyfriend is also on the guest list.
Jai Patel - hot-as-hell high school rock god - has troubles too. His band’s lead singer has quit, just weeks before the gig that was meant to be their big break.
When Nate saves the day by agreeing to sing with Jai’s band, Jai volunteers to be Nate’s plus-one to the wedding, and the stage is set for a summer of music, self-discovery, and simmering romantic tension. What could possibly go wrong …?
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
There are no big surprises in Kevin Van Whye’s YA gay romance, which hits all the beats you’d expect in a friends-to-lovers tale. It’s sweet without being cloying and I believed in Nate and Jai’s attraction but there are missed opportunities here, from the homophobia of some members of Nate’s family and their wealth disparity to the battle of the bands competition and Nate’s relationship with Tommy, which lacks resolution.
Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
Nate Hargreaves - stage-shy singer-songwriter - is totally stoked for his cousin’s wedding in South Africa, an all-expenses-paid trip of a lifetime. Until he finds out his sleaze ball ex-boyfriend is also on the guest list.
Jai Patel - hot-as-hell high school rock god - has troubles too. His band’s lead singer has quit, just weeks before the gig that was meant to be their big break.
When Nate saves the day by agreeing to sing with Jai’s band, Jai volunteers to be Nate’s plus-one to the wedding, and the stage is set for a summer of music, self-discovery, and simmering romantic tension. What could possibly go wrong …?
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
There are no big surprises in Kevin Van Whye’s YA gay romance, which hits all the beats you’d expect in a friends-to-lovers tale. It’s sweet without being cloying and I believed in Nate and Jai’s attraction but there are missed opportunities here, from the homophobia of some members of Nate’s family and their wealth disparity to the battle of the bands competition and Nate’s relationship with Tommy, which lacks resolution.
Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
Ace Of Spades by Faridah Àbìké-Íyímídé
Oct. 6th, 2025 10:26 pmThe Blurb On The Back:
Welcome to Niveus Private Academy …
Where money paves the hallways, and the students are never less than perfect. Until now. Because anonymous texter Aces is bringing two students’ dark secrets to light. Talented musician Devon buries himself in his rehearsals, but he can’t escape the spotlight when his private photos go public. Head girl Chiamaka isn’t afraid to get what she wants, but soon everyone will know the price she has paid for power. Someone is out to get them both. Someone who holds all the aces. And they’re planning much more than a high school game …
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Faridah Àbìké-Íyímídé’s debut YA thriller is billed as GET OUT meets GOSSIP GIRL for good reason. It’s a searing high concept novel where racism meets conspiracy to create an intense choking claustrophobia as Aces racks up their campaign against Von and Chiamaka. That said, it doesn’t nail the final quarter and there are holes in the conspiracy if you think about it too closely but it has pace, it makes you think and it still feels of the moment.
Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
Welcome to Niveus Private Academy …
Where money paves the hallways, and the students are never less than perfect. Until now. Because anonymous texter Aces is bringing two students’ dark secrets to light. Talented musician Devon buries himself in his rehearsals, but he can’t escape the spotlight when his private photos go public. Head girl Chiamaka isn’t afraid to get what she wants, but soon everyone will know the price she has paid for power. Someone is out to get them both. Someone who holds all the aces. And they’re planning much more than a high school game …
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Faridah Àbìké-Íyímídé’s debut YA thriller is billed as GET OUT meets GOSSIP GIRL for good reason. It’s a searing high concept novel where racism meets conspiracy to create an intense choking claustrophobia as Aces racks up their campaign against Von and Chiamaka. That said, it doesn’t nail the final quarter and there are holes in the conspiracy if you think about it too closely but it has pace, it makes you think and it still feels of the moment.
Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
