Review: The Man She Married by Alison Stockham (2025)

Blurb

The BRAND NEW thriller from the top ten bestselling author of The Cuckoo Sister

How can you fight for a life you can’t remember?

One moment I was just living my life, finding my way in the world. The next I woke up in a hospital bed with years of my life missing.

The man by my side – Rob, my husband – looks familiar, but I can’t remember marrying him. I can’t remember our life together. Most haunting of all: I can’t remember anything about the last five years.

Rob keeps telling me that everything will be fine, that my memories will return, but something feels… wrong. Why does our flat feel so unfamiliar? Why does he flinch when I ask questions? Why are none of my friends and family in touch?

The more I try to piece my life back together, the more I question everything – even myself. Who is Rob, really? And can I trust him? More importantly, can I trust myself?

A compulsive and obsessive read that will have you saying ‘just one more chapter!’ Perfect for fans of Before I Go To Sleep and Alice Feeney

Review

Huge thanks to the author and the Squadpod for my copy of the book, which I received in exchange for an honest review.

I’m a big fan of Alison Stockham’s writing – I loved her bestselling debut novel The Cuckoo Sister and last year’s The New Girl. As I’ve said before, her books aren’t straightforward thrillers; they’re incredibly psychologically complex, and they always offer a fresh take on what you might expect from the blurb. I’m pleased to report that The Man She Married is no exception – in fact, I think it’s her best book yet.

It is so hard to write amnesiac characters well – we rely so much on characters’ memories and backstories to build them up as developed personalities with the weight of history behind them – which makes what the author manages with Beth in this novel all the more impressive. It’s impossible not to sympathise with the position she finds herself in, waking up after a car crash with no memory of the last five years, and a man looming over her who claims to be her husband. The grief of loss of memory is so specific and difficult to express, but it’s done brilliantly here, as is the vulnerable position Beth finds herself in – alone in the world except for this one man who feels like a stranger to her.

As the story progresses, the twists and turns become more and more delicious, with the narrative ramping up the tension in a way that feels almost cinematic. There’s a visual quality to the writing that’s stronger here than in her previous books – this is crying out for a screen adaptation! The characters who come into the story as Beth tries to work out what on earth is going on are never straightforward, and we share her doubts as to where the truth really lies. It’s a tense, gripping, sometimes outright terrifying read, and one of the biggest reveals (which of course I won’t mention here!) is hinted at so subtly that it really does feel like a gut punch when it occurs.

No spoilers, but the finale of this book is absolutely brilliant, such a brave and dramatic ending. I loved it, and I think it shows what a skilled writer Alison Stockham is that she pulls it off with such aplomb. I’m in awe of the way it implicates the reader – I won’t go into detail, but you’ll see – you finish this book so thoroughly caught up in the dilemmas faced by the characters that it’s almost as if you’ve lived through it with them, which is the sign of a writer at the height of her powers! If you’re a thriller fan and you haven’t yet got onto this author’s books, I urge you to do so, and this latest offering is one hell of a place to start.

The Man She Married by Alison Stockham is published by Boldwood Books and is available to purchase here.

Review: The Alternatives by Caoilinn Hughes (2024)

Blurb

OLWEN. NELL. MAEVE. RHONA. MEET THE FLATTERY SISTERS.

Olwen, Nell, Maeve and Rhona were plunged prematurely into adulthood when their parents died in a tragic twist of fate. Now in their thirties, the sisters barely speak, each too busy carving out impressive careers. But when Olwen – reluctant matriarch, lodestar and, of late, zealous consumer of gin – abruptly disappears, her sisters are cast back together to find her, whether she likes it or not.

When they eventually track Olwen down, she is holed up in a remote bungalow in rural Ireland, with little electricity and a patchy connection to the outside world. Together for the first time in years, the sisters vie to confront old wounds and diagnose new ills – most urgently, Olwen’s.

