Whilst responding to a call, newbie policewoman Amanda Sachs (who has never worked on a crime scene before) discovers a hand sticking out of some railway tracks! In her efforts to secure the scene, she manages to attract the attention of ex-head of NYPD forensics Lincoln Rhyme, who was forced to retire after being made quadriplegic during work on a scene. By combining Lincoln’s criminologist mind with Amanda’s body, the pair set out to gather as much evidence as possible about the crime. However, even as they work on this new scene, they discover another and, before long, they are tailing a brutal serial killer who manages to stay one-step ahead throughout, all the time luring the duo along behind him.

This tale is masterfully put together; the story of a physically disabled master-criminologist, striving to catch a vicious killer by making use of an inexperienced but dedicated new cop. By the time the end comes draws near, the terror becomes almost overwhelming as the physically helpless Lincoln finds himself a target of the sadistic Bone Collector. Widely considered Jeffery Deaver’s finest work and one of the greatest horror books of all time, The Bone Collector is clearly a masterpiece of the modern genre.

And here it is: the top 25 must have books by Chrismas this year! We cover everything from paperbacks to hardbacks, fantasy stories, biographies, suspense, thrillers, fiction, non-fiction, chicklit: you name it and its here.

	The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown’The Lost Symbol’ is the follow-up to Dan Brown’s bestselling ‘The Da Vinci Code’. Once again Robert Langdon finds himself in mysterious chambers, tunnels, temples and Masonic secrets. (image courtesy of Priceminister)
	The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest by Steig LarssonSalander is plotting her revenge against the man who tried to kill her and against the government institutions that very nearly destroyed her life. After taking a bullet to the head, Salander is under close supervision in intensive care and is set to face trial for three murders. Can she prove her innocence? (image courtesy of Priceminister)
	Grow Your Own Drugs by James WongYou’ve got Boots the chemist growing in your back garden but you just don’t know it yet. This book features fantastically easy recipes for natural remedies and beauty treats. (image courtesy of Priceminister)(image courtesy of Priceminister)
	Assegai by Wilbur Smith1913. Leon Courtney is in British East Africa guiding rich and powerful men from America and Europe on safaris in the Masai tribe territories. One of his clients has a company which builds aircraft and vehicles for the Kaiser’s army. He hadn’t bargained on falling in love with Eva, the Count’s mistress.(image courtesy of Priceminister)
	D-Day by Antony BeevorMaking use of overlooked and new material from over 30 archives in half a dozen countries, ‘D-Day’ is a vivid and well-researched account yet of the battle of Normandy. (image courtesy of Priceminister)
	The Greatest Show on Earth by Rciahrd DawkinIn ‘The Greatest Show on Earth’ Richard Dawkins takes on creationists, including followers of Intelligent Design and all those who question the fact of evolution through natural selection. (image courtesy of Priceminister)
	Audacity of Hope by Barack ObamaSenator Obama has written a book of transforming power. Only by returning to the principles that gave birth to the Constitution, he says, can Americans repair a political process that is broken, and restore to working order a government that has fallen dangerously out of touch with millions of ordinary Americans. (image courtesy of Priceminister)
	Pride And Prejudice And Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith and Jane AustinFeatures the text of Jane Austen’s novel, “Pride and Prejudice” with scenes of bone crunching zombie action (image courtesy of Priceminister)
	Jade: Forever in My Heart by Jade GoodyCovering the final heart-breaking months in the life of TV celebrity Jade Goody, this book describes her brave fight against a terminal disease, her determination to provide for her sons and her desire to leave a legacy which might prevent other young women being torn from their families in the prime of life. (image courtesy of Priceminister)
	Twenties Girl by Sophie KinsellaLara has always had an overactive imagination. Now she wonders if she is losing her mind. Normal twenty-something girls just don’t get visited by ghosts! But inexplicably, the spirit of Lara’s great aunt Sadie in the form of a bold, demanding Charleston-dancing girl has appeared to make one last request. (image courtesy of Priceminister)
	True Blood Omnibus by Charlaine HarrisSookie is an unassuming cocktail waitress in an (outwardly) unremarkable town. Attractive as she is, her hidden ‘talents’ send men running – her mindreading skills are just a bit threatening. When the unreadable Bill appears, he seems to be the man of her dreams. Except he’s not technically human. (image courtesy of Priceminister)
