Book of the Month: Selected Archive

Whitethorn Woods  by Maeve Binchy

"The town of Rossmore is a special place, full of character charm. Nestled beside the Whitethorn Woods, the town has grown since the days when it was small and friendly and everyone knew everyone else; now it has chain stories and traffic problems and housing estates.But still, there are the woods, full of spiky bushes and criss-crossed with paths; and there's St Ann's Well, where generations have come to pray or make wishes or just to look back at the pretty little town. Which is why there is going to be such a fuss about the plans for the new motorway. It's going to by-pass Rossmore, cutting through Whitethorn Woods and endangering the well itself.The new road will bring jobs and relieve traffic in the town; for others, it will destroy businesses and leave the town a backwater. The people of Rossmore are divided. There is a lot of land standing in the way of the great road of progress. Quite by accident the decision rests on Neddy Nolan - the most honest man in Rossmore. A man determined to do the right thing."

Play.com review

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The Lighthouse by P D James

Combe Island off the Cornish coast has a bloodstained history of piracy and cruelty but now, privately owned, it offers respite to over-stressed men and women in positions of high authority who require privacy and guaranteed security. But the peace of Combe is violated when one of the distinguished visitors is bizarrely murdered. Adam Dalgliesh is called in to solve the mystery quickly and discreetly, but at a difficult time for him and his depleted team. Dalgliesh is uncertain about his future with Emma Lavenham, the woman he loves, Detective Inspector Kate Miskin has her own emotional problems and the ambitious Anglo-Indian Sergeant Francis Benton-Smith is worried about working under Kate. Hardly have the team begun to unravel the complicated motives of the suspects than there is a second brutal killing and the whole investigation is jeopardised when Dalgliesh is faced with a danger more insidious and as potentially fatal as murder...

This eagerly awaited successor to The Murder Room displays the qualities which aficionados have come to expect of P. D. James: sensitive characterisation, an exciting and superbly structured plot and vivid evocation of place. The Lighthouse is a subtle and powerful work of contemporary fiction.

Check our holdings of stock by P D James or reserve your copy of her latest book here

First customer review of "The lighthouse" by Mrs D.

"I !have to admit that I did not think I would enjoy this book.  If my attention is not "grabbed"
within the first 5 to 10 pages, I usually give up.

The prologue to this book I found very hard going and full of characters who did not really appear in the story to come.  There also seemed to be too much detail about these people which I did not find relevant.

However, once I ploughed my way through this, I found the usual excellent read.  The first victim was also something of a villain whose vanity knew no bounds.  He bullied and hectored so many of the characters.  Several of the characters or their families suffered through his ego and he appeared to show no remorse.  With so many likely candidates I did not suspect the murderer until the end.

Let's hope there's another book soon."

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