Enjoy Life

More March 2023 must-reads

On the Bookshelf

More March must-reads, selected by Simon Evans

A Lesson Learned, by Rosie Goodwin (Zaffre, £12.99), set in mid-19th century Nuneaton, tells of a young girl who dreams of a better life beyond the canal boat she shares with her hard-hearted father and sick mother,

The Flour Mill Girls, by Anna Cliffe (Zaffre, £8.99), is the first of a new saga series set in the heart of Kent during the First World War, and

The Woolworth Girl’s Promise (Pan, £7,99) is the eighth in Elaine Everest’s Woolworths series, this time following 17-year-old Elizabeth Billington as she attempts to rebuild her life following the death of her fiancé at Ypres.

Paris Requiem, by Chris Lloyd (Orion, £16.99), is an absorbing thriller that also paints a vivid portrait of Paris life under occupation during the autumn of 1940, a policeman is stranded in a town full of ex-convicts in Stuart MacBride’s gripping The Dead of Winter (Bantam, £20), and in 

If I Tell, by Gil Perdue (Penguin, £8.99), a tricky police interview with a mysterious young girl brings back unhappy memories for one of the detectives involved. The book was previously published in hardback as The Interview.

Unlikely Animals, by Annie Hartnett (Hodder, £9.99), is a moving novel about family, friendship and loss that manages to be both at times quirkily surreal as well as rooted in the realities of small-town life, and 

The Best True Crime Stories: Crimes of Famous and Infamous Criminals (Mango, £16.99) is the latest in the excellent series of true crime anthologies edited by Mitzi Szereto, this time focussing on celebrities, including Jimmy Savile, Rolf Harris and Lord Lucan.

Coinciding with the 50th-anniversary release of Pink Floyd’s landmark LP Dark Side of the Moon, Us and Them, by John Blake (Nine Eight, £22) is the fully-illustrated history of Hipgnosis, the ground-breaking design company responsible for the album’s sleeve, amongst many others, and

The Best is Yet to Come (Sphere, £7.99), is the latest heart-warming novel from Debbie Macomber, a story of loss, grief and new beginnings.

The Dress Diary of Mrs Anne Sykes (Vintage, £20), is the product of six year’s painstaking research by fashion historian and museum curator Kate Strasdin, charting the fabric of how Victorian women lived through a unique textile scrapbook, and pet lovers of all ages will enjoy Waiting for Cats, by Maggie Holden, with illustrations by Denis Stapleton (Austin Macauley, £8.99). It’s a charming selection of verse imagining what cats might be thinking as they keep watch all day.

All books are available from Amazon and other outlets.

Other stories in Enjoy Life

Great Christmas Music Ideas
Christmas books - gift ideas
Autumn Reads
Summer 2024 Books
Summer DVDs
Summer CDs
Latest book reviews
May DVD Reviews
May's book reviews
May's CD reviews
That English Riviera Touch
April's DVD reviews
April's book reviews
April's CD reviews
March's DVD review
March book reviews
March's CD reviews
February's DVDs
February's books
Winter books
January's DVD releases
Christmas book reviews
November DVD reviews
November's Music Reviews
November book reviews
October's DVD reviews
October's New CD releases
October's book reviews
September's DVD Reviews
DVD selection for August 2023
September's book reviews
Latest music reviews August 2023
August Round up
August Paperback Reviews
August hardback book reviews
July 2023 Roundup
Pick of the paperbacks July 2023
July 23 Hardback book reviews
July 2023 DVD releases
July 2023 CD reviews
Pick of the paperbacks June 2023
June DVDs
Hardback book reviews - June 2023
Simon Evans CD Reviews for June 2023
Tesco Summer indoors and out
Book reviews
May 2023 paperback book reviews
May 2023 Hardback book reviews
May's DVD Selection
May's CD selection
Round up of April 2023's book reviews
April 2023 paperback reviews
April 2023 Hardback book reviews
March - Pick of the paperbacks
March hardback recommendations
Afternoon Tea
March 2023 - DVD releases
March 2023 Music
February 2023 Books Round up
Pick of the paperbacks - February 2023
Book reviews February 2023
DVD recommendations
February's music reviews
Freedom on two wheels
Make do and mend
Foray into the Fens
Christmas reads
Tasty, healthy recipes by Joanne Wood
Keeping fit and healthy with the Green goddess Part 2
Keeping fit and healthy with the Green goddess Part 1
Finger-licking Good! Tasty Chicken recipes
Beauty: Say 'Allo 'Allo to an alluring look
British Library: Palace of the printed word
Look good and feel great with CBD
Interior design: Inspiration for outdoor spaces
Summer fun at Belvoir Castle
Finding Fitness Starts With Fashion
‘In Vogue’ Veg – Cavolo Nero Sales Grow by 14%
Eat Continental and live longer
A life-affirming book... about death
Get Sewing: Floral bespoke notebook cover
Find your family fortunes... for FREE!
Beauty: Get set for spring...
Spanish Recipes: Small is beautiful
The Vegan Revolution
Interior Design: Maximise your living space
Pets need a spring clean too
Visit Family Tree Live
MasterChef: Classic with a Twist
Get Sewing: Quilted pot-holder
Bob Dylan "Rock and Roll music wasn’t enough for me”
Plant Power Day: 7th March 2019
Interior Design: Less is more in minimalist home
A second chance at love
Interior Design: Great Gatsby Cabinet
The rise and rise of the birthday cake
Walking back to happiness
Baking With Veg
Totally Tina Tour
How to take care of your hair over-50
The nation's most popular cake recipes
Your views: Can you help?
Hail the grandparent aupairs
Beauty: Denise Welch "I love the shape I'm in at 60"
The Austerity Olympics
Healthy reasons to acquire a taste for olives
Grand Treats for Grandchildren
Declutter your home, and clear your mind
Scandi-style Mules for Swollen Feet
Beetroot and Walnut Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
In your garden: October
Dr Norman Croucher: The toughest summit of them all
Craft Corner: Sweet Easter Basket
Have your cake and eat your Easter egg too!
Interior Design: Moroccan inspired drawers
BR remembered... 70 years on
A gentleman's guide to spring fashion
Why antique jewellery is glittering
New Year, new beauty habits
Cliff Richard "I have a deeper faith now"
Do you remember? Oliver!
What we really look for in retirement living
Interior Design: Wedding bells on a budget
Counter culture: The revival of the board game
Jodie Whittaker: "Doctor Who is all about change"
85 year old Grandmother gains a PhD
Dame Eileen and a Crowning glory
Writing the story of you life
Why winter shouldn't stop you: don't wait until New Year
World' first 'wellness shed' stirs up mindfulness
Growing old is amazing
Don't miss out on the internet age
Prepare to feel ancient...
Hawks: Up close and personal
Studious retiree heads back to school
Garden Expert: Soaking up the sun
Emily Watson "I'ts such a gypsy life"
Here's to you Mrs Robinson
Brits Embracing 'Urban Birding'
Volunteering for Nature
The Secret to Younger Looking Eyes
Anti-ageing Options Part 2
Anti-ageing Options
End of the road for a pop icon
Reaching out to Dementia Sufferers: Sporting Memories Network
Are you ready for retirement?
Afternoon Tea Recipes
Surprisingly Good Wholegrain Recipes: Savoury
Staying safe in the Summer heat: Drowning prevention
Stardust Memories
Baking made easy
Cooking for one
The real cost of your wine