Pacy and absorbing
Given very few people own up to reading a Jeffrey Archer novel, it may come as a surprise to learn the not-so-good lord has sold more than 250 million books during the past 35 years.
With a private life as colourful as some of his well-turned characters, the British peer pocketed an 18 million ($NZ35 million) advance for his latest literary challenge The Clifton Chronicles, a five-book epic covering 100 years of the Clifton and Barrington families, from 1920.
The first book, Only Time Will Tell, published in 2011, set the scene. At the centre, there's gifted young choirboy Harry Clifton and his widowed mum from the poor streets of Bristol, and the wealthy ship-owning Barrington family.
Put aside your prejudices, because Archer knows how to spin a good yarn, linking and intertwining the ups and downs, twist and turns, loves and hates of the two families.
The Sins of the Father, released this year, continues the storyline from 1940, broadening out into the United States and the battlefields of Europe. This time there are assumed identities, conniving cons, tragedy and love, and not surprisingly, questions raised in the British Parliament.
Get these two out of the way and you'll be ready for Best Kept Secret, due out next year.
- Peter Donaldson
Mahy books updated
In celebration of the life of the late Margaret Mahy, HarperCollins has released updated editions of two books.
Margaret Mahy: A Writer's Life, by Tessa Duder, contains new photographs and has a 5000-word epilogue.
The Word Witch, by Margaret Mahy, with illustrations by David Elliot, edited by Tessa Duder, was originally published in 2009. This edition contains a CD with recordings of Mahy reciting 12 of her poems.
- Janice Murphy
Alveridgea and the Legend of the Lonely Dog (Atlantic Books), by Ivan Clarke and Stu Duval, is a beautiful book in all senses.
Set in a world where poor working-class dogs are subjugated by wealthy and aristocratic cats, it tells the tale of a shy and reticent young musician called Lonely, whose songs inspire cat and dog alike to rebel against the cruelty and injustice of the ruling elite.
The story itself is a universal one, redolent with echoes of historical (and contemporary) events and the setting reminiscent of rust-belt America, so it is relatable. But each character has an independent existence, a detailed back-story.
The artist, Ivan Clarke, has been painting and (in conjunction with Richard Taylor) sculpting Lonely Dog and the other inhabitants of Alveridgea for years - the central character is based on his own dachshund, Arthur Snout - and the young hound's adventures originated as bedtime stories for Ivan's children. His illustrations bring the story, eloquently written by his longtime friend Stu Duval, to life; and render the book a genuine treasure, a work of art as much as literature.
- Cushla McKinney
