Tag Archives: books

Jan 15 2012

Magnificently Mesmerising MacBride

I’ve always loved the books of Stuart MacBride, I have every single Logan MacRae book, most of which have been delightfully defaced in someway by old Beardy Boy himself, along with Halfhead, Sawbones, and the Twelve days of Christmas collection. Yes, it would be fair to call me a fan, and so yes, as such I grabbed my copy of his latest standalone novel Birthdays for the Dead, as soon as it came out.

This is what I have to say.

With its immediate hook catching you, this is one book you won’t want to put down until you’re done. I didn’t think MacBride could get any better. I was wrong.

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Detective Constable Ash Henderson has a dark secret…

Five years ago his daughter, Rebecca, went missing on the eve of her thirteenth birthday. A year later the first card arrived: homemade, with a Polaroid picture stuck to the front – Rebecca, strapped to a chair, gagged and terrified. Every year another card: each one worse than the last.

The tabloids call him The Birthday Boy. He’s been snatching girls for twelve years, always in the run-up to their thirteenth birthday, sending the families his homemade cards showing their daughters being slowly tortured to death.

But Ash hasn’t told anyone about Rebecca’s birthday cards – they all think she’s just run away from home – because if anyone finds out, he’ll be taken off the investigation. And he’s sacrificed too much to give up before his daughter’s killer gets what he deserves…

Result? :- WHOLE HEARTEDLY RECOMMENDED

Jan 10 2012

Blood – K J Wignall

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Finally the delightful Lord Kevin of Wignallshire, as he will always be to me, is getting some of the recognition he has deserved for some time.

This was my second “young adult” read for me recently and another in a series of books, although this was the first in a trilogy, as opposed to an open ended series of my previous read.

The Mercian Trilogy tells the tale of William, Earl of Mercia, and 800 year old teenage vampire.

But don’t let the fact that it’s a new vampire novel put you off, forget all your thoughts of those ‘other’ emphatically inferior vampire novels of which you may have heard (and which will *never* be spoken of here).

Blood re-writes the traditional rules of vampirism. Be prepared to turn everything you’ve thought on your head. Capturing the essential essences of adventure, love, history and destiny it’s a book everyone should read.

Go buy it now, you really should.

Jan 6 2012

The Power of Six – Pittacus Lore

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After reading the first book in the legacies series I Am Number Four, and it’s between the books companion, I Am Number Four, The Lost Files – Sixes Legacy, I have to say I was a bit confused when I began to read this book.

I sat down fully expecting exactly what I got, in that it was the further adventures of Four and Six as they search for more of the Loriens, hidden on Earth. The thing was most of the initial part of the book, and interspersed along the way it was the story of number seven. It wasn’t until halfway through that the title of the book was explained. Rather than being The Power of Six, talking about Six who was leading the ‘fight’, it was actually The Power of Six, as in the power of the remaining six Loriens on earth, No’s four through nine.

It may seem like a simple and unimportant error to make, judging the book by it’s cover, and it’s title, but you’d be surprised the difference it makes to your priding experience when you approach this story from such a subtly different angle.

One thing though, it may have been a novel written for the “young adult” market, but I think anyone of any age will find something enjoyable in it, even if it as simple as the fact that deep down, we all really wish we had super powers of our own.

Dec 14 2011

11 The Hard Way

“Never ASSUME, it makes an ASS out of U and ME”

It is also the one thing you cannot do with this book.

Featuring snipers, home invasions, race crime and more, 11 The Hard Way, repeatedly gives you that same pit of the stomach feeling of dread, that comes from being alone in a strange, noisy house late at night.

Each story guides you carefully towards an inevitable conclusion, before sneakily pulling the rug out from under your feet.

Whether you like to enjoy your books as an all in one read or in delightful bite sized chunks, 11 The Hard Way ensures one size fits all. It’s a fantastic debut from Graham, and I’m looking forward to more.

11 The Hard Way is available for you Kindle right now.

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11 Hard boiled stories of murder, misconception and mayhem. Nothing ends as expected. Everything can change in an instant. Tense, thrilling and funny. You’ll be cheering on, laughing at and crying for the characters.

Take a walk in the woods with Annie as a camping trip goes horribly wrong, slug some bourbon in Bobby’s Bar with gumshoe Leonard Peters or join Nicholas and Christine as their honeymoon trip takes a frightening turn.

Attend a night class with the girl who fears a stalker, escape killers with Jason and his sons, join Cook & Barnes as they hunt a twisted killer, look through a telescopic sight with an assassin and recoil in horror as terrorists attack.

Why has Garry been stood up at the altar? What happens to Susie?

All the answers you need are in 11 The Hard Way.

Oct 13 2011

The White Tiger

Painting a stark picture of modern day India, this is a great story of one boys efforts to rise out of the darkness of where he was born.

