Bookshop Reviews

Book Reviews

APRIL 2021

‘The Survivors’ by Jane Harper (Hardback £14.99) Jane Harper’s latest novel is set in the Tasmanian beach community of Evelyn Bay, a place that only comes alive during the summer. The title refers to a shipwreck. Kieran, who feels responsible for two deaths, including that of his brother in a fatal storm 12 years earlier, returns to help his mother move house. When the body of a woman is found on the beach, people start wondering if this is somehow connected to the earlier tragedies. Another great crime mystery and a compelling story of guilt and grief.

‘The Bass Rock’ by Evie Wyld (Hardback £16.99) In her first two novels, After the Fire, A Still Small Voice and All the Birds, Singing, both set in Australia and England, Evie Wyld wrote with the some intensity about toxic masculinity and emotional damage. Her latest novel The Bass Rock is set in Scotland and the action occurs across three time frames, while connecting to the themes of her previous work. The book is divided into several parts, each stepping from Vivian to Ruth to Sarah and then forwards into the future. The elegant structure of the novel and the delicate links between the three narrative threads lead, inevitably, to challenging reading, but as always with Evie Wyld this is a fascinating, well constructed novel well worth the effort.

‘Cunning Women’ by Elizabeth Lee (Hardback £14.99) In 1620s Lancashire the Haworth family are outcasts, dwelling beyond the village. A mother with an unruly son, conflicted daughter Sarah, and little Annie, the youngest of all. Many respectable villagers seek them out for plant medicine, while others require the kind of cunning aid that some would describe as witchcraft. As young Sarah Haworth grows into her gift and learns from her mother, she finds herself tempted not only by the strength of her power but also her longing for a normal life away from hunger and fear. This debut novel full of history, herblore, suspense and romance is published on 22nd April.

Citroen AIRCROSS

CAR REVIEW BY TED MACAULEY

If you are considering splashing some cash on a new car hang on for a wee while.... There is a real treat heading for our showrooms this summer - it is the brand spanking new Citroen Aircross SUV. The facelifted newcomer has undergone an extensive overall and cuts a handsome shape for its June debut. It was not too bad a looker before its updated changes with useful and atttractive colour choices for its body. But now its a wow.... It’s a real temptation with a terrific choice of 70 colour combinations and choices of exterior styling that leaves the car’s appearance to the fussiest buyer’s preferences. So what’s different from its older predecessors? It now advances with Citroen’s Advance Comfort seats as standard plus a whole fresh raft of ultimate, confidence-boosting safety systems. Not only that: this model is mega on practicality with a redesigned centre console - and with an even roomier storage area for your holiday baggage or goodies for your celebrations and family entertaining get-togethers. The Aircross,with a choice of diesel or petrol power, will be available with a 1.2 three cylinder or a 1.5 four cylinder engine. It is compact and funky without looking silly and it will be equally at ease on the open and inviting roads as well as the nose-to-tail crawls in the hectic and frustrating city streets. Five wide seats, with spreadeagle leg and arm room aplenty and all-round visability ensure the driver and his passengers do not suffer cramped discomforts or miss any of the sights on the longest treks or during the most irritating city jams. As for fuel consumption no problem. The combined estimate is a return of between 56 and 71 mpg.In the city? Around 48-60mpg. And on a motorway or highway run you can confidently rely on a return of 63-81 mpg for your heard-earned. There is not much more I can say except that for a starting price of £18,180 this singluar presence on a jam-packed SUV scene is a deal not be missed. Go for it... or at least take a long look at Citroen’s painstaking effort before you plunge into the SUV market.