There's an almost fetish-like description of the scenery which helps with the world building. At first I thought the creeping around the hotel was a bit "Famous Five", but it builds up the supernatural tension perfectly. It's only in retreospect that you can understand all the clues which have been dotted around

I can't really tell you much without massive spoilers - but it feels like a study in psychosis and an examination of the way a predator stalks its prey. I'm not sure if the monsters are all in the characters' heads or if this is just a fantasy of the deluded.

It pounds towards a savage end. The sort of book you have to put down and contemplate covering in salt and burying in the marshes.

The Kendrick family have been making world-famous dolls for over 200 years. But their dolls aren't coveted for the craftsmanship alone. Each one has a specific emotion laid on it by its creator. A magic that can make you feel bucolic bliss or consuming paranoia at a single touch. Though founded by sisters, now only men may know the secrets of the workshop. Persephone Kendrick longs to break tradition and learn her ancestors' craft, and when a handsome stranger arrives claiming doll-making talent and blood ties to the family, she sees a chance to grasp all she desires. But then, one night, the firm's most valuable doll is stolen. Only someone with knowledge of magic could have taken her.

Do you ever read a book and immediately set out to devour everything the author has written? As soon as I put down The Psychology of Time Travel I simply had to read the next novel by Kate Mascarenhas. Cruely, she made me wait an entire year. But it was worth it.

It would be tempting to make magic the centrepiece of this story - luckily it avoids that. Too many "fantasy" novels get bogged down tin the world-building and mythos-making. This is set in the modern world (they have mobile phones!) and doesn't pretend that the magic is the central element. It is a tale of family squabbles, tradition becoming unstuck, and lusts.

Perhaps the thing I loved most about it was how prominently Oxford's Number 3 bus features! Given how often I used them it was a welcome reminder of my time in Oxford.

Thoroughly entertaining, and everso slightly macabre. I'm not sure I can wait a year for her next book!

In 1967, four female scientists worked together to build the world’s first time machine. But just as they are about to debut their creation, one of them suffers a breakdown, putting the whole project—and future of time travel—in jeopardy. To protect their invention, one member is exiled from the team—erasing her contributions from history.

What a delight! This is a classic murder-mystery wrapped up in a perfect sci-fi package.

The answer to the "whodunnit" is, obviously, a time-traveller. But the twists and turns it takes getting there are good clean fun.

There's a strong mix of characters - and an underlying sense of "proper" sci-fi. That is, if you ignore the practical realities and paradoxes, how would people use time travel? Sex and parlour tricks mostly, it seems.

The story flits around with narrative, and it can be a little confusing keeping track of which character is in which time period. And why long-dead characters are still alive. But that's the price you pay for monkeying around in the space/time continuum.

It is a bit "Midsommer Murders" - but the underlying psychological horror makes up for it.