Shelter by Harlan Coben

After tragic events tear him away from his parents, fifteen-year-old Mickey Bolitar is sent to live with his estranged uncle, Myron Bolitar. For a while, it seems his train wreck of a life is finally improving - until his girlfriend, Ashley, goes missing without a trace. Unwilling to let another person he cares about walk out of his life, Mickey follows Ashley's trail into a seedy underworld, revealing a conspiracy so shocking it will leave him questioning everything about the life he thought he knew.

Wow. Seriously, wow. I picked up Shelter at just after four on a Sunday afternoon. I closed the last page just over two hours later, having DEVOURED it. This story of Mickey kept me utterly gripped throughout.

For a start, the chapters are short and snappy, with sleek prose that keeps those pages turning. You feel absolutely compelled to keep on reading - at the cost of missing meals, not taking phonecalls, not packing for an important business trip, things like that.

Shelter wouldn't work half as well if the characters weren't so vivid. The way in which Mickey interacts with Ema and Spoon, the two misfits of the new high school that he starts attending after he moves to live with his uncle, is absolutely bang on. He is bitter and hurting about the death of his father, and doesn't think he is ever able to become close to someone again. And yet Ema, particularly, worms her way into his life. Their conversations - especially Ema's black humour - are a highlight of Shelter.

In addition to this, Shelter works because it *feels* very adult. I mean, it deals with teenagers and yet circumstances lead them into an incredibly adult situation. It's like the Famous Five coming up against proper slave dealers who don't shy away from torture and killing. I love this dark element to the story, the sense of very real danger.

You know something? I honestly can't think of anything I didn't like about Shelter. From the dialogue to the emotions expressed by Mickey, from the investigation to the hint of a massive conspiracy - it was all superb. And man! That cliffhanger! It feels a long, long time to the next novel in the series.

This is sharp, dangerous, funny and, above all, vital reading. It is a masterpiece of a thriller story for Young Adults. Buy Shelter immediately, you won't regret it.

Shelter is released by the Indigo imprint of Orion Books on 15th September

Mozart's Last Aria by Matt Rees

The year is 1791 and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is Vienna's brightest star. Master of the city's music halls and devoted member of the Austrian Freemason's guild, he stands at the heart of an electric mix of art and music, philosophy and science, politics and intrigue.

Six weeks ago, the great composer told his wife he had been poisoned. Yesterday, he died.

Nannerl, Wolfgang's estranged sister, returns to Vienna to investigate his death - and discovers a sinister conspiracy that reaches to the very highest echelons of Austrian society.

Never has the structure of a novel felt more important than in Mozart's Last Aria. Matt Rees takes the essence of Mozart's music to weave a plot that showcases musical genius alongside a desperately paranoid and rather naive young man, who just wanted to introduce equality to all levels of society. Rees starts with a difficult opening - as Nannerl hears about her estranged brother's death and starts to learn that he believed he was being murdered through slow poisoning. The central portion of the book is a more thoughtful and reflective period, where Nannerl discovers more about her brother's place in Viennese society. The final, explosive portion of the novel is the triumphant climax of the music - as Matt Rees calls it: "a crime novel in A minor."

It's been a while since I've read a novel that is as cleverly put together as Mozart's Last Aria. I appreciated the rising tension, the slow build as Nannerl starts to put all the clues together.

This would be nothing, though, without the exploration of Mozart's relationships with those close to him - his wife, his children, the Brothers of his Masonic Lodge, and Nannerl herself. This helps the reader to discover the man behind the music.

I loved the parts of Mozart's Last Aria that dealt with the Masons and how Mozart explored the future of the Masonic Brotherhood through the forms of his operatic pieces, particularly The Magic Flute. The Masons could so easily become an over-used device - all dark cloaks and twirling moustaches, but Rees presents them sympathetically, especially the notion of equality.

The only part of the novel that I wasn't sure about were Nannerl's encounters with the Baron Swieten. It did help to explain why the Baron might have been so willing to lend his aid to Nannerl, but I found it to be a little too sensationalist.

This is an entertaining and swift read through the possibility of Mozart being murdered. The mystery of who might be behind the murder - if, in fact, it is such - will keep the reader guessing to the end, and the character of Nannerl is one to be cherished. But the real treasure of Mozart's Last Aria is the appreciation of the man's music, and allows him to take his place as a true virtuoso.

