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Reader comment
This is a cracker of a book, with all of the intrigue and drama you'd expect from a good crime novel. The characters are punchy, the writing is fast paced and the end is totally unexpected.

Parallels
The Rainmaker by John Grisham
Ashes To Ashes by Tami Hoag

Reader comment
A collection of clever, edgy 'horror' stories, mostly set in contemporary London. The horror is generally understated and most of the discomfort comes from the apparent ordinariness of the situations in which these extraordinary events occur. There is a subtle underlying vein of knowing, dark humour, which seems to make for an even more unsettling read. However, it was in the sense of anticipation that these stories really got me - there are some great edge-of-the-seat moments.

Parallels
Walking on Glass by Iain Banks
London Bone by Michael Moorcock
Tales of the Unexpected by Roald Dahl

Reader comment
These fifteen stories by different authors make the ideal travelling companion. The short story format may be easily digested but the gritty, contemporary writing provides satisfying and appetising sustenance for the tedious lulls in every journey.

Parallels
Naked City by Anthony Cropper & Ian Daley
Route Compendium by Ian Daley & Emily Penn

Reader comment
A great first thriller set in modern Kenya with appealing heroes, lots of action, a gripping plot and a real surprise ending. I hope this is the first of many outings for Daniel Jouma and Jake Moore.

Parallels
Mr Clarinet by Nick Stone
The Bethlehem Murders by Matt Rees
The Constant Gardener by John Le Carre

Reader comment
An epic masterpiece that captures the humour, tragedy and brutality of the inhabitants of a village caught up in the Turkish and Greek wars. I enjoyed the humorous observations, anecdotes and profound metaphors, in the fictional narrative of the Muslims and Christians. These individual chapters outline the harmonious religious and cultural tolerances of a number of colourful local villagers,and later their subsequent distrust, sufferings and loss. However I did find that the interwoven chapters on Mustafa Kemel (founder of modern Turkey) challenging as they read more like a biographical non-fiction account of the Fall of the Ottoman Empire. On the whole the novel is well worth the read, if you have the time to give to its 640 pages.

Parallels
War and Peace by Tolstoy
Any title by Dickens
Under MilkWood by Dylan Thomas

Reader comment
Written in a very low key style, it rapidly captures your attention. It shows great insight into life in rural America,and into the minds of the two boys and two old men. Lovely!

Parallels
To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee
The Horse Whisperer by Nicholas Evans

Reader comment
This begins excellently - intriguingly plotted and well written . Then it suddenly becomes personal. I fought alongside Bibi every step of the way. I wanted revenge more than she did - and just couldn't put the book down.

Parallels
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas
The Aleutian trilogy by Gwyneth Jones
Siberia by Ann Halam

Reader comment
Unusual, stimulating, and in some ways dark and disturbing, these short stories make you laugh and shudder at one and the same time.

Parallels
Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
Any book by Ben Elton

Reader comment
A book that owes much to the Canterbury Tales, though this is a voyage at sea rather than on land. The crew, a motley collection of unfortunate fools, tells tales in the hope that the ship will not founder. In places it's as if the author has attempted to translate the nightmares of Heironymous Bosch into written imagery. In the end, fascinating and original despite all that it owes to the early masters of prose and painting .

Parallels
The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
The Ship of Fools - painting in Musee de Louvre by Heironymous Bosch

Reader comment
Everything is changing in Cardiff. Former singer turned property developer Leslie St Clair has big plans to revitalise the waterfront and make a lot of money. Pimp Bobby Ranger now advertises her girls on the Internet and journalist Pete Duke finds himself single after seventeen years of marriage. A very Welsh page-turner with some colourful dialogue and vivid low-life characters.

Parallels
The Cutting Room by Louise Welsh
Twin Town - the film