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Balram Halwai, the eponymous ‘white tiger’, is a diminutive, overweight ex-teashop worker who now earns his living as a chauffeur. But this is only one side of his protean personality; he deals in confidence scams, over-ambitious business promotions (built on the shakiest of foundations) and enjoys approaching life with a philosophical turn of mind. But is Balram also a murderer? We learn the answer as we devour these 500 odd pages. Born into an impoverished family, Balram is removed from school by his parents in order to earn money in a thankless job: shop employee. He is forced into banal, mind-numbing work. But Balram dreams of escaping — and a chance arises when a well-heeled village landlord takes him on as a chauffeur for his son (although the duties involve transporting the latter’s wife and two Pomeranian dogs). From the rich new perspective offered to him in this more interesting job, Balram discovers New Delhi, and a vision of the city changes his life forever. His learning curve is very steep, and he quickly comes to believe that the way to the top is by the most expedient means. And if that involves committing the odd crime of violence, he persuades himself that this is what successful people must do.

Oct 9 2011

Dark Matter

Journey with Jack, as he finds himself becoming increasingly isolated during his meteorological Arctic expedition. Sit beside him as the short summer days move quickly towards the unending night of winter. Walk with him as he struggles to ensure his expedition remains a success. Feel the loneliness take hold as he battles the demons of the dark.

You won’t want to read this one alone at night.

Result: – Go get it now.

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Out of nowhere, for no reason, I was afraid. My skin prickled. My heart thudded in my throat. My body knew before I did that I was not alone…

London, 1937. Jack is poor, lonely and desperate to change his life, so when he’s offered the chance to join an Arctic expedition, he jumps at it. Spirits are high as the ship leaves Norway, and at last they reach the remote, uninhabited bay where they will camp for the next year.

But the Arctic summer is brief. As night returns to claim the land, Jack feels a creeping unease. One by one, his companions are forced to leave. Soon Jack will see the last of the sun, the sea will freeze and escape will be impossible.

And Jack is not alone. Something walks there in the dark…

Oct 3 2011

Freebies

I love book festivals, but they do have an alarming tendency to add to the ever increasing TBR pile. These are the handful of little lovelies that were added over the course of the weekend in Brighton. I’m beginning to think I may need another bookshelf.

Dust by Joan Frances Turner
Unholy Magic by Stacia Kane
Picus the Thief by Robin Bennett
The Crown of the Blood by Gav Thorpe

Along with

Every Which Way But Dead and The Good, The Bad and The Undead, both by Kim Harrison

Sep 4 2011

A Tiny Bit Marvellous

My Mother would like this book. (which isn’t always a good recommendation – she considers Mills & Boon pornography)

It’s one of those lighter hearted ‘easy read’ books for when you want something that’s not going to tax the little grey cells a tad too much. Providing of course, you can get past having it sound like Dawn French herself is reading it out to you, and give the characters the voices that they really deserve.

Result:- Take it on holiday, read it, leave it behind.

Everyone hates the perfect family.  So you’ll love the Battles.  Mo is about to hit the big 50, and some uncomfortable truths are becoming quite apparent:

She doesn’t understand either of her teenage kids, which as a child psychologist, is fairly embarrassing.

She has become entirely grey. Inside, and out.  Her face has surrendered and is frightening children.  Dora is about to hit the big 18 . . . and about to hit anyone who annoys her, especially her precocious younger brother Peter who has a chronic Oscar Wilde fixation.

Then there’s Dad . . . who’s just, well, dad.

ATINY BIT MARVELLOUS is the story of a modern family all living in theirown separate bubbles lurching towards meltdown. It is for anyone whohas ever shared a home with that weird group of strangers we callrelations.  Oh and there’s a dog. Called Poo.

Aug 26 2011

The End Of Everything

The story started off brilliantly, and was so well written I really felt that I had got ‘in touch’ with teenage Lizzie. However around two thirds of the way through the book, something suddenly changes. As I turned the last page I was left with the distinct impression that the author had either a deadline to meet and rushed to the end of the book, or that maybe the ending that was written, wasn’t the one that they had originally planned.

Result:- A bit of a disappointment

Lizzie and Evie are inseparable. They walk home from school together, sleep over at each other’s houses, even flirt with boys together. And they tell each other everything. Or at least, that’s what Lizzie thinks — until Evie goes missing, and Lizzie suddenly realises their friendship wasn’t quite what she thought.

Aug 16 2011

The Night Season

It’s billed as the next in the Gretchen and Archie series, but it was nice to be able to say that Gretchen only makes a fleeting appearance in the book, because in my eyes there are only so many times that a cop and a serial killer can play cat and mouse, chase and capture in a series, and with this being the fourth book, that number was up.

It took nothing away from the story however, so it was, as is usual with these books, easily read in one sitting.

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Heavy rains have burst the banks of the Willamette River; several people have died in the furiously rising waters . . . but the latest victim didn’t drown: She was killed before she went into the water. Soon, other victims are found, and Police Detective Archie Sheridan realizes that Portland has a new serial killer on its hands. Reporter Susan Ward is on the story, but she’s also got other leads to chase, and some secrets can be too frightening for prying eyes . . . with Archie following a bizarre trail of evidence, and Susan close behind, the pair must unearth the identity of a vicious murderer, and uncover the truth behind a mystery more than sixty years old . . .