Book Review: Mick Herron – Slough House (Slough House book 7)

Mick Herron's legion of MI5 super-flops return for another jolly jaunt in Slough House's seventh installment, which although satisfying and entertaining in equal measure, is probably the weakest in the series. On the surface, this one ticks all the boxes needed of a modern spy thriller.Well-developed and advanced characters? Tick.Suitably complicated plot with lots of …

Book Review: Kimberley Chambers – The Wronged (Butlers book 3)

If there's one thing which Kimberley Chambers does in her stories which sets her apart from everyone else - and this could be quite a long list - is that she knows how to wrap up one novel and set up just enough plotlines for the next in the series. Fast-paced and exciting as ever, …

Book Review: Martin Edwards – Mortmain Hall

The second of the Rachel Savernake 1930s mystery-thrilers, Martin Edwards' talent to combine mind-bending, intricate plots with the theatrical flair of a Hollywood drama makes this a pleasure to read Although it must be said, until the dramatic conclusion of the novel it felt like a less-developed sequel to an author's opus magnum. The ending …

Album Review: Becky Hill – Only Honest On The Weekend (2021)

Everything about Becky Hill's (somehow) debut album is injected with an urgency. An urgency to appear authentic and break the barrier between being the voice of endless club bangers and becoming an album artist who's releases are eagerly waited on by waves of fans. Somehow it's been nine years since she burst onto the scene …

Album Review: Jake Bugg – Saturday Night, Sunday Morning (2021)

Jake Bugg's fifth album, and first in four years, is perhaps his most important. Get it right and his career gets reinvigorated in the shadows of other acoustic singer-songwriters in the UK charts at the moment. Get it wrong, and he's in the wilderness for good. Can you believe that it's been nine years since …

Book Review: Jo Spain – Dirty Little Secrets

When Olive Collins is found dead after rotting away in her living room for three months after succumbing to carbon monoxide poisoning, no-one from the other 6 houses in Withered Vale seems too sad about it. Turns out, they all had reasons to want her dead.... An entertaining twist on the locked room mystery, 'Dirty …

Book Review: Martin Edwards – Gallows Court

Winner of the CWA Diamond Dagger 2020, this is an enjoyable travel back to 1930 London, with an intricate plot populated by frequent mad twists, shocking illusions and more than one questionable (but entertaining) trip into farce... Rarely does a book speak to me from the bookshelf and compel me to add it to my …

Album Review: Gorgon City – Olympia (2021)

From the opening bars of 'Tell Me It's True', you just know that Olympia is going to be a masterpiece..... Three years after their criminally underrated second album 'Escape', the best duo in house music have returned for 'Olympia'. Would those roaming Ancient Greece have appreciated the nod? You've certainly got to have balls to …

Book Review: B.A. Paris, Clare Mackintosh, Holly Brown & Sophie Hannah – The Understudy

What do you get when you put four of the most acclaimed female writers of this generation together in one book? A stomping great thriller! Carolyn, Bronnie, Elise and Kendall are four mums at the exclusive and prestigious Orla Flynn Academy, an acting school for teenagers wanting to get into the world of stage and …

Ryan’s 30 Albums in 30 Days: Part 2!

Featuring albums from Namasenda, MARINA, The Prototypes, Madonna and GIRLI. Namasenda - hot_babe_93 (2017) Having become a massive fan of Swedish hyperpop icon Namasenda's recent singles 'Wanted' and '24/7', I decided to go back to the start of her musical journey. 'hot_babe_93' was her first (and to date, only) EP release, and would have been …