Read Our User Submitted Book Reviews.

On this page are the book reviews in alphabetical order by author, this page covers authors from R to Z.

Alternatively you can search for a book by genre in our Fiction section or our Non Fiction section and a Children/Young Adult section.

As we receive more reviews we make split the pages down further but will ensure that the site is easy to navigate.

Enjoy reading the reviews that have been submitted and as always if you wish to Submit A Review we are always happy to receive them.

Book Reviews By Authors

You can find the rest of our Book Reviews By Authors here.

 

Authors Q

Kirstin Valdez Quade – The Five Wounds

In Kirstin Valdez Quade’s The Five Wounds Amadeo Padilla is preparing to play Jesus in the Good Friday parade in the town of Las Penas, New Mexico when his 15-year-old daughter turns up on his doorstep, and she’s pregnant. This domestic saga follows the first year of the baby’s life as members of the Padilla family converge.

Matthew Quick – The Silver Linings Playbook

Pat gets out of psychiatric hospital to return home, he soon realises that he has been there for years, not the few weeks he thought. Now begins the search for his wife. This review contains spoilers.

Anna Quindlen – Rise and Shine

Anna Quindlen – Rise and Shine, Meghan says the wrong thing at the wrong time, causing both her and her sister Bridget’s lives to change forever.

Anthony Quinn – Curtain Call

During a rendezvous with a married man Nina interrupts an attempted murder, will she come forward to help capture “The Tie-Pin Killer”?

Julia Quinn – An Offer From A Gentleman

Sophie Beckett manages to sneak into Lady Bridgerton’s famed masquerade ball and meets her prince charming, but as her time at the ball runs out so does she. Now her prince charming is searching for her, but will he notice her when they meet?

Authors R

Melanie Raabe – The Trap

When famous author and recluse Linda Conrads sees the face of her sister’s murderer on TV she comes up with a plan to get him to come to her, she’ll write a novel that the murderer knows best.

J. S. Rafaeli and Neil Woods – Good Cop, Bad War

Neil Woods worked undercover dealing with some of the most violent and unpredictable criminals in Britain, here is the true-account of his time.

Alison Ragsdale – A Life Unexpected

Mother, Eve Carruthers is caught of guard when she is forced to tell her newly married daughter that she is adopted when she asked if the cystic fibrosis runs in the family.

Indra Bahadur Rai – There’s a Carnival Today

Janak, a prominent businessman and local leader, stares at professional, political and moral ruin, as his store fails and he has been sued by a marwari trader.

Saranya Rai – Love, Take Two

A beautiful romance featuring one of Bollywood’s leading ladies, and her goofy co-star. Can romance bloom, will Bollywood allow them happiness?

Aaditya Raj – Alex Drake and Friends: Wasor Island

Aaditya Raj’s Alex Drake and Friends: Wasor Island is a YA novel which, as the title suggests, follows Alex and his friends Lester and Angelina whose leisure trip to Japan is interupted by a plan crash. The trio are then stranded on a peculiar island haunted by a curse. They can cure the place if complete a series of deadly challenges.

Sowmya Rajendran – The Dog Who Wanted More & The Ghost Who Wasn’t There

In the Dog who wanted More a gang made up of three boys and one girl, but without a dog the gang just isn’t cool, so they decide to resolve this situation but kidnapping one!

Nalini Ramachandran – Lore of the Land Storytelling Traditions of India

Moddy Mohini is whisked away on a tour of India’s many story telling traditions from stick figures to dance dramas.

Akshaya Raman – The Ivory Key

Akshaya Raman’s The Ivory Key is the first book in a duopoly series. In this epic and fierce Indian fantasy novel for teenagers and young adults, Vira is desperate to get out of her mother’s shadow and fulfill her destiny as queen of Ashoka but her land is running out of a precious resource, magic. On the brink of conflict, Vira must protect her people, and her only hope is finding an object of legend and mystery, an ivory key.

Menaka Raman – Loki Takes Guard

Menaka Raman’s Loki Takes Guard is a children’s book that tells the story of eleven-year-old Loki-Lokanayaki Shanmugam who absolutely loved cricket, the only problem is the local team have a ‘boys only’ rule. With her parents too busy focussing on her brother, Loki takes things into her own hands, setting up a petition. Very few people are willing to sign up but soon, after a Twitter account shares it, Loki’s petition goes viral. Loki Takes Guard is a story about breaking outdated rules, standing up for yourself and questioning the patriarchal structures.

Ayn Rand – Atlas Shrugged

Rand’s fourth and final novel, 12 years in the writing, Atlas Shrugged is her compelling unique vision of existence and man’s highest potential.

Marion Rankine – Brolliology

Would you open your umbrella indoors? Would you love to fly through the sky umbrella held high like Mary Poppins? Whatever your answer take a wander through Marion Rankine’s wonderful book all about umbrella culture and be surprised.

G. L. Rapula – Temptations

Thandiwe is quite temperamental, growing up in the absence of her parents she and her twin were raised by their grandmother. She skipped the country but now she’s back and she wants the truth.

Kalpish Ratna – A Pandemonium in Pakshila

Kalpish Ratna’s A Pandemonium in Pakshila is an exciting, adventurous children’s book in which readers join JustIt and Anil the Excluded Squirrel as they solve a mystery and successfully trap the villain in the book’s thrilling climax.

Kalpish Ratna – The Secret Life of Zika Virus

An in-depth biography of Zika Virus explaining what the Virus is where it came from and why it’s so dangerous.

Kalpish Ratna – Synapse: Ratan Oak Stories

Kalpish Ratna mixes medical history with speculative fiction in the novel, Synapse: Ratan Oak Stories, in which the fictional microbiologist Ratan Oak jumps between the nineteenth and twenty-first centuries outwitting scientists, ghostly seductresses and serial killers including the notorious Bombay Ripper.

Anushka Ravishankar – Moin and the Monster

After finding a monster under his bed Moin must keep the monster a secret from his parents and teachers while learning to live with its habits.

Anushka Ravishankar, Jerry Pinto and Sayoni Basu – PHISS PHUSS BOOM

Jerry Pinto, Anushka Ravishankar and Sayoni Basu look back at their childhoods living in Goa, Kerala and Bengal, respectively, and bring these three explosive stories.

Wilson Rawls – Where the Red Fern Grows

Billy Colman helps a Redbone Coonhound that is fighting with some neighbourhood dogs and after nursing it to health set it free but from then on Billy wants two coonhounds of his own.

Guy Raz – How I Built This

Based on the highly acclaimed podcast, How I Built This with Guy Raz, this book showcases some of the world’s top entrepreneurs. Raz’s book offers an intriguing and educational insight into these entrepreneurs and businesses detailing how they started, how they launched and how they became successful ventures.

Philip Reeve – Mortal Engines Quartet

In this futuristic, desolate world, cities move around searching for smaller cities and towns to eat. No spoiler review by Krishnaa.

Kathy Reichs – Break No Bones

Temperance Brennan comes across a fresh skeleton amongst ancient bones when teaching at an archaeological school and is persuaded to stay on and investigate.

Taylor Jenkins Reid – Malibu Rising

From the bestselling author of Daisy Jones and the Six comes Malibu Rising a story of one unforgettable night with the Rivas family. Set in 1983 on the night of Nina Riva’s annual end-of-summer party. Everyone wants to be around Nina and her family who are a source of fascination in Malibu. The only person not looking forward to the party though is Nina herself. As the alcohol flows and music plays, secrets that have shaped the family rise to the surface, and by midnight, the party will be completely out of control, and the mansion goes up in flames. The family members each have to choose what they keep from the people who made them and what they will leave behind.

Taylor Jenkins Reid – The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

From the author of Daisy Jones and the Six, Taylor Jenkins Reid’s The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is the wild journey of Hollywood recluse Evelyn. An ageing Hollywood icon, Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous, dramatic and scandalous life. When she chooses an unknown reporter, Monique, for the job even Monique is surprised, asking herself ‘why me’ and ‘why now’? Summoned to the actress’s luxurious home, Monique listens to her entire tale from tales of ruthless ambition and unexpected friendships to the trope of forbidden love. This stunning novel is a heartbreaking and beautiful story reminiscent of the lives of Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor.

Kiley Reid – Such a Fun Age

A Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick and 2020 BBC Best Books, Kiley Reid’s Such a Fun age is an extraordinary début novel. When babysitter, Emira is apprehended at the supermarket with the white child she’s caring for, an explosive chain of events unfolds. An essential social commentary of power, race and privilege, Such a Fun Age tackles timely themes with witty and beautiful observations.

Lynda Renham – Fifty Shades Of Roxie Brown

With the help of her best friend Sylvie and Sylvie’s flatmate Felix, Roxie is setting out to solve a crime she witnessed while looking through her boyfriends telescope.

Kate Rhodes – River Of Souls

Alice Quentin is investigating a cold case of a brutal attack, reunited with DCI Burns and a fresh case washing up, the attack victim may be the key to preventing another murder.

Luke Rhinehart – The Dice Man

Luke Rhinehart’s bored life is about to get a lot more interesting as he lets the decisions of his life be decided by the role of the dice.

