Good, but hardly the masterpiece it has been hyped as. A little too hurried to develop the characters fully

A rather weak plot - made weaker by the fact that you are told that it's all going to end in misery right at the start, but Patrick Redmond's prose is masterfully paced and deeply evocative.

Elegant, sparse prose; vivid characters and a debate on the nature of art. Excellent.

A wonderful depiction of Victorian London, in particular its sewers and the need for sanition. But otherwise very slow, disappointing, predictable and over-written.

Lovely, gentle, evocative. Reads like an novel, with a rolling, lilting pace and a little kick in the tail. Excellent.

A fascinating concept, and I really enjoyed having the wicked witch's life story filled in, but I found the discussion on the themes of evil laboured and obvious, interferring with the novel's flow.

A decent thriller, an enjoyable read but little stimulating or unusual to recommend it.

A well researched and plausible argument which supports Henry's recognition of his illegetimate son and his consideration of Richmond as a politically valuable asset and potential successor.

A light and frothy sideways view of the Abdication Crisis and London High Society in the 1930s. Elegantly written and at times laugh out loud funny, but ultimately a little flat.

An eerie work of sexual tension and jealousy in which one man's descent into insanity is framed through his wife's past. Good but far from Barnes at his best.

The most disturbing and perhaps most insightful of all of Austen's novels, but it is still a pleasure to read from beginning to end. Not to be missed.

Average mystery and average plot dressed up in pretensions to profundity