Before I Go To Sleep by S J Watson

Christine Lucas suffered a car accident that causes an anomaly with her memories - every time she goes to sleep, she forgets who she is and what has happened to her over the last twenty years. On the morning we meet Christine she is called by a Dr Nash, who tells her about a journal she has been keeping. The reader discovers, along with Christine, what her story is - and is drawn into a taut emotional thriller that keeps you guessing from page to page. Don't trust Ben.

Before I Go To Sleep is an incredibly thought-provoking novel, as well as an exciting psychological drama. The nature of memories, and how they create a personality, are discussed thoroughly here, as we follow Christine's story. This lifts Before I Go To Sleep into truly literary realms, providing plenty of arenas for debate.

Without our memories, who are we?

How much do memories define us?

Is lying to someone in their best interests?

This debut novel by S J Watson seeks to explore these matters, and does so within a story structure that works unbelievably well. First of all, we wake with Christine, in an unfamiliar bed, with a strange man next to her. We feel her panic, we're desperate to know what is going on and who this man is. We're aghast with her when we find out that this man is her husband. We're curious about Dr Nash, and finally we're completely engrossed as we read the story of Christine's journal, learn about what has been taking place over the last twenty years.

While the plot is simply excellent, Watson's prose cannot be dismissed as something lesser. It is his prose that keeps the reader turning pages - its simplicity, starkness and, at times, bluntness creates the atmosphere of dread and claustrophobia.

At times I was deeply uncomfortable with the subject matter and found myself confronting ideas that demand dissection. This includes the nature of consensual and non-consensual sex. If you are told that a man is your husband, if you believe this to be true and yet feel uncomfortable when he initiates sex, is this non-consensual? I have to say, every single time I put down Before I Go To Sleep, I found my thoughts returning to it. I was desperate to go back to Christine and couldn't bear the idea of not finding out what was happening.

This is one of those books where you would pay extra for another copy if your original was missing the last chapter! Before I Go To Sleep is the type of novel where you seriously consider only catching a few hours sleep yourself in order to finish reading it.

It is breathless, highly accomplished and damn near perfect. Go and buy this book today.

Long Reach by Peter Cocks

When he is seventeen Eddie Savage learns two things: the first is that his brother Steve has been working undercover. The second is that his brother is dead. Eddie is suspicious about the circumstances of Steve's death and decides to follow in his footsteps, taking on a job to infiltrate the Kelly family and try to find out more about Tommy Kelly, the boss. He does this through Tommy's beautiful daughter, Sophie - but is he falling for her? And is he getting in too deep?

This was a BRILLIANT book! The undercover and shady world of Tommy Kelly, and the equally rather sinister department trying to get their man, are brought to pulse-pounding life by the intimate style of first person perspective writing. We are in Eddie's head the whole time, watching through his eyes and feeling the pain and panic of the events that he gets caught up in.

The style of writing is as though someone had sat you down and was telling you this story verbally, which makes it compelling and insistent to read. I devoured this book in two sittings - and it would have been one if I hadn't had to do my day job goddamit! I started it on my lunch hour at work, and found myself immediately caught up in Eddie's life, to the point that I was almost late returning to work because I wanted to read just a little more.

There are some harrowing scenes in Long Reach, some that shocked me to the core. Peter Cocks does not hold back in his portrayal of the very nasty world of underground crime. I actually found myself cringing as I read the book, wanting to look away but not being able to.

For me, the best part of Long Reach is Eddie wondering about his own moral compass. As he is drawn into the Kelly family and their daily life, he finds himself enjoying their company and is forced to address those ideas that no one is completely evil. Crime bosses will go home and enjoy time with their families, cooking Sunday lunches and taking dogs for a walk. As Eddie's moral compass becomes confused, I found myself contemplating the ideas that he is dwelling on, which provides a real warmth to this novel which was in danger of being all glamour and no heart.

I also loved the ending - there are no clean final scenes where Eddie is sat down and everything explained. We leave Eddie hanging - and this tremendous climax makes me want the second book NOW! Write faster Mr Cocks!

DEFINITELY read this book. It is brilliant, heart-stopping fun, with a fantastic protagonist in the form of Eddie Savage. Awesome compelling writing that deserves to be widely read. Go buy it now!