	4 Ingredients by Kim McCoskerThis cookbook features over 340 quick, easy and very delicious recipes you can easily whip up to wow your friends and family, and all fith only four or fewer ingredients. (image courtesy of Priceminister)
	Tea Time For The Traditionally Built by Alexander McCall SmithMma Ramotswe is widely known for many things. Everybody knows about her kindness&her taste for redbush tea&cake. Everybody is familiar, too, with her tiny white van, which is beginning to feel its age. Are its difficulties to be terminal, or will Charlie, the feckless garage apprentice, be able to save the day? (image courtesy of Priceminister)
	Rumour Has It by Jill Mansell(image courtesy of Priceminister)
	The Hairy Bikers’ Food Tour of Britain by Si King and Dave MyersBetter known as The Hairy Bikers – travel the length and breadth of Britain to discover our finest traditional foods. Touring the country on their trusty Harleys, Si and Dave celebrate local recipes and chefs from the villages and towns they explore (image courtesy of Priceminister)
	206 Bones by Kathy ReichsA routine case turns sinister when Dr Temperance Brennan is accused of mishandling the autopsy of a missing heiress. Someone has made an incriminating accusation and before Tempe can get to the one man with information he turns up dead. (image courtesy of Priceminister)
	The Scarecrow by Michael Connelly(image courtesy of Priceminister)
	Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey NiffeneggerThis is a 21st century ghost story about Niffenegger’s familiar themes of love, loss and identity. It is certain to cement her standing as one of the most singular and remarkable novelists of our time. (image courtesy of Priceminister)
	Time of My Life by Patrick SwayzeIn the public eye for much of the 1980s, Patrick Swayze made his name in movies such as Dirty Dancing and Ghost. This book chronicles Patrick’s career, as well as dealing with his fight against pancreatic cancer. (image courtesy of Priceminister)
	Caribbean Food Made Easy with Levi Roots by Levi RootsIn the BBC2 programme, ‘Caribbean Food Made Easy’, Levi Roots travels around the UK and the Caribbean and reveals how delicious Caribbean food can be prepared at home with easy-to-prepare, mouth-watering recipes using fresh, healthy and readily-available ingredients. (image courtesy of Priceminister)
	Saturday Night Peter by Peter Kay’Saturday Night Peter’ charts the hilarious journey as Peter Kay developed and honed his comedy skills by taking to the road and trying out his stand up material in pubs and clubs across the country. (image courtesy of Priceminister)
	High Voltage Tattoo by Kate Von DKat Von D is an up and coming name in the world of tattooing and popular culture in general. Star of LA Ink and Miami Ink she has quickly made a name and style for herself. The book will include her story, what inspires her, information about her show and her shop, her sketches, and her personal tattoos (image courtesy of Priceminister)
	A Vintage Affair by Isobel WolffPhoebe Sanders runs her own vintage dress shop. But while she stitches and repairs couture suits and glorious dresses, there is something in Phoebe’s own past that she cannot restore, and which is stopping her searching for love. (image courtesy of Priceminister)
	The Cloud Collectors’ Handbook by Gavin Pretor-PinneyThis handbook fits into the pocket, allowing cloudspotters to identify cloud formations anytime and anywhere. All the common cloud types are represented, as are many of the rare ones, each are fully described and illustrated with a range of photographs. (image courtesy of Priceminister)
	Crystal by Katie PriceCrystal is beautiful, talented and ambitious. All her life she has dreamed of making it as a singer and her chance finally comes when her girl band enters a TV reality show contest. But Crystal has a secret; she’s fallen for the wrong man and this one mistake could cost her everything. (image courtesy of Priceminister)

Probably not one of his King’s best books, Under The Dome is nevertheless a nice idea for a story.

A small community in Maine is going about its everyday life when, immediately and out of apparently nowhere, a colossal dome appears, surrounding them all and cutting them off from the rest of the world! As time goes by, the predicable consequences arise; the water starts running out, the air quality falls dramatically and, of course, a degree of anarchy starts bubbling up, fueled by the leadership of a morally dubious character, but in the name of safety and security. Of course, the religious extremists all pop out of the woodwork as well and go a little more nuts – Mist-style, though less frustratingly.

