47 Sponsored by Dartmouth Community Bookshop Book Review Lift your spirits!


It might be cold outside but it’s also the season for winter warmers with a dash of community, festive and family spirit.


If you’re looking for a quick fix or maybe even a


perfect giſt or stocking filler Alan Bennett’s latest novella, Killing Time (Faber & Faber), might just fit the bill. Tis wry tale set in an upmarket home for the elderly might sound like another Richard Osman cosy crime story but it’s more a satire on society stuck in those memorable years of Covid. Chaos reigns in Hill Topp House “less of a home and more of a club and very much a community” which has a cast of delightful and quirky staff and residents – and where one of the late, lamented Maggie Smith’s characters would surely reside. As a master wordsmith Alan Bennett is full of razor-sharp observations finding dark humour in the ordinary and extraordinary describing characters and situations with both respect and melancholy wit. Above all the story reminds us never to underestimate the elderly as the residents seize the moment to exploit the institutional breakdown created by Covid and break free. Alongside those bleak memories of lockdown it creates a backdrop of darkly comic confusion to create a “geriatric Lord of the Flies” (Te Spectator).


Cold winter nights are the perfect setting for a murder


so the crime and thriller section is well stocked at this time of year. Fans of Te Truth about the Harry Quebert Affair (for a quick recap try the Netflix series with Patrick Dempsey) will be pleased to know that 10 years on Joel Dicker has released a sequel, Te Alaska Sanders Affair (MacLehose Press). In short, celebrity author and amateur investigator Marcus Goldman returns to unpick the seemingly solved case of the murder of Alaska Sanders which took place 11 years previously. As you might predict, all is not what it seemed…. Te book has a distinct flavour of Twin Peaks and once you’ve got your head round ‘the book within a book’ idea and the jumping between the


When you are in need of that warm ‘ready brek glow’


I would suggest dipping into Tom Allan’s On Te Roof – A Tatcher’s Journey (Profile Books). If like me you have a thirst for knowledge and even the slightest interest in this age-old craſt Tom Allan’s story of his journey to his position as a Master Tatcher followed by his search of the craſt’s future and history is both charming and revealing. Kate Humble describes it as “the fascinating story of how craſt, community and nature combine to keep the roofs over our heads.” South Devon residents will no doubt enjoy his humorous anecdotes and connections with the local area as much as his revealing travels abroad to search out the skills and practices of fellow thatchers as far afield as Japan and Laeso (a Danish island off the Jutland peninsula). It is both an eye- opening and heart-warming history of this traditional craſt which gives you a real feel for the skill required and the deep respect thatchers have for nature and the land.


Finally, I can’t fail to include a children’s book at this


time of year - Fox Goes North (Scholastic) by Jeremy Strong (from 7+) is sadly this much-loved author’s final book. It’s a perfect winter’s tale with delightful illustrations and described as Winnie the Pooh meets Te Boy, Te Mole, Te Fox and the Horse. Tipped to be a timeless classic for any family bookshelf this is a charming story of a magical animal expedition to see Te Northern Lights filled with friendship, hope and heart- warming humour.


And a quick head’s up if you’re a keen


digital reader - why not try @BorrowBox? It’s completely free – you just need to download the app and sign in with your library membership number and PIN – Simple!


decades you will be pulled into an intricately drawn story which, even when translated from the original version in French, is an absorbing mystery with twists and turns right through to the end.


by Emma Jones


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