Richell, Hannah (2025) One Dark Night. Simon & Schuster.
In Thorncombe there is a haunted wood that lures people to their deaths. When a teenage schoolgirl from Folly View College is found dead the morning after Halloween, her body carefully arranged at the bottom of an old gothic folly, the community fears ‘Sally in the Wood’ has struck again. DS Ben Chase begins to investigate and before long his estranged wife and daughter, who respectively work and study at the College, are caught up in the dark crime. A suspenseful and atmospheric thriller. Kept me up well into the night. Great climax.
Rating: 4/5
Burr, Shelley (2025) Vanish. Hachette.
Lane Holland, former PI, now serving a prison sentence for kidnapping and murder is given the opportunity to go on work experience, prior to his upcoming parole hearing, to Karpathy farm. The impetus for the placement is to solve the mystery of the disappearance of the Warden’s daughter two decades ago. The farm attracts lost souls hiding from their past, however some of those souls have vanished without a trace. Families are looking for answers – is it a commune or a cult? Can Lane work undercover to save himself and find those who have disappeared? Lane’s third outing. Inspired by real-life case. Full of menace.
Rating: 4/5
Macfarlane, Robert (2025) Is a River Alive? H. Hamilton.
Macfarlane explores the concept of rivers being living entities. In this book he takes three journeys – into northern Ecuador’s cloud-forest where its rivers are threatened by gold mining; to the dying rivers and lagoons of southern India; and to the wild Mutehekau Shipu or Magpie River in north-eastern Quebec which is under constant threat from damming. This is a lyrical and very personal book, immersive and political in telling the story of an environmental crisis that is affecting our rivers and waterways. The mantra is save the rivers save ourselves. Passionate.
Rating: 4/5
Everett, Emily (2024) All That Life Can Afford. Putnam.
Anna is an American student in London following her dreams. When she begins to tutor the teenage daughter of the well-heeled Wilder family the world begins to open up for cash-strapped Anna. The Wilders fly her to Saint-Tropez where she is plunged into a glittering world of affluence and parties. Anna is seduced by a life stratified by class and money as she struggles to overcome her past insecurities. What cost the jet setter life? Escapist fun read.
Rating: 4/5
Chibnall, Chris (2025) Death at the White Hart. M.Joseph.
DS Nicola Bridge has moved back to Dorset after years of policing in the city, her personal life a bit of a mess. When local publican Jim Tiernan is found dead, trussed up in the middle of the road like a ritualistic sacrifice, workaholic Nicola and her constable Harry Ward must interrogate a village of colourful suspects with dark secrets, including a young girl. An intriguing mystery and a classic whodunit police procedural. A good yarn, maybe the start of a series by renowned English television writer and producer Chibnall. Recommended.
Rating: 4/5
Richell, Hannah (2024) The Search Party. Atria Paperback.
Max and Annie have set up a glamping business in the wilds of Cornwall. To test their offering prior to opening they invite three university friends and their families for a weekend reunion. But relationships are strained and when a big storm leaves them stranded mayhem reigns with children going missing, secrets exposed and a murderer on the loose. This tale has multiple narrators and a disordered timeline so it took some time to get into the flow of the novel. An emotional page-turner nonetheless.
Rating: 3/5
7:30 Bookclub 