The Proving Ground

Michael Connelly

NEVER one to shy away from tackling thorny topical issues head-on, superstar American author Michael Connelly puts Artificial Intelligence at centre stage in a coruscating blockbuster legal thriller which pits his dogged LA Lincoln Lawyer, Mickey Haller, against an AI tech company whose chatbot might have led to the murder of a young girl.

Welcome to The Proving Ground, a novel which feels scarily like it could be a story that could soon hit the headlines in a newspaper near you; a tale of unintended AI consequences – which some might claim was always going to be a risk – when technology takes over from humans, and gathers the potential to become a deadly weapon.

It’s a case that will test Haller to the limit, two years after his ‘resurrection walk’ which saw him leave behind criminal justice to step into the field of public interest litigation and is now discovering that filing civil lawsuits against wealthy, big tech firms can be just as menacing and dangerous as criminal law cases. With January’s devastating Los Angeles wildfires burning in the background, and exploring the fascinating territory between the work of journalists and lawyers, Connelly (pictured below) – whose Lincoln Lawyer books have become a hit Netflix series – is on brilliant form as he delves into every fascinating nuance and legal rabbit hole of a booming AI industry that is very much in the public eye.

Seasoned lawyer Mickey Haller is boldly following his new direction in the ‘supposedly genteel high-ceilinged courtrooms’ of civil practice but is already finding new levels of dirty work and dangers. He is filing a civil lawsuit against Tidalwaiv Technologies, an AI company whose chatbot told a sixteen-year-old boy that it was okay for him to kill his ex-girlfriend for her disloyalty.

Representing the teenage girl’s mother, Haller is up against Tidalwaiv’s ruthless twin brother lawyers, Marcus and Mitchell Mason, who are eager to keeping delaying the trial because the company is up for sale and the investors are hoping that one of the world’s giant tech firms will swallow them up. A very public and revealing trial and its outcome could mean the difference between millions or billions of dollars. As Haller delves into some disturbing truths about the mostly unregulated and exploding AI business, and the lack of training safeguards, he feels that he is ‘drowning’ in the deliberate tidal wave of paperwork that has been submitted by Tidalwaiv’s legal team and begins to fear he will stumble into the trial uninformed and unready.

But then journalist Jack McEvoy, who writes regularly about technology and how it can be turned against us, walks into Haller’s life and says he wants to be a fly on the wall during the trial in order to write a book about it. Haller agrees but first puts him to work going through the mountain of printed discovery materials in the case… and McEvoy’s digging ultimately delivers the key witness, a whistleblower who has been too afraid to speak up.

As the tech titans try to buy or bully their way out, the scale of the courtroom battle before them becomes clear because billions are at stake – along with countless lives – and it’s now a case with the potential to change everything.

Connelly’s reputation as one of the world’s most accomplished and consistently inventive authors shows no sign of waning as this new phase in Heller’s professional life opens a door into a very different – but equally compulsive – corner of American litigation in which our prickly and single-minded lawyer takes on one of the tech world’s biggest and most influential players. And in true Connelly style, riveting courtroom drama, behind-the-scenes skulduggery and breathtaking double-crosses take the major roles in a landmark case where the stakes run into billions of dollars and the ‘little man’ is up against the most overwhelmingly powerful opponents and odds.

And as a treat for Connelly’s army of fans, Haller and his trusty team are joined by investigative journalist McEvoy – star of the author’s hit books The Poet, The Scarecrow and Fair Warning – with the diligent, probing hack working in the shadows and providing the vital background skills and legwork to keep Haller’s case up and running.

With tensions and emotions running high in a case that has been born from a terrible tragedy, a searing and microscopic examination of the ethics and morals of an industry that is fast taking control of our lives, this is a story that goes well beyond the pages of a gripping courtroom thriller and asks questions about how we as humans want our future to look.
(Orion, hardback, £22)

CHILDREN'S BOOKS: A dream horse, pirate adventures and the final frontier

Explore themes of loss, family and healing in an exquisite story about a girl who rides through her grief on a magical horse, set sail with an eccentric crew of pirates and two orphans seeking happiness, and enjoy a last dazzling space journey through magic, danger and suspense in the final book of a trilogy masterpiece in an exciting autumn collection of children’s books

Age 9 plus
The Horse Dreamer
Holly Surplice

SADDLE up and enjoy a beautiful, illustrated book that’s destined to be a must-have for all young horse fans this Christmas! This stunning hope-filled meditation on how we deal with the loss of a loved one is the debut middle-grade novel of author and illustrator Holly Surplice who finds inspiration in her life in the wild landscape of the Outer Hebrides. Exploring themes of grief, family and healing in an accessible way for young readers, The Horse Dreamer stars a girl seeking comfort after the death of her father. The horse arrives in a storm when Merryn needs him most. Sorrel is a dreamlike, magical creature, seemingly made from the woods and the sea. Perhaps she wished him into existence and he quickly becomes her friend and confidant. Throughout the summer and autumn, they ride and play but as Christmas approaches, it will require all of Merryn’s new-found strength to help her mum and her sisters heal, too. Surplice’s mesmerising story, which comes in a jacketed hardback and is exquisitely and atmospherically illustrated in blue ink throughout, has all the makings of a modern classic with its moving, heartfelt words and an alluring sense of magical wonder. A story written with love… and bearing messages of hope.
(Chicken House, hardback, £12.99)

