Crème de la Crime: PI Romy & The Have-Haves by Ellina Abdul Majid

About the book: Romy smiled disarmingly at the Datin. But with her Versace shades still firmly on and her Cassey Gan mask drawn equally firmly across her face, it was akin to trying to make eye contact with a ninja...

PI Romy is a small-time detective, working the angles to cari makan (eke out a living) in a KL on the brink of dystopia because of Covid.

Plagued by the demons of his own past, he stolidly bumbles along through life in his socially awkward way, beguiled yet bemused by the antics of his atas (high class) clients, whom he describes to himself as 'double confirm weird laidat.'

Distinctively Malaysian in essence and locale, Crème de la Crime: PI Romy & The Have-Haves (2021) are a nostalgic and irreverent glimpse into the cultural melting pot of 20th century Malaysia in a 21st century setting.

About the author: Ellina Abdul Majid is the author of two novels, Perhaps in Paradise (longlisted for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award 1999) and Khairunnisa: A Good Woman, and a children's book, Iguanas In Our Garden.

Ellina was educated in Malaysia and the UK. After receiving her primary and early secondary school education at Convent Bukit Nanas Kuala Lumpur, she was packed off to a boarding school in England, where to her astonishment, Art, Literature and Music were subjects held in the same high regard as Maths and Physics. She holds a BA Hons in Law & Anthropology from SOAS, University of London and a Diploma in Speech & Drama from LAMDA (London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art), UK.

She divides her time between her home in KL, her dusun (orchard) in Gombak and her tiny flat in London's Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea. But she is happiest when trekking deep in the Malaysian jungle with her little bear, Buncit, for company.

Rating: 4/5

Merry Christmas 2024

Mafiopoli by Sanne de Boer

About the book: In 1992, two years after the release of the final instalment of the Godfather trilogy, the head of the Sicilian Cosa Nostra, Totò Riina, found himself in hot water. The result? Two prosecuting magistrates killed by car bombs, and newspapers around the world carrying front-page photographs of the two crime scenes, one a motorway and the other a residential street, both in ruins, as if they had been hit by an earthquake.

However, in another part of Italy, a different criminal organization was busy avoiding the headlines and quietly building an empire that would take over the world. 

They were called the 'Ndrangheta. The 'Ndrangheta mafia is one of the most powerful criminal organizations in the world. Bound together by blood ties, sworn to a code of silence and steeped in religious ritual, they are the force behind a litany of violence and corruption. 

In Mafiopoli: Living Among the ’Ndrangheta - Italy's Most Powerful Crime Organisation (2024), journalist Sanne De Boer takes us deep inside this extraordinary and ascendant criminal group.

In 2006, de Boer moved from Amsterdam to coastal Calabria, won over by the region's beauty and the warm village community. But when a car was set alight in the dead of night and, soon after, two men were shot dead, she began to see a darker side to her quiet, idyllic neighbourhood, kindling a strong desire to know more about what - or who - was behind these frequent crimes.

As Sanne de Boer pieces together the mysterious events and violence marring her new home, she dives headfirst into figuring out who the 'Ndrangheta are, and how they became such a dominant force. 

She speaks to people intimately connected to the 'Ndrangheta, explores the mafia's links throughout Europe and beyond, and gets to grips with exactly why all our lives are, in shocking ways, affected by their reign.

Mafiopoli is an engrossing insight into a brutal criminal organization. This edition includes a new afterword written by de Boer in 2024.

About the author: Sanne de Boer is a Dutch journalist who has lived in Calabria since 2006. She is the first foreign journalist based in Calabria to write about the 'Ndrangheta, and regularly appears on TV and radio as a mafia expert. Mafiopoli was originally published originally in Dutch in 2020 and nominated for the 'Brusseprijs', a prestigious award for the best book of journalism. 

The Santa Killer (A DI Barton Investigation Series) by Ross Greenwood

About the book: The Santa Killer is coming to town…

One night less than two weeks before Christmas, a single mother is violently assaulted. It’s a brutal crime at the time of year when there should be goodwill to all. When DI Barton begins his investigation, he is surprised to find the victim is a woman with nothing to hide and no reason for anyone to hurt her.

