Christmas 2016: Gift Guide: Books

By Susan Hill

Profile Books | 192 pages

From the foggy streets of Victorian London to the eerie perfection of 1950s suburbia, the everyday is invaded by the evil otherworldly in this unforgettable collection of new ghost stories from the author of The Woman in Black.

In the title story, on a murky evening in a warmly lit club off St James, a bishop listens closely as a paranormal detective recounts his most memorable case, one whose horrifying denouement took place in that very building.

In ‘The Front Room’, a devoutly Christian mother tries to protect her children from the evil influence of their grandmother, both when she is alive and when she is dead.

A lonely boy finds a friend in ‘Boy Number 21’, but years later he is forced to question the nature of that friendship, and to ask whether ghosts can perish in fires.

This is Susan Hill at her best, telling characteristically flesh-creeping and startling tales of thwarted ambition, terrifying revenge and supernatural stirrings that will leave readers wide-awake long into the night.

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Mysteries & Thrills:

THE ESSEX SERPENT

By Sarah Perry

Serpent’s Tail | 432 pages

London 1893. When Cora Seaborne’s husband dies, she steps into her new life as a widow with as much relief as sadness: her marriage was not a happy one, and she never suited the role of society wife. Accompanied by her son Francis – a curious, obsessive boy – she leaves town for Essex, where she hopes fresh air and open space will provide the refuge they need.

When they take lodgings in Colchester, rumours reach them from further up the estuary that the mythical Essex Serpent, once said to roam the marshes claiming human lives, has returned to the coastal parish of Aldwinter. Cora, a keen amateur naturalist with no patience for religion or superstition, is immediately enthralled, convinced that what the local people think is a magical beast may be a previously undiscovered species. As she sets out on its trail, she is introduced to William Ransome, Aldwinter’s vicar.

Like Cora, Will is deeply suspicious of the rumours, but he thinks they are founded on moral panic, a flight from real faith. As he tries to calm his parishioners, he and Cora strike up an intense relationship, and although they agree on absolutely nothing, they find themselves inexorably drawn together and torn apart, eventually changing each other’s lives in ways entirely unexpected.

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THE SECRETS OF GASLIGHT LANE (The Gower Street Detective Series)

By M.R.C. Kasasian

Head of Zeus | 400 pages

London, 1883: All is quiet at 125 Gower Street. Sidney Grice is swotting up on the anatomical structure of human hair whilst his ward, March Middleton, sneaks upstairs for her eighth secret cigarette of the day. The household is, perhaps, too quiet.

So, when a beautiful young woman turns up at the door, imploring London’s foremost personal detective to solve the mystery of her father’s murder, Grice can barely disguise his glee.

Mr Nathan Garstang was found slaughtered in his bed, but there is no trace of a weapon or intruder. A classic locked-room case. But what piques Grice’s interest is the crime’s link to one of London’s most notorious unsolved murders…

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THE MISTLETOE MURDER (And Other Stories)

By P. D. James

Faber & Faber | 144 pages

Bringing together four of the very best of James’ specially commissioned short Christmas stories (originally published in newspapers and magazines), this collection makes for perfect reading now the night’s have begun to draw in.

Delighting in uncovering dark family secrets lurking just beneath the surface, the stories presented are the perfect introduction to James’s wonderfully atmospheric storytelling, immersing the reader in the mysteries and providing tantalizing puzzles to keep the reader guessing throughout.

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CRIMSON SNOW: WINTER MYSTERIES (British Library Crime Classics)

Edited By Martin Edwards

The British Library Publishing Division | 288 pages

Crimson Snow brings together a dozen vintage crime stories set in winter. Welcome to a world of Father Christmases behaving oddly, a famous fictional detective in a Yuletide drama, mysterious tracks in the snow—-, and some very unpleasant carol singers.

The mysterious events chronicled by a distinguished array of contributors in this volume frequently take place at Christmas.  There’s no denying that the supposed season of goodwill is a time of year that lends itself to detective fiction.

On a cold night, it’s tempting to curl up by the fireside with a good mystery. And more than that, claustrophobic house parties, when people may be cooped up with long-estranged relatives, can provide plenty of motives for murder.

Including forgotten stories by great writers such as Margery Allingham, as well as classic tales by less familiar crime novelists, each story in this selection is introduced by the great expert on classic crime, Martin Edwards.

The resulting volume is an entertaining and atmospheric compendium of wintry delights.

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Adventure Seekers:

THE MARVELLOUS (BUT AUTHENTIC) ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN CORCORAN

By Alfred Assailant | Translated By Sam Miller

Vintage Classics | 272 pages

Introducing the Marvellous Captain Corcoran – he is charming to ladies, courteous to true gentlemen, death to pirates and merciless to the English.

He speaks several languages, can bend an iron bar with his bare hands, and has adventured his way across the seven seas with his faithful friend Louison by his side.

Loyal only to her master, Louison can be a little boisterous, and there’s devil to pay when she misses a meal (she is a tiger, after all).

Corcoran is on the hunt for a lost sacred Hindu text. Once in India, he is soon distracted from his quest by the claims of Prince Holkar, his lotus-eyed daughter, and their daring stand against the English occupying forces.

