Book Reviews
All of the titles reviewed and recommended further down this page can be found or reserved at Low Fell Library by dropping in or calling (0191) 433 6408.
Forensics: The Anatomy of Crime by Val McDermid
June enjoyed this book, which can be found on the shelves, or reserved at, Low Fell Library.
The dead talk. To the right listener, they tell us all about themselves. They tell us where they came from, how they lived, how they died and who killed them. Forensic scientists can unlock the mysteries of the past and help justice to be done using the messages left by a corpse, a crime scene or the faintest of human traces. Forensics draws on interviews with top-level professionals, ground-breaking research and Val's own experience to lay bare the secrets of this fascinating science.
Along the way, Val wonders at how maggots collected from a corpse can help determine time of death, how a DNA trace a millionth the size of a grain of salt can be used to convict a killer and how a team of young Argentine scientists led by a maverick American anthropologist uncovered the victims of a genocide.
In her novels, Val has been solving complex crimes and confronting unimaginable evil for years. Now, she's looking at the people who do it for real. It's a journey that will take her to war zones, fire scenes and autopsy suites, and bring her into contact with extraordinary bravery and wickedness, as she traces the history of forensics from its earliest beginnings to the cutting-edge science of the modern day.
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A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
Terry reviewed this book, which can be found on the shelves, or reserved at, Low Fell Library.
This book is extremely funny, poignant and sad. There is the progressive unveiling of a complex character that is partly inherited and partly driven by circumstances. Victor Meldrew is positively saintly compared to Ove. The story is engaging and well-constructed as you move through Ove’s life.
The Road to Little Dribbling by Bill Bryson
June enjoyed this book, which can be found on the shelves, or reserved at, Low Fell Library.
Twenty years ago, Bill Bryson went on a trip around Britain to celebrate the island that had become his adopted country. The book which resulted from the trip, Notes from a Small Island, became the bestselling travel book ever.
Two decades later, Bill Bryson makes a new journey round Britain to see what has changed.
Following a route from Bognor Regis to Cape Wrath, which he calls the Bryson Line, Bryson sets out to rediscover the eccentric and unique country he thought he knew, but doesn’t entirely recognize anymore.
Despite Britain’s occasional failings and bewilderments, Bryson is still pleased to call our rainy island home. In this book, he gives the reader an acute and perceptive insight into all that is best and worst about Britain today.
‘If you are from another country, you may need to be told that the New Forest isn’t in fact new and is not altogether a forest.’ ‘The Road to Little Dribbling’ by Bill Bryson.
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All Quiet on the Western Front by Eric Maria Remarque - Nov 21, 2013 3:38:8 PM
A Tiny Bit Marvellous by Dawn French - Nov 21, 2013 3:44:41 PM
One Summer by David Baldacci - Dec 01, 2013 8:30:50 PM
The Copper Beech by Maeve Binchy - Dec 01, 2013 8:35:40 PM
Agent Zigzag by Ben MacIntyre - Dec 01, 2013 9:2:55 PM
Labyrinth by Kate Mosse - Jan 10, 2014 2:53:27 PM
Every Last One by Anna Quindlen - Jan 10, 2014 2:56:35 PM
Special Forces by Robert Stirling - Jan 10, 2014 3:4:6 PM
The Enemy by Lee Child - Jan 10, 2014 3:8:46 PM
The Help by Kathryn Stockett - Jan 10, 2014 4:4:53 PM
The Long Song by Andrea Levy - Jan 10, 2014 4:21:20 PM
The Palace of Curiosities by Rosie Garland - Jan 10, 2014 4:25:42 PM