Randy Ribay – Patron Saints of Nothing

Jay’s last semester of senior year takes a course change Jun his Filipino cousin is murdered, Jay travels to the Philippines to uncover the real story behind his cousin’s death.

Ann Rice and Christopher Rice – Ramses The Damned

From the bestselling author of The Mummy and The Vampire Chronicles, Anne and Christopher Rice present a mesmerising new tale of ancient feuds and modern passions when reawakening the elixir of life in Edwardian England.

Anne Rice – The Claiming Of Sleeping Beauty

Sleeping Beauty gets retold with a twist, the Prince’s reward for breaking the enchantment is Beauty’s enslavement to him as she wakes to a world of seduction, desire and love.

Kim Michele Richardson – The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek

This latest work of historical fiction by Kim Michele Richardson tells the journey of 19 year-old Cussy Mary Carter who works for the Pack Horse Library project delivering books to the people of Kentucky. A heart-warming story of how a love of books can conquer hate and prejudice.

Michelle Richmond – The Marriage Pact

Alice and Jake’s wedding gifts include an invitation to an exclusive and mysterious group known as The Pact, with simple rules to follow they’re thrown into a new social circle of like minded couples but with a rule broken their world is about to be turned upside down.

James B Rieley – Living on Rocks

James B Rieley’s memoirs give us a small taste of what it would be like living in another country and include his experience of a category 5 Cyclone during hurricane season.

Marieke Lucas Rijneveld – The Discomfort of Evening

Translated into English by Michele Hutchison, Marieke Lucas Rijneveld’s The Discomfort of Evening is an exceptional début novel. Ten-year-old Jas views the world in a unique world but when tragedy strikes her family, her curiosity expands further into an increasing number of disturbing fantasies, unlocking a darkness in her that threatens to derail everyone around her.

Rick Riordan – Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief

After finding out he’s the descendant of a Greek god, Percy sets out on an adventure to retrieve Zeus’ lightning bolt, a weapon of mass destruction.

Rick Riordan – The Son of Neptune

Here Alan, aged 9 reviews the second book in the Heroes of Olympus YA series, The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan.

Rick Riordan – Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer

Magnus Chase, a homeless boy finds out that he is the son of a Norse god, but great danger comes with this revelation.

Rick Riordan – Magnus Chase and the Hammer of Thor

Thor’s hammer has fallen into enemy hands, with the mortal worlds defenceless, Magnus Chase will have to go to the gods’ worst enemy for help, but will the price form help be too high to pay.

Rick Riordan – Magnus Chase and the Ship of the Dead

Magnus and friends are in a desperate race to stop Loki’s plan to sail the ship of the dead against the Norse gods but he must find a different way to defeat Loki.

Rick Riordan – The Hidden Oracle

As punishment for angering his father Apollo is cast down to New York City. With so many enemies and no powers to protect him Apollo must head to the only safe place on earth, Camp Half Blood.

Rick Riordan – The Dark Prophecy

Cast down to Earth in the form of a teenage boy Apollo and his companions seek out the ancient oracles to reclaim his place on Mount Olympus.

Rick Riordan – The Burning Maze

Weak and disorientated, the god Apollo is cast down from Olympus after angering his father Zeus . Landing in New York City as a regular teenage boy. Now, without his godly powers.

Rick Riordan – The Tyrant’s Tomb

The fourth story is Rick Riordan’s epic “The Trials of Apollo” series. Journey with former God Apollo to Camp Jupiter in San Francisco. Will Apollo ever reclaim his powers and return to the home of The Gods, Mount Olympus.

Mary Roach – Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Sex and Science

Sexual arousal and orgasms are two scientific phenomena, find out what science is doing to make the bedroom more satisfying.

Cara Robertson – The Trial of Lizzie Borden

Andrew and Abby Borden were murdered in 1892. This true-life crime story is a brand new account of the trial of their daughter Lizzie. Based on original transcripts and newspaper reports. Was Lizzie Borden guilty or not guilty?

Craig Robertson – The Photographer

Di Rachel Narey catches a suspected rapist who has hundreds of photographs of women, the investigation soon escalates while the suspect is in custody the women are going missing.

David Gregory Roberts – Shantaram

Armed robber and heroin addict Gregory David Roberts escaped from an Australian prison and headed to a Bombay slum where he established a free health clinic and joined the mafia.

Derek Robinson – The RFC Trilogy

Oliver Paxton’s first mission is to lead four of his comrades, from England to France, in their shiny new BE2c fighters. Things don’t go to plan.

Deborah Rodriguez – The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul

In the middle of a war zone Sunny not only finds a place to call home but a group of friends that will change the lives of the entire country.

Monique Roffey – Sun Dog

Roffey tells this family drama and love story with a richness and magical realism that brings the central character, August, to life. This is the debut novel by the Orange Prize shortlisted novelist.

James Rollins – Subterranean

A team of specialists led by archaeologist Ashley Carter heads beneath the ice to the bottom of the earth to explore the subterranean labyrinth, but they’re not the first group to venture down and the last group never returned.

Sally Rooney – Normal People

Sally Rooney’s Normal People is an exploration of friendships, mutual fascination and love that starts with a single conversation between Connell and Marianne. Both grew up in a small Irish town but they are wildly different, Connor is popular while Marianne is a loner, overlooked by her peers but somehow their connection is electrifying. As the years unfold, the reader follows the pair as they try to stay apart but prove they can’t. This literary phenomenon of a bestselling and award-winning novel from Sally Rooney is also now a hit TV adaptation

Jane L. Rosen – The Dress: Nine Women, One Dress

Jane L. Rosen’s The Dress: Nine Women, One Dress is a warm and witty novel that ties nine New York women together with one perfect little black dress. In this clever romantic comedy set in Manhattan careers are boosted, sparks are ignited and lives are transformed all because of a brush with that legendary dress.

Hans Rosling – Factfulness

This timely nonfiction was recommended by Obama this summer and shot up the bestsellers list. Designed to teach you how to rely on facts and leave the stress behind.

David F. Ross – The Last Days Of Disco

Bobby Cassidy and his friend Joey are starting their mobile disco “Heatwave” but with Fat Franny as their competition, they are in for a bumpy ride with hilarious consequences.

David F. Ross – The Rise And Fall Of The Miraculous Vespas

With the smash hit record of 1984 under their belt, the only way Max Mojo’s band wants to head is towards international stardom, but can this group of misfit make it?

Gabriel Roth – The Unknowns

Eric, a socially awkward nerd is happy when creating complex computer programs, he has made his millions and now wants love, but when he finds it he is going to realize humans are much more complex.

Howard Roughan & James Patterson – Don’t Blink

James Patterson & Howard Roughan join to create this terrifying crime novel. No spoiler review by Siobhan Dale.

J.K. Rowling – The Casual Vacancy

‘The Casual Vacancy’ is the first adult book published by Harry Potter author, J. K. Rowling. No spoiler review by Alessandra Quattrocchi.

J. K. Rowling – Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

Harry Potters very unremarkable life consists of living in a cupboard under the stairs, until a letter addressed to Harry arrives inviting him to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

J. K. Rowling – Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Harry potter returns to Hogwarts for his second year, when messages start appearing regarding the Chamber of Secrets, Harry finds himself in the middle of another adventure.

J. K. Rowling – Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Sirius Black has escaped the prison of Azkaban, with Dementors guarding Hogwarts will he really be heading for the school? Contains Spoilers.

J. K. Rowling – Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire

Hogwarts are hosting the Triwizard Tournament for wizards aged 17 and over, who will be the lucky few to compete?

J. K. Rowling – Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix

Dolores Umbridge, senior undersecretary to the minister of Magic takes over as the new defence against the dark arts, but many more changes will be following at Hogwarts this year!

J K Rowling – Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Draco is given a mission by Voldemont, but his mother goes to Severus Snape and makes an unbreakable vow to assist and protect her son, but what will that really mean for Severus?

J K Rowling – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

The time has come for Harry to finish the battle set out for him on the night of his parents death, but before he goes up against Voldemort he must find the remaining horcruxes.

J K Rowling – Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them

Magizoologist Newt Scamander’s stay in New York should be just a brief stopover, but when he misplaces his case and magical beasts escape he must recapture them or there will be trouble for everyone.

J. K. Rowling / Jack Thorne – Harry Potter and The Cursed Child

As Harry juggles his overworked job within the Ministry of Magic, being a father of three and a husband his youngest son Albus struggles with the weight of the Potter family legacy.

J.K. Rowling – The Ickabog

First released online, J.K. Rowling’s The Ickabog is an illustrated story from the author of the Harry Potter series. The tale of a mythical monster, a kingdom in peril and two children on an adventure of a lifetime that will test their bravery and showcase the power of hope and friendship.

Arundhati Roy – The Ministry of Utmost Happiness

Anjum is a Hijra ( India’s third gender ), she lives in a city graveyard but that doesn’t keep her down, her charisma pulls unwanted people in and together they can be themselves.

Sumana Roy – Animalia Indica

A beautifully presented anthology of animal stories from authors as diverse as Kipling and Orwell. Compiled by Sumana Roy, this collection, spanning more than 100 years of writing, tells stories of animals that are both feared and revered in Indian culture.