Age 9 plus
Ella Jones vs the Battle Noise
Lucy Edwards with Katy Birchall

ELLA Jones has already saved the world from an eternity of darkness but now she must face the god Homados who is hunting Hercules’ famous shield! Welcome to another blistering adventure from Lucy Edwards, a broadcaster, journalist, content creator, speaker and disability activist who lost her full eyesight at just 17 due to a rare genetic disease but, undaunted, has made it her mission to share her experiences and raise awareness about living with a disability. She is now one of the leading voices in diversity, equality and inclusion, and an ambassador and commercial model for global haircare giant Pantene. After her daring mission in Ella Jones vs the Sun Stealer, first book in the series, 12-year-old blind girl Ella is back in action because Homados is planning to throw the world into chaos by increasing battle-noise until it’s unbearable for man. The only thing that helps drown out the noise is their own rage, their fury and their hate. As people come to realise this, they will begin to fight until the world descends into war and he, Homados, will grow more and more powerful. Ella, blind for two years and used to filtering out noise around her to calmly navigate her surroundings, is the heroine the world needs. Her quest – alongside her guide dog Miss Maisie, her best friend Finn, sister Poppy and River, a mysterious new kid at school – will see her journey to a remote island and encounter villains new and old. Written with Katy Birchall, a bestselling author in her own right – and brought to life by the atmospheric illustrations of Luna Valentine – Ella Jones vs the Battle Noise is an all-action and empowering thriller which celebrates the strength and resilience of young people and proves that disabilities are no barrier to greatness. Brimming with edge-of-your-seat tension, and unexpected twists and turns, this empathetic adventure story shows young people that disabilities do not have to hold you back and that the power of goodness is in the hands of anyone with the determination to succeed.
(Scholastic, paperback, £7.99)

Age 9 plus
Traitor Island
Tim Collins and Steven Wood

CATCH the aliens before they take over your mind! Climb aboard, test your sleuthing skills and learn to make your own decisions with this out-of-this-world, pick-your-own-path book which immerses readers in a gripping alien adventure. You are part of a research team who have been sent to another planet to collect plant samples. Just as you prepare to head back to Earth, an alien life form is detected on board your ship. You and the crew are placed on a quarantine island for seven days to check you’re safe. Arguments break out as the crew accuse each other of being infected. The island is a jungle, lush and hot, and a sense of paranoia soon sweeps through the group… who can you trust on the island and can you work out who the aliens are before your mind is taken over, too? The second book in an exciting series written by Manchester-born author Tim Collins and illustrated by Steven Wood, Traitor Island features a fast-paced, branching structure with over 40 possible endings. At the end of each page there are two distinct options that will take the reader on different paths through the action – meaning that the reader controls the narrative (and their destiny!) throughout. Twenty illustrated puzzle missions are woven into the story at key turning points so readers are fully immersed in the story. Featuring Collins’ gripping plot twists and Wood’s atmospheric black and white illustrations, this is a sky-high adventure offering fun at every turn of the page!
(Buster Books, paperback, £6.99)

Age 8 plus
Scarlet Morning
N D Stevenson

SHIVER me timbers, there’s a pirate adventure ahoy! Set sail with an eccentric crew of pirates in a brilliant, world-building debut middle grade romp from award-winning graphic novelist N D Stevenson, the Los Angeles-based author and illustrator of Nimona and The Fire Never Goes Out. Scarlet Morning is the first book of an illustrated duology and follows two orphans who leave the only home they’ve ever known to climb aboard a pirate ship. Viola and Wilmur have been waiting for their parents for fifteen boring years in the colourless town of Caveat. Their lives are a drudge of salt, trash, pirate stories, and what-ifs… until one very stormy night when Captain Cadence Chase breaks down their door. They cut a deal with the captain… Chase can take their most prized possession, a mysterious book, but only if she takes them too. After all, if their parents aren’t coming, Viola and Wilmur might as well have a grand adventure to find them. Setting sail into the treacherous and beautiful world beyond Caveat, the two inseparable friends must uncover the facts behind legend and the key to saving all of Dickerson’s Sea from obliteration – before the truth tears them apart. Get ready for the adventure of a lifetime as Stevenson plunges us into an epic journey full of magic, escapades, friendship, atmospheric illustrations and thrilling worlds. Wickedly funny, featuring danger and drama at every turn, and with emotions running as deep as the ocean, Scarlet Morning is a tale of love, betrayal, and the extraordinary lengths people will undertake to save a world broken beyond repair. And don’t miss the boat when the second adventure leaves port!
(Quill Tree Books, hardback, £14.99)

Age 8 plus
Which Way to the Future
Cressida Cowell 

FOR twenty-five years, former Waterstones Children’s Laureate and bestselling author of the How to Train Your Dragon series, Cressida Cowell, had a magical story idea lying quietly in her shed, waiting patiently for its time to shine. And when her Which Way to Anywhere trilogy burst on to the shelves three years ago in a shower of out-of-this-world magic, marvellous mapmaking, and a gallery of Cowell’s amazing, atmospheric artwork, it immediately won heaps of critical acclaim. And now the charismatic, blended O’Hero-Smith family – with their magical secret and a child with a powerful gift – set out on their final spectacular thrill ride through breathtaking worlds. K2 O’Hero is a seemingly ordinary boy but he has a magic gift... he can draw maps and jump through Which Ways (shaped like an X) through space. He and his sister Izzabird, and step-siblings Theo and Mabel Smith, live on Planet Earth which, in case you do not know it, is a small, green little world, out on the end of a remote and rarely visited Milky Way. All Magic was supposed to have disappeared from this particular planet many centuries earlier but the O’Hero-Smith children have extraordinary Magical Gifts that the universe has never seen before. But two of them don't know it yet. What will Mabel and Izzabird's Gifts be and how will they navigate an astonishing number of Bounty Hunters, a High Witch, Were-dread Enraptor of the utmost cruelty, cunning and ambition, and three perilous tasks to reach the end of their story? After all, there’s nothing like an adventure to find out whether you are a Hero or not… Youngsters will be holding their breath as they join the siblings for one last dazzling space journey through magic, maps, danger and suspense in a story in which fantasy has no bounds. Cowell’s gift for mesmerising world-building and her creation of characters you can see and hear has been central to these action-packed adventures which come with her trademark humour and rich imaginative powers. All galaxies lead to fun and adventure in this magical trilogy masterpiece!
(Hodder Children’s Books, hardback, £14.99)

