In this week’s Mirror Book Club, we review a witty, insightful and brilliant story as a convicted serial killer promises to reveal more bodies buried on Norfolk’s shores.
The corrosive nature of celebrity is examined in beautiful, witty prose.
A showbusiness love triangle is set in 1959 Brighton and a man is found stabbed to death on a beach in North Devon in an evocative and gripping read.
The Lantern Men, by Elly Griffiths
Quercus, £18.99
Forensic archaeologist Dr Ruth Galloway has an uncanny knack of digging up hidden bodies – and trouble for herself. In The Lantern Men, convicted serial killer Ivor March summons Dr Galloway to his prison confines with the promise of revealing more bodies buried on Norfolk’s shores.
She soon finds herself unearthing not only murder victims’ bones but also the sinister secrets of the Lantern Men who shine eerie lights across the marshes to lure unwary travellers to their deaths.
But then a fresh corpse is discovered, bearing all the hallmarks of March’s victims. How could he have struck while behind bars?
Once again, Elly Griffiths delivers witty, insightful and brilliant storytelling as the redoubtable Dr Galloway burrows away to expose the Lantern Men’s dark secrets.
BY STUART WINTER
Actress, by Anne Enright
Jonathan Cape, £16.99
Glamorous actress Katherine O’Dell takes centre stage in the glorious seventh novel from Booker Prize-winner Anne Enright, and we follow her career trajectory from a youthful and glittering Hollywood heyday to depression and madness in Dublin.
Her daughter Norah observes from the sidelines and describes her complicated relationship with her mother.
In beautiful, witty prose, Actress examines the corrosive nature of celebrity. An absorbing read.
BY EITHNE FARRY
Here We Are, by Graham Swift
Scribner, £14.99
It’s 1959 and the death of the variety show has been postponed thanks to The Great Pablo, a magician whose illusions have the public flocking to the theatre on Brighton pier – as does his gorgeous assistant Eve.
Pablo proposes to Eve and she says yes. But she is not impervious to the charms of their show’s MC, Jack. Which man will she choose?
Swift conjures a magical but sad atmosphere in this tale of a showbusiness love triangle.
BY JAKE KERRIDGE
The Long Call, by Ann Cleeves
Pan, £8.99
DI Matthew Venn investigates after a man is found stabbed to death on a beach in North Devon.
Then a young girl with Down’s Syndrome, who goes to a day centre run by his husband Jonathan, goes missing.
Venn faces a desperate race to find her while trying to uncover a link to the murder, which will reveal dark secrets lurking in the shadows of the seemingly idyllic beach destination.
Evocative and gripping – an absolute triumph.
BY JON COATES
Join the Mirror Book Club!
Each month we choose a paperback we think you’ll enjoy, either fiction or non-fiction. When you’ve read it, we’d love you to join our Facebook group and tell us what you thought, good or bad.
Current Mirror Book Club read:
A Keeper, by Graham Norton