Anita Royer and Fernand Miron – Boletes, Quebec and Eastern Canada

Discover which of the 111 species of boletes from eastern Canada are edible and which will cause serious health problems.

Gretchen Rubin – The Happiness Project

The search for true contentment is the subject in The Happiness Project, follow the year-long attempted discovery.

Etaf Rum – A Woman Is No Man

Etaf Rum’s debut novel is the heartbreaking story of one family of women and their struggle with the realisation that they have no control over their lives. A tale of three generations of a family struggling with their feelings of honour and their need to follow tradition.

Rachel Renee Russell – Dork Diaries Tales of a Not so Smart Miss Know it All

Four parties, two friends, one crush and one mean girl is sure as hell going to be the indefinite recipe for disaster.

Rachel Renee Russell – Dork Diaries Once Upon a Dork

The queen of dorks is back in the eighth book of the Dork Diaries series as Nikki takes a bump to the head and a wild ride ensues!

Rachel Renee Russell – Dork Diaries Drama Queen

Nikki Maxwell’s worst nightmare comes true in book nine of the New York Times bestselling Dork Diaries series, when a certain member of the CCP girls has gotten her hands on Nikki’s diary.

Marc Rudolph – That Will Never Work: The Birth of Netflix and the Amazing Life of an Idea

Written by the co-founder and first CEO of the streaming platform Netflix, Marc Randolph tells the incredible, never before told story of how Netflix was born. From DVDs to video streaming, from its original concept to the company we know today, Randolph’s ‘follow your dreams’ parable is explored in his book, That Will Never Work.

Ann Rule – The Stranger Beside Me

Ann Rule’s biographical and autobiographical account of her relationship with murderer Ted Bundy is the epitome of True Crime. The author who had worked with Bundy at a crisis centre years before his arrest, tells the story right up to his end in 1989 when he confessed to over 30 murders.

Salman Rushdie – Quichotte

Shortlisted for the Booker Prize, Rushdie’s latest novel is the retelling of Don Quixote for our time. A cleverly told and enjoyable caper across the United States. The story of Quichotte who falls in love with a TV star, the impossible dream told by troubled thriller writer Sam DuChamp.

Richard Russo – Chances Are

From Pulitzer Prize-winner author Richard Russo comes a story of three men whose friendship spans decades. A saga full of comedy as well as humanity and irony. You won’t want to let these charming characters and their secrets go.

Eimer Ryan – Holding Her Breath

Eimer Ryan’s stunning début novel, Holding Her Breath is a coming-of-age tale that follows Beth Crowe as she starts university, the shadow of her potential as a competitive swimmer lurking behind her. Free to create a new identity for herself, Beth soon finds a group of people who love the poetry of her grandfather, Benjamin, who died tragically before she was born. She then embarks on a quest to discover the truth about her grandfather and his widow, Lydia which leads her to a person who knows things about her family that nobody else knows.

Robert Ryan – Dead Man’s Land

The first in the Dr Watson series, with no Sherlock by his side, Watson must uncover the mystery in the trenches.

Robert Ryan – Death on the Ice

Death on the Ice is Robert Ryan’s novelisation of one of the greatest adventures of all time. Reviewed here by Reading Addicts regular, Campbell McAulay.

William Ryan – The Holy Thief

Captain Alexei Korolev must enter the realm of thieves, rulers of Moscow’s underworld to solve a string of murders.

William Ryan – The Constant Soldier

When soldier Paul Brandt returns home wounded and ashamed he finds his village has changed, in the dark shadows of an SS rest hut for those who manage the concentration camps Brandt glimpses a female prisoner who he must protect.

Authors S

Rebecca Sacks – City of a Thousand Gates

Rebecca Sacks’ City of a Thousand Gates is a bold novel that features a large cast of diverse characters. Their multiple strands of stories and paths cross in this haunting yet magnificent novel set in present-day Israel and Palestine where violence is routine and people are forced to survive and protect what they love within constraints. The characters’ interwoven tales reveal the painful truths of life in a conflicted land full of hope, love, hatred and fear.

Mayur S Safare – The Tonic

Spanning from the early 1990s to 2017, The Tonic is an emotive and heart-wrenching tale of an unlikely friendship between Masher and Raem, two young misfits. Through their eyes, the reader sees the impacts of the Bombay riots which connect them later in life to a media tycoon and atheist, who has genocidal plans for the religious. The two tales separated by decades slowly begin to converge to form a deadly truth that binds them all together.

Carl Sagan – Cosmos: A Personal Journey

Carl Sagan uses his ability to make science ideas exciting to tell the fifteen billion year store of the cosmic evolution from matter to conscious life.

Angie Sage – Maximillian Fly

Angie Sage’s Maximillian Fly is a brilliant and darkly funny novel about a gentle human with cockroach features. Others may be scared of him but he only wants to help so when two children come searching for somewhere to hide, he opens his door to them upending his life as the children try to escape from an oppressive governing power.

Riley Sager – Home Before Dark

Riley Sager’s Home Before Dark is a New York Times Bestselling thriller set in a Victorian estate called Baneberry Hall. 25 years ago, Maggie Holt and her parents spent three weeks living there before fleeing in the dead of night and Maggie’s father recounts the tale in a memoir called House of Horrors. Following her father’s death, Maggie inherits Baneberry Hall and, too young to remember the events, she doesn’t believe in any of the ghost stories. When she returns though, people from the pages of the book lurk in the shadows and hints of dark deeds show themselves.

Sunjeev Sahota – China Room

Longlisted for the Booker Prize, Sunjeev Sahota’s China Room begins in 1929 in rural Punjab where Mehar a young bride is trying to discover the identity of her new husband. She and her sister-in-law were married to three different men at the same ceremony before spending their days working in the family’s china room where they have no contact with the men. Mehar develops a theory as to which of the men is her husband and a passion is ignited that will put more than just her life at risk. In 1999, a young man travels from England to the now-deserted farm, the china room locked. Fleeing from the trauma of his adolescence, the young man spends a painful summer trying to find the strength to return home.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry – The Little Prince

Leaving the safety of his tiny planet the little prince stands before a pilot stranded in the desert and asks, “Please, draw me a sheep” and so the adventure begins.

J.D.Salinger – The Catcher in The Rye

Read our user-submitted book review of J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, as reviewed by Reading Addict, The Enchanted Reader.

J.D Salinger – For Esmé – with Love And Squalor

A collection of short stories by J.D Salinger. Reviewed by Sarah Smith.

J.D. Salinger – Nine Stories

A Brilliant collection of nine short stories, this book comes from one of the twentieth centuries greatest writers, J.D. Salinger. This classic collection of tales includes “A Perfect Day for Bananafish” as well as the first appearance of Salinger’s fictional ‘Glass’ family.

James Sallis – Sarah Jane

From a master of noir and crime writing, comes Sarah Jane, a novel about a good cop with a dark and complicated past whose journey takes an unexpected turn when she finds herself the sheriff of a rural town, investigating the disappearance of the very sheriff she’s now replacing.

Barbara Samuel – Madame Mirabou’s School of Love

Our reviewer, Teresa M loved this romance novel from Barbara Samuel, rating it four out of five on her bookometer.

Jaina Sanga – Tourist Season Two novellas

In these two novellas a life changing decision must be made to continue in a life created or up route and follow a women, what will they choose and will it be a happier life?

Ashwin Sanghi – Keepers of the Kalachakra

Unnamed killers, with the efficiency of butchers, randomly strike down the heads of state. However, they leave no trace.

Lavanya Sankaran – Ninja Nani and the Freaky Food Festival

Lavanya Sankaran’s fun children’s book, Ninja Nani and the Freaky Food Festival is set during the annual festival when a special guest is expected to arrive. Had Ninja Nani finally met her match in this mean, scary demon the crawls out of the forest? Will the major’s moustache ever run for office? You’ll have to read it for yourself to find out about haunted falloda, giant dogs, goats, and fake mystery heroes.

Damilola Sodiq Sanusi – Talking Drum

Damilola Sodiq Sanusi’s The Talking Drum is a collection of poems which tackles a range of social issues including; love, sickness and heartbreak. Much like the talking drum used to communicate and send messages in Africa, this book sends messages to the reader on a variety of relatable themes.

Andrzej Sapkowski – The Last Wish

The first novel in English by Polish author Sapkowski and the first in his Witcher series. A collection of short stories which introduce us to the fantasy world of Geralt, a highly trained and mysterious assassin.

Andrzej Sapkowski – Sword of Destiny

This second novel in Sapkowski’s Witcher series is once again a collection of short stories. Geralt who we met in The Last Wish, is the protagonist and these fantastical stories follow him as he wanders the land slaying all manner of monsters.

Shubha Sarma – The Awasthis of Aamnagri

The Awasthis of Aamnagri by Shubha Sarma is a novel about families, who like the sweet mangoes of Aamnagri are messy, filled with juicy secrets by still stick together through everything life throws at them. Following a quintessential Indian family who bumble their way through life, the reader will encounter missing jewels, stolen eggs, deaths foretold and a suicide with no body, leaving the inquisitive minds of young Lakshmi and Guddu and the saffron-clad Guruji to solve the mysteries.

