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Louise Candlish – The Other Passenger | Review

Title: The Other Passenger

Author: Louise Candlish

Type: Fiction

Page Count: 411

Rating: 4/5

I was sent a signed copy of this book for free as part of a bookish subscription box that reached out to me, but I don’t think that will influence my review. Still, I guess that’s a disclaimer for you.

The theme of the box that I received was all about the commute and this was pretty much the perfect book for it because it was mostly set on the commuter boats that people take to get into the city. As for the genre, it’s basically as close to generic contemporary thriller as you can get, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

We have a lot of the classics tropes here, from an unreliable narrator to tons of twists and turns, complex interpersonal relationships and of course that little technique of jumping backwards and forwards through time to advance what’s happening in the present by bringing up something that happened in the past and which changes the way we look at things.

Other than that, I don’t really want to say too much about the plot, purely because as with most of these, half of the point is being taken by surprise. And I will say that while there were one or two things that I called pretty early on, there were also a couple of twists here and there that I didn’t spot.

It probably also helped that I received quite a nice edition of this, a hardback with the author’s signature in it, and so it was quite an aesthetically pleasing read, too. I can’t say that I’m the biggest fan of thrillers in general, as I tend to prefer either cosy mysteries, private detectives or gritty police procedural novels, but it certainly did the job and was a pleasant enough read, keeping me going until the end to find out the truth about what happened.

And that brings us on to the question of whether I’d recommend it or not, and that really depends upon the type of reader that you are. If you’re really into modern thrillers and you loved Gone Girl and Girl on the Train, you’re probably going to like this one. There are a ton of twists, more than I’ve seen in a novel of this size in quite a long time, and the characters are just warped enough to keep them interesting.

Learn more about The Other Passenger.

Lucy Hawking and Stephen Hawking – George’s Secret Key to the Universe | Review

Title: George’s Secret Key to the Universe

Author: Lucy Hawking and Stephen Hawking

Type: Fiction/Non-Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 316

Rating: 4*/5

Lucy Hawking and Stephen Hawking – George’s Secret Key to the Universe

This book was okay but not great. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it did defy my expectations in one key way and so that alone was enough for me to give it a 4/5. The thing that really stood out to me was the fact that it mixed flat-out fiction with a blend of science that should bring physics to life to little kids.

In fact, you could almost split the book into two separate releases, but they do work well when combined together. The first of those is the non-fiction stuff, including the descriptions of each of the planets in the solar system and some information on their orbits, gravity and other attributes. The good thing about this is that it also includes some high-quality photography that helps to blow your mind with the sheer size and scale of space.

The second aspect of this book is the fictional part, which follows the story of a boy called George who makes friends with someone whose father owns a supercomputer called Cosmos. The cool thing about Cosmos is that it can take George and the gang anywhere they want to in space, a bit like a cross between a computer and the Tardis. But there are people who want to take advantage of it, and George finds this out to his cost.

Overall, there’s nothing necessarily revolutionary about this book, but it is decent enough – and it’s sure to put a small on your face, especially if you have kids who are into science. The illustrations are nicely done, too. They don’t feel like an afterthought, but rather like a vital part of the book. I’m glad that it’s a part of my collection.