Travel

from St Ives Local, Sepetmber/October 2021

to 37 Gardens and plants

Book Review

by Alice Harandon, manager of St Ives Bookseller

The Man who Died Twice by Richard Osman

£18.99 Viking The second in the Thursday Murder Club series. It’s the Thursday after the events of the first book, and Elizabeth has received a letter from an old colleague who needs her help. His story involves stolen diamonds, a violent mobster, and a threat to his life. As bodies start piling up, Elizabeth enlists the rest of the gang in the hunt for a ruthless murderer. And if they find the diamonds too? Well, wouldn’t that be a bonus?

Matrix by Lauren Groff

£16.99, William Heinemann Deemed too coarse and wild for 12th-century courtly life, Marie de France is cast from the royal court by Eleanor of Aquitaine. To her dismay, she is sent to the muddy fields of Angleterre, to become prioress of an impoverished abbey on the brink of starvation and rife with gossip. Marie pines for the decadence and comfort of French court life, but soon realises that, although she is tied to a life of duty, she wields more power than she could have imagined. For a book about a 12th century nun, this is an unusually gripping and beautifully written tale!

There’s a Ghost in this House by Oliver Jeffers

£20, HarperCollins A young girl lives in a haunted house, but she has never seen a ghost. Are they white with holes for eyes? Are they hard to see? She’d love to know! Step inside and turn the transparent pages to help her on an entertaining ghost hunt, from behind the sofa, right up to the attic. With lots of friendly ghost surprises and incredible mixed media illustrations, this unique and funny book will entertain young readers over and over again! Silverview by John le Carre

£20, Viking (published 14th October) The last completed manuscript from the master of the spy thriller. Julian Lawndsley has renounced his high-flying job in the City for a simpler life running a bookshop in a small English seaside town. But only a couple of months into his new career, Julian’s evening is disrupted by a visitor. Edward, a Polish emigre living in Silverview, the big house on the edge of town, seems to know a lot about Julian’s family and is rather too interested in the inner workings of his modest new enterprise. When a letter turns up at the door of a spy chief in London warning him of a dangerous leak, the investigations lead him to this quiet town by the sea…

The Prince of the Skies by Antonio Iturbe

£16.99, Macmillan (published 14th October) In the 1920s, long before he wrote The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupery was an accomplished pilot. He was one of those chosen to pioneer new mail routes across the globe. No distance was too far and no mountain too high – each letter had to reach its destination. Three friends soar through the air, while back on solid ground, they deal with a world torn apart by wars and political factions. Based on a true story, this is a moving tale of love and friendship, war and heroism, flight and the power of the written word.