Meghnad Sasai – Anamika

Meghnad Sasai’s Anamika: A Tale of Desire in a Time of War is set in an India rife with civil war. Savitri marries a rich merchant and becomes Anamika. Unfortunately, a tragic accident on their wedding day leaves Abhi paraplegic, dooming their perfect future. Anamika manages to still find happiness until Abdul, comes into her life and is locked in a deadly war with his brother Hassan for the throne. This power stranger upsets to balance threatening freedom and brining conflicting desires and deadly deceit.

Sanjena Sathian – Gold Diggers

Sanjena Sathian’s début novel, Gold Diggers, is a brilliant Indian-American magical realist, coming-of-age tale. Spanning continents and time periods, the novel asks what a community must do to achieve the American dream.

Marjane Satrapi – Persepolis

This graphic novel styled memoir follows Mariane Satrapi growing up in Iran during the time of the Islamic revolution.

Jocelyne Saucier – And the Birds Rained Down

Tom and Charlie decide to live the rest of their lives in a remote forest their only connection to the world outside is a couple of pot growers, but as summer comes it brings two women to their hide away.

Luiza Sauma – Everything You Ever Wanted

A brilliant and contemporary Dystopian novel which explores reality TV and what it really means to be happy in the modern world by asking the question, ‘would you leave your life on Earth and live on Planet Nyx with no chance of returning?’

Ashley and Leslie Saunders – The Rule Of One

Identical twins Ava and Mira have been sharing one life due to the ruthless enforcement of a one child policy, as their charade is exposed their lives a fugitives begin, how far will they go to stay alive?

George Saunders – Lincoln in the Bardo

In Lincoln in the Bardo, Sanders imagines the life of Abraham Lincoln. It’s a year into the Civil War and Lincoln’s son is gravely ill.

Stacy Schiff – The Witches

A thoroughly researched read that tackles the complex and dark history of witches in an exploration of accused witches in 1962 Salem witch trials and executions of Massachusetts.

Mineke Schipper – Naked or Covered: A History of Dressing and Undressing around the World

Travel the world throughout history and discover the differences from one culture to another are considered correct or inappropriate.

Sarah Schmidt – See What I Have Done

A summer morning in 1892 and the brutal murder of Lizzie and Emma Borden’s father and step mother brings a notorious trial to find the murderer but with so many motives can justice be found?

Julie Schumacher – Dear Committee Members

Read our book review of Julie Schumacher’s novel Dear Committee Members, as described by Campbell McAuley.

Amy Schumer – The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo

Actress and comedian Amy Schumer’s autobiography, The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo, is an open, honest, brilliantly hilarious and sometimes shocking account of her life.

V.E. Schwab – The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

Addie LaRue makes a pact with the devil, trading her soul for immortality but the price to pay is being forgotten by everyone. Addie flees her home in 18th-century France and takes a journey across the world, learning to live a life where no-one remembers her, existing only as a muse for artists through history. Until one day, in a second-hand Manhattan bookshop, Addie meets someone who remembers her.

Omid Scobie & Carolyn Durand – Finding Freedom

Finding Freedom is the unofficial biography of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, written by Omid Scobie & Carolyn Durand. Going behind the tabloid headlines to reveal unknown details of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and their life together, this book is written with unique access and the participation of people close to the couple.

Grant Scott, Barry Miles and Johnny Morgan – The Greatest Album Covers of All Time

Contains Spoilers!

Take a look through some of the best album covers of all time, from pop to folk and everything in between, this wonderful visual record of art in the music industry is an essential read for music lovers around the world.

Jeremy Scott – The Ables

When Phillip’s dad sat him down for a talk he expected the sex talk, but to his surprise his father told him of his inherited power of telekinesis and his enrolment into superhero high school.

Jonathan and Angela Scott – The Leopard’s Tale

Half-Tail and her daughter Zawadi become the stars of this story as Jonathn and Angela through photographs and text.

Lisa Scottoline – One Perfect Lie

Chris Brennan takes on a new job as a teacher in a high school and an assistant baseball coach, but will he be a good or bad influence in the pursuit to get what he wants?

Phil Scraton – Hillsborough: The Truth

In 2012, Phil Scraton was the primary author of the ground-breaking report published by the Hillsborough Independent Panel. In Hillsborough: The Truth, Scraton details the Hillsborough disaster that led to the death of 96 people including; the bereavement of family and survivors, the inhumanity of the identification process, and the vilification of football fans in the national and international media following the disaster.

Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller – Otherworld

In Otherworld, New York Times bestselling authors Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller imagine a world where you can leave your body behind in order to give in to your greatest desires. Otherworld is the first book in the fast-paced YA thriller series, Last Reality, which plunges readers into a virtual reality game so addictive you will never want to leave.

Maria Semple – Where’d You Go, Bernadette?

This is Maria Semple’s debut novel. The story of a mother whose husband Elgie and daughter Bee set off to track her down when she disappears. Told through an unusual collection of letters, emails and phone transcripts this story is both witty and heart-warming.

Benita Sen – One Lonely Tiger

This beautifully illustrated picture book tells a story of deforestation from the point of view of a tiger. Where will the animals go now that all their natural habit is disappearing? A tale of ecological disaster for both adults and children.

Raja Sen – My First Matinee

An accident confines Don Cannoli to bed and unable to participate in the annual cake off which he usually wins, but his son Michael rises to the challenge of taking his place.

Maurice Sendak – Where The Wild Things Are

An iconic book inspiring a movie and an opera, one of the best loved books of all time. No spoiler review by Campbell McAulay.

Ruta Sepetys – The Fountains of Silence

In Ruta Sepetys’ latest work of historical fiction, you will be transported to Madrid in 1957 during General Franco’s dictatorship. This is the heartwrenching and moving story of Daniel on vacation and local girl Ana, who meet in the sunshine during this dark period of Spanish history.

Amishi Seth – The Goofies Tear Down the House

When the Goofies need to renovate their house the only person to take the job is the slowest handyman around town but as the Goofies can’t wait to get started they start themselves.

Atul Sethi and Vikas Upadhayay – Magic in Mussoorie

Nakul and his friend Kuku stumble upon an antique book that transports them back in time to the Mussoorie of over a century ago and on an adventure that can change the course of history.

Dr Seuss – The Lorax

The Lorax by Dr Seuss is a silly children’s book with a more serious subtone about looking after what we have and not being too greedy. Reviewed by Jessica Cross aged 9 1/2.

Brian Sewell – The White Umbrella

This enchanted story of a man and his donkey tells the importance of taking responsibility for our environment and the importance of compassion and empathy.

Margaret Wilkerson Sexton – The Revisioners

Margaret Wilkerson Sexton’s The Revisioners spans over several generations from Josephine in 1924, free from slavery and running a thriving farm to 100 years later with her descendant Ava, a single mother who moves in with her lonely but wealthy, white grandmother. The book is a national bestseller which explores female relationships, generational bonds, hope, and freedom.

Elif Shafak – 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World

In Elif Shafak’s captivating and powerful novel, 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World, every minute following Lelia’s death recalls for her vivid memories. These fading recollections bring back the friends she made during her bitter-sweet life, friends who are now desperately searching for her.

Elif Shafak – Honor

After immigrating to London Pembe and Adem’s marrage falls apart, with Adem leaving the honor of the family falls on the eldest son’s shoulders, but what will happen when his mother begins to spend time with another man?

Elif Shafak – Three Daughters of Eve

Peri’s handbag being stolen on her way to a dinner party triggers her to look back through the past she’d tried to forget.

Andrew Shaffer – Hope Never Dies

If you’re missing the bromance between Obama and Biden then this rickrolling tale combining crime noir with your favourite bromance of the century as these politicians are reimagined in quite different roles.

Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows – The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Correspondence between Juliet Ashton and a fellow book lover opens her up to a new group at a time when she’s struggling to find inspiration for writing a new book.

Kartik Shanker – Lori’s Magical Mystery

After seeing a bewildering cat like figure in the fading evening light Lori sets out on an adventure to find out what creature it is.

Natasha Sharma – Squiggle Takes a Walk

With the help of Squiggle’s adventure through the pages of a note book, readers learn about different types of punctuation.

Jonathan Sharp – Prize Tw*T

Jonathan Sharp gives a memoir of living in the streets, penniless, due to his cocaine addiction. Prize Tw*t is a dark comedy about one mans struggles with drugs, sex and gambling.

Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar – Jwala Kumar and the Gift of Fire

A family rescues a creature from a raging storm but is it a bird, a bat, a chameleon, or something new? Did this strange creature really fall from the sky?

Sidney Sheldon – Bloodline

A mysterious accident leaves Elizabeth in control of her father’s international empire Roffe and Sons, but as she chooses to save the company instead of selling, could she be heading for an accident of her own?

Sidney Sheldon  – The Naked Face

Two people connected to Dr Judd Stevens have been murdered, if the Dr doesn’t unmask the killer he will be arrested for the killing or find himself one of the victims.

Mary Shelley – Frankenstein

Victor Frankenstein is obsessed with bestowing animation upon lifeless matter, after assembling a human being form stolen body parts, but is horrified at his creation.