A few days later, the mother of the woman attacked rings the police station. Her granddaughter has drawn a shocking picture. It seems she was looking out of the window when her mother was attacked. And when her grandmother asks the young girl who the person with the weapon is, she whispers two words.

Bad Santa.

The rumours start spreading, and none of the city’s women feel safe - which one of them will be next?

He’s got a list. It’s quite precise. It won’t matter even if you’re nice.

The Santa Killer (2022) is the sixth instalment in the excellent DI Barton Investigation series set in Peterborough, UK. Currently, there are seven books in the series, the latest being The Village Killer (2024) which is out now.

About the author: Ross Greenwood is the award-winning mystery and crime thriller author from Peterborough, UK, where he spent his childhood and most of his early adulthood years. After he left his hometown, he lived and worked all over the United States and across the world. Nonetheless, he found himself going back to Peterborough many times over the years. Before becoming a full-time writer, he was, for four years, a prison officer and so worked everyday with murderers, rapists and thieves. His other works include the DS Ashley Knight series, the Dark Lives series and several stand-alone books.

Rating: 5/5

Christmas On The Farm by Adam Henson

About the book: Wrap up warm and retreat to the wintry countryside with farmer and Countryfile presenter Adam Henson, as he recounts his Christmas memories tending to an assorted cast of animals, and celebrates the farmers who make our celebrations possible.

Adam Henson has spent his whole life on Bemborough farm - over 50 winters and Christmases. During that time, the troughs have frozen over, snow has fallen so thickly riding shire horses out to the fields has been the only option, puppies have been found under the Christmas tree - and crises out in the world have almost brought the farm to a close.

For a farmer, Christmas takes a different shape to everyone else's, because the animals always have to come first. 

So settle down - ideally by a fireside and with a cup of something hot - to hear the tales that have defined festivity for the Henson family, and the turbulent times that have ensured Christmas is now more important than ever for Adam and his loved ones.

Heart-warming and full of Christmas spirit, Christmas on the Farm (2023) will give you a new respect for the people who work on them.

About the author: Adam Henson is the author of five books, including the Sunday Times bestseller Like Farmer, Like Son and the children's book A Year on Adam's Farm. Adam is perhaps the best-known farmer in the UK, presenting his own section on BBC's Countryfile to millions of viewers each Sunday evening. His other television credits include presenting Lambing Live alongside Kate Humble, Secret Britain, Countryfile Summer Diaries, Big Wildlife Revival, Coast and Inside Out. He has a monthly column in Countryfile magazine, as their resident farmer, as well as the Cotswold Life magazine. As well as his writing and television work, Adam runs Cotswold Farm Park in Gloucestershire, which pioneers rare breed conservation. His first book for Sphere, Two for Joy, was published in 2022.

Fletchers On The Farm: Mud, Mayhem and Marriage by Kelvin & Liz Fletcher

About the book: So, how did we end up on a 120-acre working farm in the Peak District?

It's a question we often ask ourselves. Neither of us are from farming families. We're both proper townies through and through.

Yet in the middle of the pandemic, with the whole world turned upside down, we decided to upturn ours even more. We moved from our comfortable modern house on a smart estate in Oldham, Manchester, to a centuries-old farmhouse surrounded by nothing but fields as far as the eye can see. We weren't just moving house; we were changing our whole lives! And if our first day on the farm was anything to go by, we might just have made a terrible mistake...

This is the story of our life, from setting eyes on each other in primary school, to being best friends who always made each other laugh, to falling in love and raising our four kids and three giant pigs, to the greener-than-green fields and farm life we live and breathe now.

This is our incredible journey, and it's only just begun!

Love

Liz and Kelvin, and Marnie, and Milo, and Maximus and Mateusz - and Ginger the dog and all of our other friendly animals 

About the authors: Kelvin Fletcher is a much-loved British actor who has appeared in leading roles on screen for over twenty years. In 2019, he won the Strictly Come Dancing final, taking home the coveted glitterball trophy. Kelvin made his National Theatre debut in 2022 in Jack Absolute Flies Again.

Liz Fletcher is an actor and voiceover artist who has appeared in numerous roles on both stage and screen. 

They star together, along with their eldest children Marnie and Milo, in BBC One's Kelvin's Big Farming Adventure and ITV1's Fletchers’ Family Farm (Seasons 1 and 2).