The Husband's Secret by Lianne Moriarty - Jan 10, 2014 4:35:34 PM
The Strange Fate of Kitty Easton by Elizabeth Speller - Jan 29, 2014 10:58:11 AM
The Secret Great War Diary of Jack Martin by Sapper Martin - Jan 29, 2014 11:4:30 AM
Never Go Back by Lee Child - Jan 29, 2014 11:8:50 AM
Life of Pi by Yann Martel - Jan 29, 2014 11:15:36 AM
Dandy Gilver and the Proper Treatment of Blood-Stains by Catriona McPherson - Jan 29, 2014 11:18:34 AM
The Ninth Stone by Kylie Fitzpatrick - Jan 29, 2014 11:22:20 AM
The Red House by Mark Haddon - Mar 27, 2014 9:25:30 PM
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon - Mar 27, 2014 9:28:3 PM
Dark Horse by John Francome - Mar 27, 2014 9:30:29 PM
The Cold Nowhere by Brian Freeman - Mar 27, 2014 9:32:52 PM
The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult - Mar 27, 2014 9:37:18 PM
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion - Mar 27, 2014 9:39:15 PM
Life After Life by Kate Atkinson - Mar 27, 2014 9:41:33 PM
Like This, For Ever by Sharon Bolton - Mar 27, 2014 9:44:0 PM
Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee - Oct 06, 2015 5:45:50 PM
The Children Act by Ian McEwan - Oct 06, 2015 5:51:43 PM
Legacy by Danielle Steel - Oct 06, 2015 5:56:55 PM
The Monogram Murders by Sophie Hannah - Oct 06, 2015 6:1:14 PM
I Can't Begin to Tell You by Elizabeth Buchan - Oct 06, 2015 6:5:20 PM
The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton - Oct 06, 2015 6:10:1 PM
Judy by Damien Lewis - Oct 06, 2015 6:12:12 PM
I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh - Oct 06, 2015 6:14:20 PM
Before the Fall by Juliet West - Oct 06, 2015 6:19:43 PM
The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamed - Jan 11, 2016 10:51:11 AM
The Kashmir Shawl by Rosie Thomas - Jan 11, 2016 11:4:34 AM
Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey - Jan 11, 2016 11:8:47 AM
The Winter Garden by Jane Thynne - Jan 11, 2016 11:11:41 AM
Churchill's Secret Warriors by Damien Lewis - Jan 11, 2016 11:14:35 AM
The Stars Burn On by Denise Robertson - Jan 11, 2016 11:16:53 AM
Us by David Nicholls - Jan 11, 2016 11:21:54 AM
Disclaimer by Renee Knight - Jan 11, 2016 11:24:49 AM
Pretty Baby by Mary Kubica - Apr 18, 2016 12:8:21 PM
The Road to Little Dribbling by Bill Bryson - Apr 18, 2016 12:12:23 PM
Enemy Coast Ahead by Guy Gibson - Apr 18, 2016 12:15:25 PM
Even Dogs in the Wild by Ian Rankin - Apr 18, 2016 12:18:38 PM
The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters - Apr 18, 2016 12:21:39 PM
The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny - Apr 18, 2016 12:25:22 PM
A Cold Day for Murder by Dana Stabenow - Apr 18, 2016 12:31:32 PM
Broken Promise by Linwood Barclay - Apr 18, 2016 12:35:28 PM
Polisses and Candymen The Complete Works of Tommy Armstrong The Pitman Poet - Jan 28, 2019 3:51:4 PM
Big Week: The Biggest Air Battle of World War Two by James Holland - Jan 28, 2019 3:57:17 PM
Charles Dickens and the Great Theatre of the World by Simon Callow - Jan 28, 2019 4:2:17 PM
In the Light of Morning by Tim Pears - Dec 10, 2019 3:19:37 PM
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child A new play by Jack Thorne - Dec 10, 2019 3:23:22 PM
Born To Run by Bruce Springsteen - Dec 10, 2019 3:29:9 PM
Becoming by Michelle Obama - Dec 10, 2019 3:36:22 PM
Beneath an Indian Sky by Renita D’Silva - Feb 11, 2020 3:9:49 PM
Rebecca’s Tale by Sally Beauman - Feb 11, 2020 3:15:38 PM
Wylie: The Brave Street Dog Who Never Gave Up by Pen Farthing - Jul 20, 2020 1:37:49 PM
The Long Call by Ann Cleeves - Jul 20, 2020 1:44:20 PM
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman - Jul 20, 2020 1:55:27 PM
I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes - Jul 20, 2020 2:3:55 PM
In the Light of Morning by Tim Pears - Oct 12, 2020 1:47:21 PM
Forensics: The Anatomy of Crime by Val McDermid - Oct 12, 2020 1:52:53 PM
The Circle by Dave Eggers - Oct 12, 2020 2:15:53 PM