Lucius Shepard – Softspoken

Not your average ghost story says Sammy Evans in this comprehensive review of Lucius Shepard’s supernatural tale, Softspoken set in rural South Carolina in a decaying antebellum mansion. Released in 2013.

Ruth Shidlo – Murder in the Choir

Detective Inspector Helen Mirkin is setting out to investigate the disappearance of opera singer Araceli Pena, but after finding her dead body and shortly after meteoric composer  Israel Berger is killed, Helen must find out if these deaths are connected.

Jason Shiga – Empire State: A Love Story (or Not)

When Jimmy’s best friend Sarah moves to New York City he plucks up the courage to write her a letter telling her how he feels and asking her to meet him at the top of the Empire State Building.

Maggie Shipstead – Great Circle

Maggie Shipstead’s Great Circle is a biographical fiction novel following Marian and Jamie Graves who were rescued as infants from a sinking ocean liner in 1914 and raised by their uncle. Marian begins her love affair with flight after meeting two pilots and at 14, she drops out of school and finds an unexpected wealthy bootlegger who becomes her patron, providing Marian with a plane and flying lessons. But it is an arrangement that will haunt her life forever. A century later, Hadley Baxter is cast to play Marian in a film that centres on her disappearance and immerses herself in the character as the two women’s fates collide.

William L. Shirer – The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich

A chronicle of Nazi Germany starting from the 1889 (the birth of Adolf Hitler to the end of WW2 in 1945.

S.K. Sheridan – Holy Lies: Part One (Broken Vows)

S.K Sheridan’s Holy Lies is a twisted tale of corruption in the Catholic Church, in a story fuelled by love, sex, lies, manipulation and revenge. Sister Veronica is plunged into the dark underbelly of Catholicism when she becomes the sleuth in a murder investigation that becomes of matter of life and death for her too. Slowly she uncovers each lie and manipulation until the true identity of the murderer is revealed.

Shokdung – The Division of Heaven and Earth

“Shokdung” wrote this book as a response to the protests at the time but it soon became a banned book and “Shokdung” imprisoned.

Anita Shreve – The Lives of Stella Bain

Waking in a hospital in northern France, her name (Stella Bain) is one of the very few things she remembers, now Stella sets out to find out how she is.

Lionel Shriver – We Need to Talk About Kevin

Eva Khatchadourian is coming to terms with the atrocities her son committed. This tale will keep you thinking long after the last page.

Nikesh Shukla – The One Who Wrote Destiny

Nikesh Shukla’s The One Who Wrote Destiny spans the lives of three generations of a Gujarathi family and traverses the globe in a beautifully written exploration of identity, family history, discrimination, politics, feminism and, of course, destiny.

Neal Shusterman – Unwind

Parents/Guardians have the right to sign their 13-18 year old to be unwound. Conner, Risa and Lev are all destined for such a procedure, which involves having all their organs transplanted into other people.

Neal Shusterman – Unwholly

The way people think about unwinding is changing, but with the demand so great will this practice still continue?

Neal Shusterman – Unsouled

The mission continues, to put a stop to unwinding forever, while others just want revenge for what was done to them. Will any of them get their wish?

Nevil Shute – A Town Like Alice

Nevil Shute’s classic wartime romance novel, A Town Like Alice. Harrowing, exciting and thoroughly enjoyed by Reading Addict Lee Bridge.

Nevil Shute – On the Beach

A review of the classic war novel On the Beach, where Shute imagines the aftermath of a nuclear fallout in a stunning novel, considered a classic.

Nevil Shute – Trustee From the Toolroom

A review of Nevil Shute’s final novel, Trustee from the Toolroom. Described as ‘feel-good’ by our regular reviewer, Campbell McAulay.

Hampton Sides – On Desperate Ground

Years of archival research, unpublished letters, declassified documents, and interviews with scores of surviving Marines and Koreans all comes together in this superb account of the epic clash along the frozen shores of the Chosin Reservoir.

Steve Silberman – NeuroTribes

Looking back at the history of autism, Steven Silberman reshapes our understanding of Neurodiversity in the modern world.

Michael Ellison & Teshika Silver – Sylvia and Marsha Start a Revolution!

Sylvia and Marsha Start a Revolution! by Michael Ellison & Teshika Silver is an illustrated children’s book which tells the story of Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, two trans women who made LGBTQIA+ history and helped kick-start the Stonewall Riots. This book also includes educational material to be used by parents, teachers and carers to talk to children about gender and identity.

Robert Silverberg – Recalled to Life

A review of the classic futuristic sci-fi novel, Recalled to Life. One of Silverburg’s early works, reviewed here by Reading Addict Lee Bridge.

John Simmons – Leaves

The residents of Ophelia Street are in for a eventful year in this book on life. A special mention to the detailed description of the seasons changing that will give you a unique look at this fictional street.

Jake Wallis Simons – Jam

Read our book review of Jam by Jake Wallis Simons, which has been submitted to us by Reading Addict, Jayson Peel, who sent it in via the Foxy Bookshelf.

Helen Simonson – Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand

The death of his brother leads Major Ernest Pettigrew to find an unexpected friendship in fellow booklover Jasmina Ali, but not everyone in the village approves of this newfound friendship.

Graeme Simsion – The Rosie Project

The first in Graeme Simsion’s Rosie Project series, The Rosie Project is a heart-warming, best-selling novel about one man’s unlikely journey through his love life. The book follows Don Tillman, a scientist who has never had a second date. Tillman devises a ‘Wife Project’, using scientific tests to find the perfect partner. Then, along comes Rosie, a thoroughly incompatible woman who throws off Tillman’s perfect science and sends his neatly ordered life into chaos.

S.J. Sindu – Blue-skinned Gods

S.J. Sindu’s Blue-Skinned Gods is a rich and vivid tale set in Tamil Nadu, India where a boy called Kalki is born with blue skin and is believed to be the Hindu god Vishnu reincarnated, holding the power to perform miracles. The truth, however, is much darker and Kalki must reconcile with the idea that everything he’s ever been told might not be true, and extract himself from the control of his father. When his father drags him on tour to America, Kalki seizes the opportunity to explore what being a regular man, not a god, might be like. Pulled between India and America, Kalki is forced to find his true place in the world.

Iqdish Singh – The Turmoil

Realm has been brought back, but with it comes Akariops and anxiety in the world. Reviewed By Vibhu.

Neha Singh – I Need to Pee

Rahi hates public toilets, yet her love for refreshing drinks means she always needs to pee! And when those around her refuse to help her with her troubles, her only saviour is her Book of Important Quotes.

Parismita Singh’ – Mara and the Clay Cows

After making a pair of cows from clay they come to life and when they begin to talk Mara, accompanied by Shiroi set out on an adventure to find the Chief Magician.

Prerna Singh Bindra – When I Grow Up I Want To Be A Tiger

T-Cub has a good life, roaming the forest in which he lives with his Ma and sister whilst learning what it is to be a tiger but when his Ma vanishes he realises it’s not easy being a tiger.

Alison Singh Gee – Where the Peacocks Sing

Glamorous magazine writer Alison Singh Gee has a reputation for dating highborn British men, then she met Ajay, a charming and unassuming Indian journalist and her life is changed!

Curtis Sittenfeld – The Man of My Dreams

Everyone want to find their soul mate, Curtis gives honest characters and a true insight into the search. No spoiler review by Teresa M.

Sivadasa – Listen, O King!

As the noble King Vikramaditya carries a possessed corpse through the cremation ground the witty ghost tells tales and asks puzzling riddles.

K.L. Slater – The Secret

You think you can trust those you love the most. A gripping psychological thriller full of twists and turns.

Karin Slaughter – Martin Misunderstood

Martin Misunderstood is less than average man in an average world, read about his story in this darkly comic tale. No spoiler review by Teresa M.

Leila Slimani – Lullaby

Louise is the perfect nanny, brilliant with the children and always willing to go the extra mile, just what Myriam needs to start her law career, or is she too good to be true?

Robin Sloan – Sourdough

Lois Clary lives a solitary life as a software engineer, her main contact is from the brothers she orders food from but as they shut up shop they leave her a roommate that will change her life.

Ali Smith – Autumn

Learn the relationship between Daniel Glunk and Elisabeth Demand as she visits him in hospital.

Ali Smith – Spring

This is the third book in Ali Smith’s seasonal quartet. In Spring, as in the previous two seasons, we follow beautifully drawn characters on their journey through this up to the minute world of Brexit and the refugee crisis.

Ali Smith – Summer

The final novel in Ali Smith’s Seasonal Quartet series, Summer is the story of people on the brink of change, a family who feel they are stagers. In the present Sacha knows the world is in trouble; her brother is trouble and her mother and father are having troubles but the real meltdown hasn’t started yet. In the past, the reader has a lovely summer with a brother and sister living on the borrowed time.

Ali Smith – Winter

Winter is the second novel in the Man-Booker nominated Seasonal Cycle as Ali Smith casts a warm, wise and festive eye on history, memory and what truth really is.

Graham Smith – Snatched From Home

Nicholas’ gambling debts need repaying and to encourage the payment his children have been kidnapped and held for ransom, in order to get the money together he and his wife Victoria turn to a life of crime.

