Pile by the Bed reviews and recommends Wolves of Winter, the second book in Dan Jones’ historical series set on the battlefields of Northern France in the opening years of the hundred years war
Pile by the Bed reviews Beyond the Door of No Return by David Diop, a novel that explores the impacts of colonialism and the Senegalese slave trade in the 18th Century through the eyes of a real life French botanist.
Pile by the Bed reviews Calico by Lee Goldberg, an engaging speculative fiction novel that deftly incorporates Western and crime fiction tropes.
Pile by the Bed reviews The Exchange by John Grisham, a sequel to his breakout hit The Firm. Set fifteen years later, this is a sequel in name only and instead is a not particularly thrilling kidnap thriller with the same protagonist.
Pile by the Bed reviews and recommends Ritual of Fire, the third book in DV Bishop’s engaging historical crime series set in Renaissance Florence.
Pile by the Bed reviews Prom Mom by Laura Lippman, a novel set during Covid in Baltimore but which explores the long term aftermath of a high school tragedy.
Pile by the bed reviews The Circumference of the World by Lavie Tidhar a mind-bending and loving exploration of the goldern age of science fiction.
Pile by the Bed reviews The Secret Hours by Mick Herron a top shelf stand alone espionage novel set in Herron’s Slough House continuity.
Pile by the Bed reviews Ordinary Gods and Monsters by Chris Womersley a kids-on-bikes coming-of-age crime story set in 1980s Melbourne suburbia.
Pile by the Bed reviews and recommends Learned by Heart by Emma Donoghue, a book that explores the teenage years of Victorian-era personality Ann Lister through the eyes of her roommate and first lover – Elixa Raine.
Pile by the Bed reviews and recommends He Who Who Drowned the World by Shelley Parker-Chan, the final book in her Radiant Emperor Duology a historical fantasy set in fourteenth century China, Mongolia and Korea.
Pile by the Bed reviews and recommends Cuddy by Benjamin Myers an exploration of the life and legacy of St Cuthbert and the Cathedral built to house his remains in Durham over a period of 1300 years.
Pile by the Bed reviews Airside by Christopher Priest a novel that explores the starnge “null space” of airports through the eyes of a film critic.
Pile by the Bed reviews Abandon by Blake Crouch, a thriller revolving around a hundred year old mystery involving the disappearance of the population of a mining town.
Pile by the Bed reviews For the First Time, Again, the final book in Take Them to the Stars, Sylvain Neuvel’s science fiction series that reimagines the second half of the Twentieth Century and in particular the space race.
Pile by the Bed reviews Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia a horror story based around B-Grade horror films involving cults and magic set in Mexico City in the early 1990s.
Pile by the Bed reviews and recommends The Beasts of Paris by Stef Penney, a compelling historical novel that takes readers to the 1870 seige of Paris during the Franco-Prussian war.
Pile by the Bed reviews The Unearthed by Lenny Bartulin a quiet, contemplative crime novel that explores the Eastern European migration to Tasmania after World War II.
Pile by the Bed reviews The Housekeepers by Alex Hay an engaging heist/caper novel set in the upstairs downstairs world of Edwardian London.
Pile by the Bed reviews and recommends Crook Manifesto, the follow up to Harlem Shuffel and second in Colson Whitehead’s projected trilogy of heist novels set in Harlem between the 1960s and 1980s.