Age 8 plus
Unbelievable!
Stephen Mulhern

ABRACADABRA! Discover over 30 incredible tricks for kids in an unbelievably fascinating step-by-step guide from all-round entertainer and TV personality Stephen Mulhern as he lifts the lid on the secrets of magic. Packed with full colour artwork and inside stories direct from Mulhern, this is the perfect gift book for every aspiring young magician and will bring magic into all the family’s lives with tips, tricks and secrets. Mulhern has performed his very own magic and one-man variety shows up and down the country for the past 12 years and here he reveals how magic can make your life fantastic, too! By following the clear, step-by-step instructions, everyone can become a magician and don't worry if something goes wrong or you feel nervous performing, Mulhern has got you covered with useful top tips. Magic, he tells us, is so powerful that it can build confidence, help you prepare for anything and spread happiness like a beautiful gift. The thrilling world of magic awaits at the turn of every page!
(Piccadilly Press, hardback, £12.99)

Age 7 plus
Bunny vs Monkey:
Intergalactic Monkey Business!
Jamie Smart

HOLD on to your hats and watch out for trouble… Bunny and Monkey are back in their exhilarating remastered series which delivers all the comedy and chaos of the daffy duo’s helter-skelter world, and is published for the first time in book form! This outrageously funny new adventure in the super-popular series features 213 pages of fast and furry-ous exuberant fun… plus some entertaining draw-it-yourself activities. Bunny and Monkey are part of the Phoenix Presents series, published by David Fickling Books in partnership with The Phoenix comic, which goes from strength to strength, and much of that success is due to the genius of the extraordinarily talented illustrator Jamie Smart whose comic-strip Bunny vs Monkey books cause giant waves of laughter. So welcome back to the Woods where chaos reigns supreme once more with the arrival of a new mischief-maker… Little Monkey, a smaller, cuter and even stranger Monkey than our beloved chaos-causer. But as Bunny and friends try to work out his motives, they are led far from the woods and into outer space. And on Planet Monkey, the laughs are positively intergalactic! Laugh-out-loud comical and ingeniously addictive, these manic, high-energy stories were just made for fidgety readers who like their books to come with plenty of comic-strip pictures and loads of turbocharged snorts and sniggers. Madcap antics for a new generation of action kids!
(David Fickling Books, hardback, £12.99)

Age 5 plus
Adventuremice: Mousehole to the Centre of the Earth
Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntyre

YOUNGSTERS love these meeces to pieces! The dream team of author Philip Reeve and illustrator Sarah McIntyre pool their talents for the new book in a simply delightful early reader series which has all the fun of TV hit Paw Patrol, and the charm and whimsy of classics like The Wind in the Willows. With its focus on fun, friendship and kindness, Adventuremice features Pedro, a timid little mouse who has proved himself to be brave enough to join the heroic team who protect the Mouse Islands from danger. In this new outing, the Adventuremice go on a mission when Uncle Bernie turns up with his incredible Mechanical Mole machine. Pedro and the crew burrow to an underground cave world unlike anything they’ve ever seen. There are tiny, twisty trees, and even tinier pterodactyls. But there's also a Hamstersaurus Rex on the loose! Can the team save the nervous local cavemice from this giant predator, or is there more to the creature than meets the eye? Reeve’s lively, heartwarming and fun-filled storytelling delivers all those ingredients that children love – immersive adventures, lovable heroes, reassuring friendships, exciting action and plenty of smiles – and all brought to vibrant, colourful life by McIntyre’s exquisitely characterful illustrations. A warm and whiskery favourite with mouse lovers of every age!
(David Fickling Books, paperback, £6.99)

Age 5 plus
Iris and Luna: A School Full of Magic!
Aurora Quirón, Isabel Escalante and Chezalbi

MAGIC, baby animals, friendship and adventures! Here’s the perfect gift for early readers who like their books to come with colour, fun and a big helping of super-cuteness. What’s better than a unicorn? A baby unicorn! What’s better than a puppy? A magical puppy! Join Iris and Luna at Abracadabra School as they train to be magical baby animal keepers, in this enchanting chapter book series written by Aurora Quirón and illustrated with pink and black artwork by Isabel Escalante and Chezalbi. Iris and Luna are like night and day. Iris likes rainbows, and Luna likes storms. However, they both have something in common… their love for animals. That's why their specialty at Abracadabra School is caring for magical creatures. As they meet their new classmates and start their lessons, they wonder which special baby animal best friend they will be matched with (Iris hopes for a baby unicorn, while Luna loves kittens!) But one day, something mysterious happens to the baby unicorns living in the school's forest. Can Iris, Luna and their friends solve the mystery? With humour, school escapades and a whole host of unicorns, rainbows and magic baby animals to enjoy, there could be no better addition to your children’s party bags.
(Farshore, paperback, £6.99)

Age 3 plus
Emily Brown and the
Not-Very-Spooky Halloween
Cressida Cowell and Neal Layton

A GHOST who’s lost his spook makes a spectacular spectral appearance in a new adventure for adorable duo Emily Brown and her sidekick rabbit Stanley in bestselling author Cressida Cowell and award-winning illustrator Neal Layton’s much-loved Emily Brown picture book series. Halloween has arrived and Emily Brown and Stanley are trying on their costumes when they hear a teeny-tiny ‘Boo!’ from the cupboard under the sink… it's a ghost! And not just any ghost… the sweetest one they've ever seen. But this sweet little ghostie is sad that he's Not-Very-Spooky, and he seems to be more frightened than frightening. Can Emily and Stanley help him to be brave and discover his spook? With Cowell’s fun-filled Halloween seasonal story, and Layton’s heart-melting and joyful illustrations, these ghostly goings-on are perfect for youngsters who like their scary stories to not be too scary!
(Hodder Children's Books, hardback, £12.99)