Kendra Smith – Jacarana Wife

Katie, pregnant and homesick finds out that Tom’s been unfaithful and heads to England, but surprisingly she’s actually looking forward to returning to a Australia.

Sebastyan A.J Smith – Death Echo: Vol 1

Volume 1 of a collection of short stories surrounding death each with a fantasy element, from the death of a planet to a mystery surrounding two young brothers and a lake.

Tom Rob Smith – Child 44

A historical suspense thriller set in Stalin’s era, the first in the Child 44 trilogy by Tom Rob Smith.

Tom Rob Smith – Agent 6

Former Secret Service agent Leo Demidov sits helplessly as his family head to New York as part of a ‘Peace Tour’ but when things go bad and his family is hit by tragedy Leo takes matters into his own hands.

Wilbur Smith – River God

The first in the Ancient Egypt series compacts so much into the story you won’t want to put it down. No spoiler review by Timothy Nancarrow.

Zadie Smith – Grand Union

Zadie Smith’s début short story collection, Grand Union, is a sharp and stunning collection of tales, combining new and unpublished works with some of her best loved writing from the New Yorker and other publications.

Anthony Veasna So – Afterparties

Afterparties is a vibrant and brilliant collection of stories by Anthony Veasna So that explore Cambodian-American life. Immersive and humorous reads, the stories also delve into the complicated struggles and intimate complexities of queer and immigrant communities.

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn – One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich

A day in a Soviet labor camp in the 1950s follows an ordinary prisoner, Ivan Denisovich Shukhov.

Chitra Soundar – Stories of Courage and Valour

Chitra Soundar’s Stories of Courage and Valour is a book that shines a light famous and lesser-known heroes of real life. In this collection, you meet heroes such as Razia Sultana who bravely defended her kingdom, and Siddhartha who gave up royalty to find contentment and peace for the world.

Robert Southworth – Spartacus I: Talons of an Empire

Spartacus survived the slave rebellion in 73BC and the action and adventures continue as history is re-imagined in this fictional perspective.

Robert Southworth – Spartacus II: The Gods Demand Sacrifice

Crassus is out for revenge, he sends out a relentless and savage hunter to pursue Spartacus and his allies who know how to fight in an arena but who must now flee.

Robert Southworth – Spartacus III: The Pharaoh’s Blade

The hunt is on for a fabled blade, Spartacus and his friends must fight for survival against old friends and enemies as they search for the legendary weapon.

Robert Southworth – Wrath of the Furies

The new magistrate of Justitia, Lucius Magro Decius has his hands full, with a mysterious organisation plotting to take power in the Emperor’s absence and a highly skilled assassin slaughtering members of Rome’s elite he could find himself bleeding in the dirt.

Jo Spain – With Our Blessing

D I Tom Reynolds is working the case of an elderly woman he believes is linked to the notorious Magdalene Laundries but as he follows the trail to a isolated convent it becomes clear that the killer is inside and not finished getting vengeance for the sins of the past.

Nicholas Sparks – Message in a Bottle

From bestselling author Nicholas Sparks comes a story of true love. What would you do if you found a bottle washed up on the shore? Theresa sets out on a quest to find Garrett, the writer of this letter of undying love.

Art Spiegelman – Maus

Art Spiegelman’s Maus is the Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel which tells the true story of the cartoonist’s father, Vladek Spiegelman, a Jewish survivor of Hitler’s Europe in this haunting tale of the Holocaust, survival and fraught family relationships.

Daniel Springfield – The Seven Lies

Following the success of his previous book, The Six Secrets, Daniel Springfield returns with The Seven Lies. In The Seven Lies, Springfield questions to facts surrounding seven tragedies that happened in the past six decades. Exploring the depths and questioning the truths of our recent histories in events including; the mysterious death of Marilyn Monroe, the assassination of JFK, and 911 weaving a narrative of doubt, suspense and intrigue.

Kathryn Springer – The Dandelion Field

Ginevieve and her daughter Raine find themselves in Banister Falls when their car breaks down, in order for Raine to have a bright future Gin promises they can stay till Raine finishes high school but a lot can happen in that short amount of time.

Nancy Springer – The Case of the Peculiar Pink Fan: An Enola Holmes Mystery

Nancy Springer’s The Case of the Peculiar Pink Fan is the fourth in her Enola Holmes Mystery series which inspired the Netflix film starring Millie Bobby Brown. In The Case of the Peculiar Pink Fan, Enola Holmes has been on the run for 8 months but during a chance encounter with an old acquaintance, Lady Cecily, Enola realizes that there is more to Lady Cecily’s plight than meets the eye when she leaves a plea for help in the form of a pink fan. Enola is forced to risk her freedom and team up with Sherlock Holmes to save Lady Cecily.

Johanna Spyri – Heidi

Johanna Spyri’s Heidi is the classic children’s book. It tells the story of the book’s namesake, Heidi, a five-year-old orphan sent to live with her grandfather in the Alps. Everyone in the village seems scared of him but Heidi is fascinated by him and loves her life playing in the sunshine on the mountains. Until one day when her Aunt comes to collect Heidi taking her away. Can Heidi find her way back up the mountains to her grandfather and the life she loves?

Shalini Srinivasan – Gangamma’s Gharial

Gangamma comes across a gharial shaped earring that can transport her anywhere, when she uses the earring she finds an unlikely friendship with a twelve years old girl.

Simone St James – The Other Side of Midnight

Delve into the world of the psychics, mediums and frauds as we join Ellie Winters in her mission to uncover her sole rival Gloria Sutter’s murder.

Walter Stahr – John Jay: Founding Father

Walter Stahr uses new material to show John Jay, both the public figure and the private man, a leading architect of America’s future, a true national hero and a major Founding Father.

Bryan Burrough, Chris Tomlinson and Jason Stanford – Forget the Alamo

In Forget the Almo, Bryan Burrough, Chris Tomlinson and Jason Stanford, three noted Texan writers join forces to explore the history and dispel the myths of the Battle of Almo, a key moment in Texas’ history, when it was a nation, not state.

Ian Stansel – The Last Cowboys of San Geronimo

To avoid capture for the murder of his brother Silas Van Loy flees his home being hunted down by the police and his brother’s wife.

Richard Stark – Point Blank

Parker, a professional thief gets double crossed by his partner Mal, who takes it all including his wife, leaving him for dead. He didn’t do a good enough job and now Parker wants revenge.

Julie Starr – Magic To Memphis

Jessie’s intentions of competing in a music contest in Memphis become a fight for survival after receiving a box of her dad’s possessions.

M. L. Stedman – The Light Between Oceans

During their years on the isolated island Janus Rock, Tom and Isabel have had two miscarriages and a stillbirth. When a boat is washed up containing a dead man and a baby, Isabel is convinced it’s a “gift from God”.

Flora Annie Steel – The Adventures of Prince Akbar

While his father is far away Price Akbar has many adventures with his companions, a fierce black sheepdog and a clever snow white cat.

June Steenkamp – Reeva: A Mother’s Story

June Steenkamp talks about her time sitting in the Pretoria courtroom, Reeva’s life and her own life after the verdict.

Garth Stein – The Art of Racing in the Rain

The Art of Racing in the Rain is about a dog called Enzo and his racing car driver owner, Denny and the love the pair share, told through the eyes of Enzo.

Gertrude Stein – Tender Buttons

Gertrude’s best known work is separated into three section; food, objects and rooms. Read what Molly thought of her works.

John Steinbeck – East of Eden

East of Eden is a classic novel by John Steinbeck, reviewed here by Melissa Turney.

John Steinbeck – The Grapes of Wrath

Among the thousands of people migrating west to find the land of opportunity are the Joad Family, will they find what they are looking for?

Philip Van Doren Stern – The Greatest Gift

This short story follows George Pratt as he considers taking his own life that is until he is shown the world without him in it. The story is the inspiration for the Classics Christmas movie It’s a Wonderful life.

Bryan Stevenson – Just Mercy

In Just Mercy, acclaimed lawyer and social justice advocate Bryan Stevenson explores the lives of the wrongfully imprisoned as they fight for justice, freedom and equality. Readers will find themselves in a call to action in the pursuit of justice in this collection of true stories. Part of the proceeds of this book go to help Stevenson’s important work, benefitting the voiceless, attempting to navigate a broken justice system in the U.S.

George R. Stewart – Earth Abides

After a mysterious plague wipes out the vast majority of the human race, now the survivors must learn to live in this new world.

Nina Stibbe – Reasons to be Cheerful

Nina Stibbe returns to the wacky and much-loved Vogul family with a now 18-year-old Lizzy in the laugh-out-loud funny and painfully relatable coming-of-age tale.

Kathryn Stockett – The Help

Skeeter is fresh out of college and considered a failure due to the fact she’s not married, but that’s not stopping her from writing a book about the treatment of the black maids in her town.

Margaret Stohl – Black Widow: Forever Red

Natasha Romanoff is one of the world’s most lethal assassins must reconnect with Ava Orlova to hunt down her former teacher and search for the children that have been going missing from all over Eastern Europe.