Too Much And Never Enough by Mary L Trump

About the book: Too Much and Never Enough (2020) is the international and Sunday Times Number One Bestseller. The book is a revelatory portrait of Donald J Trump and the toxic family that made him written by his niece, Mary L Trump.

Mary Trump spent much of her childhood in her grandparents’ large, imposing house in New York with Donald and his four siblings. 

She describes a nightmare of traumas, destructive relationships and a tragic combination of neglect and abuse. 

As a first-hand witness and a trained clinical psychologist, Mary explains how specific events and general family patterns created the damaged man who occupied the Oval Office.

Written by the only Trump willing to speak out, Too Much and Never Enough is a fascinating and unnerving analysis on one of the world’s most powerful and dysfunctional families. 

Mary Trump’s insight and intimate familiarity means she alone can tell the truth on what makes Donald, and the rest of her clan, tick.

About the author: Mary L Trump is the author of the international #1 bestseller, Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man. Trump holds a PhD from the Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies and taught graduate courses in trauma, psychopathology, and developmental psychology. She lives with her daughter in New York.

Love Until Death (True Crime) by Chris Hutchins

About the book: ‘Who is Alex? Is he the gifted businessman whose interests have netted him billions of dollars, whose generosity and charm has beguiled the world’s elite? Or is he the cold-blooded killer accused by the French police of poisoning his lover? A ruthless but brilliant conman who made millions by creating a fictitious persona?’

Alexandre Despallières bewitched everyone he met with his disarming good looks and killer charm. But this had tragic consequences for many he got close to, as he left a trail of suspicious deaths in his wake.

Posing as a billionaire businessman dying of an inoperable brain tumour, Despallières seduced and married music industry legend Peter Ikin in 2008. Just one month later, Ikin died of a paracetamol overdose and Despallières was set to inherit his estate, worth millions, through a forged will.

As investigations unfolded, other suspected victims emerged, including Despallières’s own parents. Others narrowly managed to escape a similar fate, such as a Hollywood heiress, who Despallières convinced to adopt him, and conned her out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Despallières died in 2022, just before he was due to stand trial, leaving unanswered questions behind. In Love Until Death (2024), Chris Hutchins untangles Despallières’s web of deceit, and gains the trust of Despallières himself, who reveals his version of events for the first time.

About the author: Chris Hutchins (1941-2024) was an established author and journalist of highly acclaimed investigative biographies of the rich, the famous and the royals and public relations practitioner. His first, Fergie Confidential, was an intimate biography of the Duchess of York and chronicled her troubled marriage to the Queen’s favourite son. This was followed by a revelatory biography of the late Princess of Wales, Diana's Nightmare, and an acclaimed psychological profile of her, Diana On The Edge. Athina, The Last Onassis penetrated deeply into the world of the Onassis dynasty. Elvis Meets The Beatles was about the night he took the group to meet Presley and the serious repercussions which followed. More recently Hutchins has turned his attention to matters Russian with fearless biographies of that country’s leader, Putin, and best-known oligarch Abramovich: The Billionaire From Nowhere. The author returns to the royal stage with Harry: The People’s Prince. Hutchins died on 27 June 2024, aged 83.

William Styron (1925-2006), American Novelist and Essayist

A Death In Cornwall (Gabriel Allon Series) by Daniel Silva

About the book: A brutal murder, a missing masterpiece, a mystery only Gabriel Allon can solve...

Art restorer and legendary spy Gabriel Allon has slipped quietly into London to attend a reception at the Courtauld Gallery celebrating the return of a stolen self-portrait by Vincent van Gogh. But when an old friend from the Devon and Cornwall Police seeks his help with a baffling murder investigation, he finds himself pursuing a powerful and dangerous new adversary.

The victim is Charlotte Blake, a celebrated professor of art history from Oxford who spends her weekends in the same seaside village where Gabriel once lived under an assumed identity. Her murder appears to be the work of a diabolical serial killer who has been terrorizing the Cornish countryside. But there are a number of telltale inconsistencies, including a missing mobile phone. And then there is the mysterious three-letter cypher she left behind on a notepad in her study.

