Popular picks for August: NEARLY DEPARTED by Lucas Oakeley, A PARTICULARLY NASTY CASE by Adam Kay, APHRODITE by Phoenicia Rogerson
By WENDY HOLDEN
Published: | Updated:
Nearly Departed is available now from the Mail Bookshop
I ENJOYED this tragi-romcom in which hapless Joel seeks new love after the death of his girlfriend Beth. It’s looking promising with feisty Nina, but then Beth’s ghost appears and starts directing the romance. Will Joel cope? Will Nina realise? What does Beth think she’s doing?
There’s a Blithe Spirit feel to things, even a Madame Arcati in the shape of Beth’s tarotreading mum. But for me, the strongest suit of this tender, rollicking, good-natured novel is its sharp eye for young urban detail – all the flats, clothes, jobs, dates, food and pubs of twentysomething London life.
A Particularly Nasty Case is available now from the Mail Bookshop
IN THIS turbocharged comedy, Kay’s first foray into fiction, a chaotic doctor becomes an unlikely detective. Eitan (‘rhymes with spraytan’) Rose’s horrible boss at the hospital dies in mysterious circumstances.
When he’s quickly followed by another unpopular senior, Rose is certain that they’ve been murdered. But he was known to hate them, so is in the frame himself, and his extreme personality and unstable mental history don’t help his investigations either. Meanwhile, he’s fallen in love with a handsome young porter called Cole.
The crazy, farcical plot is fun but the hospital details are the best bits. And the comic dialogue is brilliant.
Aphrodite is available now from the Mail Bookshop
GREEK myth is pretty complicated, the way everyone is linked and the stories go ever further back. Aphrodite’s first-person account of her adventures, full of nicknames and slang and intercut with everyone else’s stories, is meant to bring a hip Kardashian spin to the old tales.
To me it made what’s already confusing all the more so, but after initial doubt I loved Rogerson’s take. It’s bold, bright and imaginative and her knowledge and attention to detail borders on the maniacal.
Aphrodite’s a compelling lead, with her brutal honesty, while Prometheus (‘Prom’) is a bit like Adam from The Archers. The Trojan War section with Helen is especially good.
Daily Mail
