About Book Marks
Recent Reviews
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex
Positive The Independent (IRE) This book doesn’t so much lift the curtain on private royal life than rip it off and shake out its contents. But it’s also richly detailed and at times beautifully written; if Harry is going to set fire to his family, he has at least done it with some style ... Breathtakingly frank ... There is humour in the book too, even if it’s of the squaddie variety.
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex
Rave Irish Independent (IRE) This book doesn’t so much lift the curtain on private royal life than rip it off and shake out its contents. But it’s also richly detailed and at times beautifully written; if Harry is going to set fire to his family, he has at least done it with some style ... It is breathtakingly frank. His wife might be the natural on camera, but Harry seems to hit his stride on paper ... Passages about army exploits and travels to Africa are worthy but a little bloated. More interesting are the rich accounts of gatherings at Balmoral.
Dolly Alderton
Rave The Evening Standard (UK) Alderton’s skill at dissecting love and relationships translates seamlessly into fiction ... Alderton skewers the tribalism of online courtship brilliantly through Nina’s eyes ... The title of the book might be a reference to the cruel dating habit of ‘ghosting’ – when a person you’re seeing disappears very suddenly with no explanation – but really this is less a book about courtship than one about the tricky transitional phase of early thirties life, when friendship groups splinter and shift and life choices are put under the microscope. Alderton tackles it beautifully.
Anne Tyler
Positive Evening Standard There’s a particularly wonderful scene halfway through the novel when Micah goes for a family lunch, a chaos of noise and people flitting from room to room as food is served over shoulders and conversations shoot up like \'geysers.\' It’s a showcase of Tyler’s genius in finding humour and humanity in the ordinary. Her latest novel might not be heavy on plot twists, and the conclusion feels a touch rushed, but is still packed with wit and humanity—a good read to add to your lockdown list, if only for house-cleaning tips.
Kate Weinberg
Positive The Evening Standard (UK) There are more than a few nods to Donna Tartt’s The Secret History here — the band of student misfits with dysfunctional backgrounds, the professor with oddly intimate student-teacher bonds, plus an overall sense, skilfully seeded by Weinberg, that things are about to take a wrong turn ... It takes a while for the novel to pick up the pace. Though they serve a purpose in fleshing out Jess’s background, the flashbacks to her upbringing are less compelling but Weinberg’s prose is still crisp enough to keep you reading ... Threaded into the story are references to Agatha Christie’s novels, with their mysteries and murders and love triangles. The Truants borrows some of these murder mystery tropes, leading us to a dark conclusion that feels satisfying to reach, even if one big question is left unanswered.