Margaret Stohl – Black Widow: Red Vengeance

As the Widows search South America to extinguish a smuggling operation their own organisation The Red Room attempt to assassinate them both.

Victoria Helen Stone – Half Past

Divorced and jobless Hannah Smith moves back to her family home in Iowa to look after her mother but with the words “you’re not my daughter” Hannah can’t shake the feeling it’s not just the dementia talking.

W.K.Stratton – The Wild Bunch

Read all about the making of the 1968 movie The Wild Bunch which was named one of the greatest Westerns of all time by the American Film Institute.

Cheryl Strayed – Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Coast Trail

Cheryl Strayed’s memoir follows her epic journey inspired after the loss of her mother to cancer. Raw and Gritty according to our reviewer.

T. S. Stribling – Birthright: A Novel

Set during the Wilson administration this novel follows Peter, an African-American from Tennessee who returns to his small town after getting a degree from Harvard.

Jonathan Stroud – The Bartimaeus Sequence

The Bartimaeus Sequence is a trilogy series by Jonathan Stroud. This review is of the entire series, aimed at 9-11 year olds but loved by all ages.

Jonathan Stroud – The Lockwood & Co. Series

For years London’s streets at night have become the playground for ghosts, can the ghost hunters, Lockwood and co stop these paranormal creatures and save the city?

Elizabeth Strout – Oh William!

In Oh William!, Pulitzer prize-winning and Booker Prize longlisted author, Elizabeth Strout, returns to her beloved lead character, Lucy Barton. Lucy is a successful writer, a recent widow, and mother of two daughters living in New York, then a surprise encounter reconnects her with her first husband, William. Elizabeth Strout’s Oh William is a novel of love and loss, family, and the secrets that can erupt at any point in life.

Elizabeth Strout – Olive, Again

In Olive, Again, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Elizabeth Strout returns readers to the blunt but somehow lovable character of Olive Kitteridge as she tries to navigate the complexities of change in her life, adjusting to her new life with her second husband and negotiating her relationship with her estranged son. Olive, Again is ultimately a powerful story of loss, loneliness, life lessons, and human relationships.

Douglas Stuart – Shuggie Bain

Shortlisted for the Booker Prize and a finalist for the National Book Award, Douglas Stuart’s début novel, Shuggie Bain is the unforgettable story of young Hugh “Shuggie” Bain. Shuggie is a sweet and lonely boy living in 1980s, Glasgow under Thatcher’s policies while his mother battles with addiction and poverty. Shuggie Bain is a novel that portrays the struggles of working class families with a heartbreaking examination of addiction, sexuality and love.

Sarah St. Vincent – Ways To Hide In Winter

A story of the secrets and mystery that come after an accident that leaves one person dead and another injured. When a seemingly friendly stranger walks into widow Kathleen’s life she slowly learns why he’s on the run and what he’s hiding.

Ravi Subramanian – The Bankster

The Bankster is a suspense novel by Indian writer, Ravi Subramanian where our banking culture is as much under suspicion as the characters.

Ravi Subramanian – The Mystery of the Missing Cat

The Mystery of the Missing Cat is the second book is Ravi Subramanian’s SMS Detective Agency series. A delightful detective fiction, The Mystery of the Missing Cat is set in the charming hill town of Solan which is playing host to the cricket match of the year between India and Australia. India’s victory is almost over before the match even begins though when a feline goes missing. The Super Mystery Solvers (or the SMS gang) made up of nine-year-old twins Aditya and Akriti and their close friend Kabir are on a mission to solve the mystery, find the missing cat and help India win the match.

Sriram Subramanian – Centre Court

Shankar Mahadevan spent years chasing his dream and now arriving at Wimbledon ranked No 41 in the world he is aware this could be his last year as a professional tennis player.

Patrick Suskind – Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

With an absolute sense of smell, and the ancient teachings of how to mix oils and herbs to create perfume Jean- Baptiste, but where will his obsession end?

Søren Sveistrup – The Chestnut Man

Naia Thulin is currently working in the serious crimes division and wants to move over to the Cyber Crime squad in the Danish police force. She has just been assigned a new partner that she does not like and feels that she does not need even though she has yet to meet him.

Kalpana Swaminathan – Murder in Seven Acts

Tough as nails Lalli, unfolds the curiosity of murder in seven acts as the most memorable detective in Indian fiction.

Stacey Swan – Olympus Texas

Stacey Swan’s début novel, Olympus Texas is a novel that plays out over six days. When March Briscoe returns to the Texas town of Olympus having been caught having an affair with his brother’s wife, he is not welcomed with open arms but his mother who knows all too well the suffering and pain of a spouse who has been betrayed. Within days of March’s arrival, someone is found dead, marriages are turned upside-down and even the strongest alliances are torn apart and in the end, the ties that hold the Briscoe family together might just be what pulls them all down. 

Doug J. Swanson – Cult of Glory: The Bold and Brutal History of the Texas Rangers

Doug J. Swanson’s Cult of Glory is a history book which tells the stories of the Texas Rangers which first emerged in 1823 when Texas was still part of Mexico. Nearly 200 years later, the Texas Rangers are still one of the most famous law-enforcement agencies in America. In his book, Swanson chronicles their escapades while also examining how the White and propertied powers in Texas used them as enforcers and officially sanctioned killers.

Peter Swanson – The Kind Worth Killing

Ted and Lily meet in an airport waiting for the same flight, drinks and confessions pass Ted’s lips and a deal is made that will have the pair in a game of survival.

Jonathan Swift – Gulliver’s Travels

Jonathan Swift’s classic novel, Gulliver’s Travels, tells the story of the shipwrecked Lemuel Gulliver who wakes up and finds himself in a land called Lilliput, inhabited by little people. In Swift’s satirical writing, Gulliver’s run ins with giants of Brobdingnag, the philosophical Houyhnhnms and brutish Yahoos give him new insights into human behaviour. In this book, Swift holds up a funhouse distorted mirror against society magnifying and presenting a reflection of human flaws and behaviour.

Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney – Good Company

Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney’s Good Company is a tender, humorous and insightful novel about marriage and friendship. Flora Mancini has been happily married to Julian for more than 20 years. What she thinks she knows about herself, her marriage, and even her relationship with her best friend, Margot comes into question when she stumbles upon an envelope containing her husband’s wedding ring which he claimed to have lost when their daughter Ruby was five. Flora and Julian struggled for years to raise their daughter and keep a theatre company, Good Company afloat. Their move to LA bought their first real success and Flora’s chance to reconnect with Margot but is their new life built on lies?

Meera Syal – The House of Hidden Mothers

Shyama and Toby want to have a child but are unable, Mala is trapped in an oppressive marriage and want an escape. The three make a deal to all get what they want but can it be that easy?

Dr Ishrat Syed and Dr Kalpana Swaminathan – FAT

Two doctors examine the effects of adipose tissue to the inside of the body as well as psychological triggers that contribute to over eating.

Mark Synnott – The Third Pole: My Everest climb to find the truth about Mallory and Irvine

The Third Pole follows Mark Synott’s ascent of Mount Everest in search of answers to one of the mountain’s mysteries. George Mallory and Sandy Irvine were last seen in 1924, 800ft shy of the mountain’s summit which would have made them the first to reach the top. Irvine carried a camera to photograph their goal but it, and his body have never been found. Mark Synott made his own ascent up the north side in search of the camera, body, and answers. However, his mission occurred during a ‘traffic jam’ of climbers at the summit that resulted in tragic deaths. Synott’s quest soon becomes something bigger than the original mystery that drew him to this climb.

Authors T

Gabriel Tallent – My Absolute Darling

Turtle Alveston’s secluded life with her tortured and charismatic father Martin is about to change when she meets Jacob at school and a larger world comes into focus.

Preti Taneja – We That Are Young

A powerful début novel set with the backdrop of Anti-corruption riots reflecting the clashing relationships in family and fierce sibling rivalries in this modern, Indian King Lear-style story.

Ayesha Tariq – Sarah

Sarah is an obedient Pakistani daughter and bottles up her anger, but as the bottle reaches its capacity can she keep the cap on her emotions.

C. L. Taylor – The Lie

The Lie is a psychological thriller by C. L Taylor. Twisty and turny and full of suspense according to our reviewer, Claire Knight.

Drake E Taylor – The Four Hats of Leadership

Drake E Taylor examines the role of a leader in different situations using four categories, psychologist, farmer, military drill instructor, and self-care.

Ellie Taylor – My Child and Other Mistakes: How to ruin your life in the best way possible

Comedian, actress, and broadcaster Ellie Taylor’s book, My Child and Other Mistakes, is a hilariously funny, yet honest, raw, and relatable account of pregnancy and motherhood.

Laini Taylor – Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Daughter of Smoke and Bone is the first in the YA fantasy trilogy of the same name with magic between the pages. Award winning, but lacking depth according to our reviewer.

Marsali Taylor – Death On A Longship

When Cass Lynch talks her way onto a longship for a Hollywood film she thinks her big break has come but when a dead woman turns up on deck, everything changes.

Gaurav Tekriwal – Maths Sutras from around the World

Master Maths using techniques collected from the Vedic time, try out the activity sheets and be a pro in no time.

