When summer’s end is nighing
Character, Location, Plot – it only takes these three basic ingredients for a page-turning thriller. Like a mustard, the Characters are not always what they seem: on first tasting you may think you have the measure of them, but have another scoop, and it all seems to have developed an added complexity from those initial perceptions… Are the goodies really the baddies and what about that stinker, might he turn out to be okay after all? The Location can be a little like an olive oil, on the face of it not too important, a medium in which to ‘cook’ the story, but again, a second tasting might reveal something a little peppery, a little spice which wasn’t so obvious first time around, and what about the Plot? Like a good vinaigrette, it should deliver an unexpected punch and then a twist and a turn or two. Like a simple French Dressing, a cracking thriller should be far greater than a sum of its simple ingredients.
Romping through the pages of this week’s Coles Book Club title, ‘First Wife’s Shadow’ by Adele Parks and the mustard and oil are being mixed nicely, just can’t wait for the vinaigrette to be added!
XXXIX (When Summer’s End is Nighing) by A.E. Housman
When summer’s end is nighing
And skies at evening cloud,
I muse on change and fortune
And all the feats I vowed
When I was young and proud.
The weathercock at sunset
Would lose the slanted ray,
And I would climb the beacon
That looked to Wales away
And saw the last of day.
From hill and cloud and heaven
The hues of evening died;
Night welled through lane and hollow
And hushed the countryside,
But I had youth and pride.
And I with earth and nightfall
In converse high would stand,
Late, till the west was ashen
And darkness hard at hand,
And the eye lost the land.
The year might age, and cloudy
The lessening day might close,
But air of other summers
Breathed from beyond the snows,
And I had hope of those.
They came and were and are not
And come no more anew;
And all the years and seasons
That ever can ensue
Must now be worse and few.
So here’s an end of roaming
On eves when autumn nighs:
The ear too fondly listens
For summer’s parting sighs,
And then the heart replies.
As Autumn rolls in and the bookshelves grow fit to burst, those books that we think are sure to entertain for hours are offered at a Coles Special Price. This week, we have the new Richard Osman crime novel, We Solve Murders, the beginning of a dynamic new series with a crime-fighting duo. Steve is happy with the routine of retirement, but his security officer daughter Amy recruits his help when a dead body and bag of money show up on a private island. After the quirkiness of The Thursday Murder Club, this is bound to be a thrilling new series, and we’re offering it at £11 – run, don’t walk! And in non-fiction, Ottolenghi Comfort brightens up those rich, warming meals in the chef’s signature Middle Eastern style. Usually £30, we’re offering this at £20, because the joy of a delicious dish is worth sharing!
Elsewhere in fiction, The Blanket Cats is a heart-warming Japanese tale about mysterious cats who help people get through their troubles. The catch? The cats only have three days to help; it may not be long enough to change your life, but it might just change how you see it. What I Know About You by Eric Chacour is set in 1980’s Egypt and follows the life of a married, well-respected doctor, Tarek. However, when he opens a clinic in a run-down area of Cairo and meets free-spirited Ali, this chance encounter derails everything Tarek thought he knew about himself. Will Self trawls through his mother’s interior life in Elaine, using her diaries to construct a story of the oppressive nature of being a woman in 1950’s America. For the fantasy lovers, Mama Day by Gloria Naylor weaves together bravery, magic, and inheritance. The inhabitants of a remote island respect their ancestors who arrived after being freed from slavery by Sapphira Wade; now, Mama Day is said to have inherited Sapphira’s healing powers, and she must use them to save her island from its darker powers.
There’s plenty to get the cogs whirring in non-fiction, including: the scandalous Atlas of Art Crime, a book that dives into almost 100 thefts, vandalisms, and forgeries across the world; Guy Shrubsole’s The Lie of the Land, which exposes the damage done to our land by a minority and inspires a future of activism and caretaking; and Supremacy by journalist Parmy Olson, the behind-the-scenes story of two AI companies and their struggles to use their tech for good. Finally, an annual favourite in the shop, Lia Leendertz’s Almanac 2025 equips you with the best knowledge to appreciate each month of the year.
For children 8+, Adam Kay’s hilarious Dexter Procter the 10-Year-Old Doctor sees genius Dexter trying to fit in, as well as attempts to save his job and the teachers at his old school. Lastly, the meteorological wonder of Cloudspotting for Beginners leapt out at me this week with its vintage-style pencil illustrations and promise of nebulous secrets; we learn their fancy Latin names, marvel at the ways they play with sunlight, and even visit them on other planets.
As always, if there’s something you need help with, or a book you need ordering, please call or email us!
From Sophie
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