Gabriel soon discovers that Professor Blake was searching for a looted Picasso worth more than a $100 million, and he takes up the chase for the painting as only he can—with six Impressionist canvases forged by his own hand and an unlikely team of operatives that includes a world-famous violinist, a beautiful master thief, and a lethal contract killer turned British spy. The result is a stylish and wildly entertaining mystery that moves at lightning speed from the cliffs of Cornwall to the enchanted island of Corsica and, finally, to a breathtaking climax on the very doorstep of 10 Downing Street.

Supremely elegant and suspenseful, A Death in Cornwall (2024) is Daniel Silva at his best - a dazzling tale of murder, power, and insatiable greed that will hold readers spellbound until they turn the final page.

About the author: Daniel Silva was born in Michigan in 1960 and raised in California where he received his BA from Fresno State. Silva began his writing career as a journalist for United Press International (UPI), traveling in the Middle East and covering the Iran-Iraq war, terrorism and political conflicts. From UPI he moved to CNN, where he eventually became executive producer of its Washington-based public policy programming. In 1994, he began work on his first novel, The Unlikely Spy, a surprise best seller that won critical acclaim. He turned to writing full time in 1997 and all of his twenty-seven books have been award winning, No 1 New York Times/national best sellers, translated into more than thirty languages and published across Europe and the world. He lives in Florida with his wife, television journalist Jamie Gangel, and their twins, Lily and Nicholas.

Rating: 4/5

Dorothy L Sayers (1893-1957), English Crime Novelist, Playwright, Translator and Critic

Occupied With Blessings

Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy (1828-1910), Russian Writer

 

Entitlement by Rumann Alam

About the book: But money lights your world up. You're trapped, what can you do? - David Berman

Money talks. But what if it lies?

Brooke wants many things. A sense of purpose, independence, security. To make a difference in the world, and maybe to impress her mother along the way.

Her job assisting an eighty-something billionaire in his quest to give away a vast fortune could be just the ticket to the life she knows she is entitled to.

Intoxicated by this new-found proximity to wealth and power, Brooke soon finds herself rubbing shoulders with the one per cent, as her boss' attention offers a glimpse into a world just beyond her grasp. 

But before long, being under his wing is not enough, and Brooke starts to dangerously blur the lines between what belongs to him, and what should belong to her.

Taut, unsettling and alive to the seductive distortions of money and race, Entitlement (2024) is a biting tale for our new gilded age.

About the author: Rumaan Alam is the author of the New York Times bestselling novel Leave the World Behind, which was a finalist for the National Book Award and adapted into a major motion picture, as well as two other novels. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, New Yorker and elsewhere. He lives in Brooklyn.

Rating: 3/5

Charismania: The Truth About The Charismatic Renewal by Kennedy Hall

About the book: The Charismatic Renewal is an international movement that has made inroads into the Catholic Church and numerous Protestant denominations. The Renewal comes with promises of miracles and spiritual wonders, and participants have long attested to supernatural phenomena taking place as a result of Charismatic practices.

However, there is a dark side to the Renewal, and many of the teachings presented by its defenders are incompatible with historical Christianity.

In Charismania (2024), we take a journey through the history of the Renewal, starting with its ancient roots.

Topics discussed include:

The troubling history of Pentecostalism

The origins of the Renewal in the Catholic Church

Speaking in Tongues

Baptism in the Holy Spirit

Covenant Communities

And more

Whether the reader is a partisan of the Renewal or not, he will undoubtedly be surprised at the information presented in these pages.

About the author: Kennedy Hall is a Canadian Catholic author. His repertoire includes Terror of Demons: Reclaiming Traditional Catholic Masculinity, Lockdown with the Devil and SSPX: The Defence. He is a writer at Catholic Family News, LifeSiteNews, Crisis Magazine and and has a growing YouTube channel where he hosts The Kennedy Report and a Substack called Mere Tradition. He is also a professional narrator and voice-over artist. He is married with six children and lives in Ontario, Canada. 

Bedlam: London And Its Mad by Catharine Arnold

About the book: 'Bedlam!' The very name conjures up graphic images of naked patients chained among filthy straw, or parading untended wards deluded that they are Napoleon or Jesus Christ. 

We owe this image of madness to William Hogarth, who, in plate eight of his 1735 Rake's Progress series, depicts the anti-hero in Bedlam, the latest addition to a freak show providing entertainment for Londoners between trips to the Tower Zoo, puppet shows and public executions.

