This month's selection has something for everyone from horror to fl ights of fantasy
The Man in the Picture
by Susan Hill (Profile Books, £9.99)
No other writer does Gothic horror
quite as well as The Woman in
Black author Susan Hill, and this
deceptively simple short tale will
certainly have the hairs on the back
of your neck standing to attention.
A venerable Cambridge don tells
his former pupil an eerie tale as the
pair sit in the don's college rooms,
where a curious picture, of masked
revellers at the Venice carnival,
hangs on the wall. The picture
proves fascinating to any observer
but beware, as it has the power
to trap the unwary in a horrific way.
A real spine-tingler and the perfect
companion for a winter's evening
spent by the fire if you dare!
****
Buy it online
The Forsyte Saga The Man of Property
by John Galsworthy
(Headline Reviews, £4.99)
Despite the huge success of the
1960s TV series based on his books,
Galsworthy has never been as
highly regarded as Dickens or
Trollope. Yet his masterpiece
trilogy covers many timeless topics
and taboos, including passion,
greed and sexual frustration. In this
first book, we are introduced to
Soames Forsyte, the selfish antihero
who's used to getting his own
way. His loveless marriage to cold
beauty Irene brings him little satisfaction,
and her inevitable affair
precipitates revenge from her
frustrated, humiliated husband.
Galsworthy's wit and crisp
characterisations deserve to be
rediscovered by a new audience.
***
Buy it online
The Moment You Were Gone
by Nicci Gerrard
(Penguin, £6.99)
Gaby and Nancy have always been
best friends. Then Gaby fell in love
with Connor, while Nancy began a
relationship with Gaby's brother
Stefan. The four of them became
inseparable until, one day, without
explanation, Nancy left. Twenty
years later, Gaby spots Nancy in
the background of a news report,
and decides to track down her
long-lost friend and find out what
exactly happened. But the answers
do not prove as straightforward
as Gaby would have liked.
A wonderful book, which covers
friendship, long relationships and
our ability to look at ourselves
honestly. Gerrard gets right under
her characters' skins and yours,
too. A very satisfying read.
*****
Read an extract
Buy it online
The World According to Bertie
by Alexander McCall Smith
(Polygon, £14.99)
Brilliantly observed characters
spring from the page in this witty
novel. They range from six-year-old
saxophone prodigy Bertie to his
pushy mother Irene who traumatises
poor Bertie by forcing him to
help to express breast milk for his
new baby brother, Ulysses. Then
there's portrait painter Angus
Lordie and his smelly, gold-toothed
dog Cyril, who is on Death Row after
being accused of a biting spree.
If you're already familiar with
the eccentric inhabitants of
Edinburgh's 44 Scotland
Street, you'll love this fourth
instalment of the series. And
if not, there are still a few
laugh-out-loud moments that
make this book well worth a read.
***
Read an extract
Buy it online
Drop Dead Beautiful
by Jackie Collins
(Simon & Schuster, £17.99)
Sexy Hollywood studio boss-turned
casino owner-turned hotelier Lucky
Santangelo returns in all her tanned,
toned glory for the latest instalment
of her action-packed life.
Not only does she organise the
star-studded opening of her Las
Vegas hotel, but she also deals with
her wayward teenage daughter,
doles out advice to her best pal and
throws a 95th birthday party for her
ex-Mafia father Gino. All this while
keeping her husband endlessly
(and imaginatively) happy in the
bedroom. What a woman!
The pacy storyline, with a
vendetta-crazed psychopath out
to get even, untangles itself in a
splendidly neat resolution. What
better way to spend a winter afternoon
than to lose yourself in this
fabulous world? Like a six-pack of
chocolate eclairs, it's totally over
the top, but utterly delicious.
*****
Buy it online
Copyright © 2007 SHE magazine
