From the Book Elf

Double Room  by Anna Sénès Double Room by Anne  Sénès  published on 19th June 2025 by Orenda Books. My thanks to the author and publisher for sending me a copy to review and  Random Things Tours for inviting me to take part on the tour. Synopsis London, late 1990s. Stan, a young and promising French composer, is invited to arrange the music for a theatrical adaptation of The Picture of Dorian Gray. The play will never be staged, but Stan meets Liv, the love of his life, and their harmonious duo soon becomes a trio with the birth of their beloved daughter, Lisa. Stan’s world is filled with vibrant colour and melodic music, and under his wife and daughter’s gaze, his piano comes to life. ORENDA BOOKS BOOKS Paris, today. After Liv’s fatal accident, Stan returns to France surrounded by darkness, no longer able to compose, and living in the Rabbit Hole, a home left to him by an aunt. He shares his life with Babette, a lifeguard and mother of a boy of Lisa’s age...

The Forty Rules of Love  by Elif Shafak The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak  will be re published by Penguin on 3rd July 2025. My thanks to the author and publisher for sending me a copy to review and to  Random Things Tours for inviting me to take part on the tour. Synopsis Ella Rubinstein has a husband, three teenage children, and a pleasant home. Everything that should make her confident and fulfilled. Yet there is an emptiness at the heart of Ella's life - an emptiness once fi led by love. So when Ella reads a manuscript about the thirteenth-century Sufi poet Rumi and his mentor Shams of Tabriz, and his forty rules of life and love, she is ready to look at her life anew. Compelled to embrace change, she embarks on a journey to meet the mysterious author. It is a quest infused with Sufi mysticism and verse, taking Ella and us into a faraway world where faith and doubt are heartbreakingly explored. The Forty Rules of Love is a mesmerising tale of discovery, ...

The Lady in the Park  by David Reynolds The Lady in the Park by David Reynolds was published on 5th June 2025 by Muswell Press. My thanks to the author and the publisher for sending me a copy to review and to Random Things Tours for inviting me onto the tour. Synopsis When a woman is found unconscious on a ping-pong table in Warwick Gardens in Peckham, South East London, it looks like a case of mistaken identity. Why would anyone want to injure this popular local mum of six? But Jim Domino, ex-CID detective turned private eye, keeps asking questions. As the crime escalates to murder, Domino finds himself collaborating with his old colleagues in the Met. And, assisted by sharp observations from his six-year-old grandson, Danny, he finds that important clues can come from unexpected sources. The first in an exciting new crime fiction series, The Lady in the Park weaves a rich tapestry of characters together with a twisty immersive plot that will leave readers craving for more...

The Ancient Secret  by Simon Wright The Ancient Secret was published on 5th June 2025. My thanks to Simon for sending me a copy to review,  and to  Random Things Tours for inviting me to take part on the tour. Synopsis A BURIED LEGEND. A CURE FOR THE AGES. THE MOMENT OF TRUTH. 1980 Petra: A dangerous man steals a pair of precious relics. Determined to exploit their legendary power, his theft sets in motion devastating events. 2015 London: Professor Daniel Fairlight is fighting for his life. Now he must confront his own demons before he can defeat his deadliest adversary yet. 1630 Alexandria: Emir still bears the burden and blessing of his ring, one that he knows his enemies still hunt him for. His final battle may come at a price he cannot bear to pay. Both Daniel and Emir face impossible sacrifices. Will they prove themselves worthy of the legend’s legacy, or will they die defending the rings and their secrets . . .? Join Daniel and Emir on their final ...