Do novels fly through time and space?

From historical England to distant planets, via Chicago, Shanghai and more, I've been enjoying a wealth of deeply absorbing novels recently--I just haven't had time to post my book reviews. But now my mum's back in England and my husband's playing chess, so here are some reviews of books that carried me through time and space over Christmas.

The Familiars by Stacey Halls takes readers to England in the 1600s, the time of the Pendle Witch trials. Neighbors accuse neighbors, friends betray,...