Fiercely witty and unexpectedly hopeful, The Alternatives is an unforgettable portrait of a family perched on a precipice, told by one of Ireland’s most gifted storytellers.

Review

Many thanks to the publisher and the Squadpod for my copy, which I received in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed the opening chapters of this book, as we’re introduced to each of the Flattery sisters in the context of their lives. There’s an immediate sense that we’re in the hands of a consummate storyteller, weaving together the sisters’ past and present lives with a skill that seems effortless. Each of the four women is compelling, fascinating, complex – and I would have read a whole novel in their alternating point of views and been a very satisfied reader.

But Hughes does something even more clever – as the stories converge and the sisters come together to ‘rescue’ Olwen from her self-imposed exile, we flick into script format, with brief descriptive lines like stage directions and dialogue so sharp you can hear it. At first, I found this slightly jarring, but when I started to relax into it and get used to the style, I could see how it allows the narration to swirl in and out of the different characters’ consciousnesses in an incredibly effective way (reminding me a little of Damon Galgut’s The Promise, which drifts through different points of view without any of the dreaded ‘head-hopping’ awkwardness). It is a bold technique that fits very well with the intellectually challenging material presented in the novel – as well as moving from character to character, the story grapples with weighty topics of philosophy, history, politics: this is a book that wears its academic credentials as proudly as the four fiercely intelligent Flattery women.

It is not a quick read, and I found it a book I needed to be in the right mood for – it demands engagement, thought, concentration – but the rewards for careful consideration are a rich and varied flow of ideas that provoke new ways of looking at things. And there is humour, it isn’t all doom and seriousness – there are lines and scenes of wonderful comic delight, as well as emotional moments that strike to the core of what it means to be ‘family.’ It reminded me in some ways of Anne Enright’s The Green Road, another brilliant novel that hinges on a family reunion. The Alternatives was my first book by Caoilinn Hughes, but I will definitely be seeking out more of her work.

The Alternatives by Caoilinn Hughes is published by OneWorld and is out in paperback now.

Review: The Boy from the Sea by Garrett Carr (2025)

Blurb

1973. In a close-knit community on Ireland’s west coast, a baby is found abandoned on the beach. Named Brendan by Ambrose Bonnar, the fisherman who adopts him, the baby captivates the town and the boy he grows to be will captivate them still – no one can quite fathom Brendan Bonnar.

For Christine, Ambrose’s wife, Brendan brings both love and worry. For Declan, their son, his new brother’s arrival is the start of a life-long rivalry. And though Ambrose brings Brendan into his home out of love, it is a decision that will fracture his family and force this man – more comfortable at sea than on land – to try to understand himself and those he cares for.

Told over two decades, Garrett Carr’s The Boy from the Sea is a novel about a restless boy trying to find his place in the world and a family fighting to hold itself together. It is a story of ordinary lives made extraordinary, a drama about a community who can’t help but look to the boy from the sea for answers as they face the storm of a rapidly changing world.

Review

Many thanks to Camilla Elworthy for sending me a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved so many things about this gorgeous novel, but I think what struck me the most was the way the narration zooms in and out of a kind of communal point of view. Right from the opening lines, the reader is presented to the ‘we’ of the town, in a tone that reminded me of Cannery Row by Steinbeck or Our Town by Thornton Wilder: “We were a hardy people, raised facing the Atlantic. A few thousand men, women and children clinging to the coast to stay dry. Our town wasn’t just a town, it was a logic and a fate.” The sense of place is so strong in this book, the Donegal Bay setting coming to life on every page, and interwoven with that is the idea of community, of a group of people utterly bound together by the town they live in. It’s nostalgic and old-fashioned, but it is also powerful and all-encompassing, and as the story unfurls and the years pass, there’s a sense of this tale being more than one specific story – it has a folkloric, emblematic quality that stretches beyond the town and reaches all of us.