That this is still the most powerful image of Bedlam, over two centuries later, says much about our attitude to mental illness, although the Bedlam of the popular imagination is long gone. 

The hospital was relocated to the suburbs of Kent in 1930, and Sydney Smirke's impressive Victorian building in Southwark took on a new role as the Imperial War Museum.

Following the historical narrative structure of her acclaimed Necropolis, Bedlam: London and Its Mad (2009) examines the capital's treatment of the insane over the centuries, from the founding of Bethlehem Hospital in 1247 through the heyday of the great Victorian asylums to the more enlightened attitudes that prevail today.

About the author: Catharine Arnold read English at the University of Cambridge and holds a further degree in psychology. Catharine is best known for her London quartet, published by Simon & Schuster and comprising Necropolis, London and its Dead, Bedlam, London and its Mad, City of Sin, London and its Vices and Underworld London, City of Crime. She is also the author of Globe, the World of Shakespeare's London (2015) and Edward VII, the Prince of Wales and the Women He Loved (2017). Catharine’s latest book is Pandemic 1918, the Story of the Deadliest Influenza in History (2018).

Gift A Book For Christmas

The French Ingredient: A Memoir by Jane Bertch

About the book: When Jane Bertch was seventeen, her mother took her on a graduation trip to Paris. Thrilled to use her high school French, Jane found her halting attempts greeted with withering condescension by every waiter and shopkeeper she encountered. At the end of the trip, she vowed she would never return.

Yet a decade later she found herself back in Paris, transferred there by the American bank she worked for. She became fluent in the language and excelled in her new position. 

But she had a different dream: to start a cooking school for foreigners like her, who wanted to take a few classes in French cuisine in a friendly setting, then bring their new skills to their kitchens back home. 

Predictably, Jane faced the skeptical French - how dare an American banker start a cooking school in Paris? - as well as real-estate nightmares, and a long struggle to find and attract clients.

Thanks to Jane’s perseverance, La Cuisine Paris opened in 2009. Now the school is thriving, welcoming international visitors to come in and knead dough, whisk bechamel, whip meringue, and learn the care, precision, patience, and beauty involved in French cooking.

The French Ingredient (2024) is the story of a young female entrepreneur building a life in a city and culture she grew to love. As she established her school, Jane learned how to charm, how to project confidence, and how to give it right back to rude waiters. Having finally made peace with the city she swore to never revisit, she now offers a love letter to France, and a master class in Parisian cooking and living.

The French Ingredient is illustrated by Jessie Kanelos Weiner.

About the author: Jane Bertch has spent more than two decades living and working in Europe. In 2009, she started La Cuisine Paris, which has become the largest nonprofessional culinary school in France. She holds a BA in English, an MA in labour and industrial relations from the University of Illinois, and an executive MA from the French business school INSEAD. The French Ingredient is her first book.

Daily Special: Chinese Restaurant Favourites (Cookbook) by Flo Lum

About the book: With over 400,000 subscribers on her YouTube channel, Flo Lum has years of experience creating simple and delicious recipes that have helped and inspired thousands of viewers.

I am so excited to share this new cookbook with you. It is filled with many of our favourite Chinese menu items that I have recreated at home to help curb our dining out or take out spending, during these inflationary times. As you all have come to expect and love, these recipes are created using simple ingredients and easy to follow instructions.

Daily Special: Chinese Restaurant Favourites (2023) is almost 150 pages, complete with beautiful full-page photos for every recipe. My recipes are simple and never fussy or complicated. With the basic Asian sauces in your pantry, you will be able to handle all the recipes in this cookbook. My goal is to provide a delicious meal for my family with ingredients that are easy to find and readily available. I hope they will deliver the familiar restaurant flavours you may be craving for.

Each recipe has been created using the best tool for the job. Sometimes it’s a wok, an electric pressure cooker, air fryer or the humble stove. When possible, I have included alternative cooking methods.

Eat well. Save money.

About the author: Flo Lum is a wife and mom who loves to laugh, cook, bake and eat. The kitchen is her domain and where most of her creativity takes place. Everything she learned, she learned in Home Economics in high school and cooking shows on TV. She shares her family’s journey to live a Simple, Ordinary & Joyful life on her YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/flolum). 

