It’s a fine line, as the saying goes, between historical fiction and fantasy fiction, which both rely on skilful world building rooted in an imagined past or simply the imagined. In The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi, the author set out to make the book “completely historically accurate except for the plot”, and she succeeds brilliantly. It’s set in the Indian Ocean during a meticulously researched and realised medieval period, which is the jumping off point for a thrilling fantasy adventure. With sea monsters, missing artefacts, sorcery, pirates, swashes being buckled left right and centre, and my new favourite heroine since Ripley, this was a book I just couldn’t put down. It was my favourite read of the year, and I can’t wait for the next instalment in the series.
"A thrilling, transportative adventure that is everything promised–Chakraborty's storytelling is fantasy at its best." -- R.F. Kuang, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Babel and The Poppy War
"An exhilarating, propulsive adventure, stitched from the threads of real history, Amina’s adventures are the reason to read fantasy." -- Ava Reid, internationally bestselling author of Juniper & Thorn
Shannon Chakraborty, the bestselling author of The City of Brass, spins a new trilogy of magic and mayhem on the high seas in this tale of pirates and sorcerers, forbidden artifacts and ancient mysteries, in one woman’s determined quest to seize a…
You can’t beat a good mystery, and Close to Death certainly provides that. It is the fifth book in Horowitz’s Hawthorne series, a deftly plotted tale of dark goings on in a gated community where (of course) everyone has something to hide. Former detective Daniel Hawthorne is a fantastic creation, a character surrounded by mysteries as intriguing as the cases he investigates. What I particularly like about the series is that there’s an over-arching plot (the puzzle of Hawthorne himself), and Horowitz has written himself in as a character which makes for an entertaining and at times laugh-out loud read. I’ve read the whole series, and also listened to the audio books which are beautifully read by Rory Kinnear, who manages to convey (fictional) Horowitz’s bewilderment and outrage in the face of Hawthrone’s maddening insouciance and single-minded pursuit of a criminal.
From global bestselling Anthony Horowitz, a brilliantly entertaining new mystery in the Hawthorne and Horowitz series.
'Anthony Horowitz is easily the greatest of our crime writers' Sunday Times 'Sheer genius ... A joy from start to finish' Independent ___________
Richmond Upon Thames is one of the most desirable areas to live in London. And Riverview Close - a quiet, gated community - seems to offer its inhabitants the perfect life.
At least it does until Giles Kenworthy moves in with his wife and noisy children, his four gas-guzzling cars, his loud parties and his plans for a new swimming pool…
The Fox Wife by is a historical mystery by Yangsze Choo. Set in Manchuria in 1908, it is a magical mingling of history with myth and folklore. To be honest, the novel started off at a bit of a disadvantage with me, as half of it is written in the present tense. I’m not a fan of novels written in the present tense, but can get on with them if it’s not used all the way through, and the writing is good enough to make it work – which Choo’s certainly is. It wasn’t long before I fell in love with this book! It is a wonderful novel full of shape-shifting beasts, spirits, lovers, mothers, and other marvellous beings.
'Vivid, enigmatic, enchanting' M. L. Rio 'Irresistible' Sunday Times
Some people think foxes go around collecting qi, or life force, but nothing could be further than the truth. We are living creatures, just like you, only usually better looking . . .
Manchuria, 1908: A young woman is found frozen in the snow.
Her death is clouded by rumours of foxes, believed to lure people into peril by transforming into beautiful women and men. Bao, a detective with a reputation for sniffing out the truth, is hired to uncover the dead woman's identity. Since childhood, Bao has been intrigued by…
Somerset, 1796. When Lord Oldfield encloses Barcombe Wood, depriving the people of their ancient rights to gather food and fuel, the villagers retaliate with vandalism, arson and riot. Then Lord Oldfield's gamekeeper, Josh Castle, is murdered during a poaching raid. Dan Foster, Bow Street Runner and amateur pugilist, is sent to investigate.
Dan's job is to infiltrate the poaching gang and bring the killers to justice. But there's more to Castle's death than at first sight appears. What is the secret of the gamekeeper's past and does it have any connection with his murder? What is Lord Oldfield concealing? And did someone beside the poachers have a reason to want Josh Castle dead?
As tensions in Barcombe build to a thrilling climax, Dan will need all his wits and his fighting skills to stay alive and get to the truth.