Corrie Ten Boom – The Hiding Place

Corrie and her family live above the watchmaker shop that Carrie’s father runs, their strong morals lead them to help Jewish people during the war.

Denis Theriault – The Peculiar Life of a Lonely Postman

Read our book review of Denis Theriault’s touching novel surrounding haikus – The Peculiar Life of a Lonely Postman.

Erik Therme – Mortom

Andy Crowl is the sole beneficiary in Craig Moore’s will and inherits a rundown house in the town of Mortom. Andy’s obsession of playing the game sets him off following the clues, but what will the outcome be?

Paul Theroux – The Kingdom by the Sea

Follow award-winning writer Paul Theroux’s journey as he travels clockwise around the coast of Britain during the summer of 1982. A funny and honest travelogue full of information and insights that can be enjoyed equally by those who know the British coast and those who don’t.

Craig Thomas – Blankets

Craig Thompson’s graphic novel, Blankets, is a poignant memoir, the emotional coming-of-age story of a young man finding his confidence and creative voice and stepping away from his small town, midwestern, Christian upbringing. A universal tale of self-discovery, love, relationships and heartbreak.

Hunter S. Thompson – Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Journalist Raoul Duke’s report on the Mint 400 motorcycle race gets side tracked when his attorney Dr Gonzo and Raoul start experimenting with a variety of recreational drugs.

Karen Thompson Walker – The Dreamers

Don’t miss this harrowing yet riveting and profoundly moving tale of a town which is transformed by an illness which induces perpetual sleep and heightened dreams.

Angie Thomas – Concrete Rose

Angie Thomas, the best-selling author of The Hate U Give, returns to Garden Heights with her latest novel. Concrete Rose in the prequel to The Hate U Give, telling the story of Maverick who suddenly has a baby depending on him. Being a member of the King Lord street gang is in Maverick’s blood so walking away isn’t simple but Maverick wants to change his path and be a good father to his son.

Angie Thomas – The Hate U Give

A brilliantly powerful debut novel reflecting the harsh reality of racism, prejudice and police brutality in America. Thomas highlights the importance of using your voice and shouting out until justice prevails.

Angie Thomas – On the Come Up

From the bestselling author of The Hate U Give, Angie Thomas’ On the Come Up is her rebuttal to attempts to ban her first novel. A story of rap music, stereotyping, racism, prejudice, using your voice, and censorship.

Divya Thomas and Ruchi Shah – I Am So Much More Than The Colour Of My Skin

I Am So Much More Than The Colour Of My Skin is a delightful children’s book written by Divya Thomas and illustrated by Ruchi Shah. The book teaches children to be proud of their skin define their future by their dreams, not their skin; whether they want to be an artist, an athlete, working in technology, the skies are their limit.

Elisabeth Thomas – Catherine House

Elisabeth Thomas’ Catherine House is a sinister gothic novel set in Catherine House, a university like no other. Each of the students who attends has been chosen because they welcome the school’s isolation rather than focussing on its illustrious past. When the gates swing shut behind Ines, she is drawn in by the school’s magnetic power and she soon begins to realise that she didn’t chosen Catherine House, Catherine House chose her.

Keith Thomas – The Clarity

Dr Matilda Deacon finds an interesting patient for her research into how memories are made a stored, eleven year old Ashanique holds the memories from her former life, memories that a monstrous assassin will stop at nothing to get.

Leah Thomas – Because You’ll never Meet Me

Oliver, with his allergy to electricity and Moritz who among other disabilities has a pacemaker, through letters these two become friends but with it comes the wish to get more from life.

Scarlett Thomas – The End of Mr Y

Strange fiction, suspense and plenty of fantasy about in Scarlett Thomas’ The End of Mr Y. Reviewed by Reading Addicts regular, Campbell McAulay, and destined to be a cult classic according to the Telegraph!

Chris Harding Thornton – Pickard County Atlas

Pickard County Atlas is Chris Harding Thornton’s spellbinding début novel which explores the aftershocks of crime and trauma which grip a dusty town in Nebraska’s Sandhills. Set in July 1978, the novel unfolds over six tense days, Harley and the Reddicks are set on their course of collision that will either redeem them or end them.

Brenna Thummler – Sheets

Brenna Thummler’s first original graphic novel tells the story of 13-year-old Marjorie Glatt who takes charge of her family’s laundry business, endures P.E. lessons and battles with unbearable customers and Mr. Saubertuck who seems determined to ruin everything she’s worked for. When ghost Wendell comes into her life and unknowingly sabotages her, the story illustrates a young girl’s determination to fight and Wendell’s battle with seeking a new identity in the afterlife.

Cate Tiernan – Balefire

With her father’s death Thais gets thrown into the world of witchcraft with the revelation she has a twin sister.

Hannah Tinti – The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley

Choosing his late wife’s hometown to stop living on the run, Samuel and his daughter Loo try to settle down but as his criminal past spills into his daughters present they must face a reckoning on the horizon.

Steven Toast – Toast on Toast

From school plays to RADA and from “It’s a Right Royal Knockout” to the Colony Club, Steven Toast draws on his vast and varied experiences, providing the reader with an invaluable insight into his journey as an actor

Colm Tóibín – The Magician

From the author of Brooklyn, Colm Tóibín’s The Magician is a novel of unrequited love, war, exile, and family. The Magician tells the story of a real person from history; Thomas Mann, who finds himself on the wrong side of history during WWI as a cheerleader of the German army but as the second war approaches, Thomas has already anticipated the horrors of the Nazis. Thomas becomes a family man with six children, keeping his sexuality to himself. He will later write great works of fiction and win the Nobel Prize for literature but he would never return to the country that inspired his creativity.

Charles Todd – Ian Rutledge Mystery Series

Returning from WWI to London and his job as a Scotland Yard inspector, Ian Rutledge is suffering from shell shock which manifests through the voice of Hamish, a soldier who was under his command.

J.R.R. Tolkien – The Hobbit

Classic fantasy from Tolkien, but our reviewer first experience with the author, and she loved it!

J.R.R. Tolkien – Beren and Luthien

The epic tale of Beren and Luthien will awaken fans of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings with Elves and Humans, Dwarves and Orcs and  rich landscape and creatures.

J. R. R. Tolkien – The Silmarillion

Part of Tolkien’s Middle Earth universe this is the story of the creation of the world and of the First Age, this is the ancient drama to which the characters in The Lord of the Rings look back and in whose events some of them, such as Elrond and Galadriel, took part.

Bryan Burrough, Chris Tomlinson and Jason Stanford – Forget the Alamo

In Forget the Almo, Bryan Burrough, Chris Tomlinson and Jason Stanford, three noted Texan writers join forces to explore the history and dispel the myths of the Battle of Almo, a key moment in Texas’ history, when it was a nation, not state.

Amor Towles – A Gentleman in Moscow

Amor Towles’ worldwide bestseller, A Gentleman in Moscow follows Count Alexander Rostov who is escorted from the Kremlin to the elegant Hotel Metropol. Rostov has been deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal and now, the count will be sentenced to house arrested, indefinitely. He will not, however, be residing in his usual luxury suite but in an attic room while Russia suffers decades of turbulence where he discovers that a life without luxury could be the richest of all.

Amor Towles – The Lincoln Highway

From the author of the bestseller, A Gentleman in Moscow, Amor Towles’ The Lincoln Highway is an extraordinary journey through 1950s America. Eighteen-year-old Emmett Watson is driven home to Nebraska after serving 15 months at a juvenile work farm for involuntary manslaughter. His mother is long gone, his father is deceased so Emmett plans to pick up his eight-year-old brother and head to California to start a new life. When the warden drives away Emmett discovers that two friends from the work farm have stowed away in the trunk and they have very different plans for Emmett’s future that will see them journey to New York City instead.

Brian Trent – Ten Thousand Thunders

In the year 322 of the New Enlightenment technology has made all things possible, death is just a inconvenience meaning Gethin Bryce can investigate the mysterious shuttle explosion that killed him.

Calvin Trillin – Tepper Isn’t Going Out

For Murray Tepper there is nothing better than sitting in his car reading his newspaper in peace but what starts with numerous drivers wanting his parking space soon grows to people wanting to join him sitting in his car.

TTT – Terribly Tiny Tales

Some of the most celebrated and renowned authors along with the general public make up the 140 short stories in this book.

C J Tudor – The Taking of Annie Thorne 

Joe Thorne has never been able to forget how scarily changed his sister Annie was after her mysterious disappearance and return. When he goes back to his home town the haunting memories of this place hang over him in this gripping, creepy and dark tale.

Stuart Turton – The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle 

Aiden Bishop is stuck in a time loop with a twist, he must solve the murder of Evelyn Castel but with each failed attempt he finds himself inside a different witnesses body and some aren’t willing to help his mission.

Donald Tyson – Necronomicon

Inspired by H.P. Lovecraft creation, this occult fiction novel should be a pleasure for fans of the author. Reviewed here by prolific Reading Addicts reviewer, Campbell McAulay.

Donald Tyson – Alhazred : Author of Necronomicon

A young necromancer’s autobiography through his torture, mutilation and banishment. Reviewed here by Campbell McAulay.