Humber Boy B is the latest novel from Ruth Dugdall, who previously won the Debut Dagger award for The Woman before Me. This is my first exposure to the author and I found this a deeply frustrating read. The book ...
Read More »Real Monsters by Liam Brown
The premise of Liam Brown’s debut novel Real Monsters is intriguing, tapping into a general worldwide malaise when it comes to misplaced anger, pointless war, and a widespread fear of this ungraspable ‘terrorism’. A tale in two halves, a soldier ...
Read More »To the Edge of Shadows by Joanne Graham
Back in 2012, Joanne Graham won the Luke Bitmead Bursary for her debut novel, the largest bursary for unpublished writers in the UK, run by Legend Press. Lacey’s House received a lot of praise and made its way to the ...
Read More »After Before: If one is found, at least the other survives
The subject matter of After Before is far from a barrel of laughs: genocide and terminal cancer with another harrowing event thrown in for good measure that for spoiler-free reasons I can’t elaborate on here. As the title may suggest, ...
Read More »Bursaries helping writers make their income
Guest post by Lucy Chamberlain, Publicity Director, Legend Press Over the last week there has been a lot of media attention about author incomes, with a recent article in the Bookseller stating that authors earn on average £11,000 a year. This ...
Read More »Charm Offensive by William Thacker
Meet Joe Street ‘…former education secretary. The fallen minister. The lost politician’. Thacker’s narrative, Charm Offensive, charts the somewhat bleak and miserable life of protagonist Joe Street as he attempts salvation from a political (and personal) crisis. Following a scandal ...
Read More »The Woman Before Me: A thriller without any thrills
I was excited to review a debut novel from independent publisher Legend Press when they sent me my very first review copy. Legend Press was set up in 2005 and has since become one of the most successful start-ups in ...
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