My Book Reviews for November 2025
My Book Reviews for November 2025
My Book Reviews for November 2025 comprise crime novels set in Orkney, Windermere and Erie, a suspense story set in Fife, a historical psychological thriller, a dystopian thriller, an anthology of prize-winning stories, a ghostly historical mystery and - based on a Dickens novel - a West End musical.
The Dying Light by Daniel Aubrey
Six months on from book 1, Dark Island, Freya is still a journalist on The Orcadian, still rubbing her colleagues up the wrong way and still on her unsanctioned crusade to root out the corruption that runs through powerful Orkney circles, including senior ranks of the police.
Her latest quest is triggered by the unexplained death of a visitor at an ancient monument. The incident becomes linked to the thirty-year-old unsolved case of a missing teenager, which may have been hushed up by police.
The midsummer sunshine means that daylight lasts on the islands until the small hours, but Freya’s investigation takes her to dark and dangerous places against the advice of her husband Tom and her mentor DI Fergus Muir.
A page-turning mystery that leads to a shocking and violent conclusion that makes the reader eager for book 3.
The Alibi by Katharine Johnson
In 1931, Jack, a steady but bored young man, meets a woman on the boat train from Paris. Over the journey he becomes mesmerised by her and on a whim invites her to accompany him to a wedding in Northumberland. But soon after they arrive at the farmhouse guesthouse, the weather deteriorates and they find themselves snowed in with an assortment of other guests.
Fast forward to 1950 and there’s still a price to pay for Jack’s impetuous decision to spend those days with that woman. When the past catches up with him, he recounts a story of obsession, lies and murder spanning two decades.
This is part literary historical fiction – with an expert lightness of touch for period detail, part mystery and part gothic-style suspense.
I really enjoyed this novel.
Worse Than Murder by Michael Wood
Following the devastating events of book 12, DCI Matilda Darke flees from her life in Sheffield and goes to ground in the Lake District as a guest of Philip and Sally Meagan. (Their son, Carl, was a kidnap victim from the beginning of the series in a case that Matilda bungled.)
While she's in hiding, three crimes come to call: attempted break-ins at the Meagans' restaurant which may be linked to Carl's kidnappers still being at large; a cold case in Windermere of twin girls disappearing, followed by their father a few months later; and a Sheffield serial killer continuing to threaten Matilda.
Unusually for this series, Matilda is away from her Sheffield colleagues and is narrating the story from a first-person viewpoint. (Previous books have been in the third person.)
Although I spotted the culprit in one of these cases early on, these engaging plotlines had me turning the pages. It was great to see Matilda in the Windermere setting away from her usual urban environment. I look forward to book 14.
Falling Apart by Jan Turk Petrie
Ash and Guy have much in common.
Both are ex-military and trained in survival.
Both eke out an existence in a post-apocalyptic Europe.
Ash hides on an uninhabited Scottish Island.
Guy keeps to himself in a French village where he is only barely tolerated by the locals.
When a young child washes up on the shore of Ash's island, he finds himself in loco parents for the mute girl and decides to take her to a bigger island where she would have the chance of a life within a community. The pair set off in his boat and he's forced to switch on his transmitter briefly to navigate.
In France, Guy's secret receiver activates for the first time in months with a new assignment from his shadowy bosses. Guy is once again a hunter.
With chapters from both viewpoints, we follow Ash's perilous journey around the islands and Guy's covert trip across the Channel.
The author provides vivid descriptions of rugged terrain, both desolate and abundant, and presents tense encounters with possible friends, faux friends and outright foes. The enigmatic child adds a startling dimension to the story.
This is a masterclass in suspense. I really enjoyed this book and will seek out other titles by this author.
In her foreword, bestselling author and prize-winning short story writer Chris Curran does a beautiful job of introducing the stunning range of stories in this anthology.
I have read every story and agree with Chris. Some pieces are funny, others poignant, a few shocking, and they tackle such themes as love, birth, death, obsession, loss of identity and the hilarious things that children say and do.
This collection of gems surely has something for every reading taste.
An Inquiry into Love and Death by Simone St James
In 1924, twenty-two-year-old Oxford student Jillian, has to go to the coastal village of Rothwell to pack up the belongings of her deceased Uncle Toby, a ghost hunter. It’s a daunting task for the twenty-two-year-old and made worse by the presence of Walking John, who has haunted the bay for two hundred years. The arrival of handsome Scotland Yard inspector Drew Merriken further complicates the task. Despite an attraction between them, Jillian is suspicious of his motives for being in Rothwell. Was Toby’s death an accident? And if not, was the cause of his demise human or supernatural?
A well-written novel that covers the ground from romantic suspense, via historical fiction, to unquiet ghosts and murder.
The Devil Comes Calling by Annette Dashofy
Detective Matthias Honeywell and photographer Emma Anderson are finally a couple, but there’s no happy ever after. On Emma’s first day as a crime photographer for ErieLIVE, she’s called to the scene of a double homicide and discovers one of the victims is her ErieLIVE predecessor, shot in an assassination-style murder. Matthias and his police partner—the wonderful character Cassie—investigate, but it’s hard for Matthias to focus when an evil presence from his past reappears.
This solid, does-what-it-says-on-the-tin police procedural is the third instalment in the atmospheric Detective Honeywell Mysteries, set on the shore of Lake Erie, Pennsylvania. Fans of LJ Ross and Ann Cleeves will enjoy their American equivalent. This series is settling in well for a long, satisfying run.
With thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early copy in exchange for an independent review.
This story is told by two protagonists across two timelines:
In 2013 on a night to celebrate graduation from school, a devastating incident sends Joanie on a different path and into the orbit of an enthralling older couple.
In 2023, Cameron takes a trip home to Fife. For the first time in ten years, he thinks of his former school friend, Joanie, and sets about finding out what happened to her.
Ideal for fans of arm’s length narration and the slow, sure building of suspense.
With thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early copy in exchange for an independent review.
Lionel Bart’s Oliver! at the Gielgud Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, London
Over the years I’ve seen several versions of Oliver! but never before has Fagin been… well… sexy. Simon Lipkin was a tour-de-force in the role with a gorgeous singing voice, superb comic timing and a magnificent, rambunctious stage presence. I can’t imagine how much training must have gone into preparing for this physically demanding role.
Hot on his heels was Stephen Matthews as Mr Sowerberry and Dr Grimwig, channelling his inner Child Catcher to Jamie Birkett’s Mrs Sowerberry and her laugh-out-loud Hannibal Lecter moment. (Yes, really.) They were a classy (and saucy) double act.
Dancing from Billy Jenkins’s Artful Dodger and his two gang mates was superb, and Ava Brennan’s performance as Nancy in her big solo ‘As Long As He Needs Me’ was powerful in its stillness and vocal quality.
Another good singer was Isabelle Methven as Bet. Surely, she has a great future in musical theatre.
The set, with its turntable and swing bridge, served the production very well by giving a clear sense of Dickensian London without upstaging the cast.
This was a lively production, not strong on pathos and realism, but unapologetically exuberant and entertaining. We loved it.
It was my first visit to the Gielgud Theatre and won’t be my last. All front of house staff were welcoming and helpful from start to finish. Access through security was friendly and professional. There was plenty of space to move around the foyer and get bar drinks before the show and there was no scrum at the upstairs bar at the interval. (The only queue was for the ladies’ loos, of course. Please let me know of any theatre that has enough female lavatories.)
Thank you to all Gielgud Theatre and Oliver! production staff for providing a birthday treat I’ll long remember.