From fantastic family-friendly recipes, travel, to Vlogs about their perfectly imperfect lives in Vancouver, Canada and beyond.

Ideal Afternoon

I’ll Never Call Him Dad Again by Caroline Darian

About the book: I want this book to sound the alarm about the prevalence of chemical submission in France and around the world. The general public must be made aware that the practice goes far beyond date-rape cocktails in night clubs. Everyone should take a wary look inside their medicine cabinet: anti-anxiety drugs, sleeping pills and a host of other mind-altering substances have been used as arms of sexual assault. It is an epidemic that touches all social classes. Regular memory lapses should set alarm bells ringing. If it happens to you, tell your doctor and ask for toxicology screening. - Caroline Darian, 28 November 2021.

I'll Never Call Him Dad Again (2024) is an astonishingly brave and moving book from Caroline Darian, daughter of infamous Dominique Pelicot, detailing how her mother rebuilt her life as the world follows a trial that will go down in history. It tells the first-hand story of the Gisèle Pelicot trial and gives a voice to women who have been silenced.

The trial of Dominique Pelicot, which began on 2 September 2024, has captured the world’s attention. Behind the haunting details of Pelicot’s unthinkable crimes are a mother, Gisèle Pelicot, and daughter, Caroline Darian, who were forced to rebuild their lives.

This is their story.

In November 2020, Caroline Darian received a call from the police in Carpentras. Her father was in police custody. The seizure of his computer equipment revealed the unthinkable: since 2013, he had drugged his wife before handing her over, in a state of unconsciousness, to men, from all ages and stages of life.

With exceptional courage, Darian recounts the earth-shattering discovery that a loved one, her own father, is capable of the worst. But more importantly, she shares the remarkable story of her mother Gisèle and how she carried on living, without self-pity, while learning to manage all of the things her husband once took care of. She shares how her mother managed to maintain her joie de vivre in circumstances none of us could imagine.

Gisèle has won acclaim around the world after she gave up her right to anonymity and opted for a public trial, a trial in which Caroline herself has testified, turning the tables: the shame no longer borne by the victims in silence but directed, at last, to the abusers. Caroline has set up her own campaign, #MendorsPas: Stop Chemical Submission: Don’t Put Me Under, to address the issue of chemical submission in the home. Together, mother and daughter reveal another side to the violence committed against women, as they bravely transform their private trauma into a collective fight.

The book will be released on 14 January 2025.

About the author: Caroline Darian is a senior executive in a large company and the daughter of Dominique Pelicot and Gisèle Pelicot. Her father is currently being tried in France for the terrible crimes against his wife. Since the publication of her testimony, she founded the association '#MendorsPas: Stop Chemical Submission: Don't Put Me Under' in order to campaign for better care of victims and training health professionals.

The Madonna Of Notre Dame by Alexis Ragougneau

About the book: Fifty thousand believers and photo-hungry tourists jam into Notre Dame Cathedral on August 15 to celebrate the Feast of the Assumption. 

The next morning, a stunningly beautiful young woman clothed all in white kneels at prayer in a cathedral side chapel. But when an American tourist accidentally bumps against her, her body collapses. She has been murdered: the autopsy reveals disturbing details. 

Police investigators and priests search for the killer as they discover other truths about guilt and redemption in this soaring Paris refuge for the lost, the damned, and the saved. 

The suspect is a disturbed young man obsessed with the Virgin Mary who spends his days hallucinating in front of a Madonna. But someone else knows the true killer of the white-clad daughter of Algerian immigrants. 

This thrilling novel illuminates shadowy corners of the world’s most famous cathedral, shedding light on good and evil with suspense, compassion, and wry humour.

The Madonna of Notre Dame (2013) is translated from the French, La Madone de Notre-Dame, by Katherine Gregor.

About the author: Playwright and then novelist, Alexis Ragougneau made a remarkable entrance into the literary world with two detective novels: La Madone de Notre-Dame (2014) and Évangile pour un gueux (2016). He then devoted himself more freely to novel creation with Niels (in the running for the Prix Goncourt 2017) and Opus 77 (finalist for the Femina 2019). A key voice in contemporary French literature, his books are acclaimed by booksellers and have been translated into many languages.