No prizes for spotting the satirical take on Bush’s America so far. Of course, however, it’s Stephen King – so it’s less political and far more horrifying that my short summary makes out. It’s also very cleverly written and filled with smart references for the more well-read Stephen King fans out there. What it also it, however, is very…very…long. Too long, one could say. So it’s definitely not something for the novel-a-day types; you could easily spend so long reading Under The Dome that you’d find somebody had actually built a dome around you as well – but by hand…using tissue boxes…having first blown their nose on each and every tissue. It’s long.

The next in our series of Halloween Horror book reviews is this gem from Seth Grahame-Smith; or should I say, this gem from Jane Austen, featuring zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith.

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains will be in want of more brains.” The opening line of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies sets the tone for the entire book; mostly Jane Austen, with zombies crammed in. That being said, it actually works rather well! Imagine, if you will (or even can), 18th Century Britain; quiet, quaint and overrun with zombies. However, don’t let the likes of 28 Days Later fool you into thinking these are the crazed and insane type of zombies – oh no, these are the idiotic and sluggish zombies from Night of the Living Dead. Nevertheless, Elizabeth and Jane Bennet get sent to China to learn the art of hacking zombies to pieces, where Elizabeth’s skills are honed to surpass even those of Mr. Darcy!

I think you get the general gist of the novel… To be honest, there’s not a lot more I can say about this book without ruining the bizarre surrealism of the entire thing. A particular highlight I should point out, however, is Charlotte Collins’ early zombification, which causes her steady degeneration into a lisping wreck! What is for sure is that this book will make a fine Halloween present for most people, if perhaps not hardened Austen fans.

As Halloween draws closer, I feel a few horror-reviews are definitely in order!   So today I present to you one of the scariest books ever written; The Shining, by Stephen King.

If ever there was a book that demonstrates the power of the author over the reader, it is The Shining.  A staggering display of psychological horror fiction, this book grips you by the nerve-endings from the very start, refusing to release as it drags you through one of the most terrifying haunted-house tales ever written.  Making use of the well-known situation of a family holiday, King invites the reader to join the Torrance family on a retreat designed to help father and recovering alcoholic Jack find some peace and quiet, to repair relations with his family and finish a play he has be writing for some time.  What Jack doesn’t realise is that the job he has taken, as winter custodian of the Overlook, has placed him at the mercy of an murderous hotel and its population of malicious spirits– a combination that start taking over his mind and using him to do their murderous bidding.

The key plot element to the novel is Jack’s son, Danny, who has a powerful gift called The Shine; allowing him to see and know things he couldn’t possibly know.  Although too young to fully understand much of what he sees, Danny is used as a supernatural medium through which the reader is given access to the Overlook Hotel’s grisly past, in a series of disturbing scenes placed throughout the novel to maintain the steadily overwhelming terror.

King’s incredible characterisation of very few subjects allows the reader to come to know the characters intimately and quickly, making their horrific situation and fear spring to life from the very outset.  If you’re looking for an appropriately petrifying present for Halloween this year,  The Shining is a perfect bet.

With October being the month of Halloween, it seems appropriate that this month’s genre summary should be horror!  So, what is it about some books that makes them known as horror?

The genre of horror fiction is the third of the commonly recognised forms of speculative fiction; acknowledged for around half a century as being works with a gruesome, suspenseful or frightening theme, specifically designed to scare or disturb the reader.  This is commonly achieved by introducing a supernatural or distressing element into a situation to which the reader can relate – everyday life, school trips or family holidays, for example.

Popular plot devices used throughout the horror genre include haunting by ghosts, invasions by zombies and attacks by homicidal humans.  For this reason, there is often a strong theme of violence within horror fiction, although this is definitely not always the case.  By playing to the power of the unknown, some of the best works of horror make intensely disturbing scenes few and far between; using suggestion and implication to coax the reader’s imagination and further build suspense.

One of the most famous works of horror every written is Stephen King’s The Shining; a book I shall review in my next post.