Age 3 plus
The Day the Jungle-net Broke
Marleen Lammers and Ian Smith

SWING through the trees and enjoy lots of monkey business in a clever and comical picture book which introduces young children to the importance of NOT spending too much time on their digital devices. Written with humour, heart and wisdom by Marleen Lammers and gorgeously illustrated by the award-winning Ian Smith, The Day the Jungle-net Broke follows Miles the Monkey who finds himself unexpectedly with time on his hands when the jungle-net breaks. Miles panics. Without his i-tree, how will he tree-time his family and how will he order bananas from his Just Peel app? It feels disastrous. But with all this time on his hands, and no screens around, Miles discovers that there’s a bit more to a monkey’s good life than he had realised. Perfectly pitched to encourage moderation, rather than demonising screens altogether, Lammers’ cute caper shows youngsters what adventures are out there beyond our screens and that being device-free can offer shared fun with your friends and family in lots of other different ways.
(New Frontier Publishing, paperback, £8.99)

Age one plus
Weather Tots: Bowie Joins the Team & Blizz Builds a Snowman
Caroline Crowe and Nia Gould

RAIN or shine they’re here to play, what will the weather tots do today? Say hello to the Weather Tots, the lovable stars of a delightful series of picture books about a charismatic group of young weather characters who are discovering their incredible powers through fun-filled and informative adventures. Written by Caroline Crowe and illustrated by Nia Gould, Weather Tots is the perfect series to intrigue young children to the different types of weather. In Bowie Joins the Team, the Weather Tots can’t wait to meet their new classmate Bowie, but why is he so hard to find? 

The Tots find out how rainbows are made and welcome a new pupil to Weather School! And in Blizz Builds a Snowman, the Weather Tots learn about snow. Blizz wants to build the perfect snowman but things go wrong when the other Weather Tots try to help. Can they find a way of working together? The Weather Tots don’t always realise the strength of their powers but their wise teacher, Professor Cloud, is always on hand to guide them. Set in a school environment, the stories and characters are highly relatable for young children and each book includes a make-and-do activity at the end, linked with the story, and a weather fact from Professor Cloud. A series that’s an all-weathers winner!
(Oxford University Press, paperback, £7.99 each)

The Women in the Shadows

Harriet Fox

THEY were murders that horrified London’s Victorian society and spread terror among the women who lived in the streets of the city’s Whitechapel district. The five victims of the infamous serial  killer, nicknamed Jack the Ripper, were all prostitutes, stabbed and mutilated in attacks that were so brutal that even hardened police officers were shocked by their savagery.

The man labelled a monster was never identified or arrested and today the murder sites are the focus of a macabre tourist industry and countless wild theories about the Ripper’s identity. But who were these women, what do we know of their lives… and could their murders have been solved if a much cannier detective team had been on the case?

The hunt for answers to such a notorious unsolved crime takes on a whole new complexion in The Women in the Shadows, a gripping novel that cleverly blends fact, fiction and feminist revenge, from Harriet Fox (pictured below), an author and journalist who also writes under the name Kerry Barrett and has a passion for stories that free women of the past from the shadows of history.

In Fox’s gripping reimagining of the Ripper hunt, we meet three feisty and fearless heroines, all different ages and from different walks of life, and all determined to use their insider knowledge, finely honed women’s intuition and personal detection skills to take on the shortcomings of the police and succeed where the men are failing.

It’s London in 1888 and a monster is prowling the gas-lit streets of Whitechapel, women are being horribly murdered and butchered by a frenzied killer, and the police, led by conscientious Inspector Fred Abberline, would appear to be looking in all the wrong places and at all the wrong suspects. But there are three women who refuse to stay silent and reckon they could make a far better and faster job of hunting down the man who is soon dubbed Jack the Ripper. Bet Palmer, a cleaner at Whitechapel police station, knows all too well that being a young woman in a station full of men means she is, to all intents and purposes, invisible and can overhears what others ignore. When Bet is offered a job to double as cleaner at the nearby home of Insp Abberline and his sharp-witted wife Emma, she takes up the post and brings with her invaluable insider knowledge of some of the victims and their local haunts.

Emma, who is still mourning the death of her only child some years earlier and whose opinion and ideas have always been valued by her policeman husband, can also see that the investigation is going nowhere. Meanwhile, Maggie Cameron, a middle-aged private investigator who specialises in gathering evidence for divorce cases, is adept at exposing men’s darkest secrets and is eager to prove her detective skills. Together, they form an alliance to hunt down the savage killer but as the three women weave through the slums, brothels, and smoke-filled parlours of the East End’s underworld, they uncover corruption more sinister than they ever imagined. The city might belong to men… but that is changing.

Fox’s fact-based flight of imagination makes for a revealing, entertaining and often heartbreaking journey into a long-ago but not forgotten crime and puts a new spin on not just the perpetrator but his victims, exploring the sobering effect the horrific murders had on the other women who shared those dangerous streets, and adding a welcome ray of light to a dark slice of disturbing real history.

And what a compelling window it is into the desperate race to find the serial killer, with a charismatic cast that includes fictional players and portraits of the real people… the Ripper’s victims, the redoubtable Fred Abbeline, a respected police inspector known for his extensive knowledge of East End crime, and builder George Lusk, the caring man who was chairman of the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee during the murders and worked hard to keep the streets safe.

But it is the sense of a powerful desire to seek out female justice coursing through the pages that speaks loudest as though reassuring readers that the search for the killer is now in the more empathetic and sympathetic hands of a team of women who will to leave no clues undiscovered, and no neglected corners unnoticed, to track down the Ripper. Add on the streets of Victorian Whitechapel rendered viscerally real, the community spirit and bonds of female friendship galvanised by the continual fear of another attack, and a twist in the tail which offers a fascinating, fictional new dimension to a true story, and you have history, mystery and imagination in thrilling harmony.
(HQ, hardback, £16.99)

Tales of the Impossible

Bill Pronzini

By guest reviewer Nicholas Litchfield,
editor of the Lowestoft Chronicle

COMPLEX puzzles, strange disappearances, unconventional murder techniques and spectral encounters abound in Tales of the Impossible, a standout collection of hard-hitting crime stories by Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Bill Pronzini.