The baby who ‘washes up’ on the shores and is adopted by the Bonner family turns into a child observed by the whole community, and eventually a young man who must find his own path in the world. Brendan and his older brother Declan are, for me, the heart of this book, and I loved that this isn’t a saccharine tale of brotherly bonding: the rivalry between them, particularly on Declan’s side, is fierce and often ugly, and yet we can see where his resentment comes from, in the well-meaning but fumbled attempts of his parents to bring up the boys together, and the almost reverent awe the town has for Brendan. There is so much emotion packed into these pages, and so much left unsaid, with actions speaking louder than words on many occasions. The characters are flawed and complex, but the bonds between them run deep – I particularly enjoyed the relationship between Christine, the boys’ mother, and her sister, Phyllis. Ambrose Bonner is a beautifully drawn character, too – a man suspicious of modernity and progress, who nevertheless is forced to acknowledge that the world is changing.

It is a real joy to read a book so full of detail and specifics that also feels larger than the sum of its parts, a universal story that will stand the test of time. It reminded me of writers like Claire Keegan, who can say so much in so few words, but there’s also a freshness here, an originality and a voice that is all Garrett Carr’s own. I was mesmerised by this novel, and I can’t wait to read more by this incredibly talented author.

The Boy from the Sea by Garrett Carr is published by Picador and is available to purchase here.

Review: Life Hacks For a Little Alien by Alice Franklin (2025)

Blurb

Perfect for fans of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine and Remarkably Bright Creatures, this is a charming, witty and moving novel about what it feels like to grow up neurodivergent.

‘Climb up here, Little Alien. Sit next to me. I will tell you about life on this planet. I will tell you how it goes’

From her first words to her first day at school, Little Alien can’t help but get things wrong. She doesn’t understand the world the way others seem to, and the world doesn’t seem to understand her either. Her anxious mum and meticulous dad, while well-intentioned, are of little help.

But when Little Alien sees a documentary about the Voynich Manuscript – a mediaeval codex written in an unknown language and script – she begins to suspect that there are other people who feel just like her. Convinced that translating this manuscript will offer the answers she needs, she sets out on a journey that will show her a delicious taste of freedom.

So begins this charming, witty, and profoundly moving novel about the power of language, the wonder of libraries – and how to find a path that fits, when you yourself do not.

Review

Many thanks to the publisher and to the Squadpod for my copy, which I received in exchange for an honest review.

I was really excited to read this novel, which I could tell from its brilliant title was going to be something completely different, and I wasn’t disappointed. This is a lovely, unique, gentle book that is full of warmth and humour and new ways of looking at the world.

The narration, which is in second person ‘you’ addressing the unnamed ‘Little Alien’ of our story, takes a little getting used to, but I found it added so much to the reading experience. At times I took it as the older version of the protagonist speaking to her younger self, although it’s open to interpretation, and it allows for a really special kind of insider/outsider viewpoint: we can both identify with Little Alien and also step back and see her struggle to make sense of a world that isn’t designed for neurodivergence.

There is a lot here that will resonate with neurodivergent individuals, or those close to them, including, unfortunately, systemic failures and a lack of support. But there’s also joy to be had in sharing the way Little Alien views things, in her discovery of the wonders of libraries, and her journey of fascination with the mysterious Voynich Manuscript. The text itself has various fun features such as footnotes and Further Reading sections, which adds to the quirkiness of the book and the off-beat humour. Her friendship with Bobby, and later, her connection with the Linguist, provide moments of light and hope, and on the whole I would say that this is an optimistic book.

I really enjoyed spending time seeing the world from Little Alien’s perspective, and I think there is a lot here to enjoy. It feels fresh and original, an interlude of poignant and skilful writing to take the reader away and provide them with plenty of food for thought. I look forward to seeing what comes next from Alice Franklin after this heart-warming debut novel.

Life Hacks For a Little Alien by Alice Franklin is published by Riverrun and is available to purchase here.