That dreaded marriage question ...
There’s mystery and mayhem, discovery and dilemma in this week’s roundup of books.
Author: Lucy Vine
Publisher: Orion Books, chick lit MEET Ellie Knight, the Bridget Jones for a new generation. She’s in a job she hates, and her friends are all settling down while she’s still single at, gasp, almost 30!
But the thing is, Ellie likes being single. And, hey, she’s still hurting from her mum’s death, can you blame a girl for not having it all together so soon? Who really has his/her life in perfect order, anyway?
Minecraft: The Island
Author: Max Brooks Publisher: Century, science fiction THIS is the first official novel based on Minecraft, the worldbuilding video game beloved by millions. Max Brooks (yes, he of bestselling zombie apocalypse World War Z fame) sets the story in the Minecraft world where everything – from the sun and clouds to plants and animals – is made of squares.
A nameless protagonist finds himself on this strange island with no memory of how he got there or even who he is. But he doesn’t have time to ponder the mystery because he has to battle simply to stay alive, to find food (while avoiding becoming food), build a shelter while dealing with exploding creepers, murderous skeletons, and – this being a Brooks book – horde of zombies. And doing it all with a few makeshift tools and sage advice from an unlikely friend: a cow.
Waiting For Monsieur Bellivier
Author: Britta Rostlund Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, contemporary fiction
TWO people, in a moment of boredom, in a mood of whimsy, say “Yes” to two unusual requests and find themselves entangled in a mystery. Idly sitting in a cafe, Helena Folasadu replies in the affirmative when she’s asked if she’s “waiting for Monsieur Bellivier” – though she most definitely isn’t and hasn’t a clue who he is. And grocer Mancebo agrees to watch an apartment across from his shop to see if a woman’s husband is having an affair.
And from then on, Helena and Mancebo find their worlds changing as secrets are revealed and lives affected.
The Arrangement
Author: Sonya Lalli
Publisher: Orion Books, contemporary fiction SHE’S a modern woman, living her own life, independent and strong – and then Nani (grandmother) wonders why she’s almost 30 and still single .... Suddenly, centuries of Indian tradition fall on her head and everyone’s looking for a suitable husband for her.
Raina wants to be a dutiful daughter and please Nani but then the love of her life, exboyfriend Dev, reappears, forcing her to examine her true feelings.
The Girl Who Takes An Eye For An Eye (Millennium #5)
Author: David Lagercrantz Publisher: Maclehose Press, crime fiction
THIS is David Lagercrantz’ second book in the Millennium series begun by Stieg Larsson, who died suddenly in 2004 aged 50 after writing the first three hugely successful books.
This book picks up after Lagercrantz’ first addition to the series, The Girl In The Spider’s Web (2015), with prickly hacker extraordinaire Lisabeth Salander imprisoned for her actions in that book. While Salander fights to protect a vulnerable woman she befriends behind bars, on the outside, sometime partner, journalist Mikael Blomkvist, discovers crucial details about Salander’s painful childhood – details that paint an ugly picture of babies stolen from ethnic minority couples and experimented on.
Little Fires Everywhere
Author: Celeste Ng Publisher: Little, Brown, contemporary fiction INTO the perfect suburb of Shaker Heights and its perfectly respectable families comes the incendiary issue of a childless white couple adopting a Chinese baby. Fanning the flames is the arrival of enigmatic artist and single mother Mia Warren and her shy, smart daughter Pearl who don’t hew to Shaker Heights mores.
Simmering tensions erupt into a very non-metaphorical house fire, followed by the disappearance of Mia and Pearl. Are they victims or villains?
Hanna Who Fell From The Sky
Author: Christopher Meades Publisher: Park Row Books, contemporary fiction
HANNA will be 18 in a week. That’s when she’ll marry a man twice her age who already has four wives. Hanna doesn’t question this; it’s just how things are done in the secluded polygamist community of Clearhaven.
But then Hanna meets Daniel, who has actually been outside Clearhaven, and he’s making her think dangerous, rebellious thoughts, of leaving Clearhaven, of finding a new way to live. But that would mean not only leaving behind everything she’s ever known but also her beloved disabled younger sister ....