About the translator: Katherine Gregor is a British translator and writer. She has translated Italian classics, such as Luigi Pirandello and Carlo Goldoni, and Francesca Melandri, Stefania Auci and Alberto Angela among contemporary authors. She was born in Rome, where she lived on and off for twelve years, spending six years also in France before moving to England in 1988. She is currently based in Norwich. She translates from Italian and French, writes plays and fiction of her own and the blog Scribe Doll (https://scribedoll.com). She also created and wrote for two years the monthly column The Italianist (http://www.eurolitnetwork.com/tag/katherine-gregor/), which focuses on Italian books not yet translated into English.

Rating: 5/5

Notre-Dame: The Soul Of France by Agnès Poirier

About the book: The profound emotion felt around the world upon seeing images of Notre-Dame in flames opens up a series of questions: Why was everyone so deeply moved? Why does Notre-Dame so clearly crystallise what our civilisation is about? What makes ‘Our Lady of Paris’ the soul of a nation and a symbol of human achievement? What is it that speaks so directly to us today?

In answer, Agnès Poirier turns to the defining moments in Notre-Dame’s history. 

Beginning with the laying of the corner stone in 1163, she recounts the conversion of Henri IV to Catholicism, the coronation of Napoleon, Victor Hugo’s nineteenth-century campaign to preserve the cathedral, Baron Haussmann’s clearing of the streets in front of it, the Liberation in 1944, the 1950s film of The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, starring Gina Lollobrigida and Anthony Quinn, and the state funeral of Charles de Gaulle, before returning to the present.

The conflict over Notre-Dame’s reconstruction promises to be fierce. Nothing short of a cultural war is already brewing between the wise and the daring, the sincere and the opportunist, historians and militants, the devout and secularists. It is here that Poirier reveals the deep malaise - gilet jaunes and all - at the heart of the France.

Notre-Dame: The Soul Of France (2020) is the winner of the 2022 French Heritage Society Book Award. It is translated into Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, Dutch, German, French, and Polish.

About the author: Agnès Poirier is a writer, commentator and broadcaster. She is a regular contributor on politics and arts for the BBC, CNN, Sky News, Channel 4 and France 24, and she writes for the Guardian, Observer, The Times, Evening Standard and The New York Times, among others. Her most recent book is the acclaimed Left Bank: Art, Passion and the Rebirth of Paris, 1940–50. She lives in Paris and visits London regularly. @AgnesCPoirier

Notre-Dame: A Short History Of The Meaning Of Cathedrals by Ken Follett

About the book: ‘Two days after Notre Dame burned, I flew to Paris to appear on the TV programme La Grande Librairie for a discussion about cathedrals. The following morning I had breakfast at the Hotel Bristol with my French publisher and she asked me to write a short book about Notre Dame and what it means to all of us. She said she would donate the publisher’s profits to the rebuilding fund and, if I wished, I could do the same with my royalties. Yes, I said; of course, I’d love to.’ - Ken Follett

In aid of the crucial restoration work to restore Paris’s great cathedral, Notre-Dame: A Short History of the Meaning of Cathedrals (2019) is a moving, short piece of non-fiction celebrating the stunning history of this beloved building, from Ken Follett, author of the multi-million copy selling Kingsbridge series. 

About the author: Ken Follett was born in Cardiff, Wales. Barred from watching films and television by his parents, he developed an early interest in reading thanks to a local library. After studying philosophy at University College London, he became involved in centre-left politics, entering into journalism soon after. His first thriller, the wartime spy drama Eye of the Needle, became an international bestseller and has sold over 10 million copies. This World War II thriller set in England, earned him the 1979 Edgar Award for Best Novel from the Mystery Writers of America. It remains one of his most popular books.

He then astonished everyone with his first historical novel, The Pillars of the Earth, the story of the building of a medieval cathedral, which went on to become one of the most beloved books of the twentieth century. One of the most popular authors in the world, his many books including the Kingsbridge series and the Century trilogy - a body of work which together chronicles over a thousand years of history - and his latest novel Never - which envisages how World War III could happen - have sold more than 188 million copies. A father and husband, Ken lives with his wife in England and enjoys travelling the world when he can. More than 195 million copies of the 37 books he has written have been sold in over 80 countries and in 40 languages.

