NEW FICTION

Lamb by Bonnie Nadzam is published in paperback by Hutchinson, priced £12.99. Available now.

Scrawny, gap-toothed eleven-year-old Tommie is only acting on a dare from her friends when she approaches David Lamb, a 54-year-old in the grip of a mid-life crisis who has just buried his father.

While asking for a cigarette, her ignorant confidence is shaken when he pretends to abduct her, to scare some sense into her before taking her home.

But a bond is forged and David's spurious decision leads to a horrifically skewed exploration of the old American Dream.

US writer Bonnie Nadzam's debut novel is, quite simply, a page-turner. It's hard to avoid comparisons with Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita due to its themes but the omnipresent narration is perfectly unsettling, giving hints of past and future events and casting dark hints on interpreting the present.

Despite David's surname, Tommie is the real lamb, and his manipulation of her gullibility is chilling to read and the suspense is as gripping as the minimalist style.

9/10

(Review by Natalie Bowen)

 

The Forgotten by David Baldacci is published in hardback by Macmillan, priced £18.99. Available now.

David Baldacci's latest thriller brings you back into the world of US military criminal investigator John Puller, an agent with no rules.

Puller's latest case is close to home when he is called to investigate a death in Paradise, Florida.

The victim, his aunt; the motive, unknown. The crime had already been ruled as an accident but Puller finds evidence to the contrary.

As he delves deeper into the mystery, he realises the sleepy town of Paradise is a hotbed of secrets and lies. And with more and more of the residents being killed, he faces a race against time to solve the case.

Baldacci has proven once again that he can keep you on the edge of your seat with a thrilling, action-packed storyline that draws you deeper into the explosive world of John Puller.

9/10

(Review by Philip Robinson)

 

Flight Behaviour by Barbara Kingsolver is published in hardback by Faber and Faber, priced £18.99 (ebook £7.60). Available now.

Dellarobia Turnbow is trapped in an unhappy marriage with two young children and domineering in-laws. Her guilt-ridden tryst with a young lover offers her some distraction from the gnawing poverty and the general drudgery of life.

On her way to one of these clandestine encounters, she chances upon beautiful Monarch butterflies - like "showers of orange sparks" - in her in-laws' woodland estate.

Accidentally hailed as a visionary, her tale draws the attention of the locals and the media, and soon scientists are looking into the cause of this miraculous phenomenon.

Set in the rural Appalachian backdrop, Orange Prize winner Kingsolver weaves her magic in this beautifully written story that gives an insight into the effects of climate change while touching upon modern American consumerism.

Brilliantly narrated, the book is full of poetic charm and steeped in biblical references.

8/10

(Review by Nilima Marshall)