Across a literary career spanning more than fifty years, Pronzini (pictured below) has published ninety novels, four non-fiction books, twenty story collections, numerous anthologies, and scores of articles, essays, and reviews. And his work has been translated into nineteen languages and published in nearly thirty countries.

Drawing inspiration from the master of the locked room mystery, John Dickson Carr, this rewarding new collection blends procedural, noir, detective fiction, historical narrative and gritty Westerns, paying homage to the subgenre while spotlighting some of Pronzini’s most beloved characters. The collection opens with The Arrowmont Prison Riddle, set in rural north eastern United States in 1916 where Warden Parker contends with the inscrutable Buckmaster Gilloon after the failed execution of the remorseless Arthur Teasdale. 

Amid a raging storm, Teasdale vanishes from the gallows, leaving behind only his hood, which triggers a frantic investigation. When one of the guards is subsequently found murdered, Gilloon’s sharp deduction skills come to the fore, peeling back layers of deception. Parker finds himself haunted by Gilloon’s uncanny insight and the enduring mystery surrounding this enigmatic man.

The oft-anthologised Proof of Guilt, a personal favourite of Pronzini’s, was adapted for a segment of Roald Dahl’s TV series Tales of the Unexpected. 

Here, veteran cop Walt and his partner Jack Sherrard probe the puzzling murder of lawyer Adam Chillingham. Set within the imposing Dawes Building, the detectives quickly identify a suspect and motive, yet the murder weapon is missing. The case grows ever more gripping until it culminates in a stunning final reveal.

In The Half-Invisible Man, written with Jeffrey Wallman and first published in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Patrolman Fred Gallagher, an unassuming middle-aged cop, finds himself outside a motel room where a murder has occurred. Gallagher’s meticulous observation and understated competence introduce a potent mix of procedural detail and noir sensibility, highlighting the themes of invisibility and unheralded skill.

Vanishing Act, a collaboration with Michael Kurland that appeared in the pages of Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, transports readers to San Francisco’s Magic Cellar in the late 1970s, a nightclub famed for its magical acts. During a show for police cadets, tragedy strikes when performer Phil Boltan is fatally shot. The story is rich with playful commentary on illusion and reality, keeping both characters and readers guessing throughout.

Six stories in this collection feature Pronzini’s iconic Nameless Detective who first appeared in print in 1967. In Dead Man’s Slough, the practical San Francisco private investigator joins a wary fisherman to help a red-haired fugitive escape the dangerous waters of the California Delta, with a narrative thick with suspense and ghostly mystery. Witty dialogue and camaraderie define Ace in the Hole, in which Nameless and his poker buddies face a baffling murder while Booktakers, set in the 1980s, sees the detective go undercover as Jim Marlowe, hired by an aristocratic bookseller to investigate a series of thefts at his shop. The narrative stands out for its droll, natural prose and vividly realised setting.

Eight stories star the dynamic detective duo Sabina Carpenter and gruff ex-Secret Service agent John Quincannon, set in late 19^th century rural California. Each Carpenter and Quincannon story brims with sly humour and the classic pleasures of detective suspense. Among the highlights is The Gold Stealers, an atmospheric, suspenseful tale in which Quincannon is tasked with safeguarding land baron Noah Rideout from an imminent assassination plot at a secluded river crossing. The Horseshoe Nail – a tightly plotted whodunit filled with sharp dialogue and rich period detail – is set in a bustling High Sierra sawmill camp where Quincannon goes undercover as a timekeeper to investigate a jewellery theft and finds his cleverness and persistence tested as he navigates a colourful cast of rough characters.

Amusing, ingenious and endlessly surprising, Tales of the Impossible constantly upends expectations. Pronzini, a writer who has ‘perpetrated several novels and more than a score of short stories and novelettes with miracle problem plots,’ would surely have impressed John Dickson Carr with this collection. It serves not only as a tribute to the impossible crime subgenre but also as a thrilling exhibition of Pronzini’s remarkable storytelling skill.
(Stark House Press, paperback, £14.99)

⬛Nicholas Litchfield is an English-born author and journalist who lives in Western New York. He established the Lowestoft Chronicle, a quarterly online magazine, in 2009. It  publishes short stories, flash fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, interviews and artwork.(lowestoftchronicle.com)

CHILDREN'S BOOKS: Hauntings, horrors and hilarious romps as Halloween looms

Monsters, ghosts, vampires, werewolves and witches... the spooky season is looming like a dark and delicious shadow so prepare to indulge your children’s Halloween dreams – and nightmares! – with this chilling, thrilling selection of super-scary and frighteningly funny books

Age 8 plus
Dracula & Daughters
Emma Carroll

SHARPEN your fangs and let them sink into the first book of a blood-curdling, inventive and thrilling world-building new series from master storyteller Emma Carroll whose historical fiction has proved a big hit with young readers. In this gloriously gothic adventure, Carroll ramps up the spooks for her highly original – and high stakes – tale which delivers a unique and fiendishly feminist spin on all those familiar vampire stories. Packed full of atmosphere and gothic detail, this deliciously dark adventure introduces us to three cousins who discover they are descendants of Dracula and combine their covert female powers to form an infamous vampire healing company called… Dracula & Daughters!

