BOOK OF THE WEEK with Charlie Richards. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – Parts One and Two: The Official Script Book of the Original West End Production, J. K. Rowling, ISBN 978-0751565355 (Littlehampton) BD11.200 for Gulf Weekly Book Club members
Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany and Jack Thorne, a new play by Jack Thorne, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is the eighth story in the Harry Potter series and the first official Harry Potter story to be presented on stage. The play received its world premiere in London’s West End on Saturday.
It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn’t much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband, and father of three school-age children.
While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places.
READ IT NOW IN PAPERBACK The Paris Secret, Karen Swan, ISBN 978-1447280699 (Pan) BD4.500 for Gulf Weekly Book Club members
With stunning locations and page-turning tension, The Paris Secret is an intense and gripping tale from bestselling author Karen Swan.
Somewhere along the cobbled streets of Paris, an apartment lies thick with dust and secrets: full of priceless artworks hidden away for decades.
High-flying fine art agent Flora from London, more comfortable with the tension of a million-pound auction than a cosy candlelit dinner-for-two, is called in to assess these suddenly discovered treasures. As an expert in her field, she must trace the history of each painting and discover who has concealed them for so long.
Thrown in amongst the glamorous Vermeil family as they move between Paris and Antibes, Flora begins to discover that things aren’t all that they seem, while back at home her own family is recoiling from a seismic shock. The terse and brooding Xavier Vermeil seems intent on forcing Flora out of his family’s affairs - but just what is he hiding?
My favourite read of the week
The Girls, Lisa Jewell, ISBN 978-0099599470, (Arrow) BD4.500 for Gulf Weekly Book Club members
You live on a picturesque communal garden square, an oasis in urban London where your children run free, in and out of other people’s houses.
You’ve known your neighbours for years and you trust them. Implicitly.
You think your children are safe. But are they really?
One midsummer night a 13-year-old girl is found unconscious in a dark corner of the garden square. What really happened to her? And who is responsible?
Utterly believable characters, a gripping story and a dark secret buried at its core. This is Lisa Jewell at her heart-stopping best.
