A little Light Reading?

Hello chums. What's that? You're at a bit of a loose end? Hmm, maybe you could read a book. What's that? You don't have anything to read? Ah, well, I can help you out there. It just so happens that my great close personal friend* Aliya Whiteley has a new novel out called Light Reading. What's it about? I'll tell you (or, more accurately, I'll cut 'n' paste the blurb here for you):

Welcome to Britain’s most sinister seaside resort...

Prudence Green is a troubled woman. Stifled by her existence as an RAF wife, she’s dying for a bit of excitement. When one of the other women on the base commits suicide (having discovered that her husband is having an affair with a male comrade in Iraq), Pru and her best friend Lena are prompted to set off on a memorably surreal journey – a criminal investigation, a search for love and an exploration of Pru’s own dark past. The discontented pair escape the base and arrive in a blighted seaside town, Allcombe, determined to find out the truth behind the supposed suicide of one-time TV star Crystal Tynee. But as they explore the lawless town, Pru and Lena find that Allcombe hides more than one hideous secret. Light Reading is a wickedly clever detective story and a pitch-black mystery, seething with grotesque and unforgettable characters, and concluding with a twist that will leave you breathless.

If that floats your toast then you can order Light Reading from Amazon UK (and if enough people use this link to buy from Amazon then I might get a 23p referral fee or something - yes, I am a whore).

On the other hand you could go one better and get your copy signed by the lovely Aliya in person. But how? Simply pop along the Light Reading launch party at Goldsboro Books, 7 Cecil Court, London on Thursday 28 February between 6.30pm - 8.30pm. (And here be a map for your convenience.) Sadly, I cannot attend as I am going to the UK premiere performance of Penderecki's Symphony No. 8 at the Barbican. I never thought I would ever say anything like that.

And while you are in a book-buying frame of mind, why not grab yourself a copy of Jai Clare's** The Cusp Of Something? You know you want to, you goat-baiting flan spanners.

* Well, OK, I've never actually met the woman but she did once send me a bookmark and I've played Scrabulous with her on Facebook. She's quite good at it. Sometimes.
** Jai genuinely is a great close personal friend of mine. We've been drunk together and I have crashed on her sofa and everything. And she's a damn good writer too so buy her book or, you know, puppies... woof woof...bang bang.