In the city of Temstown, for the first time in twenty years, vampires are prowling the streets. The only way to make the city safe again is by culling the undead with a stake through the heart. But vampire slayers are in dangerously short supply. Then three girls, Mina, Buffy and Bella, discover a mind-blowing secret which they must keep hidden at all costs. Could they alone have the powers to cure – not cull – vampires? Temstown is about to welcome its very own vampire healing company, and their first case is perilously close to home. With magic abounding, villainous vampires, three coruscating star players, and an inventive world that includes a talking raven, this spooktacular and entertaining new series looks set to be a ghouls’ paradise!
(Faber Children’s Books, paperback, £7.99)

Age 9 plus
The Last Day of October
Phil Hickes and Oriol Vidal

BORED with trick-or-treating, three friends venture into the woods on Halloween night to hunt for the haunted McBride House in this spine-tingling horror story from Phil Hickes, a writer with a self-declared passion for horror, ghosts, and all things that go bump in the night! If you go down to the woods today, you’re in for a nasty surprise! Seeking creepy thrills instead of candy, Cody and his friends set out on Halloween to search for the ruins of the haunted McBride House in the woods near his home in Oregon. The house has taken on a sinister legendary status after it burned down a hundred years ago with tragic consequences, and it’s said that the ghosts of the family who lived there return each year on the last day of October. But when they find the house, the truth of what is happening on this eerie autumn night is more terrifying than the three teenagers could ever have imagined… Hickes is at his ghostly, gothic best in this Halloween horror story in which the past bleeds into the present with terrifying results and is brought to vibrant, visceral life by the atmospheric and haunting illustrations of Oriol Vidal. Packed with eerie, electrifying small town America vibes, this is a spectacular spine-chiller from a master of the macabre.
(Barrington Stoke, paperback, £7.99)

Age 9 plus
Do You Believe in Ghosts?
Danny Robins and Ellen Walker

HAVE you ever wondered if ghosts really exist and what it’s like to live in a ‘haunted’ house? Well wonder no more because Danny Robins, the award-winning writer, creator and host of the hit BBC podcast and TV series Uncanny, has a ‘spooktacular’ new collection of real-life ghost stories. Robins is on a mission to inspire a new generation of ghost-hunters in his thrilling first book for children, so join him on an adventure into the world of the paranormal. Explore bizarre and intriguing mysteries from poltergeists and apparitions to messages from the spirit world, ghostly photos, and even a haunted toilet! This is a journey of discovery for anyone curious about the paranormal, exploring the science and history behind these incredible stories. With an assurance from the author that the book is ‘spooky not scary,’ Do You Believe in Ghosts? – illustrated by Ellen Walker – is an exhilarating page-turner that dares young readers to discover if they are #TeamBeliever or #TeamSceptic as they try to solve that biggest of all mysteries… do ghosts exist? So climb under the covers, grab a torch, and prepare to get ghost hunting!
(Puffin, paperback, £7.99)

Age 9 plus
Spooksmiths Investigate: Circus of Shadows
Alex Atkinson

WHEN you’ve grown up loving scary books filled with oddball characters, enjoyed playing murder-in-the-dark and listening to your dad’s blood-curdling bedtime stories, it seems a natural progression to write your own spooky (but funny) spine-chillers! Circus of Shadows is the second book of Spooksmiths Investigate, a brilliantly spooky horror-mystery series from Alex Atkinson who says she still dreams of ghost and zombies.

‘Roll up, roll up to be terrified out of your wits at the Circus of Shadows! Run in horror from the phantom clown... Meet a man made of flies on a real ghost train... But scariest of all, hide from Hell Mary and her rings made of teeth. Because she has a deadly deal for you...’ 

Spooksmiths Indigo and Rusty, a pair of squabbling siblings who live in a funeral parlour in the seaside town of Greyscar, can speak to the dead and know how to fight dangerous ghosts. But now powerful spirit Hell Mary has kidnapped their parents and if they don’t agree to track down her cursed crystal ball by sunrise, she’ll trap them all in her haunted circus for ever. Will the Spooksmiths’ skills be enough to beat her? Join the Spooksmith twins on their fast-paced and spine-tingling adventures. Including fascinating facts about Victorian London, and inspired by the real-life London Necropolis Railways which was used to transport corpses out of the capital, Atkinson’s super-spooky, fast-paced and fun-filled adventure reminds us about the importance of family and friends and is a treat for your Halloween tricksters!
(Usborne Publishing, paperback, £7.99)

Age 9 plus
Mallory Vayle and Maggoty Skull
in the Beast from Beneath
Martin Howard and Pete Williamson

BRACE yourself for gruesome giggles, spooky sniggers and creepy cackles when youngsters get their hands on the second hilarious ‘horror’ story featuring a talkative skull and a necromancer-in-training from the top team of comedy king and author Martin Howard, and creative illustrator Pete Williamson. With deliciously dark humour, hellish hags, a gloriously ghoulish girl, a wig-loving skull and a spine-chilling, fast-paced adventure to devour, this spectacular spooky romp (rightly!) comes with a warning that readers might just die of laughter and is perfect for both Halloween and as a side-splitting and spine-tingling year-round read.

Mallory is getting to grips with her new powers and her new talkative friend, Maggoty. But when Maggoty sees a wig in Les Wigs shop, he just won’t shut up about it! It's expensive, and no one seems able to pay Mallory properly for her cosmic services. So her Aunt Lilith takes matters into her own hands but, in her quest to increase her own supernatural skills, she accidentally summons a Nightmare. It, inevitably, goes HORRIBLY wrong and Mallory must take a perilous journey into the bowels of Carrion Castle in search of the solution to Aunt Lilith’s problem. But it’s only when a bony fella with a scythe turns up (that’s Death himself, by the way!) that she knows she and Maggoty are in for some terrifying fun and games! Budding horror fans will love Howard’s gleefully spooky and very, very funny adventure which stars the chattiest, wig-wearing skull in the whole of Halloween history, and is brought to hilarious pictorial life through Williamson’s prodigious imagination. Dangerously good!
(Nosy Crow, paperback, £7.99)

Age 9 plus
Where the Dead Live
Sam Fern and Rômolo D’Hipólito

DISCOVER the most wondrous – and downright spooky – homes of the dead in this globe-trotting journey from our world to the underworld as author and editor Sam Fern explores the celebrations, customs and ancient mythologies of the afterlife. Lavishly illustrated by artist Rômolo D’Hipólito, Where the Dead Live, takes readers on a tour of festivals and catacombs… and how some believe we go on beyond the end. Learn about the mythological afterlives of ancient civilizations and find out about spiritual celebrations throughout the ages, all revealed with a healthy splash of joie de vivre and not a hint of gloom. Along the way, wander through labyrinths of bone and stone, swim through sunken cemeteries, unearth ancient festivals and sacred sites of long-lost legends, and join in heartfelt traditions from around the globe which joyfully reunite the living with the lost. From Mexico’s vibrant Day of the Dead to the Pirate Cemetery of Saint-Pierre and the shadowy depths of Hades, this is a thrilling adventure through folklore, mythology and cultural practices, revealing the beauty and mystery of the afterlife.
(Templar Books, hardback, £14.99)

