Books

Book Review

by Alice Harandon, manager of St Ives Bookseller

Cecily by Annie Garthwaite

£14.99, Penguin Cecily is excellent historical fiction, told through the eyes of its relatively unknown protagonist – one of the women who was at the heart of the War of the Roses and the House of York, Cecily Neville. This novel has it all: a captivating plot, complex and welldrawn characters, suspense and intrigue – combining to create a wonderful book which is guaranteed to keep you enthralled.

Whale in a Fishbowl by Troy Howell

£6.99, Puffin Wednesday is a whale who lives in a fishbowl. She lives in the middle of busy streets and skyscrapers. But if she jumps high enough, she can see a calm bit of blue in the distance. She doesn’t know what this blue is, but her heart leaps when she sees it. When a little girl tells Wednesday she belongs in the sea, she doesn’t know what she means. What is the sea? Wednesday has never seen it … or has she?

Triflers Need Not Apply by Camilla Bruce

£14.99, Michael Joseph This nightmare-inducing tale is a fictionalised account of Belle Gunness, known as ‘The Black Widow of the Midwest’, who is thought to have murdered at least 14 – and possibly up to 40 – people between 1884 and 1908. Through it all, her kind, older sister Nellie can only watch in horror, as Belle’s schemes to enrich herself and cut down the male population come to a glorious, dreadful fruition. An intensely compulsive read, comprising a sharp concoction of historical fiction, psychological thriller, horror and true crime. The Wide Wide Sea by Anna Wilson and Jenny Lovelie

£6.99/£11.99, Nosy Crow A lyrical and inspirational picture book about protecting nature from plastic pollution. When a young child forges a special connection with a seal on a trip to the seaside, their imagination takes them on an unforgettable journey. Following a storm, the child, their grandmother, and the rest of the community clean the beach, and the child makes a promise to the seal that things will change for the better.

Too Many Reasons to Live by Rob Burrow

£20, published 19th August, Macmillan An inspirational memoir from rugby league legend Rob Burrow, on his extraordinary career and his battle with motor neurone disease. Far more than a sports story, this is a tale of boundless courage and infinite kindness.