Captain’s Dinner by Adam Cohen

Reviewed by Vicky

After twenty days at sea with no food or water, four men must answer the age-old question: should one person die to save the rest? When only three men get back safely to England, another question is asked: where is the line between survival and murder?

A sensational trial in its day, this case has had repercussions right up to the 21st century. Cohen’s gripping account brilliantly brings the tension to life, but his empathetic treatment of what happened in that shipwreck makes this a fitting tribute to all of life’s cabin boys. If you loved The Wager…you absolutely have to read this. 

An Expert Witness by Professor Dame Sue Black

Reviewed by Vicky

This is my first time encountering Professor Lady Sue Black…and gosh – what a woman. She’s instantly the kind of person you want to be sat next to at dinner. A forensic anthropologist by trade, she is a leading expert in her field on a global level and has shown a dedication to justice that few would possess. 

In her third book (not including her endless academic contributions), Black blends memoir and the history of forensic science. It focuses on her time as an expert witness and explores the fallibility of the role.

Sue Black sat in the witness box for decades, but justice isn’t always what she saw. This is her attempt to improve the standard of forensic science in the legal system. It should be compulsory reading for all, let alone jurors. A fascinating account of a remarkable career.

Receipts from the Bookshop by Katie Clapham

Reviewed by Vicky

Step inside Storytellers, Inc. in Lytham St Annes, founded by bookseller and author Katie Clapham and Business Mum (BM). Spending a year in Katie’s company as she opens the bookshop every Friday is an unending treat and gives you a funny and heartwarming peek behind the books till.

More than that, this book gives us a wonderfully-observed insight into the joys of everyday life and highlights the role bookshops play in their local communities. A delightful read, whilst also serving as an important reminder that bookshops need lots of lovely customers! 

The Women Are Not Fine by Hope Reece

Reviewed by Bryony

A fascinating look at a piece of Hungarian history not many of us know about but should. This book tells the story of the deadliest poisoning ring that was led by women. Based at the turn of the 20th century, many of the women of Nagyrev were badly abused by their alcoholic husbands, things only getting worse when they returned from war. The village midwife offered them an escape – arsenic. Soon wives all around this area were taking matters into their own hands. This truly astounding book shines a light on the massive consequences on a society in which women are undervalued, abused and not heard – where the women are not fine.

How Animals Heal Us by Jay Griffiths

Reviewed by Bryony

A beautifully written insight into the relationships we have with animals and the healing quality that comes from them – from how animal sounds soothe our souls to donkeys and horses making great therapists. Griffiths looks at the workings of animal societies and shows that by studying them we can improve our own – making us more ethically-minded, healthier, kinder and fairer. This is a heartwarming read that gave me hope, we just need to be more dog!

Strangers: A Memoir of Memory by Belle Burden

Reviewed by Jen

What an extraordinary memoir of shock, devastation and resilience! One evening, out of the blue, Burden’s husband declares he’s walking away from their marriage and heir children- and simply leaves there and then. Although the author comes from great wealth and high American society, her story shows that betrayal has costs that cross divides. Written with restraint and great honesty, I was completely aghast at the situation Belle found herself in and then in awe at the way she reclaimed her sense of self. A cautionary tale – read it!

The Scientist Who Wasn’t There by Joanne Briggs

Reviewed by Jen

Joanne Briggs details her affecting investigation into the man she personally knew as a distant father and “the man who knew all science”. In reality Professor Michael Briggs was a fraud whose reputation was built on fiction and deception.

I was moved by the intertwining of hard research and emotional memoir by Joanne Briggs in the face of such a complicated and deceptive life. 

Vermeer – A Life Lost and Found by Andrew Graham Dixon

Reviewed by Jen 

(Out in paperback on the 8th of October)

This incredibly detailed book had me completely hooked. Dixon-Graham’s theory behind Vermeer’s paintings is backed up by such fascinating research into Dutch history. I had no idea that Vermeer had produced so few paintings and that most were painted for one home in Delft. Not simply pretty pictures of women at work, Vermeer was a painter of the times, in the company of people striving for equality and openness. I guarantee you will be intrigued and engrossed by this eye opening and fascinating book. 

An Ocean and a Day by Hannah Richell

Reviewed by Rosamund

I don’t often read grief memoirs, and was only persuaded because, ten years on, there was hope built into Hannah Richell’s story, plus (full disclosure), her husband, Matt, was an old friend from my publishing days.

It is quite something to conjure a person so completely as Hannah does Matt.  Never mawkish or sentimental, always brutally, heartbreakingly honest, this really is a remarkable book.  Perhaps it’s no surprise (Hannah is a bestselling novelist), but she truly succeeds in drawing her reader fully into their love story as much as the terrible loss. 

Many readers will think a grief memoir is not for them, but how many of us have not been touched in some way by loss?  This is a book full of human understanding and empathy.

Famesick by Lena Dunham

Reviewed by Rosamund

This was the first book I listened to on our new Bookshop.org audio platform (see the listening station in-store alongside our comfy armchair) – it’s read by the author which adds brilliantly to the whole immersive experience.

Having not watched the era-defining TV series, Girls, I wasn’t a pre-existing fan of Lena Dunham and knew little about her life.  Perhaps that’s partly why I found it so absorbing – a talented, ambitious young woman whose dreams come true almost overnight, is then catapulted into yes, fame, but also the relentless scrutiny that follows, just in the era when social media explodes.

She’s consistently funny, ruthlessly honest, far from perfect, but excellent company.

The Finest Hotel in Kabul by Lyse Doucet

Reviewed by Rosamund

We had the privilege of hosting the wonderful Lyse Doucet last Autumn when the hardback edition of this book was published. If you are looking for a readable, charming, funny insight into that complex and extreme country, Afghanistan, this would be a good place to start.  

Having first stayed at the Inter-Continental in 1988, Doucet cleverly uses the context of a hotel and its people to give her reader an eye-witness view of some of the most tumultuous times in the country that she clearly loves so deeply through the lives of everyday Afghans.

My only criticism of this book is that I’d have liked more of Lyse Doucet herself.