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Sci-Fi Fanatics:

STAR WARS: CATALYST: A ROGUE ONE NOVEL

By James Luceno

Century | 352 pages

Lauded Star Wars author James Luceno returns to pen an intense tale of ambition and betrayal that sets the stage for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. 

War is tearing the galaxy apart. For years the Republic and the Separatists have battled across the stars, each building more and more deadly technology in an attempt to win the war. As a member of Chancellor Palpatine’s top secret Death Star project, Orson Krennic is determined to develop a superweapon before their enemies can. And an old friend of Krennic’s, the brilliant scientist Galen Erso, could be the key.

Galen’s energy-focused research has captured the attention of both Krennic and his foes, making the scientist a crucial pawn in the galactic conflict. But after Krennic rescues Galen, his wife, Lyra, and their young daughter, Jyn, from Separatist kidnappers, the Erso family is deeply in Krennic’s debt. Krennic then offers Galen an extraordinary opportunity: to continue his scientific studies with every resource put utterly at his disposal. While Galen and Lyra believe that his energy research will be used purely in altruistic ways, Krennic has other plans that will finally make the Death Star a reality. Trapped in their benefactor’s tightening grasp, the Ersos must untangle Krennic’s web of deception to save themselves and the galaxy itself.

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History Buffs:

ALEXANDER HAMILTON

By Ron Chernow

Head of Zeus | 832 pages

The riveting life of Alexander Hamilton, an illegitimate, largely self-taught orphan from the Caribbean who overcame all the odds to become George Washington’s aide-de-camp and the first Treasury Secretary of the United States.

Few figures in American history have been more hotly debated than Alexander Hamilton. In this masterful work, Chernow shows how the political and economic greatness of America today is the result of Hamilton’s willingness to champion ideas that were often wildly disputed during his time.

He charts his titanic feuds with Jefferson, Adams, Madison, Monroe and Burr; his highly public affair with Maria Reynolds; his loving marriage to his loyal wife Eliza; and the famous and mysterious duel with Aaron Burr that led to his death in July 1804.

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Biographies:

BORN TO RUN

By Bruce Springsteen

 Simon & Schuster UK | 528 pages

‘Writing about yourself is a funny business…But in a project like this, the writer has made one promise, to show the reader his mind. In these pages, I’ve tried to do this.’ —Bruce Springsteen, from the pages of Born to Run

  In 2009, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band performed at the Super Bowl’s halftime show. The experience was so exhilarating that Bruce decided to write about it. That’s how this extraordinary autobiography began. Over the past seven years, Bruce Springsteen has privately devoted himself to writing the story of his life, bringing to these pages the same honesty, humour and originality found in his songs.

  He describes growing up Catholic in Freehold, New Jersey, amid the poetry, danger and darkness that fuelled his imagination, leading up to the moment he refers to as ‘The Big Bang’: seeing Elvis Presley’s debut on The Ed Sullivan Show. He vividly recounts his relentless drive to become a musician, his early days as a bar band king in Asbury Park, and the rise of the E Street Band. With disarming candour, he also tells for the first time the story of the personal struggles that inspired his best work, and shows us why the song ‘Born to Run’ reveals more than we previously realized.

  Born to Run will be revelatory for anyone who has ever enjoyed Bruce Springsteen, but this book is much more than a legendary rock star’s memoir. This is a book for workers and dreamers, parents and children, lovers and loners, artists, freaks or anyone who has ever wanted to be baptized in the holy river of rock and roll. Rarely has a performer told his own story with such force and sweep. Like many of his songs (‘Thunder Road’, ‘Badlands’, ‘Darkness on the Edge of Town’, ‘The River’, ‘Born in the U.S.A.’, ‘The Rising’, and ‘The Ghost of Tom Joad’, to name just a few), Bruce Springsteen’s autobiography is written with the lyricism of a singular songwriter and the wisdom of a man who has thought deeply about his experiences.

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TESTIMONY

By Robbie Robertson

William Heinemann | 512 pages

Written over the course of five years, this unique, lyrical account from The Band frontman – and one of the most significant and influential songwriters of his era – Robbie Robertson, is a stirring, powerful and brutally honest tale of memories, regret and rich, music history.

From his early upbringing on the Six Nations Indian Reserve, right through to The Band’s now iconic farewell concert – famously captured in Martin Scorsese’s The Last Waltz – Robertson’s joyous and vivid Testimony openly recalls the numerous wild adventures that have shaped his career, bringing to life the eclectic cast of characters and collaborators met along the way.

It’s elegant, it’s poetic, it’s deeply personal … it’s brilliant!

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Young Readers:

WINNIE-THE-POOH

By A. A. Milne

The Folio Society | 224 pages

‘Once upon a time, a very long time ago now, about last Friday, Winnie-the-Pooh lived in a forest all by himself … ’ In the 1920s, A. A. Milne published a series of stories – first told to his son Christopher Robin – about a bear called Winnie-the-Pooh. Since then, the lovable bear has occupied a special place in the hearts of readers all over the world.

This stunning edition has been lovingly reproduced with full-colour illustrations to celebrate the magic of both A. A. Milne’s stories and the artistry of E. H. Shepard.

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