Again Rachel, by Marian Keyes

Twenty years after Rachel’s Holiday the middle Walsh sister once again features in this revisitation of the irrepressible Irish family. Now an addiction counsellor at the Dublin rehab facility that helped her, Rachel has a good life and a lovely boyfriend she feels unable commit to. When her ex-husband Luke returns to Ireland for his mother’s funeral, it brings up a load of unresolved issues for Rachel as she slowly relives the unravelling of her marriage. Can she resolve her issues, get closure with Luke and finally commit to Quin? It’s always good to spend time with the Walshes and we get a good dose of them here, with updates on Claire, Maggie, Anna and Helen as well as an introduction to the next generation – which possibly promises more Walsh books. But while it’s interesting to see how Rachel tackles her lifelong battle with addiction and satisfying to see her find happiness, it takes an awfully long time to get there. At almost 600 pages the story drags in places and the variety of quirky characters is not enough to lift it.

Downton Abbey – A New Era (2022), directed by Simon Curtis

Starting with a wedding and ending with a funeral, the second spin-off film of the beloved TV series is mostly about the costumes and glorious settings. The Dowager Lady Grantham has discovered she owns a villa in the south of France, following the death of an old flame. She is putting her affairs in order and decides to leave the villa to Sybil, the only great-grandchild unprovided for. Half the extended Crawley family travels to France to check it out, while Lady Mary allows a film crew to take over Downton Abbey for a month to finance roof repairs. So we see two dramas play out, with Lord Grantham questioning his origins in France while the advent of talking pictures puts careers at risk in England. This film has more plot than the first one, but there are a lot of happy endings and new opportunities, except for the obvious, in a way that is a little overdone. It is a pity Matthew Goode couldn’t make even a day’s filming, as while the absence of Lady Mary’s husband is covered well for the most of the film, his non-appearance at the end is a glaring problem. Overall it is a film just for the fans, with Maggie Smith getting all the best lines as is her due.

Moon Over Soho, by Ben Aaronovitch

London jazz musicians have been dying immediately after gigs and while initially deemed to be of natural causes, there is a pattern that looks suspicious. Quite apart from his role as apprentice wizard in a special unit of the Metropolitan Police, Constable Peter Grant is uniquely placed to investigate the mystery. His dad is an almost famous jazz trumpeter, derailed by his addictions, who has taken up keyboard and is hoping for a second chance career. As if the jazz vampires weren’t enough, there is also a ‘dark lady’ wreaking horror on not-so innocent men. This uncovers the working of a dark wizard, who looks likely to cause trouble for Peter and his colleagues in future books. The plot gets a bit convoluted and the usually sharp Peter stays a long way behind the reader in identifying a likely suspect. This is possibly a commentary on how even the best young men can be led by their anatomy. The author’s trademark dry wit makes for an entertaining read, with the history and geography of London an intrinsic part of the tale.

Tongues of Serpents, by Naomi Novik

Convicted of treason, Lawrence and his dragon Temeraire have been busted out of the air corps and transported to New South Wales. The dragon factor means they are not treated as ordinary convicts, but without official rank they are caught between the civil war in the colony between ousted governor Bligh and the new landed gentry under MacArthur. There are no native dragons in Australia but, as the British aeronauts discover when they venture into the vast interior, there are vicious and predatory Bunyips. There they also discover a major threat to British trade, with the smuggling of luxury goods from China via what will later become the port of Darwin. As usual Novik uses real historical events and people as the basis for her tale and gives them a fascinating twist. Her depiction of the interaction of Aboriginal, Asian and European cultures, for better and for worse, is particularly interesting.

Dr Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022), directed by Sam Raimi

Teenager America Chavez has the unique power of travelling to multiple universes, but she can’t control it and demons are chasing her to steal it. Dr Strange is trying to protect her, but accidentally puts her more at risk. Can he deal with multiple versions of himself in alternate universes to save the day? As well as the usual Marvel action and special effects, this film touches on dealing with grief and loss; continually asking what it is to be happy? Apart from Strange’s fellow sorcerers the Scarlet Witch is the only other major Marvel character present, but there are some interesting cameos from Avengers and others in alternate universes – which is a bit of fun, especially Peggy Carter as Captain Britain. Xochiti Gomez , as the talented teen, makes a nice foil to Benedict Cumberbatch’s Steven Strange and Rachel McAdams provides good value as multiple doomed love interest Christine. This film follows on directly from the last Spiderman movie and the Wandavision TV series, but it is not necessary to have seen them to pick up the thread. As always it is too long and it could be argued to be as much horror as sci fi, but despite some clunky dialogue the film is entertaining, sometimes gasp-inducing and occasionally moving.

In the After, by Marian Frith

Anna is a 62-year-old woman in Sydney, who is the lone survivor of a terrorist attack. Nat is a 35-year-old Afghanistan veteran, who feels responsible for not preventing the attack by doing his job over there properly. The two form an unlikely and supportive friendship after Nat reaches out to apologise. Frith paints a vivid and horrifying picture of those enduring trauma and the difficulty of trying to adjust back into a ‘normal’ life while suffering the consequent PTSD. Survivor guilt, the fog of war; she delves beneath the clichés to make sense of the well-worn phrases, to make Anna and Nat’s experiences able to be understood. Unfortunately, she is less successful at depicting the actual people and their relationships with those around them. Anna comes the closest to a fully-rounded character but Nat is, at best, two-dimensional, while his wife and Anna’s children are as flat as tacks on the page. Their actions, behaviour and conversations are largely not credible, and they come across as obtuse, selfish or literally too good to be true. It’s a pity because this detracts from the otherwise strong sympathy evoked for Anna and Nat and the hope for recovery and redemption offered by their stories.