More about books

Catherine Larner

Hello, I'm Catherine Larner, a freelance journalist, editor and presenter living in Suffolk. I contribute features, profiles, reviews, comment and analysis to regional and national magazines, newspapers and online. You can take a look at my published articles on my website here.

I also interview on stage for festivals, organisations and bookshops, 'in conversation' with novelists, historians, politicians and personalities.

Reading extensively and widely, I report on the books I've enjoyed in a weekly e-newsletter and on this site which now provides a resource of more than 800 titles. I hope you'll find it helpful in choosing books for yourself and for your friends and family.

Thank you for reading

 

My More About Books bookstore where books can be purchased online can be found here or from any 'buy this book online' link. If you buy books linked to this site, I earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops.

What's on

I am always planning new events but at the moment I have nothing quite ready to announce.

Recent Events

Tuesday 20 May 2025
The new book from best-selling historian and novelist Alison Weir tells the tale of the Suffolk-born adviser to Henry VIII, Thomas Wolsey. She was in conversation with Catherine Larner.
Sunday 30 March 2025
Well known in Woodbridge as a baker and former owner of The Cake Shop in the Thoroughfare, David Wright has written a stimulating, engrossing and startling book about bread, past, present and future. He was in conversation with Catherine Larner.

Events Archive

Visit my archive pages for details of all events in recent years.

Readers recommendations
At the end of each year, members of the Woodbridge Book Group meet together to share their favourite titles and offer ideas for gifts for friends and family, and for new authors to try ourselves. For 2024 the titles that were mentioned are listed here.

Buying books

I've linked the reviews on my website so that you can purchase online if you wish (and I will receive a small commission for each purchase, with a further commission going to all independent bookshops). 

Click here for my page on bookshop.org and do consider using it whenever you wish to buy online. 

Book reviews

My recent recommendations

Here are the books I've been enjoying recently, both fiction and non-fiction titles.

Charlotte Runcie
Publication date: 5th June 2025
Hardback edition
Alan Murrin
Exploring the lives of three women in 90s County Donegal, this debut novel is described as 'immaculately crafted' with characterisation...
Publication date: 1st May 2025
Joe Dunthorne
Recommended non-fiction
Publication date: 3rd April 2025
Hardback edition
Lisa Ridzen and translated by Alice Menzies
A beautiful story of the last days of an old man's life.
Publication date: 15th May 2025
Hardback edition
John Green
Recommended non-fiction
An extraordinary book - a completely engrossing and compelling read about how this disease has affected our global society.
Publication date: 20th March 2025
Hardback edition
Jessica Duchen
Recommended non-fiction
A compelling and comprehensive biography of an incredible pianist and an incredible woman.
Publication date: 21st February 2025
Hardback edition
Camilla Balshaw
Recommended non-fiction
A memoir about finding identity through a name.
Publication date: 5th June 2025
Hardback edition
Solvej Balle and translated by Barbara J. Haveland
When one woman realises she is living the same day over and over again.
Publication date: 10th April 2025

For children

These are my most recent recommendations for children. Click here to see listings by age.

by Emma Swan
A lively, entertaining adventure, playing detective on a cruise ship and inviting the reader to get involved!
Publication date: 3rd July 2025
by Quentin Blake and illustrated by Emma Chichester Clark
Glorious illustrations for a funny and silly short story about a very strong girl.
Publication date: 15th May 2025
Hardback edition
by Louise Royston-Smith
A lovely picture book giving a modern take on the old fable The Cracked Pot.
Publication date: 21st April 2025
by Lesley Parr
A young girl and an elderly lady find a friendship, after they've overcome their preconceptions of each other.
Publication date: 10th April 2025
by Matt Goodfellow and illustrated by Joe Todd-Stanton
A wonderful sequel to 'The Final Year'. Brilliant.
Publication date: 10th April 2025
by Sara O'Leary and illustrated by Briony May Smith
Publication date: 3rd April 2025
Hardback edition
by Mariajo Ilustrajo
Publication date: 3rd April 2025
Hardback edition
by Jessie Burton
Mudlarking at the River Thames leads to treasure and friendship, magic and mystery.
Publication date: 13th March 2025
Hardback edition

News

Sunday 29 June 2025

What the Dickens!

This afternoon I've had the pleasure of speaking to writer Elly Griffiths once again, this time for Felixstowe Book Festival where we were together, in front of a capacity audience, unpicking her new time travel novel 'The Frozen People'.

It's always such a joy spending time with Elly. She has such energy, positivity and humour, and this latest book, taking criminal 'cold cases' to another level, is entertaining and fascinating.

In this book, the first in a new series, we find a police team in London is enabled to travel back in time to investigate unsolved crimes. We are introduced to Elly's new hero Ali Dawson as she has to step back into the Victorian period, at the request of a politician eager to have his past redeemed.

Elly has always had a passion for Victorian literature, she says, and Wilkie Collins is her favourite writer. Her enthusiasm is clear and infectious as she reveals details of everyday life of that time.