Age 8 plus
Fright Club: Let’s Boo This!
Sibéal Pounder and George Ermos

SUPER-SPOOKY adventures get an exciting choose-your-character twist in this frighteningly clever new series from Sibéal Pounder, bestselling author of Witch Wars and Bad Mermaids. With friendships, frights and lots of fun to enjoy, this intriguing book is guaranteed to thrill readers as they choose which club members to follow on diverging adventures. The night Joe Bones spots a cloaked figure leaving his gran’s house, he's sure that something is afoot. So, when he hears that his gran has passed away, he’s convinced the mysterious man has something to do with her death. Then Joe discovers that his gran was keeping a secret… she was part of an ancient society called Fright Club, investigators of crimes in supernatural hidden worlds ranging from Clinks, the world of skeletons, to the ghostly Veilooo and demon-filled Devilbend. Joe convinces his three best friends, Hal, Debbie and Rose, to revive the club and track down the mysterious figure to find out what really happened to his gran. What Joe doesn’t know is that each of his friends has a supernatural secret of their own and starting their own Fright Club could unleash a whole heap of trouble… With each friend having a secret to hide, twists and turns guaranteed to keep readers on the edge of their seats, and a deliciously devious cast of characters to enjoy, Pounder’s journey into the unknown is a spectacular romp from start to finish.
(Puffin, paperback, £8.99)

Age 7 plus
Aliens Made Me Do It!
David Macphail and Rory Walker

MEET the aliens… it’s not every day a spaceship crash-lands in your garden! All the family – and that includes crusty old grandads! – will enjoy this wickedly funny aliens adventure which stars two scheming Galactic rulers, a boy called Hillman (after the car) and girl whose greatest wish is to pull off a bank heist. Expect to wipe the tears from your eyes rather than the sweat of fear from your forehead with this madcap sci-fi fantasy – written by David Macphail, author of the Lollies-nominated Thorfinn the Nicest Viking series, and illustrated by Rory Walker – which has 21^st century issues, like war and peace, jealousy and friendship, embedded deep within all the hilarious twists, mash-ups, disguises, plans and schemes. Eleven-year-old Hillman thinks it’s a prank when a spaceship turns up in his garden… until a real alien steps out, followed by a homicidal maniac robot manservant armed with explosive custard. Princess Cassiopeia is in a fix. She shrank her entire space armada while making a smoothie (don’t ask!). She came to rally Earth’s leaders but instead landed in a nowhere town called Bilgeley and got Hillman Patel, aged eleven, and his crusty old grandad. Meanwhile, Perseus crash-lands on Bilgeley rubbish tip, intent on chasing down Cassiopeia, and gets Roz, age eleven, who is here to help but has got her eyes set on a bank heist. The galaxy’s most ridiculous war has landed on Earth, and things are about to get very, very messy. Can Cassiopeia defeat Prince Perseus? Luckily, Hillman has got one excuse: ‘Aliens made me do it.’ Brought to vibrant life by Walker’s fun-filled illustrations, Mcpahail’s brilliant satire will delight readers with its sheer exuberance, short, snappy chapters, sparkling dialogue and entertaining cliffhangers. Anarchy on steroids!
(Everything with Words, paperback, £8.99)

Age 5 plus
Croaky: Escape from Crow Castle
Matty Long

A SCOUT mission to uncover the cause of mysterious hauntings at spooky Crow Castle delivers paranormal fun and frights in the fourth book of an action-packed and colourful chapter book series from Super Happy Magic Forest creator Matty Long. Croaky Hopper isn't like other little frogs. His head is filled with thoughts of wild adventures. He dreams of hopping across crocodile-infested waters, or being chased by a giant boulder, just like the famous TV explorer Tennessee Toad. But where can an energetic amphibian like Croaky find real-life adventure? When his Aunt Lilly signs him up for the Woggle Scouts, he expects to spend his time crafting with pinecones and selling cookies, but he soon discovers there's much more in store! In Croaky’s new adventure, the Woggle Scouts leap into action when they find hidden passageways, puzzle rooms and a murder of meddling crows! Packed with Long’s classic humour, lovable characters and eye-catching illustrations, this action-packed series is ideal for emerging readers and youngsters who like their laughs to come with lots of pictures!
(Oxford University Press, paperback, £6.99)

Age 5 plus
Where's Stitch? Halloween Edition
Marvel Entertainment International Ltd

CAN you spot Stitch? Don’t miss out on all the spooky fun packed inside Disney’s simply marvellous limited edition of the Lilo & Stitch search-and-find activity book featuring a brand-new Halloween scene and a glow-in-the-dark cover! Brought to life by stunning, full-colour original illustrations, the Where's Stitch? Halloween edition is available for a limited time only. Look for Lilo’s mischievous alien pet in jam-packed scenes from the beaches of Kaua’I to the Galactic Federation and back. Can you spot Stitch, Lilo and their 'Ohana friends hiding amongst the pumpkins? Perfect for Marvel and Disney fans young and old, this beautifully created search-and-find book guarantees hours of entertainment!
(Studio Press, paperback, £7.99)

Age 3 plus
Ghost Hunt
Isabel Otter and Kathryn Selbert

THE youngest members of the family can enjoy some ghostly goings-on with this magical search-and-find adventure which sheds an extra special light on all the phantom fun of the Halloween season! Children’s books editor Isabel Otter’s delightful rhyming verse invites little ones to blow off the cobwebs and join a host of cute characters on their ghost-hunting mission. Shine the magical UV torch on to every page to search for more than 50 fiendishly friendly creatures hiding in the invisible ink and discover lots of spine-tingling scenes, such as a haunted house, a bat’s cave and a pumpkin patch. This super interactive board book, colourfully illustrated by Kathryn Selbert, packs in lots of spooks without the scares!
(Little Tiger Press, board book, £12.99)

Bea’s Book Wagon

Julie Haworth

WHO doesn’t love a book about books? Step back into the enchanting village of Blossom Heath in East Sussex where author Julie Haworth has (literally!) harnessed her passion for all things bookish to a delicious and delightful story about a mobile bookshop which finds a home… in an old horsebox!