Marian Veneration: Firm Foundations by Francis Cardinal Arinze

About the book: The Blessed Virgin Mary is venerated by many followers of Jesus Christ as an important part of their practice of the faith. Believing that she is the Mother of God because her Son is the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, who for our salvation took on human nature, Christians of both East and West honor Mary in various ways. They strive to imitate her as a great model of Christian discipleship.

Cardinal Arinze wrote Marian Veneration: Firm Foundations (2017) for both those devoted to the Blessed Mother and those who do not yet know or understand her. Based on the Scriptures, the teachings of the Church, and the sacred liturgy, the cardinal provides a solid foundation for Marian veneration - one that can benefit all Christians, regardless of their church affiliation.

Cover art: Our Lady of Perpetual Help, 16th century Greek Byzantine icon.

About the author: Cardinal Francis Arinze, the former Prefect for the Congregation for Divine Worship, is a highly regarded prelate, teacher and churchman. He has written numerous books on theology, spirituality and prayer, including Meeting Jesus and Following Him, Radical Discipleship, The Layperson's Distinctive Role, and his biography, God's Invisible Hand, all published by Ignatius Press.

Fantastic Recipes From My Favourite People by Poppy Fraser

About the book: "Without doubt, the worst cook I have ever come across" - Henry Hughes, the author's husband, 2004.

Discovering that she was expecting her first baby, Poppy Fraser decided that it was time to learn how to cook. Having no idea where to begin, she wrote to all the people she could think of, asking them to provide her with their favourite (and most foolproof) recipes. 

The response was staggering, and prompted her to collect the replies together for those of her friends who found themselves in a similar predicament.

Fantastic Recipes from my Favourite People (2006) is the result. From breakfast to lunch, tea-time to dinner, with an extensive section on puddings, the book provides pretty much every recipe one could ever need. There is no pretence at helping you lose weight or being trendy; the food described is simple, fattening, and delicious.

With introductions to the various characters who supplied the recipes, and charming illustrations by Leonora Grosvenor, Fantastic Recipes from my Favourite People could well become the only cookbook you will ever need!

About the author: Since writing her first book, Fantastic Recipes from my Favourite People, in 2006, a lot has changed for Poppy, both inside and outside the kitchen. Things have been busy: Poppy moved with her two elder children out of London to Dorset, settling in a beautiful little village beneath the Downs. She won two gold stars from the Great Taste Awards for her chocolate biscuit cake, which she sells each week locally. 

Poppy’s second cookbook, 10 Minute Suppers for Children, is a celebration of natural, unprocessed ingredients, ideal for whisking up a delectable supper for your brood and for any grown-up who happens to be in the kitchen. And all in just ten minutes. No one understands the pressures of a kitchen full of tired, hungry children better than Poppy, who has four of her own, two of them Irish twins.

Poppy’s first book, Fantastic Recipes from my Favourite People, was published by Foxcote Books. Its director, Rob Huntington, is tragically no longer alive, but is remembered and missed all the time by his many devoted friends.

Same As It Ever Was by Claire Lombardo

About the book: At fifty-seven, Julia Ames has found herself with an improbably lovely life. Despite her inclination towards self-sabotage, she has a husband she loves, two happy children and a quiet, contented existence in the suburbs.

But, out of the blue, things begin to change.

Her always well-behaved son is acting strangely. Her beloved but belligerent teenage daughter is about to depart for college.

And, in the local grocery store, Julia encounters a woman she has not seen for twenty years - a woman whose friendship was once both her lifeline and, very nearly, her downfall.

All of a sudden, Julia's peaceful family setup and her long, affection-filled marriage face imminent derailment from events both past and present.

The author of The Most Fun We Ever Had (2020) returns with another brilliantly observed family drama - Same As It Ever Was (2024), which examines the complete and complicated trajectory of one woman's life and asks what it takes to make - and to not break - a family.

About the author: Claire Lombardo earned her MFA in fiction at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Her debut novel, The Most Fun We Ever Had, debuted on the New York Times Bestseller List, and has been translated or is forthcoming in over a dozen languages. It has been optioned for television by Reese Witherspoon. Same As It Ever Was is her second novel. Claire has worked as a social worker. Currently, she teaches fiction writing and works as a bookseller at Prairie Lights Books. She was born and raised in Oak Park, Illinois, and now lives in Iowa City, Iowa.

Rating: 5/5