Written right through with a born bibliophile’s love for spreading the joys of reading, and featuring lovable characters that Haworth’s (pictured below) fans will know from Always By Your Side and New Beginnings at the Cosy Cat Café – the first two books in a soul-soothing, bucolic series – this new romantic odyssey is the perfect uplifting autumn escape.

Set once again in the most idyllic, quintessentially English village imaginable, Bea’s Book Wagon stars a young woman searching for the next chapter in her life and explores heartwarming themes like the strength that comes from community, the joys of family and friendship, the importance of living your dreams, and how love really does make the ‘wheels’ go round.  

After yet another put-down by her boss, Bea Miller impulsively packs in her dead-end temp job where she has always felt like the ‘dogsbody.’ It’s four years since Bea left university and she has moved back to Blossom Heath where her parents run the village store.

Ever since she was tiny, it had ‘always been about books’ for Bea… they are her sanctuary when the ‘real world’ gets too much and her dream is to have her own bookshop. But when a drunken night out with best friend Jess to drown her sorrows ends with her investing her life savings in a ramshackle old horsebox she has seen on eBay, Bea wonders whether she has made a big mistake. But converting and revamping the old horsebox could mean her dream becomes a reality and with the help of friends and her childhood sweetheart Nathan – now a farmer and artisan cheesemaker – her mobile bookshop, Bea’s Book Wagon, takes to the road in the hope that her love of reading can transform the lives of her friends, her community and herself in the process.

Meanwhile, her currently vacant love life gets a lift when knock-you-off-your-feet, tall, dark and handsome property developer Lochlan rescues Bea’s family dog Wordsworth from a swollen river, ends up looking like not unlike Pride and Prejudice’s unforgettable Mr Darcy, and asks her for a date.

But it’s not all plain sailing as Bea faces the tribulations and triumphs of running her own small business and must use her ingenuity to devise new strategies, like a book club and speed dating, to promote both the book wagon and the joys to be found in reading. And if that wasn’t enough, it seems two very different men are vying for her affections...

Romance fans – and book lovers – will be in reading heaven when they climb the steps of Bea’s converted horsebox and share another life-affirming visit to the rolling hills of Blossom Heath where dreams come true, friendships flourish, and true love always manages to have the final word. Life changes and new beginnings lie at the heart of Haworth’s enchanting story which shines a light on the power of books to bring together communities, inspire a lifelong love of reading in children, and open up a big, wide world of wonder, discovery and escape at the turn of a page. And this couldn’t be a book about books without the inclusion of some enchanting literary allusions and parallels, not least the author’s favourite Austen ‘sensibilities.’

With the warm and welcoming residents of Blossom Heath adding extra autumnal colour to Bea’s non-stop book wagon, and an entertaining two-horse race to steal the heart of our adventurous heroine, the eventual winner might not be a cert but a happy ending is always ensured!
(Simon & Schuster, paperback, £9.99)

Walking the Dales Way

Ilkley to Bowness-on-Windermere through the Yorkshire Dales
Terry Marsh

IF you’re looking for autumn walks that offer stunning rural landscapes and take in two of the country’s national parks, and all without demanding an enormous amount of effort, a handy guide to the scenic Dales Way could be just what you need.

Walking the Dales Way, which covers the area from Ilkley to Bowness through the Yorkshire Dales, is a brilliant guide from Cicerone Press, an enthusiastic publisher based in Kendal which specialises in outdoor activities guidebooks and has a range of nearly 400 books for walking, trekking, climbing, mountaineering and cycling, covering the UK, Europe and other regions of the world.

And like the other books in their super pocket-sized guide series, Walking the Dales Way – written by Lancashire-born outdoors and travel author and photographer Dr Terry Marsh (pictured below) – comes with a separate map booklet of 1:25,000 scale Ordnance Survey maps which is contained neatly inside the back of the book and shows the full route.

Presented in six stages of 7-19 miles, with alternative itineraries suggested, the picturesque 79-mile route is recognised as one of the gentlest long-distance walks in Britain. Passing through Wharfedale, Dentdale and the eastern fringe of the Lake District, the walk is scenically at its best in spring and autumn (April-June and September-October) but is an all-year round route for suitably equipped walkers.

Centres are Ilkley, Grassington, Hawes, Sedbergh and Bowness, and clear step-by-step route descriptions link together with the map booklet at each stage along the way. The unspoilt route passes through Burnsall, Buckden, Cowgill, Bolton Abbey, Dent and Staveley, and walkers are rarely away from features of architectural, social, ecological or historic interest like churches, bridges, manor houses, ancient stone circles and Roman roads.

The route is also ideal for anyone wanting to attempt multi-day walking for the first time with no significant physical difficulties beyond the basic need to walk a certain distance each day. The scenery is outstanding throughout, and a string of communities line the route without detracting from the sense of freedom.

The separate booklet of 1:25,000 Ordnance Survey maps provides all the mapping you need to walk the trail, in a convenient pocket-sized format. And to make the walks even easier, the route description in the guidebook links together with the map booklet at each stage along the way with the compact format eliminating the need to carry several maps.

With rich animal and plant life to enjoy along the way, fascinating insights to the area’s history and culture, and a trek planner which highlights information about accommodation, facilities and public transport, it’s time round up the family, grab your handy guide, and step this way!
(Cicerone Press, paperback, £16.95)